Siege of Fort Erie
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| Siege of Fort Erie | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of the War of 1812 | |||||||
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| Combatants | |||||||
| Britain | United States | ||||||
| Commanders | |||||||
| Gordon Drummond | Edmund P. Gaines Jacob Brown |
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| Strength | |||||||
| 3,000 | 2,500 | ||||||
| Casualties | |||||||
| 966 dead, wounded, or captured 540 missing |
630 dead or wounded | ||||||
| Niagara campaigns |
|---|
| Queenston Heights – Fort George – Stoney Creek – Beaver Dams – Fort Niagara – 1st Fort Erie – Chippawa – Lundy's Lane – Cook's Mills – 2nd Fort Erie |
The Siege of Fort Erie was one of the last engagements between British and American forces during the Niagara campaign of the War of 1812, in which the Americans made a successful defense of the fort against the British before abandoning it on November 5, 1814.
Contents |
[edit] Background
After the bloody Battle of Lundy's Lane—during which the American General Jacob Brown had been severely wounded—the American forces under the command of Eleazer Wheelock Ripley withdrew to their base at Fort Erie. Once the American Army reached the fort, command was given to Brigadier General Edmund P. Gaines.
The British, under the command of Gordon Drummond, followed slowly behind and reached the fort on August 4.
[edit] Defences
The Americans had captured Fort Erie on July 3, 1814, and had made significant improvements to the defenses since then.
The original British fort consisted of two two-story barrack buildings with fortified cannon bastions connected to them. The barracks were connected by a thick stone curtain with the main gate located in the centre. The rear of the fort (facing away from Lake Erie) consisted of an open terreplein, raised 6 feet (2 m) above the base of the dry ditch which surrounded the fort with two redoubts located on the corner. The front of the fort was protected by a large earthen wall with a forward gun emplacement. The fort was also divided in half by an earthen wall and ditch with a gun emplacement in the centre redan (raised platform).
The dry ditch surrounding the fort had a 9 foot (2.5 m) high wooden wall in the centre. This wall was angled outwards and was sharpened to prevent any enemy from leaping into the ditch, which also had sharpened sticks placed up and down the walls to help impale or wound enemy soldiers. The ditch was used as a garbage dump and a sewer by the defenders, creating a slippery and smelly swamp at the base that would slow enemy attacks and would encourage disease in any wounds.
Since the fort was too small to hold the entire American force, the U.S. Army extended the earthen wall to the south for an additional 800 metres (1/2 mile) to a rise made of sand, known as Snake Hill, which had been fortified with a large gun emplacement under the command of Nathaniel Towson (considered to be one of the finest artillerymen in U.S. history). To protect the north end of the fort, the U.S. also built an earthen wall connecting the northeast bastion to the lake where there was another fortified gun emplacement (known as the Douglass Battery). Abbatis (obstacles made of felled trees) were placed in front of the earth walls.
[edit] Siege
[edit] Preliminaries
While the British constructed their siege lines and batteries, three American schooners hovered in the Niagara River and harassed them with gunfire. A party of sailors and marines under Commander Alexander Dobbs dragged boats overland from below Niagara Falls and launched a boarding attack on them on the night of August 12. They captured the USS Ohio and the USS Somers. The USS Porcupine escaped. This victory raised British morale, but Drummond mistakenly believed that it depressed American morale to the same extent. He was encouraged in this belief by some American deserters.
[edit] British assault
On August 13, Drummond opened fire on the fort with two light 24-pounder field guns and four 18-pounder or 24-pounder naval guns. The bombardment was fired from too long a range and was ineffective against the fort's walls. Drummond nevertheless launched a 3-pronged attack on August 15. He planned that the first attack, of 1,300 soldiers led by Lieutenant Colonel Victor Fisher, would flank the south end of the defenses at Snake Hill. The second attack (360 soldiers, sailors and marines led by Drummond's nephew Lieutenant Colonel William Drummond) would attack in the center against the fort with the objective of capturing the old British barrack buildings. The third attack (700 soldiers under Colonel Hercules Scott) would attack the north end of the defenses and sweep into the U.S. camp. Scott and Colonel Drummond were both experienced soldiers and had little confidence in General Drummond's plan.
The columns moved out after dark, but the preparations during the day had been obvious from the fort. General Gaines ordered his men to stand to and ensured that all guns were loaded and ready. Surprise would be nearly impossible to achieve. While Fischer's column made its long march to the south of Snake Hill, Scott's and Drummond's columns waiting in pouring rain in a ravine a few hundred yards north of the fort.
