06/02/2026
: May 27, 1813, The Battle of Fort George
Two days after a devastating bombardment, 6,000 American troops under the command of Major-General Henry Dearborn made preparations to cross over into Canada. They planned to make their landing outside of the town of Niagara (today’s Niagara-on-the-Lake) which was defended by no more than 1400 British regulars, local militia, and Indigenous warriors under the command of Brigadier-General John Vincent. Under the cover of a heavy morning fog and under the protection of the US Navy’s warships and gunboats, several thousand American troops embarked in large open boats propelled by oars, landing just west of the town.
The site of the planned landing was guarded by a force of approximately 500 men of the Glengarry Fencibles, the Royal Newfoundland Fencibles, the 8th Regiment of Foot, the Lincoln Militia, and Runchey’s Coloured Corps, as well as Grand River and Six Nations (Haudenosaunee) Indigenous warriors under the command of Lieutenant-Colonel Christopher Myers. No more could be spared for fear that the Americans would make another attack by crossing somewhere along the Niagara River.
