The Amazing Journal of Andreas Korgto

Transcription of the video

Lietuvišką šio vaizdo įrašo versiją rasite čia: Nuostabus Andreas Korgto Dienoraštis

[The screen is dark. A title “Lithuanian Museum-Archives of Canada” gradually appears and then fades. A candle is lit and then is blown out. A piece of brown parchment with the title, “The Amazing Journal of Andreas Korgto”, appears on the screen.

A narrator, portraying the soldier, Andreas Korgto, begins:]

My name is Andreas Korgto.  I am 20 years old. I stand 162 cm. tall and I have brown hair and brown eyes.

[A map of a portion of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania is displayed. The map is moved until a red dot marking the village of Skrebėnai is displayed.]

I was born in Skrebėnai in Jonava county in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. I am in prison now. The guard has given me some paper. It is time to start a journal and tell my story.

[A map of Poland, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and Russia is displayed. Gradually the Grand Duchy disappears as Poland and Russia expand their borders.]

Lithuania is an old country and the boundaries have changed a lot over time. When I was a small child, the Polish Commonwealth and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania became part of Prussia and Russia and my country disappeared.

[A map of Europe appears showing the Kingdom of Prussia, Grand Duchy of Warsaw, the Austrian Empire and others.]

All over Europe countries were trying to gain territory and expand their empires. The strong countries were France, Britain and Russia. The weak countries like Austria, Switzerland, Italy, Spain and Portugal had to form alliances with the big countries or risk being swallowed up as armies overran their territory.

[An image of Napoleon’s camp on the shoreline of a river is displayed.]

In 1807, Napoleon, the emperor of France, made peace with Russia in the Treaty of Tilsit signed at Tilzė on the Nemunas River. The people of the Grand Duchy were happy. Napoleon promised us that we would be able to govern ourselves and form our own country again.

[Several images of soldiers who had signed up to fight in Napoleon’s army and a soldier in full gear are displayed.]

Many Lithuanians joined up when he asked for men to join his armies to aid his cause and I was one of them. I became a member of the Vistula Legion. We fought for Napoleon in Italy and Spain. We won many battles and lost a few

[Soldiers are shown on horseback.]

but Napoleon never gave us the independence he had promised. Many of us were disillusioned and some of us deserted the French and went over to the other side. I was not one of them but stayed with the Vistula Legion. And despite winning so many battles, some, like me, were captured by the British in Spain and Italy.

[Image of the scroll with the date August 10, 1810, Portsmouth, England written on it. Andreas Korgto continues.]

August 10th, 1810. Portsmouth, England.

[Image of a large old battleship with soldiers in smaller boats surrounding it is displayed.]

Our prison is an old ship, one of many in the harbour at the English city of Portsmouth.

[Image of prisoners in the hulk of the old ship with a guard watching over them is displayed.]

It is a horrible way to live: the ship is just an old hulk – dark, damp and dirty. It is cold in winter and there is never enough food to eat. Sometimes the guards are ok, but mostly they are cruel.

[Colourful image of British troops in their red uniforms is shown.]

I have heard that there is a way out of this filthy prison. The British are looking for men to serve in their army to fight for them. The recruiter for the foreign regiments will be here tomorrow. I already think I will join up. What do I have to lose?

[Image of scroll with the date August 11, 1810 written on it. Andreas Korgto continues.]

August 11, 1810.

[Coloured image of British troops in various regalia is displayed.]

The recruiter has been here and offered me a place in the de Watteville Regiment. He promised us food and proper clothing. There is even a regimental school where the men who don’t already know how will learn to read and write. After 7 years I will be able to go home if I want to. All I have to do is fight and that’s what I have been doing all my adult life.  First we will go to Sicily which is warm!

[Image of the scroll with April 6, 1813 and Spain written on it. Andreas Korgto continues.]

April 6, 1813. Spain.

[A map of the Atlantic Ocean and various ocean-crossing routes is displayed. An image of a ship is shown sailing from Europe to Canada.]

It has been almost three years since I joined the de Watteville Regiment. We have fought many battles in Italy and Spain but our seven years are not over and we still we aren’t going home. Instead, they have put us on ships at Cadiz and we are sailing to Canada. There is another war there, being fought between Britain and the United States. Our regiment has a good reputation. We fought well against Napoleon here in Spain in what the British call The Peninsular War. But Napoleon is losing now, and we can be better used in North America.

[A portrait of Louis de Watteville is shown.]

