Laura Secord

(I did)

My hero is Laura Secord. I chose her because she has a very amazing story to go with her name. She did something very brave, and I can only begin to tell you how self-sacrificing it was. She was able to walk a dozen miles on foot. This was all to save the country she loved so. She braved this and even endangered her own life. She managed to travel through bushes and a swamp. She is a Canadian hero. This is Laura Secord and this is her story.

Laura Ingersoll was born September 13, 1775 in Massachusetts. That was the year the American Revolution broke out. Her father, Thomas Ingersoll, who fought beside the Americans in the Revolution, soon left America after the war and settled in Canada. There, he became a staunch monarchist. They lived near Niagara Falls in a village named Queenston. There, Laura met a man Named James Secord. But he had had a very different life. He was part of a Prosperous New Jersey Family, split in the Revolution. Upon moving to Canada, the family changed their last name from DeSecors to Secord, So Laura Ingersoll became known as Laura Secord. They went on too have seven children, Mary, Charlotte, Harriet, Charles Badeau, Appolonia, and finally Laura and Hannah in 1815 and 1817. Laura lived long enough to see all her children grow and marry. She died in 1868 at the age of 93.

When the War of 1812 broke out, Laura was at home in Queenston. James was an officer in the local regiment. At the battle of Queenston heights (the final battle of Isaac Brock) he was badly wounded, shot in both the shoulder and the leg. When James did not return, Laura left the safety of her home and sought after her husband. She found him lying in the field almost dead. She then brought him home and attempted to nurse him back to health. Back at the Secord Residence, Laura overheard the Americans plot to invade Canada. She knew what she had to do. It would be dangerous, but she would do it anyway. Laura set off in the morning of June 23 1813. Her plan, get to James Fitzgibbon at the Decew House. There she warn him, but Fitzgibbon but was a whole dozen miles away and in the middle, there was a swamp. But she made it anyway, she ran the whole dozen miles alone. Laura arrived at Decew house with only hours to spare. The British set an ambush, and Canada was saved! Laura never spoke of her mission until 1860. She was well on her years when she told of it hoping to get her a pension. She was awarded 100 pounds for her service.

So now you know her story, and why I choose Laura. Sadly Mr. Secord (aka James Secord) never fully recovered from his injuries, and life at the Secord Residence was different from then on. Laura was finally recognized in 1869 as a hero. There's a statue of her at the Valiant's Memorial in Ottawa. She's now finally a true Canadian hero. She did not live to see this, but if she did she would she would and should be proud. Laura in my opinion is a very interesting Hero, and a person who needs to be remembered. Laura helped save Canada, to save to place we live in today. She is my hero, one that should not be forgotten.