Haunted Buffalo-- Part 2: Burned in the War of 1812

Even though the attempt was made to surrender the village of Buffalo, the British soldiers were to have their revenge for the Newark and York burnings.  They set the town ablaze and the flames made quick work of nearly all the 150 structures that made up Buffalo back then.

They also burned the neighboring community of Black Rock.

The British returned to Canada with 130 prisoners  They lost 31 men and the Americans  50 in the Battle of Buffalo.

When the fires ceased, all  that remained was the "stone jail, Reese's blacksmith shop and the house of Margaret St. John.  Within a week of the attack, the residents of Buffalo began to rebuild.

--Brock-Perry

Lt. Col. Seymour Boughton, Killed at the Battle of Buffalo

In Friday's post, I mentioned the death of Lt. Col. Seymour Boughton at the battle.

He commanded a new unit added to the Ontario County (NY) Militia, the 12th Regiment Cavalry, on May 23, 1812.  He was killed and scalped by Indians as he fled from the burning town of Buffalo.

From the July 23, 2013, Inside the Conservator's Studio.'

The red silk sash that belonged to Lt. Col. Seymour Boughton was brought to them to prepare for a showing at a local history exhibit in the area.

Boughton commanded a unit of 129 men of the 12th Regiment Cavalry, 1st Brigade Ontario County Militia.  He was from the town of Avon and died December 30, 1813, at the Battle of Buffalo, also called the Battle of Black Rock.

His sash is not ornate, but does feature a weave structure known as "sprang."

--Brock-Perry

The Battle of Buffalo-- Part 3: Two Towns Sacked and Razed

Gen. Amos Hall then took personal command at Black Rock.  As dawn broke, he directed a heavy cannonade and musketry at the British.  Riall advanced at the center and sent troops to attack the American right flank.

When the right flank broke and fled off in a rout, Hall was forced to order a general retreat of the whole American army in order not to be enveloped.  The British followed all the way to Buffalo, two miles away.  There they sacked and burned every building but four, destroyed the navy yard as well as three armed schooners: the Chippawa, Ariel and Little Belt.

They then returned to Black Rock and there they did the same to all but one building.

--Brock-Perry

The Battle of Buffalo-- Part 1: The Burning of Newark

From Wikipedia.

Also known as the Battle of Black Rock.

Took place near the Niagara River in western New York in what was called the Niagara Frontier.

British forces drove off a hastily-organized defense by militia and then engaged in considerable plundering and destruction.

This occurred in retaliation for the American burning of the Upper Canadian village of Newark (now Niagara-On-the-Lake).

Brigadier General George McClure, New York militia, commander of Fort George, decided to abandon that post December 10, 1813, and ordered that the neighboring village of Newark be destroyed.  He gave the people there only a few hours notice and then turned them out on a cold winter's night and then burned all but one of their 150 buildings to the ground.

Setting the Stage.  --Brock-Perry

Amos Hall-- Part 3: Loss of Buffalo and Later Life

Daylight of December 30, 1813, found Gen. Amos Hall's force marching to Black Rock with 1,200 militia and some Seneca Indian warriors.  This force attacked the British and did well until Hall ordered a withdrawal to prevent them from being enveloped by the British.

At this point, all discipline among the militia disintegrated and it turned into a rout.  The British took Black Rock and burned the entire village.

Hall now had some 800 men at nearby Buffalo and they lost that as well.  The British proceeded to burn the town as well as five ships tied up there.  Hall had at least 140 casualties in this action.

General Hall was subsequently blamed for the losses at Black Rock and Buffalo and removed from command in early winter 1814.  He remained with the militia until 1818 when he resigned with the rank of major general.

The rest of his life he was a prominent citizen of western New York until his death in West Bloomfield on December 28, 1827.

--Brock-Perry

Amos Hall-- Part 2: Lost the Battle of Black Rock (Also Called the Battle of Buffalo)

Amos Hall's militia force was inexperienced, poorly trained and poorly equipped to face the veteran British soldiers who were coming at them.  (However, Hall had been their commander so has to take some of the blame for their being poorly trained.)

Meanwhile, in Canada, Lt. General Sir Gordon Drummond was planning attacks on Buffalo and nearby Black Rock in retaliation for American General George McClure's destruction of Newark in Upper Canada a short time earlier.

By December 28, 1813, Amos Hall had deployed his American militia units inside of and along the periphery of Black Rock.  That night, British troops crossed the Shogeoquady Creek and Hall's militia fled.  American losses in the action amounted to around 800, most of whom had deserted or were in hiding.

Not a very good effort on the American side for this action.

--Brock-Perry