This tablet commemorates the raising of Niagara Light Dragoons who first assembled at this spot on 28 June 1812. It was erected by the Niagara Historical Society in the early 1900s.
At the outbreak of the War of 1812, Thomas Merritt was appointed Major Commandant of the Niagara Light Dragoons, a militia cavalry troop which supported infantry forces. They were expected to provide their own horses although they did receive a few British armaments. Their duties included carrying dispatches, long range patrols, calling in militia men and pursuing enemy raiders. At Queenston, the Dragoons and Indigenous Peoples engaged the enemy on the heights while General Sheaff formed his troops to the rear. After the surrender of the Americans at Queenston, Major Merritt remained command of the Dragoons in name only and left most of the active command to his son, William Hamilton Merritt.
The Dragoons were briefly disbanded in February 1813, but William was instructed to raise a troop of cavalry again in March and become its Captain. During the American occupation of Niagara in 1813, the Dragoons were involved in a number of skirmishes with the United States Forces and also fought at the Battle of Stoney Creek in June.
When the Town was burnt by the United States in December, William saw a glare in the sky from Twelve Mile Creek. Upon his approach, he described it as “nothing but heaps of coal and the streets full of furniture that the inhabitants had been fortunate enough to get out of their homes.”
