\ 
 
THE STORY 
 
 OF THE 
 
 BATTLE OF STONY GREEK 
 
 BY 
 
 E. B. BiGGAR, Esq. 
 
 (AS PUBLISHED IN THE SPECTATOR, JUNE, 1873) 
 
 Hamilton^ June ^M, i8Sg. 
 
 INTRODUCTORY. 
 
 At midnight of the 26th of May, 1813, the 
 Americans, after a long time spent in prepar- 
 ation, completed their final arrangements for 
 the attack on the town and forts at the mouth 
 of the Niagara. The town was then called 
 Newark or Fort George ; and the structure 
 which overlooked the extreme mouth of the 
 river, immediately below the present town of 
 Niagara, was known as Fort Masspssauga. 
 Covered by a dense fog the American troops 
 embarked in vessels from Fort Niagara 
 directly opposite Newark, early on the morn- 
 ing of the 27th. To cover the embarkation 
 and attack a heavy cannonade was opened 
 from Fort Niagara, assisted by broadsides 
 from two schooners which had been brought 
 a(!ross the rive: by means of sweeps for the 
 purpose of quieting the two cannon that had 
 been planted on the river bank near Fort 
 George ; by broadsides from another which 
 appeared to the north of the lighthouse, close 
 to the shore, so as to enfilade the battery and 
 cross the fire of the other two schooners ; and 
 by five schooners, a frigate, and a brig which 
 anchored ofi the shore to the north so as to 
 cover the landing of the troops. Maj-Gen. 
 Dearborn commanded the Americans in this 
 expedition, but did not land in person to head 
 the attack. Brigadier-General John Vincent 
 commanded on the side of the British. Col. 
 Scott was appointed to lead the vanguard of 
 the Americans, supported by several divisions 
 of riflemen, infantry and artillery. The reserve 
 consisted of Macomb's artillery, and marines 
 from the squadron, and 400 seamen under 
 Commodore Chauncey, making in all an 
 active force of 6,000 men. To oppose this the 
 British had about 1,000 mem, composed of reg- 
 ulars, militia and Indians. But the disparity 
 in numbers was not the only disadvantage the 
 British had to contend with ; the fortifications 
 were insufficient ; indeed, scarcely tenable. 
 They were short of powder— so much so that 
 "the guns of Fort George were compelled to 
 remain i\ttA while Commodore Chauncey 
 
 was sounding the shore that (previous) even- 
 ing within half gunshot ; " the men were 
 exhausted from their long and severe duty in 
 watching for the long expected invasion — 
 strong guards had lined the river and lake 
 banks both night and day, for an indefinite 
 time before this, and the duty is remembered 
 by all to have been the severest of the year ; 
 and, worse than all, the heavy fog thai 
 shrouded everything on the morning of the 
 conflict made it impossible to discover from 
 which quarter the attack of the enemy was to 
 be expected. Under this unfortunate aspect 
 Vincent disposed hii, men so as to protect 
 all sides of^ his position. Col. Harvey was 
 posted to the right of Fort George, his 
 detachment extending along the river as far as 
 what was then known as Brown's Point ; Col. 
 Myers was stationed to the left, or west side of 
 Fort Massassauga, to repel any attack made 
 from Lake Ontario ; the General himself took 
 command of the centre, occupying the fort 
 and town ; and a few companies were placed 
 in the rear to prevent a surprise from the 
 ravines inland from the river and lake. Had 
 the Americans exhibited a little of the 
 "strategy" to which they boastingly attri- 
 buted their successes over their Southern 
 brethren in their late civil war, they might 
 have cut of! Vincent's retreat entirely by 
 sweeping the Queenston road, and have made 
 the whole British army prisoners. The battle 
 of Stoney Creek would then not have been 
 fought, and presuming that the Americans 
 would still have held Vork ^the former name 
 of Toronto, then in the hands of the Ameri- 
 cans), the whole Upper Province would have 
 fallen into the possession ot the enemy. But 
 the incapacity of the American General saved 
 — in this instance as in many others during 
 the war— the Canadians from disaster and 
 possible subjugation. The cannt>n had been 
 Dooming long before daylight, but the enemy 
 were not discovered until approaching day- 
 light, when, through the stagnant mist they 
 were seen approaching off the Four-mile 
 
Creek close to the lake shore. But the fog 
 rendered it impossible to ascertain their 
 movements across the river, or, indeed, not 
 more than 50 or 60 ycirds away In aliout 
 one hundred boats and scows they pulled 
 swiftly to the shore, and, after some op- 
 position from a detachment of British, 
 effected their landing. As the morning 
 advanced the mist began to roll away, and 
 the movefttents of the enemy became more 
 evident. Vincent, seeing the attack was 
 meditated from the lake side only, collected 
 his men between Fort George and the shore, 
 and waited their approach. They moved 
 upon him in three solid columns, supported 
 by artillery. It was here that the hardest 
 part of the fighting was done ; but the same 
 stubborn bravery, the same reckless daring in 
 the face of an outnumbering foe that had 
 characterized the heroes of Queenston Heights, 
 became the mark of distinction now. At 
 length, after sustaining a severe loss in 
 officers and men, and pressed hard by super- 
 ior numbers, Vincent deemed it best to 
 evacuate the forts, which was done when 
 they had spiked the guns and destroyed the 
 ammunition The British then retreated in 
 order to Beaver Dams, by way of Queenston. 
 In this retreat about 50 regulars were un- 
 happily made prisoners ; making the total loss 
 of the British, in killed, wounded, and 
 prisoners, 445. The Americans lost 150 in 
 killed and wounded. 
 
