Battle of Frenchman's Creek
Encyclopedia
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 operation was conceived as a raid to prepare the ground for a larger American invasion. The Americans succeeded in crossing the Niagara and landing at both of their points of attack. They achieved one of their two objectives before withdrawing but the invasion was subsequently called off, rendering useless what had been accomplished. The engagement
was named, “the Battle of Frenchman’s Creek” by the Canadians, after the location of some of the severest fighting. To contemporary Americans, it was known as, “the Affair opposite Black Rock”.
The battle site was designated a National Historic Site of Canada in 1921.
, command of the U.S. Army of the Centre 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 deeply resented being subordinated to a militia officer and this was the opportunity for which he had been waiting. He immediately planned to invade Canada with 3,000 troops. Assembling his forces at Buffalo
, he directed a two-pronged attack in advance of his main invasion. Captain William King, with 220 men, was to cross the Niagara and spike
the batteries
at the Red House, beside Fort Erie
, in order to enable Smyth’s main invasion force to land without facing artillery fire. At the same time, Lieutenant Colonel
Charles Boerstler, with 200 men, was to land in Canada between Fort Erie and Chippawa
and destroy the bridge over Frenchman’s Creek in order to hinder the bringing-up of British reinforcements to oppose Smyth's landing.
The British commander-in-chief in North America, Lieutenant General
Sir George Prevost
, had forbidden any offensive action on the Niagara Frontier. This left the local British forces with no alternative but to wait for the Americans to make the first move and try to counter any attempt at invasion. The regular troops were distributed among the defensive outposts and supplemented with militia and Native American
forces.
In a floridly worded 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 he urged New Yorkers not to “stand with your arms folded and look on in this interesting struggle” but to “advance…to our aid. I will wait for you a few days.” Smyth’s statement of intent appears to have attracted no attention from his opponents across the border.
’s companies of the 13th Regiment.
Lieutenant Colonel Charles Boerstler was directed against Frenchman’s Creek with 200 men of his own 14th U.S. Regiment of Infantry. Colonel
William H. Winder
, commander of the 14th Regiment, was in reserve, with 350 of his own regiment.
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 that would face attack on December 26, Bisshopp had several different detachments under his overall command. At Fort Erie were 80 of the 49th Regiment of Foot
under Major Ormsby and 50 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-half miles from Fort Erie on the Chippawa Road, were 38 of the 49th Regiment under Lieutenant Thomas Lamont, some men of the Royal Regiment of Artillery under Lieutenant King, and some militia artillerymen. Lamont's battery mounted two guns: 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, lay the post at Frenchman’s Creek, garrisoned by 38 more men of the 49th Regiment under Lieutenant J. Bartley. Not far away were 70 of the light infantry company of the 41st Regiment under Lieutenant Angus McIntyre.
When the news arrived in Buffalo that King had spiked the Red House batteries, General Smyth was overjoyed. "Huzza!" he exclaimed, "Canada is ours! Canada is ours! Canada is ours! This will be a glorious day for the United States!" and he dispatched Colonel Winder with his 350 men across the river to evacuate King and the rest of his force. Winder collected Lieutenant Waring and his party and then landed. However, he had only disembarked part of his force when Bisshopp's 300 men appeared. Winder ordered his men back to their boats and cast off for Buffalo but his command came under a severe fire as they rowed away, costing him 28 casualties.
In spiking the guns at the Red House battery, the Americans had accomplished the more important of their two objectives: an invading force could now land between Chippawa and Fort Erie without facing artillery fire. However, subsequent events would render their service useless.
