Jesse Elliott, USN-- Part 3: A Remarkable Feat and Replacement

On 8 October 1812, he and Army Captain Nathan Towson captured captured the British brigs HMS Caledonia and HMS Detroit, anchored near the British Fort Erie in the upper reaches of the Niagara River (the Detroit was the former American USS Adams).

The Caledonia was loaded with furs and managed to make it to an American port.  The Detroit, on the other hand, was swept down the Niagara River into range of the British guns at the fort.  Elliott battled the fort until he ran out of ammunition and then beached his ship on Squaw Island and fled to the American side of the river.

British and American guns then destroyed the ship.  Elliott and Towson were later commended  for this action by Congress.

However, in February 1813, Elliott was replaced as commander of the Lake Erie American fleet by Master Commandant Oliver Hazard Perry.

(This very likely led to the problems between the two men at the Battle of Lake Erie later that year.)

--Brock-Perry

Historic Fort George-- Part 9: After the War of 1812

Fort Niagara remained under British control for the rest of the war and their focus shifted to more strategically located Fort Niagara across the river instead of Fort George.

In July 1814, American forces under Winfoeld Scott attempted to capture Fort Niagara, but called off the attack when he realized  that the naval support he had been promised would not come.

In 1817, American President James Monroe visited the Canadian side of the river on a goodwill trip and was entertained at Fort George by British officers.  However, Fort George's  inability to guard the entrance to the Niagara River caused a new installation named Fort Mississauga to be built near the mouth of the river in the 1820s.

During this same period, the constuction of Butler's Barracks was undertaken southwest of Fort George and out of range of American batteries.

The equipment within the fort was auctioned off in 1821 and the palisades relocated to other sites in the next year.  By 1825, the body of Isaac Brock was exhumed from the northeast bastion and placed at Brock's Monument in Queenston.

--Brock-Perry

Historic Fort George-- Part 8: British Recapture It and Then Capture American Fort Niagara

The Americans had intended to use Fort George as a bridgehead in Canadian territory to launch further attacks.  However, that did not come to pass.  Disease,  increased desertion rates,  risks of ambushes and a general British advance toward the fort following their victories at  Stoney Creek and Beaver Dams kept it from doing that.

American forces began a slow withdrawal from the fort until in December 1813, there were but 60 soldiers there.  Upon receiving intelligence that a force of 1,500 British and 500 First Nations Indians were advancing the Americans withdrew and razed the fort and nearby settlement.

The American garrison left the fort on December 11 after spiking the cannons and destroying the town.  However, the fort itself was left intact.

British forces arrived shortly after the Americans left.  Nine days later, they conucted an attack across the Niagara River that led to the capture of the American Fort Niagara and the razing of American communities in retaliation for what had happened to Niagara (the name of Niagara-on-the-Lake as it is called today).

--Brock-Perry

Historic Fort George-- Part 6: The Battle of Fort George

The Battle of Fort George began on 26 May 1813, when Fort George was subjected to an artillery barrage and heated shots from Fort Niagara across the river. Joining also from the Americans were new batteries along the shore of the Niagara River.  The result was the destruction of log buildings inside the fort.

Two days later, an American landing force of 2,500 crossed the river in  four waves about 1.9 miles from Fort George under cover of cannonade fire.  By the time the third wave attacked, Fort George's commander, Brigadier General  John Vincent, realized that his force of 560 men could not hold the place and were in risk of being outflanked and trapped in the fort.

He ordered the fort evacuated after the ammunition was destroyed and cannons spiked.  First Nations warriors under John Norton covered the British retreat although the Americans made no real effort to pursue them.

The Americans approached the fort carefully wanting to avoid possible casualties from the explosion of the fort's magazine, like had happened at the conclusion of the Battle of York.  Even so, they arrived in time to prevent the destruction of a substantial part of the fort.  They were able to extinguish one of the fuses that was going to blowup the magazine.

--Brock-Perry

Historic Fort George-- Part 3: Who's Higher?

Fort George was built by the British to serve as a secondary fort to Fort Niagara, across the Niagara River. Its large size was because it was originally also supposed to serve as a supply depot.

However, the Jay Treaty required the British to withdraw from Fort Niagara. In 1791, land was set aside to build the fortifications that became Fort George on the high ground next to the Navy Hall at Niagara-on-the-Lake.

The site was selected by mermbers of the Royal Engineers at an elevation of 14 feet higher than Fort Niagara across the river.

However, the British Army didn't leave Fort Niagara until 1796 after the Jay Tearty was signed.  Fort George was completed the same year with a blockhouse/barracks, a stone gunpowder storage magazine and two small warehouses.

In an attempt to negate the elevation advantage, Americans built a battery on an elevated bank across the river.  In an effort to counteract this, the British then built a half moon battery southeast of Fort George.

Fort George was largely manned by members of  the Royal Canadian  Volunteers after British forces withdrew many troops from Upper Canada.