 Vincent sent orders to Col. Bishopp, who 
 then held Fort Erie, and Major Ormsby, who 
 commanded at Chippewa to evacuate their 
 posts and join him at Beaver Dams ; the same 
 orders were conveyed to Capt. Barclay, R. 
 N., who commanded a body of seamen ; to 
 two companies of the 8th or King's, and to 
 all the militia in that part of the country. 
 They impressed into their service all the 
 wagons they could find on their way, and by 
 the morning of the 28th the whole force along 
 the line had gathered at the Dams. This 
 place was used as a sort of a depot for 
 military stores, provisions, and ammunition. 
 (It was here that the information brought by 
 our Canadian heroine, Mrs. James Secord, 
 was the means of surprising and capturing 
 Colonel BtLTStler's division of 5cx) troops, 
 50 cavalry, and two guns. ) The troops were 
 assembled on this morning and the militia and 
 volunteers were surprised to hear from the com- 
 mander that they were at liberty to return to 
 their homes if they chose. An intimation so 
 strange and unexpected struck them with as- 
 tonishment and disappointment, as they fully 
 thought, now that 'he scattered forces were 
 concentrated in a body, that a determined 
 attempt would be made to recover Newark 
 and drive the Americans from the land. This 
 unusual proceeding appeared the more singular 
 as the militia had for some time previous 
 considered themselves indifferently treated ; 
 but the mystery was soon made clear. They 
 were told that the army was now about to 
 retreat, and were given to understand that it 
 would not permanently stop tiP it arrived at 
 Kingston — in other words, the peninsula or 
 Upper Province was to be abandoned. The 
 impressment of the wagons, the destruction of 
 the spare stores, the treatment of the militia, 
 and the unpursued (as yet) retreat of the army, 
 as well as incidents in the course of official con- 
 duct at the time, go to prove that ft really was 
 their determination to withdraw the troops from 
 the western frontiers, and perhaps leave it a 
 prey to our acquisitive neighbors. This was 
 
 the firm belief of William H. Merritt, who 
 said in his "Journal of the War of 1812 : " "I 
 strongly suspected, from the indifferent man- 
 ner in which the militia were treated, that that 
 part of the Upper Province was to have been 
 abandoned, which opinion was entertained by 
 most people. • * ' I felt in a sad dilemma. 
 The thought of abandoning the country, and 
 ledving everything that was near and dear to 
 me, was most distressing." It is a pity 1 hat 
 this truth must ])e told and another indirect 
 stain cast on the military name of Sir George 
 Prevost. Some few U the militia took adt 
 vanage of the liberty given them and stayed 
 to protect their families ; others followed 
 the army in its retreat westward. Many were 
 the scenes of sorrow and distress exhibited 
 to the little army as they passed on, leav- 
 ing benind them the unprotected and de- 
 fenceless women and children who expected 
 the Americans would invade and take poss- 
 ession of the land ; and sadly thought their 
 husbands and friends who left them that day 
 would no more return to press the ground of 
 their homesteads as Britons 
 
 They passed DeCue's — a large two-storey 
 stone house used as a small military stopping 
 place — and late at night arrived at the 
 40-mile Creek, now Grimsby. Early the 
 next morning Vincent sent Capt. W. H. 
 Merritt with ten of his mounted yeomen to 
 reconnnitre the enemy and ascertain how far 
 they had advanced. With these men he pro- 
 ceeded cautiously to the 12-miIe Creek, and 
 there found that an advance of 40 or 50 Amer- 
 ican horsemen had made their way as far as 
 De Cue's, but had not appeared in force. 
 Having sent his men back to Vincent with 
 this news he went a'one to his home, follow- 
 ing the lake road, where he remained till mid- 
 night, then taking a tender farewell of his 
 family he retraced his steps to the 40-mile 
 Creek. On arriving here he received an or- 
 der from the army which had reached Bur- 
 lington Heights on the night of the 29th, to 
 remain with a few mounted militiamen until 
 driven away by the enemy. He had not long 
 to wait. On the afternoon of that day (May 
 30th) they had marched within three miles of 
 him ; and a party of thirty horsemen coming 
 on his position obliged him to retire before 
 them. On his joining the main body at the 
 Heights a relief of picquets under Capt. 
 Williams was sent out, he takirt; a position at 
 Barton, to recruit. These picquets were 
 driven in farther and farther, until, at last, 
 they were chased up as far as Big Creek, a 
 stream not more than four miles east of Ham- 
 ilton. This was on the afternoon of June Sth. 
 
 ADVANCE OF THE AMERICANS. 
 
 When Vincent retreated towards Queens- 
 ton he was followed by the American Col. 
 Scott, who succeeded, as was before stated, 
 in making prisoners of 50 British regulars. 
 As soon as they had taken possession of the 
 now dismantled and untenable fort and town 
 (consisting of a few ruined houses). Gen. 
 Dearborn was informed that Col. Proctor 
 was on his way from the Detroit frontier to 
 effect a junction with Gen. Vincent at Bur- 
 lington Heights. Supposing this information 
 to be correct Dearborn proposed to despatch 
 part of his army to cut off Vincent's retreat 
 and thus prevent their joining This was 
 agreed upon and Gen. Winder, at his own 
 request, was appointed to the duty. Accor- 
 dingly he set out, but took the wrong road 
 and was obliged to return. This caused a 
 
ruinous delay of two days, by which time 
 Vincent had gained the Heights, and of 
 course the idea of heading the retreat was 
 then given up. Dearliorn's intention was to 
 transport his troops to Burlington Bay by the 
 fleet, " bui," says Auchinleck, "the cabinet 
 at Washington had given this arm ol the ex- 
 pedition a different direction." So two more 
 days were spent in unresulting deliberations 
 as to how to proceed. I will be pardoned for 
 digressing somewhat from the subject to remark 
 that it was fortunate for the British that they 
 w;r; opposed by the commander that they were, 
 (ien. IJearborn was a man much advanced in 
 years and was suffering from ill health at the 
 time. In his younger days he h.id distin- 
 guished himself in the Revolution as a man of 
 .ictivity and daring ; but was now in his 
 dotage almost, and had he even possessed 
 physical health and full powers of mind, it is 
 doubtful if his abilities as a leader would have 
 been equal to the task before him. His man- 
 rtuvres at the taking of York were ill planned 
 in the extreme, and his action in this and 
 succeeding enterprises, clumsier and more ill- 
 planned. The old general was recalled from 
 his command just a month after the battle of 
 .Stony Creek, and Gen. Wilkinson, another 
 old and equally incompetent leader, appointed 
 as his successor. 
 
