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Battle of Frenchman's Creek

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Battle of Frenchman's Creek
Part of the War of 1812
Image
Memorial to the battle
DateNovember 28, 1812
Location
Frenchman's Creek, in present-day Fort Erie, Ontario, Canada
Result British victory[1]
Belligerents
 Image United States
Commanders and leaders
Cecil Bisshopp Alexander Smyth
Strength
c. 650[2] 770[3][4]
Casualties and losses
13 killed;
44 wounded;
34 captured[5][6]		 24 killed;
55 (known) wounded;
39 captured[7][8][9]

42°56′32″N 78°55′35″W / 42.94227°N 78.92645°W / 42.94227; -78.92645

The Battle of Frenchman's Creek took place during the War of 1812 between Great Britain and the United States in the early hours of November 28, 1812, in the Crown Colony of Upper Canada, near the Niagara River. The action was part of Brigadier General Alexander Smyth's attempt to renew the American offensive on the Niagara Frontier after the defeat at the Battle of Queenston Heights.

The American operation was intended to prepare the ground for a larger invasion across the Niagara River. Two detachments crossed from the American side before dawn. One attacked the British batteries at the Red House near Fort Erie, while the other moved against the bridge over Frenchman's Creek in order to delay British reinforcements from Chippawa. The Americans temporarily overran the Red House batteries and spiked several guns, but failed to destroy the bridge, failed to hold the batteries, and withdrew or were forced back across the river. Captain William King and a number of his men were captured by British and Canadian forces.

The raid ended as a British-Canadian defensive victory. Parks Canada states that the British action at Frenchman's Creek forced the American advance parties back across the Niagara River and ended American hopes for victory on the Niagara frontier in 1812.[1] The planned main American invasion failed to materialize, and Smyth's army soon went into winter quarters.

The engagement was named "the Battle of Frenchman's Creek"[10] by the Canadians, after the location of some of the severest fighting. To contemporary Americans, it was known as "the Affair opposite Black Rock".[7] The battle site was designated a National Historic Site of Canada in 1921.[1]

Background

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After the American defeat at the Battle of Queenston Heights, command of the U.S. Army of the Centre[11] on the Niagara Frontier passed from Major General Stephen Van Rensselaer of the New York Militia to his second-in-command, Brigadier General Alexander Smyth of the Regular U.S. Army. Smyth had resented being subordinated to a militia officer,[12] and immediately began planning a new invasion of Upper Canada from Buffalo.

Smyth assembled a force of several thousand men and ordered a two-pronged preliminary attack before the main crossing. Captain William King, with 220 men, was to cross the Niagara and spike the batteries at the Red House, beside Fort Erie, so that Smyth's main force could land without facing artillery fire. At the same time, Lieutenant Colonel Charles Boerstler, with 200 men, was to land between Fort Erie and Chippawa and destroy the bridge over Frenchman's Creek. The destruction of the bridge was intended to hinder the movement of British reinforcements from Chippawa towards Smyth's landing area.[13]

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Lieutenant General George Prevost, the Governor General of the Canadas, forbade offensive action on the Niagara frontier, leaving British forces to respond to American attacks.

The British commander-in-chief in North America, Lieutenant General Sir George Prevost, had forbidden offensive action on the Niagara Frontier. The British and Canadian forces on the frontier therefore remained on the defensive, distributed among local posts and supported by militia and Indigenous allies.[14]

In a proclamation published on 10 November and addressed "To The Men of New York", Smyth wrote that "in a few days the troops under my command will plant the American standard in Canada" and urged New Yorkers not to "stand with your arms folded and look on in this interesting struggle", but to "advance…to our aid".[15] Smyth's public declaration did not change the defensive posture of the British command across the river.