[edit] Fischer's attack
Fischer's column consisted of the light companies of the 2nd Battalion of the 89th Foot and the 100th Foot, the remnants of the 1st Battalion of the 8th (Kings), and volunteers from De Watteville's Regiment of foot. The nominally Swiss regiment was made up of men from all over Europe and the British commanders had suspicions of their loyalty. (On the approach march, the roll was called every hour to prevent desertion). Except for a few steady men, the entire column was ordered to remove their firearms' flints and take the enemy battery on the hill by the bayonet.
The column encountered an American picket 300 metres from the defences. The picket opened fire, alerting the garrison, before hastily retreating. The leading attackers rushed forward to the abbatis. As they reached it, Towson opened fire. The rate of fire from his battery would earn it the nickname "Towson's lighthouse". Many of the attackers broke and fled in panic, sweeping away the steady soldiers to their rear. Those who did try to scale the defences found that many of the siege ladders built for the attack had been made without taking the ditches into account and were as much as five feet (1.5 m) too short to get over the wall. The light company of De Watteville's attempted to bypass the U.S. defenses by swimming in the Niagara River. The current proved to be too swift, and many of the men were swept away to their death; those who survived were quickly captured.
Some of the attackers charged the battery five times before retiring. Some units, such as the light company of the 8th (King's), lost two thirds of their strength. De Watteville's regiment had 144 casualties (although many were "missing" and actually deserted). General Eleazar Ripley reported taking 147 prisoners. His men suffered only a dozen casualties.
[edit] Scott's attack
Colonel Hercules Scott's column consisted of his own 103rd Regiment. He launched his attack as soon as firing was heard from Snake Hill. Surprise was quickly lost when American pickets detected them and fired muskets to alert the defenders. Once the British had moved close enough, the guns of the fort and the Douglass Battery (loaded with canister) and several hundred U.S Infantry opened fire with horrific losses to the British. Colonel Scott was mortally wounded by a musket ball in the head early in the attack. At one point in the battle, a cry rose from the British forces of "Stop firing, you're shooting your own men!", and the fighting ceased for almost an entire minute until an American officer, unconvinced by the heavily accented appeal, shouted back "To Hell with you!" and the firing resumed. Scott's shattered regiment fell back with 360 casualties (although some may have joined Drummond's attack against the fort). The Americans facing them reported no casualties.
[edit] Drummond's attack
Lieutenant Colonel Drummond's column consisted of the flank companies of the 41st and 104th (New Brunswick) Regiments, fifty Royal Marines and ninety seamen of the Royal Navy. His attack on the fort initially made little headway. Using the cover of darkness and the heavy smoke that hung over the field, he then moved his men through the defensive ditch to assault the northeast bastion. The British caught the U.S. gunners completely by surprise, and they quickly fled their guns. Those under Lieutenant MacDonogh who stood and fought were quickly killed as Drummond cried out "Give no Quarter to the Damn Yanks!" and charged deep into the parade square. A group of soldiers from the 21st U.S. Infantry (raised in Ohio) reorganized themselves in the parade square and poured fire into the bastion. It is believed that Drummond was killed in this barrage. According to one American soldier, in the thick of the fighting he saw a "Red-coated demon, armed with a pike and screaming for his own death which we quickly obliged him to. He fell not far from our feet, no less than a musket's length away.
The attackers twice tried to storm the barracks and mess hall; the defenders in turn tried to recapture the northeast bastion. Fighting swayed back and forth for nearly an hour. General Drummond sent only two companies of the 1st Battalion of the Royal Scots to reinforce the attackers; they lost half their men and very few of them even reached the fort. Some Americans turned around an 18-pounder cannon on the rear redan and began to fire into the bastion less than 50 yards away. The British responded by turning one of the captured cannons around and knocking the American 18-pounder off its carriage.
Immediately after the British fired the second shot from their captured gun, a large powder magazine in the bastion beneath their feet ignited. The explosion was immense, destroying the entire bastion and most of the attached barracks building. A two ton cannon was thrown 100 yards out of the fort. Between 150 and 250 men, mainly British and Canadians, were killed in the bastion. It was gruesomely reported that some attackers were blown from the walls of the fort to land on the bayonets of those still in the ditch. The surviving attackers were convinced that the entire fort was mined, and they retreated in panic. Drummond's column had been almost wiped out during the attack.
