General Lewis, who now had full command (General Dearborn having resigned), finding his advance posts and foraging parties continually harassed and frequently made prisoners by small detachments of British and Canadian troops stationed at different posts through the country, in order to prevent the American camp at Fort George from obtaining supplies, dispatched Colonel Boerstler with about 600 or 700 men, by way of Queenston, with a view of dislodging a detachment or picquet posted at a place called the Beaver Dams, a few miles from Queenston. Colonel Boerstler was surprised by a small party of Indians under Captain Ker; and believing themselves hemmed in by superior numbers, surrendered to Lieutenant (afterwards Colonel) Fitzgibbon, of the 49th Regiment, who arrived in time to complete the victory with a detachment of forty-six rank and file. The prisoners were five to one to the captors, being 512 in number, including twenty-five officers, two field pieces, and a stand of colours.
By these successes, the Americans were compelled to confine themselves to Fort George and its neighbourhood; and before the 1st of July the British had formed a line extending from Twelve Mile Creek, on Lake Ontario (Port Dalhousie), across to Queenston, on the Niagara river; and the Canadians began now to retaliate the game of marauding which the Americans had been practising on the Niagara frontier. From Chippewa an attack was made on Fort Schlosser, on the American side of the river, during the night of the 4th of July, by a small party of militia and soldiers under Lieutenant-Colonel Clarke, who surprised the guard at that post, and brought away a brass six-pounder, upwards of fifty stand of arms, a small quantity of stores, with a gun-boat and two batteaux. At daybreak in the morning of the 11th of July, Lieutenant-Colonel Bishop, lately commanding Fort Erie, crossed over the river with 240 men, consisting of a small party of militia and detachments of the 41st and 49th Regiments, and effectually surprised the enemy's post at Black Rock, burning his block-houses, stores, barracks, dockyard, and a vessel, but were compelled to hasten their departure by a reinforcement of American militia and some Indians in their interest, who opened a smart fire under cover of the surrounding woods, killing thirteen of the British attacking party, and wounding a considerable number—among others, Lieutenant-Colonel Bishop, mortally; but the British party brought away seven pieces of ordnance, two hundred stand of small arms, and a great quantity of stores.
The two armies were almost in sight of each other at Fort George; the commander of the British wished to ascertain the extent of the enemy's works and his means of defence, and to draw him into an open field of battle, and therefore, on the 24th of August, made a demonstration as if to assault the fort, drove in the picquets; took several of them, advanced to within a few hundred yards of the enemy, who, though supported by the fire upon the British from their batteries on the American side of the river, could not be induced to leave their entrenchments and venture in the open field, although the force of the British did not exceed 2,000, while the American force exceeded 4,000, but wholly depending upon resources from the American side for their subsistence, and compelled to act solely on the defensive, from the hostile front assumed by the British in the neighbourhood. The American army of 4,000 men, being cooped up within the limits of the fort, depending for their supplies from the United States, and not daring to go out of their fortifications, could do little harm and be of little use to the American cause, the British commander did not think it advisable to incur the loss and risk of an assault upon the fort.
PART VIII.
WAR IN THE WEST—GENERAL PROCTOR'S UNSUCCESSFUL SIEGE OF LOWER SANDUSKY.
In the meantime General Harrison was on the Sandusky river, making preparations to prosecute the war with vigour, in order to recover the Michigan territory, as soon as the fleet fitting out at Erie (Presqu' Isle), under Captain Perry, who had been dispatched thither by Commodore Chauncey towards the end of May, should be sufficiently strong to co-operate with the land forces. General Proctor resolved to make another effort to defeat General Harrison's purpose to recover Michigan, and immediately besieged the American fort at Lower Sandusky; but in consequence of the withdrawment of the Indians out of the reach of the enemy's guns, and disinclined to the delay of a siege, and General Harrison with a respectable force at no great distance, General Proctor thought proper to raise the siege and retire to Amherstburg.
PART IX.
FAILURE OF THE EXPEDITION OF SIR GEORGE PREVOST AND COMMODORE SIR JAMES YEO AGAINST SACKETT'S HARBOUR.
During the absence of Commodore Chauncey and his fleet from Sackett's Harbour, engaged in operations on the Niagara frontier, an expedition was planned and fitted out at Kingston against that chief depot of American naval supplies on Ontario. Sir George Prevost, Commander-in-Chief, and the British Commodore, Sir James L. Yeo (just arrived from England), were both at Kingston, and much was expected from their joint counsels, and the arrival of some naval officers and sailors from England. On the 27th of May a body of 800 or 1,000 men were embarked on board the British flotilla at Kingston, consisting of Wolfe, 24 guns; Royal George, 24; Earl of Moira, 18; and four schooners, carrying from ten to twelve guns each, with a sufficient number of batteaux; and at noon the following day they were off Sackett's Harbour. The weather was propitious, and the troops were transferred to the batteaux to make their landing under an escort of two gun-boats, commanded by Captain Mulcaster—the whole under the immediate direction of the land and naval commanders-in-chief. They had not proceeded far when a convoy of American boats, loaded with troops, was descried doubling Stanley Point, on their way from Oswego to Sackett's Harbour. The Indians, who had previously landed on an island, fired upon them as they passed, and threw them into confusion, while the British boats and batteaux bore down and captured twelve of them, with about 150 men; the remainder escaped to Sackett's Harbour.
The landing was deferred until next day, thus giving the Americans time to spread the alarm throughout the country—to collect reinforcements from all quarters—to collect and station their soldiers, with a field-piece, in the surrounding woods, and make every possible preparation for their defence. The fine day was followed by a dark, rainy, and stormy night, which scattered the boats, so that the British could not succeed in landing in the morning before the Americans had lined the woods with their men. Nevertheless the British succeeded in landing; the enemy retreated, but posting themselves securely behind large trees, kept up a smart fire on the British.