Opposing forces

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Captain William King of the 13th U.S. Regiment of Infantry[16] was detailed to attack the Red House with 150 soldiers and 70 U.S. Navy sailors under Lieutenant Samuel Angus.[3] King's soldiers came from Captain Willoughby Morgan's company of the 12th U.S. Regiment of Infantry[17] and Captains John Sproull and John E. Wool's companies of the 13th Regiment.[18]

Lieutenant Colonel Charles Boerstler was directed against Frenchman's Creek with 200 men of his own 14th U.S. Regiment of Infantry.[19] Colonel William H. Winder, commander of the 14th Regiment, remained in reserve with 350 men from the same regiment.[20]

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Depiction of a British private and officer of the period.

The British local commander, Lieutenant Colonel Cecil Bisshopp, was stationed at Chippawa with a company of the 1st Battalion, 41st Regiment of Foot, two infantry companies of the 5th Lincoln Militia, and a small detachment of Lincoln Militia Artillery. More of the 5th Lincoln Militia under Major Richard Hatt were posted nearby.

In the area attacked on November 28, Bisshopp had several detachments under his overall command. At Fort Erie were 80 men of the 49th Regiment of Foot under Major Ormsby and 50 men of the Royal Newfoundland Regiment under Captain Whelan. At Black Rock Ferry were two companies of Norfolk Militia under Captain John Bostwick. At the Red House, two-and-a-half miles from Fort Erie on the Chippawa Road, were 38 men of the 49th Regiment under Lieutenant Thomas Lamont, some men of the Royal Regiment of Artillery under Lieutenant King, and militia artillerymen. Lamont's battery mounted an 18-pounder and a 24-pounder, while King's battery mounted a 6-pounder and a 3-pounder. Further along the Chippawa Road, about four-and-a-half miles from Fort Erie, the post at Frenchman's Creek was held by 38 more men of the 49th Regiment under Lieutenant J. Bartley. Nearby were 70 men of the light infantry company of the 41st Regiment under Lieutenant Angus McIntyre.[2]

Battle

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King's attack

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Only part of Captain King's force, including 35 of Lieutenant Angus's 70 sailors, succeeded in landing at the Red House.[8] Under fire from the defenders, the Americans charged Lieutenant Lamont's detachment of the 49th Regiment. The sailors, armed with pikes and swords, closed for hand-to-hand fighting.[21] Lamont's troops drove back the attackers three times, but King made a fourth assault against the British left flank and overwhelmed the detachment, capturing Lamont and killing, capturing, or dispersing the men under his command.[22]

The Americans set fire to the post, spiked the guns, and moved back towards the landing point, where they expected their boats to return for the evacuation. In the darkness, King's force became dispersed and split into two parties, one led by King and the other by Lieutenant Angus. Angus returned to the landing point and found only four of the party's ten boats. Believing that King had already left, he crossed back to the American side in the remaining boats. When King reached the landing point, he found himself stranded.[23] After finding two unattended British boats downriver,[24] King sent half of his men and his prisoners across the Niagara, then remained with about 30 men to await boats from Buffalo.[25]

Boerstler's attack

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Lieutenant Colonel Boerstler crossed towards Frenchman's Creek, but four of his eleven boats failed to reach the intended landing place and returned to the American side. The seven remaining boats forced a landing against Lieutenant Bartley and his 37 men of the 49th Regiment. Bartley's outnumbered force retired towards the Frenchman's Creek bridge, and the Americans took two prisoners.[26]

Boerstler's men were then attacked by Captain Bostwick's two companies of Norfolk Militia, which had advanced from Black Rock Ferry. After an exchange of fire, Bostwick's force withdrew, having lost 3 killed, 15 wounded, and 6 captured.[27] Boerstler, however, had not brought enough axes ashore to destroy the bridge. Many of the axes had been left in the boats that had failed to land, and others were abandoned during the fight ashore. Lieutenant John Waring[28] and eight men tore up part of the bridge planking, but the bridge remained standing. After learning that troops from Fort Erie were approaching, Boerstler re-embarked and returned to Buffalo, leaving Waring and his party behind.[29]

