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The FReeper Foxhole Remembers The Battle of Lundy's Lane (7/25/1814) - Sep. 7th, 2003
http://www.galafilm.com/1812/e/events/lundy2.html ^

Posted on 09/07/2003 12:01:20 AM PDT by SAMWolf



Lord,

Keep our Troops forever in Your care

Give them victory over the enemy...

Grant them a safe and swift return...

Bless those who mourn the lost.
.

FReepers from the Foxhole join in prayer
for all those serving their country at this time.


God Bless America
...................................................................................... ...........................................

U.S. Military History, Current Events and Veterans Issues

Where Duty, Honor and Country
are acknowledged, affirmed and commemorated.

Our Mission:

The FReeper Foxhole is dedicated to Veterans of our Nation's military forces and to others who are affected in their relationships with Veterans.

In the FReeper Foxhole, Veterans or their family members should feel free to address their specific circumstances or whatever issues concern them in an atmosphere of peace, understanding, brotherhood and support.

The FReeper Foxhole hopes to share with it's readers an open forum where we can learn about and discuss military history, military news and other topics of concern or interest to our readers be they Veteran's, Current Duty or anyone interested in what we have to offer.

If the Foxhole makes someone appreciate, even a little, what others have sacrificed for us, then it has accomplished one of it's missions.

We hope the Foxhole in some small way helps us to remember and honor those who came before us.

To read previous Foxhole threads or
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click on the books below.

The Battle of Lundy's Lane


In the early evening of July 25, word reached Major General Jacob Brown that the British were on the move. Rumour had it that his enemy was staging a two-pronged advance; some of the British troops at Queenston were advancing toward them while others were crossing the Niagara in an attempt to take over the American supply depot at Fort Schlosser, to then threaten the American rear. Without confirming these accounts, Brown sent forward a brigade under the ever-eager Winfield Scott in order to harass the enemy near Queenston and get an idea of their numbers.


This battle is more commonly known as the battle of Lundy's Lane. The British and Americans fought to a bloody stalemate that resulted in hundreds of dead and wounded. The confrontation devastated both sides but it caused the Americans to lose momentum in their invasion of the Niagara peninsula. Within weeks they would cross back to the U.S. for the last time.


Three miles into his outing Scott’s men discovered just how inaccurate those rumours were when they marched right into the army of Phineas Riall perched on a hill by Lundy’s Lane. Riall’s men looked down upon the Americans from beside the little church on the high knoll where they had placed an impressive number of cannon.

The rest of Riall’s line stretched down both sides of the hill forming a crescent shape in the center of which Scott’s men were standing. They could hear the British bugles calling, as the first arrivals of Lieutenant General Gordon Drummond’s 800 troops formed up. Scott knew that not only the lives of his men, but the reputation of his brigade hung in the balance. A prudent commander would likely fall back. Within moments, Scott made his decision and a dispatch was sent to Brown: "Brig.-Gen. Scott will engage the British - send reinforcements."


Major General Phineas Riall,
British Army


Scott’s defiant stand opened the bloodiest battle of the war so far. These cannon on the high ground devastated the lone American brigade who could only respond with musket fire. Many of the battalion’s commanders were killed or wounded early on. Brown arrived on the field but did not realize the size of the opposing force and engaged his army piecemeal, sending only Eleazar Ripley’s brigade forward to help Scott’s battered men. These officers soon concluded that they had to take the guns if they were to control the battle. James Miller, a young colonel under Ripley’s command, was asked to make a frontal assault on the guns. His understated response was, “I’ll try, sir”, which would earn him a place in American history.

Darkness would become the common enemy of both armies and it would become difficult to distinguish friend from foe. Throughout this long night, the darkness led to numerous blunders: General Phineas Riall unwittingly delivered himself into the hands of American troops; British regulars on the knoll opened fire on their fellow Glengarry Fencibles, and troops mistakenly beat and bayoneted comrades while wandering about blindly searching for their ranks.


General Winfield Scott


The only light amidst the darkness and smoke was provided by cannon fire and musket blasts. It was enough to give Miller’s men glimpses of the heaps of bodies accumulating on the hillside. Darkness surrounded the base of the hill so that British gunners did not see Miller’s men until they had emptied their muskets on them. After a fierce hand-to-hand struggle Miller drove the British from the hill. Brown’s entire army now fought furiously to hold on to the guns.

Over the next two hours, both armies struggled for the guns on the high ground with what one American called “a desperation bordering on madness.” Despite a neck wound, Drummond stood up front and ordered his men to hold fast on the hillside. Everyone, including the British soldiers who had arrived from the European war, were shaken by the ferocity of the battle.



In the series of British counter-attacks to retake the guns, the Americans were often less than twenty yards away. In some instances, the range was so close that the enemies touched bayonets before their muskets opened fire. Many soldiers would later remember how, at the height of the horror, their musket flashes lit up the blackened faces of their enemies causing their gritted teeth to resemble macabre grins.

