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The following diagrams illustrate the method: L'exemplaire filmd fut reproduit grdce d la g6n6rosit6 de I'dtablissement prdteur suivant : La bibSiothdque dep Archives publlques du Canada Les cartes ou les planches trop grandes pour dtre reproduites en un seul clichd sont filmdes d partir de Tangle supdrieure gauche, de gauche d droite et de haut en bas, en prenant le nombre d'images ndcessaire. Le diagramme suivant illustre la m6thode : 1 2 3 1 2 3 4 5 6 i^jU[^mf^x:^]rArxTT^xiir£JH^:!^K3BLjfjrij(^j:jy:/r^^ THE BAHLE OF LUNDY'S UNE ■BY- Ernest Cruikshank. ■■y-y ly^yyy^- ^ ^ W ^ ^ W-^ ^"W^^ -■y -w - w T "w "w - y y^ TT^IiyCIIXIAIJ A//JI/II ■^***ll^-*■-*•-*■ lUai n^^^«a= -VTli »og><^c>c Price, 25 Cents. «K ^ BATiLE OF LUNDY'S LANE J L L Y ?J5, 1814. ' An Appeal to British Canadians. " I.UNDv's Lank," (Xiacara 1'\\i.i.s Sorrii) Ont., ) August, 1 88;. j ^$)HE BATTLE of the above name ami date is the most memorable, as it was tht; most H 5^ severe and decisive, of all the engagements on the Niagara frontier during the: cam- OA^ P'l'gn of i8 1 2-14. The foll'j\vin1' Scale of Feet '^ ^/T-t ■ "h\ ^ 500 iiw??^:^! / P^ 'Al^ift^d^r )r C«Uf ,Taropto — -iV/^i^Cxj-Jlj -^'x «. BATTLf Of LUNOY'S LAIIE 1814. V ^'^ -"V ^-% ^^ ^^ ^^ *»N ^X ^* *»N *»% j^X rf DELIVERED I'.El'ORE THE I LDNDY'S LANE HISTORICAL SOCIETY OCTOBER lOtK, 18SS, ERNEST CRUIKSHANK. WELLAND Wm. T. 8AWLB, PrIWIIR, TuLKfJRAPH OrjTICE. -]!Y :» PREFATORY NOTE, The present monograph was prepared for the Lundy's Lane Historical Society, and is now offered to the pubhc with the sole object of promoting the aims of the Society. The author's acknowledge- ments are due to Douglas Brymner, Esq., Archivist of Canada, 1). Sk Durrie, Esq., State Librarian of Wisconsin, the late Dr. Homes, Siate Librarian of New York, Dr. John Ferguson, M. P., and many others, for their kindness in facilitating reseuicli. Fort Erie, October 25th. 1888. THE BATTLE OF LUNDY'S LANE. ine ect ge- S. ate ITS, VENTURE to think that it is not inappropriate that oneo the first of, as I hope, a long series of papers to be read before your Society should be devoted to the study of the battle whence it derives its name. Apart from the special local interest which most of you must feel, it is but natural that all British- Americans should regard the engagement which took place on this spot some seventy-four years ago with feelings of more than ordinary pride and satisfaction. Not only did it form the crisis of the last and most formidable attempt at invasion in the course of three years of warfare, but a very large proportion of the officers and men engaged in the action, on the British side, although serving in regiments of the line, were nn ' ''s of the provinces, now forming part of the Dominion of Canada, eir commander, Sir Gordon Drummond, was him- self a CanaQii.il by birth*. Let me say a word, in the first place, as to the sources whence I have been enabled to draw the material tor this narrative. These may be divided broadly into three classes : — (i) Books and pamphlets ; (2) the newspapers of the period and later dates ; (3) unpublished correspondence. Probably in no country in the world is so much attention bestowed upon national and local history as in the United States, and I regret to be obliged to add, and, in none, so little as in Canada. Conse- quently, although the mass of printed matter dealing with this period from an American point of view, is very great, the number of volumes in which the other side of the question is presented, is proportionately extremely limited. I have in my hand a list of 342 books and pam- phlets, historical, biographical, and controversial, dealing directly or indirectly with the subject of the war of 181 2, and more than four- fifths of these were published in the United States. These of course vary in size, from a bulky volume to a pamphlet of a few pages, and vary quite as much in historical value. In the first instance, .he published o(Tieiai letters of the rival commanders formed the basis of tbs narrative on either side, and in many works are simply paraphrased without the slightest criticism or examination with reference to the statements of their adversaries. The main object of the writer is to gratify national vanity and prejudices, and the truth is frequently concealed or remains half-told n the ende?.vp:. Amon^; British writers, the volumes of VVil'Liam Jarnes, ent " A narrative of the military occurrences of the late war," and narrative of the naval occurrences of the late war," published in ; mus'. he still regarded as the chief authority, and little has been in the way of supplementing his statements tjy more recent B authors. James had lived in the United States tor several before the war, and had become imbued with an intense anti] towards the inhabitants of that country, their manners and cusi which, unfortunately, colors every page of his writings. He ap to have resided at Halifax during the period of hostilities, an narrative is evidently based upon the published offiriril c< pondence and information gleaned from newspapers ol t'le da gathered from the lips of some of the officers who had paiucipat the campaigns which he describes. Notwithstanding his pai feeling, few of his statements have been successfully controv( Major Richardson deals only with operations on the Detroit fro; prior to the battle of the Thames ; Auchinleck's volume cor scarcely anything that was not already recorded by Jame Richardson or in the published official despatches ; Colonel Cc "Chronicle" was never finished, and the general histories of Canac a rule, give but a scanty and vague outline of the principal events o period. Some information has been gleaned from the " Hist( record of the Royal Scots," the " Historical record of the 8th F Browne's " England's Artillerymen," Duncan's " History o Royal Artillery," and Hon. W. H. Merrilt's "Journal." American histories of Armstrong, Brackenridge, Davis, Gille Hunt, Ingersoll, Low, Perkins, Russell, J. L. Thomson, and anonymous publications, Mansfield's Life of General W. S. i Scott's Autobiography, Stone's and Hubbard's Lives of Red ]i the rare pamphlets of Ripley, Treat, and White, besides nu n articles in magazines and reviews, have been consulted. Newspapers of that date were not the repositories of ci information that they have since become, uud the data to be gle from them is comparatively scanty, although sometimes of car value. Weekly newspapers had been published before the w Newark, Kmgston, and York, but all of them seem to have per during the contest. A file of the Vor/i' Gazette for the year i8 preserved in the Archives Library at Ottawa, but it contains information. However, ^\]e?, o{ {\\c Motitnal Herald, Quebec Gc Buffalo Gazette, Albany Arj^us, Gazette, and Register, Baltimore Fa Boston Centinel, JViles' Rei^ister and Pouhon^s American have referred to, not without some profit. The chief and most authentic source of information respe this period must ever be the official correspondence, which, how has been inaccessible to persons engaged in historical inquiry until recently, and consequently has remained almost unconsulted 1873, the Canadian militaiy correspondence, extending over a p s of nearly a century, lay stored at Halifax, packed in cases for trans- portation to England. Owing to the efforts of Mr. Douglas Bryniner, this vast collection of docunientary evidence of inestimable historical value in compiling the annals of this country was secured for the Canadian Archives and by the unflagging industry of that able public servant has since been classified, chronologically arranged, and bound in volumes. Some idea may be formed of the mere bulk of the correspondence thus acquired, when I mention that it weighed eight tons, comprising more than two hundred thousand documents of all forms, shapes, and sizes, and now composes 1,384 bulky volumes, upon the shelves of the Archives Library. Here is to be found, almost entire, the correspondence of General Riall, with Sir Gordon Drummond, and that of the latter with Sir George Prevost, during the progress of the campaign, besides numerous letters from subordinate officers, official returns, depositions of deserters, and the confidential communications of spies and secret agents. A still greater quantity of similar materials is understood to exist in the departmental offices at Washington, but up to the present remains inaccessible to the inquirer from the traditional secretive policy of the United States Government and the chaotic condition of the papers. The correspondence of Mr. I). 1). Tompkins, at that time Governor of the State of New York, has recently been acquired by the State, and may be expected to throw some light upon the subject, but I regret to say I have not yet found an opportunity of examining it. To obtain a correct understanding of the position of the con- tending forces, it will be necessary to briefly review the progress of the campaign from the beginning. The month of December, 18 13, was marked by the retirement of the American troops from their lines at Fort George, which they had occupied since the jDreceding May, under circumstances which tended to cover their arms with disgrace. Under the pretext that it was necessary to deprive their adversaries of shelter upon that frontier, the remaining inhabitants of Niagara were driven from their homes and the entire village committed to the flames. With the same intention, Queenston was deliberately bom- barded with red-hot shot from the batteries at Lewiston. Many isolated farm houses were destroyed by marauding parties of soldiers, or, when they proved too substantial for instant demolition, were rendered uninhabitable by removal of the doors and windows. The few cattle still remaining in the possession of the country people were mercilessly slaughtered or driven away, and their grain and flour removed or destroyed. On the loth of December, General McClure wrote exultingly from Fort Niagara to the American Secretary of War: " The village is now in flames and the enemy shut out of hope and means of wintering in Fort George." Almost before the ink was dry on this letter the flames of burning Niagara had become the signal for the rapid advance of a small British corps of observation, under Colonel John Murray, which already lay at Twelve Mile Creek. Putting his men in sleighs, the British commander hurried forward through a blinding snow storm, and fell upon the incendiaries before their work of destruction was completed. The village of Niagara had been already reduced to ashes, but the barracks and defences of Fort George were left comparatively uninjured, and the retreating garrison left the whole of their tents standing in the works they had so pre- cipitately abandoned. The recovery of the left bank of the Niagara by the British was followed by the surprise of B'ort Niagara and the capture of the American batteries at Lewiston and Schlosser, and finally, by the occupation of Buffalo after a hard-fought action near Black Rock. Before the e/.d of the month, the Americans were driven from every defensive position upon their own bank of the stream, severe and stern retaliation had been exacted for their ravages upon the Canadian settlements, nearly every habitable building between Buffalo and Eighteen Mile Creek on Lake Ontario being laid in ruins, and the terrified inhabitants had f^ed beyond the Genesee These successes put the small British force employed in possession of an ample and sorely needed supply of provisions, am- munition, and military stores of various kinds, besides furnishing them with comfortable winter-quarters. Hitherto they had been unpro- provided with winter clothing of any description, and they were still without a field-train, artificers, engineers, or regularly organized com- missariat. During the preceding campaign, quantities of ammunition had been spoiled by being conveyed with the army in ordinary open farm wagons, for lack of regular tumbrils.^ Drummond at once projected the reduction of Detroit and the destruction of the American Lake Erie squadron, then lying at Put-in-Bay.^ He pushed his outposts forward to the forks of the Thames, and his scouts penetrated to the borders of Lake St. Clair, and even ventured to cross into Michigan, where they captured the arms of a company of militia.