It's likely the US would panic and attempt to rush as many troops as can be spared North, likely stripping the west, giving Tecumseh and British there an opportunity.
The Revenge of the Crown : An Alternate 1812 and Beyond.
- Thread starter Sarthak
- Start date
Should you happen to have a British contingent pass through Pennsylvania at some point, maybe you could re-form an old Hessian regiment... there were around 5,000 "Hessians" who never went back to the German principalities, many of whom settled in Pennsylvania, especially around Lancaster I think... of course, those guys would be in their '50's (at least) by then, but hey, some may have military-age sons by 1813-14...
Nice, recently-built, well maintained road running straight from Lancaster to Philadelphia too
Philadelphia and Lancaster Turnpike - Wikipedia
I imagined, was just asking for some clarity, lol in a terrible way. It wasn't a nit pick either, I am enjoying this "Unleashing of The Brock". Perhaps we could see the venerable Marines of the Royal Nova Scotia Regiment reactivated. Lol a child of the sea can dream.
At this point I'm picturing the end of the war as the British strolling around fighting random men here and there, kind of like in the Civilization games after you destroy all enemy troops
Lusitania
Donor
These developments are really interesting and the detail in both military units and geography of areas involved is really outstanding. Congrats
The US has tremendous potential but it is greatly hampered by internal divisions within the US government and population. How they react be interesting. They could rally around the flag or continue squandering their changes with bickering we will need see. Yes we dealing with US of 1812. The states will not send their militia to help another state due to fear they be left defenseless. Natives in west being encouraged by success in northwest could strike against American settlers tying up the interior militias and the coastal states be afraid of British attacks. A series of hit and runs By British navy along the coast to smaller ports and less protected towns and cities would cause massive panic and force all states to keep their militia home for protection.
As a Canadian I say yeah and wonderful. What this all translates into future development and size of Canada not sure.
For the future and treaty will not be decided on North America but in Europe somewhere. For all of Britain’s gains in the field the British government will be pressured by both the grab as much as you can and let’s sign peace treaty and continue trading ASAP sides.
if Britain offered a treaty to return to previous borders and end of hostilities at this moment the Americans be hard pressed not to accept it. But the British government would face a huge backlash from public and its own MPs for not demanding restitution and some border adjustments after it was attacked in first place. Therefore the war will continue for now until it no longer in both countries best interest to continue.
The US has tremendous potential but it is greatly hampered by internal divisions within the US government and population. How they react be interesting. They could rally around the flag or continue squandering their changes with bickering we will need see. Yes we dealing with US of 1812. The states will not send their militia to help another state due to fear they be left defenseless. Natives in west being encouraged by success in northwest could strike against American settlers tying up the interior militias and the coastal states be afraid of British attacks. A series of hit and runs By British navy along the coast to smaller ports and less protected towns and cities would cause massive panic and force all states to keep their militia home for protection.
As a Canadian I say yeah and wonderful. What this all translates into future development and size of Canada not sure.
For the future and treaty will not be decided on North America but in Europe somewhere. For all of Britain’s gains in the field the British government will be pressured by both the grab as much as you can and let’s sign peace treaty and continue trading ASAP sides.
if Britain offered a treaty to return to previous borders and end of hostilities at this moment the Americans be hard pressed not to accept it. But the British government would face a huge backlash from public and its own MPs for not demanding restitution and some border adjustments after it was attacked in first place. Therefore the war will continue for now until it no longer in both countries best interest to continue.
Really nice update! I am really enjoying this story. Looking forward to seeing how the domestic section looks in Canada, the US, and the UK. Quick correction, Fort Drum wasn‘t named that until 1951. It was named after a WW1 general. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fort_Drum
The Badger is strong, I like.
Hard to not see some border adjustments in favour if British America with the better British showing overall. And at the very least a Treaty for Tecumseh that lasts a decade or so before being ignored.
A lot depends whether New England makes more of a secession threat. If one is on the table then that might be accepted in lieu of other adjustments. But would cause huge butterflies.
Hard to not see some border adjustments in favour if British America with the better British showing overall. And at the very least a Treaty for Tecumseh that lasts a decade or so before being ignored.
