USA > New York > Erie County > Our county and its people : a descriptive work on Erie County, New York, Volume I > Part 28
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65 | Part 66 | Part 67 | Part 68 | Part 69 | Part 70 | Part 71 | Part 72 | Part 73 | Part 74 | Part 75 | Part 76 | Part 77 | Part 78 | Part 79 | Part 80 | Part 81 | Part 82 | Part 83 | Part 84 | Part 85 | Part 86 | Part 87 | Part 88 | Part 89 | Part 90 | Part 91 | Part 92 | Part 93 | Part 94 | Part 95 | Part 96 | Part 97 | Part 98 | Part 99 | Part 100 | Part 101
BUFFALO PHOENIX .- R. M. Pomeroy begs leave to inform the public, and his old customers in particular, that he is again erecting his tavern among the ruins of Buf- falo. He calculates by the first of March to be prepared to receive and wait on
Gubelman Photo-Grayare Co.
C
241
CAMPAIGN OF 1814.
Company. . Come on then, men of New York; let not snow or rain deter you ; come in companies, half companies, pairs or singly; ride to the place if the distance be too far and pay me dollars, half dollars, shillings, and six-pennys.
On the 7th of March sufferers from the burning of the village and the destruction of property were publicly notified to meet at the house of A. P. Harris (this was the Harris tavern) and prove their losses. The local committee of investigation appointed to appraise losses con- sisted of Charles Townsend, Samuel Tupper, Ebenezer Walden, Jonas Harrison, Heman B. Potter, Seth Grosvenor, Joseph Landon, and Ebenezer Johnson.
The progress made in the village up to about the 1st of April is in- dicated in the following paragraph, from the Gazette of the 5th of that month :
Buffalo village which once adorned the shores of Erie and was prostrated by the enemy, is now rising again ; several buildings are already raised and made habitable; contracts for twenty or thirty more are made and many of them are in considerable forwardness. A brick company has been organized by an association of most en- terprising and public-spirited citizens, with sufficient capital for the purpose of ren- dering the brick so reasonable that the principal streets are built up of that article. All that is required to re-establish Buffalo in its former prosperity are ample remu- neration from government, and peace; peace, if not obtained by negotiation, must be obtained by a vigorous prosecution of the war. Buffalo has its charms-the situa- tion, the prospect and the general health of the inhabitants, to which we may add the activity and enterprise of the trade, the public spirit of the citizens and the state of society, all conspire to render it a chosen spot for the man of business or pleasure.
The post-office was reopened at first in Judge Granger's house and soon afterward was removed into the village. The Gazette still remained at Harris's Tavern and in it appeared a notice calling for laborers to work in the brickyard above mentioned. The directors of the company were Ebenezer Walden, Charles Townsend, Samuel Tupper, Benjamin Caryl and Seth Grosvenor.
Holden Allen, who had leased the St. John dwelling, as noted in the last chapter, and opened it for the entertainment of guests, erected a row of rough shanties some 200 feet long, extending southward from the cottage, without floors and fitted with rude bunks containing straw, to increase his temporary accommodations.
On the 25th of April Eli Hart had opened his store near his old stand. Mr. Hart had saved some of his goods from the flames of the 30th of December, and carried them to Williamsville. Seth Grosvenor an- nounced in April that he had " once more established himself in Buf-
31
242
OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE.
falo where the printing office of the Salisburys stood," and offered dry goods for sale. Heman B. Potter came back and located his office in the house of Frederick Miller. Dr. Ebenezer Johnson also returned in April.
The Gazette of May 3 stated that the " greatest activity and enter- prise continues in Buffalo in building up and improving the place." The county clerk's office was removed to Mr. Miller's house and the collector's office was brought from Batavia. By the 20th of May twenty-three houses were erected, most of them occupied by families; three taverns were open ; four stores, twelve groceries and other shops, three offices and about thirty shanties. The arrival of Scott and his troops made the trade of these few business places extremely active.
The Gazette of June 7 gave notice that the judges of the Court of Common Pleas had opened the house of John Brunson as a temporary court house. That building stood on the site of the old Academy of Music; it was then a wooden tavern and was afterwards known as the Farmer's Hotel. Before the close of June Juba Storrs opened his store in the house of Mrs. Adkins, where also Andrews & Hopkins began cabinet making.
