“This is our legacy and this is our charge – when our nation needs us, we will be ready.” - General Lawson

April 29, 1990

People usually spend their Sundays in the sadness of having Monday next day. But I like Sunday. It gives me an unmeasurable happiness of spending time with my grandson and I am sure Carter feels that too.

Today, he seemed a little excited; no sign of worry and confusion. As we sat evenly, he began speaking without taking a mere second.  

“I have searched about Simcoe throughout the week and learned that he was also the one who explored the city of York, in present-day Toronto. And grandpa you wouldn’t know when I tell you that a lady Mary Ann Shadd Cary also served in the same way.”

I know exactly what he was talking about, I rather pretend to be unknown about it because I couldn’t break his excitement.

“She was an activist and worked to remove slavery from the US. She was also the first Canadian woman who published a weekly newspaper by the name of The Provincial Freeman about the antislavery and black immigration to Canada. She also made people believe that having more alcohol is dangerous to health and to adopt British rule is the only survival.”

He stopped taking a deep breath and looked at my face.

“You made me proud, my son. I believe you will do wonders.”

And I could see his face glowed up more.

The restless days were now started for Canada after Napoleon Bonaparte defeated in the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805. Canada was under the British rule so to overcome his wants to get hold of Europe, Canada had to fight. This created a resentment over the Americans and they started to believe that they would easily conquer Canada. For this, they created an invasion against Canada in June 1812. The whole Canada including volunteers and the First Nations (also Shawnee led by Chief Tecumseh).

Major General Sir Isaac Brock was the prominent person of that time who captured Detroit but soon killed near the Niagara Falls while protecting Canada against American attack at Queenston Heights. But his fights came out as a good result since Americans lost that battle. In 1813, Lieutenant-Colonel Charles de Salaberry with his 460 soldiers including most of the French Canadians kicked around 4,000 Americans out of Canada near Châteauguay, south of Montreal.

Canadians’ enthusiasm never stopped here when in 1813, the Americans fired up the Government House and the Parliament Buildings in York. The raging action came fast as in 1814, Major-General Robert Ross started a journey from Nova Scotia and acted in the same way as the Americans; he burned down White House and many public buildings in Washington D.C. Sadly, Ross died after that battle but was given full military honors at his funeral at Halifax.  

Ross hard works paid off. In the same year, Americans were defeated by the Canadians. The Britishers also paid a heavy amount for Canadian Defense system which includes the Citadels at Halifax and Québec City, the naval drydock at Halifax and Fort Henry at Kingston; all which are considered as the famous historic sites. As today, you see a boundary in between Canada and USA which was the result of 1812’s war making Canada an independent state away from America.

I coughed up. This extreme cough would someday bring me to death, this is what I felt.

“Grandpa you should now pay a visit to a doctor. Your growing cough makes me worried.”

“It makes me worried too.” A voice inside my head said but failed to make it sound. Rather I assured him calmly to do that soon.

In my subconscious, I had already recognized that something terrible was going to happen to me.

To be Continued…

Is Carter’s grandpa really sick or it is just a common cold? Would he be able to get all that his grandpa is trying to gift him? For all this, you have to wait for the next chapter.