Raid on Gananoque
| Raid on Gananoque | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of War of 1812 | |||||||
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
 United States |
 Upper Canada | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
| Benjamin Forsyth | Joel Stone | ||||||
| Units involved | |||||||
|
New York Militia | 2nd Regiment of Leeds Militia | ||||||
| Strength | |||||||
| 110 regular infantry and militia | About 100 militia | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
|
1 killed 10 wounded |
8 killed 8 prisoners Some wounded Stores seized Government depot burned 3,000 ball cartridges 41 muskets 150 barrels of provisions | ||||||
The Raid on Gananoque was an action conducted by the United States Army on 21 September 1812 against Gananoque, Upper Canada during the War of 1812. The Americans sought to plunder ammunition and stores to resupply their own forces. Gananoque was a key point in the supply chain between Montreal and Kingston, the main base of the Provincial Marine on the Great Lakes. Under the command of Captain Benjamin Forsyth, the Americans departed Ogdensburg, New York and sailed to Gananoque, where they encountered resistance from the 2nd Regiment of Leeds Militia. The British militia was forced to retreat and the Americans successfully destroyed the storehouse and returned to the United States with captured supplies. As a result of the raid, the British strengthened their defences along the St. Lawrence River.
Background
The American garrison at
Attack
Brown ordered the attack on Gananoque to be led by
Aftermath
A British party was sent to intercept Forsyth but failed to locate his force. The British party then landed at Burton's Point and burned a
Historic plaque
To mark the site, an Ontario provincial plaque was installed on the grounds of the Gananoque Power Company.[7]
On September 21, 1812, during the War of 1812, a United States force of some 200 regulars and militia under Captain Benjamin Forsyth attacked Gananoque, Ontario. The village was an important forwarding point for supplies moving up the St. Lawrence River from Montreal to Kingston and was garrisoned by a detachment of the 2nd Leeds Militia under Colonel Joel Stone. After a spirited resistance, Colonel Stone withdrew his force comprising two subalterns and about forty soldiers, and the Americans seized the stores and burned the government depot. As a result of this raid, a blockhouse was begun in Gananoque the following month and completed in 1813.[14]
— Raid on Gananoque plaque
Notes
- ^ Tucker 2012, pp. 389–390.
- ^ a b c d e f g h Tucker 2012, p. 293.
- ^ Stanley 1983, p. 87.
- ^ Berton 1980, pp. 156–158.
- ^ Taylor 2010, p. 182.
- ^ Stanley 1983, p. 86.
- ^ a b c d e f Collins 2006, p. 181.
- ^ Malcomson 2009, p. 203.
- ^ Elting 1990, p. 52.
- ^ Irving 1908, p. 51.
- ^ a b c Malcomson 2009, p. 204.
- ^ Tucker 2012, p. 247.
- ^ Young 2006.
- ^ Ontario Historical Plaques.
References
- Berton, Pierre (1980). The Invasion of Canada 1812–1813. Toronto: McClelland and Stewart. ISBN 0-7710-1235-7.
- Collins, Gilbert (2006) [1998]. Guidebook to the Historic Sites of the War of 1812 (Second ed.). Toronto: The Dundurn Group. ISBN 1-55002-626-7.
- Elting, John R. (1990). Amateurs to Arms! A Military History of the War of 1812 (1st ed.). Chapel Hill, North Carolina: Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill. ISBN 0-945575-08-4.
- Irving, L. Homfray (1908). Officers of the British Forces in Canada during the War of 1812–15. Welland Tribune Print.
- Malcomson, Robert (2009). The A to Z of the War of 1812. Plymouth, United Kingdom: Scarecrow Press. ISBN 978-0-8108-6838-0.
- "Ontario's Historical Plaques". ontarioplaques.com. Archived from the original on 24 February 2018. Retrieved 24 February 2018.
- Stanley, George F. G. (1983). The War of 1812 Land Operations. Toronto: Macmillan of Canada in collaboration with the National Museum of Man, National Museums of Canada. ISBN 0-7715-9859-9.
- Taylor, Alan (2010). The Civil War of 1812: American Citizens, British Subjects, Irish Rebels & Indian Allies. New York: Vintage Books. ISBN 978-0-679-77673-4.
- Tucker, Spencer C., ed. (2012). The Encyclopedia of the War of 1812: A Political, Social and Military History. Santa Barbara, California: ABC-Clio. ISBN 978-1-85109-956-6.
- Young, Richard J. (15 September 2006). "Blockhouses in Canada, 1749–1841: A Comparative Report and Catalogue". Canadian Historic Sites: Occasional Papers in Archaeology and History No. 23. Parks Canada. Archived from the original on 24 February 2018. Retrieved 24 February 2018.