HISTORY

December 31, 1813
The Burning of Buffalo

Fighting along the Niagara frontier was, in the words of one British officer, "uncomfortably like a civil war." Poorly trained officers and troops, frustrated by the stalemate and the constant threat of danger, made poor decisions, resulting in operations that had no strategic (or even tactical) value. NY Militia General George McClure made just such an ill-conceived move when burned the town of Newark (now Niagara-on-the-Lake) before abandoning Ft. George.

McClure felt himself trapped by the movement of increasingly larger formations of British troops in the area. US forces had been withdrawing from the area all during the fall and McClure assumed that reinforcements would not be forthcoming. Although he had John Armstrong's permission to burn the town, it was only to be done with warning and only in the event of British troops using the town as cover to attack Ft. George. These conditions were not met and the town was burned without warning,

McClure's move on 9 October 1813 had no real value and invited British retaliation . . . a practice that would continue through to the nation's capital the next year.

The American withdrawal from Ft. George emboldened the English and on the 19 of December a strong force crossed the Niagara river and surprised the garrison of Ft. Niagara, bayoneting 65 of the defenders, and then proceeded to the destroy a portion of the town of Lewiston. On the 21, they marched on and destroyed the villages of Manchester (Niagara Falls) and nearby Ft. Schlosser. They stopped only at Tonawanda Creek, where the bridges were destroyed by retreating American troops.

Defense of Black Rock

Militia forces from Genesee and Chautauqua counties were assigned to Maj. Gen. Amos Hall and were normally stationed at Black Rock. At the time the Village of Black Rock was considered a strategic site . . . as it was used to build ships for Lake Erie command. Hall had some 2,000 men under his command, including 129 cavalry and 136 men of the Buffalo militia under Lt. Col. Cyrenius Chapin, an aggressive and violent officer already intensely disliked by the Canadians.

Defeat at Black Rock

The British attack came in the very early hours of 30 December. Over 1,000 men, companies of the Royal Scots and the 41st Regiment of Foot under Maj. Gen. Phineas Riall, crossed the Niagara River. Since it was the obvious target, Gen. Hall quickly moved his command to Black Rock. His force, poorly trained militia, became very fearful of the prospect of a night engagement against British regulars and now rampaging Native Americans and slipped off into the darkness. Upon reaching Black Rock, Hall had only 600 effectives.

The light infantry company of the 89th Regiment drove off the American Cavalry screen at Scajaquada Creek and captured the bridge and the battery there. Hall sent the militia in piecemeal and that resulted in the units routing at the first enemy fire. Hall now took personal command of the remainder of his force. He ordered a detachment under Lt. Col. Blakeslee to attack the British left and advanced toward Black Rock with the rest of his men.

Hall remaining force, now reduced to less than 400, tried to hold off Gordon's Royal Scots as they landed close to the bottom of Amherst Street. Gordon's regiment took substantial casualties before they could force their way ashore. The British now advanced against Hall's center, sending a detachment to hit the American flank. Although the Americans fought with considerable obstinacy, according to Riall, after half an hour of fighting the remaining American militia broke into a rout. Hall ordered a general retreat.

The Attack on Buffalo

So far, with the notable exception of Lewisville, British targets were at least tactical. Then they moved on to Buffalo. Dr. Cyrenius Chapin 136-man militia company set up an old 12-pounder cannon at the corner of Main and Niagara. They managed no more than a few shots at the British soldiers emerging from the Black Rock Road before their cannon gave way to its age and collapsed . . . or so the story goes. It is also possible that the militia abandoned the position (as they had at Scajaquada Creek) and the British destroyed the old cannon rather than carrying it off.

Chapin tried to arrange the town's surrender, but the British, very unhappy with Chapin, were not interested. He was taken prisoner and eventually ended up in Montreal.

Burning of Buffalo and Black Rock

British soldiers proceeded up and down the streets setting fire to the buildings. By 3 o'clock in the afternoon the entire town, with the exception of four buildings, was aflame. At Black Rock British troops also destroyed the village, with the exception of one building, the navy yard and three armed schooners Chippewa, Ariel, and Little Belt and the commercial sloop Trippe.

The British withdrew on 1 January, taking with them 56 prisoners and having behind 50 American dead and 52 wounded. British casualties were 31 dead and 72 wounded.