Both armies had trouble keeping order in their forces. The cannons had claimed many senior officers and others could not be rallied in the darkness. The British could not dislodge the Americans from the hill. After each unsuccessful attempt, with its deafening chorus of discharging musketry and cannon, an eerie calm descended as the British fell back to regroup. The only sounds breaking this silence were the moans of the wounded, and the roar of the falls on the river. Both had their effects on the men.



After fighting fiercely for hours and with no water left on the battlefield, some men were half-crazed with thirst. With the parched and weary Americans losing men and ammunition at an alarming rate, an injured Jacob Brown was finally convinced that keeping the hill was an exercise in futility. The Americans withdrew slowly toward Chippawa hoping to recoup some of their energy for another assault in the morning.

With the British back in possession of the hill, they dragged dozens of dead horses into a makeshift barricade bracing for a counter-attack that would never come. Both armies were so exhausted and dehydrated that even by morning neither side would have the energy to continue. All night, groans for water, or for a quick end to wounded men’s misery, carried over the battlefield. When morning broke, it revealed a scene of devastation amidst the usually tranquil fields and orchards. Each side counted over 800 killed, wounded and missing. Another sight struck the survivors; too tired to drag them along in their withdrawal, the Americans had left behind all but one of the guns over which so many men perished.



TOPICS: VetsCoR
KEYWORDS: canada; england; freeperfoxhole; gordondrummond; jacobbrown; jamesmiller; lundyslane; michaeldobbs; veterans; warof1812; winfieldscott
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To: jriemer; snippy_about_it; Victoria Delsoul; Darksheare; *all
Thanks for doing the running 9-11 rememberance thread.

Some good pictures and painful memories there, but we need to remember.
21 posted on 09/07/2003 8:38:21 AM PDT by SAMWolf (Women like the simple things in life: Men. .)
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To: Valin
1776 American submersible craft Turtle attacks British Admiral Richard Howe's flagship Eagle in the first use of a submarine in warfare.



American "Know How" even before there was an America

22 posted on 09/07/2003 8:41:49 AM PDT by SAMWolf (Women like the simple things in life: Men. .)
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To: SAMWolf; snippy_about_it; SpookBrat; MistyCA; AntiJen; PhilDragoo; All
Good morning, everyone.

Blessed are they who give
without expecting even thanks in return,
for they shall be abundantly rewarded.

Blessed are they who translate
every good thing they know into action,
for ever higher truths shall be revealed unto them.

Blessed are they who do God's will
without asking to see results,
for great shall be their recompense.

Blessed are they who love and trust their fellow beings,
for they shall reach the good in people and
receive a loving response.

Blessed are they who have seen reality, for they know
that not the garment of clay but that which activates
the garment of clay is real and indestructible.

Blessed are they who see the change we call death
as a liberation from the limitation of this earth-life,
for they shall rejoice with their loved ones
who make the glorious transition.

Blessed are they who after dedicating their lives
and thereby receiving a blessing, have the courage and faith
to surmount the difficulties of the path ahead,
for they shall receive a second blessing.

Blessed are they who advance toward the spiritual path
without the selfish motive of seeking inner peace,
for they shall find it.

Blessed are they who instead of trying to
batter down the gates of the kingdom of heaven
approach them humbly and lovingly and purified,
for they shall pass right through.

- Mildred Norman

23 posted on 09/07/2003 8:50:15 AM PDT by Victoria Delsoul (If you get all the conservatives in CA to vote for McClintock, he would still lose. Deal with it)
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To: Victoria Delsoul
Good Morning Victoria.

Have you checked out jriemer's memorial thread?

I've got a busy morning, keep an eye on the Foxhole for Snippy and I?
24 posted on 09/07/2003 8:52:12 AM PDT by SAMWolf (Women like the simple things in life: Men. .)
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To: SAMWolf
Good morning, Sam.

Have you checked out jriemer's memorial thread?

I don't remember. I'll check it out.

25 posted on 09/07/2003 8:56:40 AM PDT by Victoria Delsoul (If you get all the conservatives in CA to vote for McClintock, he would still lose. Deal with it)
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To: Victoria Delsoul
Thank you Victoria for your Sunday prayer.
26 posted on 09/07/2003 9:15:52 AM PDT by snippy_about_it (Pray for our troops)
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To: snippy_about_it; All

Grave of nine unknown U.S. Soldiers who died at the Battle of Lundy's Lane

27 posted on 09/07/2003 12:12:04 PM PDT by SAMWolf (Women like the simple things in life: Men. .)
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To: snippy_about_it; All

Lundy's Lane Monument
The monument reads ...
Erected by the Canadian Parliament in Honour of the Victory gained by British & Canadian Forces on this field on the 25th day of July 1814 and in Grateful Rememberance of the Brave Men who died on that day fighting for the unity of the Empire

28 posted on 09/07/2003 4:39:32 PM PDT by SAMWolf (Women like the simple things in life: Men. .)
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To: snippy_about_it; All

Re-interment ceremony of eleven solders from the Battle of Lundy's Lane, Upper Canada, in 1814, c.1900.

