1812:Revisted – And The Rock Cried Out, No Hiding Place

The loss of Major-General Sir Isaac Brock had been keenly felt through the first part of 1813; while Major-General Henry Proctor had defended the British line in the west, the losses at York and Niagara had dealt a major blow to the British morale. It also did not help that almost every major ship-to-ship engagement had resulted in an American victory. And now with York still rebuilding and nearly the entire Niagara peninsula under American control and Chauncy back in Sacketts Harbor protecting Lake Ontario, the British needed victory to ensure that the whole of Upper Canada be preserved. Major-General Roger Hale Sheaffe was reassigned to Montreal following his loss and retreat from York with Major-General Francis De Rottenburg. General De Rottenburg had experience with irregular warfare, having written the manual on light infantry tactics after his time in the 60th (Royal American) Regiment of Foot. But now the British were on the back foot and facing the potential of an even wider American attack with only the small garrisons occupying Burlington Heights and Amherstburg preventing the Americans from running roughshod to Kingston and small squadrons on the Great Lakes keeping the building US Navy at bay.

Captain Philip Broke, master and commander of HM Frigate Shannon had taken it upon himself to reverse the sinking morale of the North American Squadron single-handedly. His ship and her crew had worked together since the start of the war and Captain Broke used live-fire exercises to keep his gun crews sharp and often drilled in hand-to-hand combat and posed scenarios for boarding actions in both taking and defending the ship. All of this was to further his goal of taking one of the US Navy’s prized frigates in a one-on-one battle and returning to Halifax with a prize crew aboard. Broke was waiting off Boston harbour and hoped to take the US Frigate Constitution, similar to Broke, Captain James Lawrence also wanted the Constitution to command. The orders issued by the Navy were to take command of the US Frigate Chesapeake. Yes, the same unlucky Chesapeake that nearly sparked a war in 1807. Broke had missed engaging the US Frigate President after it slipped by under fog and with the Constitution still in repair, the British captain had only one ship to choose from, the Chesapeake. He would pen a personal challenge to Captain Lawrence and send it by way of an exchanged American prisoner. But the letter never reached Lawrence, who under full sail with three American flags flying sailed from Boston Harbor with his battle flag flying which read “Free Trade and Sailor’s Rights” the frigate sailing right past the boat bearing the challenge. On paper, the two ships were evenly matched in crew and guns, but the only difference was that the Shannon had been on patrol for fifty-four days and the margin in which Broke could effectively engage an enemy had narrowed. On 1 June the two ships would spot each other between Cape Anne and Cape Cod. Lawrence would make for the British frigate but despite having the weather in his favour, refused to rake the Shannon. Broke laid out his careful orders for the crew, not to seriously damage the Chesapeake but rather disarm her by knocking out the guns and her crew. And the Shannon’s crew did just that sending the first broadside right through the enemy’s gundeck. The American crew tried to respond but found that their under-loaded guns would either fire short or the shots would harmlessly bounce off Shannon’s hull. The two ships would trade fire back and forth, with the Americans managing to land some shots against the Shannon’s rigging and taking out some of her cannon. As the two ships passed each other, Lawrence ordered a luffing manoeuvre to slow the Chesapeake. The move exposed his quarter-deck and Shannon’s gun crews took advantage of this and sent fire into the deck, killing several officers and more importantly taking out the ship’s wheel and the helmsman. The Chesapeake responded by shooting out the Shannon’s bell killing a few sailors at the same time. But the now out-of-control frigate collided with the British ship and boarding parties were called up. Captain Broke would lead the first party aboard the American frigate, most of the crew above the decks had been killed and soon Captain Lawrence shot by a Marine sharpshooter was pulled to the lower decks shouting to his crew not the give up the ship. A pair of enterprising Lieutenants would bravely lead a counter-attack from below decks nearly forcing the attackers back, but reinforcements from the Shannon’s tops who had made the dangerous crossing through the rigging pushed them back. When a gust of wind separated the two ships, the Americans again pushed their advantage, one managing to land a blow to Broke’s head, seeing their captain fall the sailors and Marines responded with violent force, shattering the brief resistance. When another shot rang out from below decks, killing a marine, the whole thing nearly turned into a massacre. Only the threat from a surviving American officer forced the surrender. The survivors were locked below decks, with a pair of their guns loaded with grapeshot pointed into the hold through holes in the deck. Command would fall to Lieutenant Provo Wallis as Broke was injured beyond his ability to command. Captain Lawrence would die en route to Halifax, but he and the American dead were buried with full military honours.

