the militia appeared gloomy and depressed. Vincent complained ruefully,
"it is with regret that I can neither report favorably of their numbers
nor of their willing co-operation. Every exertion has been used and
every expedient resorted to, to bring them forward and unite their
efforts to those of His Majesty's troops with but little effect, and
desertion beyond all conception continues to mark their indifference to
the important cause in which we are now engaged. In considering it my
duty to offer a fresh exposition of my sentiments to Your Excellency
respecting the militia of this Province, I must at the same time express
a belief that when the reinforcements reach this frontier, many of the
inhabitants who have been for some time wavering and appalled by the
specious show of the enemy's resources will instantly rally round the
standard of their King and country."
Lieut.-Colonel John Harvey, a very able and enterprising young officer,
who had lately joined General Vincent's division as Deputy Adjutant
General, earnestly advised that accurate information of the enemy's
numbers and designs should be secured at any cost, and then "by a series
of both active and offensive movements, they should be thrown on the
defensive no matter how superior their numbers might be." Had the whole
of the 8th Regiment arrived in time this might have been accomplished,
but two of its companies had been nearly annihilated at York, and the
march of the remainder very much delayed by the attack on that place.
As late however, as the 20th of May, we find Colonel Myers writing to
the Adjutant General in these terms. "It is not wise to hold an enemy
too cheap, but I cannot divest myself of the idea that the foe opposite
is despicable and that it would be no hard task to dislodge him from the
entire of his lines on the Niagara River. With some subordinate attacks
upon his flanks, I am of opinion that it would be an enterprise of
little hazard for us to get an establishment on the heights above
Lewiston, opposite Queenston. This once affected, I cannot but feel the
strongest confidence that we would in a short time effect the object so
much to be desired. It would be giving such a turn to the war that I
conceive it would strike terror to the enemy, which would produce the
happiest effects."
The return of the American fleet with a numerous body of regular troops
on board put an end to these rather fantastic schemes of conquest. At
daybreak on the 21st, no less than seventeen armed vessels, and upwards
of one hundred Durham boats and batteaux were seen assembled near the
mouth of the Four Mile Creek in rear of Fort Niagara, from which several
thousand men were speedily disembarked.
For several days these troops paraded ostentatiously in plain view
probably in the hope of overawing their opponents by the display of
numbers. Many workmen were seen at the same time busily occupied in
constructing new batteries along the river and building boats.
Reinforcements continued to arrive daily until it was supposed that
about 7000 soldiers were encamped between Lewiston and Fort Niagara.
This force was composed almost wholly of regular troops that had been in
service for some time and included nine of the best regiments of
infantry in the United States army. They were accompanied by a strong
regiment of heavy artillery, a well appointed field-train and a
battalion of dragoons.
Major-General Henry Dearborn who was in command had distinguished
himself in the Revolutionary war during which he had commanded a
regiment in Arnold's expedition against Quebec and in Sullivan's
campaign against the Six Nations. But he was now past sixty years of age
and in ill health.
The Secretary of War had warned him to be careful to employ a sufficient
force to ensure success. Seven thousand men was the number deemed
requisite. "If the first step in the campaign fails," he wrote
plaintively, "our disgrace will be complete. The public will lose
confidence in us. The party who first opens a campaign has many
advantages over his antagonist, all of which, however, are the results
of his being able to carry his whole force against part of the enemy's.
We are now in that state of prostration Washington was in after he
crossed the Delaware, but like him we may soon get on our legs if we are
able to give some hard blows at the opening of the campaign. In this we
cannot fail provided the force we employ against his western posts be
sufficiently heavy. They must stand or fall by their own strength. They
are perfectly isolated, send, then, a force that shall overwhelm them.
When the fleet and army are gone we have nothing at Sackett's Harbor to
guard. How would it read if we had another brigade at Sackett's Harbor
when we failed at Niagara?"
