Conflict: War of 1812
Combatants: Americans vs. British
Location: Ontario (Canada)
Outcome: American victory
As the two-pronged American invasion of Canada proceeded, young Colonel Winfield Scott launched an amphibious attack against Fort George on the Niagara River. Scott landed his troops behind the British fortification and led the assault himself as expedition commander Major General Henry Dearborn watched from the USS Madison. The amphibious attack combined with fire from the nearby American warships forced British Brigadier General John Vincent to spike his guns and withdraw from the fort. The fleeing British set fuses to the powder magazines before retreating, one of which exploded and threw Scott from his horse breaking his collar bone. The Americans managed to stamp out the other fuses before detonation. Another American force led by Colonel James Burn blocked Vincent's rout to Fort Erie, so the garrisons of both installations retreated toward Queenston. With the Niagara secured (albeit temporarily) American shipping was able to sail from the Black Rock naval yard.
Points of Interest:
Winfield Scott's success would be reversed shortly after Fort George when the Americans were badly beaten at Stony Creek (June 6th) and the British re-occupied Fort Erie.
The commander of the expedition, Major General Henry Dearborn, had taken ill during the Fort George operation.
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Sources:
Borneman, Walter R. (2004). 1812. New York: HarperCollins.
Dupuy, R. Ernest & Dupuy, Trevor N. (1993). The Harper's Encyclopedia of Military History. New York: HarperCollins.
Eggenberger, David (1985). An Encyclopedia of Battles: Accounts of Over 1,560 Battles from 1479 B.C. to the Present. New York: Dover Publications, Inc.
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