The War of 1812 (11 page)

Lieutenant Colonel Charles Boerstler led about six hundred Americans to Queenston on June 23 and spent the night there. The next day, his force of infantry, dragoons, mounted riflemen, and artillerymen set out for FitzGibbon's post. They had hoped to surprise it, but soon realized that the British had been warned of their advance. Nevertheless, confident in their strength, they continued until they were ambushed by native warriors attacking both their rear and their right flank. The Indians, 465 strong, included Seven Nations warriors from Lower Canada, Grand River Iroquois, and several other groups.
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They had several leaders, but the senior commander was Captain Dominique Ducharme of the Indian Department.

Portrait bust of Laura Secord by Mildred Peel, O.S.A.

[From the collection of the Government of Ontario.]

For three hours the Americans fought desperately against attackers they could barely see. They were terrified that if they surrendered the Indians would kill them all. FitzGibbon heard the shooting and hurried over with his troops. By this time the Americans were more than to willing to surrender to him. The victory, however, belonged to the Indians. FitzGibbon later wrote, “. . . not a shot was fired on our side by any but the Indians. They beat the American detachment into a state of terror. . . .”
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Beaver Dams was a small but important victory. American morale sank as, once again, a strong American force failed in a fairly simple task. The advance into Upper Canada was bringing not success but a series of humiliating defeats.

The Battle of Moravian Town, October 2, 1813.

[Courtesy of the Lilly Library, Indiana University, Bloomington,
Indiana.]

Beaver Dams was important to Canadians also because it produced the best-known heroine of the war. Laura Secord overheard the American officers in Queenston talking about the plan to attack De Cew's house and thought no time should be lost in warning FitzGibbon. Although she had a farm, children, and a wounded husband to look after, she undertook the difficult journey as soon as possible. Her route lay through thick woods, over sharp rocks and across unbridged streams, with the additional danger that she might be caught by American patrols. Historians do not know for certain whether or not her mission affected the battle of Beaver Dams, but she deserves to be remembered for her loyalty and courage.

The situation on the Niagara front was now a stalemate. The Americans could not break out from Fort George and recapture the peninsula, but the British and Canadians could not retake the fort. Skirmishing continued. In July, regulars and militia twice raided American posts across the river, bringing back guns and supplies, including salt, which was scarce in Upper Canada. In August, there was a clash between the Indians on either side and an unsuccessful attack on Fort George. Basically, however, both sides had no choice but to settle down and await the outcome of fighting elsewhere.

At this time, the Americans made a change in their policy towards Indian warriors. From not wanting to employ them in 1812, they recruited them in 1813 to serve within the United States. In July, General Dearborn went further and asked Erastus Granger to send Iroquois fighting men to the garrison at Fort George. Eventually, a battalion of about four hundred Iroquois was enrolled and they took an active part in skirmishes and battles in Upper Canada.

American control of Lake Erie meant that even with Tecumseh's help Procter could not hold on to Detroit nor stay at Fort Malden and Amherstburg. Supplies were short and the supply line seriously endangered. He had fewer than nine hundred regulars (mostly of the 41st), all of them weary from fighting and weakened by fever. American forces numbering several thousand could easily surround his position. But Tecumseh, who wanted to stay and fight, vehemently opposed a retreat. Hence, relations between the two leaders became increasingly strained during the withdrawal and final battle.

Although Procter really had no choice but to retreat up the Thames River towards Vincent's army, his time-consuming preparations gave the Americans time to move their forces and follow close behind. Procter left Fort Malden on September 27, only hours before Harrison landed with his troops from Perry's ships. Reinforcements, including mounted riflemen, joined Harrison on October 1. With his forces, now about 3,500 strong, he set out after Procter.