Major-General Henry Dearborn had taken his time to secure his position on the Niagara peninsula. But the British attack on Sacketts Harbor had removed any naval support from Commodore Chauncy and left Dearborn in a precarious position. Notably the possibility of a counterattack from the growing garrison at Burlington Heights. But Dearborn was also cautious and never took advantage of the chaotic British retreat and failed to quickly pursue the fleeing army of Major-General John Vincent. It wasn’t until early June that Dearborn sent a brigade under Brigadier-General William Winder up to 40 Creek to survey the defences at Burlington Heights. Winder requested additional reinforcements and a second brigade under Brigadier-General John Chandler advanced from Fort George. These were no small armies, made up mostly of regular infantry regiments and supported by artillery, and on 4 June advanced on the village of Stoney Creek making camp on the Gage Family farm with Winder and Chandler establishing their headquarters in the family home. These movements had not gone unnoticed by the locals, specifically Billy Green. Green had watched the armies march up on Stoney Creek and learned that his cousin, Isaac Corman, had returned home after being held prisoner by the Americans. Green went to visit his cousin who told the story of how he used his familial connection to Major-General William Henry Harrison (they were cousins) to secure his escape and that the Americans provided him with the counter-sign to get past the sentries with the promise Corman would not pass the information along to the British. Corman would tell the password to Green and Green prompted went to Burlington Heights with all this new information. Green would speak to both Lieutenant-Colonel John Harvey and Lieutenant James Fitzgibbon. When the information was presented to General Vincent, he sent Fitzgibbon to survey the American camps. Using a disguise, the brash lieutenant fully scouted out the American camp and returned to Burlington Heights, Harvey and Fitzgibbon knew that they did not have enough troops to conduct a traditional assault on the American camp, but the way it was spread out and the lack of central artillery support provided an opportunity to launch a surprise attack using darkness as cover. Vincent agreed and ordered Colonel Harvey to lead the attack and sortied a force of the 8th (King’s), and 49th (Hertfordshire) along with a limited number of Indigenous and militia troops. Marching out of Burlington Heights at 11:30 pm on 5 June the column marched in total silence, having removed their flints to prevent an accidental discharge. Green would help guide the column as he knew the area and route well. In the pre-dawn hours of 6 June the advance party encountered the first American sentries, using the password, quickly approached and dispatched with the outpost before an alarm could be raised. The goal was to burst into the camp of the 25th US Infantry as they were exposed and away from the main body of troops, only when the column charged in, they found only cooks as the troops had been relocated to fix the initial tactical error. The trouble was that as the British moved in, General Vincent, who had come along misread the confusion and let out a cheer which was picked up by others on his staff, the element of surprise had been lost as the alarm raced through the camp.

