James FitzGibbon (16 November 1780 – 10 December 1863) was a public servant, prominent freemason of the masonic lodge from 1822 to 1826 (holding the highest position in Upper Canada of deputy provincial grand master),[1] member of the Family Compact, and an Irish soldier in the British Army in Europe before and in the Canadas during the War of 1812[2] who received messages of warning from two Canadian folk heroes: Laura Secord (Ingersoll) and Billy Green.

FitzGibbon was "intensely loyal (to the crown) and had a keen mind, but lacked the formal education, wealth, and social background that would have enabled him to penetrate the ranks of office in the army or government".

Nevertheless, FitzGibbon is still noted as being "a conscientious, capable, and zealous public servant until he became overburdened with debt and grew obsessed by the injustice of the long delay in granting him his well-earned reward".

He apparently played a key role in the suppression of a near-mutiny at Fort George, Upper Canada[citation needed], but there is no mention of this in his official biography.

Three weeks later, he led 50 soldiers in guerrilla-style raids on a large American force that had captured Fort George on the Niagara Peninsula.

[7] This led to the Battle of Beaver Dams near present-day Thorold, Ontario, where FitzGibbon's force, together with about 400 Mohawk and Odawa warriors, defeated the Americans and took 462 prisoners.

[8] After FitzGibbon's involvement in the Battle of Beaver Dams, a local legend was created (perhaps by Mohawk Chief John Norton who was present at the time, perhaps by William Hamilton Merritt) and lamented through a piece of prose: "The Caughnawaga (Norton's troops, aka the Kahnawake) got the victory, the Mohawks got the plunder and FitzGibbon got the credit".

[10] In 1824 the Lieutenant-Governor of Upper Canada Peregrine Maitland sent FitzGibbon to negotiate an end to riots in the Bathurst District of York between Irish settlers and previous residents.

[11] From 1822 to 1826, FitzGibbon held the position of highest-ranking member of the Masonic lodge in Upper Canada as deputy provincial grand master.

The battle was won and both the physical building of Montgomery's Tavern and the home of a rebel named David Gibson were burned to the ground.

[3] There, FitzGibbon lived on a small allowance, in comfortable quarters provided by the crown, using his Canadian pension to pay off debts.

In 2003 his descendants donated some of his personal effects, including a signet ring and a ceremonial sword, to the Canadian War Museum in Ottawa.

[14] The book follows his interactions with fictional character Thomas Roberts, whom he takes under his wing during the events surrounding the Battle of Beaver Dams.