Thus the left of the American line was completely swept away. The right, composed of volunteers, gave way more slowly, and retired in good order along the shore, skirmishing all the way with the enemy's advance, till they reached and formed in line with the regulars. They were annoyed on the way by the enemy's gunboats, which swept portions of the road with grapeshot; but on the other hand the enemy suffered considerably from the fire of their rifles and from parties of regulars sent out by Colonel Backus to join in the skirmishing.
The volunteers took position on the left of the second line of defence. The right was occupied by dismounted light dragoons, and the centre by regular infantry and artillery. The enemy, elated, as he had cause to be, at his first success, came steadily on to attack this line, and as he approached was subjected to an artillery fire from a small work called Fort Tompkins. He struck the right flank of the Americans, but found it made of different stuff from militia. Again and again the attempt was made to force this part of the line; but the dragoons, commanded by Backus in person, stood firm, delivered their fire with coolness, and drove back the assailants. The fight was kept up for an hour, and at length the weight of numbers told, and the Americans fell back.
A portion of them next took possession of the log barracks, and here made a third stand. The enemy came on as gallantly as ever, intent upon driving everything before him. Colonel Gray, Quartermaster-General, led the red-coats, and as they came up to the attack, an American drummer-boy picked up a musket, levelled it at the Colonel, and shot him down. Lieutenant Fanning, who had been severely wounded at York, and was not expected to be on duty, took charge of a gun. As the enemy approached, he carefully sighted the piece, and gave them three rounds of grapeshot in quick succession, which broke the force of their onset, and they began to fall back in some disorder. At this moment Colonel Backus fell mortally wounded.
The officer in charge of the stores had been instructed to set fire to them in case the enemy seemed likely to capture the place. Seeing the probability of this, he now applied the torch, not only to the storehouses but also to a new vessel that was almost ready to be launched, and to one that had been recently captured from the enemy.
With the Americans driven to their last stronghold, and the smoke from their burning stores rolling over their heads, the day appeared to be irretrievably lost. But though the enemy was strong in good troops, gallantly led, he had a weak spot in the constitutional timidity of the commander, Sir George Prevost. And General Brown at this point of time made a fortunate movement which struck that weak spot in a most effective way. He had succeeded in rallying about three hundred of the militia, with whom he suddenly emerged from the woods, and made a feint of marching for the boats by which the expedition had landed. Sir George took the alarm at once, imagining he was to be surrounded by a superior force and entrapped. He therefore issued an order for retreat, and his victorious forces withdrew to their ships without securing any result of their victory, or even bearing off their wounded. A reënforcement of six hundred men, under Lieutenant-Colonel Tuttle, who had inarched forty miles in one day, reached the vil lage just as the enemy were pushing off in their boats.
The Americans succeeded in putting out the fires, but not till half a million dollars' worth of stores had been destroyed. The new ship was but little injured, as her timbers were so green they would not burn readily. The prize vessel was on fire, and she had considerable powder in her hold; but Lieutenant Talman, at the risk of his life, boarded her, suppressed the flames, and brought her off to a place of safety at a distance from the burning buildings.
Sir George, not content with making a needless fiasco of his expedition, made himself ridiculous by sending a flag of true to demand the surrender of the village and the military post, which of course was refused. He then sent another flag, asking that his dead and wounded might be properly cared for, and on receiving assurances that they would, sailed away with the whole fleet.
The loss of the Americans in this action was about one hundred and seventy, killed, wounded, or missing; that of the British, about two hundred and sixty.
A few days after the loss of Fort George, General Vincent concentrated the British forces at Beaver Dams, and retreated westward to Burlington Bay, the head of Lake Ontario, where he intrenched himself on the heights. General Dearborn, after being baffled for some time by false information which Vincent had caused to be conveyed to him, at length found out where he had gone, and sent the brigades of Winder and Chandler after him. The Americans, following the "ridge road" that skirts the whole shore of the lake, came up with the enemy's pickets at Stony Creek, a small stream that crosses the road at right angles, on the 5th of June. There was considerable skirmishing, and the enemy's pickets were driven in.
General Chandler, with a wise caution thus far seldom displayed, placed a company of artillery at the mouth of the creek, three miles from the road, to cover a landing of boats expected there, with the rest of his forces took a strong position on the high eastern bank of the creek, where the road crosses it, threw out pickets in all directions, gave orders how the line should be formed in case of an attack, and ordered that the artillery horses be kept harnessed.