^ The departure of the proposed expedition was delayed by the mildness of the weather, which kept the roads impassable until March,* By that time the garrison of Detroit had been heavily reinforced, several thousand militia collected at Put-in-Bay for the defence of the ships, and the energetic Governor of New York had been enabled to gather a large force of State troops at Batavia. The British general was at the same time obliged to proceed to York to open the annual session of the Legislature of Upper Canada, for he united the functions of administrator of the civil government with those of commander of the forces, and during his absence, the Americans began to contemplate the recovery of Fort Niagara. With this view, three thousand regular troops were rapidly moved across the State of New York from Sackett's Harbor to the encampment at 1. Drummond to Prevost, Maroh 21 ; 2. Drummond to Frevost, Jan. 21 ; 3. Drum- moQd to FrevoB'j, Feb. 21 ; 4, Drummond to Capt. N. Freer, Feb. 10. Batavia.i It had been ascertained from deserters that great discon- tent existed in the battalion of the 8th or King'? regiment, which garrisoned that post, and that the same cause which had prevented the advance of an expedition against Detroit had delayed the rein- forcement of the division guarding the Niagara by troops from I -^wer Canada. In fact, Drummond had been obliged to weaken i by sending a detachment of the Newfoundland regiment and artillery to relieve Mackinac, and withdrawing the battalion of the 41st from York for the defence of Kingston.'* The number of desertions from the garrison of Fort Niagara had become so great and the discontent of the men so pronounced, that the battalion was finally withdraurn and replaced by the looth. Scarcely had this been accomplished than they too began to desert in such numbers that General Riall, who had been left in command of the division, was forced in sheer despair to recommend the abandonment of " that cursed fort," as he forcibly designated it.^ At that time the British army Vvas largely recruited from the pauper and criminal classes, and many foreigners were enlisted even into regiments of the line. Thus, five men deserting in a body from the Royal Scots at this time, were described as being all foreigners. Besides being imperfectly clothed and often harshly treated, they had received no pay for upwards of six months, and their discontent at the irksome and monotonous round of duty in Fort Niagara is not surprising. Drummond, however, resolutely refused his consent to the evacu- ation of a post so important, and, as fine weather retr.rned, desertions diminished. He vvas unremitting in his preparations for the coming campaign. Through the worst of weather and execrable roads he hurried from York to Kingston, and from Kingston to Delaware, making inquiries into the resources of the country and the condition of the inhabitants.* Ascertaining that the wheat crop near the frontier was likely to prove deficient, he promptly prohibited the distillation of grain, and issued orders for the formation of magazines in the vicinity of Long Point, a part of the country which had hitherto escaped the ravages of the invaders. ^ The region between Chippawa and Fort Erie had been so completely laid waste that it remained almost unin- habited. In addition to his troops, he had several thousand non- combatants to feed, and in the destitute condition of the country, this seemed an almost hopeless task. Most of the Western Indians that had survived General Proctor's defeat, as well as the whole of the Six Nations from the Grand River, three thousand persons in all, of whom two-thirds were helpless women and children, had sought refuge near the British cantonments at Burlington. Their depreda- tions so narassed and alarmed many of the inhabitants in the vicinity, that they abandoned their farms, and took shelter in the 1. LoBBing, Field Book of 1812, p. 7G2 ; 2. Drummond to Prevost, Feb. 8 ; 3. Biall to Drammond, March 15 4. Drammond to Prevost, Maroh 5 ' 6. Drumuiond to Prevoit January 25. soldicra' ([uiirtcrs.' The homeless fugitives from the Niagara were also dependent upon the over-taxed commissariat. Thus, while his armed force numbered less than lw(} thousand, between seven and eight thousand rations were issued daily. Already in the month of January it became evident that the supply of meat would soon be exliausted, and Drummond began to entertain serious apprehensions that he we "'.' be compelled to abandon all that part of the Province lying west )f Kingston from sheer want of food. His efforts to induce the \\ a em Indians to remove to Lower Canada were unsuc- cessful, as well as his endeavors to persuade the Six Nations to return to their deserted farms on the Grand River. The inefficiency of the militia from want of discipline and defective eciuipment, as well as lack of competent officers having become manifest, he directed the enlistment of a battalion of four hundred men from among them, to serve durmg the war, with the indention of permitting the remainder to bestow their undivided attention upon their ordinary pursuits, excej)t in the event of a levy en masse to repel actual invasion. Captain William Robinson, of the 8th, was appointed lieutenant- colonel, and Captain James Kerby, of the Lincoln Militia, major of this corps ; the ranks were rapidly filled up with stalwart young recruits, and it was armed and exercised as a battalion of light infantry, under the title of the Incor[)orated Militia. Several captured field-guns and tumbrils were fitted for active service, and supjilies of grain and flour were diligently collected in various parts of the country for the support of the forces in the field.2 It seemed evident that a fresh attempt at invasion would not long be delayed. American newspapers clamoured for the speedy recovery of Fort Niagara. Late in January, Black Rock was re-occupied by their troops, and they began to annoy the British post at Fort Erie by the fire of artillery from batteries there.^ At the same time they were reported to be building large barracks upon Lewiston Heights, several miles inland. The subsetjuent movement of a large body of troops from Sackett's Llarbor, in that direction was almost immediately revealed to the commandant at Kingston by deserters, and General Riall was placed on his guard. Severe cold weather, accom- panied by heavy falls of snow during the latter part of March, delayed the progress of defensive works already commenced by the Ikitish, and early in April, General Riall sallied out from Fort Niagara and levelled with the ground the earthworks which had been erected by the Americans, the previous year, along the right bank of the river from its mouth to Lewiston, fearing that they might be occupied by his adversaries.* A deserter, who came in a few days later, reported that seven thousand soldiers were already assembled near Buffalo. The difficulties of the situation daily increased, and th? prospect for the future became more discouraging. A great 1. Drnmmond to Prevost, Feb. 8 ; 2. Drummond to Prevost, March 29 ; 3 Drum- mond to Prevost Feb. 1 4. Drummond to Prevost, March 31, April 13. council of the Indians of Ohio, Indiana, and Michigan was convened by American agents at Dayton, and those present were informed that they must take up arms against the British, or be treated p.r enemies of the United States. Each warrior would receive a stipend of seventy-five cents a day, and ihei; wives and children would be retained as hostages. The Delawares, Scneca=, Shawanees, and Wyandots joined in the war dance and were directed to assemble at Detroit.^ Similar steps were taken to enlist the tribes of New York and Pennsylvania in the movement against Canada. Marauding parties from Detroit made frequent inroads into the Western District, carrying off the loyal inhabitants and destroying the settlements at Delaware and Point aux Pins. In the middle of May, eight hundred Americans conveyed in six ships of war made a descent upon Port Dover, and burned the entire village, turning the inhabitants out of doors in the midst of a chilling storm of rain and sleet.^ They then proceeded up the lake, destrcying the mills near the coast with the grain collected for grinding, as they went. At the same time it became known that another squadron of eight sail, filled with troops, had passed into Lake Huron with the intention of attacking Mackmac, the only post yet retained by the British in the west. The available storeof grain and fiour was much diminished by these incursions. Fresh meat was not to be had. The Indians daily consumed twice as much Hour as the whole of the troops.^ In the small garrison of Fort Erie alone, not much exceeding one hundred persons, no less than sixty-nine cases of ague were reported in a single week. The Provincial Dragoons had become almost unfit for service from the miserable condition of their ill-fed and overworked horses. If Commodore Chauncey should succeed in getting out upon the lake with the formidable frigate he had recently launched at Sackett's Harbor, the Americans would obtain as undisputed control of Lake Ontario as they already possessed of the upper lakes. However, on the 5th May, Drummond made a successful dash from Kingston upon the naval depot at Oswego, which he took and destioyed, and Sir James Yeo immediately established a strict blockade of Sackett's Harbor. The effect of these operations was to delay the equipment of the American squadron for several weeks, and consequently retard their invasion of Canada by way of the Niagara frontier. Early in May the troops intended for this purpose, had begun to assemble at Buffalo, where a camp of instruction was immediately formed under the command of Brigadier-Ceneral Winfield Scott, one of the most talented and best trained officers in the United States army. It was proposed that the force employed should consist of not less than five thousand regular soldiers, and three thousand militia drawn from the States of New York and Pennsylvania. The cavalry and artillery were re-organized, and the enlistment of three new regiments of riflemen authorized. To encourage recruiting, a 1. Hildreth History U. S. ; 8. PittaburR Mercury ; 3. Drummond to PrevoBt, Apr. 26 10 bounty of $124 was offered to each person enlisting.* Most of the infantry regiments selected had ii^.rved thro'ighout the preceding campaign'^, and consni'Jcnily had seen ([uite as u>uch active warfare as most of the troops that were likely to be opposed to them. The spring elections had [jrostrated the l-'ederal party in New York, and the (lovernor liad at last a free hand. The Senate readily passed a bill, authorizing the enlistuieni of 4,000 state troops to serve one year. The general order i)roviding for the e([uipment of the New York contingent, was issued in March, and authorized the organization of two infantry regiments of ten companies, each con- sistmg of 108 officers and men, and an independent battalion, coni[n;sed of one company ol rifles, two of light infantry, and one of mounted rifles, forming a brigade of 2,562 of all ranks, under Major General Peter B. Porter, formerly a congressman from the Niagara District of New York, and one of the chief advocates of the war. For two months and a half both regulars and militia were constantly exercised in battalion and brigade drill from seven to ten hours a day, until they were considered to have attained a remarkable degree of efficiency. The French system of field exercise was adopted, and, as a proof of their rapidity in manteuvring, it is stated that Scott' sbrig:^ue of four full battalions was able to execute an entire change of front to either flank in three minutes and a half.'-^ The Pennsylvania detachment, numbering al)out 600 men, under Colonel Fcnton, i)artic:pated in the descent ui)on Port Dover, and did not arrive at Buffalo till late in June. By the exertions of the celebrated Seneca chief, Red Jacket, upwards of six hundred Indians were likewise ass:;mbled 10 share in the expedition, some of them coming from distant St. Regis village on the borders of Lower Canada.^ While these extensive preparauoub for an invasion were in pro- gress, Drummond was anxiously but fruitlessly urging Sir George Prevost to reinforce the British forces in that (juarter without delay. His repeated warnings were to a very great extent unheeded by the Governor, who had his attention fixed upon the numerous American army massed upon the shores of Dake Champlain. Pencilled upon the margin of Drummond's letter of June 21st, 1814, expressing his firm bel.'ef that the main attack would be made on the Niagara, and that the movement of troops towards Plattsburg was simply a feint to prevent reinforcements from being despatched from Lower Canada to his assistance, there is a memorandum in the handwriting of his irritable superior, which is very significant : "Much obliged to Lieut.