[edit] Aftermath
In total the British suffered 905 casualties. The Americans reported only 84 casualties. The journal of William Dunlop, a surgeon in the British Army, described working on the wounded for nearly 3 days straight.
[edit] American counterattacks
In addition to the heavy casualties from the assault, Drummond's force suffered severely from sickness and exposure. The British troops lacked tents (there was not enough transport to bring them forward), and their crude huts and shelters made from bark and branches provided little cover. When the autumn rains began, the ground rapidly became inches deep in water. Drummond nevertheless maintained the siege, thanks to being reinforced by two fresh regiments.
On August 29, a chance British shot severely wounded General Gaines. Brigadier General Ripley resumed command. Major General Jacob Brown had only partly recovered from his wounds received at Lundy's Lane, but he nevertheless returned to Fort Erie to replace Ripley in command. There were strong arguments for simply waiting for Drummond to abandon the unsuccessful siege, but Brown was determined to attack. He planned to hit the western end of Drummond's siege lines and spike the guns in his siege batteries. Brigadier General Peter B. Porter was entrusted with the main attack. His pioneers cleared a trail through the woods to a point behind the British Battery No. 3. Drummond's troops and Indians, who were probably made lethargic by rain, sickness and shortage of rations, failed to detect any of this activity.
At noon on September 17, Porter's force (volunteers from the Pennsylvania and New York militia, with the 23rd U.S. Infantry) moved along the trail covered by heavy rain. They completely surprised the remnants of De Watteville's regiment, who were covering that part of the siege works, and captured Battery No. 3. At the same moment, the recently promoted Brigadier General James Miller led detachments from the 9th, 11th and 19th U.S. Infantry along the ravine which had sheltered William Drummond and Hercules Scott on August 15 and attacked the British centre. Attacked from both front and flank, Battery No. 2 was also captured.
By now, Drummond's reserves were hurrying forward. There was severe fighting, but the Americans were unable to capture Battery No. 1. Brown ordered the attack to be broken off and sent Ripley forward to cover Porter's and Miller's withdrawal. In this brief but bloody affair, the Americans suffered 511 casualties, including 79 killed. Porter, Miller and Ripley were all wounded. The British suffered more heavily, with 600 casualties (115 killed).
With two of his batteries destroyed and his force reduced to 2,000 effectives, Drummond abandoned the siege on the night of September 21 and withdrew to the Chippawa River.
[edit] Evacuation
Major General George Izard's division had been transferred from Plattsburgh to Sackett's Harbor in early September (a surprising decision by Secretary of War John Armstrong which nearly cost the Americans the Battle of Plattsburgh). From Sackett's Harbor they marched to reinforce Brown. Since Izard was the senior officer, he assumed command of the combined American force. The Americans now numbered 6,300 and had a clear advantage in numbers over Drummond with only 2,500 even after reinforcements had arrived. Brown wished to make an immediate all-out attack. Izard instead began a cautious advance on October 13. After a minor success against a British outpost at Cook's Mill, he retired to Fort Erie.
The British had launched the battleship HMS St. Lawrence on Lake Ontario, and the American squadron on the lake promptly withdrew into Sackett's Harbor. At Brown's request, he and his division were transferred there to protect the vital naval base. Izard decided to abandon Fort Erie and go into winter quarters in New York state. On November 5 the Americans set mines and demolished the fort before retiring across the river. This allowed the British to go into winter quarters also, which spared them losses from the winter weather.
Many officers accused Izard of cowardice, and he was nearly court martialled as a result; but because of his military expertise and excellent service record, he was moved to a civil position and made governor of Arkansas. When the British returned to the site of Fort Erie, they chose not to rebuild the fort. The Niagara campaign was over and so were the invasions of Canada.
During the Niagara Campaign of 1814, the British had suffered twice as many battle casualties as the smaller American force. Their attrition from disease and other causes was probably in the same proportion. On several occasions, especially after his own failed assault on Fort Erie, General Drummond blamed his troops for lack of spirit or misbehaviour in action, but most historians consider that Drummond himself planned poorly and took insufficient care to maintain his troops' health and morale.
[edit] References
- Morris Zaslow (ed), The Defended Border, Macmillan of Canada, Toronto, 1964, ISBN 0-7705-1242-9
- John R. Elting, Amateurs to Arms, Da Capo Press, New York, 1995, ISBN 0-306-80653-3
