Battle at Chrysler's Farm

Battle at Chrysler's Farm

Part of: British-American War

date	November 10, 1813
place	in Canada near Cornwall (Ontario) on the Saint Lawrence River
output	British victory

Parties to the conflict
Great Britain	United States
Commander
Joseph Wanton Morrison	James Wilkinson (nominally) John Parker Boyd
Troop strength
800 men	8,000 men (2,500 present)
losses
22 dead, 148 wounded	102 dead 237 wounded 150 missing

The Battle of Chrysler's Farm of November 10, 1813 between British-Canadian and US forces took place on the Saint Lawrence River in Canada during the British-American War and ended in a British victory.

prehistory

On October 17, 1813, an 8,000-man American army under Major General James Wilkinson began an advance on Montréal from Sackets Harbor on Lake Ontario . At the same time, a second army of 4,000 men under Major General Wade Hampton marched into Canada from Lake Champlain . Both armies were to meet at Montreal and capture all British settlements and garrisons west of the confluence of the Saint Lawrence River with the Ottawa River. Wilkinson's army was transported by a flotilla of boats (called bateaux ) on the Saint Lawrence River. The advance was delayed due to bad weather and the activity of British snipers on the banks.

course

On November 10, the Americans had reached the infamous Long Sault Rapids. To lighten the boats and drive the British soldiers from the riverbank, Wilkinson landed his troops near a farm owned by a certain John Chrysler. The Americans had been pursued by a flotilla of gunboats under Captain William Howe Mulcaster , which had two regiments of British line troops on board. The American landing was the British intention. The two regiments also went ashore and formed under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Joseph Wanton Morrison near the farm with the intention of bringing US troops to battle. They were strengthened by some Canadian militias and Indians. In total, Morrison's force comprised about 800 men. Since Wilkinson wanted to get rid of the British pursuers, but was too sick himself to take command, he hired Brigadier General John Parker Boyd to destroy the British.

In the early afternoon an American regiment marched on the left wing of the British. The Americans succeeded in driving out a unit of light infantry (so-called voltigeurs ) and Indians hidden there, thereby threatening the left wing of the British position. If the US soldiers had managed to get between the British lines and a swamp, they could have fallen the British on the flank. Morrison had a regiment turn a quarter turn as on the parade ground, so that the entire unit had a clear field of fire on the attacking Americans. The volley that followed was so precise that the American formation broke up and fled. Boyd then ordered his three brigades to attack the British right wing. Morrison had his soldiers line up in a staggered formation that allowed them to load and fire on trains. In this way, the British achieved sustained, heavy and well-aimed musket fire, which had a devastating effect on the dense US formations, forcing them to retreat. In a final attempt, Boyd had a cavalry unit attack along a path that ran between the river bank and the British right wing. Morrison then had another parade ground maneuver carried out. A regiment turned to the line of attack of the cavalry and received the Americans with a devastating salvo of muskets, which threw the riders back with heavy losses.

The British then counterattacked. The demoralized Americans withdrew and were saved from even greater losses by their boats that helped them get across to safety on the other side of the river. The next day, Wilkinson convened a council of war that decided to abandon the advance on Montréal. The British lost 22 dead and 148 wounded, the American 102 dead, 237 wounded and 150 missing.

meaning

Since Hampton's advance had also failed due to his defeat in the Battle of the Chateauguay River , the victory of the British repelled what was probably the most serious and dangerous attack by the Americans on Canada. Again the Americans had suffered defeat by a vastly outnumbered British force. As in the battle of the Chateauguay River, a major factor was the incompetence of the commander. By attacking individual units separately, the Americans had failed to show their superiority, while on the British side, Morrison's cold-bloodedness and the excellent training and discipline of the regular soldiers proved decisive in the battle.

Web links

• Friends of Chrysler's Farm Battlefield Memorial (English)

Coordinates: 44 ° 56 '31.1 "  N , 75 ° 4' 12.6"  W.