Carleton Island’s Lost Burial Grounds of the American Revolution

 

1973 Fort Haldiamd last standing chimney

By Dennis McCarthy, St. Lawrence River Historical Foundation, Inc.

Benson J. Lossing noted in his 1868 Pictorial Field Book of the War of 1812 that "a little northward of the fort (Haldimand) was the garrison cemetery; beyond this, a fourth of a mile from the ramparts, lay an ancient Indian burial-ground in a grove of small trees on the verge of the river."

From the 1770s through the War of 1812, Fort Haldimand and Carleton Island served as a vital British hub, encompassing a military fort, naval yard, and a sanctuary for Loyalists fleeing the Mohawk Valley. Its population sometimes swelled to 1,000 individuals, including British and Hessian soldiers, Indigenous peoples, Loyalist regiments, and civilians. The island's history tells of three distinct burial sites: a military cemetery holding at least 25 soldiers, an Indigenous burial ground, and a Loyalist/settler/prisoner-of-war cemetery. This last cemetery is thought to be adjacent to the military site.

Though no specific records detail who rests on the island, it's reasonable to assume those who perished there were also interred there. Historical accounts whisper tales of loss and hardship. Chief Hawksbill, a respected Mississauga warrior, met a violent end in a drunken altercation. Separate artillery accidents claimed the arms of James Bennett and George Barnhard, with Barnhard later succumbing to his injuries. Captain George McDougall, who once commanded Carleton Island, died shortly after relinquishing his commission. Lieutenant Kenneth Mackenzie passed away suddenly, while soldiers like Jacob Best and Henry Fyker died during their service on the island. Even the most vulnerable were not spared, with at least one recorded instance of infanticide.

Carleton Island early 1900s, Kittle Collection TIM

History recounts that carved oaken planks once marked some graves, but by 1868, time had eroded all but one inscription. According to Lossing, the lone surviving marker read "J. Farrar, D. Fy., 1792." These burial grounds stand as silent witnesses to Carleton Island's past, safeguarding the stories of the soldiers, civilians, and families who lived, died, and were laid to rest upon its shores.

While the location of the Indigenous burial ground on Carleton Island is known and protected by a conservation easement, the site of the garrison cemetery remains lost to time.

As the 250th anniversary of the American War of Independence approaches, Carleton Island's soil holds the forgotten remains of soldiers, civilians, and even infants, their individual stories slowly fading into the mists of history.