While we are sailing, I shall write a little about my regiment. It is owned by a wealthy man from Switzerland named Louis de Watteville so we are called the de Watteville Regiment.

[Image of soldiers in their red British uniforms is displayed]

Our officers are Swiss too but the ordinary soldiers are from everywhere in Europe: Italy, France, Russia, Germany, Poland and the Grand Duchy. The regiment has a contract to fight for the British as they do not have enough soldiers of their own to fight both Napoleon and the Americans.

[Image of two soldiers of the De Watteville Regiment is shown.]

There are lots of us Lithuanians here. Some of us were prisoners, some of us deserted Napoleon to join the British. That does not matter to our officers – they treat us all the same.

[British and American troops on the deck of an American ship are displayed.]

 The Americans declared this war because Britain has blocked French ports and American ships cannot get in to trade American goods.

[American prisoners under guard are shown crossing the plank onto a British ship.]

Even though Britain lost the American Revolution, the British still stop American ships in international waters and remove American sailors who might have deserted from the British Navy.

[Meeting of an indigenous messenger with British troops inside a building is displayed]

The Americans want to expand into the West where they want to stop British who are supporting the indigenous peoples by supplying arms to the tribes.

[Map of Canada showing Lake Erie and Lake Ontario and the rest of the Great Lakes display how immense Canada is.]

I’ve looked at a map. Canada is huge. How are we going to defend this land? There are not many roads, perhaps we will just sail up the St. Lawrence River to Lake Ontario?

[Image of the scroll date June 7, 1813 City of Quebec. Andreas Korgto continues.]

June 7th, 1813. Quebec City, Lower Canada.

[An image of Quebec City is shown towering above the St. Laurence River with ships.]

I am usually not lucky but today is different. Today we arrived at Quebec City. The voyage over was pretty calm and we were soon over our seasickness.

[A coloured image of the port in Halifax is shown with sailboats, ships and canoes.]

We stopped at Halifax first but we stayed only a week and then we set sail again.

[A coloured image of  storm clouds gathering on the horizon.]

This time we hit a storm and we lost sight of the other ships but eventually we all got safely to Quebec.

[A map of Kingston and its fortifications is shown]

But no fun for us. We are now going to Kingston in Upper Canada where we will be building fortifications at Point Henry.

[A coloured painting of the rapids in the St. Lawrence River and the tree-filled shoreline are shown.]

The St. Lawrence River is full of rapids. The officers plan to sail as far as they can but we will still be marching 290 km. It seems we spend our whole lives stuck on ships or marching . . .

[An aerial map of the route along which the troops marched from Montreal to Kingston shows footprints moving as they progress.]

October 5th, 1813. Kingston, Upper Canada.

Horrible news! My friends Michael Paulus and Michael Dabusevicius have been captured by the Americans.

[Scroll showing October 5, 1813 Kingston. Andreas Korgto continues.]

They were in the flank companies sent to York because the Americans were going to invade again. When they got to York the information had changed.

[A coloured picture of the Town of York with a boat and ship on the shoreline is shown.]

The American soldiers were collecting at Sackets Harbor, across Lake Ontario from us here in Kingston.

[A map of Lake Ontario showing Sacket’s Harbour on the American side and Kingston on the British side is displayed.]

So the flank companies were immediately sent back by small ship. Escort ships which would have protected them did not arrive in time and the Americans captured all the transport ships except for one. Only 44 men escaped.

[A drawing shows the American ships engaging the transport ships.]

We hear that the rest of them have been marched to a prison depot at Pittsfield in Massachusetts. This is a bad thing for us. The flank companies were the best soldiers in the regiment. Some were the big men we use for assaults, and the others small fast ones we use as scouts.

[An image of the document from the prison depot in Massachussetts is displayed.]

They will be reforming these companies, perhaps I will try for a place.

[A coloured image of the British troops readying their guns for an assault is displayed.]

[(First image) An image of the scroll with the date May 8, 1814 and Kingston is shown.
(Second image) An image of the town and fortifications in Kingston is shown.
]

May 8th, 1814. Kingston, Upper Canada.

So much has happened since I last wrote in this journal. Adam Sacolsky died and six of the Grand Duchy soldiers have deserted. They probably went to the United States — it is so close to us here in Kingston.

[An image shows the construction of Fort Henry.]

We’ve been working on the fort at Point Henry. It is hard, boring work but we will be safer when it is finished.

I can’t sleep tonight – we’ve just won the shortest battle we’ve ever fought.