The undisturbed control of Lake Ontario by his fleet gave the American
general a still greater advantage than his numerical superiority. It was
understood that the British squadron would not be able to leave Kingston
for at least a week, but two small vessels were detached to watch that
port while the remainder assembled at Niagara to cover the landing.
Vincent was accordingly thrown entirely upon the defensive. Had he only
had Dearborn's army to contend with, superior as it was, he might have
entertained a reasonable hope of being able to maintain his position but
the presence of the fleet would enable his antagonist to select the
point of attack at will and even to land a force in his rear.
Nor were the fortifications along the river in a satisfactory state. The
chief engineer had examined them during the winter and reported that
Fort George was still in a "ruinous and unfinished condition," although
the parapet facing the river had been somewhat strengthened. He had
recommended that it should be completed as a field work and that a
splinter-proof barracks capable of sheltering 400 men should be built
within, and the upper story of the blockhouses taken down to place them
on a level with the _terre pleine_. But these suggested improvements
could not be carried out for lack of materials and workmen. At this time
the fort mounted five guns; one twelve, two twenty four pounders, and
two mortars. On the left fronting Fort Niagara were no less than five
detached batteries armed with eleven guns, five of which were mortars.
All of these works were open in the rear, and could be enfiladed and
some of them taken in reverse by an enemy approaching on the lake. Six
other batteries had been constructed along the river between Fort George
and Queenston, two at Chippawa and three opposite Black Rock about two
miles below Fort Erie. All of these posts required men to occupy them
and there were besides thirty odd miles of frontier to be constantly
patrolled and guarded. About one-third of his regular troops and
two-thirds of the militia were unavoidably stationed along the upper
part of this line extending from Queenston to Point Abino, under the
command of Lieut.-Colonel Cecil Bishop. Vincent retained for the defence
of the eleven miles of front between Queenston and the mouth of the Four
Mile Creek, thirty gunners of the Royal Artillery with five field
pieces, under Major Holcroft, 1050 regular infantry, 350 militia, and
about fifty Indians. This force was subdivided into three diminutive
brigades of nearly equal numbers, the right under Lieut.-Colonel Harvey
being detailed to guard the river, and the left under Lieut.-Colonel
Myers, the lake front of this position, while the third under his own
command remained in readiness to support either of these when attacked.
Fort George was garrisoned by Ormond's company of the 49th, and a
detachment of militia artillery amounting in the whole to about 130 men.
The gunners serving with the field artillery being not more than half
the usual complement, additional men were attached from the infantry.
The batteries were entirely manned by volunteers from the regulars and
militia. The whole force was turned out every morning at two o'clock,
and remained under arms until daylight. The staff officers set a
conspicuous example of activity and watchfulness. Colonels Harvey and
Myers, accompanied by their aides patrolled the lines the whole night
through and slept only by day. As the enemy continued their preparations
for nearly a week after the return of their fleet, the effects of the
prolonged strain soon became apparent in the exhausted condition of both
the officers and men. At first, General Dearborn's movements seemed to
indicate that an attack would be made by crossing the river above Fort
George, and on the 24th of May the whole of the British troops were kept
under arms all night. About three o'clock in the morning the enemy was
distinctly heard launching boats at the Five Mile meadows nearly
opposite a station occupied by Lieut. (afterwards Major General) R. S.
Armstrong, R. A., who by command of the vigilant Harvey, immediately
began to fire in that direction with a six pounder field gun and the
nine-pounder mounted in a battery at Brown's Point. The Americans
replied briskly with two six-pounders and continued their efforts until
they had put ten boats in the river. But if they had intended to cross
at this place, they soon abandoned the attempt, and when day dawned all
of these boats were seen on their way down the river with a few men in
each. As they came within range the guns of Fort George began firing,
which instantly drew upon that work the fire of no less than sixteen
heavy guns and mortars mounted in Fort Niagara and the adjacent
batteries. The twelve pounder in Fort George was soon dismounted by a
shot which shattered its carriage, and every building inside was set on
fire by the shower of shells and red-hot shot which rained upon it. The
gunners were driven by the flames from the twenty-four pounder beside
the flagstaff, but the unequal contest was still gallantly maintained by
a similar gun in the cavalier and a smaller piece in the north-western
bastion until Major Holcroft perceiving that the barracks were totally
consumed and shells bursting in every corner of the place sent orders to
this handful of undaunted men to cease firing and retire under cover.