-Gen. Drummon'l for his opinion, but it is entirely without foundation." Thus f^rummond was forced to rely for the time being upon the troops already in the Upper Province. As soon as navigation opened he reinforced General Riall with the 103rd regiment, and a small company of marine artillery. Even after the arrival of these troops, the strength of the right division of the army in Upper Canada 1. Hildreth ; 2. Albany Ar^s ; 3. Hubbard, Bed Jacket, Hough Hist. St.Lawrenoe Oo. i a distributed fiorri York (Toronto) to Long Point upon I ake Kric did not exceed 3,000 of all arms. It was deemed necessary, for the protection of York and Burlmgton against a sudden descent by water, to maintain an entire battalion at each of tiiose posts. Both flanks of the )osition on the Niagara were easily assailable by an enemy having command of the lakes, and the attack upon the settlements at Port Dover had aroused General Riall's apprehensions lest a strong force should be landed there and gain his rear by the western road. Having undisputed command of Lake Erie, an invading army might also bo landed at Point Ab:no, or Sugar Loaf, from both of which places practicable roads led to the Niagara, and the successful pursuit oi Oeneial Proctor the precedirig autumn, as well as the recent inroads from Detroit, had demonstrated the possibility of th j rapid advance of a body of mounted men and light infantry by way of the Thames. Therefore, it became necessary to watch all these routes to guard against surprise. Lieut.-Col. Hamilton, with the headquarter wing of the 1 00th, was stationed at Dover, and detachments ot light infantry and dragoons were posted at Delaware, Oxford, and the crossmg of the Grand River (Brantford.) The actual force available for the d, 'fence of the Niagara was thus reduced to less than 1,800 regular scldiers, 300 militia, and 150 Indians, distributed along a frontier of thirty-six miles, besides furnishing a garrison for Fort Niagara.^ Slight field- works had been constructed at Chippawa and Queenston, and a new redoubt built at Niagara to command the mouth of the river, at first named Fort Riall, but subsequently known as Fort Mi.-sasauga.^ When these works, and Forts Erie and George were garrisoned scarcely seven hundred men remained available for field operations, Many of the soldiers still nominally effective, were so enfeebled by disease, exposure, and fatigue in watching such an extended line, that they had really become unfit for active service. The surgeon of the 8th reported that the battalion of that regiment, then stationed at Chippawa ana Niagara Falls, should be immediately removed, as the hospitals were full, and nearly every man in it had been down with dysentery or intermittent fever within twelve months.^ The Royal Scots had suffered nearly as much in the same way. Writing from Kingston to Sir George Prevost, Drummond thus summed up the situation: " One of the best regiments is shut up in Fort Niagara, another decidedly ineflficient, and a third expected to beso if com- pelled 10 take the field. "^ Deserters who came into the British Imes agreed in representing that an attack was imminent, and reported* that the ardour of the New York Militia had been excited by the distribution of hand-bills announcing that the Emperor of the French had gained a great victory near Paris, in which he had taken the sovereigns of Austria, Prussia, and Russia, and 40,000 prisoners. A squadron of nine 1. James ; 2. Capt. Martin to Provost, July 3rd; 3. Drammond to Prevost, May 2lBt ; 4. Drummond to Provost, July 4th. I i2 armed ves.sels bad been asoembled at Buffalo, and they were described as collecting bvats in Tonawatida Creek, with the intention, it was conjectured, of crossing the river below Grand Island. A party of Indians, under Captains Caldwell and Elliott, were sent out from Fort Niagara in the hope of penetrating their designs, but although they ranged the country for dozen miles, and burned a large new barracks upon Lewiston Heights, they failed to discover anything of importance. Owing to this uncertainty respecting his enemy's intentions. General Riall was obliged to retain the greater part of his field force at Chippawa and Queenston, and leave his right wing com- paratively weak. In Fort Erie there was a garrison of 125 men, very ineffective from sickness. Colonel Pearson, with a deta ir lent of Lincoln militia, the light companies of the Royals and looth, v.atched the river from ila head to Chippawa, where five compani^ ; of the looth were posted. The 103rd was at Burlington, the Glengarry Light Infantry at York, and the 8th had begun their march to Lower Canada, in the hope of regaining health. Both in the Second Battalion of the 41st and the 103rd there were several companies ot mere boys, and the majority of both corps were so youthful that they had been retained in garrison during the whole of the previous year. At this opportune moment, an American army was skillfully disemDarked under cover of the guns of a brig of war and two schooners without the slightest opposition, in tw o divisions, one above and the other a short distance below Fort Erie, at daybreak on the 3rd July. Their movements were veiled by a heavy fog, and a picket of the 19th Dragoons had barely time to escape. The regular force of the invading army consisted of the 9th, nth, 19th, 21st, 22nd, and 25th United States Infantry, part of the 2nd Rifles, a squadron of cavalry, and four batteries of artillery, numbering between four and five thousand of all ranks, and forming two brigades under Generals Scott and Ripley. The militia and Indians composing a third brigade, under the command of General Porter, it is probable exceeded two thousand. The entire force was commanded by Major- General Jacob Brown, formerly an officer in the New York Militia, who had gained some celebrity among his countrymen by his success, or rather his good fortune, in the defence of Sackett's Harbor the year before, and had been rewarded by a commission in the United States army. Ripley was an active politician, who had been Speaker of the Massachusetts Assembly, but Scott and most of the field officers were professional soldiers. Brown's instructions directed him to force his way to Burlington, leaving the forts at the mouth of the river on one side, and severing their communications with York. Having gained the head of the lake, he was to await there the arrival of Commodore Chauncey's squadron, when he was given discretionary authority to invest and reduce the British forts or move directly upon Kingston, as circumstances might seem to direct. lit:' Fort Erie was imincdiatcly invested, and although Drummond had confidently anticipatea that an invading army would be detained several days befort^ it, the con mandrnt suriendored the same evening. A battalion of Un.ted States rifles, accompanied by a strong body of militia, appeared i;imultancLiusly upon Lewiston Heights, alternately menacing Queenston and Fort Niagara. Advancing to reconnoitre with his light troops, Pearson found the Americans posted in force u pon the heights opposite Black Rock, and next day he was steadily pushed back by their advance, destroying the bridges upon the road as he retired. These were ^-apidly rebuilt by his pursuers, who encamped for the night within sight of the British field-works at Chippawa. General Brown was apparently well- informed respectmg tU? movements and numbers of his enemy, for he estimated that they could not bring more than a thousand men into the field, and his advance was conducted with the confidence engen- dered by consciousn -iS of an overwhelming numerical superiority. Major-General Phineas Riall, the British commander, was an officer of twenty years standing, yet had seen little actual warfare. He is described as a short, stout, near-sighted man, of an impetuous temperament, and rashly brave. Five companies of the Royals were hurried forward by him to Chippawa, and a message despatched for the instant recall of the 8th. That battalion hid already reached York before it was overtaken, and did not arrive at Niagara until the morning of the 5th. Riall was accordingly compelled to await the approach of the invaders at Chippawa, instead of assailing them upon their march, as he had at first intended. Reconnoitering their position on the morning of the 5th, he estimated their force in sight at 2,000 men, and the 8th having come up about noon, he determined to attack them without further delay. He had three skeleton battalions of infantry, numbering 1,300 rank and file, a troop of the 19th Dragoons, six pieces of field artillery, 300 Indians and about the same number of Lincoln Militia.^ In the meantime the Americans in his front had been joined by Ripley's entire brigade and the greater part of Porter's, and now numbered nearly five thousand combatants, with nine guns. They had encamped behind Street's Creek, a shallow stream less than twenty yards in width at its mouth, and everywhere easily fordable. A tract of cultivated land in their front, divided into fields by ordinary log or brushwood fences, extended from the river to dense woods on the left, a distance of less than half a mile. Near the Chippawa a thin belt of trees stretched down almost to the water's edge, partially concealing the movements of either army from the other. Late in the afternoon, Riall provoked the attention of his adversary by pushing forward a detachment of the 2nd Lincoln, under Lieut. -Col. Dickson, and the whole body of Indians, led by Capt. John Norton, to occupy the woods on the flank of his position. 1. Biail to Drummond, July 6th. t4 Hi own promptly (lespalrhcd n portion ol I'ortcr's brigade to drive them back. Finding that they offered an obstinate resistance, and were even gaining ground, he continued to support I'orter with fresh troops until some 1,300 militia and Indians were engaged on his part. The skirmish had lasted half an hour in the usual Indian fashion, with a great deal of firing and very little blood-shed, when perceiving themselves outnumbered, the IJritish Indians began to retire. The three light infantry companies of regulars were then despatched to their assistance. Being well versed in this kind of warfare from the experience of former campaigns, they concealed themselves in the thickets and awaited the approach of the Americans until they arrived within a few yards. A single heavy volley, pealing through the woods, threw them into utter confusion. They were, at the same time, fiercely assailed by the militia and Norton's Indians, and driven quite through the ranks of a company of regulars formed in reserve beyond Street's Creek, and did not rally until the 25th U. S. Infantry and a sc^uadron of dragoons were sent to th:ir sup[)Oit. Several prisoners, among them three field-ollicers of the Pennsylvania regiment, and a Cayuga chief, were taken, and fifteen warriors and a number of militia left dead on the field. ^ Meanwhile, Riall had passed the Chippawa with his entire force, and advanced three guns to engage the American artillery, which had taken up a position to command the road in their front. Observing this, Scott's brigade defiled across the bridge, and deploying under fire with remarkable steadiness and precision, formed beyond the creek, while Ripley forded the stream higher up and prolonged their line of battle to the edge of the woods. The British artillery was pushed gradually forward until within four hundred yards of their antagonists, and began the action with g.eat spirit. Three guns of Towson's battery replied, but one of them was speedily dismounted, and the others seemed in a fair way of being driven out of action, when one of the British tumbrils was struck by a shell and blew up, disabling several men and horses, besides causing great confusion and depriving them of much of their fixed ammunition.^ In consequence of this unfortunate event. General Riall was obliged to bring forward his infantry prematurely to the relief of the guns which were then menaced by a battalion of infantry. Forming six companies of the Royal Scots and five companies of the looth into two columns, parallel with each other, and placing a light field- piece upon each flank, and one in the interval, he led them in person against the centre of his opponent's position. The 8th, enfeebled by disease and wearied by its long march, was held in reserve. Each of these battalions, their light companies having been detached, numbered less than four hundred rank and file. Scott's brigade alone, thus very materially outnumbered the force about to attack it. 1. White, LoBBing, Stone; 2. Capt Maokonocbie to Moj.-Geu. GlaHgow, Aug. 10. 1 ! ! 