The troops now scrambled to fix flints and make to fight as the Americans were quick to respond to the alarm. Only the steady leadership and dim early light help the British hide the lopsided numbers. Damp powder slowed the artillery from getting into the fight, but the Americans were quick to screen the British from assaulting the hill where the artillery stood waiting. But when the artillery did open up, the results were terrifying and General Vincent felt all was lost and made to retreat. But the odd thing was that General Winder in the confusion felt his flank was about to collapse and ordered the 5th US Infantry, holding back the British from advancing on the artillery, to march off to shore up the flank. A similar tactical error was made by General Chandler ordering the artillery to cease fire. Major Charles Plenderleith spotted the opening and ordered the 49th to quickly advance up the hill as the artillery stopped their barrage, the rapidity of the advance overwhelmed the gun crews running them off and when the order was returned, a volley from the 49th drove back the 23rd US Infantry on the other side of the hill. Chandler and Winder soon found themselves left behind as the centre of the American line scattered and quickly taken prisoner at the point of the bayonet. Major Joseph Smith, seeing the line collapse ordered his 25th US Infantry to retreat rather than risk capture. This left the surviving American troops under the command of Colonel James Burns of the 2nd US Dragoons who rallied his men into a cavalry charge against what he thought was a British line, only to smash the 16th US Infantry. As dawn crept up the horizon, Colonel Harvey ordered a general retreat, fearing that the light would expose the small British force and see the Americans rally. But the Americans were already quitting the field in chaos having lost a large number of men and their entire artillery battery in the attack. Vincent would be discovered on the return to Stoney Creek, some seven miles from the battle wandering through the woods as he had gotten lost and the British occupied the former American camp. The American retreat would stop at 40 Creek where Major-General Morgan Lewis would be waiting, but the Americans would not stay there for long. Indigenous and militia troops spurred on by the victory a few days before would begin to harass the American camp on 8 June. The Americans responded in kind pushing back the small force only to face Commodore James Yeo’s squadron would come into view, and the HM Schooner Beresford would move in close to the shore and begin bombarding the American camp. The timely arrival of regular troops forced the Americans back and into retreat unable to face an enemy on two fronts. Between Stoney Creek and 40 Creek, the Americans lost not only soldiers but supplies including a large number of tents, arms, artillery and ammunition. And with Chauncy still held up around Sacketts Harbor, General Dearborn faced having his lines of supplies and communications cut as Commodore Yeo began to harass American ships and settlements on Lake Ontario. And General Vincent would advance further into the peninsula establishing several forward outposts to conduct land-based raids and force the Americans to hide behind their lines.

One such raid came on 13 June, Yeo ordered that the small village of Charlotte, which was one of many supply depots along the lake, be raided. The small force landed under Commander William Mulcaster who made quick work rounding up the residents and putting them under guard in the home of harbormaster Sam Latta. From there the force of sailors and marines cracked open the government warehouse taking supplies including arms, ammunition, food, salt, and alcohol. But the force had been spotted by a nearby farmer who alerted the local militia who arrived in time to see the small British force sail away with no deaths, injuries or property damage. General Dearborn had left Fort George leaving command to Brigadier-General John Boyd who now faced a growing army of unrest. The British outposts had forced the Americans to roll back to Fort George and not patrolling far outside the town. It also did not help that he faced growing calls to do something by pro-American locals and his officers. Rumours of such an action taking place quickly spread, as demands, mainly from the newly promoted Colonel Charles Boerstler, spread throughout the region to launch an attack against the nearest outpost commanded by Lieutenant Fitzgibbon. The rumours eventually reached to American officers billeted in Queenston in the Secord home and were overheard by Laura, the wife of James Secord. Laura upon hearing of this planned attack took it upon herself to warn the British at the DeCou House outpost, leaving in the early hours of 22 June travelling openly to St. Davids then heading into the woods. Here she got turned around and ended up further north than expected, stumbling into the camp of Kahnawake allies, convincing them she was looking for a British officer, they guided her to the DeCou house where she passed the information along to Lieutenant Fitzgibbon. Fitzgibbon took the warning seriously and called up two officers from the British Indian