The gun at Mississauga Point remained silent by order of Colonel Myers
who hoped by this means to deprive the enemy of any excuse for turning
their artillery upon the village, and the other detached batteries seem
to have taken little part in the contest. Having destroyed all the
buildings in Fort George and effectually silenced its fire, the
Americans discontinued the bombardment about two o'clock in the
afternoon.
The lake front of the British position was then closely reconnoitred by
boats from the fleet, sounding the shore in every direction and
occasionally venturing within musket shot of some of the batteries which
remained silent, partly from scarcity of ammunition and partly through
fear of provoking a renewal of the cannonade. Buoys were placed to mark
the stations the ships were to occupy next day when they engaged the
batteries on the left of Fort George and covered the landing.
On the part of the British some ineffectual efforts were made to repair
the damages of the morning. The tackle and carriage of the gun at the
flagstaff in Fort George had been totally destroyed by the flames, and
could not be replaced, while the ring-bolts of another gun at the light
house had been drawn by the recoil, and little service could be expected
from it. Only a small picquet was stationed in the fort during the
night, and the remainder of the garrison lay upon their arms on the
common about half a mile in the rear in hourly expectation of an alarm,
with the other brigades on either flank.
Shortly after reveille had sounded next morning, a rocket was seen to
rise into the air from Fort Niagara and a single gun was fired at Fort
George. This was the signal for all the American batteries to begin a
cannonade which was not returned and ceased at the end of half an hour.
Long after the sun had risen a dense fog hung over the river and lake,
effectually concealing all objects on the opposite side except the dim
outline of Fort Niagara. Nothing could be seen of their troops, most of
whom had been embarked soon after midnight, at the mouth of the Four
Mile Creek. At daybreak Generals Dearborn and Lewis went on board
Commodore Chauncey's flagship which immediately got under way, followed
by the remainder of the fleet and the immense flotilla of batteaux and
other boats filled with soldiers. Hours passed away and the entire
armada remained almost motionless waiting for the rising of the fog.
Finally when the fog banks rolled away 16 vessels of different sizes
were descried standing across the mouth of the river at a distance of
about two miles from land, followed by no less than 134 boats and scows,
each containing from thirty to fifty men, formed in three compact
divisions one behind the other. At a signal from the flagship the entire
fleet tacked and stood towards the Canadian shore, the small boats
wheeling by brigades and carefully preserving their alignment. Their
approach was gradual and deliberate, being favored by a gentle breeze,
which, however, scarcely raised a ripple on the glassy surface of the
lake. The schooners _Julia_ and _Growler_ each armed with a long
32-pounder and a long 12-pounder mounted on pivots, by making use of
their sweeps entered the mouth of the river and opened fire on the
crippled battery near the lighthouse while the schooner _Ontario_ of
similar force took up a position near the shore to the northward so as
to enfilade the same work and cross the fire of the two first-named
vessels. Two guns and a mortar in Fort Niagara also concentrated their
fire upon this battery, which was occupied by a few men of the Lincoln
artillery under Capt. John Powell. Only a single shot was fired from the
gun mounted there when it again became unmanageable and the gunners were
soon afterwards driven out by the incessant fire directed against them
from different quarters. At the same time the _Governor Tompkins_ of six
guns engaged the one-gun battery near the mouth of Two Mile Creek in
flank while _Conquest_ of three guns anchored in such a position as to
fire directly into it from the rear, which was entirely open and
unprotected. Resistance in this case was obviously out of the question
and it was immediately abandoned. The _Hamilton_, _Scourge_ and _Asp_
anchored within short musket shot of the shore, a few hundred yards
further west, nearly opposite a group of farm houses called Crookston,
which was the place selected for landing the troops. The three largest
