The Hill was topped with a large gun emplacement containing six guns under the command of Captain Nathaniel Towson. The fort itself was defended by two companies of the 19th U. Infantry, and three guns under Captains Williams and Gookin. The wall between the fort and the Douglass Battery which held one gun was manned by the 9th U.

Porter with detachments of the 1st and 4th U. Finally, two companies of the 11th and 22nd U. Infantry and a detachment of the U. Light Dragoons were in reserve. De Watteville's nominally Swiss regiment was made up of men from all over Europe , many of them former prisoners of war or deserters from the armies of Napoleon Bonaparte , and the British commanders suspected their loyalty.

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On the approach march, the roll was called every hour to prevent desertion. Except for a few steady men, the entire column was ordered to remove their firearms' flints and take the enemy battery on the hill with the bayonet.

Surprise was nearly achieved but because of the rainy weather, the British troops' advance was betrayed by the loud swishing sound made as they passed through high grass. The picket opened fire, alerting the garrison, before hastily retreating. The leading attackers rushed forward to the abatis.

As they reached it, Towson opened fire.

The rate of fire from his battery would earn it the nickname "Towson's Lighthouse". After several attempts to storm the battery, many attackers broke and fled in panic, sweeping away the steady soldiers to their rear. Those who did try to scale the defenses found that many of the siege ladders built for the attack had been made without taking the ditches into account and were as much as 5 feet 1. The light company of De Watteville's Regiment attempted to bypass the defenses by swimming in the Niagara River.

The current proved to be too swift, and many of the men were swept away to their death; those who survived were quickly captured. Some of the attackers charged the battery five times before retiring. Some units, such as the light company of the 8th, lost two thirds of their strength. De Watteville's regiment had casualties although many were "missing" and actually hid in the woods before deserting the next morning.

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Ripley, commanding this section of the American defenses, reported taking prisoners. His men suffered only a dozen casualties. Colonel Hercules Scott's column consisted of his own rd Regiment , less its light company. He launched his attack as soon as firing was heard from Snake Hill. Surprise was quickly lost when American pickets detected them and fired muskets to alert the defenders.

Once the British had moved close enough, the guns of the fort and the Douglass Battery loaded with canister and several hundred U. Infantry opened fire, causing horrific losses to the British who were jammed into a narrow front between an embankment and the lake. Colonel Scott was mortally wounded by a musket ball in the head early in the attack. His second in command, Major William Smelt , was also seriously wounded. At one point in the battle, a cry rose from the British forces of "Stop firing, you're shooting your own men!

Scott's shattered regiment fell back with casualties although some may later have joined Drummond's attack against the fort. The Americans facing them reported no casualties from Scott's attack. Lieutenant Colonel William Drummond's column consisted of a small detachment of gunners of the Royal Artillery , the flank companies of the 41st Foot and of the th Foot, fifty Royal Marines and ninety seamen of the Royal Navy under Commander Dobbs.

Using the cover of darkness and the heavy smoke that hung over the field, Drummond then moved his men through the defensive ditch to assault the northeast bastion. The British caught the U. It is believed that Drummond was killed in this barrage.

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According to one American soldier, in the thick of the fighting he saw a "Red-coated demon, armed with a pike and screaming for his own death which we quickly obliged him to. He fell not far from our feet, no less than a musket's length away". The attackers twice charged through a gap 7 feet 2. The defenders in turn tried to recapture the northeast bastion but were driven back.

General Drummond sent only two companies of the 1st Battalion of the Royal Scots to reinforce the attackers; they lost half their men and very few of them even reached the fort. The British responded by turning one of the captured cannons around and knocking the American pounder off its carriage. Shortly after the British began firing their captured gun, a large powder magazine in the bastion beneath their feet ignited.

Between and men, mainly British and Canadians, were killed in the bastion. It was gruesomely reported that some attackers were blown from the walls of the fort to land on the bayonets of those still in the ditch. The explosion caused havoc for both sides, although the Americans in the fort were sheltered from the full force of the explosion by the barrack buildings. Lieutenant Douglass was nearly killed when a large piece of flaming timber crushed the man next to him. The surviving attackers were convinced that the entire fort was mined and they retreated in panic.

Drummond's column had been almost wiped out during the attack. When the th assembled the next day and roll was called, those who were still standing openly wept at the loss of over half of their men who had attacked.

Sergeant Richard Smith of the th was recommended for a commission for his gallantry in the assault, during which he was wounded five times and subsequently had to have his right arm amputated, but the commission was never awarded. In total the British suffered 57 killed, wounded and missing many of whom were killed in the explosion of the fort's magazine. The journal of surgeon William Dunlop described working on the wounded for nearly 3 days without ceasing.

