Battle of Longwoods

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Battle of Longwoods
Part of the War of 1812
Date March 4, 1814 Location Wardsville, Ontario Result American Victory
Combatants
Britain	United States
Commanders
James Lewis Basden	Andrew Holmes
Strength
300	180
Casualties
14 dead 52 wounded 1 missing	4 dead 3 wounded

Detroit frontier
Tippecanoe – 1st Mackinac Island – Maguaga – Fort Dearborn – Detroit – Fort Harrison – Fort Wayne – Mississinewa – Frenchtown – Fort Meigs – Fort Stephenson – Lake Erie – Thames – Longwoods – Prairie du Chien – 2nd Mackinac Island – Lake Huron – Malcolm's Mills

The Battle of Longwoods was a battle of the War of 1812 on March 4, 1814, fought near present-day Wardsville, Ontario.

[edit] Background

Lieutenant Colonel Butler, commander of the American forces in Detroit, ordered Captain Andrew Holmes to take a force into Upper Canada and capture one of two British outposts in the area, either Port Talbot or Delaware.

The American force led by Captain Holmes consisted of elements of the 24th Tennessee, 26th Vermont, 27th New York, and 28th Kentucky Regiments, along with the Michigan Rangers and the Michigan Militia Dragoons. It consisted of about 180 men in total.

The Longwoods was a heavily forested tract of land that lay between Delaware and the present town of Thamesville. On March 3, 1814, the British Western Rangers came upon the Americans 15 miles (24 km) outside of Delaware. After a brief skirmish, the British retreated to wait for reinforcements. The Americans withdrew to Twenty Mile Creek and fortified their position on top of a hill. They proceeded to make an abatis and to water the hill, which then froze.

[edit] Battle

The full British force arrived at Twenty Mile Creek at 5 p.m. the next day. Under the command of Captain James Lewis Basden, this force consisted of the light companies of the Royal Scots and 89th Regiment, a detachment of Kent Militia , a company of rangers and about forty Native American warriors: in all about 300 men.

Captain Basden ordered Captain Caldwell, commander of the Kent Militia, to try to flank the Americans to the north while the Native warriors attempted to flank the Americans from the south. Basden himself led the British soldiers on a direct assault up the hill into the American position. The Americans poured a withering fire into the oncoming British, who suffered 67 casualties, with Captain Basden taking a fatal blow to the knee. The Americans suffered only mild casualties: 4 dead and 3 wounded.

After only an hour of fierce fighting, the British retreated, and subsequently abandoned their position at Delaware. Captain Holmes, realizing that he could not take the British force at Delaware, withdrew his American force back to Detroit.