Laura Secord Laura Secord ( Ingersoll ; 13 September 1775 – 17 October 1868 ) was a Canadian heroine of the War of 1812 . She is known for having walked out of American - occupied territory in 1813 to warn British forces of an impending American attack . Her contribution to the war was little known during her lifetime , but since her death she has been frequently honoured in Canada . Though Secord had no relation to it , most Canadians associate her with the Laura Secord Chocolates company , named after her on the centennial of her walk . Secord ' s father lived in Massachusetts and fought on the side of the Patriots during the Revolutionary War ( 1775 – 1783 ) . In 1795 he moved his family to the Niagara region of Upper Canada after he had applied for and received a land grant . Shortly after , Laura married Loyalist James Secord , who was later seriously wounded at the Battle of Queenston Heights early in the War of 1812 . While he was still recovering in 1813 , the Americans invaded the Niagara Peninsula , including Queenston . During the occupation , Secord acquired information about a planned American attack , and stole away on the morning of 22 June to inform Lieutenant James FitzGibbon in the territory still controlled by the British . The information helped the British and their Mohawk warrior allies repel the invading Americans at the Battle of Beaver Dams . Her effort was forgotten until 1860 , when the future Edward VII awarded the impoverished widow £100 for her service . The story of Laura Secord has taken on mythological overtones in Canada ; there are many embellished versions of the tale . Secord has been the subject of books , poetry , and plays . Since her death , Canada has bestowed honours on her such as schools named after her , monuments , a museum , a memorial stamp , and a statue at the Valiants Memorial in the Canadian capital . Personal history . Family history and early life . Thomas Ingersoll ( 1749 – 1812 ) married the seventeen - year - old Elizabeth Dewey on 28 February 1775 . Their first child , Laura , was born in Great Barrington in the colonial Province of Massachusetts Bay on 13 September 1775 . Thomas ' s family had lived in Massachusetts for five generations . He was descended from Richard Ingersoll , who had arrived in Salem , Massachusetts , from Bedfordshire , England , in 1629 . Thomas was born in 1749 in Westfield , Massachusetts . Elizabeth , daughter of Israel Dewey , was also born in Westfield , on 28 January 1758 . Thomas moved to Great Barrington in 1774 , where he settled into a house on a small piece of land by the Housatonic River . Over the next several years , his success as a hatmaker allowed him to increase his landholdings and expand his house as his family grew . He spent much time away from home , as he rose through the ranks in the military on the side of the American revolutionaries during the American Revolutionary War . Upon his return to Great Barrington , he was made a magistrate . Elizabeth gave birth to three more girls : Elizabeth Franks on 17 October 1779 ; Mira ( or Myra ) in 1781 ; and Abigail in September 1783 . Abigail was given up for adoption in 1784 to an aunt with the surname Nash . Elizabeth Ingersoll died 20 February 1784 , and Thomas remarried to Mercy Smith , widow of Josiah Smith , on 26 May 1785 . Mercy had no children . She has been credited with teaching her stepdaughters to read and do needlework before her death from tuberculosis in 1789 . By adolescence , Laura was caring for her sisters and looking after the household affairs . Thomas remarried four months after Mercy ' s death , on 20 September 1789 , to Sarah " Sally " Backus , a widow with a daughter , Harriet . The couple had a further four girls and three boys . The first boy , Charles Fortescue , was born on 27 September 1791 . Charlotte ( born 1793 ) and Appolonia ( born 1794 ) were the last members of this branch of the Ingersoll family to be born in Massachusetts . Thomas helped suppress Shays ' Rebellion in 1786 , which earned him the rank of major , but in the years following , he witnessed and was offended by the continuing persecution of Loyalists . He realized that in the depressed economic conditions that followed the Revolutionary War , and with his own deep debts , he was unlikely to see his former prosperity again . In 1793 , Thomas met in New York City with Mohawk leader Joseph Brant , who offered to show him the best land for settlement . He and four associates travelled to Upper Canada to petition Lieutenant Governor John Simcoe for a land grant . They received in the Thames Valley , and founded Oxford - on - the - Thames ( later known as Ingersoll , Ontario ) , on condition that they populate it with forty other families within seven years . After winding up their affairs in Great Barrington , the Ingersoll family moved to Upper Canada in 1795 . Upper Canada , marriage and children . Thomas Ingersoll supported his family in their early years in Upper Canada by running a tavern in Queenston while land was being cleared and roads built in the settlement . The