The War of 1812 by Wesley B. Turner

Author:Wesley B. Turner
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Publisher: Dundurn
Published: 2000-09-05T22:00:00+00:00

British cartoon mocking American sea power.

[Courtesy Lilly Library, Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana.]

Wilkinson and Hampton acting together could have cut the route from Montreal to Upper Canada. However, any hope of this outcome ended with Hampton’s withdrawal to Lake Champlain. When Wilkinson got the news, he was furious. Blaming Hampton for the failure of the invasion, he took his army out of Canada.

It was the ignominious end of the major American effort against Montreal during the entire war. Generals Wilkinson and Hampton soon fell to accusing each other of being responsible for the defeat and anger towards them was widespread among both civilians and soldiers. One officer wrote to his wife, “Never was there an army so completely cursed and damned with the miserable arrangements of stupid asses of Generals as ours.”14 Hampton and several other officers left the army or were removed, but the devious Armstrong and incompetent Wilkinson remained in their positions until the next year.15

Although the offensive against Montreal failed, it did affect events on the Niagara Peninsula. Very few American regulars were left along the Niagara frontier. All the posts, including Fort George, were occupied by a few hundred New York militia under the command of Brigadier-General George McClure, a militia officer. The British managed to retake the smaller posts one by one, and by December the Americans held only the fort.

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