Sara Ann and Fort George, Part ll

In Part 1 of this post a brief description of one battle that occurred during the War of 1812 and the hauntings it caused are shared.

View of Fort George from Old
Fort Niagara on the American side
of the river.

Fort George is located near the town of Niagara-on-the-Lake in Ontario, Canada. It was destroyed by the Americans during a battle in 1813 but was rebuilt as a National Historical site in more recent years.

This fort is considered one of Canada’s most haunted and several ghost soldiers have been seen at this location, but the most active ghost is a little girl by the name of Sara Ann. She is a very precocious spirit.

Sara Ann’s ghost has been seen so often over the years no one has kept count. Her youthful antics elicit smiles as opposed to fear.

Her ghost, when seen, is playful. She engages in games of peek-a-boo, hiding under beds and behind pillars. She is heard giggling quietly to herself.

She is known for tugging on visitors’ clothes. When they turn, they see her running away. She is described as bare-footed with shoulder-length curly blonde hair.

She wears a white dress and is often seen around the fort’s barracks. Three female visitors spotted just her hand resting on a staircase railing in this area.

At other times she appears as just a white cloud with a vague form.

Fort George today.

One summer night in August a group of tourists who were leaving spotted a little girl in the parking lot. She was skipping around a group of guides that worked at the fort.

She appeared to be wearing a white nightgown. Two women watched as she then faded from view. The men in this group did not see this little girl.

But these two women who did not know each other eerily told similar stories of what they saw. The guides despite being closer to this apparition reported they had seen nothing.

One well-documented encounter happened to a guide, storyteller, Kyle Upton who works at the fort. He had heard about Sara Ann's ghost but did not believe the stories.

The tunnel at the fort.

Upton led a group of tourists to the entrance of a subterranean tunnel at the back of the fort one night as storm clouds gathered, and lightning flashed.

When he reached the back of this tunnel, Upton waited for his group to gather around him. This is when he saw a form that was illuminated by a dim green-grey light.

He saw a small figure silhouetted in this light. It was a child standing just outside the tunnel looking in at him.

As he watched she playfully disappeared and then reappeared again. He saw her hop and skip around—then she stopped and looked to see if she was being watched.

At first, Upton thought she was a part of his group but after he took a head count, he realized she wasn’t.

It dawned on him that this must be the little ghost he had heard so many stories about.

Upton had trouble concentrating on his presentation for Sara Ann distracted him. Every time the lightning flashed at the entrance all he saw was the white wall of the nearby blockhouse, but when the lightning stopped, he would see her once more.

When the group exited the tunnel the little girl was gone.

St. Mark's Cemetery

It is believed that Sara Ann was the daughter of Hannah and Thomas Tracey. She died at age seven in 1840. Her grave and tombstone are located at St. Mark’s Cemetery.

Her father was a sergeant major with the King’s Dragoon Guards at Fort George. No one knows how she died or why her spirit lingers at this fort.

In Part l of Sara Ann and Fort George other ghosts seen at the fort are described.

Sara Ann and Fort George, Part l

Americans landing at Fort George.

This story is about a young ghost that haunts Fort George located at Niagara-on-the-Lake * in Ontario, Canada.

The Americans destroyed this fort during the War of 1812.

America began this war with Canada after being provoked. The British Royal Navy had taken to forcefully “press-ganging” American sailors into service with their fleet. The British were undermanned at the time because of the Napoleonic Wars, which were raging across Europe.

The British were also trying to prevent the U.S. from trading with France.

Also, the British were arming Native American tribes that were standing in the way of American expansion. During this time, American extended from the Mississippi basin to the Great Lakes.

In one battle in the spring of 1813, an American fleet appeared at the mouth of the Niagara River. These warships bombarded Niagara-on-the-Lake with cannonballs. Two days later they sent hundreds of rowboats ashore at Lake Ontario close to Fort George.

The Canadians and British were outnumbered 10 to l so they could not hold back the Americans. They were forced to retreat, and U.S. troops took control of the town.

American Patriots who were loyal to King George lll during the Revolutionary War, populated Niagara-on-the-Lake, so its residents held a robust anti-American sentiment already.

Many of these Patriots lost their property and were ostracized after the Revolutionary War so most of them then headed north to the Niagara region.

Fort George played a vital role as the Americans attacked Niagara-on-the-Lake, but it was ultimately destroyed during the fighting.

A depiction of Fort George
in 1812.

The U.S. hoped this conquest would help them gain control of Upper Canada but their defeat at the Battle of Stoney Creek, later that June, halted their ambitions.

When winter arrived the Americans finding themselves vulnerable to attack had no choice but to retreat back to the American side of the Niagara River.

But before they did this, on December 10, 1813, they burned Niagara-on-the-Lake to the ground. Which left the residents out in the freezing cold.

Part of Fort George today.

Within a decade this town was rebuilt and is today a thriving tourist area. Fort George was restored in more recent years and is today a National Historical site that offers tours.

It contains several buildings including barracks, officer’s quarters, and craftsmen shops. Many witnesses feel this fort’s Palisades and earthen parapets are haunted.

In fact, the fort is considered one of Canada’s most haunted.

There have been many sightings of ethereal soldiers standing guard along the parapets. Witnesses have heard drum rolls across the grounds, and phantom gunfire is also heard rumbling.

But by far the fort’s most active ghost is not a soldier but rather a young girl who was the daughter of one of the families that lived at Fort George.

*  The town of Niagara-on-the-Lake has had many names over the past 200 years. It was first named Butlersburg, then New Niagara, West Niagara, Lenox and then Newark. It wasn’t until the late 19^th century it was called Niagara-on-the-Lake.

In Part ll of Sara Ann and Fort George sightings of this young ghost is shared.