 Again General Winder started with a bri- 
 gade in pursuit of the British. This brigade 
 which included a corps of dragoons ; Col. 
 Burns' detachment of cavalry (stated by G. 
 Auchinleck to number 250); and Archer's 
 and Towson's artillery, amounted to only 800 
 men, according to J. B. Lossing, the writer of 
 "Sketches of the War, 1812." Another 
 American work, however, states them at 
 1,45 '. Winder pushed rapidly on to the 20- 
 mile Creek, at which place he was told that 
 Vincent was posted strongly at Burlington 
 Heights, and had received reinforcements from 
 Kingston. Believing this (an invention, no 
 doubt, of some unscrupulously patriotic den- 
 izen) to be true, he halted in his pursuit, and 
 sent a request to Dearborn for more troops. 
 In compliance with this another brigade was 
 sent, under the command of General Chan- 
 dler, who being the senior officer, took 
 the chief command on his arrival. Lossing 
 says that Chandler's brigade counted 500 men, 
 making the total American force 1,300. 
 Auchinleck, the Canadian historian of the 
 war, with a fairer appearance of accuracy, 
 puts them down at 3,450. W. II. Merritt, 
 speaking of them as encamped at Stony Creek, 
 says there were " 2,000 on a hill to the right 
 of the road, and 500 in the lane to the left, in 
 advance of their artillery " (and cavalry, which 
 numbered 250), Placing the artillery at the 
 moderate number of 350, there would then 
 be a 3,100, Besides these, a body oi troops, 
 whose number is unknown, came up the lake 
 in seventeen batteaux. Reducing the conflict- 
 ing statements of a dozen different authorities 
 to a fair average, the two brigades could not 
 have been less than 2,800 men. Chand- 
 ler and Winder now moved forward to the 40- 
 mile Creek, where they drove off the mounted 
 militiamen under Copt. Merritt. Having 
 here ascertained more accurately the position 
 and strength of the British they proceeded 
 on their march, and towards evening on the 
 5th of June they arrived tired, hungry and 
 thirsty, at a place which was soon to be the 
 scene of disaster and defeat to themselves, 
 but a nost brilliant and glorious success for 
 the British — Stony Creek. 
 
 Before giving a view of the subsequent in- 
 cidents it may be well to give some idea ol 
 what constituted Stony Creek and Burling- 
 ton Heights, so that the reader may bet- 
 ter understand the relative position and 
 surroundings of the two armies. Neither 
 of these two places had any claims at that 
 time to the title of village even. Stony 
 Creek was a stream which took its rise in a 
 swampy tract of woodland some miles beyond 
 or south of that ridge of land known as the 
 " mountain," the same ridge over which the 
 great Niagara thunders, and winding north- 
 west poured over this ; then running northward 
 through the present village emptied into a 
 small lagoon which stretches in from the shore 
 of Lake Ontario. The creek is not perennial 
 but in the spring and lall a most beautiful 
 falls is formed at the escarpment where the 
 water pours over from its summit in one un- 
 broken descent of 80 or 100 feet. The great, 
 symmetrical regular oval wall of grey rocks 
 from whose summit the water pours into a 
 rocky basin beneath ; the majestic evergreen 
 crown of pines and hemlocks encircling and 
 overlooking its brow with conscious imperi 
 ousness ; the undergrowth that overhangs 
 and fringes like a valance the rugged edge of 
 rocks ; and further on the the shrubbery 
 which carpets the steep banks of the canon 
 that gazes on the rich valley beneath ; and 
 the grand and picturesque boulders piled con- 
 fusedly together (and which bear still on their 
 faces the the evidence of a primeval submer- 
 sion under the waters of old Ontario) make 
 up a picture which the traveler might look 
 upon hundreds of times without losing any of 
 its variety or enchanting picturesqueness, 
 A'ter leaving the foot of the falls its watfrs 
 dash gaily down over rocky ledges to the level 
 below and then course over a complete bed of 
 small, loose stones to its outlet. From this 
 it derives its name of " Stoney Creek." Our 
 ancestors spelt it " Stoney," and that error is 
 now a confirmed custom with the inhabitants, 
 though it has been discarded in this sketch, 
 A narrow, crooked, rough road ran west from 
 from Queenston to the Heights, and around 
 the lake to York and Kingston. On this 
 road, hard by Stony Creek, lived Edward 
 Brady, who kept a small log tavern. About 
 a hundrcu yards east of the Creek and nearly 
 opposite him, lived Stephen Jones (father of 
 the present judge of the County of Brant), 
 who also kept a log tavern. Another log 
 shanty was built close to this, but the occu- 
 pant's name is in oblivion. Adam Green, 
 (after whom Greensville is called) lived on 
 the hill in a log house west oi the creek, on 
 the spot now occupied by H. Spearle's house. 
 Just below this on the bank was an old water- 
 power saw-mill. Nearly a halt mile west of 
 the creek, and overlooking the battle ground 
 from a hill on the south was James Gage's 
 house ; his brother William lived some dirtance 
 across the road on another hill. The house 
 of the latter is the only one that still stands 
 entire, as it stood then. Nearly between these 
 two, close by the road was a little l"g cabin in 
 which a man named Lappin lived. An un- 
 finished frame house (said to be the only frame 
 house in the parts except one) stood by the 
 Creek There was only one more building be- 
 sides these, but it was the finest and best of 
 all. It was the old church. 
 
