The captivating title, “Walking the Razor’s Edge: A Continent in Play,” attracted an audience of mixed age, gender, and academic backgrounds to the 2013 War of 1812 Bicentennial Symposium held in Hamilton, Ontario.

The history conference was alive with the buzz of re-enactors and academic historians meeting under the same roof, both drawn by the merchants, historic clothing, and educational seminars. A ball closed off the day’s events, complete with regency dancing.

Tom Fournier, the Symposium Director, was pleased with the turnout as he surveyed the audience following the closing keynote address by Dr. Don Hickey. Planning for the event began in the summer of 2012, following the debriefing of last year’s symposium. Throughout the planning process Fournier drew on both survey forms and his own specific goals that he wanted to incorporate for the bicentennial.

The conference committee specifically sought to provide the audience with a different perspective from last year, seeking out the unabashedly pro-British Dr. Andrew Lambert as a provocative counter-point to the American view provided by Dr. Hickey.

Many of the rotational seminars focused on daily life during the war, which provided valuable and engaging information for re-enactors. Jennifer Papak and Melissa Vuk presented on civilian and military regency food in England and Canada. “An Army Marches on its Stomach” included advice for the planning of re-enactment meals and used period cookbooks to demonstrate precise table layouts for the audience.

The immersive quality of history was evident in the lively atmosphere at the symposium. Presenter Betsy Bashore detailed the process of creating period fashion pieces to a knowledgeable audience. Her fashion display demonstrated careful research and the presentation included a number of tips and tricks for the many re-enactors interested in producing reproduction garments.

Bashore spoke to the popularity of re-enactment and its appeal to men and women of different backgrounds, “People do this for a variety of different reasons…There is a little bit of escapism; you’re a different person. Some women like to dress up as common working women because they have fairly refined existences at home.”

While there is a sense of escapism in the adoption of period dress and regency etiquette, there is a noteworthy attention to historical detail in these re-enactments. Not all of the presenters at the symposium had an academic historical background, but each presentation was well researched and references to archival sources were abundant.

Rob McGuire, Media Liaison, addressed the necessity of appealing to a wider audience through his efforts to publicize the symposium. McGuire was responsible for inviting media to the conference and finding outlets to broadcast the event, “Sometimes it is a challenge to get them here because a history conference is not always front-page news, so you are always competing with that.” The difficulty of gaining attention for the Living History Symposium has been especially tough this year with attention divided between the many 1812 commemoration events across Southern Ontario. In this forum, not only are history events struggling to be seen in the mainstream media, but written and living history have been competing for audiences and coverage.

McGuire passionately explained that re-enactments are important for Canadians because they provide a different way of teaching history that leaves a lasting memory. Conferences like the War of 1812 Bicentennial Symposium could only benefit from more mainstream media so more Canadians can be aware of the immersive experience that living history can provide. As articulated by Rob McGuire, “re-enacting is only going to survive if we can get younger people into this.”

“Walking the Razor’s Edge: A Continent in Play” was a flurry of dynamic presenters, entertaining merchants, and engaging material from Renée Lafferty’s “'I will enter Canada, and leave the rest to Heaven': Religion and the Fighting Men of the War of 1812” to Diane Graves’ “Vicissitudes and Commotions: Women's Experiences in the Western Theatre, 1812-1815.” There was an impressive variety of historical material, including racial dynamics in 1812, regency etiquette, methods of historical construction, and the impact of the war on the Six Nations.

The material at the conference brought history to life, and the audience engagement during the question and answer period demonstrated the ubiquitous relevance of the War of 1812. Tom Fournier enthusiastically described this approach to history, stating: “[Re-enactment] gives you a whole different interpretation of history because you have actually lived it and experienced some of those things…it animates history. History strictly in books is hard for people to engage with…experiential history is really important.”

— Text by Jesika Arseneau and Jen Sguigna