15 IJy the time this formation liad been completed, the whole of the American field-artillery had been brouj^ht into action, and the 15ritish guns were almost reduced to siknce. 'Iheir pieces were then shotted with canister, and turned upon the advancii columns, while the 9th and nth regiments, forming the wings of their line, were wheeled inwards and overlapped them on either llank.^ As soon as the British approached within musketry range they were assailed by a fierce and incessant fusillade. Losing heavily at every step, they moved steadily forward until within two hundred yards of their adversaries, when they received the command to charge. The field hero was mtersected by deep furrows, and covered with tall grass, which greatly impeded their movements, and rendered their footing uncertain. Lieut.-Col. (lordon and the Marquis of Tweeddale fell desperately wounded at the head of their battalions. Nearly every field-olhcer was struck down. The men fell in heaps under the scathing fire of the enemy. The survivors were involved in inex- tricable confusion, and began to straggle to the rear. Riall exposed himself recklessly, and yet escaped unhurt, although his clothing was pierced with several bullets, but all his efforts to reform the ranks in the face of that murderous fire were unavailing. The 8th was brought up to cover the retreat, which was accomplished in tolerable order, as the Americans showed little inc^nation to follow up their advantage. Most of the dead, and many of the severely wounded, were left upon the field, and the guns were removed only by the gallant exertions of some troopers of the iQth Dragoons, who attached tneir own horses to the carnages, and rode off with them m the teeth of the enemy. The easy triumi)h of the Americans was mainly due to the excel- lent practice of their artillery. Ripley's brigade was scarcely engaged, and i'orter's, as we have seen, was beaten entirely out of action at a very early period. Their loss was variously stated, but probably did not exceed four hundred of all ranks. On the other hand, General Riall lost upwards of five hundred, of whom two-fifths were killed or missing. Ot nineteen officers of the looih who went into the action, fourteen were killed or disiibled, with one hundred and ninety non- commissioned ofiicers and men. The seven comijanies of the Royals suffered still more severely, eleven officers and two hundred and seven rank and file be'ng returned as killed, wounded, and missing. Altogether these two battalions lost four hundred and twenty-two officers and men out of a t(Jtal of only nine hundred and fifty ; and on the whole, Riall's force was reduced by more than one-third.'^ Two days later the Bruish general was compelled to destroy his works, and abandon his i)()sitlon upon the left bank ot the Chippawa in consequence of a turning movement directed against his right flank. The redoubt at Queenston was likewise evacuated, and he slowly retired upon Fort George. He had already been deserted by 1. Major Hindman to Gen. Brown, Loseing ; 2. Drummond to Prevoat, July 13. i6 nearly the whole of his Indians, and by many of the militia, who were alarMied tor the safety of their families. * 'I'he invading forces advanctu lO the summit of (^ueenston Heights, whence they menaced the Hritish position. Here they remained perlectly mactive for several days. On the night of the 12th Major Evar advanced with Sadleir's company oftheiSth, numbering only ih -four rank and file, to reconnoitre their outposts, in the hope 01 luk ^g a few |)risoners. His retreat was intercepted by General Swift, of New Yt)rk Militia, with oiv; hundred and twenty volunteers, who w:) , also u[)()n a scouting i xpedition, and a sharp skirmish took place, in which Kvans lost f'ix men and the American leader was killed.^ The move- ments of hu, opponent next morning led Riall to believe that an attempt wou'd be made upon the depot at lUiilington, and having increased the garrisons of the three forts at the mouth of the river, he resumed his retreat towards the head of the lake, while the Americans at Queenston were firing minute-guns for their dead general, with only 836 officers and men of all arms.^ The same day Colonel Henry Scott advanced from Burlington with six hundred of the 103rd, leaving the two boy-companies and some invalids and militia in garri-jon there, and joined Riall at the Twenty Mile Creek, where the united force encamped upon the heights. For more than a week Hrown lingered u[)on the brow of Q)ueenston " nujuntain " gazing anxiously out upon the blue waters of the lake below in the vain hope of catching glimpse of Chauncey's squadron speeding to his assis- tance. From time to time his columns wound down into the plain and crept within distant cannon-shot of the batteries of Fort George, and as often retired to their tents again without accomplishing any thing. During all this time they did not even succeed in establishing an effective blockade of the British works. Upon one occasion, two British field-guns galloped out of Fort George and shelled their rear- guard, and the same day five of their cavalry vide ttes were surprised and carried off by militia lurking in the woods along their line of march. The women and children in the farm houses and fields by the wayside conspired to mislead and baffle the detachments sent in pursuit. Meanwhile a levy en masse of the militia from Long Point to the Bay of Quinte had been proclaimed, and in a few days Riall was joined by upwards of a thousand men of different battalions, "many of them fine serviceable fellows," but badly armed and un- disciplined. Those who had temporarily deserted him rapidly recovered from their panic, and a considerable number of stragglers was cut off by them in the vicinity of Q leenston and St. Davids, and many deserters were brought into the British lines. On the other hand the course of the American militia and Indians was marked by 1. Biall to Drammond, July 8 ; 2. Evans to Biall, Jul> 13; 3. Koyals 320, 8tb 200, Inoorporated Militia 316, three S pnanderB, one 6i inch houtzer ; Biall to Drummond. July IB, I »7 pillage and rapine. "The whole population is against us," wrote Major McFarland of the 23rd U. S. Infantry. "Njt a foraging party goes out but is fired on, and frequently returns with diminished num- bers. This state was to have been anticipated. The militia and Indians have plundered and burnt everything." Willcock's battalion of Cfxnadian refugees seized the opportunity of wreaking summary vengeance upon their loyalist enemies. Old men and boys were sent as prisoners to the United States, and women maltreated. The partizan warfare daily grew keener. On the 15th an Ameri- can wagon train was attacked at Queenston, and the greater part of it destroyed. The following night the picket-guard at Fort Erie 'vas cut off to a man. These incidents so exasperated the invaders that upon the 19th they burnt the entire village of St. Davids, contaming some thirty or forty houses, and followed this up by the destruction of every dwelling between Queenston and Niagara Falls. These pro- ceedings were attended by such revolting conduct on the part of their militia under Colonel Stone, that Major McFarland, who was sent to cover their retreat, declared that he would have resigned his commis- sion if the commanding otticer had not been dismissed from the service. Having been joined by several companies of the Glenj, ry Light Infantry from York, under the ever-active Fitzgibbon, Riall advanced the same day to Ten Mile Creek with his left wing, composed of militia and Indians, extending as far as De Cew's Falls, and menacing the rear of the American position by way of Lundy's Lane. The entire male population immediately ilcw to arms, and joined him, actuated by a spirit of intense hostility towards the invaders. His scouts found their way into St. Davids, Queenston, and even Chippawa, harassing the enemy's pickets, and picking up stragglers. His apprehensions were, however, at the same time, aroused by mysterious negotiations on the part of his Indians with their kinsmen in the American service, and a raid from Detroit upon the defenceless settlement at Port. Talbot, which was ruthlessly destroyed, compelled him to detach the Oxford battalion of militia in that direction, as a precautionary measure.^ On the 20th, leaving about 300 men in possession of Lewiston Heights, Brown advanced with the remainder of his army within two miles of Fort George, where he encamped and began to collect materials for siege batteries. He appears to have entertained the hope that by this movement, the British commander might be induced to hazard another engagement with inferior members, to relieve the garrison. Two days later, Riall had succeeded in concentrating in advance of Twelve Mile Creek 1,700 regular troops, including the Glengary Light Infantry and Incorporated Militia, 700 Lincoln Militia, and an equal number of Indians, in readiness to pounce upon the flank and rear of his adversary should he attempt the actual investment of the forts. Fort George waj at the same 1. BiftU to Prnmmond, July 17 ; Ibid July 19. i8 time garrisoned by 400 of the Royal Scots and 260 of the 100th, Fort Missassauga l)y 290 of the 8th, a company of negro volunteers, and a few artillerymen and artificers, making an aggregate of 400 persons, while Fort Niagara was occupied by 550 men of the 41st and fifty artillerymen. Nearly one-half of the garrisons were, however, upon the sick list, and many others too young to be of much service.^ It was ascertained that General Brown had been jomed by considerable reinforcements since the action al Chippawa, and that lie brought over nearly the whole of his supplies from l.ewiston, where he had collected many boats, thus avoiding the necessity of preserving an uninterrupted line of connnunications with Fort Erie. Reconnoitring the same afternoon with thirty picked men, C^iptain Fitzgibbon obtained an excellent view of his entire army spread out in the plain below, from the summit of Queenston Heights. As he watched their movemeiits, their tents were struck, and their retiring columns filled the roads, extending from l)e Puisaye's house within cannon-shot of Fort George, without a break to the village of Queenston, a distmce of more than five miles. Lingenng too long in his covert, he was discovered by their light troops, and hotly pursued almost to the British outposts, upon ihe Ten Mile Creek.2 That night the American army again encamped at Queenston, and the British advance-guard was pushed forward to Four Mile Creek. The next morning General Brown received a despatch from Sackett's Harbor, informing him that the American squadron was still closely blockaded there, and he immediately retired behind the Chippawa. Relinquishing all hopes of co-operation on the pirt of the fleet, he describes his intentions to have been to disencumber his army r.f all unnecessary baggage, and having lulled his antagonist's suspicioua by his '-etrograde movement, to make a rapid march upon Burlington."* Unfortunately for the success of this plan. Sir Gordon Druramond arrived the same day at York, bringing with him from •Kingston 400 of the second battalion of the 89th, under that sturdy soldier. Colonel Joseph Warton Morrison, who had won the hard- fought battle at Chrystler's Farm the autumn before. The two flank companies of the 104th, completed by volunteers to the number of sixty rank and file each, had already been sent forward to strengthen Riall, under the command of their fiery-hearted Lieutenant-Colonel, his nephew, William Drummond. Further reinforcements, consisting of the Regiment De VVatteville and detachments of other corps, were likewise on the way from Kingscon, leaving that important post almost without a garrison. One of Drummond's first acts was to order the discharge of all the very young, as well as the old and weakly militiamen, with the double object of relieving the strain upon his supply of provisions and setting them at liberty to gather their hay. Learning that the 1. Eiall to Drummond, July 17, Ibid July 22 ; 2. Riall to Drummond, July 22 ; Brown to Armstrong, August '■9 Americans had established their base of supplies at Lewiston, he immediately embarked the 8cjth in the two armed vessels Sfar and Charwell, leaving York garrisoned by only a few invalids, with instructions to j)roceed directly to the mouth of the Niagara. Upon their arrival, Lieut. -Col. Tucker was instructed to draft two-thirds of the garrisons from the different forts, making with the 89th and flank companies of the 104th a body of about 1,500 men, and at daybreak on the 25th, to assail the batteries the Americans had begun near Youngstown, while General Riall was directed at the same time to advance towards St. Davids for the purpose of distracting the attention of their force in Canada and preventing them from sending reinforcements across th'i river. A bold and suc(L'Ssful stroke at their ^^/^/ of supplies, he argued, would seriously jeopardize the position of the mvaders, while he explicitly stated that he did not wish to risk an engagement upon the left bank of the river until the remainder of his reinforcements came up, when he confidently expected to finish the campaign at a blcw.