Department, Captain Dominic Ducharme and Captain William Kerr to move their Indigenous troops out and scout for the American column. The column however had only left Fort George on 23 June, General Boyd had given in to Colonel Boerstler and assigned a force of US regular troops, a pair of artillery pieces and a force of militia commanded by Dr Cyrenius Chapin who also acted as guide, but was not pleased with command being given to Boerstler. The two men would argue along the way, passing through St. Davids on 24 June. The column travelled along the road beneath the escarpment, with Chapin worried that they were too exposed and that Indigenous troops could be hiding in the woods above. When a pair of scouts were spotted, the Americans were quick to take a shot, killing one but the other managed to escape. Word of the American column would eventually reach Fitzgibbon, proving that the information Laura had brought them had been correct. And Fitzgibbon sent word ahead to the main body of Indigenous troops to meet the American column and engage them while he would bring up his detachment of regulars from the 49th Regiment would move up to spring a trap. The American column ran straight into the massed group of Indigenous warriors and began a short bloody running skirmish, the exact details have been muddied as the two American commanders would blame each other for the loss, and the two British officers would paint their bodies of troops in a better light. But in the fight, Boestler would be injured and into the mess rode Fitzgibbon who demanded that the Americans surrender as they were surrounded by a vastly superior force. Boerstler would call Fitzgibbons’s bluff and ask to see this vast force, which Fitzgibbon denied and then faced with having to get a superior officer. Up rode Captain John Hall of the Provincial Dragoons, and Fitzgibbon explained the role he needed Hall to play, that of Major PW DeHarren. Captain Hall fell into the role with ease and played up the danger faced by the Americans by the waiting Indigenous troops and everything was going according to play until the arrival of the real Major DeHarren and Lieutenant-Colonel Ceil Bisshopp. It was quick thinking by Fitzgibbon to pull aside both Bisshopp and DeHarren and then continue the ruse much to the senior officer’s surprise. Boerstler thrown off surrendered immediately.

The American loss at Beaver Dams would shake the occupation army to the core, and General Boyd would restrict any patrols to even closer to the Fort, most not even leaving the town proper. This allowed the British to move even closer, closing the noose around the American beachhead and increasing their raids. On 4 July, a mixed force of regulars under Lieutenant Fitzgibbon and militia under Lieutenant-Colonel Thomas Clarke crossed the Niagara River and landed below Fort Schlosser, a small depot fort. The British quickly suppressed the small garrison, and helped themselves to the storehouses, carrying off small arms, ammunition, artillery, and foodstuff, then after an hour left. The local militia showed up and took potshots at the retreating British without causing any injury. A few days later, Captain William Hamilton Merritt from the Provincial Dragoons and a group of Indigenous troops were on patrol near the edge of the town of Niagara and discovered a medical supply cache that had been buried during the retreat in May, but the Indigenous troops alerted a group of US Dragoons which drove the patrol off. Returning the next day with additional support from the 8th (King’s Regiment), Merritt directed the Indigenous allies to move ahead to a nearby farm, where again a sentry noticed the movement and alerted the fort, which sortied a large group of dragoons. The attack forced the Indigenous to retreat to where Merritt and the regulars were digging up the supplies. But the Americans would attempt to out flank the troops only to get lost and run right into them. The skirmish was short, killing the officer and taking most prisoners. But when Merritt learned of the killing of prisoners who had surrendered, he stepped in and demanded that the prisoners be turned over to the regulars. On 11 July, Colonel Bisshopp would take the fight right to the American naval yard at Black Rock, landing below Fort Gibson, quickly overrunning the small garrison with a mixed force of regulars and militia. Bisshopp then ordered the storehouses raided, and the naval yard burned along with the fort. Then commandeered a group of bateaux, stashing the supplies and burning anything they couldn’t carry. The fight had alerted Major-General Peter Porter who called up any militia trooper he could find and went to intercept the British force as they returned to their landing site, again the fight was brief, but the British managed to escape with Bisshopp taking a wound that would ultimately kill him as they crossed. The American occupation had brought about a shift in the loyalties of several local citizens, one of them Joseph Willcox would lead a group of pro-American men across the river to render their services to the American army, and formed a small group known as the Canadian Volunteers an irregular unit that would fight in Upper Canada for the American army.