According to U.S. Army records, Captain King’s troops had 15 killed and wounded (the return gives no breakdown); Lieutenant Colonel Boerstler’s command had 8 killed and 9 wounded; while Colonel Winder had 6 killed and 22 wounded. The losses of the U.S. Navy contingent do not appear on the Army casualty statement but 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. Captain King (who was slightly wounded in the foot) and 38 other prisoners were taken by the British, 30 of whom had surrendered along with King. Since Winder’s men did not come under fire until they had re-embarked and cast off for Buffalo, the remaining 8 prisoners presumably came from Boerstler’s detachment. This gives a total of 60 killed and wounded and 37 captured for the U.S. Army and 28 killed or wounded and 2 captured for the U.S. Navy: a combined total of 88 killed or wounded and 39 captured.
headed by Smyth decided to postpone the invasion pending more thorough preparations that would enable the embarkation of whole force.
On November 31, Smyth tried again, ordering his men to embark two hours before dawn in order to avoid enemy fire. This time, the embarkation was so slow that, two hours after daylight, only 1,500 men were on board. Rather than attempt an amphibious
landing in broad daylight, Smyth once again postponed the invasion. By this time, morale in Smyth’s command had plummeted: “all discipline had dissolved; the camp was a bedlam
”. This, and widespread illness among the troops, persuaded a second council of war called by Smyth to suspend all offensive operations until the army was reinforced.
The Army of the Centre went into winter quarters without attempting any further offensive operations and General 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
.
Unaware of the American intentions, the British and Canadians thought that King, Boerstler and Winder had been intended as the first wave of Smyth’s invasion rather than as a preparatory raid. The Canadian press praised the “gallant achievement” of the defenders in apparently repulsing the Americans and singled out Bisshopp for particular congratulation. In his dispatch to Prevost, Major General Sir Roger Hale Sheaffe
, the British commander in Upper Canada, wrote that “Lieut.-Colonel Bisshopp deserves high commendation for the spirit and activity he displayed, and great credit is due the officers and men who acted under his orders.” Bisshopp was killed the following summer while leading the Raid on Black Rock
.
War of 1812
The War of 1812 was a military conflict fought between the forces of the United States of America and those of the British Empire. The Americans declared war in 1812 for several reasons, including trade restrictions because of Britain's ongoing war with France, impressment of American merchant...
between Great Britain
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland was the formal name of the United Kingdom during the period when what is now the Republic of Ireland formed a part of it....
and the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
in the early hours of November 28, 1812, in the Crown Colony
Crown colony
A Crown colony, also known in the 17th century as royal colony, was a type of colonial administration of the English and later British Empire....
of Upper Canada
Upper Canada
The Province of Upper Canada was a political division in British Canada established in 1791 by the British Empire to govern the central third of the lands in British North America and to accommodate Loyalist refugees from the United States of America after the American Revolution...
, near the Niagara River
Niagara River
The Niagara River flows north from Lake Erie to Lake Ontario. It forms part of the border between the Province of Ontario in Canada and New York State in the United States. There are differing theories as to the origin of the name of the river...
. The operation was conceived as a raid to prepare the ground for a larger American invasion. The Americans succeeded in crossing the Niagara and landing at both of their points of attack. They achieved one of their two objectives before withdrawing but the invasion was subsequently called off, rendering useless what had been accomplished. The engagement
Engagement (military)
A military engagement is a combat between two forces, neither larger than a division and not smaller than a company, in which each has an assigned or perceived mission...
was named, “the Battle of Frenchman’s Creek” by the Canadians, after the location of some of the severest fighting. To contemporary Americans, it was known as, “the Affair opposite Black Rock”.
The battle site was designated a National Historic Site of Canada in 1921.
Background
After the American defeat at the Battle of Queenston HeightsBattle of Queenston Heights
The Battle of Queenston Heights was the first major battle in the War of 1812 and resulted in a British victory. It took place on 13 October 1812, near Queenston, in the present-day province of Ontario...
, command of the U.S. Army of the Centre on the Niagara Frontier
Niagara Frontier
The Niagara Frontier refers to the stretch of land south of Lake Ontario and Lake Erie and extending westward to Cleveland, Ohio. The term dates to the War of 1812. This only includes the land east of the Niagara River and south of Lake Erie within the United States...
passed from Major General
Major general (United States)
In the United States Army, United States Marine Corps, and United States Air Force, major general is a two-star general-officer rank, with the pay grade of O-8. Major general ranks above brigadier general and below lieutenant general...