 " It stood upon a hill ; a gentle hill. 
 Green, and of n:ild declivity," 
 
 and in the centre of what is now the grave- 
 yard, a yard then dotted by scarce a tomb- 
 
stone. It was built by the VVesleyan Metho- 
 dists, and wr.s, with the single exception of 
 th« Grand River stone chapel, the oldest 
 church in Westtnn Ontario, or (it is said) in 
 the whole Province. Long before the year 
 1800 the settlers used to come a distance of 
 twenty or thirty miles to listen to itinerant 
 preachers in this church. It was built with 
 the labor ot the settlers and without money ; 
 its clapboard ed sides never saw paint ; its 
 inside walls never knew plaster or whitewash ; 
 its humble altar glittered with not an ornament, 
 no great chandelier shed its light on a fashion- 
 ably dressed audience at night, nor organ 
 pealed its thundering accomp.'xniment to a 
 trained choir ! Its only steeple was the 
 chimney top that towered over its old fire- 
 place — for there were ijo foundries or stoves 
 then. Still its pious congregation looked proud- 
 ly upon it as a grand edifice. (Years after the 
 war it was repaired and refitted, however and 
 was still the finest chapel in this part of the 
 country It was torn down in 1871.) Two 
 miles west of Stony Cireek William Davis 
 kept a tavern, near the bank of the Hig Creek 
 close by the road It was here that Colonels 
 Harvey and Murray boarded for a time 
 during the war. The story is told how an 
 awkward and verdant youth named Mc- 
 Nabb (afterwards Sir Allan) was intro- 
 duced to Murray in this house, and became 
 so confused in being presented to one whom 
 he thought so great a man that he kicked 
 over his chair in rising ; and how he after- 
 wards said he believed he would have rushed 
 out of the house had he not been brought to 
 his senses by a grim smile of assurance from 
 Murray. Farther up the road was another 
 house-- still standing on the present site of 
 Barton' ille —then the only reprf.sentative 
 house of that village. Farther yet was Mr. 
 Aikman's pKice, and shortly beyord a stone 
 habitation, the ruins of which have been 
 lately pulled down. 
 
 As near as I have been able to ascertain, 
 the ground on which the city of Hamilton 
 now stands was then owned as follows : Geo. 
 Hc.nilton, after whom the city was named, 
 owned 200 acies south of the road — which is 
 now King street, and east of James street. 
 Bounding this on the north and extend- 
 ing from James to Wellington streets was 
 Hughson"* farm, whose name is itill pre- 
 served in Hu^hson street. These two farms 
 were bounded on the west by the property of 
 William Wedge ; and on the east by the 
 farms of Ephraim and Col. Robert Land. 
 Though these were called " farms," nothing 
 grew on them but a low undergrowth, indica- 
 tive of marshy ground, called "scrubby oak." 
 A man named Barns kept tavern in a small 
 frame house on the present corner of King 
 and James streets, and was said to own <oo 
 acres of land somewhere in that part. This 
 old signless frame tavern may be said to have 
 been the germ and beginning of the city of 
 Hamilton. These buildings enumerated, 
 planted in the midst of an unhewn for- 
 est, like so many islands in an ocean, were 
 all that then was of Stony Creek and Hamil- 
 ton — a name then unknown as a locality. 
 That part of Hamilton now known as " Dun- 
 durn Castle" was termed the Heights as well 
 as the high land on the other side of the canal. 
 On the grounds around the site of the castle, 
 and in other places entrenchments were cut 
 and trees felled for some distance around, 
 with their branches pointing . outward, 
 as a sort of (hcval de-frise, traces of which. 
 
 may yet be seen in the present cemetery 
 And behind these entrenchments was Vin- 
 cent's camp. 
 
 It has been said that the Americans reached 
 Stony Creek late in the afternoon of the 5th 
 of June, 1813. One of the British dragoons 
 who had been stationed a distance below the 
 Creek as a look-out came riding through the 
 hamlet at full gallop, firing his pistol and 
 shouting that the enemy were coming. As 
 he was a notorious liar the alarm was 
 received doubtfuMy. Another dragoon, John 
 Brady, rode eastward, upon this,to reconnoitre, 
 and ere he had advanced half-a-mile suddenly 
 came upon them. A short distance before 
 him a deer path ran down to the road from 
 the mountain, and this he resolved to gain in 
 the face of the enemy. Putting spurs to his 
 horse, he rode up, screened by the fire of two 
 log heaps that were burning by the road, and 
 firing oft' his piece at them, darted up the deer 
 path to the niountam. As he wheeled several 
 muskets answered his own shot, but the 
 bullets whistled harmlessly by or struck the 
 intervening trees. Brady climbed the moun- 
 tain and in less than two hours was at 
 Vincent's camp at Burlington Heights. The 
 advance cavalry of the Americans soon 
 pranced up before Brady's tavern ; when 
 among other things, they appropriated the 
 family's bread that had been freshly baked the 
 same afternoon. The clattering of cavalry 
 hoofs, the clanking of swords, the heavy rattle 
 of the artillery, and the long and strange array 
 of invading soldiers as they filed along the nar- 
 row road struck the few inhabitants of the ham- 
 let with wonder and as'onishment. It was 
 soon whispered about among them that a battle 
 was to be fought the next day, and as may be 
 expected the wives and maidens of the vicinity 
 were in great consternation. Arrived at the 
 old church the advance encountered Capt. 
 Williams, whom they drove to the west side 
 of the Big Creek. Williams and his men 
 mounted the west bank of the Big Creek and, 
 firing from thence, killed one man and 
 mortally wounded another, who was carried 
 into Davis' tavern The sun was getting low 
 in the west as the advance and part of the 
 main body found themselves on a piece of high 
 and uneven land surrounded by a dense forest 
 where it was impossible to camp on account 
 of the impenetrable underwood — unless it 
 would be in the contracted limits of 
 the road. Under these circumstances the 
 men were ordered to fall back on Stony 
 Creek. Soon after they had gone an Amer- 
 ican surgeon was sent to attend the wounded 
 man at Davis'. He seemed in great excite 
 ment ; swore at the men under his charge for 
 not hurrying to obey his orders ; ind was sure 
 they would all be scalped if they did not get 
 away at once. So the wounded man was 
 tumbled into one of the beds and they 
 rattled off in their wagon, bed and all. It 
 seems he had heard the shouts of Williams' 
 men and imagined them to be Indians. 
 (Without discussing the question o^ cruelty 
 and savagery practiced by the Indians on 
 both sides during this war it will be proper to 
 mention that the Americans stood in singular 
 dread of the British Indians, and were in 
 constant terror of the scalping knife, to which 
 feeling was owing partly their defeat in this 
 conflict, though, be it remembered, not a 
 solitary Indian was in the battle.) It is 
 related that some of the men on their way 
 back to Stony Creek stopped at a well to 
 drink. One of them said to a comrade, " I 
 
