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It all goes back to the War of 1812, when the U.S. was only three dozen years old and modern Canada was long from being even a glimmer in the eye of its founding prime minister (In fact, John A. Macdonald was just a newborn when the war officially ended in 1815.)

The war opened badly when some 1,700 American troops arrived at York — then the capital of Upper Canada and now pc28����— in 16 ships on April 27, 1813. The Americans occupied the town for six days, setting fire to public buildings, including Parliament, before they left.

In the end, things righted themselves for the early “Canadian” side, backed by the might of the British military and its First Nations allies, and the war concluded with the invading Americans fleeing without gaining an inch of Canadian soil.

Here are four historic monuments to Canadian toughness in the War of 1812, all within a couple of hours’ drive of Toronto.

The Battle of Queenston Heights — Oct. 13, 1812

14184 Niagara River Parkway, Niagara Falls

The monument to fallen British General Sir Isaac Brock towers over the village of Queenston and the American side across the Niagara River.

Brock was an early casualty after 1,000 Americans flooded across the river just before dawn on Oct. 13, 1812.

Brock was an easy target when he marched directly into gunfire raining down from the top of the escarpment and was shot dead. It didn’t help that he was wearing a red uniform and was tall, at six-foot-two.

A second effort to take the heights — immortalized in — was rebuffed before ally and Mohawk chief , or John Norton, came up with a different plan. He and his men climbed the escarpment west of Queenston and quietly advanced on the Americans on a hidden trail, under cover of the woods.

The escarpment was won back by Teyoninhokarawen and fellow Mohawk chief , or John Brant, and 80 Haudenosaunee and Delaware warriors, bolstered by Loyalist troops, including 50 Black volunteers.

Some of those Black troops were veterans of the American Revolution, who had fought for Britain and moved north for freedom.

The American leader signalled surrender by waving a white handkerchief.

Three hundred American invaders were killed or wounded, including some who drowned trying to swim back to New York. That’s compared to 105 British, militia and First Nations killed on the British side.

Bitter feelings lingered in the area. The first Brock monument was blown apart by dynamite in 1840. A second monument was built in 1852, even taller — and even more visible from the American side.

The Battle of Stoney Creek — June 5-6, 1813

77 King St. W., Stoney Creek

Nineteen-year-old Billy (The Scout) Green was born in the Stoney Creek area, the son of United Empire Loyalists who moved north after The American Revolution.

As legend goes, Billy earned his nickname by scouting for American invaders in the Stoney Creek area and riding his brother’s horse, Tip, to nearby Burlington Heights, in what is now the in Hamilton, to warn the British there.

Billy then led the British forces, which included Indigenous warriors, past sentries, to launch a nighttime surprise attack on the Americans.

The British side captured two American generals and two field guns and drove the invading forces back.

The battle took place at the Gage homestead in a Stoney Creek neighbourhood which now has proud names like Battlefield Drive and Battlefield Family Dental.

Billy was honoured in his own Stan Rogers song; the singer : “They fired their pop gun muskets once and then they ran away.”

Laura Secord’s home and the Battle of Beaver Dams — June 24, 1813

29 Queenston St., Queenston, Niagara-on-the-Lake

The old homestead of Laura Ingersoll Secord (1775-1868), is just 10 minutes or so by car from Brock’s monument.

The Secords were forced to billet American officers in their home, which is how Laura overheard the invaders in June 1813, discussing their plans to ambush a nearby British outpost at Beaver Dams.

They grossly underestimated her with their loose talk — by this time, Laura had already proven her mettle, rescuing her fallen husband James Secord, a sergeant with the 1st Lincoln Militia, from the battlefield after the Battle of Queenston Heights, and nursing him back to health.

Laura was aided by First Nations warriors as she walked 30 kilometres through American lines and rough bush to warn Lieutenant James FitzGibbon near Thorold.

The American forces were later ambushed and forced to surrender at Beaver Dams nearby, and .

The Battle of Lundy’s Lane — July 25, 1814

6085 Lundy’s Lane, Niagara Falls

There are plenty of fast food restaurants and motels today , as well as an arch over the street, depicting soldiers from long ago fighting.

There’s also a graveyard, the Drummond Hill Cemetery, with weathered headstones for men killed in the Battle of Lundy’s Lane, when Americans made one more stab at invasion.

Amongst those graves is that of Laura Secord, who lived until long after the war.

The Battle of Lundy’s Lane was particularly bitter, fought at close range and after dark. It lasted five hours, as about 3,000 soldiers on the British side faced 2,800 Americans.

Nearly 250 men were killed, and a thousand wounded.

After the battle, the Americans retreated to Fort Erie, giving up their plans to capture Fort George, in what is now Niagara-on-the-Lake and Burlington Heights, in what is now Hamilton.

The burning of the White House — Aug. 24, 1814 

1600 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, Washington

Finally, here’s one monument to beating the U.S. that you needn’t visit — after all, the Americans have since reclaimed Washington after losing it briefly in 1814.

Washington was under British control for 26 hours toward the end of the War of 1812, marking the only time a foreign power occupied the American capital.

The British Army marched on Washington on Aug. 24, 1814 — partly in retaliation for the attack on York a year before.

The British set fire to the presidential mansion and Washington Navy Yard, forcing President James Madison to flee to Brookeville, Maryland, where he spent the night in the home of a Quaker.

The fires were put out by rain and a violent storm, and Madison returned after the British left.

Whitewash was applied to cover up the scorch marks and since then, Madison’s residence has been known as the White House.

Trump reportedly commented on the blaze in May 2018, during a not-so-friendly exchange with former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

“Didn’t you guys burn down the White House?” Trump asked.