Phineas Riall is overseeing the last pieces of his artillery being rolled into place when his scouts ride up to report that a large body of U.S. troops are within a mile of their line. He believes his position, on a rise surrounded by farm fields and lush orchards, is the best in the area if a skirmish occurs. But his orders from Major General Gordon Drummond are explicit: Riall is to take no offensive measures until Drummond meets him with reinforcements. In the meantime, Riall tries to make light of the fact that some of his 1000 troops forming up are doing so in front of a graveyard.
Gordon Drummond
Within minutes, the first columns of Americans appear to the south. At a glance Riall estimates that the opposing troops are equal in number to his own, but this could be just the advance party of a much larger force. No sooner do the Americans form up than do they fire a volley of muskets at the British forward line. Riall mulls over Drummond's orders. The Americans appear confident and the last thing he wants is a repeat of Chippawa. As he gives the order to withdraw, the first of Drummond's troops arrive from the north and an order from the commander reaches the hill: engage the enemy. If the Americans are looking for a fight, General Drummond is prepared to give them one.
The cannon on the hill open up and begin to hit the American lines with deadly accuracy, but they maintain their ground and continue to fire into the British front. Young lieutenant John Le Couteur remembers his march onto the field in the ranks of Drummond's troops:
"It was near 8 o'clock and getting dark as we reached the battlefield. I made my usual prayers to God to grant me his protection and my life, ready though I was to lay that down for my country, at his pleasure, but hoping that no worse than a wound might befall me - nor a fall into the hands of the Savages - death we thought preferable."
As the last traces of daylight vanish from the scene, Jacob Brown's American reinforcements take to the field and the battle intensifies. It quickly becomes apparent that this will be an engagement for well-trained soldiers. The Canadian militia are ordered to hand over their ammunition to the regulars and fall back. They will be extremely busy for the rest of the night carrying hundreds of wounded to the makeshift hospitals at nearby farmhouses. Drummond now hopes that Colonel Hercules Scott has received his earlier order to march toward the Niagara River with his 1600 men from Twelve Mile Creek.
Using the darkness to mask their advance, the Americans make a direct assault on Drummond's position on the hill. The fighting is close and fierce, and the British soldiers around the guns must move forward to stop the advance. The chief British gunner, Maclachlane, fires into the first attack wave just as a number of men around him fall in a hail of bullets. Seconds later, Americans emerge from the darkness on their left, driving the remaining British from the hilltop. General Drummond has lost his position and his guns.
As Drummond moves about the field trying to organize a counter-attack, he is shot through the cheek and the bullet lodges in the base of his neck. But the general, every bit as determined as his adversary Brown, wraps his wound with a handkerchief and continues to try to direct the battle. But with the darkness and the deteriorating organization of troops, no one alerts the newly arrived battalion under Hercules Scott about the turn of events. It marches right up the hill and into a withering American fire.
For two hours the British try to regain their guns with direct assaults on the hilltop position. Each successive attempt becomes increasingly difficult to organize; the pool of intact men diminishes while the corpses ringing the hill multiply. Rallying the troops out at the front of the fighting, Drummond's horse is shot out from under him for the second time that evening. On their second drive up the slope, the British succeed in taking out the Americans manning the guns before being driven down again. Brown has no experienced men to replace them, and ammunition is dwindling fast.
Using almost every available man on the field, Drummond organizes a third assault. This final push is desperate. Again, the men come within meters of the Americans as infantry battles infantry with bayonet, sword and musket-butt. One British regular described the clash as "obstinate beyond description." But Drummond calls on his men to fall back once again and is on the point of giving up. His men catch their breath and undoubtedly contemplate whether they will live through another attempt. Word reaches Drummond that the Americans appear to be leaving the hilltop and the battlefield altogether. Drummond waits for confirmation before cautiously moving his troops toward the hilltop.
............US Dragoon -- Canadian Dragoon
Drummond surveys the scene as best he can. A couple of his guns remain on the slope, and he figures the Americans have made off with the rest. Perhaps they are getting these into position elsewhere to mount an attack. To be on the safe side, Drummond orders his men to defend the hill and to create a makeshift barricade using the bodies of several dead horses scattered nearby. They wait with muskets steadied on the carcasses, but the American army is well on its way toward Chippawa. The British are left with nothing but the devastation.
Additional Sources:
members.tripod.com/~war1812
www.battleoflundyslane.com
www.dmna.state.ny.us
www.lundyslanemuseum.com
c22inf.bravepages.com
www.canadianheritage.org
www.hpedsb.on.ca