Stephen Van Rensselaer of the New York Militia to his second-in-command, Brigadier General
Brigadier general (United States)
A brigadier general in the United States Army, Air Force, and Marine Corps, is a one-star general officer, with the pay grade of O-7. Brigadier general ranks above a colonel and below major general. Brigadier general is equivalent to the rank of rear admiral in the other uniformed...
Alexander Smyth
Alexander Smyth
Alexander Smyth was an American lawyer, soldier, and politician from Virginia, who served in the United States House of Representatives and as a general during the War of 1812.-Biography:...
of the Regular U.S. Army. Smyth had deeply resented being subordinated to a militia officer and this was the opportunity for which he had been waiting. He immediately planned to invade Canada with 3,000 troops. Assembling his forces at Buffalo
Buffalo, New York
Buffalo is the second most populous city in the state of New York, after New York City. Located in Western New York on the eastern shores of Lake Erie and at the head of the Niagara River across from Fort Erie, Ontario, Buffalo is the seat of Erie County and the principal city of the...
, he directed a two-pronged attack in advance of his main invasion. Captain William King, with 220 men, was to cross the Niagara and spike
Touch hole
A touch hole is a small hole, through which the propellant charge of a cannon or muzzleloading gun is ignited. In small arms, the flash from a charge of priming held in the flash pan is enough to ignite the charge within...
the batteries
Artillery battery
In military organizations, an artillery battery is a unit of guns, mortars, rockets or missiles so grouped in order to facilitate better battlefield communication and command and control, as well as to provide dispersion for its constituent gunnery crews and their systems...
at the Red House, beside Fort Erie
Fort Erie
Fort Erie was the first British fort to be constructed as part of a network developed after the Seven Years' War was concluded by the Treaty of Paris at which time all of New France had been ceded to Great Britain...
, in order to enable Smyth’s main invasion force to land without facing artillery fire. At the same time, Lieutenant Colonel
Lieutenant colonel
Lieutenant colonel is a rank of commissioned officer in the armies and most marine forces and some air forces of the world, typically ranking above a major and below a colonel. The rank of lieutenant colonel is often shortened to simply "colonel" in conversation and in unofficial correspondence...
Charles Boerstler, with 200 men, was to land in Canada between Fort Erie and Chippawa
Chippawa, Ontario
Chippawa is a community located within the city of Niagara Falls, Ontario.The village was founded in 1850, and became part of the City of Niagara Falls, Ontario by amalgamation in 1970. It is located on the Canadian shore of the Niagara River about 2 km upstream from Niagara Falls. It is...
and destroy the bridge over Frenchman’s Creek in order to hinder the bringing-up of British reinforcements to oppose Smyth's landing.
The British commander-in-chief in North America, Lieutenant General
Lieutenant General
Lieutenant General is a military rank used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages where the title of Lieutenant General was held by the second in command on the battlefield, who was normally subordinate to a Captain General....
Sir George Prevost
George Prevost
Sir George Prévost, 1st Baronet was a British soldier and colonial administrator. Born in Hackensack, New Jersey, the eldest son of Swiss French Augustine Prévost, he joined the British Army as a youth and became a captain in 1784. Prévost served in the West Indies during the French Revolutionary...
, had forbidden any offensive action on the Niagara Frontier. This left the local British forces with no alternative but to wait for the Americans to make the first move and try to counter any attempt at invasion. The regular troops were distributed among the defensive outposts and supplemented with militia and Native American
Native Americans in the United States
Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...
forces.
In a floridly worded 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 he urged New Yorkers not to “stand with your arms folded and look on in this interesting struggle” but to “advance…to our aid. I will wait for you a few days.” Smyth’s statement of intent appears to have attracted no attention from his opponents across the border.
