A History, of the War of 1812-15 Between the United States and Great Britain

by Rossiter Johnson

In July, 1812, the British fleet had made an attempt to capture the Oneida and a prize schooner, both of which were at Sackett's Harbor. Lieutenant-Commander Woolsey anchored the Oneida in the harbor, where she could command the entrance, placed half of her guns in a battery on shore, and easily drove off the enemy's fleet, whose performance exhibited very little of the character of serious warfare.

In October, of that year, Captain Isaac Chauncey arrived at Sackett's Harbor, with authority to organize a fleet. He brought from New York forty ship-carpenters and a hundred officers and seamen, and a supply of naval stores. He bought ten or a dozen schooners, armed them—generally with long swivel guns—and fitted them up for naval service as well as their character would admit. These, with the Oneida, carried forty guns and four hundred and thirty men.

Chauncey's first exploit with this fleet was to chase the Royal George into the harbor of Kingston, and attack the batteries there; but nothing was accomplished by it save the capture of two small prizes. He lost one man killed and eight wounded—five by the bursting of a gun. About the same time (November, 1812), an expedition was made to clear the Canadian shore of batteries at the head of Niagara River. Four hundred soldiers and sailors, commanded by Lieutenant-Colonel Boerstler and Captain King, crossed from Black Rock in twenty boats, assaulted the batteries, and after desperate fighting captured them. They then spiked all the guns, burned the barracks, and retreated to the shore. The usual bad management seems to have entered into this, as into all the other enterprises of the sort, and the boats were not at hand for the recrossing; in consequence of which Captain King and sixty of his men were made prisoners.

Nothing can be done on the lakes in winter, as the harbors are closed by ice; but the building of vessels went on, and with the opening of spring General Dearborn and Commodore Chauncey began operations which showed no lack of activity and energy, however well or ill judged they may have been. York (now Toronto) was at this time the capital ===of Upper Canada. It was a place of about twelve hundred inhabitants, situated on a beautiful landlocked bay, about two by three miles in extent. The British were known to have a large vessel there, the Prince Regent, and to be building another. Mainly for the purpose of seizing this vessel, and destroying the one on the stocks, General Dearborn planned an expedition against York. He had seventeen hundred men available for the purpose, and Commodore Chauncey had fourteen vessels.

The expedition was organized, and sailed from Sackett's Harbor on the 25th of April. The winds were unfavorable, and the passage was somewhat tedious; but the fleet arrived off the harbor of York on the 27th. The intention was to land the troops by means of boats, at a point about two and a half miles west of the town, the guns of the fleet covering the landing, and march at once on the defences of the place, where General Roger H. Sheaffe was in command. But the water was rough, and the boats were driven half a mile farther westward, where they were compelled to land with but little protection from the vessels.

Here a body of British and Indians, concealed in the edge of a wood, were ready to receive them.

A column of riflemen, under Major Forsyth, were in the first boats, and as they approached the shore the enemy opened upon them with a destructive fire. Forsyth lost a considerable number of men before he could land. But his riflemen stood up in the boats and returned the fire with some effect, and he was followed quickly by a battalion of infantry under Major King, and this by the main body under General Zebulon M. Pike, who was in immediate command of the entire military force. The fleet at the same time contrived to throw a few effective shots into the woods, and the landing was effected without confusion.

The skirmishing party of British and Indians had been gradually strengthened till, by the time General Pike's forces were on shore, they had an almost equal force to dispute their passage toward the town. The enemy were still in the woods, and as soon as the Americans had been formed in battle order they advanced. The nature of the ground made it almost impossible to move or use their artillery; but the enemy had three pieces, with which they attacked the flanks of the column. The fighting soon became hot and deadly. There were charges and counter-charges, one and another part of either line alternately giving way and rallying again; but on the whole the advantage was with the Americans, and the British were gradually forced back into the outer defences. The Indians are said to have fled from the field early in the action.

The approach to the town, along the shore, was crossed by numerous streams and ravines, and the enemy destroyed the bridges behind them as they retired. Two pieces of artillery were with great difficulty taken across one of these ravines and placed where they could be brought to bear on the enemy.

The orders to the infantry were, to advance with unloaded muskets and carry the first battery at the point of the bayonet. This was easily done, as the enemy only remained long enough to discharge two or three cannon-shots hastily, and then fell back to his second battery, nearer the town.