Battle of Crysler's Farm

Infobox Military Conflict
conflict=Battle of Crysler's Farm


caption=
partof=War of 1812
date=November 11 – November 12, 1813
place=Near Cornwall, Ontario
result=Decisive British and Canadian victory
combatant1=flagicon|UK United Kingdom
flagicon|UK Canada
combatant2=
commander1=flagicon|UK William Mulcaster
flagicon|UK Joseph Wanton Morrison
commander2=
strength1=900 regulars and militia
strength2=8,000 regulars
(2,500 - 4,000 engaged)
casualties1=22 killed
148 woundedBorneman p.169]
casualties2=102 killed
237 wounded
100 captured

The Battle of Crysler's Farm, also known as the Battle of Crysler's Field, was a battle of the War of 1812 fought on November 11, 1813. ("Chrysler's Farm" is sometimes used, but "Crysler" is in fact the proper spelling.) A British and Canadian force won a victory over an American force which greatly outnumbered them, but was dispirited and badly led. The American defeat prompted them to abandon their "Saint Lawrence campaign", their major strategic effort in the autumn of 1813.

The St. Lawrence Campaign

The American plan

The battle arose from an American plan to capture Montreal, devised by Secretary of War John Armstrong, Jr., who originally intended taking the field himself. Because it was difficult to concentrate the necessary force in one place due to inadequate lines of communication, it involved two forces which would combine for the final assault. General James Wilkinson's division of 8,000 would proceed down the Saint Lawrence River in gunboats, batteaux and other small craft, and rendezvous with another division of 4,000 under Wade Hampton advancing north from Lake Champlain, to attack the city. The resulting military action, including the Battle of Chateauguay, the Battle of Crysler's Field and a number of skirmishes, is known as the Saint Lawrence Campaign.

The plan had several shortcomings. There was mistrust between the officers concerned; Wilkinson had an unsavoury reputation as a scoundrel, and Hampton originally refused to serve in any capacity in the same army as Wilkinson. The troops lacked training and uniforms, sickness was rife and there were too few experienced officers. Chiefly though, it appeared that neither force would be able to sustain itself before Montreal, making a siege or any prolonged operation impossible. The poor prospects for success (and possibly his own illness) led Armstrong to abandon his intention of leading the final assault himself, and he handed overall command to Wilkinson.

The offensive is launched

Wilkinson's force left Sackett's Harbor, New York on October 17, bound at first for Wolfe Island, then named "Grenadier Island". Mid-October was very late for serious campaigning in the Canadas and the American force was hampered by bad weather, losing several boats and suffering from sickness and exposure. It took several days for the last stragglers to reach Grenadier Island.

On November 1 the first boats set out from the island, and reached French Creek (near present-day Clayton, New York) on November 4. Here, the first shots of the campaign took place. British gunboats under Commander William Mulcaster had left Kingston to rendezvous with and escort batteaux and canoes carrying supplies up the Saint Lawrence. The aggressive Mulcaster bombarded the American anchorages and encampments during the evening. The next morning, American artillerymen under Lieutenant Colonel Moses Porter drove him away, using hastily-heated "hot shot". [Elting, p.142]

From French Creek, Wilkinson proceeded down the river. On November 6, he learned that Hampton had been repulsed by a smaller Canadian force at the Chateauguay River on October 26. He sent fresh instructions to Hampton to march westward from his present position at Four Corners, New York and meet him at Cornwall.

Wilkinson's force successfully bypassed the British post at Prescott late on November 7. (The troops were disembarked and marched around Ogdensburg on the south bank of the river, while the lightened boats ran past the British batteries under cover of darkness and poor visibility). The next day, while the main body re-embarked, an advance guard under Colonel Alexander Macomb and a battalion of riflemen under Major Benjamin Forsyth was landed on the Canadian side of the river to clear the river bank of harassing Canadian militia.

On the following day (November 9), Wilkinson held a Council of war. All his senior officers appeared to be determined to proceed with the expedition, regardless of the difficulties and alarming reports of enemy strength. The advance guard was reinforced with a brigade under Brigadier General Jacob Brown, and marched eastward along the northern bank of the river. Before the main body could follow by water, Wilkinson learned that a British force was pursuing him. He landed almost all the other troops as a rearguard, under Brigadier General John Parker Boyd. Late on November 10, after a day spent marching under intermittent fire from British gunboats and field guns, Wilkinson set up his headquarters in Cook's Tavern, with Boyd's troops bivouacked in the woods around.

