Raid on Fort Schlosser 1813

Photo by Alan L Brown - Posted August, 2004

Plaque Location

The Region of Niagara
The City of Niagara Falls
In Chippawa, on the Niagara Parkway at the entrance to
King's Bridge Park on the east side of the Welland River
where it meets the Niagara River

Coordinates: N 43 03.776 W 79 03.016

Plaque Text

At daybreak on July 5, 1813, a British and Canadian force, consisting of some 35 militia and a small detachment of the 49th Regiment, embarked in this vicinity to attack Fort Schlosser. This American depot (now within Niagara Falls, New York) was situated at the southern terminus of the Lewiston Portage, and was an important military trans-shipment point. The attacking force, commanded by Lieut.-Col. Thomas Clark of the 2nd Regiment, Lincoln Militia, surprised the U.S. garrison and encountered little resistance. They captured a gunboat, two bateaux, a brass cannon and a substantial quantity of small arms and supplies. While re-embarking, they were attacked by local American militia, but suffered no casualties.

More
Information

More
War of 1812

Here are the visitors' comments for this page.

Posted November 1, 2010
One western New York historian says, in this raid, the British "only stayed there about six hours, fearing the arrival of American reinforcements." (Paul Gromosiak) It's fascinating to read interpretations of the same historical event with different emphases. I've noticed marked differences in how specific events of the Wars of Independence and 1812 are spoken of, depending on which side of the Canada-US border you're on. I hope a good synthesis can be written to mark the War of 1812's bicentennial. In any case, the British had the last word on Fort Schlosser, burning it five months later, in December 1813, in retaliation for the US burning of Newark (Niagara-on-the-Lake). Its odd no plaque mentions this. By a fascinating double coincidence, the British, which originally built Ft. Schlosser, destroyed it, just as the French had razed the fort they, themselves, had built (Little Niagara), only a few hundred feet away, 54 years earlier. -Wayne

Posted October 30, 2010
A previous entry asked where Fort Schlosser was. I didn't find a map, but its location can be deduced with some precision. The British built the fort "40 rods" (660 feet) upriver (east) of the French Fort Little Niagara (source: New York State Museum). The state historical markers website says there is a plaque at the site of the French fort, at the intersection of Buffalo Ave. and Portage Rd., Niagara Falls, NY (43.08293,-79.04043). A point 660 feet east of there puts the site of Ft. Schlosser at approximately 43.08295,-79.03795, though possibly nearer the shoreline of 1760. Still standing is the chimney which was originally built for the French fort (1750), then incorporated into the British fort, and then another building! It survived the destruction of both forts, and has been moved two or three times, now located at 43.08102,-79.04959, in Niagara Falls, NY. -Wayne

Posted October 15, 2010
I like this page, it was very good and gave me much much needed research for my project and without it, i think i might have done really bad. :)

Posted May 16, 2010
Where was Fort Schlosser located exactly? Are you aware of any maps showing its precise location available online?

Posted July 4, 2009
this is very interesting, i think i will make my com plete life objective to styudying every brick in fort schlosser

Here's where you can write a comment for this page.

Note: If you wish to ask me a question, please use the email link in the menu.

Note: Comments are moderated. Yours will appear on this page within 24 hours
(usually much sooner).

Note: As soon as the comment is posted, a link to it will appear on the home page in the section "Here are the 10 latest plaque pages with a new comment added by a visitor to this site."