family stayed in Queenston until a log cabin was completed on the settlement in 1796 . After Simcoe returned to England in 1796 , opposition grew in Upper Canada to the " Late Loyalists " such as Thomas who had arrived in Canada for the land grants . The grants were greatly reduced , and Thomas ' s contract was cancelled for not having all of its conditions fulfilled . Feeling cheated , in 1805 he moved the family to Credit River , close to York ( present - day Toronto ) , where he successfully ran an inn until his 1812 death following a stroke . Sally continued to run it until her own death in 1833 . Laura remained in Queenston when the family moved . She married the wealthy James Secord , likely in June 1797 . The Secord family originated in France , where the name was spelled " D ' Secor " or " Sicar " . Five Secord brothers , who were Protestant Huguenots , fled from persecution in France and founded New Rochelle , New York in 1688 . At the time of the American Revolution , Loyalist members of the family anglicized their surname to " Secord " . The Secord couple lived in a house built in , the first floor of which was a shop . Secord gave birth to her first child , Mary , in St . in 1799 . Mary was followed by Charlotte ( 1801 ) , Harriet ( 10 February 1803 ) , Charles Badeau ( 1809 — the only male child ) and Appolonia ( 1810 ) . War of 1812 . James Secord served in the 1st Lincoln Militia under Isaac Brock when the War of 1812 broke out . He was amongst those who helped carry away Brock ' s body after Brock was killed in the first attack of the Battle of Queenston Heights in October 1812 . James himself was severely wounded in the leg and shoulder during the battle . Laura heard of his predicament and rushed to his side . Some sources suggest that she found three American soldiers preparing to beat him to death with their gunstocks . She begged them to save her husband ' s life , reportedly offering her own in return , when American Captain John E . Wool happened upon the situation and reprimanded the soldiers . This story may have been a later embellishment and may have originated with her grandson , James B . Secord . When the Secords arrived home , they found that the house had been looted in Laura ' s absence . Spending the winter in St . , Laura spent the next several months nursing her wounded husband back to health . On 27 May 1813 , the American army launched an attack across the Niagara River , and captured Fort George . Queenston and the Niagara area fell to the Americans . Men of military age were sent as prisoners to the U . S . , though the still - recuperating James Secord was not among them . That June , a number of U . S . soldiers were billet ed at the Secords ' home . Secord ' s walk . On the evening of 21 June , Laura Secord learned of plans for a surprise American attack on British troops led by Lieutenant James FitzGibbon at Beaver Dams , which would have furthered American control in the Niagara Peninsula . It is unclear how she became aware of these plans . According to tradition she overheard a conversation amongst the billeted Americans as they ate dinner . As her husband was still recovering from his October injuries , Secord set out herself early the next morning to warn the Lieutenant . She reportedly walked from present - day Queenston through St . , Homer , Shipman ' s Corners and Short Hills at the Niagara Escarpment before she arrived at the camp of allied Mohawk warriors who led her the rest of the way to FitzGibbon ' s headquarters at the DeCew House . A small British force and a larger contingent of Mohawk warriors were then readied for the American attack . Most of the American forces were casualties or taken prisoner in the Battle of Beaver Dams on 24 June . No mention of Secord was made in reports that immediately followed the battle . Post - war years . After the war , with the Secords ' Queenston store in ruins , the family was impoverished . Only James ' s small war pension and the rent from 200 acres of land they had in Grantham Township supported them . The Secords ' sixth child , Laura Anne , was born in October 1815 , and their last child , Hannah , was born in 1817 . The Secords ' eldest daughter Mary wedded a doctor , William Trumball , on 18 April 1816 . On 27 March 1817 , Mary gave birth in Ireland to Elizabeth Trumball , the first of Laura and James ' s grandchildren . Mary had another daughter , also named Mary , in Jamaica , and brought her children back to Queenston with her in 1821 following her husband ' s death . The struggling James petitioned the government in 1827 for some sort of employment . Lieutenant - Governor Peregrine Maitland did not offer him a position , but offered something to Laura . He asked her to be in charge of the yet - to - be - completed Brock ' s Monument . At first , she turned it down , but then reluctantly accepted it . When Brock ' s Monument opened in 1831 , Secord learned the new Lieutenant - Governor , John Colborne , intended to give the keys to the widow of a member of the monument committee who had died in an accident . On 17 July 1831 , Secord petitioned Colborne to honour Maitland ' s promise , and included another certificate from FitzGibbon attesting her contribution to the war . She wrote that Colonel Thomas Clarke had been told by Maitland , " it was too late to think of [ the committee member ' s widow ] Mrs . Nichol as I have pledged my word to Mrs . Secord that as soon as possible she should have the key . " Despite her pleas , Secord did not receive the keys to the monument . In 1828 , the Secords ' daughter , Appolonia , died at 18 of typhus , and James was appointed registrar of the Niagara Surrogate Court . He was promoted to judge in 1833 , and his son Charles Badeau took over the registrar position . Charles Badeau ' s first son , Charles Forsyth Secord , was born 9 May 1833 . His is the only line of Secords that survived into the 21st century . James became a customs collector in 1835 at the port of Chippawa . The position came with a home in Chippawa , into which the family moved . Charles Badeau took over the Queenston home . Daughter Laura Ann and her son moved into the home in 1837 following her husband ' s death . Later life and death . James Secord died of a stroke on 22 February 1841 . He was buried , according to his wishes , at Drummond Hill ( now in Niagara Falls ) . James ' s death left Laura destitute . His war pension came to an end , and she was unable to keep the land that she still had profitable , and sold off much of it . Governor - General Sydenham denied a 27 February 1841 petition she sent for her son to take over James ' s customs position . Sydenham also denied a petition she sent that May for a pension for herself , as James had already received a pension for decades . Possibly with help from better - off members of the family , Secord moved to a red brick cottage on Water Street in November 1841 . Daughter Harriet and her own two daughters joined her in May 1842 , after the alcohol poisoning death of Harriet ' s husband . The three would stay with Secord for the rest of her life . Youngest daughter Hannah also moved in when she was widowed in 1844 , and brought two daughters with her . Though she lacked training , for a short time Secord ran a small school out of the home in an effort to support herself . This venture came to an end when the public common school system was introduced in the 1840s . Over the years , the Secords unsuccessfully petitioned the government for some kind of acknowledgement . In 1860 , when Secord was 85 , the Prince of Wales , who later became King Edward VII , heard of her story while travelling in Canada . At Chippawa , near Niagara Falls , he was made aware of Laura Secord ' s plight as an aging widow and sent an award of £100 . It was the only official recognition that she received during her lifetime . Laura Secord died in 1868 at the age of 93 . She was interred next to her husband in the Drummond Hill Cemetery in Niagara Falls . Her grave is marked by a monument with a bust on top , and is close to a monument marking the Battle of Lundy ' s Lane . The inscription on her grave marker reads : Memory and legend . Her granddaughter described Secord as being with brown eyes and a fair complexion . James FitzGibbon wrote she was " of slight frame and delicate appearance " . She was skilled at needlework , dressmaking and cooking . According to biographer Peggy Dymond Leavey , her many grandchildren enjoyed hearing their grandmother tell stories of her early life , and her Anglican faith increased with age . In his report of the battle , FitzGibbon stated only that he " received information " about the threat ; it is possible he omitted mention of Secord to protect her family during wartime . He first wrote of Secord in a certificate dated 26 February 1820 , in support of a petition by her husband for a licence to operate a stone quarry in Queenston . In 1827 FitzGibbon wrote : FitzGibbon wrote in a certificate dated 23 February 1837 that Secord did " acquaint " him with the Americans ' intentions , but does not state whether he used the information . A diary entry of Mohawk chief John Norton talks of " a loyal Inhabitant brought information that the Enemy intended to attack " , but does not name the " Inhabitant " . Dominique Ducharme , leader of the Caughwanaga Mohawks in the Battle of Beaver Dams , made no mention of Secord in his reports , nor of receiving information from either Secord or FitzGibbon about the impending American attack . Secord wrote two accounts of her walk , the first in 1853 , and the second in 1861 . Neither account contains details that can be corroborated with military accounts of the battle , such as specific dates or details about troops . Her account changed throughout her life . Historian Pierre Berton noted that she never stated clearly how she learned of the impending attack . She told FitzGibbon that her husband had learned about it from an American officer , but years later told her granddaughter that she had overheard the plans directly from the American soldiers billeted in her home . Berton suggested that Secord ' s informant