William Henry Winder

William Henry Winder in The British invasion of Maryland, (1812-1815):

Joseph (Wilcox) Willcocks

Generic War of 1812 Soldier 

One of the most prominent of  McClure's agents in this detestable work was one Wilcox, a British subject of Irish birth, who at the time of the war was a resident of York, editor of a newspaper and a member of the Legislature of Upper Canada. Wilcox took a strong ground in favor of the Americans and tried to persuade the Legislature and people of Upper Canada to refuse to resist the invaders.

Wilcox, finding the atmosphere of York too warm for him, fled soon after Hull's surrender and took refuge in New York State, and it was quite in keeping with his character that when he turned his back on Canada, he should have taken with him a horse which he had stolen from *Lieut. Ryerson of the Norfolk Militia. This dastardly thief, who afterwards served in the American army until he was killed at Fort Erie, was a fitting instrument in the hands of McClure to harry, rob and harass the people of Newark and its vicinity. [Source]

*George Ryerson was a member of the Norfolk Militia

The Loyalists of America by Egerton Ryerson, included the following:

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The Age Of Liberty Established 1800 To 1824

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American MacDonalds In The War Of 1812

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This Brilliant Deed

An excerpt from the Correspondence in relation to the capture of the British brigs ... Elliott, Jesse D. (Jesse Duncan), 1782-1845:

In Concert With Scott

Source - Fort Erie

The life and military and civic services of Lieut.-Gen. Winfield Scott: complete up to the present period :


"The little troop moving on Niagara had noble incentives to duty."

"...Lieutenant Elliott and a company of seamen to Black Rock where in concert with Scott he conceived the project of cutting out two British brigs of war just arrived from Detroit, and then lying snugly under the guns of Fort Erie--a British fortress opposite Buffalo. This enterprise of great daring was gallantly executed on the morning of October 9th. (1812)."

Daniel Davis Was An Officer From New York

Did Lieutenant Colonel Daniel Davis attain the rank General?  Short answer:  Yes.*

Military Minutes...,State of New York, included Lieutenant Colonel Daniel Davis' regiment:

John Atchison, first major, vice J. Smith, resigned; James Ganson, second do, vice John Atchison, promoted.

Richard Waite, captain, vice James Ganson, do; Russell Davis, lieutenant, vice Richard Waite, do; Jacob Widener, lieutenant; Noble B. Douglass, ensign.

Frederick Roe, captain, vice Jones, deceased; William Henshaw, lieutenant, vice Frederick Roe, promoted; Matthew Dimie, ensign, vice William Henshaw, promoted.

Here's a document from the Pension Application of GENERAL Daniel Davis's widow (who later moved to Ypsilanti, Michigan):

General Davis was killed on 17 September 1814.

*Daniel Davis [Lt. Col. Ny Vols] in the Registers of Enlistments in the United States Army, 1798-1914 [NARA]:

"...Present at Plattsburgh as Col. ...Reported on Returns of Militia of State of N.Y. dated 1814, as Gen'l (Brigadier).  Killed Sept. 17/14, at Ft. Erie, U.C."

Captain Daniel Buell

From Metcalf Hatch's biography at Rootsweb:

Metcalf Bradley Hatch was born in Genesee County, New York, March 5, 1835. His father, Timothy Hatch, died March 27, 1844, and his mother, Lucretia Buell, died in 1865. Daniel Buell, an uncle, was a captain of the infantry in the War of 1812, and was killed in the battle of Chippewa. His remains were never found.

More from the life of Rufus Hatch:

Abraham Butterfield was in Captain Buell's unit according to his pension file.

Alarm Post At Black Rock

Black Rock was considered as the Alarm Post, for the American army... . [Source]

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The Black Rock portion of the map above:

Militia In Tolerable Order

"...there was very little money in the treasury....The number of regular troops in the upper country consisted of part of the 49th and 61st regiments and a few artillerists, in all less than one thousand men which garrisoned York, Ft. George, Chippewa, Fort Erie, Amherstburgh, Sandwich, and St Josephs, covering an extent of nearly fifteen hundred miles."

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 "The Militia of the country were in tolerable order... ."

Data from Journal of Events....principally on the Detroit and Niagara frontiers...by Captain W. H. Merritt of the Prov. Light Dragoons, published at St. Catharines, C.W., by the Historical Society in 1863.

More about the early Canadian Militia:

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Martial Law Proclaimed

From the History of the American Troops*..:

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*Having reduced Fort Erie, the General immediately proclaimed martial law.

Fort Erie

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"Marshall, in his article on the Niagara frontier, describes the post as located at some distance below the remains of the fort now standing. The part facing the river was built of stone surrounded by squared pickets, while the balance was stockaded. He says:

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The fort's sole claim to importance consisted in its location upon the trail along the northern shore of Lake Erie and in the existence of the harbor and the trading place to which it afforded protection. At no time in its history was its possession of great strategical value either to the English or to the Americans. 

