User:JEdgarFreeman/Sandbox

1813

During the winter of 1812/13, the United States and Great Britain undertook measures to increase their forces along the American-Canadian border, in order to prepare for the expected 1813 fighting.^[1] The British, though committed in Europe, sent 5 infantry battalions, part of a cavalry regiment, and other reinforcements; in the Canadian colonies, some militiamen were appointed to full-time service, and some special units like the Provincial Dragoons were raised.^[1] The Royal Navy took command of the Provincial Marine, deployed 470 officers and ratings to the freshwater ships, and sent carpenters to develop the Great Lakes squadrons.^[2] In the United States, Congress authorized 20 new infantry regiments, agreed upon an expansion of the navy, and relocated hundreds of sailors from the Atlantic to the Great Lakes, since a British blockade of the eastern seaboard was preventing most of the American saltwater fleet from leaving port.^[3]

Meanwhile, American Secretary of War, John Armstrong, Jr., planned a new strategy for invading Canada.^[3] He believed that Kingston should be attacked first, since the British would be unable to hold Upper Canada if they lost their Lake Ontario warships located there.^[3] On the other hand, Major-General Henry Dearborn and Commodore Isaac Chauncey, the American commanders on the northern front, overestimated the strength of Kingston's fortifications, and did not want to attack it.^[3] Instead, they thought the more weakly defended York should be occupied, arguing that the capture of two British warships stationed at the settlement would swing the balance of power on Lake Ontario to the United States.^[3] After that, they proposed that the Niagara Peninsula be captured, followed by an offense against either Kingston or Montreal later in the year.^[3] Historians Carl Benn and Daniel Marston contend that Armstrong's strategy was better, and the American administration at first accepted it.^[3] However, they later decided to use the alternative scheme for political reasons; the pro-war Governor of New York, Daniel Tompkins, feared he would not be re-elected in April 1813 due to voter disenchantment with the lack of military progress, and hoped a victory in Canada would give him more popular support.^[3] York was a good target because it was vulnerable and, as Upper Canada's capital, presented a good propaganda opportunity if captured.^[4]

After several months of minor fighting between the Americans and Native Americans south and west of Lake Erie, an American army was sent to the Detroit region to regain the territory the United States had lost in 1812.^[3] In the first engagement of 1813, its advance guard was defeated on January 22 at the Battle of Frenchtown by British Brigadier-General Henry Proctor.^[3] Further east, in an attempt to diminish the American threat to the Saint Lawrence River, which served as a transit between Upper Canada and the rest of the British Empire, the British captured Ogdensburg on February 22.^[3] Following Dearborn and Chauncey's strategy, an American force which had sailed from Sackets Harbor, at the south-east corner of Lake Ontario, enacted an amphibious assault against York on April 27.^[5] Sheaffe was forced from the town, and the Americans seized a large amount of supplies.^[5] However, one of the two ships they had hoped to capture had left shortly before the battle, and the other was burned by the British before they retreated.^[5] The British also blew up a magazine full of gunpowder, causing 250 American casualties in the resulting explosion, including Brigadier-General Zebulon Pike who was mortally wounded.^[5] As for Tompkins, the battle took place too late to have a legitimate influence on the election, but his supporters circulated proclamations declaring the engagement a victory before it took place, whilst Dearborn stationed his New York troops in the state to allow them to vote, causing Tompkins to be re-elected.^[5] York was occupied by the Americans for a week, followed by a return to Sackett's Harbor.^[5]

Adhering to the second objective of the Dearborn-Chauncey strategy, the capture of the Niagara Peninsula, a bombardment was launched on May 25 from Fort Niagara and the American Lake Ontario squadron against Fort George located at the mouth of the Niagara River.^[5] On May 27, the day the barrage ended, 4500 American soldiers landed near the now-destroyed fort.^[6] Met by about 1000 British soldiers, militiamen, and Indians, the Americans won the ensuing Battle of Fort George.^[7] The British consequently abandoned Fort George, Fort Erie, and their other posts along the Niagara River, and retreated to Burlington Heights.^[7] Occupying the posts, and rebuilding Fort George to try and secure their presence in Upper Canada, the Americans now could possibly cut the already poor British supply lines to Procter's and Tecumseh's forces to the west.^[7] The British withdrawal also allowed American naval vessels previously trapped on the Niagara River by British artillery to sail to Lake Erie to join a squadron that was being built there.^[7] On May 29, the British attacked Sackett's Harbor in an attempt to destroy it whilst the USN squadron was at the western end of Lake Ontario.^[7] The effort failed, further demoralizing British forces in Upper Canada.^[7]

Footnotes

Sources

Benn, Carl (2006). Liberty or Death: Wars that Forged a Nation. Oxford: Osprey Publishing. ISBN 1-86403-022-6. {{cite book}}: Check |isbn= value: checksum (help); Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)