A lot depends whether New England makes more of a secession threat. If one is on the table then that might be accepted in lieu of other adjustments. But would cause huge butterflies.
I infer from this that the timeline will continue well past the end of the war - if so, excellent!
Is the war at sea largely progressing as historical or are there changes there as well?
In regards to borders, I fully expect that British take some bites out of US, mostly around Great Lakes and the like, to get themselves better positions in case of a future war. The borders of the Indian Confederacy are likely to be set in stone, thus stopping any dreams of future westward expansion. It will also be interesting what happens in south, in regards to Louisiana, New Orleans and Missisipi river.
But, just how this will impact the US is going to be the most interesting. We should not forget that people felt greater loyalty to their state them the greater country, that is best seen some 50 years later during ACW, and it is perhaps plausible to consider that some states might secede.
Nice work, keep it up!
But, just how this will impact the US is going to be the most interesting. We should not forget that people felt greater loyalty to their state them the greater country, that is best seen some 50 years later during ACW, and it is perhaps plausible to consider that some states might secede.
Nice work, keep it up!
Remington 2.0
Banned
I think there will be defection or declaration of neutrality a part or the whole of the northern states who are anti war and hurt economically because of British blockade
Chapter 6: The Month of Three Battles
Chapter 6: The Month of Three Battles
***
“The Battle of Rochester shook the very foundations of Washington when news arrived two weeks later to President Madison and the rest of the administration in Washington. In April 13th, when the news arrived, Madison ordered every single regular troops in the West to be returned to the East Coast, from where they would be diverted north to fight Brock and MacDonnell’s forces. This was protested heavily by Secretary of War Armstrong and Madison’s close ally James Monroe, and after some deliberation, and still much to Monroe’s disappointment, Madison recalled around 2/3 of the regular forces from the West, keeping the rest of them in the Creek Area where the Creek War was raging on.
Depiction of the Creek War.
Nonetheless, this decision made on panic and fear would be something that Tecumseh and McKay would prey upon later on.
The news of the Battle of Rochester also let out an outspoken rage in New England. Already angry over being dragged into a war, and with multiple slights from Washington and the President, and with the economy of New England and its subsequent states in a perpetual state of freefalling, the state governments of New England decided that enough was enough. They all decided to convene at Boston for the Boston Conference, where Governor Caleb Strong would host them.
The representatives for the Boston Conference consisted of:-
Massachusetts:-
However after some time, both the radicals and the moderates reached a compromise by midday. Even the radicals knew that succession amidst a war would look bad on them, like traitors, and giving a chance for reconciliation would be a good choice for the moment.
A popular depiction of the Boston Convention/Conference.
The convention ended with a report and resolution, signed by all delegates present, and adopted on the hour before final adjournment. The report stated that New England had a ‘duty’ to assert its authority over unconstitutional infringements on its sovereignty, a doctrine that echoed the policy of Jefferson and Madison in 1798 during the Kentucky and Virginia resolutions, and which would later appear in a different context that would be called as nullification. The Boston Conference’s final report proposed several amendments to the US Constitutions. These attempted to combat the policies of the ruling Democratic Republicans by:-
“The Battle of Lake Erie was the single most largest naval battle in Lake Erie during the War of 1812. Admiral Barclay was eager to copy Yeo’s dominance on Lake Ontario in Lake Erie, and provide a springboard for McKay and Tecumseh to better supply them.
Over the winter, the Royal Navy had constructed a good amount of ships in the lake. So had the US Navy for that matter. The Royal Navy had the following ships in Lake Erie before the Battle of Lake Erie:-
The first shot was fired from the Ares at around 11:45. Perry hopped to get his two largest brigs, the Lawrence which was his flagship and the Niagara into carronade range quickly, but in the light wind, his vessels made very little speed and Lawrence was battered by the guns atop the Ares and Detroit for at least 20 minutes until one carronade from the Ares managed to break the frontal hull of the Lawrence. The breakage of the hull let water into the interior part of the brig, and Perry and most of the officers quickly bailed out and managed to row over onto the Niagara as the Lawrence slowly slipped below the waves by 12:50.
A depiction of Perry rowing over to the Niagara.
