Brilliant achievement – Commander Dobbs’s raid

Only a short distance away from Fort Erie, Lieutenant-General Drummond faced a tough situation with supply lines becoming stretched due to the renewed American presence on Lake Ontario, forcing supplies to be diverted around the lake. Commander Alexander Dobbs of the Royal Navy found that his usefulness on Lake Ontario was now limited and he decided to move his forces to Fort Erie to assist Drummond.

Dobbs joined the Royal Navy as a midshipman at the age of 13 and saw service in the Mediterranean and Atlantic before coming to North America. At the age of 30, Dobbs was promoted to Commander in February 1814 and in the same month, he married Mary Cartwright, the daughter of Richard Cartwright of Kingston who was a prominent merchant and political figure in Upper Canada.

Dobbs assembled a force of 70 seamen and marries to capture three American vessels near Fort Erie. His small force portaged from Queenston to Chippawa where five boats and a gig were loaded onto wagons and transported eight miles around the American position at Fort Erie.

Fort Erie in peacetime

On August 11, 1814, one day before Dobbs launched his attack, a deserter from the De Watteville Regiment swam across the Niagara River and told the Americans of Dobbs’s plan. Colonel George McFeely in command at Black Rock warned Lieutenant Augustus Conckling, captain of the USS Ohio, of the impending attack. McFeely noted that Conckling did not take the threat seriously and that he, “scarcely condescended to listen, turned on his heel and said he would desire no better fun than to see twenty or thirty boats coming to take him.” Conckling did not have to wait long to get his wish.

On the evening of August 12 Dobbs began his mission. As his force approached one of the American schooners, a sentry hailed them, but the British force replied that they were provision boats. An American officer reported that this “deceived the Officer of the Deck, as our Army boats have been in the habit of passing, and repassing throughout the night.” In a few minutes, Dobbs’s men boarded the Ohio and Somers quickly capturing the vessels. A third vessel, USS Porcupine, cut its cable and escaped.

At the cost of only two killed and two wounded Dobbs managed to capture, as reported by Lieutenant Mermet of the De Watteville Regiment, “a long 18-pounder gun – two long 12-pound guns – munitions, two pretty Schooners, five naval officers and seventy-five sailors.” Lieutenant Conckling was also wounded and captured during the operation, a fact that Colonel McFeely was not entirely displeased with reporting that Conckling was taken prisoner before “he got on his clothes.”

Drummond issued a general order praising Dobbs and his men for their “brilliant achievement” and went on to note that he had a mission for the rest of the division. On August 15, 1814, the British launched a three-pronged attack to retake Fort Erie. During the failed attempt, Dobbs commanded a detachment of sailors and marines under the command of Lieutenant-Colonel William Drummond. Dobbs survived the war and went on to serve as the commander at Isle-aux-Noix in late 1814. By 1819, Dobbs was made a post captain but later died in Malta in 1827.

To find out more about Commander Dobbs and the Siege of Fort Erie, head to Old Fort Erie on August 9 & 10 for the 28th Annual Siege of Fort Erie, commemorating the 200th anniversary of the siege. Click here for details.

A brave and excellent officer – William Drummond

William Drummond was described as above the medium height, dignified appearance, regular and clear-cut features, and a charming expression. At the beginning of the war, Drummond served with the 104th regiment in New Brunswick until February 1813 when the regiment was ordered to move west. Drummond, along with six companies of the 104th, made a hazardous trek through the Canadian wilderness in the middle of the winter. By April 1813, the 104th made it to Kingston after trekking through 800 miles of wilderness. While in Quebec an officer from the Canadian Voltiguers described Drummond as a “brave and excellent officer with many estimable qualities, together with his reputation for courage caused him to be idolized.”

Drummond participated in the ill-fated attack on Sackets Harbor in late May 1813. Although the assault was described as “a scandalously managed affair,” Drummond distinguished himself by rallying his troops during the battle. Drummond managed to escape death during the battle when a musket ball grazed him.

Aside from Drummond’s courage in battle, he was also a great diplomat. Drummond earned the respect of John Norton and his native allies. Norton presented Drummond with strings of wampum beads that he wore until his death. Due to Drummond’s good relationship with the natives, he was often called upon to settle disputes between Norton and the Indian Department.  

Siege of Fort Erie map

With the American invasion of Niagara in July 1814, Drummond was ordered with the two flank companies of the 104th to proceed to the Niagara. Drummond arrived in time for the Battle of Lundy’s Lane where he had two horses killed under him. After the Battle of Lundy’s Lane, Drummond participated in the failed British attempt to destroy American supply bases at Conjocta Creek. After this failed assault, the British laid siege to the American held defences at Fort Erie. After a few days bombardment, the British launched a daring assault on August 15, 1814.

As Drummond assembled his men for the assault, he bid farewell to the officers as he believe he would not survive the night. Drummond gave his sword to Surgeon William Dunlop before the assault for safekeeping and opted to carry a pike into battle. As Drummond led his men to the North-East demi-bastion they were repulsed by the American gunners inside. After a few attempts, Drummond and his men managed to take the bastion and began pouring into the fort. As Drummond charged into the fort he was shot dead. One American officer describes the incident:

“an officer advanced as far as the door of the mess house . . . [and] gave us orders to kill him - we shot him down and his party gave back at his fall.”  

After Drummond’s death, the British in the bastion managed to turn around a cannon and began firing into the fort. This action caused the gunpowder magazine in the bastion to erupt in a “a jet of flame, mingled with the fragments of timber, earth, stone, and bodies of men, rose, to the height of one or two hundred feet in the air, and fell, in a shower of ruins.”

Explosion of the bastion during the failed British night assault

The British failed to take Fort Erie that night and Drummond lay dead in the American held fort. The next day as the young drummer boy Jarvis Hanks sees the bodies he notes that Drummond’s body was looted and that one of the American officers purchased his gold watch. William Drummond was buried, along with a number of his comrades, in a mass grave in the ditches of Fort Erie.

If you want to learn more about William Drummond and the Siege of Fort Erie, don’t miss the Siege of Fort Erie on August 11 and 12th. There will be battle reenactments all weekend long as well as a lantern tour after the Saturday night battle. All battles are free to watch! Don’t miss Canada’s largest 1812 reenactment. Click here for the schedule of events.