The Baird family’s place in Paris’s military history

194 Grand River Street N Paris

Neil Edwards

Paris Independent Contributor

Homes of Heroes has been busy continuing to research the military heroes who have come from Paris. Our focus last year was on Second World War veterans and this year, our main focus has been on First World War veterans, partly because we want to preserve those stories while they are still available. But we thought readers might be interested in two Parisians, father and son, whose military service began 160 years ago, and had a direct connection to Paris.

Andrew Hugh Baird married Cynthia Cole Capron, the daughter of Horace Capron, the brother of Hiram Capron, who is the founder of Paris. Andrew Baird was at one time the mayor of Paris and the owner of the Wincey Textile Mills. In the 1860s, he built a 15-room manor house at 194 Grand River Street North. (The house backed on to Broadway Street East, now renamed Baird Street.) It was one of the first three houses in the world to have a telephone. That was a direct result of the fact that the telephone call by Alexander Graham Bell from Brantford to Paris was the first long-distance telephone call ever made. Andrew also served in the militia. He became the 3rd Captain of the Paris Rifle Company and was gazetted, or appointed, to the 38th Brant Battalion in October 1866 at the time of the Fenian Raid of 1866. The Fenian Raid was an invasion of Canada West (now Ontario) by the Fenian Brotherhood, an Irish-American organization seeking to use Canada as leverage to gain Irish independence from Britain. The Brotherhood aimed to launch attacks on British territory in North America to achieve military victories that could be used to liberate Ireland. The American government at the time made little effort to prevent the attacks. They were thinking that a successful invasion might encourage the then British colonies to join the United States. (Maybe that hope never quite died.)

The plan was to attack from two directions, from Fort Erie in the east and Sarnia in the west. The town of Paris was a prime objective for the raiders because Paris was at the junction of two rail lines. The 38th Brant Battalion would have been responsible for defending that strategic target.  Fortunately, the attack from Sarnia never materialized, but the Fenian force, 700 to 800 men strong, crossed the Niagara River on June 1, 1866. They tore up railway tracks, cut telegraph lines and occupied Fort Erie, but were repelled by Canadian and British militia and indigenous fighters at the Battle of Ridgeway.  Although the Fenians were unsuccessful, their raids highlighted the vulnerability of British North America and only strengthened support for Canadian Confederation in 1867. Elbows up! 

Andrew’s son, Charles Baird, was born in Paris in 1859. He joined the Queen’s Own Rifles of Canada as a Private in about 1879. By 1882 he was a Corporal and by 1885 he had been promoted to Sergeant. He was commissioned in April 1885 as a Second Lieutenant (Provisional), and soon after was headed west as part of the Northwest Field Force which was assembled to quell the uprising in Saskatchewan, commonly referred to as the North-West Rebellion or the North-West Resistance, depending on who is telling the story.

Metis in Saskatchewan as well as Indigenous Nations, mainly Cree and Assiniboine, felt threatened by the advancement of European settlers onto their traditional land and organized an armed rebellion against the Government of Canada. They were led by the Metis leaders Louis Riel and Gabriel Dumont. The rebels achieved several victories in the beginning, due in large part to the strategies of Gabriel Dumont. He is seen by many historians as the first military leader to use guerilla tactics in warfare. The tide of battle turned, however, when the government force of 5,500 men, including the North-West Mounted Police, armed loyal residents of the North-West Territories and militia units from Ontario and Quebec, including the Queen’s Own Rifles and Charles Baird, arrived in the West. They were able to get to Saskatchewan quickly because the Canadian National Railroad had recently been completed. Government forces finally quashed the rebellion at the Battle of Batoche and Louis Riel was captured, placed on trial, convicted of treason, and hanged. Eight Indigenous leaders were also hanged with him and others served time in prison. 

And Charles Baird was promoted to full Lieutenant in March 1886. He retired from the militia with that rank in March 1891. He returned to Paris in 1922 after working in Toronto, to the family home at 194 Grand River Street North. He became the Vice-President and later President of the Paris Wincey Mills Company Limited, a position he held until the time of his death in 1947.

So, these days we know that these two conflicts, with our neighbours to the South and with relations with our indigenous peoples, are still unresolved, but this father and son from Paris played their part to protect and defend, just as men and women from our community have continued to do until today. If you can add to their stories, please contact us at info@homesofheroes.ca. We do not expect to collect many stories from the 19th century, but we know that there are people in Paris and the surrounding area who can help us to preserve the stories of our veterans, whether in war or in times of peace. All their stories deserve to be told.