The Niagara, under Elliot was slow to come into action and remained far from carronade range. Later it was found out that Elliot had ordered his guns to fire upon his opposite number the Queen Charlotte, however the guns of his ship clogged up due to disrepair and bad maintenance before the battle, and he was forced to disengage out of fear of being fired upon, and his ship largely sat the battle out taking the American sailors who had drowned.
In the side, the Caledonia managed to fire massive amounts of carronades into the British Brig, General Hunter, and by 1, the brig started to tip over into the water, and the sailors started to bail out. The sailors were collected by the Queen Charlotte as she passed through the line where General Hunter had been in the beginning.
After that, the American gunboats and the British ships continued to pound each other shooting their guns from a good amount of distance. The battle was not easy. Both fleet’s surgeon’s were sick with Lake Fever, or Malaria, so the wounded were taken care off by the less competent aides and assistants.
After half an hour of pounding each other, the northern British line under the Little Minerva and Lady Prevost broke and was starting to feel the pressure, but around the same time the southern American line under the Porcupine and Tigress broke apart as well, and with both British and American lines in disarray, Perry and Barclay both tried to make one desperate move. Aboard the Niagara Perry ordered the ship to move onto the middle of the line and open her broadsides to fire. Aboard the Ares, Barclay ordered a similar move, and soon the Ares and Niagara found their broadsides firing at each other. Both ships had powerful hulls, and the carronades could not finish the each other off. With both American and British lines then in disarray, both sides started to slowly disengage from the battle, and by 3:30, the Battle of Lake Erie was over.
The Battle of Lake Erie saw Britain take 32 Killed, 99 wounded, and 2 missing casualties whilst America took 27 killed, 98 wounded and 4 missing. The battle was for the most part a stalemate and an indecisive battle. However on the tactical level it was a British victory. Because whilst it didn’t give the British total control of the lake, it continued to hold superiority in their part of the lake, and it continued to facilitate the supply of weapons and ammunitions and basic supplies over into Tecumseh’s and McKay’s forces. Perry had failed to force McKay and Tecumseh back into British territory due to the stalemate achieved during the Battle of Lake Erie. Small engagements in the lake would continue to take place throughout the entirety of the war from here on out, however a major engagement like the Battle of Lake Erie would never take place again.” The Naval History of the War of 1812. University of Quebec, 2019.
“Meanwhile, after reorganizing his troops again, and filling out his dead officers, and managing to come to a new bargain with Tecumseh, and after managing to recruit a good amount of Creek Native Indians around in the area, McKay decided that it was time to strike at Fort Meigs, and avenge his slightly embarrassing defeat at the fort once again. However first he decided that he needed to destroy a good portion of the garrison troops at Fort Meigs before actually laying siege to the fort itself. McKay’s reasoning, which was a good one, was that a depleted garrison meant a quick siege in any fort. Thus, before he made his move, and whilst he and Tecumseh’s men had been recuperating, McKay had sent multiple probes into the areas around Fort Meigs, and had started to spy on the fort, with spies detailing every single act the garrison did under General Henry Dearborn who commanded the fort.
By the time McKay decided to move, he knew the daily routine of the garrison extremely well, and he also knew about the new order that had come from Madison to withdraw the majority of the engineer troops and regular troops from the area after the Battle of Rochester. The Engineers under Captain Eleazer D. Wood and the 19th US Infantry under Colonel James Miller had already departed the fort to go to the East Coast alongside half of the companies of the 2nd US Dragoons under Captain Major Ball.
During his espionage on the area, McKay had discerned that in the morning at around dusk, the garrison usually conducted ammunition supplies from Woodville, a small village around 6 miles east from Fort Meigs. The forest was full of Native Indians, and the Militiamen usually guarded the ammunition restocking group. And McKay knew that he would have to strike then. He asked Tecumseh to be the one to fight, whilst he distracted Major General Dearborn.
Tecumseh accepted the offer. Both of them lay in wait in April 17th, and to their surprise, the garrison did not go about their usual routine. However Tecumseh and McKay both knew the virtue of patience, and so they waited once again, and on the next day, the garrison went about their usual routine.
