Battle of Maguaga

Battle of Maguaga
Part of the War of 1812
Date August 9, 1812 Location Maguaga, Michigan Result Indecisive
Belligerents
Britain	United States
Commanders and leaders
Adam Muir	William Hull
Strength
75 regulars 70 natives 60 militia	600 regulars
Casualties and losses
6 dead 21 wounded 2 wounded prisoners 2 surrendered	18 dead 64 wounded

The Battle of Maguaga (also known as the Battle of Monguagon, the Battle of Brownstown or the Battle of the Oakwoods was a small battle between British troops, Canadian militia and Tecumseh's natives and a larger force of American troops near the Wyandot village of Maguaga in what is now the city of Trenton, Michigan.

After the clearcut British victory at the Siege of Fort Mackinac, Brigadier-General William Hull decided to attack the British in Michigan. He sent a detachment under Lieutenant-Colonel James Miller to go to the Miami Rapids, where Captain Henry Brush's company of Ohio Volunteers were waiting with vital supplies for Hull's garrison, including 300 head of cattle and 70 pack-horses each laden with 200 pounds of flour. Miller was to escort the supply train back to Detroit. At Monguagon, Miller's command, comprising 280 regulars and more than 330 Ohio Volunteer troops, found their path barred by Major Adam Muir of the 41st Regiment, with 205 British, Canadians and Indian warriors. As the Americans advanced into a heavy fire, things started to go wrong for the British. Noticing some men creeping through the woods on their right, some of the redcoats thought it was the enemy trying to outflank them and opened fire on them. The "enemy" turned out to be British-Allied Potawatomi warriors under Chief Main Poc, who immediately thought that the people firing at them must be Americans. Briton and Native American blazed away at each other until the Potawatomi realized that they were fighting their own side and withdrew into the woods to the rear. Meanwhile, seeing the American advance waver, Muir ordered the 41st Light Company's bugler to sound the charge. In the British Army, only the light infantry used the bugle - the rest of the infantry communicated using drum-beats. Unfortunately, the officer commanding one of the other companies of the 41st Regiment thought that the bugle was sounding the "recall" and ordered his men to fall back. Before Muir knew what was happening, his whole force was streaming off to the rear. The Americans, who thought that the British were running from them, took heart and advanced over Muir's vacated position in pursuit of an enemy they thought they had routed. Miller advanced a good distance only to find that Muir had rallied his men and was standing, awaiting another attack. Miller, satisfied with his "victory", decided not to renew his assault.

At this point, Colonel Miller's nerve seems to have gone. His men had discarded their knapsacks at the beginning of the Battle so that they could fight more effectively. Now, Miller refused to go back into the woods to retrieve the knapsacks in case the enemy were waiting there to ambush him. He camped in a large clearing and the next morning, he refused to continue the advance to the Rapids. Miller may have been shaken by the compatatively heavy casualties that his command had suffered. He clearly did not fancy another encounter with Muir. Unknown to Miller, Muir's detachment had long since retired to their boats and sailed back to Fort Malden, Amherstburg. For two days, Miller stayed bivouacked, ignoring repeated orders from Hull to resume his advance to the Rapids. Finally, Hull realized that Miller was not going to obey him, and ordered him to return to Detroit.

At the Battle of Monguagon was characterized by a series of errors by both sides. The British routed themselves thanks to two misunderstandings, at least one of which could have been avoided through better training. Colonel Miller first wasted the tactical advantage that was given to him by the confusion within the British force, then appears to have completely lost his nerve. James Miller's War of 1812 career ended in success and, thanks mainly to his capture of the British batteries at Lundy's Lane, promotion to brigadier-general. Nevertheless, in the wake of the Battle of Monguagon, he may have been fortunate to escape being court-martial and cashiered.

Miller's failure might have had dire consequences for the garrison of Detroit in the event of a sustained siege, when the supllies from the Miami Rapids would have been needed. In the event, Detroit surrendered to General Brock after a siege of only a few hours: so the absence of the extra food supplies were irrelevant. The only difference that the failure of Miller's expedition might have made was that Captain Brush's company and their supplies were not in Detroit to be captured. Unfortunately, the terms of capitulation signed by General Hull included the garrison at the Rapids in the surrender agreement - so the British got the supplies anyway.

Monguagon was the first encounter of the War of 1812 that was big enough to be called a "battle" even by the standards of this small-scale conflict.

References

• Gilpin, Alec Richard. The War of 1812 in the Old Northwest. East Lansing, Michigan: The Michigan State University Press, 1958. ISBN: 0870136763.
• Quimby, Robert Sherman. The U.S. Army in the War of 1812. East Lansing, Michigan: Michigan State University Press, 1997. ISBN: 0-87013-441-8.