could have been an American still residing in the United States , who would have been charged with treason had Secord revealed her source . In the 1860s , as Secord ' s story gained prominence , historian William Foster Coffin added new details , which included the claim that Laura had brought a cow with her as an excuse to leave her home in case the American patrols questioned her . A number of writers have questioned Secord ' s story . William Stewart Wallace , in his 1932 book , " The Story of Laura Secord : A Study in Historical Evidence " , concluded her story was mostly myth , and that she played no significant role in the outcome of the Battle of Beaver Dams . Historian George Ingram contended in his 1965 book " The Story of Laura Secord Revisited " that Secord ' s debunking had been taken too far . Ruth MacKenzie also burnished Secord ' s reputation with " Laura Secord : The Legend and the Lady " in 1971 . The question of Secord ' s actual contribution to the British success has been contested . In the early 1920s , historians suggested that Native scouts had already informed FitzGibbon of the coming attack well before Secord had arrived on 23 June . Historian Ernest Cruikshank wrote in 1895 that " Scarecely had Mrs Secord concluded her narrative , when [ Ducharme ' s ] scouts came in . . . they had encountered the advance guard of the enemy . " Later , two testimonials were found which FitzGibbon wrote in 1820 and 1827 , which supported Secord ' s claim . FitzGibbon asserted that Laura Secord had arrived on 22 June ( not 23 June ) , and that " in consequence of this information " he had been able to intercept the American troops . Legacy . Historian Cecilia Morgan argues that the Secord story became famous in the 1880s when upper - class women sought to strengthen the emotional ties between Canadian women and the British Empire . She writes that they needed a female heroine to validate their claims for women ' s suffrage . The first product of their campaign was Sarah Anne Curzon ' s verse drama " Laura Secord : The Heroine of 1812 " in 1887 . The play was responsible for " a deluge of articles and entries on Secord that filled Canadian histories and school textbooks at the turn of the 20th century " . Although critics gave the play negative reviews , it was the first full work devoted to her story and popularized her image . Secord has been compared to Québécois heroine Madeleine de Verchères and to American Revolution hero Paul Revere . Her story has been retold and commemorated by generations of biographers , playwrights , poets , novelists and journalists . After she discovered a newspaper clipping of the story , early feminist Emma Currie began a lifelong interest in Secord ' s life . After she tracked down information from relatives as far away as Great Barrington , she published a biographical account in 1900 called " The Story of Laura Secord " , and later successfully petitioned to have a Secord memorial erected in Queenston Heights . The cut stone granite monument stands and was dedicated in 1901 . In 1905 , her portrait was hung in Parliament . Playwright Merrill Denison made a radio play of her story in 1931 which mixed serious history with parody . On the centennial of her walk in 1913 , and to capitalize on Canadian patriotic feelings , Frank O ' Connor founded Laura Secord Chocolates . The chain ' s first location opened on Yonge and Elm Streets in Toronto . The chocolates came in black boxes adorned with a cameo of Secord . By the 1970s , the company had become the largest candy retailer in Canada . Amongst most Canadians , the name Laura Secord is more strongly associated with the chocolate company than the historical figure . The Secords ' Queenston homestead was fired upon and looted during the War of 1812 . Restored and given to the Niagara Parks Commission in 1971 , it is now a museum and gift shop at Partition and Queen streets in Queenston . Thomas Ingersoll ' s old home on Main Street in Great Barrington , Massachusetts , was used as the town ' s Free Library from 1896 until 1913 , after which the Mason Library was built on the site . The Great Barrington Historic District Commission made 18 October 1997 Laura Secord Day , and dedicated a plaque in her honour before Mason Library . Laura Secord is the namesake of a number of schools , including Laura Secord Public School ( also known as Laura Secord Memorial School , 1914 – 2010 ) in Queenston , École Laura Secord School in Winnipeg , Manitoba ( built 1912 ) , and Laura Secord Elementary School in Vancouver , British Columbia . Beaver Dams Battlefield Park has a plaque dedicated to Secord . In 1992 , Canada Post issued a Laura Secord commemorative stamp . In 2003 , the Minister of Canadian Heritage declared Secord a " Person of National Historical Significance " , and in 2006 Secord ' s was one of fourteen statues dedicated at the Valiants Memorial in Ottawa . To commemorate the 200th anniversay of her walk , Secord ' s image adorned a circulation quarter issued by the Royal Canadian Mint and a postage stamp from Canada Post .