WAR WITH UNITED STATES
1808-1813
19th in Ireland--United States declare War--19th
ordered to Canada--United States’ plans--Operations of
1812--Mackinaw--Detroit--Armistice--Battle of Queenston
Heights--General Brock killed--Montreal threatened--Operations
of 1813--Proctor’s victory at Frenchtown--Fort Meigs--United
States’ victory on Lake Erie--Battle of the Thames; Proctor’s
defeat--York captured--Fort George and Erie evacuated--Stoney
Creek: Harvey’s brilliant exploit--Fitzgibbon’s success at Beaver
Dam--Arrival of squadron of 19th on Niagara frontier--Engagement
on Lake Ontario--Fort George re-occupied--Fort Niagara
surprised--Black Rock and Buffalo captured--Abortive attack
on Sackett’s Harbour--United States’ operations against
Montreal--Battle of Chateaugay--Battle of Chrystler’s
Farm--Importance of Kingston and Sackett’s Harbour.
During the following six years the regiment remained at home,
and took no part in the stirring events then occurring in Spain
and Portugal. At the end of 1808, they moved from Northampton to
Norwich and Ipswich, with a detachment at Birmingham, while their
recruiting parties were actively engaged in different parts of the
United Kingdom. In March 1809, the regiment moved to Romford, and, in
December, embarked for Ireland. For two years the regiment remained
in quarters at Tullamore, Philipstown and Longford. By an order dated
23rd April 1811, the establishment was augmented from 400 to 570
privates, making the total strength of all ranks 685. In March 1812,
the regiment marched to Clonmel, and in June, to Dublin. The regiment
was soon to proceed on active service again.
[Illustration: KING’S GUIDON.
SQUADRON GUIDON.
GUIDONS OF THE XIX^{TH} LIGHT DRAGOONS.
_to face p. 172._]
On the 18th June, 1812, the United States declared war against
England. The declaration reached the British Government on the 30th
July; but, as the British Orders in Council respecting the trade of
neutral nations, that had been put forward on the American side as
the chief reason for the war, had been rescinded on 23rd June, it
was still believed in England that peace would be maintained. In
spite of the hostilities that immediately commenced, it was not till
October that conditional orders for reprisals were issued, and the
formal declaration of war by Great Britain was not made till 9th
January 1813. The war party in the States had the upper hand at the
time: they were determined on war, and cared little for the pretext.
To outward appearance, it seemed, in 1812, that England could not
much longer hold out against Napoleon, who had the whole continent
of Europe, except Russia, at his feet, while the British armies in
Spain seemed to make no progress. In truth Napoleon’s power was
already beginning to totter. The British armies in Spain, hardened
and consolidated by three years of war under their great leader, were
invincible. Ciudad Rodrigo and Badajoz had fallen, and Wellington had
already begun his victorious advance that was to carry him across the
Pyrenees. At the same time Napoleon was preparing for his disastrous
invasion of Russia which dealt the first deadly blow to his power.
But the war party in the United States were unable to discern this.
The British troops in Canada were few in number, the colonists were
believed to be lukewarm in their loyalty to Great Britain, and the
war party promised their countrymen that Canada would prove an easy
prey. Under the thin veil of resenting injuries a war of conquest was
intended.
On 6th March 1813, an order was issued for three squadrons of the
19th Light Dragoons, completed to eighty rank and file per troop,
to be held in readiness to embark for North America, under Lieut.
Colonel the Hon. J. O’Neill. The horses of the officers, sergeants
and corporals were to be taken, but all other horses were to be left
behind. In the same month the regiment reached Cork, and embarked
on 4th April, in company with other troops, under convoy of the
_Sybelle_ frigate and _Cygnet_ sloop; almost the first reinforcements
sent from England to Canada since the United States’ declaration of
war. They reached Quebec about the 17th May,[57] and were at once
sent to La Prairie on the St Lawrence near Montreal.
The war in which the regiment was about to engage, was one in which
cavalry could play only a subordinate part. The country in which
they were to operate was a vast expanse of forest and swamp, with a
few sparsely inhabited clearings. The chief mode of communication
was by boat. The war was one to be fought out by small bodies of men
far from their supports, wielding the axe and the oar as much as the
rifle: forage was hard to get, and there was little place for mounted
men. Under these conditions, the 19th Light Dragoons were only
engaged in small detachments, never more than a squadron, seldom more
than a troop. Their duties were of a most harassing kind, on outpost
and reconnoissance duty. Never once did they have an opportunity of
crossing swords with the enemy’s cavalry. The only cavalry charges
recorded during the war were those made by the United States’ cavalry
that overwhelmed Proctor’s force at the battle of the Thames, and the
charge repulsed by the 89th at Chrystler’s Farm.