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The Americans reported capturing prisoners, of whom were wounded. The garrison suffered 17 killed, 56 wounded and 11 missing. In addition to the heavy casualties from the assault, Lieutenant General Drummond's force suffered severely from sickness and exposure. The British troops lacked tents and their crude huts and shelters made from bark and branches provided little cover.

When the autumn rains began, the ground rapidly became inches deep in water. Drummond nevertheless was reinforced by the 6th and 82nd Regiments of Foot, [26] both of them veterans of the Duke of Wellington's army in the Peninsular War , [27] and maintained the siege. Major General Louis de Watteville also joined him to take over the day-to-day conduct of the siege. Major General Jacob Brown had only partly recovered from his wounds received at Lundy's Lane, but he nevertheless returned to Fort Erie to replace the pessimistic Ripley in command.

It was known that Drummond's force was dwindling and there were strong arguments for simply waiting for Drummond to abandon the unsuccessful siege, but Brown was determined to attack. The action lasted for close to six hours before being brought to a halt by a "tremendous rain and thunder storm".

On 15 September, the British finally completed Battery No. Brigadier General Porter was entrusted with the main attack. His pioneers cleared a trail through the woods to a point behind the British Battery No. Drummond's troops and Natives , who were probably made lethargic by rain, sickness and shortage of rations, failed to report any of this activity. At noon on 17 September, Porter's force of volunteers from the militia with the 23rd U.

Infantry, numbering 1, in total, [30] moved along the trail, covered by heavy rain. They completely surprised the remnants of De Watteville's regiment, who were covering the end of the British siege works, and captured Battery No. At the same moment, the recently promoted Brigadier General James Miller led detachments from the 9th, 11th and 19th U. Infantry along the ravine which had sheltered the British troops before their failed assault on August 15, and attacked the British centre.

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Attacked from both front and flank, Battery No. By now, Drummond's reserves were hurrying forward. There was severe fighting amid the British entrenchments but the Americans were unable to capture Battery No. They poured a volley into the mass of the enemy, who were huddled together into so small a space that they could not return it. Pattison immediately sprung forward, and called out to the American officer in command to surrender, as resistance would only cause loss of life and could do no good.

He did give an order to ground arms, and some of his men were in the act of doing so, when an American soldier raised his rifle and shot Pattison through the heart. In one moment a charge was made by the 82d into the battery, and every soul in it was put to the bayonet…". Three of Drummond's six siege guns were destroyed in Battery No. In this two-hour [34] engagement, the Americans suffered 79 killed, wounded and missing. Of the Americans who were marked down as "missing" in the official casualty return, were captured, [36] of whom some were wounded. The British official casualty return stated killed, wounded and missing.

This gives a revised British loss of 49 killed, wounded and captured. Of the 11 officers who were taken prisoner, 2 were wounded. Unknown to the Americans, Drummond had already decided on 16 September to lift the siege, and had given orders for his artillery to be moved to Fort George as soon as possible. Shortage of draught animals had delayed his departure. His force was reduced to 2, effectives and his camp had the appearance of "a lake in the midst of a thick wood".

In the general siege operations from 1 August to 21 September not including the engagement at Conjocta Creek on 3 August, the capture of the Ohio and the Somers on 12 August, the cannonade from 13 August to the early morning of 15 August, the assault on 15 August or the sortie of 17 September , the American garrison lost killed and wounded. The overall British casualty figures for the siege also appear to be unknown. On 21 September, the American naval squadron on Lake Ontario under Commodore Isaac Chauncey ferried the main part of the division to the Genesee River a few miles west of the Niagara, from where they marched to reinforce Brown.

Since Izard was the senior officer, he assumed command of the combined American force. The Americans now numbered 6, including volunteers from the militia and had a clear advantage in numbers over Drummond, who had only 2, men even after further British reinforcements the 97th Regiment had arrived. Izard instead waited until 13 October before he began a cautious advance, by which time the British had recovered much of their health and morale, and had strongly fortified the line of the Chippawa Creek.

After some indecisive exchanges of artillery fire at the mouth of the river and a minor success against a British outpost at Cook's Mill on 19 October, Izard withdrew. It was no longer possible for the Americans to move supplies to the Niagara front, except by crude roads which would be unusable during the late autumn and winter. At the same time, the British were able to reinforce and resupply their troops on the Niagara.

Izard wrote to the Secretary of War James Monroe "At the head of the most efficient army the United States have possessed during this war, much must be expected of me; and yet I can discern no object which can be achieved at this point worthy of the risk which will attend its attempt. At Brown's request, he and his division were transferred to Sackett's Harbor to protect the vital naval base.

The British contemplated making an attack there, but could not transport the necessary troops up the St. Lawrence before winter set in. Izard, who was short of supplies, decided to abandon Fort Erie and go into winter quarters in New York state with the remainder of the army. On 5 November, the Americans set mines and demolished the fort before retiring across the river.

This allowed the British to go into winter quarters also, which spared them losses from the winter weather.