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Cornell University Library 1993.THE VILLAGE OF BUFFALO
DURING THE WAR OF 1812.
READ BEFORE THE SOCIETY, MARCH 13, 1863.
BY WILLIAM DORSHEIMER.
Ladies and Gentlemen:
In attempting to furnish my contribution to the purposes this
society has in view, I thought I could do the most acceptable
service by making a connected narrative of the events which
took place in this locality during the late war with Great Britain.
But I have found that such a narrative, in complete detail, will
extend far beyond the limits which are prescribed to a public
address. I have, therefore, been obliged to limit myself to the
more important of those events; and I ask your attention this
evening chiefly to a description of the various encounters with
the enemy, which occurred within the present corporate bound-
aries of Buffalo; and also of the siege of Fort Erie, and the mem-
orable sortie by which the siege was raised.
On Friday, June 26th, 1812, a messenger, probably sent by
the British representative at Washington, arrived in Lewiston
carrying to the Canadian government information that the
United States had declared war against Great Britain. Hos-BUFFALO DURING
186
tilities commenced with singular promptitude. On the follow-
ing day, June 27th, at one o’clock in the afternoon, the schooner
Connecticut, Captain Johnson, owned by Mr. Peter H. Colt, of
Black Rock, lay off the mouth of Buffalo creek, waiting for a
favorable wind. At this time two row-boats, containing an
armed force of forty men, put out from Fort Erie, and rapidly
approached the vessel. Captain Johnson immediately weighed
anchor, and endeavored to reach Sturgeon Point. The breeze
was light and against him. The boats soon overtook him, and
the Connecticut became a British prize, the first one taken upon
Lake Erie. Many inhabitants of the village saw this occur-
rence, and, although General Porter arrived from the east the
same day, to most of them it was the first information they had
that war had been declared.
In 1812, Buffalo contained about a hundred houses and five
hundred inhabitants. The buildings were scattered along what
is now Main street, from Goodell street to the site of the Man-
sion House. A few tenements stood upon the side streets.
On what we call the Terface was a low bluff, between which
and the creek stretched a morass, covered with bushes and rank
grass, exposing*to view the lake and river. From all other sides
the forest crowded close upon the little hamlet.
The long threatened war had excited grave apprehension lest
the neighboring Indians should side with the English. Mr.
Erastus Granger, the government agent, hastened to ascertain
their purposes. A Council was held June 29th with the prin-
cipal men of the Six Nations, and in a printed circular issued
immediately, Mr. Granger announced that there was no cause
for apprehending any danger from the Indians.
Warlike preparations were immediately made. Major Fred-
erick Miller was appointed commandant of the forces at Black
Rock, and Colonel Swift at Lewiston. An express was des-
patched to Canandaigua for arms and ammunition. Some
companies of militia were ordered en masse to Black Rock,
and the light infantry company of Captain Wells and the militiaTHE WAR OF 1812.
187
company of Captain Hull were embodied to protect Buffalo.
The English threw up batteries at Waterloo, and the Ameri-
cans constructed some earthworks at Black Rock. I have en-
deavored to ascertain the location and armament of the bat-
teries which were built by our forces during the war, and I will
here state all that I have been able to learn about them; with-
out reference, however, to the time when they were built. On
the south side of Conjaquadies creek, and near its mouth, was
the sailors’ battery, in which were mounted three long 32-
pounders., On the site of Mr. Wm. A. Bird’s house, and occu-
pying that and the adjoining lot, was a battery defended by
three guns. On the ground now occupied by the stables of the
Niagara Street Railroad Company was Fort Tompkins, the
largest of the fortifications. Its armament consisted of six or
seven pieces of different calibre. In the rear of the fort, and
extending across the road, was a range of sheds, used as bar-
racks. Further south (not far from the water-works), and at
the bottom of a ravine which may still be seen, was a mortar
battery, armed with one 8-inch mortar, popularly called the
“ Old Sow.” On the northerly corner of the Fort Porter grounds
stood a light earthwork, in which was one 24-pounder gun. On
the Terrace, irnthe village, near the present Western hotel, was
a breastwork, sometimes called a battery. I cannot learn that
it was ever armed. It may have been temporarily armed, but,
if so, only with field-pieces. These works were intended to
cover the river and the opposite shore. Except the sailors’
battery, none of them offered any obstacle to a force advanc-
ing on the village from the north.
Brigadier-General William Wadsworth was the first general
officer in command of this frontier, but was soon succeeded by
Brigadier-General Hull, who arrived July 24th, escorted by a
body guard consisting of a detachment of fifteen of the East
Bloomfield Light Horse, commanded by Sergeant Boughton.
This officer gave way to Major-General Stephen Van Rensse-
laer, who arrived on the tenth of August, and assumed command.i88
BUFFALO DURING
During the first months of the war there was little to mark
its progress. The files of the Buffalo Gazette furnish but
meager items. We are told that the troops are under admira-
ble discipline; that they are in good health; that the cooking
excites much complaint; that occasionally persons straggling
into Canada are captured, and suspicious persons are arrested
here as spies. Early in August a rumor ran through the camps
that the enemy had occupied Grand Island. The island be-
longed to the Six Nations, and the Senecas at once assembled
for the purpose of consulting Mr. Granger upon the subject.
It seems to me that the speech of Red Jacket on this occasion
is remarkably suggestive of Indian experience. The chief
said:	“Brother, you have told us that we had nothing, to do
with the war that has taken place between you and the British;
but we find that the war has come to our doors. Our property
is taken possession of by the British and their Indian friends.
