John and I enjoyed a short vacation along the St Lawrence a few weeks ago. We both have an interest in the War of 1812 and had never visited the site of the Battle of Chryslers Farm. We also had no idea that it was the same site as Upper Canada Village. We were meandering our way home and decided to check it out. The village itself was closed due to COVID-19 but we were able to walk the grounds. We walked up to the battle memorial and saw to our left what appeared to be a series of brick walls, some with white tombstones embedded in them. That peaked my interest of course so we walked over and had a look. To my surprise there was a series of brick walls that served as a memorial to the numerous cemeteries that were submerged with the creation of the St Lawrence Seaway in 1958. This one and the reference to the Duke of Wellington caught my eye.
Unfortunately, I didn't capture the full image of the stone to his left, Catherine Moir, his wife who died Aug 1, 1849 at the age of 50 years, 14 days nor of the stone for two of his sons who predeceased their mom.
Christopher as his stone has noted served as a Lieutenant of the 5th Fusilliers during the Napoleonic Wars. I found his awards roll in which it was verified by the board that he participated in 10 decisive battles that pushed the French out of Spain and and Portugal, and eventually ended in the defeat of the French.(1) The first was the Battle of Fuentes d'Onor on 5 May 1811, in Spain where a combined British and Portuguese army under the command of the Duke of Wellington fought the French(2). In January 1812, he took part in the Siege of Ciudad Rodrigo, a French fortress in Spain, and then the siege of Badajoz in March/April of the same year. In June he saw action in the Battle of Vitoria, and in July the Seige of Badajoz. On 27 September 1812, he was a part of the Battle of Bussaco, in the Portuguese mountains, where the British Army defeated the French. In Sept 1813 he was in the Battle of Nivelle and the Battle of Nive in December. He continued his service into 1814 and participated in the Battle of Orthez and one of the last Battles in the Napoleonic wars, the Battle of Toulouse. It appears that he obtained the rank of lieutenant on 22 Feb 1810 and was provided with half pay on 25 Nov 1818.(3) The earliest record that I've found for Christopher in Canada is an 1838 muster roll where he received in 1 pound in lieu of a great coat. (4) He is paid monthly in 1839 where I can see in January he is with the Cornwall Troop of Volunteer Cavalry under Captain Jarvis, which later in the year becomes the Cornwall Troop of Lancers, under Major Jarvis. He received his wages in Halifax currency.(5)
I found Christopher in the Canada West 1851 census, when he was 64 years old (dating him as born around 1787) and his occupation was listed as a half pay officer. Christopher was living in Williamsburg with his children Sarah (19), Elizabeth (17), Ellen (16), George (23) and Daniel Empfrey (17). Ellen and George were noted as living in Peterborough at the time. (6) All of his children were born in Canada West. He appears in the 1861 census as a 73 year old gentleman living in a framed house in Morrisburgh with his daughter Sarah and her husband Ralph Chrysler, maybe a son or nephew? William (14), and possibly daughter Eliza Yielding (35) who lived in Hamilton and is noted as not being a family member. A neat Chrylser's farm connection to his family.
I struggled to find anything further about Christopher specifically, until I started to do some research on his children. I discovered that George was a lumber merchant in Peterborough and became an MP. A brief biography of George was written in the 1880 The Canadian Biographical Dictionary and Portrait Gallery of Eminent and Self Made Men, Ontario, Volume 1(7). The writeup helped me fill in the missing gaps about Christopher. Christopher was born 25 December 1789 and had 3 brothers who were all commissioned officers. After the Battle of Toulouse he was sent to Canada with the 5th, likely with the 1st battalion to take part in the War of 1812(8). There he met and married Catharine (Myers) and returned to the continent. He and Catharine remained there for 5 years and had at least 2 children. When he was ordered to go to the West Indies, he decided to retire on half pay and return to Canada. He and his family settled in Williamsburg and went on to have a total of 11 children.(7)
(1)Ancestry.com. UK, Military Campaign Medal and Award Rolls, 1793-1949 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010.
(2) http://catermuseum.co.uk/cm-1961-425/the-battle-of-fuente-de-honor-fuentes-de-onoro-5th-may-1811/
(3)https://books.google.ca/books?id=2QkcAQAAIAAJ&pg=PA418&lpg=PA418&dq=lieutenant+christopher+hilliard+5th+foot&source=bl&ots=1yOMi4AHfV&sig=ACfU3U0X_SYUOuoabgocZCnUUBlZbqucfw&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjO-Nj-jPztAhWQF1kFHYLBAlUQ6AEwEXoECBQQAg#v=onepage&q=lieutenant%20christopher%20hilliard%205th%20foot&f=false
(4) (5)Ancestry.com. Canada, British Army and Canadian Militia Muster Rolls and Pay Lists, 1795-1850 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2012.
(6)Year: 1851; Census Place: Williamsburg, Dundas County, Canada West (Ontario); Schedule: A; Roll: C_11717; Page: 163; Line: 15
(7) https://accessgenealogy.com/canada/biography-of-george-hilliard-m-p.htm
(8) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royal_Northumberland_Fusiliers#The_18th_century
