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War of 1812 collections scattered around world

It is fairly commonplace throughout history for soldiers and civilians directly involved in a conflict to gather "souvenirs" of sorts.

These could include uniform parts salvaged from a battlefield, buttons, bits of ammunition and weapons from the enemy. These relics were frequently kept in a family for generations as memorials to fallen family members or of past heroic actions.

The War of 1812 was no different, soldiers who fought picked up souvenirs of certain places and actions.

In addition to those souvenirs picked up at the time of the War of 1812, in the 19th century when visiting a War of 1812 battlefield

was commonplace, relics were picked up, including musket and cannon balls, buttons, shako plates and every day items such as spoons and forks.

Many of these relics were passed down in a family from generation to generation and eventually a number of these ended up in museum collections, both in Canada and around the world. A large portion of the War of 1812 collections at the Niagara Falls Museums came from local family collections....
Read entire article at Niagara Falls Review (Canada)