It is necessary f@r us to take up the business, defend our prop-
erty and drive the enemy from it. If we sit still upon our
seats, and take no measure of redress, the British ( according
to the custom of you white people) will hold it by conquest;
and should you conquer the Canadas you will claim it upon
the same principles, as conquered from the British. We, there-
fore, request permission to go with our warriors, drive off those
bad people, and take possession of our land.” The rumor
proved to be false, and the Seneca warriors were reserved for
other fields.
August 13th the first shot was fired from the river batteries.
The gun was discharged, without orders, by a party of soldiers.
The ball struck a few feet from an earthwork on the other side,
but did no execution.
Not until the ninth of October, was any considerable enter-
prise against the foe attempted. For some time before, the brig
Adams, of six guns, taken by the English at Detroit, and the
schooner Caledonia, of two guns, belonging to the Northwestern
Company, had lain at anchor near Fort Erie. Farmer’s Brother,THE WAR OF 1812.
189
the famous Seneca chief, first suggested to Lieutenant Elliott,
of the navy, that these vessels might be cut out. Acting on
this suggestion, Elliott prepared an expedition for the purpose.
At one o’clock in the morning of Friday, October 9th, he set
out with three boats; one commanded by himself, containing
fifty men; the second, commanded by Lieutenant Watts, sailing-
master, containing fifty men; and the third, under the charge
of Captain Cyrenius Chapin, with a crew of six men. Captain
Sloan,* still living at Black Rock, piloted the flotillk. Elliott
silently approached the enemy’s vessels, and at three o’clock
both were boarded simultaneously; the crews being surprised,
and surrendering after a short resistance. In the space of ten
minutes the prisoners were secured, and the captured vessels
under weigh. The wind was not strong enough to enable them
to make head against the current, and Elliott, in the Adamsy
followed by the Caledonia, was obliged to run down the river,
under a heavy fire from the enemy. The Caledonia was beached
at Black Rock. The Adams anchored about four hundred
yards from one of the British batteries; upon which, as long as
her ammunition lasted, she maintained a rapid and effective
fire. Efforts were vainly made to work the vessel over to our
shore; and as the guns of the enemy threatened to sink her,
Elliott cut her cable and made sail; but was soon brought up
upon Squaw Island, where he abandoned her. A party of the
enemy took possession, but were soon driven off, with heavy
loss, by the American artillery, under Lieutenant-Colonel Win-
field Scott. During the entire day the poor ship was battered
by the guns of both sides; and was so injured that she could
not be floated. A few nights after, Captain Chapin brought off
a long 12-pounder from the Adams, and the next day Lieu-
tenant Watts brought off another. These guns were placed in
our earthworks, and were the heaviest-mounted up to that time.
We captured fifty-eight men, including three commissioned of-
* Died March 5th, 1868.190
BUFFALO DURING
ficers; and recaptured twenty-seven American prisoners, who
were confined on board the vessels.
Our loss was, one killed and four wounded. The residents
of Buffalo, who took part in the affair, were Captain Chapin,
John McComb, John Tower, Thomas Davis, Peter Overstocks
and James Sloan, who are complimented for “ their soldier and
sailor-like conduct.” The Caledonia belonged to the North-
western Company, and was loaded with furs. She afterwards
was one of Perry’s fleet, and took part in his memorable engage-
ment. This bold enterprise did not long pass unnoticed. On
the thirteenth, the British batteries opened a heavy fire upon
Black Rock, which was continued with vigor through the day.
Our guns were so light that but little return was made. A
barrel of old Pittsburg whisky in the barracks, behind Fort
Tompkins, was blown up. Several houses were struck, and one
man, a negro, who belonged to the marines, was killed.
The unfortunate engagement at Queenstown, which occurred
the same day as the bombardment, caused the withdrawal of
General Van Rensselaer from the command on this frontier.
He was succeeded by General Alexander Smyth, of Virginia,
who at once issued an earnest proclamation, in which he stig-
matized his predecessor, in the spirit which we have seen in our
own days, as a “ popular man, destitute alike of theory and ex-
perience in the art of war,” and promised that in a few days
the troops under his command would plant the stars and stripes
in Canada. Earnest preparations were made for the invasion,
and the forces at Buffalo, already large, were increased.
Over three thousand five hundred men were now collected
here, and boats enough to pass thirty-five hundred over the
river at once. On the twenty-seventh of November, the troops
were ordered to embark the following morning at the navy-
yard, near the mouth of the Conjaquadies creek. At three in
the morning two preparatory expeditions started. One, under
Captain King, with Lieutenant Angus, of the navy, and a body
of sailors, were ordered to take and render useless the batteriesTHE WAR OF 1812.
191
opposite Black Rock; and a second detachment, under Lieu-
tenant-Colonel Boerstler, was to capture a guard, and destroy
the bridge over Frenchman’s creek. The whole movement
was under the command of Colonel Winder.
Boerstler succeeded in landing some of his men near French-
man’s creek, and routed the British guard; but upon approach-
ing the bridge, was informed by a prisoner that Ormsby was in
full march to resist him, and retired without accomplishing his
purpose, or attempting to co-operate with the other detachment.
Of King’s ten boats, but four reached their destination. In
these were the seamen and about seventy infantry. The sail-
ors rushed forward with their pikes and cutlasses, stormed the
Red House, and threw two pieces of artillery into the river.
King, with the infantry, marched upon the two exterior bat-
teries, carried the first, and found the second deserted. , He
spiked the cannon, and destroyed the carriages in both. He
then returned to the shore, but found that the boats were gone.