War preparations went rapidly forward and rumors of immediate movements were rife. Fort Erie was then garrisoned by 150 British troops, while the main body of the enemy was at Chippewa, about eighteen miles farther down the river. By the 1st of July the Ameri- can forces were ready for active operations. On the 2d Brown, Scott and Porter reconnoitered Fort Erie and laid plans for its capture. Rip- ley, with part of his troops, was to embark in boats at Buffalo in the night and land a mile above the fort on the lake shore. Scott, with his brigade was to cross from Black Rock and land a mile below the fort, after which both brigades would co operate. Ripley's force was delayed by fog and his pilot's mistake and did not land until several hours after the appointed time. Scott crossed promptly and invested the fort. The story of what followed in connection with the capture of the work, is told in the following sketch from the Gazette; it is cor- rect in its statements and possesses peculiar interest from the fact that it was written at the time:
In pursuance of orders the army passed the Niagara River on Sunday morning last. The brigade of Gen. Scott, and the artillery corps of Major Hindman, landed nearly a mile below Fort Erie, between two and three o'clock, while Gen. Ripley, with his brigade, made the shore, about the same distance above.
243
CAMPAIGN OF 1814.
The enemy was perfectly unapprised of these movements. Gen. Scott led the van, and was on shore before the enemy's pickets, stationed at this point, fired a gun. The guard discharged their guns and retreated.
In the morning a small Indian force was crossed over. The fort was approached on the right and left, and the Indians skirted the woods in the rear. Gen. Brown now demanded a surrender of the garrison, and gave the commander two hours for consideration. In the mean time, a battery of long eighteens was planted in a posi- tion to command the fort. The enemy surrendered as prisoners of war-marched out of the fort at six o'clock, stacked their arms-and were immediately sent over the river to the American shore. There were upwards of one hundred and seventy prisoners, of the Eighth and One Hundredth regiments, among which were seven officers. Major Burke commanded the fort. The schooners Tigress and Porcupine assisted in crossing the troops, and lay all day within cannon shot of the fort. Capt. Camp, of the Quartermaster General's Department, volunteered on the expedition, and crossed in the boat with Gen. Scott. During the morning the enemy fired two or three cannon from the fort, which killed one man and wounded two or three others. We learn the enemy had one killed. There were several pieces of ordnance in the garrison and some military stores.
This almost bloodless capture of Fort Erie inspirited the Americans and in some measure prepared them for the more sanguinary opera- tions of the next few days.
The campaign was now prosecuted with vigor. Scott with his first brigade marched on the 4th from near Fort Erie and proceeded to Black Creek, a few miles above Chippewa. Ripley was also ordered to advance, but did not move until afternoon of the same day. Scott met the enemy's outposts and skirmishing took place nearly all the way down the river. That night Scott's forces went into camp on the south side of Street's Creek and in the morning the two opposing armies were only two miles apart. The British forces were still under immediate command of General Riall. About noon Scott was joined by Porter with his volunteers and Indians. Meanwhile the British also received considerable reinforcements.
Operations began at daybreak on the 5th with petty attacks on the American pickets, the purpose of which was chiefly to divert attention while the British attacked the center. This plan did not succeed. The American commander felt sure of his position and strength, gradually drew in the pickets and the British were thus led on to general action. The Indians behaved with gallantry under Porter, Red Jacket and Captain Pollard, and the British were soon forced back towards Chip- pewa with considerable loss. Porter's command followed, but on reaching the edge of the forest he encountered the main body of the
244
OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE.
enemy, and his men, most of whom were unaccustomed to the battle- field, became disconcerted and broke in confusion.
General Brown, who was quickly apprised of these operations by the rapid firing, now discovered at a distance a cloud of dust which her- alded the oncoming of the British, and rode on to General Scott and ordered him to bring his brigade into the field for action. At the same moment he sent his adjutant-general to Ripley, who was then in the rear, ordering him to march his brigade by the left through the wood and fall on the enemy's right flank, cutting him off from retreat; but the celerity with which Scott brought his troops into action prevented Ripley's force from participating in the ensuing struggle. The Amer- ican commander accompanied Scott's brigade into the field and took his position on the left in front of the British right flank; from there he posted a battery of artillery opposite the center and directed further movements. The enemy came promptly into the field and were in- stantly attacked by Scott's troops, which persistently advanced under a desperate fire. He crossed Street's Creek in face of a heavy can- nonade and the battle raged along the whole line. Several times the British line was broken and again closed. Finally a flank move- ment and a furious charge was made by Major McNeill with the regiment of Colonel Campbell; this, with a hot fire upon the enemy's center, forced it to give way. The whole British force now broke and fled to the intrenchments below Chippewa Creek, destroying the bridge and thus preventing pursuit by the victorious Americans. The enemy was hard pressed on the retreat and suffered severely.