5 
 
 think I will take this piece oi land (pointing 
 to a small clearing) when Canada is con- 
 quered,'' This m'.n was found the next day 
 among the slain The poor fellow is still 
 waiting fur his farm beneath an appletree 
 that sheds its bloom at each returning 6th of 
 June over the ground where the soldiers were 
 buried. 
 
 A small tributary stream ef Stony Creek 
 ran down past Gage's house, distant about 
 halt a mile at that point from the main stream, 
 and was enclosed by a low. level, woodless 
 strip of ground called the "flat," which was 
 itself walled in on either side by an abrupt 
 bank about ten feet high. The road .it this 
 place was not then graded, but pitched imme- 
 diately down these banks ; and it was <"! the 
 eastern one that Chandler ordered his ca mon 
 to be planted, so that they might swee (he 
 road to the west On each side of the i ')ad, 
 near the guns, slept the artillerymen. Im- 
 mediately in the rear of this (Towson's) artil- 
 lery. Col. Uurns and his cavalry camped. In 
 a cleared field south of the road towards 
 Gage's house, a body of nearly 2,000 Amer- 
 icans pitched their tents, stretching along and 
 above the bank ; 500 lay in a lane in the flat 
 west of the stream and to the right front oi 
 the artillery. Archer's artillery and another 
 body of men occupied a position towards the 
 lake. And finally, in advance of the rest a 
 party of about 50 took possession of the old 
 church. All the settlers in the vicinity were 
 taken and held as prisoners lest they should 
 carry any information to Vincent. Three of 
 them (whose names I could mention) were 
 contined in Lappin's log cabin, in uncomfor- 
 table proximity to the cannon, and a guard 
 placed over them. Chandler, Winder and 
 some of the principal officers occupied Gage's 
 house (while the family were put down cellar) 
 and used his barn and outhouses as store- 
 rooms for their baggage. The troops were 
 ordered to sleep on their arms that night ; the 
 cannon stood in readiness to sweep the road ; 
 and full directions were given by Chandler 
 when and how to form in line 'A battle should 
 any attack l)e maJe. Thus for ihe first time, 
 the tents of a Canadian enemy were spread 
 upon Stony Creek ground, and for the first 
 time the smoke of an enemy's camp fires 
 arose on Wentworth air ! The men took 
 their much-needed supper, and lay down 
 upon their arms weary and exhausted from 
 their long, tiresome day's march. The noise 
 and bustle of the camp gradually died out, as 
 the men sought their rest, and the darkness 
 closed in. Ch?.racterislic of June the night 
 was hot and breezeless, as the day had been 
 clear and sultry. There was no moon ; the 
 horizon on all quarters was entombed in a 
 mountain of dark clouds from which the "heat 
 lightning " shot out at intervals, and illumined 
 the tree-tops with its dull flickering glare. 
 Soon the men were asleep, and the only 
 sounds to be heard were the sullen tread of 
 the sentinels, the distant wail of some bird or 
 animal, and the dying crackle of the camp 
 fires, which revealed indistinctly the grey 
 pyramids around them, and the forms of out- 
 lying soldiers. 
 
 Let us now leave the Americans to the 
 slumber which was fated to be so suddenly 
 and abruptly broken, and follow the motions 
 of the British. 
 
 Towards evening Vincent had sent out Col. 
 
 John Harvey, his deputy-adjutant general, for 
 
 the purpose of reconnoitring the enemy. "Tak- 
 
 . ing ensigns McKenny and George, two ofiicers 
 
 of W. H. Merritt's company, he went forward 
 with the light companies of the 49th, and met 
 Williams' company at Big Creek. While 
 Harvey, George and McKenny were ascend- 
 ing the east bank of the creek in advance of 
 the men, they came upon an American with a 
 British prisoner. The American leveled his 
 piece to fire on them, when Harvey called out 
 to the British soldier to seize him, which was 
 no sooner said than the gun was wrested from 
 him, and the captor was captive. Harvey 
 lent his pistol to George Kradshaw, he being 
 without small arms, and the American, whose 
 name was Vanderberg, was conducted by him 
 to the presence of Vincent. The British sold- 
 ier had strayed from the road in the early part 
 of the day, returned without knowing that the 
 enemy had advanced so far, and was seen and 
 seized. The reconnoitring party now went 
 cautiously forward to a position from which 
 they could view the enemy. Here they saw 
 that the extended line of encampment of the 
 . enemy was scantily guarded, was scattered 
 and disconnected, the artillery poorly sup- 
 ported, and the cavalry placed awkwardly m 
 the rear the artillery. McKenny and 
 George both suggested a night sortie upon 
 them. Harvey saw at once the feasibility of 
 it and concurred. Harvey has always been 
 looked to as the first who proposed this 
 scheme of night attack, but the honor of it 
 really belongs to these two, McKenny claiu^ 
 ing to have spoken of it first (see W. H. M's 
 "Journal "). At night they returned and 
 proposed the night attack to Vincent, who 
 without much deliberation moved to carry it 
 into effect. He acceded to it more readily 
 as he knew full well how very critical his situ- 
 ation was York was in the grasp of the 
 enemy and an active and powerful fleet was on 
 the lake to o|: pose him. And should he de- 
 lay action till the next day an outnumbering 
 army would be on his position at the very 
 time when he had but ninety rounds of am- 
 munition for each man. W, H. Merritt, who 
 understood perfectly well the state of affairs, 
 spoke of it thus: "All my hopes depended 
 on this bold enterprise, for had we not 
 attacked them they would have advanced the 
 next morning, and in all probability we would 
 have retired without risking an action, as «ur 
 force was not one-third of theirs. Proctor 
 and the whole upper country would then have 
 fallen." It was the result, then, of this night 
 attack upon the enemy that was to decide the 
 fate of the western portion of the Province. 
 