Opposing forces
Captain William King of the 13th U.S. Regiment of Infantry was detailed to attack the Red House with 150 troops and 70 U.S. Navy sailors under Lieutenant Samuel Angus. King’s soldiers came from Captain Willoughby Morgan’s company of the 12th U.S. Regiment of Infantry and Captains John Sproull and John E. WoolJohn E. Wool
John Ellis Wool was an officer in the United States Army during three consecutive U.S. wars: the War of 1812, the Mexican-American War and the American Civil War. By the time of the Mexican-American War, he was widely considered one of the most capable officers in the army and a superb organizer...
’s companies of the 13th Regiment.
Lieutenant Colonel Charles Boerstler was directed against Frenchman’s Creek with 200 men of his own 14th U.S. Regiment of Infantry. Colonel
Colonel
Colonel , abbreviated Col or COL, is a military rank of a senior commissioned officer. It or a corresponding rank exists in most armies and in many air forces; the naval equivalent rank is generally "Captain". It is also used in some police forces and other paramilitary rank structures...
William H. Winder
William H. Winder
William Henry Winder was an American soldier and a Maryland lawyer. He was a controversial general in the U.S. Army during the War of 1812....
, commander of the 14th Regiment, was in reserve, with 350 of his own regiment.
Lieutenant colonel
Lieutenant colonel is a rank of commissioned officer in the armies and most marine forces and some air forces of the world, typically ranking above a major and below a colonel. The rank of lieutenant colonel is often shortened to simply "colonel" in conversation and in unofficial correspondence...
Cecil Bisshopp, was stationed at Chippawa, with a company of the 1st Battalion, 41st Regiment of Foot
41st (Welsh) Regiment of Foot
The 41st Regiment of Foot was an infantry regiment of the British Army, formed in 1719 and amalgamated into The Welch Regiment in 1881....
, two infantry
Infantry
Infantrymen are soldiers who are specifically trained for the role of fighting on foot to engage the enemy face to face and have historically borne the brunt of the casualties of combat in wars. As the oldest branch of combat arms, they are the backbone of armies...
companies of the 5th Lincoln Militia and a small detachment of Lincoln Militia Artillery
Artillery
Originally applied to any group of infantry primarily armed with projectile weapons, artillery has over time become limited in meaning to refer only to those engines of war that operate by projection of munitions far beyond the range of effect of personal weapons...
. More of the 5th Lincoln Militia under Major
Major
Major is a rank of commissioned officer, with corresponding ranks existing in almost every military in the world.When used unhyphenated, in conjunction with no other indicator of rank, the term refers to the rank just senior to that of an Army captain and just below the rank of lieutenant colonel. ...
Richard Hatt were posted nearby. In the area that would face attack on December 26, Bisshopp had several different detachments under his overall command. At Fort Erie were 80 of the 49th Regiment of Foot
49th (Princess Charlotte of Wales's) (Hertfordshire) Regiment of Foot
The 49th Regiment of Foot was a British Army line infantry regiment. During the Childers Reforms it was united with the 66th Regiment of Foot to form Princess Charlotte of Wales's Berkshire Regiment.-Service history:The 49th Regiment was formed in 1744, during the War of the Austrian Succession...
under Major Ormsby and 50 of the Royal Newfoundland Regiment under Captain Whelan. At Black Rock Ferry were two companies of Norfolk
Norfolk County, Ontario
Norfolk County is a rural city-status single-tier municipality on the north shore of Lake Erie in Southwestern Ontario, Canada. Bloomsburg is a small town located in Norfolk County and is the hometown of David Slater. The county seat and largest community is Simcoe...
Militia under Captain John Bostwick. At the Red House, two-and-half miles from Fort Erie on the Chippawa Road, were 38 of the 49th Regiment under Lieutenant Thomas Lamont, some men of the Royal Regiment of Artillery under Lieutenant King, and some militia artillerymen. Lamont's battery mounted two guns: 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, lay the post at Frenchman’s Creek, garrisoned by 38 more men of the 49th Regiment under Lieutenant J. Bartley. Not far away were 70 of the light infantry company of the 41st Regiment under Lieutenant Angus McIntyre.
