Battle of Stoney Creek

On 27 May, the Americans had won the Battle of Fort George, forcing the British defenders of Fort George into a hasty retreat. The British commander, Brigadier General John Vincent, gathered in all his outposts along the Niagara River, disbanded the militia contingents in his force and retreated to Burlington Heights (at the west end of Burlington Bay), with about 1,600 men in total. The Americans under the overall leadership of General Henry Dearborn, who was elderly and ill, were slow to pursue. A brigade under Brigadier General William H. Winder first followed up Vincent, but Winder decided that Vincent's forces were too strong to engage, and halted at the Forty Mile Creek. Another brigade joined him, commanded by Brigadier General John Chandler, who was the senior, and took overall command. Their combined force, numbering 3,400, advanced to Stoney Creek, where they encamped on 5 June. The two generals set up their headquarters at the Gage Farm, confident of intelligence about the defensive layout of Burlington Heights provided by Aaron Stevens, a former member of the British Indian Department. Stevens would be captured five months later at the Battle of Nanticoke Creek and would be one of eight traitors hanged after the Ancaster Bloody Assize. Vincent sent his deputy assistant adjutant general, Lieutenant Colonel John Harvey, to reconnoitre the American position. Harvey recommended a night attack, reporting that "the enemy's guards were few and negligent; his line of encampment was long and broken; his artillery was feebly supported; several of his corps were placed too far to the rear to aid in repelling a blow which might be rapidly struck in front". The American dispositions described by Harvey account for the statement in the post-battle report of the U.S. Assistant Adjutant-General that only 1,328 American troops were engaged against the British, out of Chandler's total force of 3,400. Although Vincent accompanied the column, he placed Harvey in command. that he was the cousin of American general William Henry Harrison. In order to be able to pass through the American lines, he was given the challenge response password for the day – "Wil-Hen-Har" (an abbreviation of Harrison's name). He gave his word of honour that he would not divulge this to the British army. He then revealed the word to Green, who rode his brother-in-law's horse part way, and ran on foot the rest of the way to Burlington Heights. Here, he revealed the password to Lieutenant James FitzGibbon. He was provided with a sword and uniform and used his knowledge of the terrain to guide the British to the American position. Green was present at the battle. However, it has been suggested that the password was actually obtained by Lieutenant Colonel Harvey. According to an account given after the war by Frederick Snider, a neighbour of the Gages, Harvey had executed a ruse on the first sentry to be accosted. Pretending to be the American officer of the day making grand rounds, he approached the sentry and when challenged, came close to the sentry's ear as if to whisper the countersign. But with bayonet secreted in hand, he grabbed the surprised sentry by the throat and threw him to the ground. With the bayonet at his throat, the sentry gave up the password. This suggestion illustrates the incomplete research into several aspects of the Battle of Stoney Creek. Snider gave this account not long before his death in 1877 and his source for it was the April 1871 issue of The Canadian Literary Journal. Snider was confusing Harvey with Colonel Murray, June 1813 with December 1813 and Stoney Creek with Youngstown near Fort Niagara. Snider makes several obvious errors, such as "the British General St. Vincent was found some days after wandering about in the woods nearly dead of hunger." His name was Vincent and he did not wander about the woods for days. Snider's source for the provenance of the countersign should thus be considered to be unreliable. ==Battle==