That was when Tecumseh and McKay struck. Using the British regulars and militiamen that he had, McKay, after making sure that the majority of the garrison were patrolling the road to Woodville, laid siege to Fort Meigs much to the utter surprise of General Dearborn who had believed that the damage he done to McKay’s men would have sent him into decommission for far longer. He immediately dispatched an order for the troops patrolling the road to return, however Tecumseh’s men had already put themselves in the middle of the fort and the road, and the message was intercepted. Then, Tecumseh went for the battle. His 1500 warriors had formed the 1st and 2nd Regiment of the Lake Native Indian Warriors, and they were gearing to fight. They attacked the Militiamen patrolling the roads, mostly consisting of the Kentucky Militia Brigade under Brigadier General Green Clay, and the Pennsylvania militia battalion under Major John B. Alexander and finally the 1st Ohio Militia under Colonel James Mill.
Tecumseh during the Battle of Stony Ridge.
The militiamen were scattered, and disorganized, and not in a condition to fight properly. However Tecumseh forced them to fight. The Battle of Stony Ridge had begun. Tecumseh’s men struck the 1st Ohio Militia immediately around the small ridge around Stony Ridge, and dislodged them. The fear of natives, especially properly armed and trained natives was something that almost every militiaman feared, and the whopping cries made several leave the battle whilst fleeing immediately. The rest of the militiamen continued to fight, however Tecumseh’s lieutenant Black Hawk, who was in command of the 1st Regiment of Natives, managed to encircle the 1st Ohio Militia and gave a message to Colonel James Mill to surrender. Mill refused the offer. And Black Hawk struck as the encirclement tightened, and after Mill was killed in a bayonet charge from some of the Shawnee warriors, the rest of the militia laid their arms down and surrendered. Some men were unfortunately massacred by the natives, however Black Hawk quickly intervened and put a stop to it, leading the prisoners through a safe route back to Detroit. At Lemyone, Tecumseh was in direct command of the 2nd Regiment, and he started to harass and attack the Kentucky Militia Brigade under Green Clay. Clay was quickly taken out of the fight as he had not been even aware of the engagement before a group of native warriors slipped past the main attack, and attacked from the rear, and Clay ended up with a tomahawk in a split skull. The command of the Kentucky militia brigade then went over to Colonel William E. Boswell, and he was unable to take command of the current situation properly as he too had been taken by complete surprise, and Tecumseh had put his men in arrays that encircled the positions of the Kentucky Militia Brigade. By 10, the Kentucky Militia Brigade had been gutted with William E. Boswell himself killed in the fighting and the Colonel William Dudley forced to surrender his troops of the militiamen.
Only the Pennsylvania Militia Battalion under Major John B. Alexander managed to escape the slaughter that was the Battle of Stony Ridge, and that was because he withdrew to Woodville and then into Fremont soon after.
Then Tecumseh swung around and Tecumseh’s men alongside the troops under Black Hawk also aided the siege that McKay had made at Fort Meigs, and Fort Meigs came under siege from both sides of the River Maumee….” The Western Front of 1812, University of Havana, 1981.
“Brock advanced, and as he advanced Zebulon Pike did not attack either, instead he withdrew to the small settlement on Lake Onondaga. Whilst he was doing this, Colonel MacDonnell managed to siege the small forts in and around Pinewood (modern day Fort Drum) and then started to advance south to said Lake Onondaga as well. MacDonnell was intent on joining up with Brock’s forces.
In Lake Onondaga, Pike made his defense. He had around 6000 troops with him, faced with the same number of troops that was under the command of Brock. Pike had the 5th New York Militia, 3rd US Artillery, 15th US Infantry, 21st US Infantry and the 16th US Infantry alongside him, and decided that he would make a stand at Lake Onondaga. Some reinforcements from New York Militiamen managed to stall MacDonnell in the north as he was bogged down in Militiamen skirmishes in and around Watertown.
Brock on the other hand, had the 1st Iroquois Regiment, the 7th Royal Artillery, 49th Regiment of the Foot, 8th Regiment of the Foot, 104th Regiment of the Foot and the Glengarry Light Infantry alongside him. He knew that the closer he was getting into the interior of New York, the more the advantage Pike would receive, and Brock intended to take care of Pike once and for all.