This battle, though an insignificant one in comparison with the great engagements of a later war, was nevertheless an important one at that time and place and exerted a large influence upon the closing scenes of the war. The American loss was 61 killed, 255 wounded, and 19 missing; the British loss was 604, of whom 236 were killed. A gentle shower fell on that hot July evening, mitigating the horrors of the bloody field. The succeeding few days were spent in burying the dead.
On his retreat General Riall fled down the borders of the river to Queenston, placed a part of his troops in Fort George and made his headquarters near the lake twenty miles to the westward. General Drummond was deeply mortified over this defeat of his veterans by what he deemed a raw body of the despised Americans, and resolved to wipe out the disgrace. He drew most of his troops from Burlington Bay,
245
CAMPAIGN OF 1814.
Toronto, Kingston and Prescott, for the purpose of organizing an army that would drive the invaders out of Canada. With a force about one- third greater than that of General Brown, Drummond now pressed for- ward to meet the Americans. In the mean time Brown had moved for- ward to Queenston. He anticipated finding Chauncey's fleet on Niagara River, ready for co-operation with the land movements, but at that time the fleet was blockaded at Sackett's Harbor and the commodore was ill in bed. Brown wrote Chauncey on the 13th as follows :
All accounts agree that the force of the enemy in Kingston is very light. Meet me on the lake shore north of Fort George with your fleet, and we will be able, I have no doubt, to settle a plan of operations that will break the power of the enemy in Upper Canada, and that in the course of a short time. I doubt not my ability to meet the enemy in the field, and to march in any direction over his country, your fleet carrying for me the necessary supplies. We can threaten Fort George and Niagara, and carry Burlington Heights and York, and proceed directly to Kingston and carry that place. For God's sake let me see you.
When it became apparent that there was no hope of naval co-opera- tion General Brown fell back to Chippewa for supplies, intending to then march across the country to Burlington Heights and meet the enemy, who had, in the mean time, been strongly reinforced. Riall then turned back and took a position at Fifteen-mile Creek, only thir- teen miles from Brown's camp. The latter now contemplated an ad- vance on Fort George, and called a council of officers to consult on the movement. A majority advised an immediate attack on Riall (not knowing of his having been reinforced); the minority favored an in- vestment of St. George. Generals Porter and Ripley were ordered to reconnoiter the enemy's position. On the 20th the military works at Queenston were blown up and the Americans advanced toward Fort George. At this time Brown received intelligence of Riall's reinforce- ments, and again returned and occupied Queenston on the 22d.
Having now abandoned all hope of co-operation by Chauncey and the fleet, Brown ordered a retreat to Chippewa, hoping to thus draw Riall to the Niagara, or failing in that, to relieve himself of baggage and march against Riall by way of Queenston and fight him wherever he could find him .. The army camped on the north side of the Chippewa on the 24th. Here Scott was restive and begged the general to permit him to lead the brigade in search of Riall. This request he again made in the morning of the 25th and was vexed at its refusal. He was des- tined to meet the British sooner than he anticipated.
246
OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE.