[An image shows the British troops sailing across Lake Ontario to attack the Americans in Oswego.]

Five days ago, we went on board ship to sail across the lake to attack the Americans at their fort at Oswego New York. Even though Oswego is close to Kingston it took us more than a day to get there because the winds were not in our favour. Then there was a long delay while we prepared for battle the evening of May 5th. We could see the Americans in the fort madly packing up supplies and moving them away so we couldn’t capture them.

[The image shows British ships attacking the fort.]

A storm blew up and we were blown offshore again. The navy was finally able to move us in close around noon the next day. Then into small boats which headed in at the bottom of the hill where the fort was. We had to get out the boats and wade through waist deep water. That wet our gunpowder so some of our muskets did not work. But no matter — Colonel Fischer led us in and in 15 minutes it was over.

[An image of the battle shows a wounded soldier being carried to a boat.]

We had won! We lost a few men. My friend Gottfried Hillert was wounded in the battle and even though he was carried to a boat he did not survive. He would have been so proud of our victory.

[An image of the scroll displays the date August 14, 1814 Fort Erie. Andreas Korgto continues.]

August 14th, 1814. Outside Fort Erie, Upper Canada.

It is three months since I last wrote in my diary. As I write this it is the day before our next big battle.

[The image shows the entrance gate to Fort Erie.]

We are camped in the woods near Fort Erie close to Lake Erie and the Niagara River in Upper Canada. A month ago the Americans captured the Fort and now we have to get it back. We have been camped here for several days waiting for the Americans to come out and fight.

[An image shows the camp of the British troops in the woods outside Fort Erie.]

Living conditions outside the fort are pretty bad – it’s been raining all summer and many of us are sick. The English complain a lot and aren’t very good at camping this way, but we Lithuanians have done well. We gather herbs in the woods and make soup with the small amount of food the British can give us.

[An image shows living conditions in the darkness of the camp outside Fort Erie.]

We’ve already been attacked by the Americans several times. Anton Kassidka, who is one of the GDLs was killed. But, we have been able to put our cannon in the woods and use them to keep the Americans inside the fort until we are ready. But now is the time to take the fort back in battle.

[(First image) The coloured image shows the British troops firing their guns and cannon.
(Second image) The coloured image shows a portrait of British Lieutenant General Drummond.]

Rumours are flying through the camp. The British commander, Lt. General Drummond, does not trust us – quite a few soldiers have had enough and have deserted to the Americans. My friends Jacob, Mathias and Anton have disappeared this way. Drummond doesn’t trust us at all and has told us we may not have the flintlocks for our muskets – he’s afraid we will ruin the attack’s surprise by firing as we advance.

[The black and white image shows troops in battle firing their cannon.]

He expects us to attack the Americans only with our bayonets. We de Wattevilles are a proud lot and much better soldiers than Drummond knows. When our Colonel, Viktor Fischer, asked us to volunteer for a mission so dangerous it is called a “Forlorn Hope” so many of us stepped forward that he had his choice of who to take.

[The black and white image shows the layout of the Fort and the plan of attack to mount the steep hill.]

This suicide mission will go around to the river side of the fort and attack up a slope to take the American guns at the top of the hill. Colonel Fischer will take the rest of us to attack the southern end of the fort. To cross the walls, we’ve been given ladders to use climb up and over.

[The coloured image shows the British troops in battle at dusk.]

It’s dark now, almost 2am. Time to go….

[An image of the scroll shows the date August 15, 1814, Fort Erie. Andreas Korgto continues.]

August 15th, 1814.  Outside Fort Erie.

[A coloured image shows Fort Erie under attack – the smoke-filled sky orange from the fire.]

The battle is over and we are back in the woods. We lost so many men,

[A coloured image shows fallen British troops at Fort Erie.]

not just we Lithuanians but the British too. The Americans knew we were coming and were ready for us.

[The coloured image shows the British troops scaling the walls of Fort Erie by ladder.]

Our ladders were too short and it was almost impossible to attack in the south. We tried 5 times and failed

[The coloured drawing shows the American and British troops in battle on the river side of the Fort.]

so Colonel Fischer took us round to the river side of the fort and we got mixed up with the Forlorn Hope. Some of our men were swept into the river in the dark. Seven of our GDL friends are missing and we think they may have become American prisoners. Remember the two Michaels who were captured with the flank companies? They’ve been captured again.

[The image shows a portrait of Drummond]

 Despite all this Drummond is blaming us! He should think about his plan for this battle. It was he who put us in such danger.