^ Late on the afternoon of the 24th, Drummond himself went on board the schooner iVetley, and set sail for Niagara with the mtention of assuming the command of the forces in the field. He was then in his forty-third year, an active, brave, and resolute soldier, who had seen war in Egypt, Holland, and the West Indies during a quarter ot a century of military life When he arrived m the mouth of the river at daybreak next morning, he learned that the situation had materially changed. General Brown had retired to Chippawa, and Riall had taken advantage of this fact to push forward his brigade of light troops the night before, to seize the important strategic position near Niagara Falls, commanding the junction of Lundy's Lane with the Portage Road, with the intention of supporting it that morning with the whole of ' 'j division. At nightfall on the 24th, the disposition of the British forces had been the following : — The First Brigade, Colonel Henry Scott commanding, composed of a detachment of the 19th Light Dragoons, half a battalion of the 8th, and seven companies of the 103rd, with two 6-pound field-guns, lay at Twelve Mile Creek; the Second Brigade, L'eut.-Colonel " jcker, consisting of half a battalion of the Ro> .1 Scots, half a battalion of the 8th, the second battalion of the 41st, and a wing of the looth, with a detachment of Royal Artillery in charge of two 24-pound and two 6-pound field- pieces, occupied the forts at the mouth of the river, and had just been joined by Colonel Morrison with his detachment of the 89th ; the Third, or Light Brigade, Lieut.-Col. Pearson, was made up ot a troop of the 19th, Major Lisle, the light companies of the 8th and 103rd, the Glengary Light Infantry, and the Incorporated Militia, encamped at Four Mile Creek ; the Fourth Brigade, Lieut.-Col. Parry, consisting of three battalions of embodied militia, and a 1. Harvey to Tucker, July 23. fid body of Indians, formed the right wing of the British position* stretching along the Twelve Mile Creek as far as De Cew's Falls » while the flank and four battalion-companies of the Royal Scots, and four battalions of embodied militia, with three 6-pounders and a howitzer, were held in reserve under Lieut.-Col. John Gordon. This seems a formidable force on paper, but the Royals, 8th, and looth were mere skeleton battalions. The latter could muster but one captain, three subalterns and 250 elective men, while the others were very little stronger. The militia regiments were weak in numbers, and miserably armed and equipped. On the evening of the 23rd the whole of General Brown's army had encamped in the plain between Street's Creek and the Chipoawa, but z battalion of riflemen and a regiment of militia were still posted on Lewiston Heights, having their pickets advanced as far as Youngstown. Their principal magazine of "noplies had, however, been transferred to Schlosser. At midnight Colonel Pearson received iers to advance with his brigade, numbering about 800 of all ranks, and by seven o'clock on the morning of the 25th he had taken possession of the high ground at Lundy's Lane without encountering any opposition. At the same time instructions had been issued to Colonel Scott to move upon the same point from Twelve Mile Creek at three in the morning, but this order was subsequently countermanded, and his brigade remained in their quarters until afternoon. In the course of the morning, Riall rode forward, accompanied only by Lieut.-Col. Drummond and a small escort, and joined Pearson.^ These movements induced an immediate change in Drummond's plan of operations. Colonel Morrison, with the 89th, a detachment of the Royals, Lieut. Hemphill, and one of the 8th, Captain Campbell, with two 24-pound brass field-pieces, Lieut. Tomkins, was directed to march by way of Queenston to the suppoit of General Riall at Lundy's Lane, while Lieut.-Col. Tucker, with 500 men of the Royals and 41st, and some Indians, advanced along the other bank upon Lewiston, accompanied upon the river by a number of boats manned by seamen under Captain Alexander Dobbs. Tucker's column arrived at Lewiston about noon, and drove out the garrison after a trifling skirmish, capturing a hundred tents and a small quantity of other stores. The light company of the 41st and ^.he detachment of the Royals were then brought over to Queenston, and added to Morrison's column, increasing it to about 800 officers and men. After a brief halt, the march was resumed, and towards six o'clock a dragoon rode up in haste to meet General Drummond, who was near the rear of the column, and still several miles from his destination, bearing a message from Riall, stating that the enemy was advancing in great force against his position. Upon receiving this 1. Letters of Veritas. i ! alarming intelligence, the general rode rapidly forward, and on reaching Lundy's Lane, to his intense surprise and disappointment, instead of finding the ground occupied by General Riall's entire division, as he expected, he discovered the light brigade alone retiring m the/ace of the enemy, the head ot whose columns was already within a few hundred yards of the crest of the hill, and the woods on either side of the road swarming with their riflemen. The narrow road in the rear leadmg to Queenston was choked by Morrison's advancing column, which had just come into view, and retreat was in a manner impossible without hazarding disaster. Drummond's resolution was promptly taken. He countermanded the retreat, and ordered up Lieut. Tomkins with his twenty-four pounders to hold the Americans in check until the remainder of the troops could come up and form. Shoitly after his arrival at Lundy's Lane, Pearson despatched Captain W. H. Merritt with a few Provincial dragoons to reconnoitre, and the entire American army was discovered quietly encamped beyond the Chippawa. When General Riall came up, he sent off an orderly with a message, directing the advance of Colonel Scolt's brigade and a portion of the reserve, leaving the main body of militia and Indians still encamped near the Twelve Mile Creek. In the course of the afternoon, General Brown learned that the British had advanced in considerable force along the right bank of the river, and had taken possession of Lewiston, and were then believed to be advancing upon Schlosser. He had sent most of his baggage away, reserving only one tent to every ten men, and had obtained a good supply of provisions from beyond the Niagara. His men had been refreshed by two days' rest, the British force was divided, and he believed the favorable movement for executing his movement towards Burlington had arrived. His entire division was immediately placed under arms, and General Scott, with his own brigade, accompanied by Towson's company of artillery with two guns and the whole body of cavalry and mounted riflemen, was directed to march upon Queenston, and if he encountered the enemy, to report the fact at once, when he would be supported by the entire division. Near Table Rock there stood a small tavern kept by a Mrs. Wilson, which had escaped the general devastation of the frontier. As the head of Scott's column approached this house, several British ofificers were observed to come out and mount their horses. Some of them instantly galloped off and disappeared behind the belt of woods beyond, but one elderly man halted in the middle of the road, and cooly surveyed their movements until they had come within musket- shot, when he saluted a party of American ofificers riding in front, and rode rapidly after his companions. They found the landlady nervous, but communicative. She expressed her regret that they had not advanced with greater speed, as they might have easily captured I H the whole of her late guests, and estimated General Riall's force, which she described very circumstantially, at double its actual strength. The sound of many bugles was heard in and beyond the woods, and Scott at once despatched a staff-ofHcer to demand instant reinforce- ments.i The remainder of the American army being already under arms, it was immediately put in motion.^ The exact strength ot Brown's division at that date is difficult to ascertain. He admitted the loss of 320 officers and men in the action at Chippawa, but it has been stated to have been considerably greater by a triendly writer.-* Forty or fifty more had been killed or taken in skirmishes since, a small garrison had been left at Fort Erie, and a detachment sent to Schlosser. He had been three weeks in Canada, and his force must have been somewhat reduced by the disease and fatigue incident to a campaign in the field. His regular regiments had been considerably diminished by desertion, no less than six deserters having come into the British lines in a single day, while his militia had probably suffered in a still greater degree from the same cause. He expressly states that the whole of his Indians had left him.4 On the other hand, he had received considerable reintorcements. A letter in the Baltimore Patriot^ dated July 12th, relates that upon the day after the action at CI:ippawa, he was joined by about one thousand men from Buffalo, regulars, volunteers, and Indians, among . them Captain Stone's mounted riflemen, 160 strong. On July i6th, deserters who arrived in the British camp reported that 700 men had just crossed over from Lewiston.^ Rumors of disaster having become current before intelligence of the battle had been actually received, the editor oi Niies' Register, published in Baltimore, took occasion to to observe in the issue of July 3oih : "General Brown has received some handsome reinforcements from Buffalo, and there is no reason to believe he cannot maintain his ground for sometime." The most authoritative evidence on the subject is contained in a pamphlet published by General Ripley in 18 15, vindicating his conduct, which is now very rare. It contains an official return, showing the effective strength of the two brigades of mfantry upon the 23rd July to have been 136 officers and 2,620 non-commissioned officers and privates. Upon the 24th we learn that 100 of the 22nd Infantry, under Lieut. Guy, and 220 of the ist, under Colonel Nicholas, who are no': included in this return, arrived from Fort Erie. Then he supplies a second return, showing the effective strength of Porter's brigade upon the 30th July, five days after the action, to have been sixty- one officers, and 538 rank and file, and that of the artillery on the same date, twelve officers and 260 rank and file. The loss of these corps in the action, according to the official published return, was 112 of all ranks, but this certainly does not include loss from desertion and 1 DouglasR' KetinniscenceB ; 2. Brov/n to Armstrong, August— ; 3. Paris M. Davis puts it at SO killed, 316 wounded, 19 missiDg ; 4. Brown to Armstrong, July 23 ; 6. Riall to Drummond, July 17. I 23 straggling, which, in a mihtia force, especially, is commonly very considerable after a reverse. This, however, gives a grand total of 4,059 officers and men. The general staff, dragoons, mounted infantry, and a detachment of engineers, still remain unincluded, but of these no returns are available. Making due allowance for these and the |)robable understatement of the loss of the militia brigade, it is safe to say that Brown had under arms on the evening of the 25th July at least 4,500 of all ranks, ot whom upwards of 3,500 were regulars. A certain proportion probably were detailed for camp service, but after making a reasonable deduction for this, he still must have been able to bring more than 4,000 men into action, with nine pieces of field-artillery, three of which were 18-pounders, and one, a 5^-inch howitzer. In fact, a letter dated at Buffalo next day giving a very accurate account of the battle, states his force engaged at precisely that number.