Homeward Bound
Homeward Bound
Homeward Bound represents the story of a mother forced to flee Fairfield (Moraviantown) after it was burned.
She was able to return to her family home
with her infant twins due to the kindness of Commadore Oliver Hazard Perry. So many innocents found themselves forced to uproot and flee. Some families made it home but many more were cast to futures unknown.
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If not for the kindness of Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry, I know not what would become of me or my poor twin infants. Instead, we have been given money and a wagon to take us home to our family in Amherstburg.
Moraviantown is no more. It had been our home briefly until it was set ablaze by the Americans. The defeat left us again homeless and in a state of terror, rending the air with sobs and lamentations. We were a war- worn group and as I wandered aimlessly with a baby on each hip, I encountered an enemy officer. Unbeknownst to me, he retold my plight to the Commodore and I was shortly provided with money and a wagon to transport us home to Amherstburg, a distance of more than 100 miles.
“May God bless and prosper him. He is the kindest and most generous gentleman in the world and has been an angel of mercy to me and my poor babies. He has not only paid this man to take us home but has given me all this money for these dear little ones.” We are, at last, homeward bound!
Written by Anne Carruthers, February 2012
Source:
In the Midst of Alarms; The Untold Story of Women and the War of 1812, Dianne Graves, 2007, Robin Brass Studio Inc., Montreal, Que. Pg.285-286
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