Angus, with his sailors, had come back from their victory, and
not seeing their companions, supposed they had embarked, and
went off, taking away all the boats. King, however, succeeded
in finding two of the enemy’s boats, in which he embarked his
prisoners, and as many of his soldiers as they would carry.
He, with the rest of his command, were taken prisoners. The
return.of Angus and Boerstler, without knowing what had be-
fallen their comrades, induced Colonel Winder to go in search
of them. But he found the English in force, and returned,
after suffering considerable loss.
Notwithstanding these mischances, the expedition had been
substantially successful. All of the enemy’s heavy guns had
been spiked, and Smyth might fairly anticipate a safe landing.
He was in bed when the firing began, and after breakfasting
leisurely, he repaired to the navy-yard. A part of the regulars
were in the boats, and the rest of the army under arms. By two
o’clock, half the force was embarked, and boats for a thousand
more were at hand. The day wore on, but the order to ad-192
BUFFALO DURING
vance was not given. The men began to murmur. Finally,
late in the afternoon, after having sent to the British com-
mander a request to surrender, Smyth ordered the men to dis-
embark.
The next morning another proclamation, more terrible than
any of its predecessors, wTas issued. Among other things, the
general said to his men: “To-morrow, at eight o’clock, all the
corps will be at the navy-yard, ready to embark. The general
will be on board. Neither rain, snow nor frost will prevent the
embarkation. The music will play martial airs. Yankee
Doodle will be the signal to get under way. The landing will
be made in spite of cannon. Hearts of war! to-morrow will
be memorable in the annals of the United States.” But the
delay had given the enemy opportunity to reoccupy their bat-
teries and remount their guns. A direct attack had become
hazardous. Porter remonstrated against it; and at his sugges-
tion, the expedition was postponed another day, and it was re-
solved to cross by night, and land five miles below Waterloo.
Again the willing soldiers filled the boats; the martial airs were
played; everything was in readiness, but the familiar strain of
Yankee Doodle was not heard. Hours passed, and at daybreak
it was announced that the expedition was abandoned. Inde-
scribable confusion followed. The men were beside themselves
with rage. They broke ranks, discharged their muskets in the
air, and some of them threw away their arms and went home.
Thus closed the campaign of 1812 on this frontier. Were it
not for our later experience, we would think it impossible for
greater disgrace and humiliation to befall a nation.
In the year 1813 this locality was not made the base of any
important military operation. July 1 ith of this year the British
made their first attempt to capture the village of Buffalo and
Black Rock. On Sunday morning, just before daylight, Colonels
Bishop and Warren, with about two hundred and fifty men,
crossed the Niagara below Squaw Island. They marched to
Conjaquadies creek, and occupied the navy-yard before theyTHE WAR OF 1812.
193
were discovered. The militia detachments at Black Rock were
surprised, and retreated up the beach. The enemy took pos-
session of the village, fired the sailors’ barracks and block-
house at the navy-yard, and also the barracks at Fort Tompkins.
They dismounted and spiked three 12-pounders, and took away
three field-pieces and one 12-pounder. They also captured a
large amount of whisky and other stores. General Porter then
lived on the site now occupied by the house of the Rev. Mr.
Robie, the chaplain of the twenty-first regiment. His house-
keeper saw the enemy coming up the road, and warned the
general, who had barely time to run to the barn and throw him-
self upon his horse. He spurred into the woods, went across
to what is now North street, and so to Buffalo.
Major Adams was in command at Black Rock, and at once
sent an express to Buffalo for reinforcements. A small force
was soon gathered consisting of one hundred regulars, under
Captain Cummings; the same number of militia, under Major
Adams; thirty volunteers from the Plains, under Captain Hull;
a company from Buffalo, commanded by Captain Bull, and
thirty Indians, under the leadership of the redoubtable Farmer’s
Brother. The militia, Major Adams, formed the left; the reg-
ulars and Buffalo company the center, and the men from the
Plains with the Indians were posted on the right. The enemy
were found in line of battle near Fort Tompkins, the present
site of the street railroad stables. The left, led by General
Porter, began the attack; vigorously supported by the Indians
on the right, who were posted in the forest. After a contest of
fifteen or twenty minutes, the English began to give ground,
when the American center was ordered to move. Thereupon
the enemy retreated in disorder to the river, near the present
ferry, and took to their boats. A heavy fire was kept up on
them from the shore, and the hindmost boat suffered very
severely. Colonel Bishop, who commanded the expedition,
was mortally wounded; and Captain Saunders, of the forty-
ninth, was also wounded. He was taken to General Porter’s-*
194	BUFFALO DURING
house. The English lost about one hundred killed, wounded
and missing; eight killed and five wounded left on the field;
besides those who may have been wounded in the boats, and
also fifteen prisoners. Our loss was three killed and five
wounded; among the wounded was the well-known Seneca In-
dian Young King, who, with the more famous Farmer’s Brother,
was conspicuous for valor in the skirmish.
Henry Lovejoy, then a boy of twelve, took part in this affair;
carrying, as well as his strength would permit, a huge flint-lock
musket.
A few months after this little victory, the great disaster of
the war came upon Buffalo; a disaster which was inflicted, not
without excuse, by way of retribution for the wanton destruc-
tion of Newark* by General McClure.
On the nineteenth of December, 1813, an English force, under
Colonel Murray, surprised and captured Fort Niagara. The
villages from Fort Niagara to the Falls were soon after burned.
The disposable American forces were hastily concentrated at
Buffalo, under command of Brigadier-General Amos Hall.