King’s Attack
Captain King’s force landed at the Red House under fire from the defenders and charged Lieutenant Lamont’s detachment of the 49th Regiment. Angus's sailors, armed with pikes and swords, closed in for hand-to-hand fighting. Lamont's troops drove back the attackers three times but King made a fourth assault which hit the British left flank and overwhelmed them; capturing Lamont and killing, taking or dispersing all of his men. The victorious Americans set fire to the post, spiked the guns and set off back to the landing-point, where they expected their boats to have re-landed in order to evacuate them. However, in the moonless 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 there. Unaware that the six missing boats had not in fact landed, Angus assumed that King had already departed, and he re-crossed the river in the remaining boats. When King’s party reached the landing-point, they found themselves stranded. A search downriver found two unattended British boats, in which King sent half of his men, and the prisoners that he had captured, over the Niagara while he waited with his 30 remaining men for more boats to come from Buffalo and pick him up.Boerstler’s Attack
Lieutenant Colonel Boerstler made for Frenchman’s Creek but four of his eleven boats, “misled by the darkness of the night or the inexperienced rowers being unable to force them across the current, fell below, near the bridge and were forced to return”. Nevertheless, Boerstler’s seven remaining boats forced a landing, opposed by Lieutenant Bartley and his 37 men of the 49th Regiment. Boerstler led the attack, shooting with his pistol a British soldier who was about to bayonet him. Bartley's outnumbered force retired, pursued to the Frenchman's Creek Bridge by the Americans, who took two prisoners. Boerstler's men were then attacked by Captain Bostwick’s two companies of Norfolk Militia, who had advanced from Black Rock Ferry. After an exchange of fire in which Bostwick’s force lost 3 killed, 15 wounded and 6 captured, the Canadians retreated. Boerstler now encountered another problem: many of the axes provided for the destruction of the Frenchman’s Creek bridge were in the four boats that had turned back and those that were in the seven remaining boats had been left behind when the Americans fought their way ashore. Boerstler dispatched eight men under Lieutenant John Waring to “break up the bridge by any means which they could find”. Waring had torn up about a third of the planking on the bridge when it was learned from a prisoner that “the whole force from Fort Erie was coming down upon them”. Boerstler quickly re-embarked his command and rowed back to Buffalo, leaving behind Waring and his party at the bridge.British response
In response to the attack, Major Ormsby advanced from Fort Erie to Frenchman’s Creek with his 80 men of the 49th Regiment, where he was joined by Lieutenant McIntyre’s 70 light infantrymen, Major Hatt’s Lincoln Militia and some British-allied Native Americans under Major Givins. Finding that Boerstler’s invaders had already gone, and being unable to determine any other enemy presence in the pitch dark, Ormsby’s 300 men remained in position until daybreak, when Lieutenant Colonel Bisshopp arrived from Fort Erie. Bisshopp led the force to the Red House, where they found Captain King and his men still waiting to be evacuated. Outnumbered by ten-to-one, King surrendered.Winder’s reinforcement
In spiking the guns at the Red House battery, the Americans had accomplished the more important of their two objectives: an invading force could now land between Chippawa and Fort Erie without facing artillery fire. However, subsequent events would render their service useless.