 An order to move forward startled the 
 sleeping officers and men from the grass where 
 on they were reposing, and instantly the camp 
 was alive with preparations to march. It was 
 about half-past ten that the last of the brave 
 seven hundred and four who were to honor 
 themselves and their posterity in this daring 
 encounter, disappeared from the waning light 
 of their campfires down the lonely road east- 
 ward. Stealthily they took their way beneath 
 the grand wall of trees that rose on either side 
 of the road, and in places arched together 
 overhead, closing them in profound night and 
 darkness. As the little phalanx wound along 
 their sinuous path toward the enemy's encamp- 
 ment not a word was spoken nor a sound of 
 any kind escaped their ranks. On they stole 
 down the west bank of Big Creek, then up the 
 eastern like a train of noiseless ghosts. Just 
 as they arrived at Davis's the slumbering 
 echoes of the woods awoke upon their ears 
 with the sound of a gun, in the very direction 
 oi the enemy. The whole body halted almost 
 
without the word of cominaml This report 
 called lor increased caution : some informa- 
 tion was gleaned from Dnvis ; an>l an order 
 went around to have the charges drawn from 
 every gun, lest hy some accident they should 
 go off, and perhaps defeat the only scheme hy 
 which they could hope for success. They 
 now formed into sections, and with the light 
 companies of the 49lh in the van and Vincent 
 at the head of the rear column, ihey once 
 more proceeded. Their movements were now 
 attended with jjrcater caution, for they were 
 not certain that the report heard was not an 
 alarm at their approach. They arrived in 
 sight of the first sentry at nearly two o'clock 
 on Sunday morning (6th). Col Harvey, who 
 waa to conduct the attack, was in front of t)ie 
 light companies with another man of the 49th, 
 and observed the sentry reclining against a 
 tree which leaned partially over the road 
 about a hundred yards west of the church. I 
 have never been able to discover for a cer- 
 tainly whether the countersign was obtained ; 
 or if it was, how it was done. Lossing asserts 
 that it "was obtained from a treacherous 
 dweller near, who by false pretences had pro- 
 cured and conveyed it to (General Vincent.' In 
 contradiction to this a "49th man " gives his 
 printed testimony as follows: "I had been 
 driven in that afternoon from Stony Creek, 
 and was well acquainted with the ground. 
 The cautious silence observed [speaking of 
 their march down] was most painful : not a 
 whisper was permitted ; even our footsteps 
 were not allowed to be Heard. I shall never 
 forget the agony caused to the senses by the 
 stealthiness with which we proceeded to the 
 midnight slaughter. I was not aware that any 
 other force accompanied us than the Grena- 
 diers, and when we approached near the 
 Creek I ventured to whisper to Col Harvey, 
 • We are close to the enemy's camp, sir ! ' 
 ' Hush ! I know it,' was his reply. Shortly 
 after a sentry challenged ; Dieu, Danford.and 
 the leading section rushed forward and killed 
 him with their bayonets ; his bleeding corpse 
 was cast aside, and we moved on with breath- 
 less caution. A second challenge 'Who 
 comes there?' — another rush, and the poor 
 sentinel is transfixed, but his agonized groans 
 alarmed a third who stood near the watch- 
 fire ; he challenged and immediately fired and 
 fled." Not a moment was now to be lost. 
 Harvey, whose plans had been perfectly or- 
 ganized before starting, instantly ordered his 
 men to deploy into line. He and Col. Fitz- 
 gibbon took the road straight ahead : Major 
 Plenderleth swept round to the left, and 
 Major Ogilvie with a party of the 4gth opened 
 to the right In the meantime the sentry at 
 the church door had been approached in the 
 shade of the trees and killed, and the whole 
 party— who were lying in all parts of the 
 church with their heads peacefully pillowed 
 on their coats and boots — were made prison- 
 ers. The excitement of the men, wrought by 
 subdued silence, was now at its greatest in- 
 tensity. Wiih wild and terrific yells they 
 burst with fixed bayonets into the flats 
 upon the astonished Americans. The fren- 
 zied outburst of voices seemed to fairly 
 shake the woods; and in the next short 
 minute the whole flats and the oppo- 
 site hill was a scene of crazy commotion 
 and disorder. The five hundred in the lane 
 flew madly to the hill, leaving their blankets, 
 knapsacks and some of their arms behind. 
 The British halted at the deserted camp-fires 
 of the enemy to load their guns and replace 
 