^ In artillery, he possessed a decided preponderance at the beginning of the action, an advantage which was only partially counterbalanced by the excellence of the position occupied by the British guns. Leaving the Queenston road at nearly a right angle, Lundy's Lane followed a course almost due west for about half a mile, thence trending gradually northward, crossed the Twelve Mile Creek at DeCew's Falls. About a hundred yards west of the junction of the roads, on the south side of Lundy's Lane, stood a Presbyterian church, a low frame building, painted red. It occupied the highest point of the rise, which slopes gently southward and westward, but dips more abruptly to the east and north. On the right of the church lay a small enclosure in which a few wooden slabs and rude brown headstones, with sometimes a brief inscription roughly carved upon them with the village blacksmith's chisel, but more often name- less, marked the graves of the fathers of the settlement. Hither, too, brave young Cecil Bishop was borne by sorrowing comrades upon their return from that daring raid in whicti he met his death, and here he still reposes. Southward, a thriving young orchard covered the slope below the graveyard, extending quite to the edge of the Portage Road and encircling a small dwelling and farmyard,. Meadows and cultivated fields lay beyond, bounded by thick woods less than half a mile away on both sides of the road, stretching down to the river near Table Rock, and skirting the brink of the chasm for a long distance. Dreading an ambush, Scott carefully reconnoitred these woods, and his delay enabled the British light troops to regain the position they had just abandoned. Then, as now, Lundy's Lane was bordered by many apple, cherry, and peach trees, thrusting their projectit.'jj; boughs over the highway. In these orchards the Glengary Li ^tn Infantry took up their ground, forming the right wing of the British line of battle. Tomkins' two field-p.uns were planted among he 1. Poulson's American. 1 24 graves on the very summit of the knoll beside the church, so as to sweep the road. The detachment ot the 8th and the Incorporated Mihtia were posted in the fields on the left of the main road extending towards the river, but leaving an interval of more than two hundred yards unoccupied next the bank, which was overgrown wiih scrub- pine and brushwood. The extremities of both wings were inclined slightly forward. The remainder of Morrison's column was formed in rear of the guns, under shelter of the ridge, as it came up, and the troop of the 19th Dragoons was drawn up on the highroad some distance further away.^ The entire number of all ranks in the field when this was accomplished was 1,637, of whom about one-half were Provincial troops.'^ It has become the fashion among American writers to describe Drummond's force as being composed of Wellington's veterans. With the exception of Colonel Henry Scott and possibly a few other officers, who may have exchanged from other regiments, it is safe to assert that not a man in the entire division had ever served under that illustrious commander, and very few of them had seen active service of any kind outside of Canada. As the Americans emerged from the woods, the 9th, nth, and 22nd regiments deployed in the fields on the left and the 25th on the right of the road, while their two field-guns came to the front and unlimbered upon the highway. The brigade of infantry numbered 1,506 of all ranks, and the artillery, dragoons and other mounted corps, consisting of two troops of U. S. dragoons and the New York commands of Boughton and Stone, probably mustered 300 more, making a total force of 1,800 fighting men.^ The sun was about half an hour high, or, in other words, it was between six and seven o'clock in the afternoon when Scott began the engagement by a general attack of light troops along the entire front of the British position. On the right, the Glengaries easily maintained their ground, but a section of the Royal Scots which had just come up, startled by the sudden apparition among the trees in their front, of a body of men in green uniforms, resembling those of the American riflemen they had encountered that morning at Lewiston, fired a volley upon them, which injured several and produced some con- fusion.^ The centre attack was not pushed with vigor, and was easily repelled by the artillery fire alone. But upon the left of the line, the Americans soon obtained a decided advantage. Observing the belt of unoccupied ground next the river, Scott ordered Colonel T. S. Jesup, with the 25th U. S. Infantry, to make a wide circuit through the undergrowth in that direction, and, by turning the flank of the British position, attempt to gain possession of the Queenston Road in their rear. Favored by the approach of night, and concealed 1. Drummond to Frevost, Jnly 27,LoBBing ; 2. Auchinleck ; 3. Bipley, 0, E.Gardner Diet. U. B. Army ; 4. U. S. Joarnal, 1845. '^ 25 from view by thickets, that regiment made its way unpcrceived into the interval, and suddenly attacking the battalion of Incorporated Militia in flank at the moment it was attempting to take ground further to the left, threw it into confusion, and took four officers and near a hundred men prisoners. Following up his advantage, Jesup advanced rapidly as far as the road, which he occupied in force, and the troop of the 19th finding a strong body of infantry firing upon them from the enclosures on their flank, retired as far as Muddy Run.i Nor was this the full measure of his success. First, Captain Loring, A. D. C, to General Drummond, riding to the rear to bnng up the cavalry, was captured, then General Riall, himself, bleeding from a wound, which subsequently caused the amputation of his arm, fell into his power in the same manner. The prisoners were promptly hurried from the firld, and when their rank was announced to the remainder of the brigade, it became the signal for loud and prolonged cheering along their entire line, caught up and repeated by Ripley's and Porter's advancing columns. Scarcely had these sounds died away, when a shell >m the British oattery struck one of Towson's ammunition wago».„, which instantly blew up with a great explosion. This incident was hailed in turn by exulting shouts from the successful gunners, who redoubled theiv efforts in consequence, and the American pieces were speedily overpowered by their fire. The Incorporated Militia quickly recovered from their confusion, and reformed in rear of the 89th, fronting the Queenston road, and covering the flank and rear of the troops in Lundy's Lane.^ Their musketry soon compelled Jesup to relinquish the position he had secured, and communication with the rear was re-opened.'^ A general advance of the 9th, nth, and 22nd Infantry converging upon the British guns, forced the 89th and the detach- ments of the 8th and Royal Scots to advance to their support, and was not repelled without a sharp struggle, in which both parties suffered heavily. Lieut. Hemphill, leading the Royals, wns killed, and the command of his party, the remnant of three companies, devolved on another young subaltern, Lieut. Fraser. Colonel Morrison was so severely wounded that he was carried from the field, and Major Clifford assumed command of the 89th, while Captain Campbell, of the 8th, had his horse killed beneath him. Their assailants finally retired, leaving the slope strewed with their dead and wounded, and reformed under cover of their arliUery. Biddle's, Hindman's, and Ritchie's batteries, containing in all seven guns, advanced to Towson's assistance, and the artillery-duel was resumed. Notwithstanding the disparity in numbers, the British guns still maintained a decided superiority. Captains Biddle and Ritchie were both wounded, the latter mortally, and Towson is said to have lost twenty-seven out of thirty-six men serving his guns.4 1. Merritt; Beminlsoenoes of L. Palmer, M. S. S.; 2. Drummond to Frevost, July 27 • 3. LosBiQg ; i. Peterson, Heroes of U. B. nm 26 Colonel McRee, an engineer officer, who was acting as Gfineral Brown's chief of staff^ finally assured the American commander that he need not hope for ultimate success unless the hill was taken and the guns silenced.^ By this time the entire available force of his division had arrived. Scott's brigade was much exhausted and diminished in numbers. Accordingly, Ripley's brigade, consisting of the ist, 2ist, and 23rd Infantry, besides detachments of the 2nd Rifles, 17th and 19th Infantry, was formed for the main attack, having Porter's brigade, composed of Dobbins' and Swift's New York regiments, Fenton's Pennsylvania battalion, and VVillcocks' Canadian Volunteers, upon their left, while the 25th U. S. I. still maintained their position in the thickets on the right.'' For a few minutes, firing almost ceased, and this interval was employed by the American artillerymen in bringing forward fresh supplies of ammunition, and a daring ofificer, Captain Brooke, stealthily crept up the hillside until within a few yards cf the British battery, with a dark lanteri,, which he suspended in a thicket, as a guide for his gunners to take aim by, for although the moon had risen, its light was rendered faint and uncertain by drifting clouds of smoke and dust, and the position of either line of battle was simply indicated at intervals, by the flash of their guns.^ The action had now continued for nearly three hours, and the British force had been reduced by casualties, to less than twelve hundred officers and men, and the' • situation seemed perilous in the extreme. It could no longer be a matter of doubt that they had to contend with the entire American army. But relief, though long delayed, was now close at hand. After the original order of march had been countermanded, the troops encamped at Twelve Mile Creek icmained quietly in their quarters until afternoon, Then an order was received from General Riall, directing a portion of the force to advance immediately to his support, by way of DeCew's Falls and Lundy's Lane. This involved a march of fourteen miles under a burning sun. Colonel Scott instantly obeyed, taking with him seven companies of his own regiment, (the 103rd,) seven companies of the Royal Scots, Lieut.-Col. John Gordon, five companies of the 8th, Major Evans, the flank companies of the 104th, Capt. R. Leonard, and a few picked men selected from some of the Militia battalions in camp, under Lieut.-Col. Hamilton, yet owing to the weak state of the companies, his entire column did not muster more than 1,200 of all ranks.'* This force was accompanied by three 6-pounders and a 5)^ inch howitzer, under Captain Mackonochie. The advance-guard was already within three miles of their destination, when they were met by an oraerly bearing a despatch from General Riall, announcing that he vvas about to retire upon Queenston, and directing them to retreat at once. They had retraced their steps for nearly four miles, when the 1. LosBing ; 2. Bfown to Armstrong, Aug. ; 3. Peteraon ; 4. Prnmmqnc^ to Prevost, July 27. if • I 27 toar of cannon burst upon their ears and they were overtaken by a second messenger, summoning thcni to the scene of conflict. It was accordingly nine o'clock before the head of this colunm, weary and footsore with a march of more than twenty miles almost without a halt, came in view on the extreme lipht.^ Already the American artillery had opened fire with renewed vigor to cover the advance of their infantry and Porter's riflemen were creeping stealthily forward on the right, in the hope of turning that flank also. Drummond promptly foiled this movement by directing the headquarter wing at the Royals and the flank companies of the 104th to prolong his fighting line in that direction while he formed the remainder of Colonel Scott's column into a second line in rear of Lundy's Lane '^ These dispositions had not yet been entirely completed when a large body of infantry was again observed advancing upon the artillery. The troops destined for the assault of the battery composed of the ist U. S. Infantry, Colonel R. C. Nicholas, detach- ments of the 17th and 19th, and the whole of the 21st, under com- mand of Colonel James Miller, and the 23rd, Major 13. McFarland, had quietly be^ formed in the hollow, where their movements were concealed by the darkness, and now advanced silently in line, two deep, under cover of the discharge of all their artillery, which con- centrated its fire upon the British guns. These battalions mustered upwards of 1,400 bayonets.^ The position occupied by the ist U. S. Infantry, forming the centre of their line, compelled that regiment, which had just completed a tour of service in the distant frontier posts on the banks of the Mississippi, to climb the slope in the face of the point-blank fire of the British guns, while Miller's and McFarland's commands moved obliquely upon the battery from either flank. Scarcely had they begun to feel the effects of the artillery-fire when this regiment gave way, and before it could be raUied by its otfirers, had retired a considerable distance in much disorder.