vessels, the _Madison_, _Oneida_ and _Lady of the Lake_ drew more water
and were in consequence obliged to remain at a greater distance, though
still well within effective range of every part of the level plain
beyond the landing place. The united broadside of the fleet amounted to
fifty-one guns, many of them being heavy long-range pieces mounted upon
pivots which could fire in any direction, and the weather was so calm
that they were afterwards able to increase the number by shifting guns
from the other side. The whole of the artillery in Fort Niagara and the
batteries on that bank of the river had also opened fire. Two sides of
the British position were thus simultaneously assailed by the fire of
more than seventy guns and mortars which swept the roads and fields in
every direction with scarcely a shot in reply. A picquet of the
Glengarry Light Infantry which had been stationed with about 50 Indians
of the Six Nations under Captain John Norton among the thickets near the
mouth of the Two Mile Creek hastily retired to avoid utter destruction
by the storm of missiles hurled against their covert. Two Indians were
killed and several wounded before they could escape.
A heavy column of troops was then discovered marching from the American
camp in rear of Fort Niagara near Youngstown. This consisted principally
of dismounted dragoons and heavy artillery commanded by Colonel Burn who
had been instructed to cross the river there and intercept the retreat
of the British garrison towards Queenston. Their appearance had the
effect of detaining a large part of Harvey's brigade on that flank to
watch their movements.
It was about nine o'clock when the landing began at Crookston in the
following order. The advanced guard in twenty boats was composed of
four hundred picked light infantry selected from several regiments,
Forsyth's battalion of riflemen, and the flank companies of the 15th
United States Infantry, amounting in the whole to about 800 rank and
file, with a detachment of artillery in charge of a three-pounder field
piece, under the command of Lieut.-Colonel Winfield Scott, an able and
energetic young officer who had been taken prisoner at Queenston the
year before, and was destined to be the future conqueror of Mexico. This
force was strictly enjoined not to advance more than three hundred paces
from the water's edge before it was supported by General Boyd's brigade
of infantry, with Eustis's battalion of artillery and McClure's rifle
volunteers on its flanks. This was succeeded by Winder's brigade with
Towson's artillery, and Chandler's brigade with Macomb's artillery,
which were instructed to form upon Boyd's right and left respectively.
Each of these brigades must certainly have numbered not less than 1500
officers and men. The reserve was composed of the marines of the fleet
and a picked body of 400 seamen which were landed but not brought into
action.
The entire fleet continued to fire over the heads of the men in the
boats and effectually screened their advance until they reached the
shore and formed on the beach under shelter of the steep clay bank.
Captain Hindman of the United States Artillery, a very gallant young
officer who was in command of the detachment with the gun attached to
the advance guard, is mentioned as the first man to reach the shore. So
far they had not met with the slightest opposition, but when they began
to ascend the bank, the artillery fire from the ships slackened and they
were briskly attacked by three companies of the Glengarry Light
Infantry, two companies of Lincoln militia, and the Grenadiers of the
Royal Newfoundland Regiment who had been partially sheltered during the
cannonade in a ravine two or three hundred yards distant. The effect of
their musketry was sufficient to cause the American advance guard to
retire under cover of the bank once more and the fleet recommenced its
fire. Lieut.-Colonel Myers then succeeded in bringing forward the
remainder of his brigade, increasing the force assembled in the ravine
to forty men of the Newfoundland Regiment, ninety of the Glengarry Light
Infantry, twenty-seven of Captain Runchey's negro company, one hundred
Lincoln militia and 310 of the 8th or King's regiment. Several American
authorities agree in the statement that they twice attempted to ascend
the bank and were twice driven back by this determined handful of men.