[Illustration: THE CANADIAN FRONTIER
in 1812.
_Walker & Boutall sc._]
Immediately on landing, one troop, taking with it only ten horses,
was dispatched to Upper Canada. With it went Lieut. Colonel O’Neill
and a convoy of ammunition. The three hundred horses, that were to
have been ready by 1st July, had not been obtained. A fortnight
later, a second troop followed, with sixty-five horses, most of
which had been brought from Ireland with the regiment. The squadron
was destined for the Niagara frontier, where it was engaged, under
Captain Lisle, till the end of the war.
Meanwhile, in spite of the belief in England that war would not
be prosecuted by the States, when the rescinding of the orders in
Council was known, hostilities had been in active progress from the
first declaration. The British regular troops in Canada, in June
1812, were about 4500 in number; of which 3000 were in garrison at
Quebec and Montreal, the remainder being scattered along the Upper
Canada frontier. Their small number was effectively supplemented
by the Canadian militia, who fought for the protection of their
homes with a gallantry and devotion that could not be exceeded.
Their numbers were however liable to constant fluctuations owing
to the frequent necessity for their presence at their homes for
agricultural purposes. A considerable number of Indians also, at
times, co-operated; allies of doubtful value, who could never be
relied on, and whose numbers varied from day to day. In population
and resources the United States were in the proportion of more than
ten to one compared to Canada. On the British side therefore the war
was necessarily of a defensive character. The points on which Canada
was most vulnerable were, 1. on the Detroit frontier between Lake
Huron and Lake Erie; 2. on the Niagara frontier between Lake Erie and
Lake Ontario; and, 3. on the line of the St Lawrence between Kingston
and Montreal. The United States’ plan was to invade Canada on all
three points, and three separate expeditions were prepared for the
purpose. The first attack was made on the Detroit frontier, where,
under pretence of punishing some Indians, troops had been assembled
before the declaration of war.
Before noticing the more important operations of 1812, it is
necessary to mention the capture of the United States’ fort and
island of Mackinaw, which was effected by a party of regulars,
militia and Indians, under Captain Roberts, on 17th July, and
retained till the end of the war. The capture was of some importance,
as the island commanded the navigation between Lakes Michigan and
Huron.
On the 12th July, a United States’ force of 2500 men, under General
Hull, crossed from Detroit, and occupied the small village of
Sandwich. On the same day Hull issued a proclamation that struck the
keynote of the war. In it he called on the Canadians to seek his
protection, threatening them with a war of extermination should they
venture to take up arms against him. Acting in the spirit of this
proclamation, the United States’ troops throughout the war committed
excesses against the non-combatant population that had long been
condemned by all civilized nations, and effectually alienated any
sympathy they might have found among the Canadians. The reprisals,
that are inevitable in such cases, followed, and the war was marked
by a rancour on both sides, that contrasted strongly with the more
decorous but not less deadly warfare that was being waged by French
and British troops in Spain.
The small British force of 350 men in the neighbourhood of Detroit,
consisting mainly of militia, and not counting Indians, were gathered
at Amherstberg under Lieutenant Colonel Proctor. Hull, instead
of advancing at once, and overwhelming it, remained at Sandwich,
indulging in petty outpost affairs. Proctor passed a small force
across the river, and cut off his supplies, which forced Hull to
withdraw his force, on the 7th August, from the Canadian side, and
retreat to Detroit. On the 12th, Major General Brock, commanding
in Upper Canada, reached Amherstberg with three hundred men, and,
three days later, crossed the river, and advanced on Detroit. On the
16th, Hull capitulated with his whole force. Over fifteen hundred
prisoners, thirty-three guns, 2500 stands of arms and the Michigan
territory passed into the hands of the British.
At this time a lull in the war took place through the action
of Lieutenant General Sir George Prevost, Governor, and
Commander-in-Chief of Canada, who, throughout the war, was the
evil genius of the British cause. In the United States’ manifesto
the British Orders in Council had been put forward as the chief
cause of the war. On hearing that the orders had been repealed, Sir
George Prevost believed that the war would not be persevered with.