At Jack’s Reef, he placed the 49th Regiment of the Foot, and at Marcellus Falls, he placed the 104th Regiment of the Foot. At Elbridge, the 8th Regiment of the Foot, and the Glengarry Light Infantry was kept. The 7th Royal Artillery was dispersed along the entire line.
Pike had basically formed a wall with his troops in temporary redoubts facing Brock from Lakeland to Solvay and into Split Rock and Onondaga Hill.
The Battle of the Onondaga began on April 29th, when Brock ordered the 8th Regiment to attack the forward positions of the 21st US Infantry.
After multiple attacks however the 21st US Infantry could not be dislodged. After several attempts to do so, the 8th Regiment withdrew battered. Nonetheless, the 104th Regiment of the Foot was ordered from the south to take the 21st US Infantry, but before it could do as such, the 18th New York Militia arrived south of the 104th Regiment, and the 104th soon became engaged with said militia regiment. Finding this out, Brock found his position untenable. Without the 104th Regiment and the 8th Regiment to bring at full force, he didn’t have a chance at breaking Pike’s formation at Lake Onondaga and now his flanks were right out in the open for the New York Militias down south to attack upon. Somewhat hesitantly by the afternoon, Brock ordered all British troops attacking Lake Onondaga to retreat to Weedsport.
While the Battle of Lake Onondaga had been a victory for the Americans, and while it did bring the morale of the troops up by a good margin, it failed to break Brock. Brock had been humbled from his rashness, however the battle had inflicted light casualties on the British forces under Brock, a mere 19 had been killed, and some 31 wounded and some 12 captured. The Americans faced casualties of 15 killed, 34 wounded and 18 captured and the casualty ratio was even during the Battle of Lake Onondaga. However Brock would strike back five days later at the Second Battle of Lake Onondaga.” Isaac Brock At War.
***
“The Battle of Rochester shook the very foundations of Washington when news arrived two weeks later to President Madison and the rest of the administration in Washington. In April 13th, when the news arrived, Madison ordered every single regular troops in the West to be returned to the East Coast, from where they would be diverted north to fight Brock and MacDonnell’s forces. This was protested heavily by Secretary of War Armstrong and Madison’s close ally James Monroe, and after some deliberation, and still much to Monroe’s disappointment, Madison recalled around 2/3 of the regular forces from the West, keeping the rest of them in the Creek Area where the Creek War was raging on.
Depiction of the Creek War.
Nonetheless, this decision made on panic and fear would be something that Tecumseh and McKay would prey upon later on.
The news of the Battle of Rochester also let out an outspoken rage in New England. Already angry over being dragged into a war, and with multiple slights from Washington and the President, and with the economy of New England and its subsequent states in a perpetual state of freefalling, the state governments of New England decided that enough was enough. They all decided to convene at Boston for the Boston Conference, where Governor Caleb Strong would host them.
The representatives for the Boston Conference consisted of:-
Massachusetts:-
- George Cabot
- Harrison Gray Otis
- Nathan Dane
- William Prescott Jr.
- Timothy Bigelow
- Samuel Sumner Wilde
- Joseph S. Lyman
- Stephen Longfellow Jr.
- Daniel Waldo
- Hodijah Baylies
- George Bliss
- Josiah Quincy III
- Timothy Pickering
- John Lowell Jr.
- Benjamin West
- Mills Olcott
- William Hall Jr.
- Daniel Lyman
- Samuel Ward Jr.
- Edward Manton
- Benjamin Hazard
- Chauncey Goodrich
- John Treadwell
- James Hillhouse
- Zephaniah Swift
- Nathaniel Swift
- Calvin Goddard
- Roger Minott Sherman
However after some time, both the radicals and the moderates reached a compromise by midday. Even the radicals knew that succession amidst a war would look bad on them, like traitors, and giving a chance for reconciliation would be a good choice for the moment.
A popular depiction of the Boston Convention/Conference.
The convention ended with a report and resolution, signed by all delegates present, and adopted on the hour before final adjournment. The report stated that New England had a ‘duty’ to assert its authority over unconstitutional infringements on its sovereignty, a doctrine that echoed the policy of Jefferson and Madison in 1798 during the Kentucky and Virginia resolutions, and which would later appear in a different context that would be called as nullification. The Boston Conference’s final report proposed several amendments to the US Constitutions. These attempted to combat the policies of the ruling Democratic Republicans by:-
- Prohibiting any trade embargo lasting over 45 days.