After they had succeeded in forming upon the plain, General Boyd
declared that for "fifteen minutes the two lines exchanged a rapid and
destructive fire, at a distance of only six or ten yards." The official
returns of casualties establish the fact the whole of his brigade
consisting of the 6th, 15th and 16th United States Infantry was brought
forward to the support of Colonel Scott's advance-guard, making a force
of about 2,300 men opposed to 567. Whenever practicable the ships
continued to fire with destructive effect on the attenuated British
line. Colonel Myers fell desperately wounded in three plans when leading
the first charge. Every field officer and most of the company of
officers were soon killed or disabled, and at the end of twenty minutes
close fighting the survivors gave way, leaving nearly three hundred dead
and wounded on the field. They were rallied at a second ravine some
distance in the rear by Lieut.-Colonel Harvey, who brought up with him
several companies of the 49th, and a six-pounder field gun under Lieut.
Charlton, which had been stationed near Fort George.
Lieut. Armstrong with two other guns, had also been directed to proceed
to the support of Lieut.-Colonel Myers, but upon advancing along the
road parallel with the lake near Secord's house, he was suddenly
assailed from both flanks by a body of riflemen, whose fire wounded his
horse and one of his men, and a belt of thick woods prevented him from
joining the remnant of that brigade, which was then in full retreat.
While engaged in examining the road in front, Armstrong came
unexpectedly upon one of the enemy's riflemen whom he made prisoner, and
discovering that he was in danger of being surrounded, retired hurriedly
to the Presbyterian church where the remainder of the field guns had
been posted. From this position they covered the retirement of
Lieut.-Colonel Harvey's force, which took place about ten o'clock. By
that time the Americans had succeeded in landing the greater part of
their field artillery, and began to advance slowly in three dense
columns, Scott's light troops skirting the woods on the right, with the
6th, 15th and 16th United States Infantry and four guns in the centre
and the 18th United States Infantry and four guns moving along the
margin of the lake. As they had brought no horses, they were obliged to
drag their guns by hand, and their advance was necessarily very slow.
While observing their movements, Colonel Harvey was almost cut off by a
party of riflemen who had stealthily made their way through the woods
with that object. He galloped off unhurt amid a shower of bullets, and
formed his brigade in a fresh position behind a third ravine. Major
Holcroft opened fire from a six-pounder and a howitzer, but on
perceiving the advance of the enemy's light troops on the right, he
placed these guns in charge of Lieut. Armstrong, and moved in that
direction with the two other pieces. For nearly half an hour the
artillery kept up a brisk fire and succeeded in checking the enemy's
infantry. Harvey then noticed that their riflemen were again stealing
forward through the woods, with the intention of turning his left flank,
and ordered a general retreat to the Common beyond the Council House.
During the cannonade Holcroft had lost but one gunner wounded and a
single horse killed but the limber of his largest gun, a twelve-pounder,
was so badly damaged that it went to pieces on the road.
An hour later when the Americans emerged from the village, an eighteen
pounder, in the battery next to Fort George was traversed, and fired
upon them until they made a vigorous charge and captured it with several
of the men engaged in working it.
Vincent joined Harvey with the reserve, and the whole force remained in
position on the Common for nearly half an hour. Commodore Chauncey's
flagship entered the river and anchored abreast of Fort George. The
troops at Youngstown began to enter their boats while the enemy in front
were steadily prolonging their lines to the right with the evident
purpose of occupying the only possible avenue of retreat, and
surrounding the British forces.
At noon, General Vincent despatched an order to Lieut.-Colonel Claus, to
evacuate Fort George and join him upon the Queenston road. He
immediately began his retreat upon St. Davids, the infantry retiring
through the woods, and the artillery and baggage by the road. This
movement was so quietly accomplished that it seems to have almost
escaped the attention of the enemy who were busily engaged in reforming
their line.