Canadian grave of general who torched White House in 1814 draws interest amid trade war

The Halifax, N.S., gravesite of the British general who burned down the White House 211 years ago this week was a busy place Monday.

Larry and Connie Tremain, of Arizona, had just disembarked from their cruise ship when they visited the city’s Old Burying Ground, at the corner of Spring Garden Road and Barrington Street. The national historic site is the final resting place of British Major General Robert Ross, who led his troops to burn the White House and other public buildings in Washington, D.C., on Aug. 24, 1814, during the War of 1812, in retaliation for the American attack on Fort York, now known as Toronto.

“We’ve been looking for him,” deadpanned Larry Tremain, a retired special agent with the U.S. Treasury Department.

While he hadn’t been sure until Monday where Ross was buried, Tremain knew the particulars of when the Brits torched the residence of then U.S. president James Madison

“I’m certainly familiar with the Madisons fleeing the White House and the British general burned it down and actually ate the Madison’s last meal in the White House,” he said.

“But I did not know the general was from Canada.”

Of course, Canada didn’t exist at the time and Ross was never stationed in Halifax. But he was buried in the Nova Scotia capital after being killed at the Battle of North Point by an American sniper on Sept. 12, 1814, near Baltimore, Maryland. His body was preserved in rum aboard the HMS Royal Oak, to be returned to his native Ireland. But the British warship was diverted to Halifax to prepare for the Battle of New Orleans, and Ross was interred here with full military honours.

With the United States and Canada now embroiled in a trade war, Tremain suspects many of his fellow countrymen do not know the history of the general who once torched the official workplace and home of their presidents.

“Absolutely not,” he said. “My son’s a history teacher, but they don’t teach much history in grade school and high schools anymore. Most Americans now under the age of 20 don’t know the difference between (George) Washington and (Abraham) Lincoln, let alone (the history of the War of 1812).”

He says the same of U.S. President Donald Trump, who made headlines multiple times this year with loose talk of turning Canada into the 51st state.

“He has no understanding, and we are bumbling through,” Tremain said.

Tremain apologized for Trump’s repeated threats to use economic force to annex Canada, and believes the president is hurting the relationship between the two countries.

Trump’s supporters are only interested in one thing, Tremain said. “It’s America first. It’s unbridled nationalism.”

While the couple had just stepped ashore in Canada on their sea voyage that started in Boston, Tremain said he would “be amazed” if Canadians weren’t friendly for the remainder of their cruise, which includes a stop in Saint John, N.B. “I would be stunned; they’re good people.”

During his career, Tremain had to travel through a lot of checkpoints in the Middle East. “I always told the driver, ‘Tell them we’re Canadian,’” he said. “Because nobody is mad at Canada.”

That a general buried here burned down the White House often surprises Americans, said Jo-Ann Heikkila, who was using an iPhone app Monday to tour the Old Burying Ground.

“I’ve got friends in the U.S. and when you raise that, they look at us like we have three heads,” Heikkila said. “They think we’re too nice.”

Both Heikkila and her friend, Jo-Anne Wilcox, were visiting Halifax from Toronto. Wilcox was quick to chime in on recent friction with our neighbours to the south.

“They need to learn about our country,” Wilcox said. “They know nothing about Canada.”

Americans should visit sites like the general’s grave to gain some perspective on recent events, Wilcox said. “Maybe they would respect us more because I don’t think the Americans respect Canada at all.”

Joe Blixt, a former Winnipeg high school history teacher now studying law at Dalhousie University in Halifax, knew the White House had been torched during the War of 1812.

“But I didn’t know the general was buried here,” Blixt said during a visit to the cemetery. “That’s really cool.”

During his time in Manitoba classrooms, there was an emphasis on how Ross and his troops burned the White House down. “The one thing we have over America, military victory wise, is that.”

Most Americans, he said, likely don’t know about the general’s exploits 211 years ago this week.

“I feel like American exceptionalism makes them blind to all that stuff,” Blixt said. “It’s a history of victory for the Americans. I think they like to wash that away a little bit.”

He doubts schooling Americans on the role Ross played in burning down the White House would change much.

“They like to win,” Blixt said. “They don’t like a losing history.”

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