Sunset Ceremony for the Hamilton & Scourge

Hamilton, ON - The public is invited to join the City of Hamilton to commemorate the sinking of two United States Navy War of 1812 schooners in Lake Ontario at a ceremony in Confederation Park at 585 Van Wagners Beach Rd. near the Edgewater Pavilion on Thursday August 8 at 7 pm.

The loss of 53 American sailors during the sinking of the Hamilton & Scourge in the early morning hours of August 8, 1813 represents the largest loss of life suffered by the United States Navy in one engagement during the War of 1812.

Event Details

Hamilton & Scourge Memorial Sunset Ceremony
Join us for the annual ceremony to mark the loss of the sailors who went down with the United States armed schooners Hamilton & Scourge during the War of 1812. American naval veterans form the Guard of Honour as part of the ceremony which includes the story of the sinking conveyed by local historian Lieutenant Commander Robert Williamson RCN (retd), the singing of the national anthems by operatic tenor Jason Hales with ceremonial music provided by buglers and pipers.

Location Hamilton & Scourge Naval Memorial Garden, Confederation Park
Date August 8, 2019
Time 7 pm to 8 pm

Quick Facts

• The City-owned Hamilton & Scourge survive intact in 90 metres of water at the bottom of Lake Ontario. The site is a designated National Historic Site and underwater archaeological site requiring special protection under the Ontario Heritage Act. 
• The Hamilton & Scourge Naval Memorial Garden was established in 1983 by the City of Hamilton in cooperation with Hamilton Conservation Authority.
• Inside the garden, a nautical flag-mast is flanked by 53 headstones which commemorate the loss of sailors from these two American schooners that capsized on Lake Ontario during the War of 1812. 
• Each headstone is also officially marked with a bronze plaque inscribed: National Society United States Daughters of 1812. In Honor of Service in the War of 1812.
• Each year members of the American Legion in Canada respectfully tend to the markers by placing a new star-spangled banner on each one.
• American naval veterans form the flag party and march in procession as part of the ceremony.

Additional Resources

• www.hamilton-scourge.hamilton.ca
• www.divermag.com/the-hamilton-and-scourge-project-past-present-and-future