He accordingly, in spite of the hostilities that had occurred,
proposed an armistice to the United States’ commander of the force
threatening Montreal, till the latter should receive further orders
from Washington. But the United States’ government were determined
on war, and hostilities were resumed on 8th September. The armistice
was of much advantage to the States, as, while it lasted, they were
able to convey without hindrance, by water, the supplies collected
at Oswego for the use of their troops destined to act on the Niagara
frontier, at a time when the British had an undoubted superiority on
Lake Ontario.
The United States’ force threatening the line between Lakes Erie and
Ontario numbered 6300 men, under General Van Rensselaar. To oppose
them, Major General Brock had but 1200 men (by one account 1500),
a large proportion of which were militia and Indians. These troops
were posted at Fort Erie and Fort George, the two extreme points of
the line, with a few companies at Queenston and one or two other
points to command landing places. Early in the morning of the 13th
October, about 1600 United States’ troops crossed at Queenston, and
made good their footing. In the course of the fighting General Brock
fell at the head of his men, and the United States’ commander was
badly wounded. Reinforcements coming up, in the afternoon, from Fort
George, under Major General Sheaffe, brought the British-Canadian
force on the spot up to about 1000 men including Indians. An attack
was made on the enemy’s position: they were driven into their boats,
and the United States’ General Wadsworth, with 958 officers and
men were made prisoners. One gun and a colour were also captured.
The loss on the British side cannot be exactly stated. Besides the
General, one officer was killed and two wounded. Among the rank and
file there were about 16 killed and 70 wounded, and about a dozen
Indians: but the success was dearly bought with the death of Sir
Isaac Brock.[58]
At one in the morning of 28th November, another attempt was made
to cross, about two miles below Fort Erie. But the crossing was
mismanaged, and the whole attempt carried out in a half-hearted way.
After inflicting and sustaining some loss, the United States’ troops
re-embarked, and thus ended for the year all serious operations on
this part of the frontier.
The United States’ force intended to operate against Montreal was
equally unsuccessful. Assembled at Plattsburg on Lake Champlain,
about 7000 strong, under General Dearborn, it advanced to the
frontier on 15th November. On this being known in Montreal, the
available troops, about 1900 strong more than half of which were
militia, advanced to La Prairie. Nothing however occurred beyond an
unimportant skirmish between small detachments, after which, Dearborn
retreated to Plattsburg, and went into quarters for the winter. Thus
ended hostilities for the year. At every point the United States’
forces had been foiled by inferior numbers. Fort Detroit and the
State of Michigan, together with the island of Mackinaw, commanding
the navigation between Lakes Michigan and Huron, remained in British
hands. The only real success gained by the United States was in the
naval strength they had been able to develop on the Lakes, owing
to superior resources, and to the absence of any assistance to
Canada from England. The superiority thus bloodlessly established
had important results on the subsequent course of the war in Upper
Canada. By sea, successes were scored by the United States in five
frigate duels, mainly due to the superior size and armament of the
United States’ ships. Effectual measures were then taken in England,
and the United States’ flag practically disappeared from the high
seas for the rest of the war. The complete mastery of the sea by
Great Britain caused the U.S. government to direct their naval
resources to the Canadian lakes, a result that had an important
bearing on the succeeding years’ warfare.
The United States’ plan of operations for the following year was, as
before, to invade Canada with three separate corps. The first was
destined to retake Detroit, and acquire possession of Amherstberg.
The second attack was to be made from the eastern end of Lake
Ontario, to capture Kingston and Toronto, then known as York, and
then, in co-operation with a force collected at Buffalo, to act
against Forts George and Erie on the Niagara frontier. The third
was to operate against Montreal, by a combined advance from the
neighbourhood of Plattsburg, and from the eastern end of Ontario.
On the Detroit frontier the Canadian forces numbered about 2,300 men,
more than half of which were Indians, under Colonel Proctor; opposed
to a U.S. force of double that number, under General Harrison.