In the west, the two British commanders were in a bind. Major-General Henry Proctor was faced with a dwindling number of troops and had been forced to give up men from the 41st (Welch) and the Royal Newfoundland Regiments along with several heavy cannon to supply the Lake Erie squadron under Commodore Robert Barclay, which lacked both guns and sailors. Both men had petitioned General de Rottenburg for reinforcements but were largely ignored. Even requests to Commodore Yeo were largely ignored, but any supplies would have to be sent via the land, rather than by water. It also didn’t help that Proctor was being goaded into fighting a delaying action against General Harrison and the blockade of Presque Isle. With Barclay tying up Commodore Perry’s squadron, Proctor would march south hoping to knock out Fort Meigs. The fort, once a massive fortification had been reduced to a single blockhouse surrounded by a palisade and manned by a small garrison commanded by General Green Clay. Proctor’s small force lacked any artillery support and the small arms fire only annoyed the garrison. Proctor and Tecumseh cooked up a plan, they knew an American relief column was marching to the fort, and planned to stage an ambush in the woods near the fort, hoping to lure the garrison out. The problem was when they started up the mock battle in the woods near the fort, firing their muskets and shouting, the garrison knew that their column could not be under attack, as the British posed the battle in the wrong area. Proctor was left with no choice but to try and dislodge the Americans at a different spot pulled up the siege and retreated. On 25 July, Commodore Chauncy returned to Niagara with a force of five hundred regulars under the command of Colonel Winfield Scott. The two commanders planned to assault Burlington Heights in a combined attack, with Chauncy sailing and Scott marching the two approached Burlington Heights. Only to find that General de Rottenburg had relocated most of the regulars in the region to the fortification and they called off the attack. But they learned that de Rottenburg’s move had stripped York of any defenders save a small detachment from the 19th Light Dragoons. On 31 July, Scott landed a small force unopposed and proceeded to raid the small garrison, taking arms, artillery, ammunition and several bateaux. Then proceeded to burn down the barracks and the blockhouse at Gibraltar Point. But they hadn’t got all the supplies as the dragoons had successfully moved some supplies out of the reach of the Americans. But in an odd twist, Commodore Chauncy returned all the books looted from the town’s library taken in April.

General Harrison soon got wind of General Proctor’s next target, the small garrison at Fort Stephenson. The garrison, commanded by Major George Croghan numbered at less than two hundred troops and a single six-pound gun. Rather than hand an easy victory to the British, Harrison ordered Croghan to burn the fort and march to Sandusky. But the messenger got lost and when Croghan received the orders he replied that he could not complete the task and would remain to defend the post. Harrison was not used to having his orders disobeyed and sent a lieutenant colonel to relive Croghan and complete the orders he gave him. Much to Harrison’s surprise, Croghan came to Sandusky to plead his case in person. Harrison’s mind was changed and let Croghan defend his post. The young major assumed that any assault would come from the northwest side of the fort and had a deep and wide ditch completed to prevent the use of scaling ladders he also affixed bayonets to the outer palisade. Proctor arrived with a large force of regulars, militia and Indigenous troops and also this time a limited number of artillery pieces. But the small calibre and the distance from the fort from the guns mounted on a gunboat on the river proved ineffective. The defenders fired back with their single gun but moved it around to different positions to make it appear as if they had more than one cannon. When the artillery barrage failed, Proctor sent a pair of officers up to demand the fort’s surrender playing the old card that Proctor would not be able to control the Indigenous troops if the walls were breached. Ensign Shipp, representing the Americans would not fall for the old trick and insisted that if the British were to breach the walls, all the defenders would already be dead. With both options off the table, Proctor prepared for an artillery assault. Croghan continued to believe the assault would come from the northwest, but the column would feint first to the south and then a second feint before marching in on the northwest wall. The column was pepered by small arms fire and the attackers found themselves in the deep ditch and did their best with the woefully short ladders. Then the single cannon opened up when a critical mass formed in the dry ditch, pre-sighted and loaded with grapeshot, the effect was devastating. Turning the ditch into a mass grave, only a handful survived and escaped, the assault cost Proctor a majority of his force and he had little choice but to limp back to Fort Amherstburg. To add insult, Barclay could no longer maintain his blockade of the American naval station and also withdrew back to Amherstburg. Leaving the door wide open for Commodore Perry to send his squadron onto the lake using a major feat of engineering to lift the completed ships over the sand bar and onto their training at the anchorage in Put-In-Bay, Ohio.