[A coloured image of the British troops by the walls of Fort Erie.]

The Americans still have the fort; we are out of supplies. I hear that Drummond is going to give up and start the retreat from here. It cannot come fast enough.

[The image of the scroll shows the date September 18, 1814 Fort Erie. Andreas Korgto continues.]

September 18th, 1814. Still outside Fort Erie.

[A drawing shows British soldiers eating inside their camp in the woods outside of the fort.]

We are still in the woods. We are ready to go to Fort George for the winter but the carts have not arrived to take our gear.

[The coloured photograph shows the British soldiers marching.]

Yesterday was a terrible day. We de Wattevilles were guarding the camp in the pouring rain.

[The coloured photograph shows volley fire from British troops to counter the American attack.]

Suddenly, out of nowhere, the Americans attacked us. The fighting was hard – they were so strong. Joseph Mantel was killed and Thomas Rosseck took a musket ball in his left leg. Nine more GDLs, including Adam Matiosaidis, became American prisoners. But the English came to help and the Americans were pushed back to the fort. It is a good thing we are leaving in the next couple of days.

{An image of the scroll shows the date January 1, 1815 Fort George. Andreas Korgto continues.]

January 1st, 1815. Fort George, Niagara-on-the-Lake, Upper Canada.

[The image shows a black and white map of Fort George in Niagara-on-the-Lake.] 

We are at Fort George.

[(First image) A coloured photograph shows a building inside Fort George housing soldiers in winter.
(Second image) A coloured photo shows a hearth with a fire burning inside and cooking utensils all around it.]

This Canadian winter is terribly cold and snowy. We stay close to the fire to stay warm and only go out to get more firewood – if we can find it.

[A drawing shows a meeting of very important gentlemen negotiating an end to the war in a grand room with chandeliers.]

But there is a rumour that peace has been negotiated and the war will finally be over. I have been fighting for so long. What will I do next? I only know how to be a soldier.

[An image of the scroll shows the date June 15, 1815, Kingston. Andreas Korgto continues.]

June 15th, 1816. Kingston, Upper Canada.

[A coloured painting of a settlement by a river shows lush greenery and mountains in the background.]

It is a long time since I wrote in this journal and so much has happened. The war is finally over. First we went to Sorel, near Montreal. There we waited for our friends who were prisoners to come back to the regiment. Then we marched back here to Kingston.

[A coloured photograph shows British troops on parade.]

 The regiment has been disbanded here in Canada. As of today I am no longer a soldier in the British Army. But I survived all the battles and I am a free man. Now I have a choice to make. The British will send me home to Lithuania if I want to go. But I have not been home since I was a teenager. Why would I go back there? My friends are all in the army here.

[(First image) The image shows a clipping from a newspaper announcing that discharge from military service is imminent.
(Second image) The image shows a newspaper article announcing One Hundred Acres of Land free to soldiers.]

The British have offered me a hundred acres of free land to farm here in Canada.

[A coloured photograph shows a winter scene of land overgrown with trees and shrubs.]

It’s all covered in trees that I would have to cut down and then I would have to grow a crop. I am not a farmer! I want more adventure than sitting and watching the wheat grow.

[A portrait of Lord Selkirk is displayed.]

When we were on our way to Montreal we ran into a Scotsman named Lord Selkirk.

[A coloured drawing shows a group of roughly dressed settlers landing on the shore of the Red River. The leader, in a red military uniform, is reading a document to the settlers and two Indians.]

He’s trying to create a settlement in the west and his people are being attacked by some fur traders from the North West Company who are competing against the Hudson’s Bay Company.

[A coloured watercolour shows settlers and fur traders shooting at each other.]

People are getting killed. He wants some of us to capture the Northwest Company’s trading post at Fort William to persuade the fur traders to stop attacking. Then we can escort the settlers west and get better land in his settlement. This sounds like an adventure worth doing!

[An image of the scroll shows the date July 23, 1821, Red River settlement. Andreas Korgto continues.]

July 23rd 1821. The Red River Colony.

[A black and white sketch shows a settlement surrounded by a high wooden fence.]

So much time has passed. We de Wattevilles and some old soldiers from the de Meuron regiment have been here in the Red River colony west of Canada for 5 years now.

[A black and white sketch shows a few settlers’ cabins in a cleared patch of forest.]

I would like to say it has been a good adventure but it hasn’t been. Watching wheat grow here is just as boring as I thought it would be back in Kingston.

[The image shows a painting of Fort William and settlement along a river.]

