Video – Laura Secord (youth version) – Decoding ART – Heritage Monuments
Transcript of Laura Secord (youth version)
Narrator: "This capsule is presented by Canadian Heritage."
[Canadian Heritage signature]
[The bronze statue of Laura Secord]
Narrator: "The woman in this statue is Laura Secord, a hero of the War of 1812.”
[Close-up of the head of the statue]
Narrator: "She is so famous, a chocolate company also uses her name! Laura Secord helped to make sure the United States didn’t take over the colony that would later become Canada.
The War of 1812 was between the United States—a country that was less than 40 years old—and Great Britain. The Americans wanted to kick the British out of North America and take control of its colonies. The fighting went on for years and Laura Secord was directly affected by it. Her husband, James Secord, fought for the British and was wounded in battle. And American soldiers took over the Secord’s home—sleeping in their beds and getting the family to feed them.
One night, as the story goes, Laura heard the soldiers talking about an attack they were planning. She knew that the attack, if successful, would give the Americans more control over the colony.”
[The statue from the bottom to the head]
Narrator: "So she decided to warn the British. To do that, though, she’d have to get to the nearest headquarters of the British army, which was more than 30 kilometres away.”
[Illustration of Laura Secord hiking in the woods]
Narrator: "And the only way to get there was to walk—and risk meeting American soldiers along the way. After more than 18 hours of walking along dirt roads and through wilderness, she reached her destination.”
[Illustration of Laura Secord warning the British soldiers about the attack]
Narrator: "Thanks to Laura Secord’s warning, close to 500 Americans surrendered, preventing a British defeat.”
[Portrait of Marlene Hilton Moore]
Narrator: "Listen to the clip by the artist, Marlene Hilton Moore to find out more about the creation of this sculpture."
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