The Battle of Lacolle River was fought on November 20, 1812, during the War of 1812. In this relatively light skirmish, a very small garrison of Canadian militia, with the assistance of KahnawakeMohawk warriors, defended the Lacolle Mills Blockhouse on the Montreal road bridge over the Lacolle River at the village of Lacolle, Quebec against a disorganized American attack.
Canadian regulars and militia were under the command of Charles de Salaberry who had positioned his severely outnumbered forces together with his native allies as best he could to attempt to block any advance toward Montreal.
The American invasion force totalling about 2,000 regulars and 3,000 militia was assembled and led by Major General Henry Dearborn. However, a delay of several months after the American declaration of war meant that the advance would only begin with the onset of winter. Moreover, since about half of the American militia refused to advance into Lower Canada, Dearborn was hamstrung from the outset from utilizing all of his forces. Nevertheless, his forces still far outnumbered the Crown allies on the other side of the border and American Colonel Zebulon Pike crossed the border into Lower Canada with an advance party of about 650 regulars and a party of Aboriginal warriors. These were to be followed by additional American forces. The advance party were initially met by only a small force of 25 Canadian militiamen, from the 1st Battalion Select Embodied Militia, and 15 Aboriginal warriors. Clearly outnumbered, the Crown forces withdrew, allowing the Americans to advance on the guardhouse and several buildings. In the dark, Pike's forces became engaged with a second group of New York militia, both sides mistaking each other for the enemy. The result was a fierce firefight between two groups of American forces at the guardhouse. In the aftermath of this confusion, and amidst war cries from reinforcing Crown-allied Mohawk warriors, the shaken American forces retreated to Champlain and then from Lower Canada completely.[6][7]
The American effort directed at Montreal in 1812 suffered from poor preparation and coordination. However, the logistical challenges involved in advancing a large force toward Montreal at the start of the winter were significant. After the attack, de Salaberry evacuated the Lacolle area and destroyed farms and houses which the Americans had evidently planned to use, since they lacked tents for shelter against the winter elements.[8] Faced with a significant logistical challenge and in the face of setbacks, Dearborn abandoned his perfunctory plans and the demoralized American forces would not attempt this assault again until 1814 in the Second Battle of Lacolle Mills.
battle, lacolle, mills, 1812, homonymy, lacolle, this, article, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, help, improve, this, article, adding, citations, reliable, sources, unsourced, material, challenged, removed, find, sources, battle, lacolle, mi. For homonymy see Lacolle This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Battle of Lacolle Mills 1812 news newspapers books scholar JSTOR April 2008 Learn how and when to remove this template message The Battle of Lacolle River was fought on November 20 1812 during the War of 1812 In this relatively light skirmish a very small garrison of Canadian militia with the assistance of Kahnawake Mohawk warriors defended the Lacolle Mills Blockhouse on the Montreal road bridge over the Lacolle River at the village of Lacolle Quebec against a disorganized American attack First Battle of Lacolle RiverPart of the War of 1812Lacolle Mills BlockhouseDateNovember 20 1812LocationLacolle QuebecResultBritish Mohawk victoryBelligerents Lower CanadaMohawk warriors United StatesCommanders and leadersCharles de SalaberryHenry DearbornUnits involvedCorps of Canadian Voyageurs commanded by Lieutenant Colonel The Honourable William McGillivray 1 Strengthc 40 initially increasing to c 370 including 200 Mohawk warriors 2 c 5 000 c 650 in the advance party 3 4 Casualties and lossesNone5 killed 5 wounded 5 Canadian regulars and militia were under the command of Charles de Salaberry who had positioned his severely outnumbered forces together with his native allies as best he could to attempt to block any advance toward Montreal The American invasion force totalling about 2 000 regulars and 3 000 militia was assembled and led by Major General Henry Dearborn However a delay of several months after the American declaration of war meant that the advance would only begin with the onset of winter Moreover since about half of the American militia refused to advance into Lower Canada Dearborn was hamstrung from the outset from utilizing all of his forces Nevertheless his forces still far outnumbered the Crown allies on the other side of the border and American Colonel Zebulon Pike crossed the border into Lower Canada with an advance party of about 650 regulars and a party of Aboriginal warriors These were to be followed by additional American forces The advance party were initially met by only a small force of 25 Canadian militiamen from the 1st Battalion Select Embodied Militia and 15 Aboriginal warriors Clearly outnumbered the Crown forces withdrew allowing the Americans to advance on the guardhouse and several buildings In the dark Pike s forces became engaged with a second group of New York militia both sides mistaking each other for the enemy The result was a fierce firefight between two groups of American forces at the guardhouse In the aftermath of this confusion and amidst war cries from reinforcing Crown allied Mohawk warriors the shaken American forces retreated to Champlain and then from Lower Canada completely 6 7 The American effort directed at Montreal in 1812 suffered from poor preparation and coordination However the logistical challenges involved in advancing a large force toward Montreal at the start of the winter were significant After the attack de Salaberry evacuated the Lacolle area and destroyed farms and houses which the Americans had evidently planned to use since they lacked tents for shelter against the winter elements 8 Faced with a significant logistical challenge and in the face of setbacks Dearborn abandoned his perfunctory plans and the demoralized American forces would not attempt this assault again until 1814 in the Second Battle of Lacolle Mills Footnotes edit Irving p 114 Battle of Lacolle Mill the Canadian Encyclopedia Battle of Lacolle Mill the Canadian Encyclopedia Battle of Lacolle Mills Battle of Lacolle Mills Battle of Lacolle Mill The Canadian Encyclopedia www thecanadianencyclopedia ca Retrieved August 13 2021 The First American Invasion of Quebec in the War of 1812 by Robert Henderson www warof1812 ca Retrieved August 13 2021 Backgrounder The Battles Along the Lacolle River Quebec Archived from the original on July 26 2020 References editThe First American Invasion of Quebec The Battle of Lacolle River45 04 53 N 73 22 21 W 45 0813 N 73 3726 W 45 0813 73 3726 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Battle of Lacolle Mills 1812 amp oldid 1148792339, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