They were composed as follows:	One hundred and twenty-
juine mounted men, Lieutenant-Colonel Boughton; four hundred
and thirty-three Ontario exempt and volunteers, Lieutenant-
Colonel Blakeslie; one hundred and thirty-six Buffalo militia,
Lieutenant-Colonel Chapin; ninety-seven Canadian volunteers,
Lieutenant-Colonel Mallory; three hundred and thirty-two
Genesee militia, Major Adams. These were stationed at Buf-
falo. At Black Rock were three hundred and eighty-two
militia, under Brigadier-General Hopkins; thirty-nine mounted
infantry, Captain Ransom; eighty-three Indians, Lieutenant-
Colonel Granger; one field-gun and twenty-five men, com-
manded by Lieutenant Seely. On the twenty-ninth of Decem-
ber, a regiment of Chautauqua county militia, three hundred
strong, under Lieutenant-Colonel McMahon, arrived in Buffalo,
* Now Niagara village.THE WAR OF 1812.
195
swelling the whole force to two thousand and eleven men:
but the troops were raw, undisciplined, poorly armed, and
without a sufficient supply of ammunition.
On the evening of the twenty-ninth, the British left, consist-
ing of eight hundred regulars and militia and two hundred In-
dians, landed below Conjaquadies creek, and took possession
of the sailors’ battery. General Hall ordered the troops at
the Rock to dislodge them. The first fire threw our militia
into disorder, and the attack failed. Major Adams and Colonel
Ghapin were then ordered forward to carry the battery; but,
after a short skirmish, their men fled, and were not again em-
bodied. The Ontario command under Colonel Blakeslie were
then sent up. But, before the attack had begun, the day broke
and revealed the English center crossing to our shore, in the
rear of General Porter’s house; and about the same time their
right landed in small force, near Fort Tompkins. The invad-
ers were commanded by Lieutenant-General Drummond, but
were under the immediate direction of Major-General Riall.
This disposition of the foe compelled General Hall to change
his plan. The order to Colonel Blakeslie was countermanded,
and he was directed to attack the English center at the water’s
edge. The enemy’s left wing was soon discovered moving
* from Conjaquadies creek upon our right; the Indians under
Colonel Granger, and the Canadian volunteers under Colonel
Mallory, were advanced to meet them, and Colonel McMahon’s
regiment was held in reserve. Lieutenant Seely opened the
engagement with his 6-pounder, and a 20-pounder and two
twelves at the battery were soon brought into service. At
the same time the batteries on the other side of the river
threw a heavy fire of shell, round and hot shot. Colonel
Blakeslie held his force in line, and as the enemy landed,
poured upon them a most destructive fire. On our right, how-
ever, but a feeble resistance was offered. All the corps had
been gradually reduced by desertion, which began with the'
first shot, in the night. Perceiving the danger to his right,196
BUFFALO DURING
General Hall ordered up the reserve under Colonel McMahon,
to hold the enemy in check. But this corps disgracefully
scattered before it came under fire. The whole right wing of
the American force was now driven from the field, and the
steadfast militia of Colonel Blakeslie were exposed to a cross-
fire. For half an hour, outflanked and outnumbered, the gal-
lant little regiment maintained the unequal contest; but at last,
to avoid capture, it was ordered to retire. By this time the
greater part of the Americans were flying in all directions,
most of them going through the forest to reach the Buffalo
and Batavia road. A small number of the bolder spirits,
among whom were Colonel Chapin, retired slowly along Niagara
street, towards Buffalo. Among these was Lieutenant John
Seely, a carpenter and ioiner, who lived on the corner of
Auburn and Niagara streets, and was lieutenant of a company
of artillery at Black Rock. He had fought his piece on the
brow of the hill, on what is now Breckinridge street, until he
had but seven men and one horse left. Mounting the horse,
which was harnessed to the gun, he brought it away with him,
firing upon the enemy whenever occasion offered. Near where
Mohawk street joins Niagara, was then a slough. Here Seely
turned upon his foe. The gun was thrown off from its car-
riage by the discharge, but was quickly replaced, and taken *
to the village.
Meanwhile a sailor named Johnson, E. D. Efner and a few
others, went to a vessel, one of Perry’s fleet, which lay beached
on this side of the creek, near its mouth, and took off an iron
9-pounder, mounted upon a ship’s truck, which they placed
in Main street, opposite Church, and trained down Niagara
street. Besides Johnson and Efner, the following persons as-
sisted in serving this gun: Robert Kane, a mason by trade;
Captain Hull, father of Mrs. O. G. Steele, and Absalom Hull,
his brother. At the third round, one of the truck wheels broke;
but they were loading it again, when Colonel Chapin, who
thought resistance hopeless, and wished to give the people time198
BUFFALO DURING
to every building they found. Mrs. Lovejoy was in her house,
on the present site of the Phoenix. The night before, her
husband had mounted his horse, and taking his trusty rifle,
had gone to the Rock, to make such defence of his home as
became a brave man. “ Henry,” said the bold-hearted woman
to her little son; “you have fought against the British; you
must run. They will take you prisoner. I am a woman; they
will not harm me.” The lad flew into the woods. His light
footfalls have not faded from the mother’s ear when a score of
Indians, wild with whisky and the rage of battle, rush into the
dwelling and commence to sack it. Confident in the great de-
fence of her sacred sex, the careful housewife attempts to save
her hard-earned treasures. Poor woman, thy sex is not sacred
here ! A tomahawk crushes into her brain, and she falls dead
upon the' floor of her desecrated home. On the other side of
the road stands the house of sturdy Mrs. St. John, able to de-
fend her castle against a legion of enemies, whether savage or
civilized. What magic she used, or by dint of what prowess,
we know not, but the storm of fire passes scathless over her
roof. Two-thirds of the village is now in flames. The Eng-
lish, with their cruel allies, weary with the long march and con-
tinued fighting, retire to the Rock.