On the 18th January, a force of 1000 men under General Winchester,
advancing from Sandusky, drove in the British picquets at Frenchtown,
forty-five miles from Detroit. On the 22nd, Colonel Proctor
advancing from Detroit with four guns and 950 men, half of whom
were Indians, attacked General Winchester in front of Frenchtown,
and gained a complete victory. Winchester with 538 men were taken
prisoners. In consequence of the greatly superior numbers of the
U.S. troops in the neighbourhood, Proctor then withdrew to Detroit
and Sandwich. Little further occurred till 23rd April, when Proctor
led a small expedition against a U.S. work on the Miami river called
Fort Meigs. The attempt was unsuccessful, and Proctor returned
to Sandwich about 12th May. The only noteworthy incident was the
severe punishment inflicted on the U.S. force in a sortie on the
5th May, in which nearly 500 were taken prisoners. The British loss
was comparatively small. On the 2nd August, Proctor made a similar
attempt on a fort newly constructed at the mouth of the Sandusky
river. After an attempt to storm, which was repulsed with the
loss of 100 killed and wounded, he retired. After this no further
movement on either side occurred till September, when a change in
the situation was wrought by a success gained by the U.S. navy on
the lake. On 10th September, a naval action was fought on Lake Erie,
between six British and nine U.S. ships, in which the latter were
completely victorious. This rendered Proctor’s position extremely
critical. He at once evacuated Detroit and Amherstberg, and, with a
force of less than 1000 men, not counting Indians, retreated along
the river Thames, closely followed by Harrison. On the 5th October,
he decided to make a stand. Attacked by a greatly superior force, he
was at once overwhelmed by charges of cavalry, of which Harrison had
1200 in the field, and the greater part of his men made prisoners.
Proctor, with some 200 men only, made good his retreat to Ancaster,
eighty-five miles distant. The celebrated Indian Chief, Tecumseh, was
slain on this occasion, and the state of Michigan passed again into
United States’ keeping. Harrison, after destroying Moravian town, in
the neighbourhood of which the action had been fought, returned to
Detroit and Amherstberg, and, shortly afterwards, embarked with a
portion of his force for the Niagara frontier.
Active operations at the eastern end of Lake Ontario commenced in
April. Early in that month, a United States’ force of about 6000 men
was collected at Sackett’s Harbour, which was the United States’
chief naval depot on the lake. On 27th, the U.S. lake squadron with
2000 troops on board appeared off Toronto,[59] and at once began to
land under the guns of the fleet. Major General Sheaffe, who had 500
regular troops and militia and some Indians, after ineffectually
opposing the landing, was forced to withdraw towards Kingston, and
the town was occupied by the enemy. General Pike, commanding the
U.S. troops, was killed, and both sides suffered considerable loss
by the explosion of a magazine. On the 8th May, after burning the
public buildings, the U.S. force withdrew, and were conveyed to the
mouth of the Niagara river, where they landed, with a view to joining
in operations against Forts George and Erie. The vessels were then
employed in bringing further re-inforcements from Sackett’s Harbour,
for the contemplated attack on Fort George.
The British force on the Niagara frontier consisted at this time
of 1800 regular troops, 500 militia, and 40 Indians, under Major
General Vincent. On 27th May, the U.S. force, numbering 6000 to 7000
men, under General Dearborn, crossed under cover of the guns of the
flotilla and of Fort Niagara. After a stubborn contest, in which
they suffered a loss of 445 killed and wounded, the British troops
evacuated Fort George, and retired to Burlington Heights at the head
of Lake Ontario. Fort Erie was also evacuated. Four days later,
Dearborn detached 3500 men under Generals Chandler and Winder to
follow Vincent, and, on 5th June, the U.S. force encamped at Stoney
Creek, seven miles from Vincent’s position. In this critical position
Vincent resolved on a night attack. At 2 o’clock in the morning, 700
men of the 8th and 49th regiments, led by Colonel Harvey, penetrated
the U.S. camp. Four guns were captured; the greatest confusion was
caused in the surprised camp, from which the enemy were driven. In
order to conceal the smallness of his force, Harvey withdrew before
daylight, taking with him two guns and 123 prisoners, among whom were
the two United States Generals. In this spirited affair the British
loss amounted to 23 killed, 136 wounded and 55 missing. The U.S.