Early that day news came from Lewiston that the British, in con- siderable numbers, were at Queenston and on the Heights, and that five of the enemy's fleet had arrived and their boats were going up the river. A few minutes later a second courier brought information that the enemy, 1,000 strong, was landing at Lewiston. The fact was that General Drummond had arrived in person with reinforcements from Kingston, and landed at Fort Niagara and disembarked at Queens- ton, while at the same time Riall's troops had been put in motion. Early on the morning of the 25th a large part of the forces under LieutenantColonel Pearson occupied a commanding position on an eminence in and near Lundy's Lane, a highway leading westward towards the head of the lake from the road along the river. Of this movement Brown probably had not learned, and to defeat the oncom- ing of Drummond, before noted, determined to attack him at Queens- ton. It was late in the afternoon when he ordered the forward move- ment. He was soon informed that a large body of the enemy had been seen at Niagara Falls; but he failed to realize the significance of this report, still believing it was Drummond and the troops going up the river to capture the stores of supplies at Schlosser. For the pur- pose of recalling the enemy, he determined to menace the forts at the mouth of the river, and accordingly, about four o'clock ordered Scott to march rapidly upon them with Towson's artillery and all the mounted men at his command. Scott was moving within twenty minutes, crossed the Chippewa between five and six o'clock, fully be- lieving that a large body of the enemy was on the other side of the Niagara instead of directly in his front. Scott's forces numbered about 1,200. He soon learned the truth. The two commands of Riall and Scott met and fought the memorable battle of Lundy's Lane. The British greatly outnumbered the Americans, but Scott saw that to re- treat would be fatal and he heroically accepted the only alternative. Waiting only to dispatch intelligence to his commander, he began the attack. General Brown, apprised by the report of musketry and can- non of the contest that had commenced, ordered the second brigade under Ripley to follow him, and, accompanied by his personal staff, hastened to the field of battle. Meeting on the way the messenger dispatched by General Scott, he ordered him to continue his route to camp and bring up the whole force. General Brown, perceiving that Scott's brigade was much exhausted by severe action, as soon as Ripley's brigade reached the field, interposed a new line between the
247
CAMPAIGN OF 1814.
enemy and Scott's brigade, thereby disengaging the latter and holding it in readiness for a new conflict.
The enemy now falling back took a new position and rested his right flank on a height commanding the whole surface of the con- tiguous plains on which his own and the American forces were moving. Colonel McRee and Major Wood had, by order of General Brown, re- connoitered the enemy's position, and reported to him that this height must be carried or the engagement could not be prosecuted with any probability of success. McRee was ordered to detach Col. James Miller with the 21st Regiment for the duty, and to advance the re- mainder of the Second Brigade on the Queenston road to divert the enemy's attention from his right, on which the attack was to be made. General Brown rode in person to Colonel Miller, and ordered him to assail the heights and capture the artillery.1 It was instantly and gal- lantly done. The enemy retired from the line of the bayonets, leav- ing his cannon and several prisoners in possession of the assailants. General Ripley's brigade had advanced and encountered the enemy on the right of Colonel Miller's operations, and a part of it under his own command was broken by the enemy's fire, but it was soon reformed and brought into action. It was at this moment that Major Jesup, who had been detached from Scott's brigade to act independently on the right of the American army, after capturing and sending to camp General Riall and several other British officers, made his way toward the height as far as Queenston road. Here he encountered a body of the enemy, which fled after receiving a single discharge. General Brown, who had removed to this part of the field, joined Major Jesup, and ordered him to advance up Lundy's Lane, and form on the right of Ripley's brigade, the left of which was resting upon the height de- fended by the captured cannon. General Porter had arrived with his command, and was formed on the left of Ripley. The enemy had now been reinforced by fresh troops from Fort George and Queenston, and advanced in strong force on the new line formed upon the ground
1 Perceiving the key of the British position to be the battery upon the hill, he turned to Col. James Miller, of the 27th Regulars, and asked, "Can you storm that work and take it?" "J'11 try," was the prompt reply. With 300 men he moved up the ascent steadily in the darkness, along a fence lined with thick bushes that hid his troops from the view of the gunners and their pro- tectors who lay near by. When within short musket range of the battery, they could see the gunners with their glowing linstocks, ready to act at the word, fire. Selecting good marksmen, Miller directed each to rest his rifle on the fence, select a gunner and fire at a given signal. Very soon every gunner fell, when Miller and his men rushed forward and captured the battery .- Lossing.
248
OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE.
from which he had been driven. He was received with a fierce fire at a distance of about five rods, and fled in the utmost confusion. In twenty minutes he made a second attack, which he contested more obstinately, but was again driven down the height after two or three volleys.