 their flints, which some of them had taken out 
 for safely. While this was being dime. Col. 
 Filzgihbon rushed up to the cannon, saw that 
 the artilleryman were not yet by them, hur- 
 ried back and ordered the captain of the first 
 company to charge upon them. The company 
 was at once on the doubletiuick march in the 
 face of the guns ; but hardly had they ^one 
 twenty feet before a man sprang to touch off 
 one of the cinnons. It hung fire ; the captain 
 yelled to his men to "break off from the cen- 
 tre or they would all be killed," but the words 
 had no more than gone from his lips when the 
 thundering explosion came, and, not his mer, 
 but the captain himself and two of his otlicers 
 lay dead in the raad. Ky this time the Amer- 
 icans had somewhat recovered from their first 
 confusion, and while the Driiish were sti'l 
 loading, the dark hill, for nearly a half-mile 
 in extent, was suddenly illuminated with a 
 crashing volley. It was a grand and awful 
 sight ; none but those who actually witnessed 
 it can form a true conce])ti<>n of the ghastly 
 sublimity of Ihe spectacle Following the 
 dreadful flush anci crash came a silence yet 
 more impressive, bioken though by the 
 blinking of ramro<!s and groans of the 
 wounded and dying. Now an ominous faint 
 "click click-click ! "rattles along the gloomy 
 hill, succeeded by another echoing roar of 
 musketry, and a shock of artillery ; and 
 again the trees, the tents, and everything 
 about lives as in a momentary day ; and 
 again the whizzing bullets are followed by 
 moans and dying words. But now the flashes 
 come from the flats also, and from simultan- 
 eous volleys the firing runs into an incessant 
 roar, the hill and valley are continuous sheets 
 of living flame, and the sky is bright with the 
 glare. The guard at the cabin door near the 
 foot of the hill had fled with the rest, and now 
 directly in the face of the fire the four men 
 who had been confined therein ran excitedly 
 towards the British, i^'range to tell, they 
 reached the lines in perfect safety. Then 
 again the bayonets are fixed and the British 
 dash forward ; in rushing through they get 
 confused, but Plenderleth rallies them, and 
 on towards the cannon they push ; up the 
 hill they spring, and 
 
 " Flash'd all their sabres bare, 
 Flash'd as they turneil in air, 
 Sabring the gunners there. 
 Charging an army, while 
 .All the world wondered. 
 Three cannons and tumbrels, with thirty 
 men and one of the generals, were taken in 
 this fierce charge by Plenderleth. Ogilvie 
 had charged up towards Gage's, and had cap- 
 tured the other general while coming out of 
 the house. At about the same time the two 
 American generals were lost to their men, 
 Vincent was lost to the British, and was sup- 
 posed to be killed or wounded. Under these 
 circumstances Col. Burns became leader of 
 the Americans, and Harvey assumed com- 
 mand of the British. The 49th were on the 
 hill pressing onward when Burns' cavalry 
 assailed them, cut through the ranks, and 
 drove them back down the hill. In changing 
 so rapidly their positions at this time, the 
 opposing sides became mixed, and more con- 
 fusion prevailed. In this state of affairs 
 nearly fifty of the 49th British regiment were 
 taken prisoners, and a number of Americans 
 were also taken by the British. The Ameri- 
 cans now began to retire, which they did 
 without pursuit. As it was getting daylight, 
 Harvey thought it prudent to retire too, as 
 day would soon discover to the enemy the 
 
insufficiency of his force and probably incite 
 them to renew a conllici which he was not 
 al)le to keep up. As soon as ilay b»i;an to 
 lireak Capt. Merritt was sent down to ascer- 
 tain, if possible what hail become of the iniss- 
 in|{ general. He airived at the scene of the 
 midnight carnage, and was viewing over the- 
 ground not thinking of the enemy, wh'in he 
 was accosted by an American sentinel under 
 Gage's house with " Who goes there ?" At 
 this unexpected challenge ne was about to 
 surrender, as both his pistols were in the 
 holsters, when he bethought himself of a 
 ruse, and turning to the sentinel, and riding 
 towards him in(|uired, " Who pl.-.ced you 
 there?" Supposing him to be one of their 
 own ofr.cers the sentinel returned that he was 
 put their by his captain who had just gone 
 into the house with a I'arty of men. The 
 captain then asked him if he had found the 
 British general yet, at the same time pulling 
 out his |)istol. At the sight of the wapon 
 leveled at him, the sentinel dropped his gun 
 and gave himself up. Just then a man, with- 
 out any yun, ran down the hill. Capt. Mer- 
 ritt called him and he obeyed the summons. 
 Thus securing the two prisoners unobserved 
 by the party of men in the house, he took 
 them off to the Heights, but found no trace of 
 Vincent, A large body of the enemy reap- 
 peared on the battle field between seven and 
 eight o'clock, and proceeded to destroy the 
 previsions, carriages, spare arms, blankets, 
 etc., which they could not take, and then re- 
 treated, leaving the'r own dead to be buried 
 by the British. As they passed from the 
 scene of their discomfiture, their band struck 
 up the then popular air, " In My Cott-ige near 
 the Wood," and to this lively tune the disor- 
 dered army left the hamlet of Stony Creek 
 forever. 
 
 They did not halt till they reached the 40- 
 mile Creek, where they camped over night. 
 But Sir James Yeo having sailed from 
 Kingston on the 3rd, with his squadron 
 for the purpose of annoying the enemy 
 at the head of the Lake, appeared otT this 
 creek at daylight of the 7th. Being be- 
 calmed, it was impossible to get within 
 range with the large vessels but the schooners 
 Beresford and Sidney Smith were tugged 
 up and commenced lire. This added 10 a 
 panic caused by some Indians appearing on 
 the brow of the mountain, and tiring into 
 the camp, caused the Americans (now rein- 
 forced by Generals Lewis and Boyd) to break 
 camp and retreat to Fort George, leaving 
 behind 5C0 tents, 100 stand of arms, 140 bar- 
 rels of flour, and about 70 wounded men, who 
 were duly taken care of. But the Americans 
 met a severer loss in the destruction and 
 capture of all the batteaux that were in co- 
 operation with the land forces. Twelve of 
 them were iaken with all their contents by the 
 Beresford, and the residue of five driven on 
 shore, where their crews deserted them, and 
 joined the flying army. 
 
 When Capt. Merritt returned to camp with- 
 out the General, George Bradshaw and John 
 Brant (a half-brother to the celebrated Joseph 
 Brant) started again in search. They met 
 him emerging from a side path, arrayed in a 
 borrowed hat and on a borrowed horse. He 
 had lost himself, he said, in the woods while 
 the battle was going on ; and in the general 
 excitement lost hat, sword, and horse. On 
 his return to camp he was greeted with loud 
 cheers from his men, who had almost given 
 him up as killed or taken prisoner. 
 
