Battle of Lundy's Lane
Introduction
Text-to-speech Audio
Images
Lundy's Lane Battlefield Museum in Canada
Map
Uniforms on display in the Battle Ground Hotel Museum
Winfield Scott
Backstory and Context
Text-to-speech Audio
Two weeks after the Battle of Chippawa, where Brigadier General Winfield Scott had defeated the British forces under the command of British General Phineas Riall with a with his newly drilled and trained army, the two sides fought once more. This time it was near Niagara Falls along the Portage Road towards the intersection of Lundy's Lane. Unbeknownst to Scott, the British had also begun to advance on Lundy's Lane and set up guns on high ground. Scott's army was forced to stop as the British began to fire upon them.
As the battle progressed, so did the reinforcements; the American army of 1,000 grew to 2,100 and the British force grew from 1,800 to over 3,000 men. Scott's force overran a British battery, which turned into one of the bloodiest battles of the war. After drawn-out fighting, Major General Jacob Brown ordered the men from the field due to exhaustion. But after learning that the British left cannons on the field, he ordered General Eleazer Ripley to retrieve them. Ripley refused the order, and after an argument over the feasibility of pursuing and continuing the battle, Brown ordered the withdrawal of the men.
The battle resulted in 84 British killed, 559 wounded, 193 missing, and 42 captured. American losses numbered 173 killed, 571 wounded, 38 missing, and 79 captured.
Sources
"Battle of Lundy's Lane." The Canadia Encyclopedia. Accessed December 12, 2014. http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/battle-of-lundys-lane/