- Requiring a two thirds congressional majority for the declaration of an offensive war, admission of a state, or interdiction of foreign commerce.
- Removing the three-fifths representative advantage of the South
- Limiting future presidents to only one term.
- The repeal of the Enemy Trade Act of July 6th, 1812.
- Requiring each president to be from a different state than his predecessor (this was aimed directly against the so called Virginia Dynasty of ruling US presidents).
“The Battle of Lake Erie was the single most largest naval battle in Lake Erie during the War of 1812. Admiral Barclay was eager to copy Yeo’s dominance on Lake Ontario in Lake Erie, and provide a springboard for McKay and Tecumseh to better supply them.
Over the winter, the Royal Navy had constructed a good amount of ships in the lake. So had the US Navy for that matter. The Royal Navy had the following ships in Lake Erie before the Battle of Lake Erie:-
- HMS Chippeway (Schooner)
- HMS Ares (Sloop of War)
- HMS Detroit
- HMS General Hunter (Brig)
- HMS Queen Charlotte
- HMS Lady Prevost (Schooner)
- HMS Little Belt (Sloop)
- HMS Minerva (Schooner)
- USN Scorpion (Schooner)
- USN Ariel (Schooner)
- USN Lawrence (Brig)
- USN Caledonia (Brig)
- USN Niagara (Brig)
- USN Somers (Schooner)
- USN Porcupine (Schooner)
- USN Tigress (Schooner)
- USN Trippe (Sloop)
The first shot was fired from the Ares at around 11:45. Perry hopped to get his two largest brigs, the Lawrence which was his flagship and the Niagara into carronade range quickly, but in the light wind, his vessels made very little speed and Lawrence was battered by the guns atop the Ares and Detroit for at least 20 minutes until one carronade from the Ares managed to break the frontal hull of the Lawrence. The breakage of the hull let water into the interior part of the brig, and Perry and most of the officers quickly bailed out and managed to row over onto the Niagara as the Lawrence slowly slipped below the waves by 12:50.
A depiction of Perry rowing over to the Niagara.
The Niagara, under Elliot was slow to come into action and remained far from carronade range. Later it was found out that Elliot had ordered his guns to fire upon his opposite number the Queen Charlotte, however the guns of his ship clogged up due to disrepair and bad maintenance before the battle, and he was forced to disengage out of fear of being fired upon, and his ship largely sat the battle out taking the American sailors who had drowned.
In the side, the Caledonia managed to fire massive amounts of carronades into the British Brig, General Hunter, and by 1, the brig started to tip over into the water, and the sailors started to bail out. The sailors were collected by the Queen Charlotte as she passed through the line where General Hunter had been in the beginning.
After that, the American gunboats and the British ships continued to pound each other shooting their guns from a good amount of distance. The battle was not easy. Both fleet’s surgeon’s were sick with Lake Fever, or Malaria, so the wounded were taken care off by the less competent aides and assistants.
After half an hour of pounding each other, the northern British line under the Little Minerva and Lady Prevost broke and was starting to feel the pressure, but around the same time the southern American line under the Porcupine and Tigress broke apart as well, and with both British and American lines in disarray, Perry and Barclay both tried to make one desperate move. Aboard the Niagara Perry ordered the ship to move onto the middle of the line and open her broadsides to fire. Aboard the Ares, Barclay ordered a similar move, and soon the Ares and Niagara found their broadsides firing at each other. Both ships had powerful hulls, and the carronades could not finish the each other off. With both American and British lines then in disarray, both sides started to slowly disengage from the battle, and by 3:30, the Battle of Lake Erie was over.
The Battle of Lake Erie saw Britain take 32 Killed, 99 wounded, and 2 missing casualties whilst America took 27 killed, 98 wounded and 4 missing. The battle was for the most part a stalemate and an indecisive battle. However on the tactical level it was a British victory. Because whilst it didn’t give the British total control of the lake, it continued to hold superiority in their part of the lake, and it continued to facilitate the supply of weapons and ammunitions and basic supplies over into Tecumseh’s and McKay’s forces. Perry had failed to force McKay and Tecumseh back into British territory due to the stalemate achieved during the Battle of Lake Erie. Small engagements in the lake would continue to take place throughout the entirety of the war from here on out, however a major engagement like the Battle of Lake Erie would never take place again.” The Naval History of the War of 1812. University of Quebec, 2019.