British counter-moves

The British had been aware of the American concentration at Sackett's Harbor, but for a long time they had believed that their own main naval base at Kingston on Lake Ontario was the intended target. Major General Francis de Rottenburg, the Lieutenant Governor of Upper Canada, had massed his available troops there. When Mulcaster returned from French Creek with news that the Americans were heading down the Saint Lawrence, he dispatched a "Corps of Observation" after them, under Lieutenant Colonel Joseph Wanton Morrison. Mulcaster commanded the escorting gunboats and small craft. Departing from Kingston in thick weather late on November 8, they evaded the ships of Commodore Isaac Chauncey which were blockading the base, among the "Thousand Islands" at the head of the Saint Lawrence River.

The corps numbered 650 men but was reinforced by a detachment from Prescott, to about 900. [Hitsman, p.189] On November 10, they caught up with Boyd's rearguard, and that evening they encamped near Crysler's Farm, two miles upstream from the American positions. The terrain was mainly open fields, which gave full scope to British tactics and musketry, while the muddy ground and the marshy nature of the woods surrounding the farm would hamper the American manoeuvres. Morrison was keen to accept battle here if offered. [Zaslow, p.69]

Battle

As dawn broke on November 11, it was cold and raining. Firing broke out in two places. On the river, Mulcaster's gunboats began shooting at the American boats clustered around Cook's Point. Meanwhile, an American party fired a volley at some Mohawks scouting near their encampment, and half a dozen Canadian militia dragoons bolted back to the main British force, calling that the Americans were attacking. The British force dropped its half-cooked breakfast and formed up, which caused American sentries to report that the "British" were attacking, and forced the Americans in turn to form up and stand to arms.

At about 10:30 in the morning, Jacob Brown reported that the previous evening, he had defeated 500 Stormont and Glengarry Militia at Hoople's Creek and the way ahead was clear. To proceed however, the American boats would next have to face the Long Sault rapids and Wilkinson determined to drive Morrison off before tackling them. However, he himself had been ill for some time, and could not command the attack himself. His second-in-command, Major General Morgan Lewis, was also "indisposed". This left Brigadier-General Boyd in command. He had the 3rd Brigade under Brigadier General Leonard Covington (9th, 16th and 25th U.S. Infantry), the 4th Brigade under Brigadier General Robert Swartwout (11th, 14th and 21st U.S. Infantry) and part of his own 1st Brigade under Colonel Isaac Coles (12th and 13th U.S. Infantry). Only two 6-pounder guns were attached to the rearguard, but four more guns and a squadron of the 2nd Dragoons were available further down-river. In all, Boyd commanded perhaps 2,500 men [Elting, p.149] (though some sources put the figure at 4,000 [Zaslow, p.74] ).

Initial dispositions

The British were disposed in echelon, with their right wing thrown forward:
*Lining a ravine close to the American positions and in the woods on the left was the skirmish line under Major Frederick Heriot of the Canadian Voltigeurs; three companies of the Voltigeurs and around two dozen Mohawks under Interpreter-Lieutenant Charles Anderson. (A small rifle company of the Leeds Militia may also have been present.)
*The right wing under Lieutenant Colonel Thomas Pearson (the flank companies of the 49th and a detachment of the Canadian Fencibles (perhaps 150 men in total) with a 6-pounder gun of the Canadian Provincial Artillery) occupied some buildings on the river bank near the Americans. A small gully protected their front.
*Behind their left flank were three companies (150 men) of the 2nd battalion of the 89th Foot under Captain G. W. Barnes.
*Behind Barnes's left flank in turn was the British main body; the battalion companies of the 49th (160 men) under Lieutenant Colonel Charles Plenderleath and six companies (300 men) of the 2nd/89th under Morrison himself. Two 6-pounder guns of the Royal Artillery under Captain H. G. Jackson occupied a small hillock behind the 49th. [Zaslow, p.72]

Action

Boyd did not order an assault until the middle of the afternoon. On the American right, the 21st U.S. Infantry under Colonel Eleazer Wheelock Ripley advanced and drove the British skirmish line back through the woods, for almost a mile. Here they paused to draw breath, and were joined by the 12th and 13th U.S. Infantry from Coles' brigade. (Where Swartwout's other two regiments were at this point is unclear). Ripley and Coles resumed their advance along the edge of the woods, but were startled to see a line of redcoats (the 2nd/89th, on Morrison's left flank) apparently rise out of the ground and open fire. The American soldiers dived behind tree stumps and bushes to return fire, and their attack lost all order and momentum. As ammunition ran short, they began straggling back out of the line. [Zaslow, p.75]

Meanwhile, Covington's brigade struggled across the ravine and deployed into line, under shrapnel fire. Legend has it that at this point, Covington mistook the battle-hardened 49th Regiment in their grey greatcoats for Canadian militia and called out to his men, "Come on, my lads! Let us see how you will deal with these militiamen!" A moment later, he was mortally wounded. His second-in-command took over, only to be killed almost immediately. The brigade quickly lost order and began to retreat.

