Nov. 11, 2023
As the second year of the War of 1812 drew to a close the Americans wanted to try to capture Upper Canada by taking Montreal and cutting off supplies to all of the area west of it. US Secretary of War John Armstrong developed a plan to use two armies to converge and take the city. General Wade Hampton was marching from Lake Champlain with his forces and Major General James Wilkinson was ordered to set sail from Sackets Harbor to join him. Wilkinson left Sackets Harbor on October 17, 1813 to sail down the St. Lawrence River to join forces with Hampton. British gunboats under William Mulcaster harassed the American fleet and fired shots at them before heading to Kingston to sound the alarm. Wilkinson became ill and ended up delegating responsibility for the army to Brigadier-General John Parker Boyd.
On November 10th Boyd set up his headquarters at a local tavern and
the British under Lieutenant Colonel Joseph Wanton Morrison were camped just a couple of kilometers away at John Crysler’s farm. Crysler was a wealthy loyalist and the leader of the Dundas Militia. The night was one of sleet and rain and many of the British troops slept outside with no protection from the weather.
On November 11, 1813 the British troops began an attack on the American position but it was unsuccessful and they were driven back. Subsequent American attempts to attack were repulsed as the infantry were overpowered by volleys from the well-trained and practiced muskets of the British 49th and 89th Regiments of Foot, which made up the bulk of Morrison’s army.
In order to attack the Americans were forced to cross two ravines and then navigate a field which was full of split rail fences. The canon in the image above has a date carved on the housing which reads 1800.
Boyd gave contradictory and inconsistent leadership which led to the confusion and lack of discipline among the American infantry. Most of the American soldiers ran out of ammunition and began to retreat before the calvary arrived as a back-up. Meanwhile the British maintained discipline and held their lines to deliver volley after volley of musket fire at the advancing American army. Boyd eventually called a retreat and the American troops fell back to French Mills for the winter. This was the last battle of the year in the war and the Americans had failed to make any serious advance in their efforts to capture British North America. The image below shows a replica 6 pounder muzzle loading gun similar to ones used by both sides during the battle. It could fire a six pound ball for 1200 yards.
The British forces were much smaller but managed to kill 340 men and capture another 100 while losing a little under 200 soldiers of their own. A monument to the battle was erected on Crysler’s Farm in 1895 and a bronze plaque was added in 1923 to commemorate the battle.
In 1958 Crysler’s Farm was flooded during construction of the St. Lawrence Seaway and the monument was moved. Soil from the site of the battle was dug up and used to build a mound on a plot of land near Upper Canada Village. The monument was placed on this new mound of soil and continues to look out over the former battle site, now under water.
In 1959 a small interpretive centre was built to describe the history of the battle and in 2012 a new visitor centre was built. Each year re-enactors come together to commemorate the battle.
Although Remembrance Day is usually considered as respect for those who fought in the First and Second World Wars, it is interesting that it also falls on the anniversary of this pivotal battle from the War of 1812.
This is the fifth installment in our War of 1812 series which may eventually extend to all the Canadian battle sites.
Associated Stories in our War of 1812 series: Battle of York, Battle of Queenston Heights, Battle of Stoney Creek, Battle of Beaver dams.
Google Maps Link: Crysler’s Farm
Like us at http://www.facebook.com/hikingthegta
Follow us at http://www.hikingthegta.com
Also, look for us on Instagram
Hiking the GTA 