The most splendid achievement – The Sortie

After the failed British assault on Fort Erie on August 15, 1814, the British continued to siege the American held position. New artillery positions were installed and skirmishing between both sides continued into September.

The American commander of Fort Erie, Major-General Jacob Brown, decided on a plan “to storm the batteries, destroy the cannon, and roughly handle the brigade upon duty before those in reserve could be brought into the action.” On September 17, 1814, Brown ordered his men to attack the British position. At the time, the British were busy removing their artillery since they had decided to abandon the siege the day before.

The weather was rainy on the 17th, helping to obscure the American advance through the tree line. At around 2:30 p.m. men from Porter’s column burst forward into the British position with bayonets fixed and quickly overwhelmed the De Watteville Regiment on duty. Private Ford recounted that the Twenty-Third

charged upon the blockhouse from which the enemy kept up a brisk fire until they were compelled to surrender” and “took about eighty prisoners while the ground was strewed with the dead bodies of the enemy.

Porter and his men quickly captured Battery No. 3 and worked upon disabling the British artillery pieces.

A short time later, a second attack commenced on Battery No. 2 where the Americans overwhelmed the British position. General Drummond ordered his men stationed at the main camp to move forward and recover the captured gun batteries.

Major-General Jacob Brown

Members of the 82nd Regiment entered Battery No. 2 and “poured a volley into the mass of the enemy, who were huddled together into so small a space that they could not return it.” As the fighting continued, Le Couteur recorded that the attack on the battery “was a very savage affair” as “our Men bayoneted every Soul” and the battery “was full of corpses.”

The fight for Battery No. 3 resulted in a musket duel. Porter moved forward with some of his men, but in the confusion, he found himself alone and surrounded by British infantry. Porter grabbed one of the soldier’s muskets and demanded them to surrender, claiming that he had reinforcements on the way. The British in turn demanded that Porter surrender. Thankfully, for Porter, some of his men appeared and fired at the British, allowing him to escape.

Eventually, Brown ordered a withdrawal believing that he had accomplished his goal. The battle lasted less than two hours, causing heavy casualties on both sides. The Americans listed 511 casualties: 79 killed, 216 wounded and 216 missing. The British listed 579 casualties: 115 killed, 148 wounded, 316 missing with the De Watteville’s receiving 264 casualties. One American officer said that the sortie was “by far the most splendid achievement” of the Niagara 1814 campaign.

This Friday, September 19th, head to Old Fort Erie to hear Jim Hill speak about the “Military and Militia in the War of 1812.” The talk begins at 6 p.m.

Launched into eternity – Amasiah Ford

Amasiah Ford’s ordeal did not end with the Battle of Lundy’s Lane. Ford proceeded with the rest of the American Left Division to the defences at Fort Erie to await the British.

Ford writes about the British night assault on August 15, 1814 and his participation. As part of the 23rd Regiment of Infantry, Ford was stationed inside the fort during the British assault. Ford recounts,

“We took our post on the battlements in the front part of the fort where we kept our enemy off with our bayonets from scaling the walls until they forced us to retreat into the rear part of the fort when the magazine blew up & upwards of five hundred of the enemy were launched into eternity almost in an instant.”

Siege of Fort Erie Re-enactment

Ford later writes about his participation in the American sortie on September 17, 1814 where the Americans attacked the British siege positions. The 23rd Regiment was tasked with attacking battery number three and during the fight one of Ford’s messmates was shot dead. The 23rd managed to capture the position but during the fighting Ford was almost killed when, “I was in the act of discharging my piece at a Red Coat [when] a ball passed through my cap directly under my cockade. I discharged my piece at my mark at the same time & never saw my mark again.” The next day the British completed their withdrawal from Fort Erie.

After the siege, Ford proceeded with his regiment as reinforcements for the men fighting at the Battle of Cook’s Mills on October 19, 1814. The men marched through a swamp with mud up to their knees during a rainfall. The men finally stopped and settled in to a two-day and night stay near the battlefield with no tents, sleeping on wet ground with a torrent of rain falling upon them.

Eventually, Ford marched to Sackets Harbor where he remained in winter quarters. News of peace finally reached Sackets Harbor in March 1815 and Ford, “remained at Sackets Harbor until the 5th day of June 1815, having been in the service of my country two years, four months, eighteen days when I was honorably discharged from the Army of the United States and returned to my native village.”

On Saturday, March 22, test your knowledge of the War of 1812 and Fort Erie during Trivia Night at Old Fort Erie. One of the topics will be The Niagara 1814 Campaign, so start studying. Click here for more information and to sign up.

Desperate slaughter – Amasiah Ford

On February 18, 1813, the 17 year old Amasiah Ford of Saratoga County, New York, enlisted in the United States Army to serve for the duration of the war. Ford saw action as part of the 23rd Regiment of Infantry throughout the Niagara in 1813 and 1814.

It didn’t take long for Ford to see action after enlisting as he took part in the U.S. attack on Fort George in May of 1813. Later in the year, Ford took part in an 18 day march to Sackets Harbor in late November 1813. The men spent the month of December living in tents with heavy snowfall before completing a wooden barracks. Unfortunately, Ford and his comrades only enjoyed the newly built barracks for three days before they were ordered to march on December 25 to join Wilkinson’s army.

Battle of Lundy's Lane 

By July 1814, Ford was with the American Army in Buffalo. On July 25, 1814, Ford fought in the Battle of Lundy’s Lane where he recounts that “when marching up in open column a party of the enemy which lay in ambush rose & fired upon us, when, out of thirty-two in the first platoon, only eight of us escaped the desperate slaughter.” Ford continued to fight for over three hours before the troops were ordered to withdraw to Chippawa.

Ford didn’t get much rest after the battle as he was detailed to participate in the morning of July 26 to return to the Lundy’s Lane battlefield. Ford writes that the Americans proceeded within musket shot of the British before deciding to withdraw to Chippawa, burning buildings and bridges in their path. Shortly thereafter, Ford and the rest of the American Left Division withdrew to the defences of Fort Erie to await the British.

This year on Friday, July 25, you can help commemorate the 200th anniversary of the Battle of Lundy’s Lane by participating in a walk to the Lundy’s Lane Battlefield. Participants will start about 2.5 km from the battlefield as they arrive around dusk for a commemorative ceremony. Click here for more information and to register for this Niagara 1812 Signature Event.