Capture of Fort Niagara

Capture of Fort Niagara
Part of War of 1812
View of Fort Niagara from the Ontario side of the Niagara River
Date December 19, 1813 Location Fort Niagara, Niagara River, near Youngstown, New York Coordinates: 43°04′39″N 79°00′56″W / 43.077539°N 79.015561°W / 43.077539; -79.015561 Result British victory
Belligerents
United Kingdom	United States
Commanders and leaders
Gordon Drummond, John Murray	Nathaniel Leonard
Strength
562	324 regulars unknown number militia
Casualties and losses
6 killed 5 wounded	65-80 killed 14 wounded prisoners 344 captured

The Capture of Fort Niagara took place late in 1813, during the War of 1812 between the United Kingdom and the United States. The American garrison was taken by surprise, and the fort was captured in a night assault by a select force of British regular infantry.

Fort Niagara was an important American post near the outlet of the Niagara River into Lake Ontario. During the early days of the war, it was involved in several exchanges of artillery fire against the British at Fort George on the other side of the river.

On 27 May 1813, the Americans won the Battle of Fort George. This left Fort George in their hands, and they briefly captured the entire Niagara peninsula, but they were then driven back to a narrow enclave around Fort George. Later during the year, almost all the regular soldiers on the Niagara front were redeployed to Sacket's Harbor to take part in an attack down the Saint Lawrence River against Montreal. They had briefly been replaced by regulars from the western theatre under William Henry Harrison, but in November these too had been ordered to march to protect Sacket's Harbor, which had been stripped of troops to furnish the Montreal expedition. This left Brigadier General George McClure of the New York militia with only 60 regulars, 40 volunteers from the New York militia and 100 Canadian Volunteers (renegades fighting for the United States) to hold Fort George.

In late 1813, Major General Francis de Rottenburg, the British Lieutenant Governor of Upper Canada, had been alarmed by defeats in the west (the Battle of Lake Erie and the Battle of the Thames) and American concentrations to the east. On 9 October he ordered the troops on the Niagara peninsula to retreat hastily to Burlington Heights at the western end of Lake Ontario. He intended to abandon even this position and concentrate his forces at Kingston but during the first week in December, de Rottenburg was replaced by the more forceful Lieutenant General Gordon Drummond. Drummond was aware that the American attack on Montreal had been defeated, leaving the American Army stranded in poorly-supplied winter quarters in Upper New York State. He immediately cancelled de Rottenburg's plans for further retreat, and ordered the units at Burlington Heights to advance instead.

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