^ The 23rd on the right, advanced with more firmness and lost heavily. Their commander was killed and their line began to waver, but order was soon restored by the efforts of General Ripley, who directed their movements in person after the fall of Major McFarland.® Miller's approach on the opposite flank was screened from the view of the gunners by the church and an almost continuous line of thickets fringing both sides of a shallow ravine.8 Within twenty yards of the guns, a 3tout log-fence, skirted with shrubbery and small trees, crossed their path and furnished convenient cover. Up to this point their advance had been unobserved by the artillery- men, whose attention was rivetted upon the batteries below. Halting there for a moment, they fired a single effective volley, and rushing forward, gained the summit. A few gunners still clung desperately to their pieces and were bayonetted while striving to reload, and the 1. Letters of Veritas ; 2. Drummond to Prevost, July 27 ; 3. Blpley, official return ; 4. Brown to Armstrong ; 6. Ibid ; 6. Jacobs' Life of P. Gass. battery which had been worked so effectively against them w.^s in their possession. Both the 24-poundcrs and one of Captain Mackonochie's 6-pounders which had since been broui^ht up to their assistance, were taken. Lieut. Tonikins and a few of his men were also captured and temporarily confined in the church, whence !nost of them soon succeeded in making their escajje.^ Nearly at the same instant, Ripley came up with the 23rd, and the I St, having reformed, advanced to their support. Ripley's entire brigade was thus massed on a very narrow front, on the south side of I.undy's Lane, between the church and the Queenston road. Scott'n brigade, with the exception of the 25th Infantry, wa? rapidly brought forward and took post on their left, while Porter's Volunteers distantly engaged the flank companies of the 104th, and the wing of the Royals.2 Miller's movement had been at once so rapid, unexpected, and successful, that the British guns were in his possession before the infantry in rear had time to advance for their protection. These detachments then hastily advanced to recover them, but after a very severe contest, were repelled with heavy loss. At short range, the cart- ridges of the Americans, containing in addition to the ordinary bullets, three large buck-shot, were particularly effective. I^ieutenant Fraser, on whom the command of the Royals in this part of the field, had devolved, was wounded, and the survivors of his detachment rallied around the colors of the 89th. While this struggle was in progress for the possession of the hill, the American artillery limbered up and advanced to take up a new position upon the summit. In the attempt, they met with a sudden and unforeseen disaster. While their howitzer was ascending the slope at a gallop, a volley of musketry brought nearly all the drivers at once to the ground, and the horses missing their riders and left without guidance, plunged frantically forward into the opposing ranks, where they were soon secured.^ The remainder of the British artillery was at the same time brought forward until the muzzles of the guns were only a few yards asunder, and the battle thenceforward became a confused, ferocious, and sanguinary struggle, waged frequently at the bayonet's point, or with clubbed muskets, the British striving desperately to regain the ground they had lost, and their opponents to thrust them down into the hollow beyond, and drive them from the field. Regiments, companies, and sections were broken up and mingled together. They retired, rallied, and were led to the charge again. It is next to impossible to present a consecutive narrative of the closing hours of the strife. It is asserted by the Americans that they three times repelled the attempts ot their adversaries to regain their lost position.* In one of these, we learn that the 103rd being largely a boy-regiment, 1. LoBsing, Drammoud, 3rowna, England's Artillerymen ; 2. Miller's letter to his wife, July 28, J. L. Thorns ju Hist. Late War; 3. Letter of E. L AUen,21st U. S. I., in Pitts&eld (Mass.) Sua; 4. Lossing, J. L. Thomson, &o. I i i i , 30 and this their first experience of battle, gave way, and were only rallied by the strenuous exertions of Major Smelt and other oftirers.' In another, the assailants forced their way into Major Ilindnian's battery and compelled him to spike two of his ^'uns.'- In the short interval between these attacks, Oeneials Brown and Scott took counsel together, and, in conse([uence, Scott's brigade was moved into Lundy's Lane, and took post in line immediately in front of their artillei y, which was now rendered nearly useless by the very |)roximity of the contending forces. Upon the repulse of the second attack, Scott formed his regiments into close colvmin, left in front, and hoping to profit by the disorder in the British ranks, led them to the charge in turn. The 89th reserved their fire until their assailants were within twenty paces when a volley was delivered with such fatal effect that they recoiled in confusion to the rear. Their place in the line was at once occupied by a portion of General Porter's brigade, and ('olonel Leavenworth rallied and reformed the broken platoons upon the left of their former position. Having changed front, they were again led to the charge by their courageous brigadier, who had already had two horses killed under him, in an effort to force back the British right. Again repelled with heavy loss, they were again rallied, this time on the extreme left of their line.-* General Scott was himself wounded by a musket ball, which fractured his shoulder, and, having also received a severe contusion m the side, was removed from the field. His regimental commanders, Colonels Brady, Jesup, and McNeil, and his Brigade-Major, Smith, had also been disabled. The nth and 22nd U. S. Infantry went entirely to pieces, and tlie 9th alone preserved its formation, kept together by the exertions of Leavenworth, its colonel, who was likewise wounded.* More than half the officers of these three regiments had been killed or badly hurt, and it was subsequently related by deserters, that on one occasion, being hard pressed, the remr *nt of the brigade actually threw down its arms and attempted to surrender in a body, but finding that the British continued their fire, resumed their weapons in despair.^ Be this as it may, the list of killed and wounded bore eloquent testimony to the courage and determination with which they had maintained the contest. About the same time. General Brown received a flesh wound in the thigh, and finding that Scott had already retired from the field, made over the chief command to General Ripley. The two remaining brigades had suffered less, but their losses had been severe, and most of the regiments were much shaken. The new commander, with the entire approval of his chief, determined to retire beyond the Chippawa.^ With this intention, all the guns that could be horsed were withd»'awn, and some of the wounded removed. While Ripley was preparing to retreat, Drummond was resolutely 1. Drummond ; 2. E.L.Allen; 3. J. L. Thomson; 4. Lossing; 5. Drummond to Prevoat Aug. 8; 6. Brown to Armstrong Aug. ; 7. Ripley, Major Uindman's Evidence. I I 1 30 reforming his shattered battalions for a final and suprettie effort to retrieve the fortunes of the fight. IMeeding profusely from a wound in the neck which narrowly missed being fatal, he paid so little cttenlion to it that he did not even dismount to have it dressed. Twenty minutes later his horse was shot dead beneath him.^ Colonel Pearson, Lieut.-('ol. Robinson, and many officers of inferior rank had been disabled. Nearly one-third of ihe rank and file had already been numbered with the dead, or were suffering from wounds. With indomitable resolution, the scattered detachments were rallied and the line reformed lor another attack. Finally, when it was almost midnight, the thinned and wearied ranks were again closed and urged up the hillside. Headed l)y ihe light company of the 41st, led by , Captain Glew, they pressed steadily up the slope, and at length stood | triumphantly upon the summit.'^ The two 24-pounaers they had lost were recovered, but the 6-pounder had been already removed. An American field-piece of the same calibre was, however, taken, the whole of the detachment serving it with but two exceptions having fallen in its defence.-* Several tumbrils and horses were also captured with a number of unwounded jirisoners, while the ridge was profusely strewn wiih the bodies of those seri(iusly injured. Desultory firing continued in various quarters of liic field for a few minutes longer, under cover of which General Ripley withdrew from the field all of his troops that still held together. Almost all American writers, following the cue furnished by General Brown's official letter, convey the impression that their forces retired voluntarily, and were not expelled from the position they had won, and none of tnem admit the loss of any artillery. The statements on these points contained in Sir Gordon Drummond's official letter are, however, fully substantiated by affidavits published in General Ripley's pamphlet already referred to, as well as by several letters from officers and men in the American army, which appeared in different contemporary newspapers. Major Hindman, commandant of their artillery, testified, for instance, that " General Brown said to him : — * Collect your artillery as well as you can, and retire immediately ; we will all march to camp together.' He then remarked that nearly all his officers had been killed or wounded, and that he himself was wounded, and he thought it best to retire. I found the enemy in possession of the guns and wagons. Some of the horses and men were captured. I then left the field. Lieut. Fontaine informed me that the enemy charged his party at the guns, and made them all prisoners but that he dashed through their ranks and escaped. "4 Equally conclusive is the evidence respecting the demoralized condition of the American army, derived from the same sources. We are informed that but two platoons of Scott's brigade could be 1. James ; 2. Gourlay : 3. E. L. Allen ; 4. Uipley, Vindication. '■^ " 3' collected under Leavenworth, and several otificers affirmed that not more than 500 men in all returned to camp in a bcJy, the remainder having dispersed.* The battlefield remained in the undisturbed possession of rhe British during the remainder of the night, but they were in no condition to pursue their disorganized enemies. Pearson's brigade had marched fourteen miles, and had been deprived of sleep the night before ; Morrison's detachment had accomplished the same distance, and the remainder not less than twenty-one miles in the heat of a July day. Almost one-third of their entire number had been killed or wounded, or were missing. The survivors were utterly exhausted, and threw themselves down to rest among thedead and dying upon the bloodstained hill they had finally reconrjuered. Thus ended the most stubbornly-contested and sanguinary engrgement ever fought in the Province of Ontario, after having continued five hours and twenty-three minutes.^ By American writers, it is frequently styled the battle of Bridgewater or Niagara Falls ; in British official records, it is known by the name of Niagara, and, in commemoration of the fact, the Royal Scots, 8th, 41st, and 89th bear that word emblazoned on their colors, but among Canadians it usually receives the more homely appellation of Lundy's Lane.^ The loss on both sides was great in jjroportion to the number of combatants engaged, and according to the official reports, nearly equal. The British return showed an aggregate of five officers and seventy-six men killed, thirty officers and 532 men wounded, fourteen officers and 219 men missing and prisoners ; ihat of their opponents, eleven officers and 160 men killed, three generals (Brown, Scott, and Porter), fifty other officers and 520 men wounded, eight officers and 109 men missing. But there are several cogent reasons for suspecting the truthfulness of the latter return. James asserts that 210 of their dead were counted on the field by Biidsh fatigue parties, and that indi- cations of a number of new-made graves were afterwards discovered near their camp. Drummond stated in his official letter that several hundred prisoners had fallen into hi.; hands, and it would be indeed remarkable that a force in the admitted state of disorganization to which the American army was reduced, should have lost no more than the number stated in missing, especially v/hen a considerable proportion of <^hat force consisted of militia acknowledged to be unusually prone to desert and disperse in the event of a reverse, while their opponents, who held the field, lost more than double that number. 