--Brock-Perry

Two Heroines Along the Niagara River-- Same Forts, Different Years

As I was writing about Mary Madden Henry and her role at a battle at Fort George, Upper Canada, it came to mind that I had also written about another woman, only she was on the American side of the fighting there between Niagara, Upper Canada and the American Fort Niagara.  She too was a hero.

During the fighting on November 12, 1812, she had carried hot shot to American cannons firing at Fort George across the Niagara River.  Like with the case of Mary Henry, she was under fire as well.

I wrote quite a bit about her earlier this year in January and February.  Just click on her name below.

The battle where Mary Henry distinguished herself took place about six months later on May 27, 1813.

Some bravery with these two women.

Sadly, not a lot is known by most people about these two women.  There isn't even an entry on Wikipedia on either of them.

--Brock-Perry

Some More on Betsy Doyle-- Part 1

FromWCNY Org. Fort Niagara.

By Cathy Emmerson.

Betsy Doyle was a woman of the Army, one of a small number of military wives who were permitted to accompany their husbands to perform menial tasks like nursing and laundry.  Prior to the War of 1812, she had married  Andrew Doyle, a private in the 1st U.S. Artillery Regiment.

He was stationed at  Fort Niagara, an antiquated outpost on the Canadian/U.S. border, about 30 miles north of Buffalo, New York.

When U.S. forces invaded Upper Canada, just seven miles south  of the fort, on October 13, 1812, Private Doyle was among the forces crossing the Niagara River.  The subsequent Battle of Queenston Heights was a disaster for the Americans and Doyle became a prisoner of war.

When he was recognized as a  native of Upper Canada, he was sent to England to be tried for treason.  There he remained for the balance of the war, an inmate at the infamous Dartmoor Prison.

Andrew's capture left Betsy Doyle and her four children  alone at Fort Niagara.

--Brock-Perry

Betsy Doyle and the Battle of Fort Niagara-- Part 5: A 12-Hour Bombardment.

About an hour before sunrise, the British cannons at Fort George opened fire on Fort Niagara.    For the next twelve hours, the American and British artillery exchanged a cannonade  that was heard along the entire length of the Niagara River.

During this exchange, Betsy Doyle carried red-hot cannonballs from a fire to the six pound cannon mounted on top of the mess hall.  That hot-shot" was intended to set fire to British buildings and battlements.

But loading hot-shot was difficult and dangerous.  The hot iron  could cause gunpowder to explode prematurely in the cannon, wounding or killing anyone standing nearby.

--Brock-Perry

Betsy Doyle, American Heroine-- Part 2

From the  Nov. 12, 2012, Clements Library Chronicles "Today in History:  Heroine of Fort Niagara" by Brian Dunnigan.

Two hundred years ago, Betsy Doyle, wife of a U.S. artilleryman at Fort Niagara, New York, stood by the soldiers stationed at a gun platform during a ferocious exchange of cannon fire with the British-held Fort George across the Niagara River.

Betsy, whose name is often incorrectly given as "Fanny,"  was the wife of artilleryman Andrew Doyle.  As such, she was one of the many married women who accompanied their husbands into the field with both the British and American armies.

Doyle, however, was not present to see his wife's heroism; he had fought at the Battle of Queenston Heights on October 13, where he was taken prisoner.

--Brock-Perry

This Month in the War of 1812, July

From the American Battlefield Trust.

JULY 3, 1814

**  American troops under  Major General Jacob Brown cross Niagara River and capture Fort Erie.

JULY 12, 1812

**  General William Hull invades Canada from Detroit.

JULY 17, 1812

**  Fort Michilimakinac surrenders to British-Canadian forces.

JULY 22, 1814

**  Treaty of Greenville

JULY 25, 1814

**  Battle of Lundy's Lane, one of the fiercest battles of the war.

--Brock-Perry

Fort Schlosser-- Part 2

Fort Schlosser replaced Fort Petite Niagara, a small fortification built by the French which was burned by them while retreating prior to the Siege of Fort  Niagara in 1759.

The old stone chimney from the French fort was incorporated into the new fort.

Fort Gray guarded the end of the portage in Lewiston, New York.

Fort Niagara guards the mouth of the Niagara River where it flows into Lake Ontario.

Fort Schlosser was occupied by American troops  at the start of the War of 1812, but was captured and burned in 1813.

It was located in present-day Niagara Falls, New York, near the current water intakes  of the New York Power Authority off the Robert Moses Parkway.

Today, all that remains of the fort is the Old Stone Chimney, which was moved  to near the intersection of Buffalo Avenue and the Robert Moses  Parkway traffic circle.

--Brock-Perry

Fort Schlosser-- Part 1: By Niagara Falls

While looking at the map of the Niagara Frontier to the right of this, I saw this fort's name by Niagara Falls and didn't think I had ever written about it.  Turns out that I had on two occasions (click on the Fort Schlosser label).  But, these were essentially just in passing.

But. I determined to write some more about it, so here we go.

From Wikipedia.

Fort Schlosser was a fortification constructed in  Western New York  around 1760 by British Colonial forces in order to protect the southern part of the portage used to get around Niagara Falls.