In the night there is a fall of snow, and by daylight some of
the fugitives return, preferring their savage foe to the inhospi-
table forest.- Mrs. St. John receives some of them, and gives
them a cup of tea. A few have gathered at Dr. Chapin’s house,
which is still standing, when the alarm is suddenly sounded,
and once more the merciless invaders burst upon the remnant
of the devoted village. The work of destruction is soon com-
pleted, and many of the returned villagers are captured. But
four houses remain-—that of Mrs. St. John; the jail; the frame
of a barn, which stood where stands Mr. Callender’s house, and
Rees’ blacksmith shop. The day before, Judge Walden went
to Lovejoy’s, and placed the murdered woman, attired, as she
fell, in her black silk dress, on the bare cords of the bedstead.THE WAR OF 1812.
197
for escape, rushed forward with a handkerchief, or as it is said,
with a piece of his shirt, upon the end of his sword, and shouted,
“ Don’t fire that gun.” “ I will fire it,” said Kane. “ I’ll cleave
to the earth the first man who touches it. I’ve shown a flag of
truce;” replied Chapin, and started forward towards the enemy,
who were by this time in the woods, upon what is now called
Franklin Square. A parley took place, which resulted in
Colonel Chapin surrendering the town, stipulating for the pro-
tection of private property; a stipulation by which General
Riall refused to be bound, when he learned that Chapin was
not in command, and was, therefore, without authority to treat
with him.
It was now ten o’clock. The day was bright, but cold. A
heavy snow had fallen early in December, which still lingered
in the woods, but the roads were bare. Most of the able-bodied
men were with the troops. Through the long, dreary Decem-
ber night, the lonely women had heard the rattle of musketry,
and at daybreak they gathered in groups, listening with throb-
bing hearts to the cannonading at the Rock. Presently, tidings
of defeat flew through the town; and soon upon every road,
leading towards the Indian settlement, were little processions
of terrified villagers, fleeing from the savage foe, into the em-
brace of the wintry forest. Who shall tell what they suffered—
those houseless fugitives, ignorant of the fate of father, husband,
brother; by day, skulking through the forest, and at night,
creeping under the friendly roof of some Indian hut!
The British Indians had left the main column before it
reached the village; and, swarming through the woods, came
into Main street, near Tupper. A house, which stood on the
northwest corner of Tupper and Delaware streets, was the first
burned. A man, named Dill, lived there. Judge Tupper’s
house, on Main street, near the corner of Tupper, was the next.
Opposite, above the residence of Mr. Andrew Rich, lived Sam-
uel Helms; he was slain while attempting to escape, and his
house burned. Going down the street, the torch was appliedTHE WAT OF 1812.
199
Its ghastly occupant does not save the building; it, too, is fired,
and becomes the funeral pyre of its unhappy mistress.
The American general reported his loss—and, I suppose, his
statement is confined to the army—at thirty killed, forty wound-
ed, and sixty-nine taken prisoners. Among the slain were
Major William C. Dudley, Adjutant Tatman and Lieutenant-
Colonel Boughton, who, I think, is the Sergeant Bougliton who,
the year before, escorted General Hall into the village, at the
head of a detachment of the East Bloomfield Horse.
The Buffalonians slain are these: Job Hoysington,* a carpenter
and joiner, who lived on Church street, near Franklin; John
Triskett, who cannot be identified; John Roop, father of Henry
Roop, a teamster, of Dutch descent, but American birth, who
lived on Main street, above Tupper—he was shot while try-
ing to escape; Samuel Helms, already mentioned—he was a
German and an old bachelor, and deserves to be remembered
by the epicures of Buffalo, as the first market gardener in the
place. He raised the first lettuce, which he used to carry in a
basket on his head, selling it from door to door. He it wTas,
too, who dug the ditches to drain the morass south of the Ter-
race. N. D. Keep was killed by a British officer near Cold
Spring. James Nesbit and--------Myers I can find no trace of.
The last was Robert Franklin, an aged negro, very black, who
lived in a log hut on Niagara, opposite Jersey street. Whether
the old negro died defending his home, I know not. His life-
less body was found near his house, and long remained unburied.
The following residents of the village were captured: Cyre-
nius Chapin, John Lay, Charles C. Wells, William Wilber,
Rufus Botsford, Joseph D. Hoyt, Robert Keene, Timothy
Strong, Benjamin Hodge, Jr., Daniel Baxter, and Captain R.
Harmon.
The new year dawned upon homes desolated by fire, and
upon scattered families; but the uninflammable Buffalonians
* For account of Hoysington’s death, see Btiffalo Cemeteries, p. 53.200
BUFFALO DURING
soon gave signs of life in the neighboring villages. The Gazette
is printed in Williamsville, where it remains until April 4th,
1815. Seth Grosvenor and Eli Hart open their stores, and
Walden and Potter their law offices, in Williamsville. The
embers of Pomeroy’s house are not yet* cold when he announces
that his Eagle hotel is to rise, Phoenix-like, from its ashes.
On April 5th, the Gazette announces that “Buffalo village,
which once adorned the shores of Erie, and was prostrated by
the enemy, is now rising again.”