The failure to destroy the bridge prevented Boerstler from accomplishing the main purpose of his detachment. The bridge was to be cut in order to stop British reinforcements at Chippawa from reaching the area selected for Smyth's landing. Parks Canada states that Boerstler was repulsed by Bisshopp's forces and was unsuccessful in his attempt to destroy the bridge.[1]

British response

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In response to the attack, Major Ormsby advanced from Fort Erie to Frenchman's Creek with 80 men of the 49th Regiment. He was joined by Lieutenant McIntyre's 70 light infantrymen, Major Hatt's Lincoln Militia, and British-allied Indigenous warriors under Major Givins. Finding that Boerstler's detachment had already withdrawn, and unable to determine the enemy's position in the darkness, Ormsby's force remained in position until daybreak.

Lieutenant Colonel Bisshopp arrived from Fort Erie and led the combined force to the Red House, where Captain King and the men remaining with him were still waiting to be evacuated. Outnumbered, King surrendered.[30] The Dictionary of Canadian Biography states that Bisshopp moved "with great celerity" to repulse a large American force at Frenchman Creek.[31]

Winder's reinforcement

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Colonel William H. Winder was dispatched from Buffalo after news reached Smyth that King had spiked the Red House batteries.

When news reached Buffalo that King had spiked the Red House batteries, General Smyth believed the preliminary operation had succeeded. He dispatched Colonel Winder with 350 men to evacuate King and the remaining American forces.[32] Winder collected Lieutenant Waring and his party[33] and landed on the Canadian shore. Before he could fully disembark his command, Bisshopp's force appeared. Winder ordered his men back into their boats and withdrew to Buffalo under heavy fire, suffering 28 casualties.[4]

The American detachments had temporarily disabled the Red House batteries, but the advantage could not be used. Boerstler had not destroyed the bridge at Frenchman's Creek, King had been captured, and Winder's reinforcement had been driven back. The batteries overrun by the Americans were soon retaken by British reinforcements.[1]

Casualties

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The British official casualty return gave 15 killed, 46 wounded, and 30 missing. As was often done in casualty returns with officers, but not with enlisted men, Lieutenant King of the Royal Artillery and Lieutenant Lamont of the 49th Regiment were included in the "wounded" category although they were also taken prisoner.[5] The Americans took 34 prisoners, including Lamont and King, which indicates that two of the enlisted men originally believed to have been killed were captured.[6] The revised British loss, with Lamont and King counted among the prisoners rather than the wounded, was therefore 13 killed, 44 wounded, and 34 captured.

Eaton's Compilation states that Captain King's command had 8 killed and 9 wounded, and that Colonel Winder's detachment had 6 killed and 22 wounded, but that the losses of Lieutenant Colonel Boerstler's detachment were unknown.[7] The New York Gazette of December 15, 1812, reported that, of Lieutenant Angus's 35 sailors who assaulted the Red House, 28 were killed or wounded, 2 were captured, and only 5 escaped unscathed.[8] Captain King, who was slightly wounded in the foot,[34] and 38 other prisoners were taken by the British.[9] The British reported that King and Angus's detachment left 12 killed at the Red House[35] and that 18 American dead were recovered altogether.[9]

Since only 30 prisoners had surrendered with King[34] and Winder's detachment did not come under fire until it had re-embarked and cast off for Buffalo, 6 of the dead left on the battlefield and 8 of the prisoners appear to have belonged to Boerstler's command. The known American casualties, excluding the unknown number of wounded in Boerstler's detachment, were 24 killed, 55 wounded, and 39 captured.

Aftermath

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Image
Following the failed raid, Brigadier General Alexander Smyth continued preparations for an invasion of Upper Canada, but the operation collapsed because of poor logistics, weather, and declining morale.