The fort was named after is commander during construction, Captain John Schlosser of the Royal American Regiment of Foot, a practice that was common in the British Army.

The fort consisted of a stockade with several structures with including  two store houses and living quarters for men and officers.

There were also four cannons in the structure.

It was in use from 1760 to 1813.

--Brock-Perry

Coloured Corps-- Part 8: Fort Mississagua on the Niagara Frontier

One British officer later noted that:  "Mississagua... is a pretty  little Fort, and would prevent vessels coming up the river.."

These duties prevented the Coloured Corps from participating in the Niagara Campaign that summer.

Their services would have been of great assistance during the British Siege of Fort Erie in which the British desperately lacked the services of trained engineers.

Fort Mississagua:  The tower and earthworks are all that remain  of the barracks, guardroom and cells of Fort Mississagua.  Built between 1813 and 1816 to replace Fort George as the counterpoise to the American Fort Niagara directly  across the Niagara River from it,  it was garrisoned until 1826.

Repaired and rearmed following the Rebellion of 1837, it continued to be maintained  until 1854 in response to border disputes with the United States.

It was manned during the  tense years of the American Civil War and the Fenian Scare of 1866, but by 1870 it was no longer considered of military value.

--Brock-Perry

The Tuscarora Heroes Story-- Part 1: A Murderous Rampage

From Wikipedia.

In the early morning hours of December 19, 1813, the citizens of Lewiston, New York awoke to unimaginable horrors.   The small frontier village, situated on the Niagara River on the border of the United States and Canada, suddenly found itself on the front lines of war.

Hours earlier, under cover of night, British-Canadian troops had invaded the United States and captured American Fort Niagara without firing a shot.  Then they and their Indian allies  ran down River Road toward unsuspecting Lewiston, armed with torches, guns and tomahawks, intent on retribution and to turning Lewiston into a pile of ashes.

Poorly defended, the citizens of Lewiston were on their own.  They could only run for their lives through the snow and mud in hopes of escaping the impending atrocities.  Civilians were murdered in the rampage.

--Brock-Perry

Garrison Cemetery Called the War of 1812 Cemetery in New York

From Wikipedia.

Located in Cheektowaga, New York.

Garrison Cemetery is also known as the War of 1812 Cemetery in western New York near the Niagara River.  It is the final resting place of both British and American soldiers who fought in the Niagara  Campaign during the war.

It is located on the site of the former General Military Hospital which was established August 1, 1814,at Williams Mill.

It was listed on the on the NRHP in 2002.

--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

The Bloody Assize of 1814-- Part 1: High Treason

From Wikipedia.

A series of trials held at Ancaster, Upper Canada in 1814.  They resulted in treason convictions and subsequent execution of some of the men.

During the War of 1812, a number of Canadians living in the Niagara and  London Districts took up arms against Canadians and supported American raiders.  Many of these men, however, were American-born and later fled back to the United States.

In 1813, several groups of these men were captured and the following year nineteen were charged with high treason and charges were also filed against some who were not in custody and on the American side of the Niagara River.

In May 1814, a special court was established in Ancaster and a series of trials held in June.

--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 1: "Turn-Coated"

From Daniel Wyatt's High On History site.  "Joseph Willcocks:  Canada's War of 1812 Traitor."

"In fact, you might say that Willcocks was Canada's Benedict Arnold."  After doing this research, I must say this is a good point.  Once, backing the side he turned traitor on, both men went over to the other side and for their own particular reasons.

One iof the first things that troubled Willcocks was after the Americans attacked Queenston Heights and Isaac Brock was killed.  The British authorities then enacted martial law, where all rights were suspended, something that Willcocks could not and would not tolerate.  We'll call this the first step toward joining the Americans.

On May 27, 1813, about 5,000 Americans attacked Niagara, near Newark, capturing Fort George and chasing the British-Canadian forces almost back to Burlington Heights at present-day Hamilton.

Two months later, Willcocks crossed the Niagara River and offered his services to the Americans.  Mr. Wyatt believes that Willcocks may not have been pro-American, but thought the Americans would win.  "Not only had Willcocks 'turn-coated,' he had committed a treasonous act because he was still being a member of  the Upper Canadian Legislative Assembly."

--Brock-Perry

Joseph Willcocks-- Part 3: His Role In the Sack of Newark

Despite offering assistance and intelligence to the U.S. forces, Willcocks was never really trusted.  His associates, Abraham Markle and Benajah  Mallory vied for control of the Canadian Volunteers.

Probably Joseph Willcocks' greatest contribution to the War of 1812 was pushing for the sack and burning of Newark (Niagara-on-the-Lake) on December 10, 1813, in which three buildings were left standing.

This so infuriated and  inflamed public opinion on the Canadian side of the river that barely a week later, Canadian and British forces crossed the Niagara River into the United States and took Fort Niagara and then burned pretty much everything from Lake Ontario to Lake Erie.

--Brock-Perry