In the spring, new men were at the head of our forces. Scott,
Ripley and Porter held brigadiers’ commissions; and Jacob
Brown, fresh from the plow, was charged with the command
of the Niagara frontier. Brown had little education, and still
less military training. But he possessed in an extraordinary
degree those qualities, which, in all ages, have been found
more essential to a captain than all the learning of Brienne or
West Point—a temper which was never so calm as when ex-
citement raged all around him; perfect courage; complete con-
fidence in himself; and, above all, the knowledge that a cam-
paign cannot be reduced to a certainty like a siege, and the
disposition to take the risks which are involved in all field
operations. Buffalo at once became the center of important
movements. A larger force than had ever been here was
soon concentrated: two brigades of regulars, under Scott and
Ripley; and a brigade of volunteers, with a few Indians, under
Porter.
On the morning of July 3d, the regulars were thrown across
the Niagara. One brigade, under Scott, landed about a mile
below Fort Erie; and Ripley, with the second brigade, landed
about the same distance above. The fort was soon surrounded,
and surrendered with the loss upon our side of but four men
wounded. On the fifth of July occurred the battle of Chip-
pewa; and on the twenty-fifth of the same month, the desperate
engagement of Lundy’s Lane. The American army was greatly
reduced by these battles. Brown and Scott were wounded;THE WAR OF 1812.
201
and Ripley, who succeeded to the command, retired to Fort
Erie, where he arrived on the twenty-seventh of July.
Fort Erie was a small work with two demi-bastions; one upon
the north and the other upon the south front. It was built of
stone, but was not of sufficient strength to resist ordnance
heavier than the field artillery of that day. Ripley at once
commenced to strengthen the position. Fortunately, General
Drummond delayed his advance for two days, giving the Amer-
icans an opportunity of which they industriously availed them-
selves. Two bastions were added to the west face of the fort;
an earthwork was thrown up upon its northerly side, ex-
tending to the river, and defended on the westerly end by a
battery of two guns, known as Douglass’ battery. From the
southerly face of the fort a line of earthworks and abattis was
drawn parallel with the beach for about seven hundred yards,
to the point where the shore of the lake curves into the bank
of the river. At the extreme left of this line, upon Snake Hill,
was a redoubt, defended by five guns, under Major Towson.
Between Snake Hill and the main work defending the line of
earthworks, were two batteries; one of three guns, under Cap-
tain Biddle, and the other of two guns, under Lieutenant Fon-
taine. By these additions, Fort Erie was changed into an
entrenched camp, with its rear open toward the river.
General Drummond appeared before the fort, on the third
of August, with a force of five thousand three hundred and
fifty men. He established his camp two miles distant, back of
Waterloo, and commenced a double line of entrenchments
within four hundred yards of the main work. The same morn-
ing he threw a force of about one thousand men across the
river, and landed them below Squaw Island, with the intention
of seizing Buffalo, destroying the stores gathered there, and
interrupting the communications of the American army. This
soldierly plan was happily frustrated by Major Morgan with a
battalion of the First Rifles, two hundred .and fifty strong.
Morgan had observed the enemy moving up the river the202
BUFFALO DURING
morning before, and, suspecting an attack, he threw up a breast-
work of logs on the north side of Conjaquadies creek, and tore
up the flooring of the bridge which then crossed the stream a
little below the site of the present bridge.. The bridge stood
on two bents, and the platform which crossed the channel was
movable, and was raised when vessels went through to the navy-
yard. The flooring was torn up between the southern shore and
the first bent, so that those approaching from the north could not
see that the bridge was impassable, until they were half way across..
At four o’clock in the morning the British advanced at a
double-quick, and dashed on to the bridge. The head of the
column recoiled when half way over the bridge, but its impetus
was so great that many of the men were thrown into the water.
The attacking party soon scattered under the deadly fire which,
Morgan’s men poured in from behind the log breastwork..
The British commander then sent forward a party to repair the
bridge, under cover of the fire of his infantry, who were formed
in the skirt of a wood. But they were unable to work before
the muzzles of those sure-sighted riflemen. They accordingly
fell back, and for a time the fight was kept up at long shot.
Being strongly reinforced from the Canadian shore, Colonel:
Tucker sent a flanking force to cross the creek higher up; this-
was encountered by a detachment of sixty men from Morgan’s,
battalion, and repulsed with severe loss. The enemy then re-
treated, carrying off their killed and wounded. Their loss is*
said to have exceeded fifty, while we lost but two killed and
eight wounded. But for Morgan’s stubborn and gallant de-
fence, the American army at Fort Erie must have been com-
pelled to surrender. Drummond was greatly disappointed at
the failure of this expedition, and issued a general order, in
which he indignantly denounced the conduct of his own men
as unmilitary and disgraceful.
During the following fortnight several skirmishes occurred
in front of Fort. Erie, in one of which* the gallant Colonel Mor-
gan was killed.THE WAR OF 1812.
