Just in Time for Halloween, Haunted Buffalo-- Part 1: Old County Hall's Dismembered Apparitions

From the October 28, 2020, Buffalo (NY) Rising "Haunted History: Old County Hall is at the center of Buffalo's most dramatic moments" by Daniel Lendzian.

THE WAR OF 1812

The Old County Hall is the site where Colonel Cyrenius Chapin surrendered  the village of Buffalo to the British on December 10, 1813, to British Lieutenant General  Gordon Drummond after American Brigadier General George McClure abandoned the village saying, "They may all be destroyed, and I don't care how soon."  (Nice guy.)

Drummond rejected Chapin's authority to surrender and proceeded to burn the village in retaliation for the American burning  of the British settlement Newark (Niagara-On-the-Lake) and previously having burned the Canadian provincial capital of York (now Toronto).

Much business is still done at the building today, especially in the basement.  Accordingly, every so many years there will be many people down there waiting for appointments and they will all come running up the stairs saying they had seen something that scared them.

They described apparitions as human bodies missing limbs.  Was the County Hall a burying ground?

Like Boo!!  --Brock-Perry

Fort George, Canada-- Part 5: The Town of Niagara Sacked

On December 10, 1813, Gen. George McClure ordered a retreat of the American forces across the Niagara River.  In addition, he also ordered the destruction of the Canadian town of Niagara.  When the British arrived on the scene, they were met with a horrifying sight.

Captain William Hamilton Merritt of the Provincial Dragoons recalled that "nothing but heaps of coals, and the streets full of furniture... met the eye in all directions."  About 130 homes had been put to the torch, and some 400 townspeople, mainly women, children and elderly men) were left without shelter.

Fort George remained in British hands for the rest of the war.  During the American occupation, parts of Fort George had been rebuilt and the British also continued to rebuild.  But by  the 1820s, Fort George was essentially in ruins.  The British Army abandoned the fort  in favor of Butler's Barracks and Fort Mississauga.

In the 1930s, Fort George was reconstructed to its pre-1812 configuration under the guidance of the Royal Engineers, and designated a National Historic Site of Canada.  Today, visitors can tour the blockhouses where common soldiers and their families shared cramped living space, the  more elegant officers quarters

The stone powder  magazine, which survived the attack, is the only structure that is original to the fort and the oldest building in Niagara-on-the-Lake (the new name of Niagara).

--Brock-Perry

Fort George, Canada-- Part 4: The Battle of Fort George and American Occupation

On the morning of May 25, 1813,  batteries at Fort Niagara and  along the American side of the Niagara River unleashed a devastating bombardment  on Fort George.  Almost every building within the fort was destroyed.

Two days a later, a large American invading force landed west of the mouth of the Niagara River.  The town of Niagara was turned into a battlefield  as the Americans pushed toward Fort George.  British and Canadian militia forces put up stiff resistance, but were heavily outnumbered.

Around noon, the order was given to retreat, and the British retired to Burlington Heights (located in present-day Hamiliton, Canada).

The Americans occupied Fort George for almost seven months, but failed to maintain a strategic foothold in Upper Canada following their defeats at Stoney Creek and Beaver Dams.  By December 1813 the U.S. forces at Fort George had dwindled down to a small handful of militia.

After an American scouting party encountered a large force of British on reconnaissance , the commanding officer at Fort George, Brigadier General George McClure of the New York militia,  feared an attack was imminent.

And, Then....  --Brock-Perry

Steps of a Traitor-- Part 4: Retaliation

When the British forces arrived on the scene of the smoking Newark,. they were enraged.  They took on the Canadian volunteers, killing two and capturing several.  Willcocks and the others got away.

In retaliation, Gordon Drummond crossed the Niagara River a few days later, captured Fort Niagara in a surprise attack and in the next few weeks, likewise torched several towns and villages, including Lewiston, Black Rock and Buffalo on the American side which they occupied until the war's end.

How many of Newark's civilians died in 1813 is not known, but undoubtedly many froze to death.

Shortly after his order to burn Newark, American General George McClure was relieved of his command and dismissed from the army.  Joseph Willcocks now had a price on his head.

A Traitor to Canada.  --Brock-Perry

Steps of a Traitor, Joseph Willcocks-- Part 3: The Burning of Newark

The Americans abandoned Fort George on December 10, 1813,   Near Fort George was the town of Newark where Joseph Willcocks had  lived and printed his controversial newspaper  for six years.

Following orders from the American officer in charge of the fort,  and upon Willcocks' urging, Brigadier General George McClure, the Americans forcibly removed the residents of Newark, mostly the young and old women and children and forced them out into the snow and freezing weather.  There were about 400 people who suffered this.

Then Willcocks and his raiders and other Americans, burned  around 150 homes to the ground, leaving just three buildings standing.  The townspeople were forced to cope as well as they could in the freezing temperatures and 2-3-foot snow drifts.

In one situation, Willcocks ordered two men to forcibly remove a sickly woman, bed and all, and deposit her in the snow.  Earlier that year, he had sent her husband, William Dickson, stateside as a prisoner.  While she was being taken out, Willcocks personally set fire to the two-story home.

After all the burnings, the Americans retreated across the Niagara River, with the Canadian Volunteers forming the rear guard.  They crossed just as the British and Canadians under Lt. General Sir Gordon Drummond arrived on the scene.

--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 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

Amos Hall-- Part 1: Thrown Into the Fight

From the Encyclopedia of the War of 1812.

Helped form the local militia in New York and held commissions in it for many years before the War of 1812.  Saw limited action in the early stages of the war, but became a brigadier general.

When the the highly unpopular Brigadier General George McClure was removed from command on the Niagara Frontier in mid-December 1813, Hall succeeded him on December 25.

Fearing a British attack on Buffalo, Hall arrived the following day and established his headquarters between Buffalo and Black Rock in hopes of defending both, but he lacked the troops and resources to do it.

--Brock-Perry

Timeline for December 1813-- Part 1: The Burning of Niagara, Upper Canada

DECEMBER 10TH: Burning of Newark.

Major General David Adams burned Nuyaka.

THE BURNING OF THE TOWN OF NIAGARA, UPPER CANADA:

By December 1813, U.S. Brigadier General George McClure was left with only 100 soldiers to defend his base at Niagara. On 10 December, after giving inhabitants little notice, he ordered the destruction of the town and withdrew his men to Fort Niagara, NY.

Elderly and sickly men, women and children were turned out into a fierce winter blizzard. The treasonous "Canadian Volunteers" led by Joseph Willcocks burned the first capital of Upper Canada and pillaged the wretched people.

British and Canadian troops arrived that evening too late to save any buildings but found Fort George in better condition, complete with artillery and camp equipment. McClure had acted against his orders and was forced to resign.

--Brock-Perry