Daniel Dobbins, Great Lakes Mariner

Per Wikipedia:  Daniel Dobbins (1776 - 1856) was "a sailing master in the United States Navy and captain in the United States Revenue Cutter Service. He fought in the War of 1812 and was in charge of the building of the ships* at Erie, Pennsylvania...".   *Building The Fleet In The Wilderness

Jim's Photo Of Mackinac Island In The Distance

Captain Dobbins was at Mackinac Island on board his vessel, the Salina, July 16, 1812, when he learned that war had been declared.  He was made a prisoner of war the same day by the British forces there. With sixty other Americans Captain Dobbins was asked to take the oath of allegiance to the British government and swear not to take up arms against Britain. This Dobbins refused to do. Among the British officials there was a petty officer by the name of Wilmoth, who knew Dobbins, with the result that he was allowed to depart with his vessel as a cartel, to take his fellow prisoners to Malden. [Source]

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The Buffalo [New York] History Museum has the Daniel Dobbins Collected papers.

See the US Brig Niagara sailing past Dobbins Landing in Erie, PA, on YouTube and an historical profile of Captain Daniel Dobbins here on YouTube.

A biography of Captain Dobbins can be found here, in the Encyclopedia of the War of 1812.

Canadian Colonel Titus Williams

"...Titus was born in Long Island in 1790, and came over with his father [Jonathan Williams]. Four years before the war of 1812, Titus received an ensign's commission in the 2nd Regiment of Norfolk militia, and as soon as war was declared, he was made lieutenant... . He was second in command of the 100 volunteers from this county who accompanied Brock to Detroit...his rank was then raised to that of captain."

"Shortly afterwards he was ordered to the defence of Fort Erie... . When the attack came, the Canadians were forced to retire for their numbers were far inferior to those of the American force. However on his way back to Chippawa, Capt. Williams succeeded in surprising and taking prisoners thirty Americans under Capt. King." From Papers and Records, Volumes 2-4.

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"The captives were forwarded from one place to another, Schlosser, Fort Niagara, Batavia, Geneva, Albany, Pittsfield, Mass., and, finally, Philadelphia."

"...they were liberated on the 18th of May 1814, and arrived in Upper Canada July 25th, 1814. On his return he was appointed adjutant and fought at Lundy's Lane."

His eyesight was restored in Buffalo, New York, in 1855, according to a testimonial.

Adventures Of The Nancy - Part One

Tall Ship Replica On Lake Huron (Near Port Huron) - NOT  Nancy

From AN EPISODE OF THE WAR OF 1812. THE STORY OF THE SCHOONER "NANCY."

In the summer of 1789, the firm of Forsyth, Richardson and Co., fur merchants of Montreal, undertook the construction of a schooner for the navigation of the upper lakes.

By 1793, the Nancy had become the property of George Leith Co., and is described as being of sixty-seven tons burden. Sometime before the end of the century, she passed into the possession of the Northwest Fur Company, by whom she was employed in the transportation of furs and merchandise on Lakes Erie, Huron and Michigan.

On July 1st, 1812, when the declaration of war by the United States became known to Lieutenant-Colonel St. George, the commandant of the British Garrison at Amherstburg, she was still lying at Moy waiting for a favorable wind to carry her into Lake Huron, and he at once ordered her to be brought down under the guns of that post to secure her from capture. Some light brass guns with which she had been armed were mounted in row-boats to patrol the river, and the schooner was impressed into the government service as a transport. On July 30 she sailed for Fort Erie under convoy of the Provincial schooner, Lady Prevost. Five days later she left Fort Erie on her return voyage, in company with the armed brig General Hunter, having on board sixty soldiers of the 41st Regiment and a quantity of military stores. The timely arrival of this small reinforcement had considerable weight among the reasons which induced General Hull to evacuate Canada.

During the summer and autumn of that year the Nancy was constantly employed in the important service of transporting troops, stores, and provisions between Detroit and Fort Erie.

On April 23rd, 1813, she was included in the small squadron assembled to transport General Procter's division from Amherstburg to Miami Bay, to undertake the siege of Fort Meigs.

A Canadian Hero's Death At Fort Erie

Colonel Hercules Scott, of Brotherton, Scotland, was one of the heroes of 1812, and was killed on the 15th of August, in the same year, by receiving a musket ball in his breast, after leading the 103rd Regiment in the most gallant manner to the attack of Fort Erie, (having carried the out works by assault and the fort by escalade).  In him the service lost a most valuable, active, and zealous officer. [Source]

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Plans Of The Siege Operations Of Fort Erie

His remains were interred the same evening in the presence of the survivors of his regiment, attended by the only three officers who came out of the fort unhurt, the regiment having retreated after the fall of their leader, in consequence of the Americans having blown up a platform by which two hundred brave fellows were killed or wounded. [Source]

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Before the Battle of Fort Erie, Colonel Hercules Scott fought at Lundy's Lane.

Pictures of reenactors at Fort Erie here.