203
General Drummond, having been still further reinforced,
determined not to wait for the slow results of a siege, but to
carry the place by assault. At two o’clock in the morning of
the third of August, the British army moved to the attack in
three columns. One was ordered to carry the Douglass bat-
tery, upon the extreme right of our position; another column
was to engage the fort itself; but the main attack was directed
against the Towson battery upon Snake Hill. Brigadier-Gen-
eral Gaines, who had lately arrived, was now in command of
the American forces, which were disposed as follows:	Captain
Towson, with six guns, held the redoubt on the left; Fort Erie
was defended by Captain Williams with the 19th Infantry,
under Major Trimble; the batteries on the front were com-
manded by Captains Biddle and Fanning; and that on the ex-
treme right by Captain Douglass. The old brigade of General
Scott, now under the command of Lieutenant-Colonel Aspin-
wall, was posted on the right; General Porter, with his volun-
teers and riflemen, held the center; and General Ripley, with
two regiments of regulars, the left. The evening before,, a shell
had exploded a small magazine in Fort Erie, and General
Gaines was apprehensive that the enemy would take advantage
of this disaster and attack him,—one-third of the troops were
therefore kept at their post through the night, which was dark
and rainy. His precautions were well taken. At half-past two
the tramp of a heavy column was heard approaching Towson's
redoubt. Instantly a sheet of fire flashed from our lines, light-
ing up the night, and revealing the enemy fifteen hundred strong.
They had been ordered to attack with the bayonet; and to in-
sure obedience, the flints had been removed from their muskets.
With complete courage they approached to within reach of the
light abattis, between Snake Hill and the lake. But after a
desperate struggle they fell back. Again they advanced, and
this time succeeded in planting scaling ladders in the ditch in
front of the redoubt. But their ladders were too short, and the
assailants were driven off with severe loss. Meanwhile a de-204
BUFFALO DURING
tachment endeavored to turn our position by wading out into
the river, and passing round our left. Ripley met them prompt-
ly. Numbers were killed or wounded, and were carried off by
the current, and the remainder of the detachment were captured.
Five times the obstinate English returned to the assault, but
each time without success. Colonel Flascher, their commander,
now concluded that his task could not be accomplished, and
ordered a retreat. The Americans at once made a sally and
captured one hundred and forty-seven prisoners.
The other British columns waited until the engagement on
the left was at its height. On our right the enemy advanced
to within fifty yards of the Douglass battery, but were then
driven back. At the fort the contest was more severe. The
assailants, led by Colonel Drummond, an officer of singular
determination, advanced through a ravine north of the fort, and
attacking simultaneously all the salient points, they swarmed
over the parapet into the north bastion. Some British officer
instantly called out. to our forces along the line extending to
the river, to cease firing. This ruse succeeded, and our fire
ceased. Taking advantage of this, the enemy again attacked
the Douglass battery, but were driven back before their scaling
ladders could be planted. While this was going on, the garri-
son of the fort rallied, and after a severe contest succeeded in
regaining possession of the bastion. A second and third time
Drummond returned to the assault with no better success. But
with invincible tenacity he clung to his purpose. Moving his
troops, under cover of the night and the dense cloud of battle
which hung along the ramparts, silently round the ditch, he
suddenly repeated the charge. The English ran up their lad-
ders so quickly that they gained the top of the glacis before
the defenders could rally to resist them.
Drummond was in the lead, and as he stepped from the lad-
der, “Charge,” he shouted, “give the Yankees no quarter.”
His followers rushed upon our artillery men and infantry: a
deadly combat ensued. Williams and Macdonough soon fell,THE WAR OF 1812.
205
mortally wounded, and the bastion was lost. Macdonough asked .
for quarter; but Drummond, whose brutality stood in striking
contrast with his splendid valor, refused it. Macdonough then
seized a hand-spike and defended himself against several as-
sailants, until Drummond shot him down with his own pistol.
The next instant the British commander was shot through the
heart, by an American soldier who stood near Macdonough.
The garrison of the fort made repeated unsuccessful efforts
to retake the bastion; but at day-break it was still in the enemy’s
possession. Powerful detachments were then brought up from
the left and center, and a combined attempt was made from
several different directions to drive the British from their po-
sition; but, after a desperate struggle, this likewise failed. The
guns of the Douglass battery, and those under Captain Fan-
ning, were turned upon the bastion, and Captain Biddle was
placing a piece of artillery to enfilade it, while several hundred
of the American reserve stood ready to rush upon it. At this
moment a loud explosion shook the earth, and the whole bas-
tion leaped into the air, carrying with it both its assailants and
defenders. The cause of this explosion has never been ac-
curately ascertained. It is generally supposed to have been
accidental. But the romance which never fails to cluster around
such scenes, attributes it to the dying Macdonough; who, wish-
ing to avenge his own murder, threw a lighted match into an
ammunition chest which stood near him.
The shattered columns of the foe now retired to their en-
campment. The British report stated their loss at nine hun-
dred and five killed, wounded and missing; of whom two hun-
dred and twenty-two were killed, including fourteen officers;
one hundred and seventy-four wounded; and one hundred and
eighty-six prisoners remained in our hands. Our loss, in-
cluding eleven prisoners, was eighty-four men. In the bom-
bardment of the day before we had forty-five killed and
wounded; swelling our total loss to one hundred and twenty-
nine.206
BUFFALO DURING
A few days after this, Drummond was reinforced by two
regiments, and reopened fire along his own line. The bom-
bardment continued through the remainder of the month of Au-
gust. On the twenty-eighth, General Gaines was wounded by
a shell, which fell into his quarters, and General Ripley again
assumed the command, but was soon superseded by General
Brown, who had recovered from the wound received at Lundy’s
Lane.
General Porter, by dint of superhuman efforts, gathered a
considerable body of militia at Buffalo, to reinforce the fort.
