Herkimer's Bateaux Coy.

The bateaux was the pickup truck of the American Revolution and the War of 1812. Everything that needed to be carried and would fit on one of these agile workhorses was loaded on and moved. When the British used them to move into rebel territory they were frequently sunk with rocks and re-floated when the attacking company was on their return journey.

Bateaux are uniquely linked to the Loyalists of the Bay of Quinte, their movements during the American Revolution and their settlement of what became the Province of Ontario. In lists of Loyalist military units can be found references to Harkimer's Batteau Company (used as transport during St. Leger’s expedition), Van Alstine's Batteau Company (used as transport of wounded after Saratoga) and the Royal Bateaux Volunteers.

Herkimer’s Batteau Company refers to Capt. Hanyost Herchermer who settled at Herchemer’s Nose (now Lemoine’s Point) in Kingston Township. Capt. Herchemer’s grandson, Lawrence Herchemer, was a Commissioner of the North West Mounted Police.

Van Alstine's Batteau Company refers to Maj. Peter Vanalstine. The historic plaque at the U.E.L. Heritage Centre & Park in Adolphustown, Ontario reads: On June 16, 1784, a party of some 250 United Empire Loyalists landed from bateaux near this site and established the first permanent white settlement in Adolphustown Township. They had sailed from New York in the fall of 1783 under the leadership of Major Peter Van Alstine (1747-1811), a Loyalist of Dutch ancestry, and passed the winter at Sorel. Van Alstine was later appointed a justice of the peace, represented this area in the first Legislative Assembly of Upper Canada and built at Glenora the earliest grist-mill in Prince Edward County.

In the Old U.E.L. lists is found the name Jeptha Hawley , Cpt. of Batteaux. Hawley’s house ( c1785 ) is historically designated on the main street of Bath, Ontario (Loyalist Parkway) and is one the oldest inhabited dwellings in the province.
There were at least two black soldiers in Capt. Herchemer’s crew, George Minks, who settled in Camden East Township and later moved to Toronto, and Tanno Fonda also referred to as Janone Fundy.

Herkimer’s Bateaux Coy are a dedicated group of volunteers started operating reproduction revolution-era bateaux in 1999 when they acquired a 32-foot military style and a 17-foot Mohawk River style from Peter Ferri, a longtime battoeman and bateaux builder from Stockdale, Ontario.

In 2003, the group purchased the 27-foot Black Snake from the Thousand Islands River Heritage Society in Mallorytown, Ontario. The Black Snake usually uses 4 men as crew as well as a gunner operating a 1lb. swivel gun. More >>