Battle of Lundy's Lane
The Battle of Lundy's Lane (25 July 1814) was one of the bloodiest battles of the War of 1812. Fought near the location of present-day Niagara Falls, it saw a US army under Jacob Brown clash with a British force under Gordon Drummond. Although the battle was inconclusive, it rendered the Americans incapable of continuing their invasion of Canada.
Battle of Lundy's Lane
Alonzo Chappel (Public Domain)
Background: The Americans Invade Niagara
On 3 July 1814, the United States launched its final largescale invasion of British Canada. Led by Major General Jacob Brown, an army of 3,600 US soldiers, state militiamen, and Seneca warriors crossed the Niagara River to assault Fort Erie, a British stronghold located on the Niagara Peninsula. The British garrison, outnumbered and taken by surprise, quickly surrendered, giving the Americans control of the fort. The next day, one of Brown's subordinates, Brigadier General Winfield Scott, led his brigade north in an attempt to push back the forward elements of the Right Division of the British Army, which had been left to defend the peninsula. The British had a little less than 2,000 men – 1,350 regulars, 350 Native American warriors, and 200 Canadian militiamen – but their commander, Major General Phineas Riall, believed that his men would make up in training and discipline what they lacked in numbers. Therefore, instead of pulling back in the face of Scott's advance, Riall dug in at Chippawa Creek, guarding the one bridge over the creek.
On 5 July, the Americans and British clashed at the Battle of Chippawa. Initially, the fortunes of battle swung in favor of the British. Advancing through the woods, the scarlet-coated regulars managed to scatter the American pickets and push back the undisciplined state militiamen without much of an issue. But then, they came face to face with General Scott's brigade of gray-clad US regulars. For the past several months, Scott had been tirelessly drilling his troops at their camp outside Buffalo, New York; these drills would last anywhere between seven and ten hours a day, with inspections and parade marches taking place weekly. As a result, Scott's soldiers were much more disciplined than the half-trained US troops the British had been used to fighting in earlier battles. The British officers watched with bewilderment as Scott's men loaded their muskets and fired in unison, unwavering under fire. Upon realizing that these were regulars, Riall marched his own best troops out to face them. For 20 minutes, the American and British regulars stood their ground, exchanging deadly volleys, until at last the redcoats broke and fled.
A few days after the battle, Riall withdrew north along the Niagara River, eventually making his way to Fort George on Lake Ontario. This frustrated Brown, who lacked the manpower and heavy artillery necessary to take the fort. Instead of pursuing, Brown moved his army to Queenston, a settlement seven miles (11 km) south of Fort George and the site of the first attempted American invasion of Niagara two years earlier. Here, Brown decided to wait for assistance from Commodore Isaac Chauncey, who commanded the US fleet on Lake Ontario; his hope was that Chauncey could ferry supplies and reinforcements to the army at Queenston, and perhaps even aid in the eventual attack on Fort George. But Chauncey, prickly as he was, had no intention to play second fiddle. In the commodore's view, the US ships on Lake Ontario had become subservient to the needs of the army and were being used only as glorified transport vessels, which he felt injured the honor of the navy. This was mostly a problem of Chauncey's own making; he could sail out and challenge the British ships on the lake to a battle anytime he wanted but preferred instead to procrastinate in Sackets Harbor, wasting more time and money building unnecessary ships.
Continue reading...