Early in September, he ordered them to cross the river. The
line was formed along Pearl street, in the rear of the First
Church. As soon as the head of the column began to move,
and its direction became apparent, an officer—one of those men
who, in such times, are scrupulous as to the law in proportion
to the value they set upon their lives—stepped out of the ranks,
and shouted out: aWe are militia of New York, and cannot be
ordered out of the state. It is unconstitutional.” It was won-
derful, how suddenly a love for the Constitution developed it-
self in the breasts of the militia men. Large numbers left the
ranks and began to clamor against the order. But Porter and
a few determined officers spurred among the malcontents, ar-
rested the ringleader, awed his followers, and, aided by a small
detachment of regulars, restored order. This constitutionalist
—who, I need hardly say, was a lawyer—was hurried into a
quartermaster’s cart, and sent under a strong guard to Williams-
ville; with the information, that if he returned with his legal
scruples into our lines, he would be shot forthwith.
Notwithstanding the victory I have just described, and the
reinforcements brought by Porter, the American army at Fort
Erie was in a very dangerous situation. Their foe was daily
increasing in number, and three new batteries were thrown up,
whose fire was rapidly making the position untenable. . The
river lay in their rear, and there were not sufficient boats at
hand to carry the army to our shore. Successful and imme-THE WAR OF 1812.
207
■diate action was imperative. Under the pressure of this great
necessity, General Porter planned a sortie, which was submitted
to General Brown; who approved it, and ordered it to be car-
ried out. The plan was to throw two strong columns upon the
enemy’s batteries—which were about two miles distant from
their camp, and separated from it by a dense forest,—destroy the
-cannon, and roughly handle the brigade which might be on
-duty in the entrenchments. Under cover of a fog, a road was
•cut through the wood, on the sixteenth of September. This
road started from Towson’s battery, and making a wide detour,
was carried off in a northwesterly direction, to the rear of the
•enemy’s line. The working party, under command of Lieuten-
ants Biddle and Frazier, in doing the work, reached to within
pistol-shot of the British right wing without being discovered.
General Porter was ordered to move up this road with a col-
umn of sixteen hundred men, made up of volunteers, militia
and regulars. General Miller was directed to concentrate his
Brigade in a ravine which ran between the fort and British
lines, by passing it by detachments through the skirts of the
wood. General Ripley, with the 21st Regulars, was held in
reserve, and lay out of view, between the two new bastions of
the fort. On the morning of the seventeenth, a severe gale
set in, which increased through the day. At twelve o’clock,
Porter formed his men in three divisions, and set out from
Towson’s battery. As he began the march, a violent thunder
storm, with heavy rain, began; which made it impossible to see
the distance of a dozen yards. Shrouded in the tempest, Por-
ter crept silently up to within a few rods of the enemy’s right
flank; who, unsuspicious of attack at such an unseasonable time,
Bad made no preparations for defence.
At twenty minutes past three o’clock, Brown found Porter
in position, ordered him to attack, and hurried down into the
ravine, where Miller lay hid. Porter found but little opposi-
tion, and carried a block-house in the rear of Battery No. 3,
and took possession of the battery itself. As soon as he heard2o8
BUFFALO DURING
the firing, Miller advanced, formed a junction with Porter, and
the combined columns stormed Battery No. 2. But thirty
minutes had passed since the battle commenced, and the ene-
my’s line of entrenchments, two of their most formidable bat-
teries, and two block-houses were in our hands. By this time,
the English had recovered from their surprise; their reinforce-
ments had been brought up, and they were prepared to make
a stubborn defence of Battery No. 1, which stood behind Bat-
tery No. 2, and near the river bank. Breastworks connected
the first and second batteries, lines of entrenchments intersected
each other for a hundred yards in the rear, and several rows of
abattis added to the difficulty of the approach. Brown sent
fonvard his reserves to strengthen Miller’s column. Under the
lead of this gallant officer, so distinguished at Lundy’s Lane, the
Americans, cheering loudly, charged over the entrenchments,
through the abattis, winning their way with the bayonet, and
drove the enemy from their last battery. Ripley, who was now
in the front, formed his force in line north of the besiegers’”
work, to protect the detachments who were detailed to spike
the enemy’s guns and destroy their entrenchments. This, the
object of the sortie, being accomplished, the Americans retired
to their fort.
By this enterprise, altogether the most brilliant military event
which occurred on this frontier during the war, all of the ene-
my’s guns in position were made useless, and their entrench-
ments destroyed. We took three hundred and eighty-five pris-
oners, including eleven commissioned officers, and killed or
wounded six hundred men. Our own loss was five hundred
and ten.
In his despatch, General Porter speaks of Captain Elliott and
twenty young gentlemen, who volunteered from Batavia, and
were under his command. I have been unable to ascertain the
names of any of these, except that of James Stevens. He also
mentions fourteen volunteers, who were exempt by age from mil-
itary service, as being distinguished in the action. The onlyTHE WAR OF 1812.
209
citizen of Buffalo whom I can ascertain to have been present
as a volunteer, was the well-known Thomas C. Love, who was
wounded in the hand.
While the fight was in progress, the people on this side came
to the river bank to watch the fray. Even in Buffalo, a more
terrible storm has seldom been known. The flame of battle
could be but dimly discerned through the blinding rain, and
the cannon were voiceless amidst the roar of the tempest and
the surf. All through the afternoon, no tidings came. Just at
dusk, a small boat was seen struggling in the rapids. An eager
crowd soon gathered on the beach. In the midst of the break-
ers, the little bark upset. One of its crew was seen floating on
the waves. The by-standers made a line, by holding on to each
others’ clothes, and stretching out from the shore, seized the
drowning man. As, exhausted and chilled, he staggered up
the beach, he gasped into the ears of his rescuers the first news
they had of the great conflict and victory.
Four days after this, General Drummond raised the siege,,
and fell back to Fort George.