Battle of Chippewa

Battle of Chippawa
Part of the War of 1812
Winfield Scott leads his infantry brigade forward.
Date July 5, 1814 Location Chippawa, Upper Canada (present-day Ontario) Result American victory
Belligerents
United Kingdom	United States
Commanders and leaders
Phineas Riall	Jacob Brown Winfield Scott Peter Porter
Strength
2,100	3,500
Casualties and losses
108 dead 319 wounded 75 wounded prisoners 15 captured 18 missing	60 killed 249 wounded 19 missing
National Historic Site of Canada
Official name	Battle of Chippawa National Historic Site of Canada
Designated	1921

Coordinates: 43°03′08″N 79°01′29″W / 43.052127°N 79.024720°W / 43.052127; -79.024720

60 killed
249 wounded
19 missing

The Battle of Chippawa (sometimes incorrectly spelled Chippewa) was a victory for the United States Army in the War of 1812, during an invasion of Upper Canada along the Niagara River on July 5, 1814. This battle and the subsequent Battle of Lundy's Lane demonstrated that trained American troops could hold their own against British regulars. The battlefield is a National Historic Site.

Early in 1814, it was clear that Napoleon was defeated in Europe, and seasoned British veteran soldiers from the Peninsular War would be redeployed to Canada. The United States Secretary of War, John Armstrong Jr., was eager to win a victory in Canada before British reinforcements arrived there.

Major General Jacob Brown was ordered to form the Left Division of the Army of the North. Armstrong intended him to mount an attack on Kingston, the main British base on Lake Ontario, with a diversion by militia across the Niagara River to distract the British. He had however drawn up alternate orders for a major attack across the Niagara, possibly as a contingency plan, but probably to mislead the British through deliberate leaks. Brown considered that he was being presented with two alternate plans, and was free to choose between them. Although Brigadier General Edmund P. Gaines tried to persuade Brown to make the attack on Kingston, it proved impossible for Brown to gain any cooperation from Commodore Isaac Chauncey (commanding the American naval squadron based at Sackett's Harbor, New York) which was essential for any such attack. Chauncey was waiting for new ships to be completed and refused to make any move before the middle of July. Brown therefore made the attack across the Niagara into the main effort.

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