Raid on Fort Oswego

Battle of Fort Oswego
Part of the War of 1812
The attack on Fort Oswego, 1814.
Date 6 May 1814 Location Lake Ontario, New York Result British victory
Belligerents
United Kingdom	United States
Commanders and leaders
James Lucas Yeo Karl Viktor Fischer William Mulcaster	George Mitchell
Strength
550 soldiers 400 marines 200 sailors 8 warships	242 regulars 25 U.S. Navy 200 militia
Casualties and losses
17-18 killed 63-69 wounded Total: 80-87	6-21 killed 38 wounded 25-60 captured Total: 69-119

The Battle of Fort Oswego was a partially successful British raid on Fort Ontario and the village of Oswego, New York on May 6, 1814 during the War of 1812.

During the early months of 1814, while Lake Ontario was frozen, the British and American naval squadrons had been building two frigates each, with which to contest command of the lake during the coming campaigning season. The British under Commodore Sir James Lucas Yeo were first to complete their frigates on 14 April, but when the Americans under Commodore Isaac Chauncey had completed their own, more powerful, frigates, Yeo's squadron would be outclassed.

Lieutenant General Sir Gordon Drummond, the Lieutenant Governor of Upper Canada, suggested using the interval during which Yeo's squadron was stronger than Chauncey's to attack the main American harbour and base at Sackett's Harbor, New York. Most of its garrison had marched off to the Niagara River, leaving only 1,000 regular troops as its garrison. Nevertheless, Drummond would require reinforcements to mount a successful attack on the strongly fortified town, and the Governor General of Canada, Lieutenant General Sir George Prevost, refused to provide these.

Instead, Drummond and Yeo decided to attack the smaller post at Fort Ontario. This fort, with the nearby village of Oswego, New York, was a vital staging point on the American supply route from New York. Ordnance, food and other supplies were carried up the Mohawk River and across Lake Oneida, to Oswego, before making the final leg of the journey across the southeast corner of Lake Ontario to Sackett's Harbor.

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