29 posted on 09/07/2003 5:48:24 PM PDT by SAMWolf (Women like the simple things in life: Men. .)
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To: radu; snippy_about_it; LaDivaLoca; TEXOKIE; cherry_bomb88; Bethbg79; Do the Dew; Pippin; ...
Our Military Today
The Search Goes On


Soldiers from "Renegade" Platoon, Bravo Company, 2/8th Infantry, attached to 1/67 Armor Battalion located in Baqubah, Iraq, kick down a gate during a raid in a local village of Diyala Province, Iraq, on Aug. 28, 2003. The 2/8th Infantry and 1/67 Armor Battalion are part of the 2nd Brigage Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division and are in Iraq as part of Operation Iraqi Freedom. U.S. Army photo by Staff Sgt. Davis


Soldiers with the 3/502nd Infantry Regiment search a bunker during a security patrol in Mosul, Iraq, Aug. 31, 2003. U.S. Army photo by Pvt. Daniel D. Meacham


U.S. Army military police forces and Iraqi policemen raid a Baghdad mosque suspected of housing illegal weapons and wanted members of the former Iraqi regime, Aug. 29, 2003. U.S. Air Force photo by Master Sgt. Robert R. Hargreaves Jr.


Soldiers of 3/502nd Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) secure the roof of a house being searched in Mosul, Iraq, during Operation Iraqi Freedom, Sept. 1, 2003. U.S. Army photo by Pvt. Daniel D Meacham


Soldiers with the 3/502nd Infantry Regiment detain an Iraqi policeman discovered inside a house during a recent raid. The building was suspected of harboring wanted members of the former Iraqi regime in Mosul, Iraq, Sept. 1, 2003. U.S. Army photo by Pvt. Daniel D Meacham


30 posted on 09/07/2003 8:16:02 PM PDT by SAMWolf (Women like the simple things in life: Men. .)
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To: SAMWolf
U.S. Army military police forces and Iraqi policemen raid a Baghdad mosque...

Good to hear that we are looking into their mosques and aren't worried about being PC about it!

Thanks for the pics SAM.

31 posted on 09/07/2003 8:37:20 PM PDT by snippy_about_it (Pray for our troops)
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To: snippy_about_it
Well, we'll have to see how long it is before the PC Police complain.
32 posted on 09/07/2003 8:38:38 PM PDT by SAMWolf (Women like the simple things in life: Men. .)
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To: SAMWolf
'There was no stopping, nor escape, into battle we must go.'

This quote from a 14 year old American. Amazing.

Thanks SAM for today's history lesson.

33 posted on 09/07/2003 8:47:50 PM PDT by snippy_about_it (Pray for our troops)
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To: snippy_about_it
You're welcome Snippy. One of the more obscure battles in our history but the Canadians remember it.
34 posted on 09/07/2003 8:53:01 PM PDT by SAMWolf (Women like the simple things in life: Men. .)
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To: SAMWolf
I miss you already! Good Night SAM.
35 posted on 09/07/2003 9:21:36 PM PDT by snippy_about_it (Pray for our troops)
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To: snippy_about_it
Good Night Snippy. I was just getting used to having you around. ;-)
36 posted on 09/07/2003 9:22:51 PM PDT by SAMWolf (Women like the simple things in life: Men. .)
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To: SAMWolf
Well, we'll have to see how long it is before the PC Police complain.

That won't take them long!

37 posted on 09/07/2003 9:26:39 PM PDT by snippy_about_it (Pray for our troops)
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To: snippy_about_it; SAMWolf
Good night, guys!
See you in the AM....zzzzzzz.
38 posted on 09/07/2003 9:27:51 PM PDT by HiJinx (The Right person, in the Right place, at the Right time...to do His work)
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To: SAMWolf; snippy_about_it

Graves' last book on Lundy's Lane is perhaps the best of the three, although trying to rank these books in order of merit is difficult, as they are all equally researched and well-written. Lundy's Lane was a slugfest between two relatively small armies, locked in deadly close-quarter fighting, where, it seemed to some of the participants, everybody was becoming casualties. One British junior officer remarked that it was the deadliest, most savage fighting he had seen, and he had been engaged previously in fighting the Grande Armée in Europe.

Musket fire at bayonet range, into the grimace of bared teeth.

Now you can't picture the french in this scene, no, not the french.

Bravo, another excellent vignette of valor.

We shall have to have R. Lee Ermey form up the bratty press and march them into such scenes, to cook out the attitude.

Imbedding the Press, next Sunday on Mail Call.

You there in the third row from Reuters with the excrement-eating grin!
Yes, you, maggot!
I want you to drop now for one pushup for every coalition fighter lost in the entire conduct of these operations!

39 posted on 09/07/2003 11:30:44 PM PDT by PhilDragoo (Hitlery: das Butch von Buchenvald)
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To: HiJinx
Good Night HiJinx.
40 posted on 09/08/2003 12:03:48 AM PDT by SAMWolf (Radioactive cats have 18 half-lives.)
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