force, after burning its tents and stores, fell back precipitately to
Forty-mile Creek, 11 miles in rear of the field. Two days later, a
small British squadron from Kingston, under Sir James Yeo, bringing
some reinforcements for Vincent, appeared and drove the U.S. force
from their camp which was taken possession of. Harvey’s gallant
exploit had saved the frontier. On the 24th June, in retaliation for
the affair at Stoney Creek, a U.S. force under Colonel Boerstler
attempted to surprise an outpost of Canadian rangers at Beaver Dam,
under Lieutenant Fitzgibbon. Through the loyalty of the wife of a
Canadian farmer, Fitzgibbon received timely warning. Disposing of
his little force of 200 men, mostly Indians, to the best advantage,
the advancing enemy were caught in an ambush, and, after suffering
some loss, Boerstler capitulated with 25 officers, 519 men, two guns
and a stand of colours. Fifty-six of the U.S. force were killed and
wounded, Boerstler himself being among the latter. At the moment of
capitulation, a reinforcement of 200 men under Major du Haren joined
Fitzgibbon, and enabled him to guard his prisoners. These successive
reverses dispirited the U.S. troops in this part of the frontier to
such an extent, that they suffered themselves to be blockaded in Fort
George by very inferior numbers. On the 4th and 11th of July, Forts
Schlosser and Black Rock were captured by separate _coups de main_,
and the military stores destroyed or carried off. In the second
affair Lieutenant Colonel Bisshopp, an officer of great promise, was
unfortunately killed. On the 31st July, the United States’ squadron
on Ontario paid a second visit to Toronto, which was undefended, and
burned some more buildings. This unexpected move on the part of the
enemy occurred just as the first troop of the 19th dispatched from
Lower Canada was near Toronto, and the ammunition and baggage were
captured.
Meanwhile, Major General de Rottenburg had taken over command on the
Niagara frontier, from Vincent, and, on 20th July, the first troop of
the 19th from Lower Canada joined the army at Four Mile Creek. Two
days later we find the General reporting “two of our cavalry vedettes
were taken yesterday by the enemy.” On the 17th August, Lieutenant
Gladwin of the 19th was wounded in a skirmish near Fort George. About
the 20th August, Sir George Prevost joined de Rottenburg, bringing
with him some reinforcements, among which was the second troop of
the 19th Light Dragoons, completing the squadron under Captain
Lisle. On the 24th, a demonstration was made against Fort George.
The advance was led by thirty of the 19th, under their Lieutenant
Colonel the Hon. J. O’Neill. Beyond driving the enemy, for a short
time, out of the town of Newark, and capturing 60 or 70 prisoners
the demonstration was without result. The British force suffered the
loss of an officer and ten men, who advanced too far, and were taken
prisoners. On the 11th September an engagement took place between the
two Ontario squadrons, the day after the engagement on Lake Erie,
already mentioned. In this also the U.S. squadron had the best of it,
but there were no decisive results. In both engagements the British
squadrons were at a disadvantage through want of regular sailors: the
greater part of their crews consisting of Canadians and soldiers.
Early in September, Sir George Prevost returned to Kingston, leaving
General de Rottenburg in command. On the 1st October, part of the
U.S. force embarked at Niagara, and were conveyed to Sackett’s
Harbour to join in operations against Kingston and Montreal, leaving
General McClure in command at Fort George and Niagara. The following
day, the 49th and 104th Regiments, under de Rottenburg, started for
Kingston, which they reached on the 16th, leaving Vincent in command
on the Niagara frontier. Their presence secured Kingston from attack,
and helped to furnish the force that triumphed at Chrystler’s Farm.
Two companies of de Watteville’s regiment, proceeding from Toronto to
Kingston, were less fortunate, being captured by the U.S. squadron.
On the 9th October, the news of Proctor’s defeat on the Thames
reached Vincent, causing him to withdraw from the neighbourhood
of Fort George, and fall back to Burlington Heights; where he was
joined by the remains of Proctor’s force. The difficulty in obtaining
supplies, always great, were apparently almost insurmountable at this
time; for we find Vincent recommending that Major Lisle’s squadron
should return to Kingston and Montreal. The discouragement in the
British force was very great. Sir George Prevost, believing that
Upper Canada was lost, sent orders to Vincent to collect his troops,
and bring them to Kingston; but the order was not obeyed.
The U.S. troops in Fort George under McClure, at this time indulged
in a series of cruel and wanton excesses against the Canadian
inhabitants in the neighbourhood. In order to put some check on
these excesses Vincent detached a small force of about 500 men under
Colonel Murray in the direction of Fort George. With them went a
troop of the 19th. As Murray advanced, McClure’s outposts fell back.