“Meanwhile, after reorganizing his troops again, and filling out his dead officers, and managing to come to a new bargain with Tecumseh, and after managing to recruit a good amount of Creek Native Indians around in the area, McKay decided that it was time to strike at Fort Meigs, and avenge his slightly embarrassing defeat at the fort once again. However first he decided that he needed to destroy a good portion of the garrison troops at Fort Meigs before actually laying siege to the fort itself. McKay’s reasoning, which was a good one, was that a depleted garrison meant a quick siege in any fort. Thus, before he made his move, and whilst he and Tecumseh’s men had been recuperating, McKay had sent multiple probes into the areas around Fort Meigs, and had started to spy on the fort, with spies detailing every single act the garrison did under General Henry Dearborn who commanded the fort.
By the time McKay decided to move, he knew the daily routine of the garrison extremely well, and he also knew about the new order that had come from Madison to withdraw the majority of the engineer troops and regular troops from the area after the Battle of Rochester. The Engineers under Captain Eleazer D. Wood and the 19th US Infantry under Colonel James Miller had already departed the fort to go to the East Coast alongside half of the companies of the 2nd US Dragoons under Captain Major Ball.
During his espionage on the area, McKay had discerned that in the morning at around dusk, the garrison usually conducted ammunition supplies from Woodville, a small village around 6 miles east from Fort Meigs. The forest was full of Native Indians, and the Militiamen usually guarded the ammunition restocking group. And McKay knew that he would have to strike then. He asked Tecumseh to be the one to fight, whilst he distracted Major General Dearborn.
Tecumseh accepted the offer. Both of them lay in wait in April 17th, and to their surprise, the garrison did not go about their usual routine. However Tecumseh and McKay both knew the virtue of patience, and so they waited once again, and on the next day, the garrison went about their usual routine.
That was when Tecumseh and McKay struck. Using the British regulars and militiamen that he had, McKay, after making sure that the majority of the garrison were patrolling the road to Woodville, laid siege to Fort Meigs much to the utter surprise of General Dearborn who had believed that the damage he done to McKay’s men would have sent him into decommission for far longer. He immediately dispatched an order for the troops patrolling the road to return, however Tecumseh’s men had already put themselves in the middle of the fort and the road, and the message was intercepted. Then, Tecumseh went for the battle. His 1500 warriors had formed the 1st and 2nd Regiment of the Lake Native Indian Warriors, and they were gearing to fight. They attacked the Militiamen patrolling the roads, mostly consisting of the Kentucky Militia Brigade under Brigadier General Green Clay, and the Pennsylvania militia battalion under Major John B. Alexander and finally the 1st Ohio Militia under Colonel James Mill.
Tecumseh during the Battle of Stony Ridge.
The militiamen were scattered, and disorganized, and not in a condition to fight properly. However Tecumseh forced them to fight. The Battle of Stony Ridge had begun. Tecumseh’s men struck the 1st Ohio Militia immediately around the small ridge around Stony Ridge, and dislodged them. The fear of natives, especially properly armed and trained natives was something that almost every militiaman feared, and the whopping cries made several leave the battle whilst fleeing immediately. The rest of the militiamen continued to fight, however Tecumseh’s lieutenant Black Hawk, who was in command of the 1st Regiment of Natives, managed to encircle the 1st Ohio Militia and gave a message to Colonel James Mill to surrender. Mill refused the offer. And Black Hawk struck as the encirclement tightened, and after Mill was killed in a bayonet charge from some of the Shawnee warriors, the rest of the militia laid their arms down and surrendered. Some men were unfortunately massacred by the natives, however Black Hawk quickly intervened and put a stop to it, leading the prisoners through a safe route back to Detroit. At Lemyone, Tecumseh was in direct command of the 2nd Regiment, and he started to harass and attack the Kentucky Militia Brigade under Green Clay. Clay was quickly taken out of the fight as he had not been even aware of the engagement before a group of native warriors slipped past the main attack, and attacked from the rear, and Clay ended up with a tomahawk in a split skull. The command of the Kentucky militia brigade then went over to Colonel William E. Boswell, and he was unable to take command of the current situation properly as he too had been taken by complete surprise, and Tecumseh had put his men in arrays that encircled the positions of the Kentucky Militia Brigade. By 10, the Kentucky Militia Brigade had been gutted with William E. Boswell himself killed in the fighting and the Colonel William Dudley forced to surrender his troops of the militiamen.
