up a rival command headquarters of his own at Buffalo.
I had intended to have reported myself personally; but the conclusions I have drawn as to the interests of the service have determined me to stop at this place for the present … I am of the opinion that our crossing should be effected between Fort Erie and Chippawa. It has therefore seemed to me proper to encamp the U.S. troops near Buffalo, there to prepare for offensive operations.[4]
— Brigadier General Smyth to Major General Van Renssalaer, Buffalo, September 29, 1812
In the days that followed, Smyth repeatedly ignored Van Rensselaer’s calls for a conference with the other military commanders so as to decide how the campaign would be prosecuted, citing as his justification the superiority of his own judgement as to where the proposed invasion should occur. Nor was Van Rensselaer receiving any support from General Dearborn, who wrote several communications stressing the political expectations of Washington for a victory, while at the same time leaving no doubt that additional military assistance could not be expected in the near future. He also added the codicil that in the event of a British attack, Van Rensselaer should “be prepared to make good a secure retreat as the last resort.”[5] Little wonder then that Van Rensselaer replied with the following communication less than a week before the planned attack:
Our best troops are raw: many of them dejected by the distress their families suffer by their absence, and many have not necessary clothing…. The blow must be struck soon or all the toil and expense of the campaign will go for nothing; or worse than nothing, for the whole will be tinged with dishonour. With my present force it would be rash to attempt an offensive operation….[6]
Whether he thought an attack was rash or not, however, Van Rensselaer was left with little alternative but to continue planning his offensive and put on a brave face to his troops and commander. His initial plan was to
… immediately concentrate the regular force in the neighbourhood of Niagara, and the militia here; make the best possible dispositions, and, at the same time that the regulars shall pass from the Four Mile Creek to a point in the rear of Fort George, and take it by storm; I will pass the river here [Lewiston] and carry the heights of Queenston. Should we succeed, we shall effect a great discomfiture of the enemy, by breaking their line of communication, driving their shipping from the mouth of the river, leaving them no rallying point in this part of the country, appalling the minds of the Canadians, and opening a wide and safe communication for our supplies….[7]
However, this plan never progressed beyond the proposal stage as Smyth’s continued insubordinate attitude and refusal to submit to Van Rensselaer’s authority effectively restricted the planned expedition to that segment proposed for Queenston.
As the days passed, pressure mounted on Van Rensselaer, especially when news arrived from Buffalo of a small but significant American military success made on the night of October 8–9 by the capture of two British brigs, the Detroit (formerly the Adams, captured from the Americans at Detroit) and the Caledonia, both of which had just moored off Fort Erie, laden with weapons and prisoners from Brock’s victory at Detroit. The American boarding parties consisted of a combined force of regular soldiers (Fifth Regiment), volunteers from the Second Artillery Regiment, volunteers from the local Buffalo militias (under Dr. Cyrenius Chapin), and seamen (led by Lieutenant Jesse Elliot, USN).*[8]
The lower (northern) half of the Niagara River.
Around eight o’clock in the evening of the 8th, the boats, manned by the naval volunteers, left the Scajaquada Creek* and rowed upriver under the cover of the American shoreline and into the Buffalo Creek, where the volunteer troops embarked. However, upon setting off, the now heavily laden boats were unable to pass over the sandbar at the entrance of the creek. The only recourse was for the majority of the men to strip off their equipment and climb over the side, wade alongside the boats, and push them into the deeper water so they could re-board. Soaking wet and shivering with the cold, the only way the men were able to keep warm was by rowing for the next few hours as the boats slowly edged out into Lake Erie and passed entirely around the enemy vessels in order to come at them from the Fort Erie side of the lake. Approaching the Detroit and Caledonia in silence, the Americans were challenged and then fired on by the British crews. Rapidly coming alongside, the American troops swarmed aboard and, after a brief but intense hand-to-hand fight, overwhelmed the two ship’s crews. According to the later recollections of Lieutenant Roach (Second Artillery), a member of the boarding party attacking the Detroit:
In five minutes we were in possession and our prisoners driven below, and the hatchways secured. Some hands were sent aloft to loose the Topsails whilst I examined the Brig’s guns and found them loaded … I ordered them all hauled over to the starboard side … to be ready for an attack from the shore.[9]
*Also referred to in original documents by the name: Scoijoiquoides, Scajaquadies, Scadjaquada, Conjocketty, Conjecitors, Conguichity, Conjocta, and Unnekuga Creek.
Onshore, the crews of the shore batteries heard the firing and, once the noise subsided, hailed the vessels, demanding to know what had happened. Upon receiving no response, they assumed the worst and opened fire.
Whiz comes a shot over our heads. John Bull always aims too high. This went about 20 feet over us, ricocheh’d and as our shore was lined with friends anxiously waiting … killed Major Cuyler of the Militia whilst sitting on horseback … Bang! Went my battery of 6 pounders, Up Helm Boys! Stand by that cable with the axe.[10]
After cutting the anchor cables, the prize crews steered the two vessels toward safety at Buffalo. Unluckily, as they manoeuvred the prevailing wind died and the two ships were caught and dragged downstream by the Niagara River’s strong current, thus coming under additional heavy fire from the British artillery batteries lining the shore. In attempting to break away from this damaging barrage, the Detroit ran aground on Squaw Island, giving the British the opportunity to send a boatload of troops to recapture the vessel, but without success. After much cannonading by both sides and repeated attempts to possess the vessel made by parties from both armies, the Americans finally set it on fire, leaving it a gutted wreck. Similarly, while the Caledonia was towed under the cover of Winfield Scott’s artillery battery at Black Rock, preventing its recapture, it came under a heavy cannonade from the British guns and suffered significant damage while tied up at the dock, making it unseaworthy for the foreseeable future.
Hearing of this success, Van Rensselaer’s subordinates called on him to match the events at Buffalo; threatening that unless their men received orders to go into action they would desert and that he could find himself under suspicion of deliberately sabotaging the American war effort.[11] Consequently, Van Rensselaer ordered the invasion for the night of October 11–12.*[12] Leaving their respective encampments around Fort Niagara under conditions of freezing rain, gale force winds, and hail, the troops marched in strict silence along the single mud-choked trackway that led to Lewiston. Upon arriving at the embarkation point, however, they learned that the officer in charge of the boats had disappeared, supposedly taking