The sudden and violent reversal at Stoney Creek would make the Americans turn tail and run, but de Rottenburg failed to take advantage of the disarray to push the Americans completely out of Upper Canada. Preferring a more cautious approach to better preserve the dwindling supply of regular troops. It also prevented any reinforcements from reaching the west and forced Proctor and Barclay to fight with their hands tied. Ultimately it would open the door for General Harrison to invade from the western frontier. For his actions at Beaver Dams and Fort Schlosser, Lieutenant Fitzgibbon was promoted to Captain and transferred to the Glengarry Light Infantry. Major Croghan was promoted to Lieutenant-Colonel and awarded a congressional gold medal. While the British had successfully recovered from a bloody spring the period of fighting through the summer would prove to be the source of many legends and myths about the war. Most notable is the Battle of Beaver Dams, which often will play up the role of Laura Secord, which only recently began to change to bring out a more truthful narrative. And that’s the biggest problem with history is that it is often written by those who want to play up a certain point of view.

Visiting the site of a naval battle can be difficult; if you’re in Halifax, Nova Scotia, there is plenty to see of the engagement between Shannon and Chesapeake. The Maritime Museum of the Atlantic is home to Shannon’s Bell and many other exciting exhibits. Additionally, you can visit the Naval Museum of Halifax, which is located at CFB Halifax and also holds artefacts from the base’s time as a Royal Navy Establishment; you can also ask permission to view the old Royal Navy Burial grounds, which is on the main part of the base and not usually accessible to the public. But you can see the cemetery from Barrington Street. A gun from each ship is said to stand outside the Nova Scotia Legislature and you can read a fictionalised take on the action in Patrick O’Brian’s The Fortune of War. The Chesapeake Mill contains some of the timber from the HMS Chesapeake it is located in Wickham, United Kingdom, while the Shannon was broken up in 1859, you can visit her sister ship, HMS Trincomalee at the National Museum of the Royal Navy Hartlepool in Hartlepool, UK. The Stoney Creek battlefield is well preserved and is home to Battlefield House and two monuments to the battle; the original is located on King Street West, west of Battlefield Park. The 1913 monument is located behind the Gage Farmhouse, original to the battle. The site also hosts an annual reenactment, which I have had the privilege and honour of attending and participating in. There is also a plaque to the skirmish at 40 Creek, located near the battle site. Today, Charlotte is a part of Rochester, New York; a series of plaques outlining the raid and some original buildings, including the Latta House, still standing. Laura Secord’s house is now a museum in Queenston, Ontario. She is buried next to her husband in the Drummond Hill cemetery on Lundy’s Lane in Niagara Falls, Ontario. You can find the original 1895 monument to the Battle of Beaversdam and additional memorials in Beaverdams Memorial Park in Thorold, Ontario, as the original battlefield is now underwater as part of the Welland Canal. A new monument was erected that outlines a more accurate narrative, and it is found at the intersection of Old Thorold Stone Road and Davis Road in Thorold, Ontario. The ruins of the DeCou house are located on Decew Road in Fonthill, Ontario. The former site of Fort Schlosser is located in Niagara Falls, New York, along the Niagara Scenic Parkway, and several historic plaques outline the site’s history. You can also find a plaque tucked away behind a fence outlining the raid on Ball’s Farm is located at Butler’s Burial Ground at the end of Butler Street in Niagara-On-The-Lake, Ontario. Black Rock has been a part of Buffalo since 1836, there is a plaque at 1602 Niagara Street where the old navy yard stood. Fort Meigs is a reconstruction of the original fort as it stood during the first siege; there are multiple memorials to that siege, while the second is largely forgotten. A reenactment takes place annually on the Memorial Day long weekend. A plaque to the second Battle of York can be found near the entrance of Coronation Park on Toronto’s CNE grounds. The former site of Fort Stephenson is now the Birchard Public Library of Sandusky County; you can find it located outside the library Old Betsey, the original cannon used by the garrison to defend against the British attack, along with a historical plaque.