The British troops with their Indian allies, tired and hungry, struggled slowly over muddy trails in a badly organized retreat. No defences had been built so that troops could stop and fight delaying actions nor did Procter make sure that all the bridges were destroyed.
The Americans, confident of victory, pursued quickly. By October 4, they were so close that Procter knew he had to make a stand. About three kilometres from Moraviantown, Procter turned to face the enemy. Fewer than five hundred of his men were fit to fight. These he placed across the road and among trees with the river to their left. On their right, in woods and swamps, Tecumseh and about eight hundred Indians waited.

Monument honouring Tecumseh near the site of his death at the
Battle of the Thames.

[Courtesy of the author.]

The battle on October 5 was short and fierce. The American horsemen charged. The British troops, thrown into confusion, fired once or twice, then hastened to surrender. Procter tried valiantly to rally them but failed. He fled towards Moraviantown and beyond. Tecumseh and his Indians fought on bitterly until he was killed; then the survivors retreated.

Harrison burned Moraviantown, but decided not to advance further, probably because that would over-stretch his supply line. Once again, a serious American inroad into Upper Canada produced limited rather than decisive results. Harrison returned to Detroit where, on
October 17, he issued a proclamation establishing civil administration for the Michigan Territory and western Upper Canada, thus beginning an occupation of the area that lasted for the remainder of the war.

During the days after the battle, Procter collected soldiers who had escaped and assembled 246 of them at Ancaster. Rottenburg, who was in Kingston, thought the setback so serious that everything west of Kingston should be abandoned. But General Vincent, the local commander, and other officers at Burlington wanted to hold on to their position as long as possible. They may have been influenced also by the presence of over 1,400 native refugees, most of them men, women, and children who had fled from the Grand River because they feared American reprisals. Their leaders urged Vincent to “have confidence” and make a stand.
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It was different for the western Indians, for with the death of Tecumseh they lost heart. They signed a cease-fire with Harrison and this ended organized native resistance to the Americans around Lake Erie. Further north, the Indians continued to support the British, who remained in control of the forts and lakes.

By August, Armstrong realized that his plan was not achieving the conquest of Upper Canada. He wanted Kingston captured or cut off by an invasion down the St. Lawrence. Major-General Wilkinson, who had now taken over from Dearborn, agreed to try this in combination with a move against Montreal by Hampton.

In September, while preparations for the major attack were underway, Hampton tried to divert British attention by invading Lower Canada. He withdrew almost immediately — not because he was opposed, but because he could not find drinking water for his men and horses. His next attempt, further west along the route of the Chateauguay River, was no more successful. On October 21, he led about three thousand soldiers with ten guns into Lower Canada. Most of his New York militiamen, however, refused to cross the frontier.

In Hampton's way stood a force of three hundred Canadian Fencibles, Canadian Voltigeurs, militia, and a few Indians, all commanded by Lieutenant-Colonel Charles de Salaberry. Behind them were about 1,200 militia and 150 Indians under Lieutenant-Colonel Macdonell. Salaberry, from a prominent French-Canadian
family, had served in the British army since 1793. (His father had served in the militia and three of his brothers were killed while fighting for the British.) He had fought in the West Indies and Europe against the French. In the spring of 1812, Prevost appointed him to raise a Provincial Corps of Light Infantry, (the Canadian Voltigeurs). This was a militia corps and most of its recruits were Canadians from Lower Canada.

The St. Lawrence region in the War of 1812.

[Reprinted from
The Defended Border,
by Morris Zaslow (Toronto, Macmillan of Canada, 1964), p. 64.]

In a brief fight on October 25, Salaberry's few Canadians stopped Hampton's much larger force. Casualties were light: about fifty Americans to twenty-five Canadians. Yet the small battle of Chateauguay was important because it ended a serious threat to Montreal. Hampton retreated and soon withdrew to Lake Champlain
for the winter. This battle is remembered also because it was won entirely by Canadians, both French- and English-speaking, fighting side by side. Chateauguay has become part of the Canadian sense of nationalism. Salaberry, who received a gold medal for the victory, became a Canadian hero.