 !ll 
 
 The following is the statement given in an 
 American account (Lossing's) as the return of 
 killi: i and wounded at Stony Creek ; the 
 British had 23 killed, 100 wounded, and 5 
 missing. The Americans had 17 killed ; 3: 
 wounded, and 99 missing. 
 
 Somewhat at variance with this is Vincent'i 
 oflicial report which says : " The action ter- 
 minated before daylight, when three guns and 
 one brass howitzer, with three tumbrels, two 
 Brigadier-Gener:!ls, Chandler and Winder, 
 first and second in command, and upwards of 
 100 officers and privates remained in our 
 hands. * * ' * It would be an act of 
 injustice were I to omit assuring your Excel- 
 lency, that gallantry and discipline were never 
 more conspicuous than during our late short 
 action ; and I feel the greatest satisfaction in 
 assuring you that every officer and individual 
 seemed anxious to rival each other in his 
 efforts to support the honor of His Majesty's 
 arms, and to maintain the high character of 
 British troops. * ' General return of 
 killea, wounded, and missing : 3 lieutenant, 
 3 sergeants, 19 rank and file, killed ; 2 majors, 
 5 captains, 2 lieutenants, I ensign, I adjutant, 
 I fort-major, 9 sergeants, 2 drummers, and 
 113 rank and file, wounded ; 3 sergeants, arid 
 52 rank and file, missing." A veteran, John 
 Lee, who assisted in burying the dead, ami 
 cotintcd thcin hiimdf, disagrees with both, 
 and affirms that there were buried that day 
 sixty one men of both sides. 
 
 This loss in a half-hour's fight made a large 
 gulf in 704 men. The severe loss on the 
 British si.le is easily accounted for in the fact 
 that they were exposed to the light of the 
 camp fires wtiere they suflered fearfully before 
 they were prepared to return the fire. From 
 the position of the dead and wounded next 
 morning it was known that they lost as much 
 from those two first volleys as in all the rest 
 of the fi^ht. Most of the Americans were 
 wounded with bayonets .^11 the honor of 
 this sharp and effectual repulse of an enemy 
 outnumljering them four to one, is due to the 
 decision, energy and judgment of Col. Har- 
 vey as the leader of a brave, active and 
 faithful band of men. 
 
 Many came the next day to witness the 
 scene of the tngagement. Men, horses, guns, 
 swords and baggage were strewn in every 
 part of the ground The old church was shr.t- 
 tered and riddled with balls in every part and 
 wore its marks of ill-usage down to the year 
 1820 The bodies of the dead were conveyed 
 on an old wood sleigh to their graves, the set- 
 lers of the neighborhood assisting in the 
 mournful task. Part of them were buried 
 where some of them had slept, but th"? night 
 before— on a projecting point of the hill east 
 of the creek and a little dist.ince north of the 
 present road. The others — without distinction 
 of country — slumber in the graveyard close to 
 the spot whereon the old church stood. No 
 stone is yet erected to perpetuate their mem- 
 ory or designate their sleeping place ; but re- 
 buking the descendants, two apple-trees stand 
 patient sentinels over them, ard ?.s each sixth 
 of June rolls round, shake the snowy laurels 
 from their own heads to j>erfume and hallow 
 their anniversary day ! As th^ir lives were 
 arduous and warlike, so let their slumbers be 
 light and peaceful — both friends and foes — 
 and when they wake to the notes of the last, 
 final bugle call, may they find the honored 
 place in Paradise given to those who spend 
 their life and blood in the good and noble 
 cause of Country! 
 
RESOLUTIONS 
 
 ADOPTED AT A PIC-NIC GATHERING HELD ON THE 
 
 BATTLE FIELD, 
 
 Resolved, That we regard with thankfulness the contentment, comfort and 
 self-reliance of the people of this Dominion, which the freedom of our institu- 
 tions and the bravery of our ancestors under Divine Providence have conferred 
 upon us, anu we gratefully acknowledge the moral and material support which 
 in the past our Mother Country has ever willingly granted and secured to us in 
 a great measure as the result of the glorious victory, the anniversary of which we 
 now celebrate. 
 
 Resolved, That the Dominion Government be respectfully recjuested to 
 grant a reasonable sum of money in aid of the erection of suitable monuments 
 on the battle ground of Stony Creek and on Burlington Heights, in commemo- 
 ration of the heroic bravery and self-sacrifice of the defenders of our country, 
 and in grateful appreciation of the important results which the victory attending 
 that battle has secured to us. 
 
 Resolved, That this meeting urge the importance of forming Pioneer and 
 Historical societies throughout the Dominion, as a valuable and influential 
 agency for the collection and preservation of the necessary materials for reliable 
 histories of our country, and as an indication of the loyalty of the Canadian 
 people to their country and their attachment to British laws and institutions. 
 
 Resolved, That the thanks of the Wentworth Pioneer and Historical So- 
 ciety be conveyed to Mr. William A. Nash for his kind permission to use his 
 beautiful grounds and residence on this occasion. 
 
 The Y/entworth'Picn2er and Historical Society. 
 
 ORGANIZED JANUARY 1889. 
 
 Officers for 1889.— Geo. H. Mills, Pres. ; Hon. Arch. McKellar, 1st 
 Vice-Pres. ; J. E. O'Reilly, and Vice-Pres. ; John H. Land, Sec. and Treas. 
 
 Executive Council.— F. M. Carpenter, Esq., M. P. ; Lyman Moore, 
 Esq. ; H. C. Baker, Esq. ; Major Henry McLaren ; F. W. Fearman, Esq. ; 
 John Muir, Judge C.C ; J. W. Jones, Esq. ; T. C. Mewburn, Esq. ; Richard 
 Bull, Esq. ; T, H.Stinson, Esq.; John A. Barr, Esq.