Casualties
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 Royal Artillery and Lieutenant Lamont of the 49th were included in the “wounded” category, although they were also taken prisoner. The Americans took 34 prisoners, including Lamont and King, which would indicate that two of the enlisted men who were thought to have been killed were in fact captured. This gives a revised British loss (with Lamont and King counted among the prisoners rather than the wounded) of 13 killed, 44 wounded and 34 captured.According to U.S. Army records, Captain King’s troops had 15 killed and wounded (the return gives no breakdown); Lieutenant Colonel Boerstler’s command had 8 killed and 9 wounded; while Colonel Winder had 6 killed and 22 wounded. The losses of the U.S. Navy contingent do not appear on the Army casualty statement but 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. Captain King (who was slightly wounded in the foot) and 38 other prisoners were taken by the British, 30 of whom had surrendered along with King. Since Winder’s men did not come under fire until they had re-embarked and cast off for Buffalo, the remaining 8 prisoners presumably came from Boerstler’s detachment. This gives a total of 60 killed and wounded and 37 captured for the U.S. Army and 28 killed or wounded and 2 captured for the U.S. Navy: a combined total of 88 killed or wounded and 39 captured.
Aftermath
With the Red House batteries out of action, Smyth immediately pressed on with his invasion plans. However, attempts to embark his 3,000 men ended in chaos; with only 1,200 men managing to board because of a shortage of boats and the artillery taking up an unexpected amount of space on board. Amid torrential rain and freezing cold, a council of warCouncil of war
A council of war is a term in military science that describes a meeting held to decide on a course of action, usually in the midst of a battle. Under normal circumstances, decisions are made by a commanding officer, optionally communicated and coordinated by staff officers, and then implemented by...
headed by Smyth decided to postpone the invasion pending more thorough preparations that would enable the embarkation of whole force.
On November 31, Smyth tried again, ordering his men to embark two hours before dawn in order to avoid enemy fire. This time, the embarkation was so slow that, two hours after daylight, only 1,500 men were on board. Rather than attempt an amphibious
Amphibious warfare
Amphibious warfare is the use of naval firepower, logistics and strategy to project military power ashore. In previous eras it stood as the primary method of delivering troops to non-contiguous enemy-held terrain...
landing in broad daylight, Smyth once again postponed the invasion. By this time, morale in Smyth’s command had plummeted: “all discipline had dissolved; the camp was a bedlam
Bethlem Royal Hospital
The Bethlem Royal Hospital is a psychiatric hospital located in London, United Kingdom and part of the South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust. Although no longer based at its original location, it is recognised as the world's first and oldest institution to specialise in mental illnesses....
”. This, and widespread illness among the troops, persuaded a second council of war called by Smyth to suspend all offensive operations until the army was reinforced.
The Army of the Centre went into winter quarters without attempting any further offensive operations and General Smyth requested leave to visit his family in Virginia
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
. Three months later, without Smyth resigning his commission or facing a court-martial
Court-martial
A court-martial is a military court. A court-martial is empowered to determine the guilt of members of the armed forces subject to military law, and, if the defendant is found guilty, to decide upon punishment.Most militaries maintain a court-martial system to try cases in which a breach of...
, his name was dropped from the U.S. Army rolls by President James Madison
James Madison
James Madison, Jr. was an American statesman and political theorist. He was the fourth President of the United States and is hailed as the “Father of the Constitution” for being the primary author of the United States Constitution and at first an opponent of, and then a key author of the United...
.
Unaware of the American intentions, the British and Canadians thought that King, Boerstler and Winder had been intended as the first wave of Smyth’s invasion rather than as a preparatory raid. The Canadian press praised the “gallant achievement” of the defenders in apparently repulsing the Americans and singled out Bisshopp for particular congratulation. In his dispatch to Prevost, Major General Sir Roger Hale Sheaffe
Roger Hale Sheaffe
General Sir Roger Hale Sheaffe, 1st Baronet was an American-born General in the British Army in the first part of the 19th century.-Early career:...
, the British commander in Upper Canada, wrote that “Lieut.-Colonel Bisshopp deserves high commendation for the spirit and activity he displayed, and great credit is due the officers and men who acted under his orders.” Bisshopp was killed the following summer while leading the Raid on Black Rock
Raid on Black Rock
The Raid on Black Rock took place during the War of 1812 between Great Britain and the United States on 11 July 1813, near the Niagara River in northern New York State, U.S.A.. The British objective was to capture supplies and equipment from the U.S. military store depot at Black Rock, New York...
.