The Battle of Crysler's Farm, also known as the Battle of Crysler's Field, or the Battle of Williamsburg, was fought on 11 November 1813, during the War of 1812, in the British province of Upper Canada. A British and Upper Canadian force defeated a much larger American invasion force, prompting the US to abandon the Saint Lawrence campaign, its plan to capture Montreal in the autumn of 1813.

The name of the battle comes from a farm owned by Captain John Crysler, an officer in the Dundas County Militia who participated in the battle. The farm served as the headquarters for British forces, although the battle itself occurred on properties towards the east. (The name "Chrysler's Farm" is sometimes used for the engagement, but "Crysler" is the proper spelling.)

Saint Lawrence Campaign

American plan

The battle arose from a United States military campaign that was intended to capture Montreal in the British province of Lower Canada. The resulting military actions, including the Battle of the Chateauguay in Lower Canada, the Battle of Crysler's Farm in Upper Canada, and a number of skirmishes, are collectively known as the Saint Lawrence Campaign.

upright|thumb|The American plans were devised by the [[United States Secretary of War, John Armstrong Jr.]]

The US plan was devised by United States Secretary of War John Armstrong Jr., who originally intended to take the field himself. Because concentrating the necessary force in one place was difficult due to the initially scattered disposition of the troops and inadequate lines of communication, it involved two forces which were to combine for the final assault. Major General James Wilkinson's division of 8,000 was to concentrate at Sackett's Harbor on Lake Ontario, and proceed down the Saint Lawrence River in gunboats, batteaux and other small craft. At some point, they would rendezvous with a division of 4,000 under Major General Wade Hampton advancing north from Plattsburgh on Lake Champlain, to make the final attack on Montreal.

Even as preparations proceeded, that the plan had several shortcomings was apparent. Until the last minute, the planners were uncertain whether the objective was to be Montreal or Kingston, as Armstrong originally intended to attack and where the British naval squadron on Lake Ontario was based. However, Commodore Isaac Chauncey, commanding the US Navy squadron on the lake, refused to risk his ships in any attack against Kingston.

American preliminary moves

Hampton began his part of the campaign on 19 September with an advance down the Richelieu River, which flows north from Lake Champlain. He decided that the defences on this obvious route were too strong and instead shifted westward to Four Corners, on the Chateauguay River near the border with Lower Canada. He was forced to wait there for several weeks as Wilkinson's force was not ready, which cost him some of his initial advantage in numbers as Canadian troops were moved to the Chateauguay, and reduced his supplies.

Armstrong had intended that Wilkinson's force would set out on 15 September. On 2 September, Wilkinson himself had gone to Fort George, which the Americans had captured in May, to arrange the movement of Brigadier General John Parker Boyd's division from Fort George to rendezvous with the troops from Sackett's Harbor.

The poor prospects for success (and possibly his own illness)

Wilkinson's moves

Wilkinson's force left Sackett's Harbor in 300 batteaux and other small craft on 17 October, bound at first for Grenadier Island at the head of the St. Lawrence. Mid-October was very late in the year for serious campaigning in the Canadas and the American force was hampered by bad weather, losing several boats and suffering from sickness and exposure. It took several days for the last stragglers to reach Grenadier Island.

thumb|left|Wilkinson's flotilla off the shore of [[Weller's Bay|Bald Island. The force set out in 300 batteaux and other small crafts on 17 October.]]

On 1 November, the first boats set out from the island, and reached French Creek (near present-day Clayton, New York) on 4 November. Here, the first shots of the campaign were fired. British brigs and gunboats under Commander William Mulcaster had left Kingston to rendezvous with and escort batteaux and canoes carrying supplies up the Saint Lawrence. The aggressive Mulcaster bombarded the American anchorages and encampments during the evening. The next morning, American artillerymen under Lieutenant Colonel Moses Porter drove him away, using hastily heated "hot shot".

From French Creek, Wilkinson proceeded down the river. On 6 November, while at the settlement of Hoags, he received the news that Hampton had been repulsed at the Chateauguay River on 26 October. He sent fresh instructions to Hampton to march westward from his present position at Four Corners, New York and meet him at Cornwall. This delaying skirmish helped the Canadian forces bolster their defences and gave extra time for preparation in Cornwall.

