The Raid on Black Rock took place during the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 (18 June 1812 – 17 February 1815) was fought by the United States, United States of America and its Indigenous peoples of the Americas, indigenous allies against the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom ...

between the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

and the United States on 11 July 1813, near the Niagara River in western

New York State New York, officially the State of New York, is a state in the Northeastern United States. It is often called New York State to distinguish it from its largest city, New York City. With a total area of , New York is the 27th-largest U.S. stat ...

, USA. The British objective was to capture supplies and equipment from the U.S. military store depot at

Black Rock, New York Black Rock, once an independent municipality, is now a neighborhood of the northwest section of the city of Buffalo, New York. In the 1820s, Black Rock was the rival of Buffalo for the terminus of the Erie Canal, but Buffalo, with its larger har ...

. The raid was a success but the British force suffered substantial casualties as they returned to their landing-point.

The raid

Lieutenant Colonel

Cecil Bisshopp Lieutenant-Colonel Cecil Bisshopp (25 June 1783 – c. 16 July 1813) was a British army officer and onetime Member of the Parliament of the United Kingdom who came to Canada in 1812 and died in the War of 1812. He was heir to his father Sir ...

set out in the early hours of 11 July 1813, with 20 men of the

Royal Artillery The Royal Regiment of Artillery, commonly referred to as the Royal Artillery (RA) and colloquially known as "The Gunners", is one of two regiments that make up the artillery arm of the British Army. The Royal Regiment of Artillery comprises t ...

, 40 of the 1st Battalion, 8th (King's) Regiment, 100 of the 1st Battalion, 41st Regiment, 40 of the 49th Regiment and 40 of the 2nd and 3rd Regiments of

Lincoln Militia , colors = , identification_symbol_2 = , identification_symbol_2_label = Tartan , identification_symbol_4 = , identification_symbol_4_label = Abbreviation , march = "The Lincolnshi ...

.James, p. 228, for composition of force. Cruikshank, p. 217, for the regimental numbers of the Lincoln Militia detachment This force crossed the Niagara River, landed below Black Rock and moved "with great rapidity to the attack of that post". One hundred and fifty New York Militia under the command of Major Parmenio Adams, who had been stationed at Fort Gibson to defend Black Rock, fledCruikshank, p. 223 and volume index for Major Adams' first name. and Bisshopp's men set to work. They spiked two 12-pounder and two 6-pounder guns at the batteries and made off with another 12-pounder, two 9-pounders, 177 muskets, several kegs of ammunition, quantities of round shot and canister shot, a large amount of army clothing and seven large

bateaux A bateau or batteau is a shallow-draft, flat-bottomed boat which was used extensively across North America, especially in the colonial period and in the fur trade. It was traditionally pointed at both ends but came in a wide variety of sizes. ...

and a

scow A scow is a smaller type of barge. Some scows are rigged as sailing scows. In the 19th and early 20th centuries, scows carried cargo in coastal waters and inland waterways, having an advantage for navigating shallow water or small harbours. S ...

which were loaded with 180 barrels of provisions. They burned the blockhouse and barracks at both the batteries and the navy yard, and also a schooner.James, p. 229 Meanwhile, Brigadier General Peter B. Porter of the New York Militia, whose own house was nearby, had gathered a force to oppose the invaders. Porter's force was composed of Captain Cummings' company of U.S. regulars, 80–90 men rallied from Major Adams' garrison, 50 Buffalo Militia under Captain Bell, 30

Seneca Seneca may refer to: People and language * Seneca (name), a list of people with either the given name or surname * Seneca people, one of the six Iroquois tribes of North America ** Seneca language, the language of the Seneca people Places Extrat ...

warriors allied to the United States, and a field-piece. The American force ambushed Bisshopp's column in the dark as they marched along the beach. The British force re-crossed to Canada with all of their plunder but not without significant casualties.Cruikshank, pp. 224–225 The worst loss for the British was the "able and enterprising" Lieutenant Colonel Bisshopp, who later died of his wounds.Quimby, p. 302 It was said that the British withdrawal was unduly delayed to secure several hundred prized bags of salt.Hitsman, p. 164

Casualties

The British official casualty return gave 13 killed, 25 wounded, 4 "wounded and missing" and 2 missing. Captain Saunders of the 41st Regiment was returned as "wounded", although he was also taken prisoner. However, the Americans captured 17 prisoners, 4 of them wounded, which would indicate that 10 of the men who were thought to have been killed were in fact captured. The fact that the American report detailed only 4 wounded prisoners, including Captain Saunders, would indicate that one of the men returned as "wounded and missing" was captured unwounded. This gives a revised British casualty total of 3 killed, 24 wounded, 4 wounded prisoners and 13 other prisoners. The American loss was 3 militiamen killed, 4 militiamen and 2 Seneca warriors wounded.

Notes

References

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External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Black Rock, Raid On Battles involving Canada Conflicts in 1813 1813 in New York (state) Military raids Battles of the War of 1812 in New York (state) July 1813 events Battles on the Niagara Frontier