A most horrid slaughter

It was a frigid night on December 18, 1813 when the British prepared for a daring attack on Fort Niagara. A British force under Lieutenant-Colonel John Murray waded across the Niagara River and crept upon the shore just below Fort Niagara in preparation for their assault.

The capture of Fort Niagara Plaque

The American burning of Newark (modern-day Niagara-on-the-Lake) precipitated the daring assault upon Fort Niagara. This action saw the destruction of about 150 private homes and forced many inhabitants into the below freezing weather. The burning of these homes has been blamed on a group of former Canadians serving in the U.S. army as part of the Canadian Volunteers.

In retaliation for the burning of Newark, General Drummond ordered the assault on Fort Niagara. The Canadian militia eagerly produced enough boats for the crossing. As the British made it across an advanced guard quickly dispatched with the American sentries and forced their way into the fort. The Americans were caught off guard and suffered nearly 65 dead and 350 captured in the engagement, mostly preformed by the bayonet. Brigadier General George McClure, the commander of the American forces and the one who ordered the burning of Newark, reported, “Our men were nearly all asleep in their tents, the Enemy rushed in and commenced a most horrid slaughter.”

The British victory at Fort Niagara was the first action by the British in their winter campaign that saw the destruction of the American Niagara frontier and the capture of much needed weapons and supplies.    

If you want to see the recreation of this engagement, make sure you visit Fort Niagara on September 1 and 2 for their annual 1812 event. The highlight of the weekend begins on Saturday at 7 p.m. with a performance by the MacKenzie Highlanders Pipes and Drums. Following the performance there will be a battle re-enactment of the British capture of the fort in December 1813. Click here for more details.

Fix bayonets!

The War of 1812 had a number of deadly weapons on the battlefield, but perhaps the most feared was the bayonet. Both British and American infantry used the bayonet fixed to the end of their muskets. Soldiers commonly fired with the bayonet attached, but on the battlefield contests usually ended before the bayonet was used. Primarily the bayonet was used to silence sentries or pickets but it could be used in battle.

The bayonet

On the battlefield, the bayonet could be used when an enemy’s formation began to falter. Typically an army would fire into enemy formations until gaps formed. Once these gaps formed, a bayonet charge would provide the best opportunity to scatter and destroy the enemy. Despite this strategy, the use of the bayonet on the battlefield often did not occur because, as one contemporary remarked, “the fear of the bayonet, rather than the bayonet itself, was the deciding factor.”

In some instances the use of the bayonet did occur in battle. During the Battle of Lundy’s Lane both armies advanced so close due to the large amount of smoke and the fact that the battle took place at night. During the battle the British commander, General Drummond, lamented, “Of so determined a character were their [American infantry] attacks directed against our Guns, that our Artillery Men were bayoneted by the Enemy in the Act of loading.”

The bayonet at Lundy's Lane

A bayonet wound was one of the most feared due to the blade’s triangular shape. Triangular shaped wounds were difficult for a surgeon to sew up. As the surgeon sewed up one side of the wound, the stitches on the other side would begin to pull open, causing immense pain for the patient.  Most surgeons would not bother with bayonet wounds, and if they did, it usually involved stuffing the wound with linen bandages and constantly checking it, removing the bandages as necessary.

Today the use of triangular shaped blades is banned by the Geneva Conventions, for good reason. Make sure you visit the numerous battle reenactments this summer, you might just see a bayonet charge in action.