nally chartered under his direction. The canal
itself opened six years later among great cere-
mony, and Merritt began toying with the
grandiose idea of a system of canals along the
St. Lawrence River, linking the Great Lakes to
the Atlantic Ocean. However, this mode of
transportation was shortly superseded by the
invention of railroads. Merritt, given his open-
minded approach, readily embraced the new
technology, and he began promoting plans for
the first international suspension bridge over
Niagara Gorge to directly link Canada to the
United States. The rail link was completed in
1855, and the two nations have enjoyed close
and profitable economic ties ever since. Mer-
ritt also pursued politics to advance his plans,
and he served as president of the Executive
Council of the Province of Canada and on the
Legislative Council of Canada. By the time he
died on July 5, 1862, at Cornwall, West
Canada, Merritt was openly hailed as the fa-
ther of Canadian transportation. In many re-
spects the various systems he built and advo-
cated anticipated the opening of the St.
Lawrence Seaway in 1958, again with consid-
erable economic success for Canada.
Bibliography
Bassett, John M. William Hamilton Merritt: Canada’s
Father of Transportation. Don Mills, Ontario:
Fitzhenry and Whiteside, 1974; Gillham, Skip. “The
Marvelous Welland Canal.” Inland Seas52 (1996):
88–99; Gray, William M. Soldiers of the King: The
Upper Canada Militia, 1812–1815; a Reference
Guide.Erin, Ontario: Boston Mills Press, 1995; Mer-
ritt, Jedediah P. Biography of the Honorable
William H. Merritt, M.P. of Lincoln District of Nia-
gara.St. Catharines, Ontario: E. S. Leavenworth,
Book and Job Printing Establishment, 1875; Merritt,
William H.Journal of Events Principally on the De-
troit and Niagara Frontiers During the War of
1812.St. Catharines, Ontario: C.W. Historical Soci-
ety, B.N.A., 1863; Sheppard, George. “Deed Speak:
Militiamen, Medals, and the Invented Traditions of
1812.” Ontario History83 (1990): 207–232; St. Denis,
Guy. “An Erie Canal for Western Upper Canada: A
Forgotten Episode in Ontario’s Transportation Evo-
lution.” Ontario History85, no. 3 (1993): 231–250;
Styran, Roberta M. The Welland Canals: The Growth
of Mr. Merritt’s Ditch.Toronto: Stoddart, 1986;
William, Jack. Merritt: A Canadian Before His
Time.St. Catharines, Ontario: Stonehouse Publica-
tions, 1985.MICANOPY
Micanopy
(ca. 1780–January 2, 1849)
Seminole Head Chief
P
hysically unimpressive but wise in
council, Micanopy was a principal
tribal leader of Florida’s Second Semi-
nole War. Having surrendered to the enemy,
he resigned himself to relocation and encour-
aged a new way of life for his people in dis-
tant Oklahoma.
Micanopy (also known as Halputta Hadjo,
or “Crazy Alligator”) was born probably
around 1780 in the vicinity of St. Augustine,
Florida. The Seminole people to which he be-
longed had only briefly before been part of
the Lower Creek nation of southern Alabama
and were still evolving as a distinct culture.
They were also unique among Native Ameri-
cans on account of their treatment of African
Americans. Given their close proximity to
southern slave-owning states, Florida became
a haven for escaped slaves, and many settled
among the Seminoles. Runaways were still re-
ferred to as slaves and required to work, but
they enjoyed a measure of freedom and dig-
nity not accorded them in white society. Fur-
thermore, intermarriage was commonplace,