On Murray making a sudden dash forwards, McClure precipitately
abandoned Fort George, on 12th December, and retreated across
the Niagara river, after burning the little town of Newark: an
inhuman act at such an inclement season of the year, and the more
inexcusable, in that he left in the Fort, without destroying them,
his tents standing, a great quantity of stores, and some guns. “With
the same intention, Queenston was deliberately bombarded with red-hot
shot from the batteries at Lewiston. Many isolated farm houses were
destroyed by marauding parties of soldiers, or, when they proved too
substantial for instant demolition, were rendered uninhabitable by
removal of the doors and windows. The few cattle still remaining in
the possession of the country people were mercilessly slaughtered or
driven away, and their grain and flour removed or destroyed.”[60]
At this juncture, Lieutenant General Drummond,[61] who had been
appointed to the command of Upper Canada, arrived and took command
of the troops. Following up the success at Fort George, Drummond
resolved on attacking Niagara. On the night of the 18th December,
a force of 550 men of the 41st and 100th, under Colonel Murray,
was silently ferried across the river, three miles above the Fort.
Advancing silently in two columns, with unloaded muskets and
bayonets fixed, the enemy’s picquets were seized before any alarm
could be given: one party escaladed one of the bastions, while the
other entered by the gate that had been left open for the relief
of sentries. The garrison made but a feeble resistance, and, in
a few minutes the British force was in complete possession of the
Fort, with 27 guns, over 3000 stand of arms and 344 prisoners. The
drummers of the 100th found their way to the roof of the principal
building, and played “The British Grenadiers” as a signal of success
to their comrades across the river. This brilliant success was gained
with a loss of only six men killed and five wounded. A few hours
later, a second force was ferried across, and seized Lewiston after
a slight skirmish, capturing two guns and other military stores. In
retaliation for the burning of Newark, Lewiston and four neighbouring
villages were laid in ruins.
The U.S. force, about 2500 strong, was now commanded by General Hall,
and quartered at Black Rock and Buffalo. Intent on following up his
success, Drummond placed his head quarters near Fort Erie. On the
night of the 29th, Major General Riall, with 600 men and about 100
Indians, crossed the Niagara river about two miles below Black Rock,
drove in a U.S. picquet, and took up a position at a bridge over a
small stream. At daylight on the 31st, the Royal Scots, about 800
strong, with a detachment of Major Lisle’s squadron of the 19th Light
Dragoons, the whole under command of Lt. Colonel Gordon, crossed
over, under fire, to land above Black Rock. Joining hands with Riall,
Black Rock was attacked and occupied after a short resistance, the
defending force retreating to Buffalo. The advance was continued, and
Buffalo taken after a poor resistance: 130 prisoners and 8 guns were
captured, and four armed vessels of the U.S. squadron on Lake Erie,
burned. Black Rock and Buffalo were burned to the ground. The work
was completed by Major Lisle’s squadron, which swept the frontier
from Buffalo to Lewiston, bringing the operations to an end on the
2nd January 1814. The British troops were then withdrawn to the
Canadian side, with the exception of a garrison left in Fort Niagara.
Thus closed operations at this part of the frontier for the year.
The operations of the year on the eastern frontier have now to be
recorded. Taking advantage of the frozen state of the St Lawrence,
skirmishing parties of U.S. troops, from Ogdensburg, crossed the
river in January and February, and committed depredations on the
Canadian side. In order to put an end to these attacks, Major
Macdonell, with 480 men and three field pieces, crossed the ice
on the morning of the 22nd February, drove the enemy from their
position, capturing 11 guns and over 70 prisoners. After burning
two armed schooners and two gunboats, as well as the barracks,
Macdonell returned to the Canadian shore. This brilliant little
affair was accomplished with the loss of eight killed and fifty-two
wounded. On the 27th May, an expedition, under Sir George Prevost,
sailed from Kingston to capture Sackett’s Harbour. Owing to the
incapacity and irresolution of Sir George Prevost, the affair ended
in failure. After unnecessary delay, which enabled the enemy to
make preparations for defence, the troops landed, on 29th, and
drove the enemy from their positions. In anticipation of having to
capitulate, their navy-yard and ships were set on fire by the enemy,
and a great quantity of naval stores and provisions, captured at
York, destroyed; when Sir George Prevost, against the advice of his
officers, gave the order to retreat, at the moment that success was
in his grasp. The troops re-embarked and returned to Kingston, with
about 100 prisoners, having suffered a loss of 50 killed and 211
wounded. The capture of Sackett’s Harbour by the British would have
had a tremendous influence on the war. It was the principal United
States’ base on the lake, and its capture would have given Canada
the complete supremacy of Lake Ontario as long as the war lasted,
besides the possession of the great quantities of naval and military
stores that had been collected there by the United States’ Government.