. in a Scottish Highland uniform. He led a British nighttime infantry charge and captured both American commanding generals on the battlefield. Photographed in December 1870. The British left their camp at Burlington Heights at 11:30 p.m. on 5 June. While Vincent was the senior officer present, the troops were placed under the conduct and direction of Lieutenant Colonel Harvey, who led them silently toward Stoney Creek. Green is said to have bayoneted one of the American sentries personally, Shaler had returned to the original position when he heard a sentry cry out as he was being tomahawked after being shot with an arrow from one of John Norton's small band of First Nations warriors. Around the same time, a group of Vincent's staff officers who had come forward to watch the action let out a cheer. Gradually, the American troops began to recover from the initial surprise, recover their poise and start firing at the attacking British, at times from as far away as . The American artillery also entered the fray after having previously been rendered useless due to the dampness settling into the powder. Holding the high ground, the Americans were able to pour both musket and artillery fire into the exposed British line and the line began to lose cohesion. For ammunition, the U.S. 25th Infantry was firing a variant of "buck and ball", in this instance firing 12 buckshot balls instead of the usual .65 calibre ball and 3 buckshot. This effectively turned their muskets into shotguns. Despite repeated charges by the British, the centre of the American line was holding and with the withering fire that the British line was sustaining, it was only a matter of time before they would have to retire. ordered the U.S. 5th Infantry to protect the left flank, unintentionally creating a gap in the American lines A series of events coincided to change the course of the battle. General Winder ordered the U.S. 5th Infantry to protect the left flank. In doing so, he created a gap in the American line while at the same time leaving the artillery unsupported by infantry. Simultaneously, the other American commander, John Chandler, hearing musket shots from the far right of the American line and having already sent his staff officers off with other orders, rode out to investigate personally. But his horse fell (or was shot – Chandler used both excuses at different times) and he was knocked out in the fall. Major Charles Plenderleath, commanding the British 49th Regiment, was able to ascertain the position of the American artillery when two field guns fired in quick succession (). Realising the importance of possession of the guns, he gathered troops of Fitzgibbon's and other nearby companies to charge the guns before they could reload. First to volunteer for what could be a suicidal attack were 23-year-old sergeant Alexander Fraser and his 21-year-old brother Peter, a corporal in Fitzgibbon's company, with 20 to 30 others. With bayonets fixed, Plenderleath led the charge up Gage's Lane, volunteers following at a run, all fearing that the next discharge from the cannons might annihilate them. However, the U.S. 2nd Artillery under the command of Captain Nathaniel Towson at that moment responded to an order to cease firing, before continuing on to engage the U.S. 23rd Infantry which got off one round before the momentum of the 49th scattered them. The remaining British forces followed soon after. was captured near the end of the battle At this point General Chandler, conscious again and aware of the commotion near his artillery but not of the reason, stumbled to the position to investigate. Thinking himself to be among the U.S. 23rd Infantry and intending to bring order back to the "new and undisciplined" troops, he realised to his horror that the soldiers were British and Alexander Fraser immediately took him prisoner at bayonet point. Winder very shortly thereafter fell prey to the same mistake. Realising his error, he pulled his pistol, aiming it at Fraser who was poised to take him prisoner as he had Chandler. With his musket pointed at Winder's breast, Fraser told him menacingly "If you stir, sir; you die" and Winder was made prisoner also, proffering his sword to Fraser. Major Joseph Lee Smith of the 25th U.S. Infantry was very nearly captured himself but having made good his escape, alerted his men to make a quick withdrawal, thereby avoiding capture. Command of the American forces fell to cavalry officer Colonel James Burn. The cavalry charged forward firing, but once again in the darkness, the Americans suffered from a case of mistaken identity – they were firing on their own U.S. 16th Infantry, who were themselves wandering around without their commander and firing at each other in confusion. Shortly afterwards, the Americans fell back, convinced that they had been defeated, when in fact they still retained a superior force. The battle lasted less than 45 minutes, but its intensity led to heavy casualties on both sides. ==Casualties==

The British casualty return gave 23 killed, 136 wounded and 55 missing, which suggests that a substantial number of the enlisted prisoners may also have been wounded. British killed in action at the Battle of Stoney Creek, 6 June 1813 (as listed on the Stoney Creek Battlefield Monument): Samuel Hooker, Joseph Hunt, James Daig, Thomas Fearnsides, Richard Hugill, George Longley, Laurence Mead, John Regler, John Wale, Charles Page, James Adams, Alexander Brown, Michael Burke, Henry Carroll, Nathaniel Catlin, Martin Curley, Martin Donnolly, Peter Henley, John Hostler, Edward Killoran, Edward Little, Patrick Martin, John Maxwell. The names of the American dead are not recorded. ==Aftermath==

proceeded towards Stoney Creek in an attempt to displace the British. Casualties in the fight had been uneven, with the British taking roughly three times more killed and wounded than the Americans, but the Americans had been shaken. It is most probable that if their generals had not been captured, the battle might have turned out quite differently. making a total American loss, during 6–10 June, of 16 killed, 38 wounded and 192 captured: total 230 men. The Americans retired into a small defensive perimeter around Fort George, where they remained until abandoning the fort and retreating across the Niagara River into U.S. territory in December. Brigadier General Winder was later exchanged and subsequently commanded the Tenth Military District around Washington, where he attracted censure following the burning of Washington. == Orders of battle ==

Battlefield House remains from the time of the battle, and is a museum located within Battlefield Park. They are located very near the site of the battle and, with a knoll across the street where a separate monument stands, comprises Battle of Stoney Creek National Historic Site. The park's stone tower was dedicated exactly 100 years after the battle. It was unveiled following a signal given by Queen Mary in England, via the transatlantic telegraph cable, and commemorates British soldiers who died in the fight. The Gage farm house is also preserved and serves as a museum. The battle is re-enacted annually on the weekend closest to 6 June. The 2016 event was the 35th such re-enactment. The battle is commemorated in the song "Billy Green" from the 1999 album From Coffee House to Concert Hall by Canadian folk singer Stan Rogers. George Fox also sang "Billy Green", which is on his album Canadian. ==References==