Soldiers with five Canadian regiments based in Hamilton will be retracing the 1813 steps of the British Army this weekend.
Fees for the 2023 edition of the Battle of Stoney Creek reenactment have been waived for the outing, which sees modern-day soldiers march 13 kilometres from the location of the British encampment back in 1813 near Dundurn Castle to Battlefield House National Historic Site.
The re-enactments go Saturday at 3:30 pm and 8:30 pm as well as at 2 p.m. on Sunday, featuring participants from across Canada and the United States dressed in historically accurate uniforms brandishing period weapons and using tactics to bring the battle to life.
Major Chris Wattie, with a joint task force in the Canadian Armed Forces, says the recreation speaks to the motto, “strong, proud and ready.”
“This kind of covers all those,” Wattie said.
“It takes a certain amount of strength to do 13 kilometres with about 50 pounds of stuff on you, and we’re certainly proud of what they did in 1813.”
In addition to reenactments, interactive indigenous activities, and artistic performances are also on the agenda for Battlefield Park.
Attendees can wander through a re-created military encampment and mingle with early 19th-century settler and soldier reenactors.
There are also shops, historical cooking demonstrations, blacksmithing, and music.
The site is open Saturday from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. and Sunday 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Admission this year is free for attendees in honour of Sara Calder, founder of Battlefield House Museum.
With no on-site parking, drivers are encouraged to use lots at St. David’s Catholic School on Cromwell Crescent and Sir John Henry Newman Catholic School on Grays Road and use a free shuttle bus.