Ogdensburg (Second)

During the War of 1812, British forces clashed with American defenders at Ogdensburg and emerged triumphant, seizing control of the New York village. Though the engagement involved only modest numbers, its consequences proved significant: British supply lines faced no further American threat for the duration of the conflict.

Background

Once fighting began, merchants on both banks of the Saint Lawrence wasted little time setting up a brisk smuggling trade between Ogdensburg and Prescott, the latter sitting in Upper Canada, a territory that would not become Canada West until 1841. This arrangement did not last long. In early October 1812 the Americans bolstered their militia by bringing in regulars from the 1st U.S. Rifle Regiment, placed under Major Benjamin Forsyth, who set up in a fort and barracks near the Oswegatchie River on the town's western side, and the illegal commerce ground to a halt.

British militia attempted a strike on Ogdensburg on October 4, but American defenders threw them back with little difficulty, and the attacking force scattered afterward. In the months that followed, Forsyth and his riflemen crossed the river repeatedly to harass British soldiers with sniper fire, and on occasion they seized boats laden with supplies bound for Kingston, Ontario.

Sir George Prevost, holding the rank of Lieutenant General and serving as the British Governor General of Canada, stopped in Prescott on February 21, 1813, while traveling to assess conditions in Upper Canada. Several detachments of reinforcements traveled with him. During this visit he put Lieutenant Colonel "Red George" MacDonell, a local officer, in command of British forces at Prescott, instructing him not to move against Ogdensburg unless the American garrison there was reduced in strength.

Thanks to the temporary presence of these reinforcing troops, MacDonnell found himself able to organize an assault on Ogdensburg. His plan called for a company of the Glengarry Light Infantry, along with 70 militiamen and light guns fixed to sleighs, to strike the fort holding Forsyth's riflemen head on. Meanwhile the larger force, made up of 120 men from the 8th (King's), 30 from the Royal Newfoundland Fencibles, and 230 militia flank companies drawn from the area, was to cross the river at a point further down and come at the Americans from the side.

Battle

Accustomed to watching redcoats drill along the frozen Saint Lawrence, the defenders had no reason to expect an actual assault, so the sudden charge caught them off guard. Alexander Macdonell, chaplain to the Glengarry Light Infantry, is said to have joined the advance himself, brandishing a crucifix to spur on soldiers who fell behind. Tradition also holds that a Presbyterian clergyman, Rev. John Bethune of Williamstown, lent his support to the effort.

Inside the fort, American riflemen managed to withstand the initial push, helped considerably by British guns that bogged down in the snowdrifts. Meanwhile American gunners, Adjutant Daniel W. Church of Colonel Benedict's regiment among them, along with Lieutenant Baird from Forsyth's company, poured fire onto the advancing British, though the results proved uneven. On the edge of town, militia artillery added to the barrage against the approaching force. It was a British flanking maneuver that turned the tide, slipping through the thinnest stretch of the American line and breaching it. Pushed from their post, the militia withdrew while still harassing the enemy, firing from behind houses and trees as they went. A second wave of British flankers then exploited the opening to hit the militia's main position from the rear. Caught between attackers pressing from both front and back, the American line soon gave way entirely. Those militia still able to fight pulled back deeper into the village, some sheltering in or around buildings to keep up sporadic fire. The British eventually swept through this resistance as well, leaving only Forsyth's men standing between them and full control of the field.

Forsyth had stationed his riflemen behind stone buildings for cover. As the British drew nearer, his men unleashed heavy musket and artillery fire, inflicting considerable losses on the advancing attackers. Yet even this position eventually fell, forcing an American withdrawal. In the aftermath, some militiamen were taken prisoner or surrendered outright, while others scattered toward neighboring towns or vanished among the local civilians.

Aftermath

The ice-locked harbor at Ogdensburg cost the Americans dearly, as the British set fire to two gunboats and a pair of schooners trapped there and hauled away sixteen artillery pieces along with assorted military stores. Private homes and shops suffered some plundering during the occupation, though a portion of the stolen goods eventually made its way back to its owners. Local residents of lesser means were not above joining in, taking items from the ransacked stores themselves.

Prevost, a man known for his careful and measured approach, altered the account MacDonell submitted describing the triumph, changing the wording so it seemed he had ordered the assault rather than merely permitted it after the fact.

Once British forces had pulled back, Major Forsyth asked for a force of 300 additional troops so he could retake the town. Townspeople pushed back against this idea, worried that such a move would invite repeated destructive strikes and reprisals against Ogdensburg. Forsyth and the riflemen who remained under his command then pulled out toward Sacket's Harbor instead. No American garrison ever returned to the town, which allowed the British to keep buying provisions from merchants there throughout the rest of the conflict. Leading residents of Ogdensburg were known to cross over regularly to share meals with British officers. Evidence suggests the area held a larger population of Tories and Federalists than historians once assumed.