Smyth pressed ahead with the planned invasion after the raid, but the failure at Frenchman's Creek left the operation disorganised. Attempts to embark his force of about 3,000 men ended in confusion. Only about 1,200 men managed to board, partly because of a shortage of boats and the unexpected amount of space taken by artillery. Amid torrential rain and freezing cold, a council of war headed by Smyth postponed the invasion until better preparations could be made.[36]

On November 30, Smyth tried again, ordering his men to embark before dawn. The embarkation was slow, and two hours after daylight only about 1,500 men were on board. Rather than attempt an amphibious landing in daylight, Smyth again postponed the operation. By then, discipline and morale in the American camp had collapsed. Widespread illness among the troops and the disorder in the camp persuaded a second council of war to suspend offensive operations until the army was reinforced.[36]

The Army of the Centre went into winter quarters without attempting another invasion. Smyth requested leave to visit his family in Virginia. Three months later, without Smyth resigning his commission or facing a court-martial, his name was dropped from the U.S. Army rolls by President James Madison.[11]

A United States Army Center of Military History account places Frenchman's Creek within the collapse of Smyth's Niagara offensive. It states that Smyth landed several detachments on November 28 to prepare the main landing, but then vacillated with the main force and ordered the army back into camp. After another cancellation on November 30, Smyth left the encampment, and by December 1812 U.S. Army operations along the Niagara frontier had ceased.[37]

Outcome

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The action ended the American attempt to create a foothold for Smyth's invasion. The Americans achieved a temporary success at the Red House batteries, but the British and Canadian response prevented the raid from serving its intended purpose. The bridge over Frenchman's Creek was not destroyed, the batteries were retaken, and the American advance parties withdrew or were forced back across the Niagara.[1]

Parks Canada records the heritage value of the site on the basis that the British action at Frenchman's Creek forced the American advance parties back across the Niagara River and ended American hopes for victory on the Niagara frontier in 1812.[1] It also states that the failure at Frenchman's Creek contributed to the cancellation of the larger American invasion planned for the end of 1812.[1]

Canada's History describes the battle as the second American attempt to invade Canada across the Niagara River after Queenston Heights. Its account states that British and militia troops recaptured the guns that the Americans had taken and spiked, and that the Americans were driven back when reinforcements arrived from Chippawa, ending their hopes of creating a bridgehead for a second invasion.[38]

Other historical sources describe the action in similar terms. The Dictionary of Canadian Biography states that Bisshopp moved "with great celerity" to repulse a large American force at Frenchman Creek.[31] Material from the Bisshopp papers, described by the West Sussex Record Office's Transatlantic Ties project, notes that although the American mission to sabotage the cannons was achieved, the British ultimately succeeded in thwarting the attack.[39] The Oxford Encyclopaedia of Canadian History states that the American troops landed near Frenchman's Creek, unsuccessfully attempted to destroy the bridge, and were finally forced to retreat to their own side of the river.[40]

British reports at the time treated the action as a successful defence. Major General Sir Roger Hale Sheaffe, the British commander in Upper Canada, reported that the batteries had been taken from the British for a time by superior numbers, but that Major Ormsby and Lieutenant Colonel Bisshopp joined forces and captured nearly forty Americans, including Captain King.[41] Sheaffe also praised Bisshopp's speed and conduct during the action.[42] Bisshopp's own report stated that British fire drove the enemy back to the American shore with considerable loss, and that he refused Smyth's demand for the surrender of Fort Erie because he considered his force sufficient to repel an attack.[43]

Contemporary Canadian press accounts also described the action as a repulse of the American force and praised the conduct of the defenders.[44] Bisshopp was killed the following summer while leading the Raid on Newport.

