“To Major Forsyth and his gallant band of North Carolinians; May their eagles, as heretofore, always summon them to victory and to glory”
Toast recorded in the Raleigh Register, 29 October, 1813
It was June of 1812 when the United States declared war on Great Britain. The causes were many: the British Navy had fired on American ships in an attempt to stop trade with Napoleonic France and had snatched supposed British deserters from the American vessels. On the Western Frontier, the Native peoples had begun to unite and organize under the leadership of Tecumseh and his brother the Prophet in an attempt to stop the relentless westward push of American settlers. American authorities believed that the British were stirring up the various tribes and supplying them with weapons. Whether or not the suspicions were true is open to debate, but the American government was convinced.[1]
When the news reached the St. Lawrence River frontier it was met with dread and disdain. Both shores were sparsely populated; the Canadian shore was inhabited by many recent American immigrants, attracted to Upper Canada by offers of cheap land. Although they were required to take oaths of allegiance to the King, they fell under suspicion with the outbreak of the war. The American shore was decidedly against the war. Politically they were Federalists, supportive of the British in their war against Napoleon and more importantly, reliant on trade with the British centres at Kingston and Montreal for their livelihood. Even with war declared, trade continued. [2] Click here for a map of the 1000 Islands near Gananoque
Major Benjamin Forsyth and his rifle company were the first regular American troops sent to the St. Lawrence frontier. Forsyth, by all accounts, was a hot-headed, ambitious frontiersman, eager to make his name and achieve glory in combat. The company, perhaps the most modern of the war, were renowned for their marksmanship, showing off by shooting the aces from the centre of playing cards. Unlike the majority of other soldiers in the War of 1812 who used the traditional, and often inaccurate smooth-bore musket, Forsyth’s men used rifled barrels, making their fire lethally accurate.
Forsyth was certainly at odds with the residents of the area and soon began to start trouble with the north shore. On the morning of 18 September, Forsyth and the bulk of his company set out from Gravelly Point (Cape Vincent). Their target: Gananoque. Forsyth was itching for the fight, seeking to mete out his justice against Colonel Joel Stone, now in his early sixties, who he referred to as a “notorious enemy and opposer [sic] to the government of the United States.”[3]
Slinking between the islands for three days, avoiding British patrols and other vigilant observers, the company landed at Sheriff’s Point (Lindsay’s Point). They were discovered by a pair of militia dragoons. One was shot from his horse, but the other made it to Gananoque to alert the militia. Colonel Stone, by all accounts, was absent, and a large number of his men and officers had been sent to escort valuable supplies to Kingston. Few of the 60 militiamen who were charged with defending the village had ever seen any combat save the one or two ancient veterans of the Revolution. When the 100 eager, green clad, professional riflemen appeared on the King’s Road, the best the militia could do was fire one volley and run.
The Kingston Gazette on Saturday, 26 September recorded what happened next:
“The Americans took some arms and ammunition that were deposited there, and burnt a small store in which were a few barrels of flour and a small quantity of beef, and carried away prisoners four of the militia that were sick in Hospital, and a Dragoon whom they intercepted on his way to give notice of the attack.“Their behaviour at Col. Stone’s was truly disgraceful - They fired into his house and wounded Mrs. Stone, who was the only person in it. They broke open and ransacked his trunks, and had his bedding and other articles carried down to the shore with an intention of carrying them off with them; but this was prevented by their officers.
“On this occasion four of the militia were wounded and one of the American Riflemen was killed…
“As soon as intelligence of this attack was conveyed to Kingston a detachment of troops and Militia…were dispatched to intercept the invaders; but they had retired. The detachment, however, landed on Tuesday morning at a place called Briton’s Point where the Americans usually keep a strong guard which had probably retired to the woods on their approach as they saw nobody. They found a large blockhouse begun and in some forwardness. This they burnt, together with the materials….and returned in the afternoon, regretting that they had not met with Capt. Forsyth and his redoubted Rifle men.” [4]
The American press related the story as well, but as the raid on Gananoque was the first successful action for the Americans after the humiliating defeats at Detroit and Queenston Heights, the events were somewhat embellished.
The Columbian, of New York, reported that “the British lost between 14 or 15 men killed, and our men had but one killed and one wounded in the foot; the brave fellow damned them for spoiling his shoe and gave them 4 fires more in revenge.”
The Star of Raleigh, North Carolina reported that the raid was in fact a pitched battle between Forsyth’s men and 120 British Regulars.
The New England Palladium out of Boston reported a similar scene, but included an ominous attachment that “the business of seeing which can do the other most harm is beginning to be actively pursued on the frontiers.” [5]
Colonel Stone returned to find his government storehouse in ashes, the valuable bridge over the Gananoque destroyed and his house ransacked. Abigail’s injuries were serious, but she recovered. The bullet had struck her in the hip and she was forced to walk with a limp the rest of her life. For Joel it was as though the revolution had returned. The attack sent a shockwave through the area, and scores of people began to desert to the American shore, fearful of another attack. People openly spoke of an American victory and the virtues of Republicanism. Stone was forced to fine and arrest militiamen who refused to show up when the area was on alarm and in one of the ironic twists of history, the Colonel was responsible for confiscating the property of settlers who joined with the enemy. [6]
Forsyth continued his raids. In January of 1813 he attacked Elizabethtown, renamed Brockville in honour of the fallen general, and took away several prisoners and released those held in the jail.
Although Forsyth had been successful, the American leadership was becoming nervous of his actions. On one occasion, Forsyth ignored a flag of truce, capturing British officers and seizing dispatches and property. His reckless adventures into Upper Canada prompted Henry Dearborn, the American General in charge of the armies in Northern New York State, to reprimand Forsyth. In a letter to John Armstrong, the Secretary of War, Dearborn wrote that Forsyth’s “zeal for a small partisan warfare…would probably produce such retaliating strokes as he would be unable to resist.”
A few short weeks after Forsyth’s raid on Brockville, Dearborn’s fears were realized. A combined force of British troops and militia under Colonel “Red George” MacDonnell, crossed the ice from Fort Wellington to Ogdensburg, where Forsyth had made his headquarters, and routed the American defenders.
Unable or unwilling to retake Ogdensburg, the American commanders transferred Forsyth and his men to the western theatre where Forsyth played an intergral role in the attack on York and fought numerous engagements in the Niagara frontier. His hot-headed tactics finally caught up with him at a skirmish near Odelltown on the Vermont/Lower Canada border. Ordered to withdraw and draw the British into an ambush, Forsyth attacked. The last words he spoke to his struggling troops before he died of his wounds were “boys rush on,” but the battle was lost.[7]