Boyd could not bring all his six guns into action until his infantry were already falling back. When they did open fire from the road along the river bank, they were quite effective. Morrison's second-in-command, Lieutenant Colonel John Harvey, ordered the 49th to capture them. The American dragoons (under Wilkinson's adjutant general, Colonel John Walbach) now intervened, charging the 49th's exposed right flank. [Elting, p.149] The 49th halted their own advance, reformed line from echelon formation and wheeled back their right. Under heavy fire from the 49th, Pearson's detachment and Jackson's two guns, the Dragoons renewed their charge twice but eventually fell back, leaving 18 casualties (out of 130). They had bought time for all but one of the American guns to be removed. Barnes's companies of the 2/89th overtook the 49th and captured the one gun which had become bogged down and been abandoned.

It was now about half past four. Almost all of the American army was in full retreat. The 25th U.S. Infantry under Colonel Edmund P. Gaines and the collected boat guards under Lieutenant Colonel Timothy Upham held the ravine for a while, but Pearson threatened to get round their left flank, and they too fell back. [Hitsman, p.190] As it was growing dark and the weather was turning stormy, the British halted their advance. The American Army meanwhile retreated in great confusion to their boats and crossed to the south (American) bank of the river, although the British did not stand down from battle stations for some time, wary of the Americans renewing the attack.

Casualties

Although the British casualties were initially reported in Morrison's despatches as 22 killed, 148 wounded and 9 missing, it has been demonstrated that a further 9 men were killed and an additional 4 men were missing. [Graves, pp268–69; notes 6 and 7, p.403] Many of the severely injured Americans who had been left behind lying where they fell all night: a Canadian who rode across the battlefield on the morning of November 12 remembered it being "covered with Americans killed and wounded" [Graves, p.272] . Some 120 American prisoners were taken [Cruikshank, p.220] : most of these were left severely wounded who had been left on the field but fourteen enlisted men were captured after trying to hide in a swamp [Graves, p.257] .

The result

On November 12, the sullen American flotilla successfully navigated the Long Sault rapids. That evening, they reached a settlement known as Barnhardt's, three miles above Cornwall. There was no sign of Hampton's force, and Colonel Henry Atkinson, one of Hampton's staff officers, brought a letter from Hampton, declining to rendezvous at Cornwall. Wilkinson used this as pretext to call another council of war, which unanimously opted to end the Campaign. [Elting, pp.150–151]

The army went into winter quarters at French Mills, New York, but the roads were almost impassable at this season, and Wilkinson was forced by lack of supplies to retreat to Plattsburg. He was later dismissed from command after a failed attack on a British outpost at Lacolle Mills. He was subsequently court martialled on various charges of negligence, but exonerated. Lewis was retired, while Boyd was sidelined into rear-area commands.

The area of Crysler's Farm was permanently submerged in 1958 during the construction of the St. Lawrence Seaway. A monument (erected in 1895) commemorating the battle was moved from Crysler's Farm to Upper Canada Village in Morrisburg. See also The Lost Villages.

Notes

ources

*
* Cruikshank, Ernest A. (ed) "The Documentary History of the Campaign upon the Niagara Frontier in the Year 1813", Reprint Edition by Arno Press, 1971, ISBN 0-405-02838-5
* Elting, John R. "Amateurs to Arms", Da Capo Press NY, ISBN 0-306-80653-3
* Graves, Donald E. "Field of Glory: The Battle of Crysler's Farm, 1813", Robin Brass Studio, Toronto, 1999. ISBN 1-896941-10-9
* Hitsman, J. Mackay "The Incredible War of 1812", Robin Brass Studio, ISBN 1-896941-13-3
* Latimer, Jon, "1812: War with America", Harvard University Press, 2007, ISBN 0-67402-584-9
* Zaslow, Morris (ed) "The Defended Border", Macmillan of Canada, ISBN 0-7705-1242-9

External links

* [http://www.warof1812.ca/1812anim.htm Animated Stages of the Battle of Crysler's Farm]