Seven active infantry battalions of the Regular Army (1-2 Inf, 2-2 Inf, 1-4 Inf, 2-4 Inf, 3-4 Inf, 1-5 Inf and 2-5 Inf) perpetuate the lineages of several American infantry regiments (the old 13th, 20th and 23rd Infantry Regiments) that were at the Battle of Frenchman's Creek.[citation needed]

References

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  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 "Frenchman's Creek National Historic Site of Canada". Directory of Federal Heritage Designations. Parks Canada. Retrieved 8 May 2026.
  2. 1 2 James, p. 110, for the units, commanders and dispositions. Cruikshank, Index, pp. ii, xi, for first names of Bartley, Bostwick and Lamont. Malcomson, p. 163, for McIntyre's first name and the correct spelling of his surname.
  3. 1 2 Cruikshank, p. 260 for composition of force. Cruikshank, Index, p. i, for Angus's first name.
  4. 1 2 Cruikshank, p. 288.
  5. 1 2 Cruikshank, p. 230.
  6. 1 2 Cruikshank, p. 268.
  7. 1 2 3 Eaton, p. 6.
  8. 1 2 3 Cruikshank, p. 285.
  9. 1 2 3 Cruikshank, p. 280.
  10. ↑ Zaslow, p. 229.
  11. 1 2 Quimby, p. 78.
  12. ↑ Zaslow, p. 26.
  13. ↑ Quimby, p. 76, for Smyth's plan. Quimby wrongly gives Captain King's first name as 'Samson'. King's real first name is in his report to General Smyth, given in Cruikshank, p. 245.
  14. ↑ Malcomson, p. 47.
  15. ↑ Cruikshank, pp. 193–194.
  16. ↑ Cruikshank, p. 291.
  17. ↑ Heitman, Volume 1, p. 726; Heitman, Volume 2, p. 391; Cruikshank, p. 245.
  18. ↑ Heitman, Volume 1, pp. 913 and 1059; Heitman, Volume 2, p. 391; Cruikshank, p. 245.
  19. ↑ Cruikshank, p. 237.
  20. ↑ Cruikshank, p. 288, for Winder's numbers; Cruikshank, p. 259, for his detachment being from his own regiment; Heitman, Volume 1, p. 1049 for his colonelcy of the 14th Regiment.
  21. ↑ Cruikshank, p. 304.
  22. ↑ James, p. 112.
  23. ↑ Cruikshank, pp. 260–261.
  24. ↑ Cruikshank, p. 319.
  25. ↑ Quimby, p. 76.
  26. ↑ Cruikshank, p. 261.
  27. ↑ James, p. 114.
  28. ↑ Heitman, Volume I, p. 1002, for Waring's first name.
  29. ↑ Cruikshank, pp. 261–262.
  30. ↑ Cruikshank, pp. 254–255.
  31. 1 2 Allen, Robert S. "BISSHOPP (Bishop, Bishoppe, Bisshop), CECIL". Dictionary of Canadian Biography. University of Toronto/Université Laval. Retrieved 8 May 2026.
  32. ↑ Cruikshank, p. 312.
  33. ↑ Cruikshank, p. 263.
  34. 1 2 Cruikshank, p. 245.
  35. ↑ James, p. 113.
  36. 1 2 Quimby, p. 77.
  37. ↑ Rauch, Steven J. (2013). The Campaign of 1812 (PDF). The U.S. Army Campaigns of the War of 1812. Washington, D.C.: Center of Military History, United States Army. pp. 48–49. Retrieved 8 May 2026.
  38. ↑ "The Battle of Frenchman's Creek Transcript". Canada's History. Retrieved 8 May 2026.
  39. ↑ "Cecil Bisshopp and the War of 1812". Transatlantic Ties. West Sussex Record Office. Retrieved 8 May 2026.
  40. ↑ Burpee, Lawrence J., ed. (1926). The Oxford Encyclopaedia of Canadian History. London and Toronto: Oxford University Press. p. 248. Retrieved 8 May 2026.
  41. ↑ Cruikshank, pp. 252–253.
  42. ↑ Cruikshank, p. 253.
  43. ↑ Cruikshank, pp. 254–256.
  44. ↑ Cruikshank, pp. 279–280, quoting the Quebec Mercury of 22 December 1812.

Bibliography

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