Geneva Night Out: Geneva and the War of 1812
The Second War of Independence: Geneva and the War of 1812 exhibit will open at the Geneva History Museum on June 6. Wayne County Historian Peter Evans will present a talk about Lake Ontario and the War of 1812 at 7 p.m.
Many Americans know very little about the War of 1812 (1812-1815), which was fought primarily along the United States coastline and the Canadian border. Major battles were fought within a hundred miles of Geneva, and local militia soldiers served along the Niagara frontier and Lake Ontario. Although the war had no impact on territorial borders, the War of 1812 did have long-term effects. It solidified the United States-Canadian border, earned the United States new respect in the eyes of Great Britain, and convinced Congress of the need for a stronger standing army. Canada regards the war as a defining moment in its history. Native Americans fared the worst, as the outcome paved the way for development beyond the Mississippi River.
At 7 p.m. Wayne County Historian Peter Evans will present a talk about Lake Onatrio during the War of 1812, focusing on the May 15, 1814 Battle of Pultneyville. He will place the war and New York State’s involvement in it in the context of the time, touching on the different views of the war between the United States and Canada and emphasizing that the War of 1812 signaled the end of a 500-year era of warfare under sail.