Raid on Port Dover

Part of the War of 1812

Date	14–16 May 1814
Location	Port Dover, Norfolk County, Upper Canada
Result	American victory

Belligerents

United States

United Kingdom

Commanders and leaders

John B. Campbell

Unknown

Strength

750 regulars and militia

Scattered elements of militia and regular units

Casualties and losses

Unknown

Unknown
Port Dover destroyed

The Raid on Port Dover was an episode during the Anglo-American War of 1812. American troops crossed Lake Erie to capture or destroy stocks of grain and destroy mills at Port Dover, Ontario which were used to provide flour for British troops stationed on the Niagara Peninsula. At the instigation of Lieutenant Colonel John B. Campbell and without sanction from his superiors or the government of the United States, they also destroyed private houses and other property, prompting British commanders to demand reprisals in other theatres of the war. To some degree, the burning of Washington by the British later in the year was influenced by the American actions at Port Dover.

In the spring of 1814, the Americans were preparing to make an attack across the Niagara River. As the Americans held undisputed control of Lake Erie, the troops at Presque Isle were no longer needed to protect the improvised shipyard there, and were ordered to join the main American army at Buffalo, New York.

The idea of raiding the Canadian settlements near Long Point and destroying the mills there en route to Buffalo occurred both to Captain Arthur Sinclair, commanding the armed vessels of the United States Navy on Lake Erie, and Lieutenant Colonel John B. Campbell, commanding the troops at Presque Isle.

It took some days to assemble the expedition, in particular to obtain volunteers from the Pennsylvania Militia, and Sinclair later considered that the delay and publicity prevented the raid from achieving surprise. On 13 May, 750 troops, composed of detachments of regulars (including artillery) and Pennsylvania militia, were embarked aboard Sinclair's ships. The expedition was accompanied by several renegade Canadian guides, including Abraham Markle.

In the late afternoon of 14 May, the Americans landed near Port Dover. There was a minor skirmish between American militiamen and some Canadian militiamen who were trying to remove goods from a storehouse.

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Wikipedia