1. Bipley, Vindication ; 2. Letter dated Fort Erie, July 28, in Alexandria Herald ; 3. On tit. Oeorge'a day, April 23rd, 1822, colors were presented by Sir Peregrine Mait- land, Lieut.-Oovemor of Upper Canada, to the York Militia as repreBeutatives of the Inoorporated Militia.in recognition of tbeir ' orvices duriag the war, inscribed with thei vord "Niagara," by direotlon of Sing George IV. 32 • An officer writing from Buffalo two days after the battle, to his father, a Senator in Congress, stated that their first brigade (Scott's) was almost annihilated, yet the official return only admits a loss of a littL more than five hundred men, or about one-third of its effective force.' Major Foster testified that but fifteen or twenty of the nth escaped unhurt.^ Major Hindman relates that of Tappan's Company of the 23rd U. S. I., numbering forty-five rank and file when it went into action, only nine answered to their names at roll- call next morning, and estimated that not more than 1,500 men of the entire division could then be mu^tered.^ I have already referred to the loss of Towson's artillery. At one of Captain Ritchie's guns, every man is said to have been disabled, at another all but two, and yet the entire loss of the whole of the artillery was returned at forty six of all nmks.* Detachments of the 2nd Rifles, and 17th and 19th Infantry, are known to have been engaged, one officer belonging to the former and two of the latter corps, were certainly wounded, but no statement whatever of their loss is to be found in the official report. J^inally, Major Herkimer and thirteen other officers of the volunteer brigade, in an open letter published in several newspapers, directly accused General Brown of falsifying the returns and of understating the loss of their regiments. Mr. Hildreth ;tates that the American Army was reduced by their losses to sixteen hundred effective men. If this were true it would indicate a loss from casualties and desertion, of more than two thousand.'' A very correct and circumstantial account of the action by an eye-witness, published in Paulson's American, estimated their loss in killed and wounded at twelve hundred. Another letter dated at Fort Erie, August ist, remarks: "Many of our men secreted themselves in the woods, and were not co" acted till within a few days." As they v/ere not vigorously pursued, it is probable that many of these stragglers rejoined their regiments. On the part ot the British, the battalions which bore the brunt of the iiction, were the Royal Scots and the Sgth, and their losses were correspondingly severe. Of about 500 men of the former regiment, who went into action, 172 were reported killed, wounded, or missing, while the 89th lost not less than 254 out of an aggregate of 400 of all ranks. Of the provincial corps, the Incorporated Militia suffered most, losing 142 officers and men, of whom not less than ninety-two were missi.ig, out of about 300 engaged ; the Glengary Light Infantry lost fifty-seven, the 104th flank companies, six, the Lincoln Militia, thirteen, the Second York, nine, the Provincial Dragoons, three. Many of the wounded were but slightly injured by buckshot, and were soon able to do duty again, and a number of the missing rejoined their regiments in a few days.g 1, Lieut. J. B. Yarnum 2. Bipley ; 3. E. L. AUeo ; 4. Hist. U. 8.; 5. Official return (Can. Atoh.) ; 6. Oani^ou Hist, records British Army. 'li 33 Next morning, General Ripley again crossed the Chippawa with as large a force as he could muster, with the intention, as he stated, of burying the dead and recovering the wounded, whom he had left behind. But finding the field occupied in force by his antagonist, he immediately retired, destroying the bridge behind him, and^prepared ior an instant retreat. The wounded and prisoners were sent across the Niagara, a quantity of camp equipage and other stores was destroyed or thrown into the river, Bridgewater Mills and Clark's Warehouse at Chippawa, were burned, and a retrograde movement was effected with such celeritv that the entire force arrived at Fort Erie before daybreak on the 2 7th. As soon as Ripley's intention to retreat became apparent, the British light troops were sent in pursuit, and succeeded in making a few prisoners, but feeling himself too weak in numbers to attempt the investment ol their fortified camp at Fort Erie, Sir Gordon Drummond encamped with the bulk of his force near Lundy's Lane until the arrival of reinforcements enabled him to prosecute his advantage further. I ^J- 35 APPENDIX NO. I OFFICIAL RETURN OF THE LOSS OF BRITISH TROOPS IN ACTION OF JULY 25TH, 1814. Staff — I killed, 5 wounded, i missing. 19th Dragoons — 2 rank and file wounded, i rank and file missing. Provincial Light Dragoons — 2 rank and file wounded, i captain missing. Royal Engineers — i subaltern missing. Royal Artillery — 4 rank and file killed ; i captain, 12 rank and file wounded, 7 privates missing. Royal Marine Artillery — 3 rank and file wounded, 2 rank and file missing. ist Royal Scots — i subaltern, 15 privates killed ; 3 oflficers, 112 N C. O. and privates wounded ; 2 officers, 39 N. C. O. and men missing, 8th Kings— 12 N. C. O. and men killed ; 3 officers, 57 N. C. O and men wounded; i officer, 12 N. C. O. and men missing. 41st— 3 privates killed, 34 N. C. O. and men wounded. 89th— 2 officers, 27 N. C. O. and men killed; 11 officers, 177 N. C. O. and men wounded ; 37 N. C. O. and men missing. 103rd — 6 privates killed ; i officer, 46 N. C. O. and men wounded ; 3 officers, 4 N. C. O. and men niissing. 104th — I private killed; 5 privates missing, Glengary Light Infantry — 4 privates killed ; 1 officer, 30 N. C. O. and men wounded ; i officer, 2 1 N. C. O. and men missing. Incorporated Militia — i officer, 6 men killed ; 4 officers, 39 N. C. O. and men wounded ; 75 N. C. O. and men missing ; 3 officers, 14 men prisoners. I St Lincoln Militia — i private killed. 2nd Lincoln Militia — i private wounded. 4th Lint'^oln Militia — 2 officers, 3 men wounded ; 2 officers niissing. 5th Lincoln Militia— i officer, 3 men wounded. 2nd York — 3 officers, 6 men wounded. OFFICIAL RETURN OF LOSS OF UNITED STATES TROOPS. General Staff — 2 wounded. Light Dragoons — i corporal killed, 2 privates wounded. Artillery — i officer, 9 N. C. O. and men killed ; 3 officers, 32 N. C. O. and men wounded ; i private missing. 36 1ST BRIGADE. Staff— 3 officers wounded. 8t n'c ^"^^"^7-3 officers 13 N. C. O. and men killed ; 8 officers «i N. C. O. and men wounded ; i officer, 14 N. C O and mpn missmg. > *-* 1^. v>. u. ana men Qc N r^n"l'T~' °^^^'' "7 N. C. O. and men killed ; 7 officers 95 N. CO and men wounded ; , officer. 2 privates missinc/ ' 23nd Infant, y-36N. C. O. and mei killed ; 7 Xer^'s* 8. N C O. and men wounded • i officprQ r^ \r r n ^"'^cib, 03 i\. 2<;lh Infinirv o ri. ^ ' 1 .„• ^- ^- ^"^ "^en missing. 25in mtan Ty_2 officers, 26 men ki ed : 4 officers 62 N r O and men wounded ; 15 N. C. O. and men missing ' ^' ^' 2ND BRIGADE. C. O.'andtenVsmg"" ''''''' ' ^«^^^^^' ^« ™- ^ <^ed ; 2 N. officers 'L^N'rVL f '''' '4 ^.- ^- O- ^"^ P"v^tes killed; 6 omcers, 64 N. C. O. and men wounded ; 19 privates missina .. n'c n'"V~' '""'''j 9 N. C. o: an'd men kll^d"^' officers 45 N. C. O. and men wounded ; 27 N. C. O. and men missing ' porter's brigade. Staff—I officer wounded, i officer missing. privaS m"^""^"^^-^ P^'^^'^ ^^"^d' ^ P"-tes wounded. 8 Pennsylvania Volunteers-i officer, 10 N. C. O. and men killed • 3 officers, 21 men wounded ; i officer missing ' offirefs'';;2^N V^r^"'T~' "^''^' ^ ^^ ^^ O- and men killed ; 2 officers, 12 N. C. O. and men wounded ; i officer missing. ■mM ■■■■ MiiiHm 37 APPENDIX NO. 2. BRITISH OFFICERS KILLED. Captain Spooner, 89th. Lieut. Moorsom, 104th, D. A. A G. Lieut. Hemphill, ist Royal Scots. Lieut. Lalhom, 89th. Ensign Campbell, Incorporated Militia. WOUNDED. Lieut.-Gen. Drummond ; Major-Gen. Riall ; Lieut. -Cols. Morrison and Pearson ; Capts. McLauchlan and Barenton ; Lieuts. LeBreton, Haswell, Fraser, Noel, Sandeman, Steel, Pierce, Taylor, Lloyd, Miles, Redmond, Hooper, Langhorne, and Kerr, of the regulars. Lieut.-Col. Robinson ; Majors Hatt and Simmons ; Capts. Fraser, Washburn, McDonald, H. Nelles, and Rockman ; Lieuts. Dougall, Ruttan, Hamilton, Thompson, Orrfield and Smith ; Ensigns McDonald and Kennedy, of the militia. AMERICAN OFFICERS KILLED.j Major McFarland, Capts. Goodrich, Hooper, Hull, Kinney, Ritchie, and Spencer; Lieuts. Armstrong, Bigelow, Burghardt, Davidson, Kehr, Poe, Sturgis, and Turner ; Ensign Hunter. WOUNDED. Major-General Brown ; Brig-Generals Porter and Scott ; Col. Brady ; Lieut.-Cols. Dobbins, Jesup, Leavenworth, and McNeil ; Major Wood ; Capts. Biddle, Bissel, Bliss, Burbank, Foster, Foulk, McMillan, Odell, Pentland, Smith and Worth ; Lieuts. Abeel, Beans, Bedford, Blake, Brown, Camp, Campbell, Cilley, Cooper, Culbertson, Cushman, Dick, Dieterich, Ferguson, Fisher, Fisk, Fowle, Gifford, Haile, Ingersoll, Jacobs, Lamb, McChain, Maclay, O'Fling, Schmuck, Shaylor, Stephenson, Tappan, Thompson, Vasquez, Webster and Whiting ; Ensigns Jacobs, Jones, and Thomas. 1. Gardner Diet. U. S. Army. 39 LONDY'S LANE HISTORICAL SOCIETY. • v^ \^ \^^ v^ \^ v^ v^ \^ v.^ v«^ %^ ^. OFFICERS FOR 1888-9. President, .... Rev. Canon G. A. Bull, M. A. ist Vice-President, - John A. Orchard, Ex-Warden of Welland 2"od taste, in memory of Lundy's Lane Battle of July 25, 1814, and the many bra\e dead of that day whose bodies were left in long trenches or scat- tered graves in the Military cemetery then betjun. On the 12th July last, Col. Otter, under instructions from the Domi-iion Govern- ment, vi8it«Hi Lundy's Lane Cemetery, in order to see its neglected ..ondition, and to reiMirt what steps should l>e taken to re- store the graves and to erect a memorial of that severe Battle. Doubtless, Col. Otter will report to the Minister of Militia in stnmg terms, the duty of respect being shown to the place where heroes are buried. The Society's roll of membership is small, in a local sense, but numbers by thoasands if we reckon those who through- out \'.hese Provinces are united insympathy with us and our efforts. Frenths ; much historic iafor- matiui '« been gleaned, printed appeals to Brituii Americans, have been circulated and eipeciallj among the Yoiunteer For- •» .^f OntAriii. Petitions also, verr lanre- we are led to believe are most fav()i'al)ly entertained. The Press of Ontario \u^^ aided us very largely by freijuent alliision.i to the history of this old Niagara District A recent publication of high literary inert by Mrs. S. A. Curzon, Toronto, entitle/ '• Laura Secord, and other posms " hak materially served in placing on record tin.- achievements of loyal men and women of 1812 and '14. The Lundy's Lane Historical Society will continue to give encouragement and assist- ance in promoting the spirit of patrioti.sm in Canada, but will dej^end upon the Coun- ty Council of Welland, to assume all finan- cial responsibilities in connection with iVJeiiiDiinlii, thrir cost, and erection. Jame* McOIuRhan, Esq , Manager of the Imperial Bank, Welland, Ont. , is County Treasurer, and will (ontinue to act as such for the M em< rial Fund. The Society, having been asked ' y Col. Otter to submit to hiin some defini e des cription of the Memorial prt>po8ed fo Lun- dy's Lane Battle (iround, suggests t' >< fol- lowing : — (1.) That a spare of at least '2'> feet square be secured at or near the l.ighest part of the hill and that suitable access thereto be made from the roadway. (2. ) That a stone tower be erectt total height of not lessthan eighty fe elusive of flag staff, and of a width or di- ameter at the base sufficient to aflTord °^ - able room for the exhibit of rel or tiophies of the battles fought in the neigh- borhood, the room to have an area of jiot less than 200 square feet. (3.) The material to be of Quetnstoii Limestone, but other stone may be used in relief if compact and durable. (4.) That Designs be advertised for and premiums offered— each design to lie ac- companied by Specifications and estiinated cost. Anxiously awaiting the fulfilment of our patriotic desiTes the foregoing report is re- sjiectfully submitted GEORGE A. BULL, M. / Piesid .V. Stswarf Houston, M. A Cor. Secretary. Tk i~V.._ T..T-. OR lOUa