Carbine Bayonet Utica

Sunday, 06 June 2010 16:58 Last Updated on Sunday, 06 June 2010 16:58 Written by Hoboken 0 Comments

Lundy's Lane was one of the most violent and bloody battles of the War of 1812. The clash involving about 3,000 troops took place on Canadian soil near what is today Niagara Falls, Ontario, on July 25, 1814. By the time the fighting was finished, more than 800 Americans and Canadians would be killed or wounded and the three generals involved would be severely injured.

For many in Canada today, Lundy's Lane was an extremely symbolic battle in that it represented a victory for Canadian troops who were fighting against a foreign invader. The battle is much less well known in the United States, where the most famous War of 1812 battles are probably the Battle of Baltimore (Fort McHenry) in 1814 and the stunning American victory at the Battle of New Orleans in 1815. Lundy's Lane remains one of the most brutal battles in terms of loss of life ever fought in Canada.

War had been declared by the United States in June 1812. From the outset, part of America's strategy involved the invasion of Canada, not only to bring the war to Great Britain but also with the intent of extending American soil. Although many in the U.S. believed that Canadians would be eager to leave the British empire, that did not turn out to be the case. Canadians fought hard against the invading Americans at every opportunity and later in the war would turn the tables by invading the United States to contest control of the Old Northwest.

Leading the American forces were Gen. Jacob Brown and Gen. Winfield Scott. Scott had already made a name for himself and would go on to become the leading United States professional soldier for much of the nineteenth century, directing the Mexican War and the early days of the Civil War.

The British were led by Lt. Gen. Gordon Drummond, a professional soldier who also served as lieutenant governor of Upper Canada. Drummond had been born in Quebec in 1772, son of a professional soldier from a prominent Scottish family. Drummond was educated in England and had begun a military career that took him to Ireland for the early years of the War of 1812. One can only imagine how he must have felt, sitting out the war overseas as he heard news that his fellow Canadians were fighting invading forces back home.

Drummond got his chance to fight at Lundy's Lane, leading a force of British regulars, Canadians and Native troops. The Americans had overwhelmed a British force earlier at Chippawa and were marching along the Niagara River when they encountered British forces at Lundy's Lane, which some have described as a cart track. However, for the British it made an ideal position. The lane followed a ridge along the river, providing defensible high ground. The British artillery took up position in a cemetery, setting up two 24-pounders, two six-pounders, a howitzer and a Congreve rocket detachment. Much of the fighting that followed at Lundy's Lane would focus on the capture and attempted recapture of the British guns.

When Gen. Scott's regulars emerged from the nearby woods around 6 p.m. and attempted to cross the open ground toward the British position, they came under heavy fire from the guns. Led by Lt. Col. James Miller, American troops finally got close enough to fire a deadly volley at the British gunners, followed by a bayonet charge. These dry terms do little to describe the carnage that followed as American forces finally overwhelmed the British.

Although night had fallen, Gen. Drummond ordered several counterattacks to retake the cemetery and the guns. British and American forces stood almost toe-to-toe, trading deadly volleys of musket fire and even resorting to hand-to-hand combat. The summer night was hot and still, so that the smoke of battle hung like a fog over Lundy's Lane, lit by muzzle flashes, rockets and artillery. Later, British officers who were veterans of Europeans battlefields in the Napoleonic Wars said they were horrified by the brutality of the fighting.

The Americans lost so many men that their numbers had dwindled to just 700 troops against about twice as many British. Exhausted, the British and Americans eventually fought to a standstill. The U.S. forces did not have enough men to hold the position and withdrew, while Drummond did not press the attack. Drummond was badly wounded in the neck, while Scott and Jacobs were both severely injured in the fighting. Scott's wounds at Lundy's Lane sidelined him for the remainder of the war.

The British lost about 84 killed and 559 wounded, 42 captured and 193 missing. American losses were 171 dead, 572 wounded, 7 captured and 110 missing. Although the battle was basically a draw, with neither side the clear victor, historians say it was a strategic victory for Canada because the American losses were so great that U.S. troops had to withdraw from their invasion of Upper Canada and return to their base at Fort Erie.

Drummond was knighted in 1816, in part for his role at Lundy's Lane. Sir Gordon went on to become Governor-General and Administrator of Canada.

David Healey is the author of "1812: Rediscovering Chesapeake Bay's Forgotten War" http://davidhealey.net and the editor of the War of 1812 bicentennial site http://rediscover1812.com