On the 3rd June, an attack was made by four armed vessels of the U.S.
squadron on Lake Champlain, upon the post of Isle aux Noix, about 40
miles from Montreal; resulting in the capture of two U.S. sloops.
On 29th July, a flotilla, composed of the two captured vessels and
three gunboats, transported over land from the St Lawrence, embarked
about 1000 men of the 13th and 100th regiments under Lieutenant
Colonel Murray, and arrived, the next day, before Plattsburg. The
U.S. militia in charge of the place, retired without making any
resistance. The barracks and blockhouses were burned, and a quantity
of naval stores carried off. Four thousand U.S. troops under
General Hampton, destined to act against Montreal, lay inactive at
Burlington, without interfering with Murray.
Nothing further of importance happened till October, when the U.S.
preparations for the attack on Montreal were complete. For this
purpose, a corps of 8800 men, under General Wilkinson, was assembled
at Grenadier Island, at the eastern end of Ontario, fully provided
with boats. At the same time a second corps of about 5700 men, under
General Hampton, was assembled on Lake Champlain. The two corps were
intended to join hands at St Regis, and act in combination. The first
movement was made by Hampton. Advancing from Plattsburg, he reached
Four Corners on the Chateaugay river, about 8th October. To oppose
him, Sir G. Prevost detached a body of Canadian militia, about 1000
strong, under Lt. Colonel de Salaberry, who, after some skirmishing
to ascertain the direction of Hampton’s advance, took up a position
on the west bank of the Chateaugay river.
On the 21st, Hampton crossed the frontier, and advanced, cutting
roads for his guns, and repairing bridges as he moved forward.
During the night of the 25th, Hampton detached a brigade under
Colonel Purdy to ford the Chateaugay river, march down the right
bank, and take the Canadian position in rear, while he himself
assailed it in front. De Salaberry’s position, a naturally strong
one in a dense forest, intersected by ravines, had been further
strengthened by breaking down bridges in the front, and making
timber breastworks. Hampton commenced his attack at 10 o’clock on
the morning of the 26th, but it was not pushed home. By keeping his
men under cover, and placing buglers in the woods, de Salaberry gave
the impression to the enemy of having a much greater number of men
than had been supposed. Meanwhile, Purdy’s brigade, which had lost
its way in the woods, came up, attracted by the firing, and overthrew
a company of Canadians on the right bank. Re-inforcements coming up
under Macdonell, the officer who distinguished himself at Ogdensburg
in February, Purdy was driven into the woods with loss and confusion,
and took no further part in the battle. So disorganised were his
troops that, during the following night, they opened fire on each
other, causing themselves further losses. Seeing the failure of the
flank attack on which he had principally depended, and believing the
Canadian force in his front to be stronger than it was, Hampton drew
off and fell back, first on Four Corners, and, a few days later, to
Plattsburgh; whence his force shortly afterwards went into winter
quarters. This brilliant affair was fought entirely by the Canadian
militia at a cost of 5 killed, 16 wounded, and four missing. A month
after the action, an officer and twenty-five men of the 19th Light
Dragoons were dispatched to join de Salaberry at Chateaugay.
It was not till 5th November that Wilkinson’s corps left Grenadier
Island, in a flotilla of between two and three hundred open boats,
protected by gunboats, and entered the St Lawrence. According to
the original plan, the capture of Kingston had been intended; but
this was relinquished on the arrival there of the re-inforcements
sent under de Rottenburg. On arriving near Ogdensburg, the force was
landed on the south bank of the river, and marched down to a point
14 miles below that place, in order to avoid the risk of passing
the small Canadian post of Fort Wellington at Prescott. The boats
were brought down at night with muffled oars. On the 9th, the force
was again landed, this time on the left bank, in order to pass the
rapid known as the Long Sault. The following day, one division, under
General Brown, marched to occupy Cornwall; the other division, under
General Boyd, was retained at the head of the rapid, to oppose a
British force that was hanging on their rear.
