July 12,1812 AMERICANS INVADE CANADA Windsor Ontario - US Brigadier General William Hull 1753-1825 crosses the Detroit River with 2,500 troops and occupies the town of Sandwich; first American invasion in the War of 1812; worried about a new alliance between the British and the Indians led by Tecumseh, Hull will soon retreat to Detroit, and surrenders to the British a month later. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------------------------------------------------------- July 12,1888 Quebec Quebec - Quebec Legislature passes Jesuits Estates Act; payment of $400,000 for property confiscated in 1773 from the Jesuit Order. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- July 12,1876 Niagara Falls Ontario - Signorina Maria Spelterina walks across Niagara Falls backward on a tightrope, with peach baskets on her feet; 23 year old takes 11 minutes to cross; the following week, she walks across blindfolded, then with her wrists and ankles manacled. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------------------------------------------------------- July 12,1849 Saint John New Brunswick - Riot between Orangeman and Catholics in Saint John kills twelve. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------- ------------------------------------------- July 12,1759 Lévis Quebec - James Wolfe 1727-1759 orders cannon to start firing on Quebec from heights of Lévis; that night Jean-Daniel Dumas leads 1,600 soldiers, mostly students, in a disastrous night attack on the English; the young men panic and fire on each other.