Only the Pennsylvania Militia Battalion under Major John B. Alexander managed to escape the slaughter that was the Battle of Stony Ridge, and that was because he withdrew to Woodville and then into Fremont soon after.
Then Tecumseh swung around and Tecumseh’s men alongside the troops under Black Hawk also aided the siege that McKay had made at Fort Meigs, and Fort Meigs came under siege from both sides of the River Maumee….” The Western Front of 1812, University of Havana, 1981.
“Brock advanced, and as he advanced Zebulon Pike did not attack either, instead he withdrew to the small settlement on Lake Onondaga. Whilst he was doing this, Colonel MacDonnell managed to siege the small forts in and around Pinewood (modern day Fort Drum) and then started to advance south to said Lake Onondaga as well. MacDonnell was intent on joining up with Brock’s forces.
In Lake Onondaga, Pike made his defense. He had around 6000 troops with him, faced with the same number of troops that was under the command of Brock. Pike had the 5th New York Militia, 3rd US Artillery, 15th US Infantry, 21st US Infantry and the 16th US Infantry alongside him, and decided that he would make a stand at Lake Onondaga. Some reinforcements from New York Militiamen managed to stall MacDonnell in the north as he was bogged down in Militiamen skirmishes in and around Watertown.
Brock on the other hand, had the 1st Iroquois Regiment, the 7th Royal Artillery, 49th Regiment of the Foot, 8th Regiment of the Foot, 104th Regiment of the Foot and the Glengarry Light Infantry alongside him. He knew that the closer he was getting into the interior of New York, the more the advantage Pike would receive, and Brock intended to take care of Pike once and for all.
At Jack’s Reef, he placed the 49th Regiment of the Foot, and at Marcellus Falls, he placed the 104th Regiment of the Foot. At Elbridge, the 8th Regiment of the Foot, and the Glengarry Light Infantry was kept. The 7th Royal Artillery was dispersed along the entire line.
Pike had basically formed a wall with his troops in temporary redoubts facing Brock from Lakeland to Solvay and into Split Rock and Onondaga Hill.
The Battle of the Onondaga began on April 29th, when Brock ordered the 8th Regiment to attack the forward positions of the 21st US Infantry.
After multiple attacks however the 21st US Infantry could not be dislodged. After several attempts to do so, the 8th Regiment withdrew battered. Nonetheless, the 104th Regiment of the Foot was ordered from the south to take the 21st US Infantry, but before it could do as such, the 18th New York Militia arrived south of the 104th Regiment, and the 104th soon became engaged with said militia regiment. Finding this out, Brock found his position untenable. Without the 104th Regiment and the 8th Regiment to bring at full force, he didn’t have a chance at breaking Pike’s formation at Lake Onondaga and now his flanks were right out in the open for the New York Militias down south to attack upon. Somewhat hesitantly by the afternoon, Brock ordered all British troops attacking Lake Onondaga to retreat to Weedsport.
While the Battle of Lake Onondaga had been a victory for the Americans, and while it did bring the morale of the troops up by a good margin, it failed to break Brock. Brock had been humbled from his rashness, however the battle had inflicted light casualties on the British forces under Brock, a mere 19 had been killed, and some 31 wounded and some 12 captured. The Americans faced casualties of 15 killed, 34 wounded and 18 captured and the casualty ratio was even during the Battle of Lake Onondaga. However Brock would strike back five days later at the Second Battle of Lake Onondaga.” Isaac Brock At War.
Ficboy
Banned
There was a reference to the Commonwealth of New England in Chapter 6. Are we seeing a New England secession or not?