Directly the start of the U.S. expedition down the St Lawrence was
known in Kingston, as many men as could be safely spared, had been
detached under Lieutenant Colonel Morrison of the 89th, convoyed by
a few gunboats, to follow on Wilkinson’s rear. At Fort Wellington,
Morrison received a further accession of force, which brought up
his numbers to 800 rank and file. On the 9th, he landed, thirteen
miles lower down, and, in a few hours, was in touch with Wilkinson’s
force. During the following day some skirmishing took place, and then
Morrison, finding that Boyd was preparing to attack him in force,
took up a position at a place named “Chrystler’s Farm.” Morrison’s
force was made up of some companies of the 49th, 89th, some militia,
three 6 Pr. guns and thirty Indians. Boyd had 2500 men, among which
was a strong force of cavalry, and ten guns. Unlike all previous
actions in this war, the battle of Chrystler’s Farm was fought in
open country. This conferred an advantage on the better trained and
disciplined British troops, that atoned for their inferiority in
numbers. The action commenced about 2 o’clock in the afternoon of
the 11th, and, after three hours’ fighting, in the course of which
a charge of United States’ dragoons was defeated by three companies
of the 89th, Boyd fell back, repulsed at every point, with the loss
of one gun, 339 killed and wounded, among the former of whom was the
U.S. General Covington, and over 100 prisoners. The British loss was
21 killed, 148 wounded and 12 missing. Boyd fell back on his boats,
and embarked after the action, crossing over to the right bank of
the river. The following day, he descended the rapid, and joined
Brown’s force near Cornwall. The cavalry, and some of the artillery,
marched along the Canadian bank, without embarking. Morrison, with
his small force, continued his march down the left bank. On his force
being re-united, Wilkinson learned that he could expect no aid from
Hampton. He at once decided on giving up the attempt on Montreal, and
retreating by the only way open to him. Embarking his whole force,
on the 13th, he descended the St Lawrence to the mouth of the Salmon
river, and ascended that river seven miles to French Mills. Here he
lay, expecting to be attacked, till 12th February, when he set fire
to his boats, huts, and blockhouses, and retreated to Plattsburgh and
Burlington on Lake Champlain.
Thus, in loss and disaster, ended the second and most serious attempt
against Montreal, made during the war. A handful of Canadians at
Chateaugay, in the woods that gave their special fighting powers
a signal opportunity, and a small number of British troops at
Chrystler’s Farm, where the field of action gave full scope to their
training and discipline, had saved Canada.
Of the three invasions of the Canadian frontier, the one by Detroit
was alone successful. Proctor’s defeat on the Thames was irreparable.
Fortunately for Canada, it was the point at which the enemy’s success
was least important. Vincent’s spirited affair at Stoney Creek was
the turning-point of the year’s campaign. Had he been overwhelmed,
the Niagara frontier would have been lost, and the re-inforcements
that saved Kingston from attack could not have been spared. The fall
of Kingston might have led to the fall of Montreal.
The operations of the year showed the extreme importance to Canada
of the mastery on Ontario, and the retention of Kingston. The whole
country was an almost trackless forest. The only way of moving troops
and stores was by water. Full subsistence for the troops in Upper
Canada could not be procured among the scanty population, and they
were largely dependent for rations on pork and biscuit from England.
So long as the waterway was open, the defence of the Niagara frontier
was possible. As the supremacy of the U.S. navy on Lake Erie made
it impossible for the British to continue the war on the Detroit
frontier, so a decisive defeat on Lake Ontario would have lost the
Niagara frontier also. But, till the end of the war, the U.S. navy
never succeeded in establishing more than a temporary supremacy on
Ontario.
The failure of Wilkinson’s expedition showed the risk of attacking
Montreal, while Kingston was strongly held by a hostile force. An
expedition, once launched on the St Lawrence, could not re-ascend
against the current, and was liable to be caught between two fires,
as actually happened in Wilkinson’s case. The true objective of the
United States, throughout the war, was Kingston; the possession of
which would have made them masters of Upper Canada without a further
effort, and would have placed Montreal in jeopardy. But Kingston was
never seriously attacked during the whole war.
On the Canadian side, the importance of gaining possession of
Sackett’s Harbour was not clearly recognized. The capture and
retention of that place would have practically secured the Niagara
frontier, and assured the safety of Montreal. But Sir George
Prevost’s half-hearted and abortive attack in May, was the only
attempt made during the war. To both sides, the capture of their
enemy’s depôt on the lake was of supreme importance. The keys of
successful attack and defence were at Sackett’s Harbour and Kingston.