Brigadier General John Vincent, had lately assumed command of the British forces on the line of the Niagara, consisting of the 49th Regiment, five companies of the 8th, three of the Glengarry Light Infantry, two of the Royal Newfoundland Regiment, and a captain's command of Royal Artillery with five held guns, numbering in all 1925 officers and men, of whom 1841 were effectiver. Besides these, Merritt's troops of Provincial cavalry, Runchey's company of negroes, a company of militia artillery and an uncertain and fluctuating number of militiamen belonging to the five Lincoln Regiments were in service.
By a general order in March, about 1700 militia had been summoned to the protection of the frontier, but when the alarm had subsided, most of them had been allowed to return to their homes as it was felt that they would be more usefully employed in cultivating their farms than in idly waiting for an attack which the enemy appeared to be in no hurry to make.
The regular troops were in high spirits and confident of victory, but the militia appeared gloomy and depressed. Vincent complained ruefully, "it is with regret that I can neither report favorably of their numbers nor of their willing co-operation. Every exertion has been used and every expedient resorted to, to bring them forward and unite their efforts to those of His Majesty's troops with but little effect, and desertion beyond all conception continues to mark their indifference to the important cause in which we are now engaged. In considering it my duty to offer a fresh exposition of my sentiments to Your Excellency respecting the militia of this Province, I must at the same time express a belief that when the reinforcements reach this frontier, many of the inhabitants who have been for some time wavering and appalled by the specious show of the enemy's resources will instantly rally round the standard of their King and country."
Lieut.-Colonel John Harvey, a very able and enterprising young officer, who had lately joined General Vincent's division as Deputy Adjutant General, earnestly advised that accurate information of the enemy's numbers and designs should be secured at any cost, and then "by a series of both active and offensive movements, they should be thrown on the defensive no matter how superior their numbers might be." Had the whole of the 8th Regiment arrived in time this might have been accomplished, but two of its companies had been nearly annihilated at York, and the march of the remainder very much delayed by the attack on that place.
As late however, as the 20th of May, we find Colonel Myers writing to the Adjutant General in these terms. "It is not wise to hold an enemy too cheap, but I cannot divest myself of the idea that the foe opposite is despicable and that it would be no hard task to dislodge him from the entire of his lines on the Niagara River. With some subordinate attacks upon his flanks, I am of opinion that it would be an enterprise of little hazard for us to get an establishment on the heights above Lewiston, opposite Queenston. This once affected, I cannot but feel the strongest confidence that we would in a short time effect the object so much to be desired. It would be giving such a turn to the war that I conceive it would strike terror to the enemy, which would produce the happiest effects."
The return of the American fleet with a numerous body of regular troops on board put an end to these rather fantastic schemes of conquest. At daybreak on the 21st, no less than seventeen armed vessels, and upwards of one hundred Durham boats and batteaux were seen assembled near the mouth of the Four Mile Creek in rear of Fort Niagara, from which several thousand men were speedily disembarked.
For several days these troops paraded ostentatiously in plain view probably in the hope of overawing their opponents by the display of numbers. Many workmen were seen at the same time busily occupied in constructing new batteries along the river and building boats. Reinforcements continued to arrive daily until it was supposed that about 7000 soldiers were encamped between Lewiston and Fort Niagara. This force was composed almost wholly of regular troops that had been in service for some time and included nine of the best regiments of infantry in the United States army. They were accompanied by a strong regiment of heavy artillery, a well appointed field-train and a battalion of dragoons.
Major-General Henry Dearborn who was in command had distinguished himself in the Revolutionary war during which he had commanded a regiment in Arnold's expedition against Quebec and in Sullivan's campaign against the Six Nations. But he was now past sixty years of age and in ill health.
The Secretary of War had warned him to be careful to employ a sufficient force to ensure success. Seven thousand men was the number deemed requisite. "If the first step in the campaign fails," he wrote plaintively, "our disgrace will be complete. The public will lose confidence in us. The party who first opens a campaign has many advantages over his antagonist, all of which, however, are the results of his being able to carry his whole force against part of the enemy's. We are now in that state of prostration Washington was in after he crossed the Delaware, but like him we may soon get on our legs if we are able to give some hard blows at the opening of the campaign. In this we cannot fail provided the force we employ against his western posts be sufficiently heavy. They must stand or fall by their own strength. They are perfectly isolated, send, then, a force that shall overwhelm them. When the fleet and army are gone we have nothing at Sackett's Harbor to guard. How would it read if we had another brigade at Sackett's Harbor when we failed at Niagara?"
The undisturbed control of Lake Ontario by his fleet gave the American general a still greater advantage than his numerical superiority. It was understood that the British squadron would not be able to leave Kingston for at least a week, but two small vessels were detached to watch that port while the remainder assembled at Niagara to cover the landing.