On the following day (9 November), Wilkinson held a council of war. All his senior officers appeared to be determined to proceed with the expedition, regardless of the difficulties and alarming reports of enemy strength. The advance guard was reinforced with the 2nd Brigade (6th, 15th and 22nd U.S. infantry) under Brigadier General Jacob Brown, who took command of the force which numbered 2.500. Brown's force marched eastward along the northern bank of the river, clearing a small British garrison from Fort Matilda, at the river's narrowest point. Before the main body could follow by water, Wilkinson learned that a British force was pursuing him. He landed almost all the other troops as a rearguard, under Brigadier General John Parker Boyd. Late on 10 November, after a day spent marching under intermittent fire from British gunboats and field guns, Wilkinson set up his headquarters in Cook's Tavern, with Boyd's troops bivouacked in the surrounding woods.

British counter-moves

thumb|upright|The British dispatched the Corps of Observation, commanded by Lt Col [[Joseph Wanton Morrison, after the Americans heading down the Saint Lawrence River]]

The British had been aware of the American concentration at Sackett's Harbor, but for a long time they had believed, with good reason, that their own main naval base at Kingston was the intended target of Wilkinson's force. Major General Francis de Rottenburg, the Lieutenant Governor of Upper Canada, had massed his available troops there. When Mulcaster returned from French Creek late on 5 November with news that the Americans were heading down the Saint Lawrence, de Rottenburg dispatched a Corps of Observation after them, in accordance with orders previously issued by Governor General Sir George Prevost.

The corps initially numbered 650 men, and was commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Joseph Wanton Morrison, the commanding officer of the 2nd Battalion, the 89th Regiment. They were embarked in the schooners Beresford and Sir Sydney Smith, accompanied by seven gunboats and several small craft, all commanded by Mulcaster. They departed from Kingston in thick weather late on 7 November and evaded the ships of Commodore Isaac Chauncey, which were blockading the base, among the Thousand Islands at the head of the Saint Lawrence River. On 9 November, they reached Prescott, where the troops disembarked as the schooners could proceed no farther (although Mulcaster continued to accompany them with three gunboats and some batteaux). Morrison was reinforced by a detachment of 240 men from the garrison of Prescott, for a total strength of about 900 men.

Battle

As dawn broke on 11 November, it was cold and raining, though the rain later eased. Firing broke out in two places. On the river, Mulcaster's gunboats began shooting at the American boats clustered around Cook's Point, while a Mohawk fired a shot at an American party scouting near their encampment, who replied with a volley. (though some sources put the figure at 4,000).

British dispositions

The British were disposed in echelon, with their right wing thrown forward:

  • Lining a ravine close to the American positions and in the woods on the left was the skirmish line under Major Frederick Heriot of the Canadian Voltigeurs, consisting of three companies of the Voltigeurs and around two dozen Mohawks from Tyendinaga under Interpreter-Lieutenant Charles Anderson. A company of the Dundas Militia fought as skirmishers and stretcher bearers along the skirmish line, commanded by Capt. John Crysler. (A small rifle company of the Leeds Militia may also have been present.)
  • The right wing was part of the detachment from Prescott under its commandant, Lieutenant Colonel Thomas Pearson. It consisted of the flank (i.e. light and grenadier) companies of the 49th Regiment and a detachment of the Canadian Fencibles (perhaps 150 men in total) with a six-pounder gun of the Canadian Provincial Artillery. They occupied some buildings on the river bank near the Americans, with a small gully protecting their front.
  • Behind their left flank were three companies (150 men) of the 2/89th under Captain G. W. Barnes.
  • Behind Barnes's left flank, in turn, was the British main body; the centre companies of the 49th (160 men) under Lieutenant Colonel Charles Plenderleath on the right and six companies (300 men) of the 2/89th on the left under Morrison himself.
  • Morrison stated that he disposed one each of his three 6-pounder guns to support each of his three detachments (Pearson, Barnes and the main body). However, various sources state that while the militia gun was posted with Pearson, the two 6-pounder guns of the Royal Artillery under Captain H. G. Jackson occupied a small hillock behind the 49th, and fired over their heads during the engagement.

Action

Boyd did not order an assault until the middle of the afternoon. On the American right, the 21st U.S. Infantry under Colonel Eleazer Wheelock Ripley advanced and drove the British skirmish line back through the woods, for almost a mile. Here they paused, and were joined by the 12th and 13th U.S. Infantry from Coles' brigade.

Meanwhile, Covington's brigade struggled across the ravine and deployed into line, under musket and shrapnel fire. Legend has it that at this point, Covington mistook the battle-hardened 49th Regiment in their grey greatcoats for Canadian Militia and called out to his men, "Come on, my lads! Let us see how you will deal with these militiamen!" A moment later, he was mortally wounded. His second-in-command took over, only to be killed almost immediately. The brigade quickly lost order and began to retreat.

It was now about half past four. Almost all of the American army was in full retreat. The 25th U.S. Infantry under Colonel Edmund P. Gaines and the collected boat guards under Lieutenant Colonel Timothy Upham held the ravine for a while, but Pearson threatened to get around their left flank, and they, too, fell back.

