The Glengarry Light Infantry-- Part 2: The Battles of Ogdensburg

Edward Baynes was appointed the regiment's colonel, Major Francis Battersby became the units lieutenant colonel and Captain George MacDonnell became the major.

The Glengarry Light Infantry gathered and trained first at Trois-Rivieres in the first half of 1812 and then for the latter part its companies were  deployed to various sites in Upper Canada.

On 3 October, two of its companies were at  Prescott on the St. Lawrence River and were involved in the failed attack on Ogdensburg on the American side of the river.

(Civil War/Fort Fisher hero Newton Martin Curtis is buried in Ogdensburg, New York.)

However, the American town remained a target.  George MacDonnell, who had been promoted to lieutenant colonel and commanded the garrison at Prescott, mounted a successful attack in Ogdensburg, this time across a frozen St. Lawrence River.

A company of Glengarry Light Infantry and some militia made a frontal attack while the main body of MacDonell's force turned the  American right flank.  The Reverend Alexander Macdonell was conspicuous  in urging the militia and Glengarry soldiers in their advance.

--Brock-Perry

Battle of Ogdensburg Re-Enactment

Feb. 23. 2018, North Country (NY) Now  "Battle of Ogdensburg re-enactment this weekend.

There will be re-enactors on downtown streets of Ogdensburg, New York, February 24 and 25 re-enacting the February 23, 1812 battle that was fought there.

On that date, British forces crossed the frozen St. Lawrence River and captured supplies from the fort.

--Brock-Perry

War of 1812 Veteran Honoured in 2014-- Part 1: Col. James Vrooman

From the Nov. 13, 2014, My Kawartha.com by Scott Howard.

The heroism of Brook Township's Col. James Vrooman was recognized on the plaque installed at his grave at St. James United Church in Vroomanton.  The colonel's father, Adam, though living in the American colonies, remained loyal to Britain.

He later left the United States and came to Canada as a United Empire Loyalist.

Jame Vrooman was born in 1798 and joined the Glengarry Light Infantry Fencibles along with his brother when the War of 1812 started.  He fought in many battles throughout Upper Canada.  Among them were the capture of the American Army at St. Regis, the storming of Ogdensburg, Raid on Oswego and the Battle of Lundy's Lane.

At the end of the war, every British veteran was awarded land.

--Brock-Perry

Battle of Ogdensburg Commemorated

From the Feb. 19, 2015, Watertown Daily Times "Battle of Ogdensburg Happens Feb. 21-22"

The 30t annual re-enactment of the battler will take place in the streets of Ogdensburg this weekend, marking the 202nd anniversary of the February 22, 1813, battle.

The street battle will take place Saturday afternoon followed by a talk on General Thomas Benedict at the town's library.  Benedict was from DeKalb and commanded the northern frontier of New York from Sackets Harbor to Salmon River.  He was one of St. Lawrence County's highest ranking officers during the war.

--Brock-Perry

Canada's Fort Wellington-- Part 3

Even though the fort was never involved in a battle, it served as a staging and rallying point for local militia and regular British troops.

On February 22, 1813, about 500 men crossed the frozen St. Lawrence River and attacked Ogdensburg where they destroyed American military barracks and burned four ships frozen in the river. They returned with food, ammunition cannon and prisoners. This attack was in reprisal for the American raid earlier in the month on Ganonoque and Elizabethtown.

In November 1813, American General Wilkinson's army, on its way to attack Montreal, feared Fort Wellington's cannons so much that they disembarked from their ships above Ogdensburg and marched through town at night while the boats slipped by unloaded.

Once Wilkinson's army had slipped by, the fort's garrison followed them along the King's Highway (modern Highway 21) and on November 11th met at the Battle of Crysler's Farm near present-day Morrisburg, Ontario, and the much-larger American army was defeated. The attack on Montreal was abandoned and Canada was saved.

The fort fell into disrepair after the war and finally was abandoned in 1832.

Story of a Fort. --Brock-Perry

Canada's Fort Wellington-- Part 1

From Wikipedia.

Fort Wellington National Historic Site is a historic military fortification located on the north shore of the St. Lawrence River by Prescott, Ontario, orginally built in 1813 on land given by Major Edward Jessup, a prominent Loyalist who left Connecticut after the American Revolution and founded the town of Prescott in 1784.

The British government built it at the head of the Gallup Rapids. Prior to the opening of the St. Lawrence Seaway in 1950, these were a series of rapids that ran downriver from Prescott to Montreal. Shipping freight or passengers on regular lake ships was impossible and they would have to shift to smaller batteaux for this segment of the journey.

Prescott is located just a mile from Ogdensburg, New York, on the American side of the river and because of this, was especially vulnerable to military action.

Pretty Close to Have an Enemy. --Brock-Perry

War of 1812 Timeline: February 1813

From various sources.

5th--  John Armstrong becomes U.S. Secretary of War.
6th-7th--  American raid on Elizabethtown (Brocksville) on the St. Lawrence River.

16th--  104th Regiment begins march to Upper Canada.
22nd--  Battle of Ogdensburg, NY.  Ends American attempt to endanger British supply lines.  British captured Ogdensburg as retaliation for Elizabethtown Raid.

24th--  USS Hornet sinks HMS Peacock.

That's the Month.  --Brock-Perry

The First Battle of Ogdensburg 200 Years Ago Today

Or, perhaps yesterday, I found conflicting reports.

From Wikipedia.

After the war broke out, there was much illicit trade between Ogdensburg and Prescott, Upper Canada (now Ontario) across the St. Lawrence River.

This trade was checked in early October when the local militia was reinforced with a detachment of the 1st U.S. Rifle Regiment under Major Benjamin Forsyth.

On October 3, 1812, British militia attacked, but were quickly repulsed and dispersed.  During the next few months, Forsyth made several raids across the river, sniped at british troops and occasionally captured boatloads of supplies on their way to Kingston, Upper Canada.

Not All That Much.  --Brock-Perry

Walking and 1812 History in Ogdensburg, NY

From the May 6th North Country Now "Volkswalks combine walking, War of 1812 history in Odgensburg"

Five and ten kilometer walks around town begin at 100 Riverside Drive.

During the War of 1812, Americans under Major Benjamin Forsyth made several raids on British supplies across the frozen St. Lawrence River in the winter of 1813.  On Feb. 22, 1813, the British attacked Ogdensburg to remove the American threat.

The Americans initially held them off, but the larger British forces threatened to surround them and they had to retreat.  The British then burned American boats and schooners frozen in the ice and carried off artillery and other military supplies.

The walks cover parts of the battlefield.

On a side note, I'm a big Civil War buff, particularly about Fort Fisher.  One of the men responsible for the fort's fall, who also earned a Medal of Honor there, Newton Curtis, is buried in Odgensburg.  We might go to Ogdensburg on our way back from the NIU-Army football game in September.  Take the walk and then visit the cemetery.

So Get Your Exercise and History At the Same Time.  --Brock-Perry