During the second attack, General Brown rode to the left of the American line and ordered Scott to advance with his brigade, and take a position in the rear of the enemy's right flank in order to attack him in reverse. In executing it, Scott, after passing in front of the Ameri- can line, was attacked by a concealed body of the enemy, and his com- mand severed in two parts, one passing to the rear and the other immediately towards the main force of the American army. Both were again in action in a few minutes and participated in the repulse of the third and last desperate assault of the enemy. General Brown, at the moment of the attack on Scott's command, received a severe wound from a musket ball, but still kept his seat on his horse. The enemy had now closed with the main body of the Americans and a desperate conflict ensued. General Brown, in passing up the left of his own line, received a second wound in his side, but continued to direct the move- ments of the battle, though so enfeebled by loss of blood as to require to be occasionally supported on his horse. The hostile lines were sev- eral minutes at the point of the bayonet, struggling for victory, and the losses were heavy. The enemy at length gave way in great dis- order, leaving many prisoners, and reappearing no more.1
During this last attack from the enemy General Scott, animating his command by his own example, received a wound which utterly dis- abled him and was borne from the field. The British thus repulsed, the Americans fell back to Chippewa, with orders from Brown to Rip- ley (on whom the command devolved) to return after a brief rest and occupy the battlefield. He neglected to do so and remained at Chip- pewa. This so irritated General Brown that he sent a courier to Sackett's Harbor with orders for Gen Edmund P. Gaines to come and take the temporary command on the Niagara frontier. Ripley's delay deprived the Americans of the substantial advantages of victory, for
1 Both parties were reinforced during the struggle; the British by Colonel Scott's command, and the Americans by a part of Porter's brigade, which took post on Ripley's left, and participated in the closing events of the battle. The enemy was beaten off by sheer hard blows given by the muscle of indomitable perseverance, but at the expense of precious blood .- Field Book of the War, p. 823.
249
CAMPAIGN OF 1814.
the enemy at once returned, recaptured the field and almost all the cannon.
Thus between 11 and 12 o'clock at night closed a battle memorable for gallant deeds, and decisive in its moral effects. It was fought wholly between sunset and midnight, under a serene summer sky and a placid moon, its later and most sanguinary incidents taking place amid clouds of smoke that were undisturbed by the slightest breeze.
Both armies claimed a victory. The Americans drove the enemy from the field against heavy odds, while the British reoccupied the field and artillery, justifying to some extent the conflicting claims. The losses of the Americans were 171 killed, 571 wounded and 110 missing. The British lost 84 killed, 559 wounded, 193 missing and 42 prisoners.
On the morning of the 26th (the next day after the battle) Generals Brown and Scott, with Major Jesup and other wounded officers were placed in boats for conveyance to Buffalo, leaving Ripley to hold his strong position at Chippewa until he could be reinforced. The wounded officers had scarcely disappeared on their voyage up the river, when Ripley destroyed the military works and stores, demolished the bridge and fled with his army to Black Rock ferry on the Canadian side.1 It was his intention to cross to Buffalo and abandon Canada; but when he sought the wounded General Brown to obtain orders for such a move, he was treated with scorn, and directed to lead his army to a good position just above Fort Erie on the lake shore and strengthen the old fort and construct new defenses in expectation of a siege. It was for- tunate that at this time General Drummond did not know the weakness of the Americans.
On the 29th of July, having been reinforced with 1,100 men, Drum- mond prepared to move up the river. By this time the works at and around the fort had been placed in much better defensive condition, while three armed schooners lay at anchor near by. On the 2d day of August the Americans discovered the approach of the enemy, who drove in the outposts and camped in the woods two miles from the fort.
It had been the custom for the commandant of Fort Erie to send over
1 While the wounded were moving by water to Buffalo, the army abandoned its strong posi- tion behind the Chippewa, and, after destroying a part of its stores, fell back, or, rather, fed to the ferry opposite Black Rock, but a short distance below Fort Erie ; and General Ripley, but for the opposition made by McRee, Wood, Towson, Porter and other officers, would have crossed to the American shore. Had the enemy availed himself of this blunder, not a man of our army could have escaped. .. . . The American general could have maintained his position and have held General Drummond in check during the remainder of the campaign .- Jesup's Manuscript Me- moirs of the Niagara Campaign.
32
250
OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE.
, every evening a detachment of riflemen to guard the bridge across Scaj- aquada Creek, who returned to the fort in the morning. Drummond saw the importance of capturing the batteries at Black Rock and de- stroying the armed schooners before mentioned, before beginning the siege of Fort Erie. Within a few days after he made his camp in the woods, he sent across before dawn a detachment in nine boats to attack the batteries. They landed half a mile below the Scajaquada and were promptly confronted by the riflemen, 240 in number, under Major Lodowick Morgan. Morgan had already seen the advance of the British on the Canadian side, and being an officer of resources, and, believing the capture of Buffalo was the ultimate purpose of the enemy, he hastened to Black Rock, destroyed the bridge over the creek and threw up an intrenchment of logs. A spirited engagement followed in which the Americans lost two privates killed and three officers and five privates wounded. The British were driven back across the river. This is locally known as the " Battle of Conjockety Creek."
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.