Who was Laura Secord?

Laura Secord (born Laura Ingersoll, September 13, 1775 to October 17, 1868) was a Loyalist settler in Upper Canada who walked about 30 kilometres on June 22, 1813 from her home at Queenston to warn British Lieutenant James FitzGibbon at the DeCew House in Beaver Dams of an impending American attack. Secord's warning contributed to the British victory at the Battle of Beaver Dams two days later (June 24, 1813), when about 50 British soldiers and 400 Indigenous warriors under Lieutenant John Norton (a Mohawk-Cherokee leader allied with Britain) defeated about 500 American soldiers, capturing them all.

Laura Secord was born in Great Barrington, Massachusetts to a Loyalist family that fled to Upper Canada in 1795. She married James Secord in 1797 and they settled at Queenston on the Niagara River. James Secord was wounded at the Battle of Queenston Heights on October 13, 1812. The Secords' home was occupied by American officers in June 1813 during the American occupation of the Niagara frontier. According to Laura's later accounts, she overheard American officers planning a surprise attack on the British forward post at Beaver Dams and decided to warn the British personally.

Secord left Queenston before dawn on June 22, 1813 and walked alone (or possibly with her cow as a cover) about 30 kilometres through wooded country, swamp, and rough terrain to reach Beaver Dams (near present-day Thorold, Ontario) by evening. She was guided by Indigenous (likely Mohawk) warriors during the final part of her journey. She delivered her warning to FitzGibbon's Indigenous allies and was able to reach FitzGibbon directly. FitzGibbon concentrated his small force and Indigenous allies at a defensible position, ambushed the advancing American force on June 24, and forced their surrender.

Secord's contribution was largely unrecognised during her lifetime. FitzGibbon wrote certificates in 1820 and 1827 acknowledging her warning, but the British government did not formally compensate her. Late in life Secord petitioned the Prince of Wales (later King Edward VII) during his 1860 visit to Canada and received 100 pounds. She died in 1868 at age 93 and is buried at Drummond Hill Cemetery in Niagara Falls. Her story was popularised in the late 19th century by writers including Sarah Anne Curzon (1887) and entered Canadian patriotic mythology. The Laura Secord chocolate company (founded 1913) commemorates her name. The Laura Secord Homestead in Queenston is a National Historic Site, and she appears on the 2003 Canadian commemorative two-dollar coin and the 2013 100-dollar gold coin.