Casualties

Although the British casualties were reported in Morrison's despatches as 22 killed, 148 wounded and 9 missing, it has been demonstrated that a further nine men were killed and an additional four men were missing, No figures were given for men missing or captured but the official return notes that three of the sixteen officers listed as wounded were also captured. The number of American prisoners taken was initially reported as "upwards of 100" by Morrison but he wrote that more were still being brought in. The final tally was 120. Most of these were severely wounded men who had been left on the field but fourteen unwounded enlisted men were captured after trying to hide in a swamp. A Canadian who rode across the battlefield on the morning of 12 November remembered it being "covered with Americans killed and wounded".

Aftermath

thumb|upright|Maj Gen [[James Wilkinson called for a council of war and opted to end the campaign shortly after the battle]]

On 12 November, the sullen American flotilla successfully navigated the Long Sault rapids. That evening, they reached a settlement known as Barnhardt's, above Cornwall, where they rendezvoused with Brown's detachment. There was no sign of Hampton's force, but Colonel Henry Atkinson, one of Hampton's staff officers, brought Hampton's reply to Wilkinson's letter of 6 November. Hampton stated that a shortage of supplies had forced him to retire to Plattsburgh. Wilkinson used this as pretext to call another council of war, which unanimously opted to end the campaign. The defeat of the American forces at the Battle of Crysler's Farm and, on 26 October, at the Battle of the Chateauguay, ended the American threat to Montreal in the late fall of 1813, and with it the risk that the Canadas would be cut into two parts.

The army went into winter quarters at French Mills, from the Saint Lawrence, but the roads were almost impassable in this season, and Wilkinson was also forced by a lack of supplies and sickness among his army to retreat to Plattsburg. He was later dismissed from command shortly after a failed attack on a British outpost at Lacolle Mills. He subsequently faced a court martial on various charges of negligence and misconduct during the Saint Lawrence Campaign, but was exonerated when most of the government's witnesses refused to testify.

On the British side, Mulcaster was promoted to post-captain to take command of a frigate but lost a leg in 1814 during the Raid on Fort Oswego, ending his active career. Morrison also was severely wounded later in 1814 at the Battle of Lundy's Lane. Morrison, Harvey and Pearson all eventually became generals, as did Major James B. Dennis, who commanded the militia which fought Brown at Hoople's Creek.

Orders of battle

{| class="wikitable"

|+

!British / Canadian order of battle

!American order of battle The area of Crysler's Farm was permanently submerged in 1958 as a result of the construction of the Moses-Saunders Power Dam for the St. Lawrence Seaway. The monument erected in 1895 commemorating the battle was moved from Crysler's Farm to Crysler's Farm Battlefield Park in Morrisburg. The 49th Regiment of Foot is perpetuated in the British Army by the Rifles Regiment, while the 89th is perpetuated by the Royal Irish Regiment (1992).

Three regiments of the Canadian Army (the Royal 22<sup>e</sup> Régiment, the Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry Highlanders and Les Voltigeurs de Québec) do carry the Battle Honour "Crysler's Farm", awarded by the Canadian government in 2012 to Canadian Army regiments that are the successor units of regular and militia units that took part in the battle. The honour commemorates both the significance of the battle for the defence of Canada as well as the sacrifices made by regular and militia units during the engagement.

On the occasion of the bicentennial of the battle (11 November 2013) Prime Minister Stephen Harper visited the Crysler's Farm Battlefield Park on Remembrance Day and laid a wreath at the cenotaph in the presence of contingents from the Royal 22<sup>e</sup> Régiment, the Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry Highlanders and Les Voltigeurs de Québec as well as representatives from First Nations who fought there. American and British diplomatic representatives also attended the ceremony and laid wreaths.

Notes

Sources

  • Bulger, Andrew H. (1866). An Autobiographical Sketch of the Services of the Late Captain Andrew Bulger of the Royal Newfoundland Fencible Regiment. Bangalore: Regimental Press, 2nd Battalion 10th Regiment.
  • Cox, Howard W. (2023). American Traitor: General James Wilkinson's Betrayal of the Republic and Escape From Justice. Washington, DC, Georgetown University Press. .
  • Myers, Mordecai. (1900). Reminiscences, 1780 to 1814, Including Incidents in the War of 1812-14; Letters Pertaining to His Early Life Written by Major Myers, 13th Infantry, U.S. Army. Crane Company.
  • Animated Stages of the Battle of Crysler's Farm
  • Animated Maps of the Battle of Crysler's Farm