We did capture Fort William but the courts made us give it back.

[The image shows a black and white sketch of settlers and traders: a woman, two men, two children and a dog by the hearth.]

The settlers who we protect do not like us. They say we drink too much and we’re rowdy. They may be right. You have to do something for entertainment.

[The black and white image shows the Indian Chief Peguis’s mark of an animal as his signature on a document.]

And it is dangerous here. Although we have met the famous Indian Chief, Peguis, and Lord Selkirk has made a treaty with the tribes who live in this area, we are afraid of the

Indians as well as of the fur traders.

[A painting of a farmhouse, fields and ox pulling a cart along a muddy road in flat farmlands is displayed.]

Some of the Swiss and the de Meurons have already gone south to the Minnesota Territory of the United States where it might be safer.

[(First image) An image of the scroll shows the date June 24 1826 Red River settlement.
(Second image) A black and white drawing of houses engulfed by the flooded river waters with canoes sailing by.]

June 24th, 1826. The Red River Colony.

This will be the last entry in my Canadian journal.

This spring there was a great flood, the biggest ever seen in this area. My homestead was washed away. My cows, pigs and horses are all gone. The entire colony is completely covered in water. This is not the first time the Red River has flooded and it won’t be the last.

[A colored painting shows a man walking beside an ox-drawn cart with two passengers, plowing a field while an indigenous couple looks on.]

So, like so many of my friends I am going south to the Minnesota Territory to start over.

[(First image) An image shows a portrait of Napoleon.
(Second image) A second image shows prisoners on boats leaving the prison hulk.
(Third image) A third image shows ships approaching land.
(Fourth image) The fourth image is a portrait of Lord Selkirk.
(Fifth image) The fifth image shows a portrait of Chief Peguis.]

It has been an interesting time…fighting first for Napoleon and being captured, getting out of the prison hulk to fight for the British, then on a ship to Canada, fighting here and then meeting Lord Selkirk and Peguis and now I am starting again.

[The screen changes to show endless stalks of wheat, blowing in the wind.]

Who knows? Maybe watching wheat grow in Minnesota can be exciting?

The credits roll on the screen:

The Amazing Journal of Andreas Korgto, Private, de Watteville Regiment

Created By
Peg Perry
Lithuanian Museum-Archives of Canada

Animation/Graphics
Abbi Claire

Narrator
Bob Perry

Images, bande sonore et vidéo
Aaron Siler/Freesound.org
aent/Freesound.org
alienistcog/Freeound.org
Alexander Altenhof
Alexis Cabaret/cent.mont-saint-jean.com
antiqueprints.com
Archives of Ontario
Audio Mangler/Zapsplat
Bartje Bartmans/Youtube
Bergadder/Pixabay
Beta records
Bronwyn8/iStock
Byronabadia/Freesound.org
C Laforet/Freesound.org
cogitoandcradle/Freesound.org
Cosmo Condina North America / Alamy Stock Photo
Craig Smith
CW Jeffreys
David Rumsey Map Collection
de Watteville Family collection
Digital Archive,/Toronto Public Library
Digital Repository/Brock University
Esemon/Wikimedia Commons
Fillamaz
Gkillhour/Freesound.org
Graphics Division, Clements Library, University of Michigan
Hamilton/Halton/Brant Tourism
Jacqueline Pearce
Jeff Hottmann/Youtube
Jeff Tessier/Battlefield House Museum, Stoney Creek
Joe Ross Photography
Kazimierz Olszanski/Juliusz Kossak
Kingston Gazette/Vital Collections
Knotel
Library and Archives Canada
Library of Congress
lithuanianmaps.com
Louis de Beaufort
Manitoba Archives
Martyn Wyndham-Read
MootMcNoodles/Freesound.org
Musée national des beaux-arts du Québec
National Army Museum (UK)
National Gallery of Canada
National Library of Australia
Naval History and Heritage Command
NicStage/Freesound.org
Photawa/iStock
Ray Miller/Pixabay
Royal Military College of Canada
Sarah Brown/fortyfirst.org
Smithsonian American Art Museum
Suman Error/Pexels
Ted Douglas
University of Toronto
VectorStock
Versailles collection
west wolf/Zapsplat
Yale University Art Gallery

Music
Music original to the period

Grenadiers March
Marche de la Garde Consulaire à Marengo
Over the Water to Charlie
Roslin Castle
Yankee Doodle

—-

This video was made
with generous financial support from
The Lithuanian Canadian Foundation
]