The Niagara Campaign of 1814: The Battle of Chippawa Further Reading The Americans Take Fort Erie: Prelude to the Battle of Chippawa The Battle of Chippawa John Norton Meets the Iroquois From New York After the Battle of Chippawa

The Iroquois Clash in the Forest at Chippawa Sometime after three in the afternoon on July 5, 1814, John Norton leads a brigade of Iroquois warriors, British light infantry, militia and a number of western tribesmen into the woods below the village of Chippawa. They divide into three groups, moving south through the forest, where they hope to engage the left flank of the American line in a heavy fire. Up ahead, Iroquois snipers have already been antagonizing the Americans since early morning. What they do not realize is that they are about to come face to face with 300 of their Iroquois cousins fighting alongside the Americans. To make sure Porter’s volunteers don’t shoot them in the heat of battle, the Iroquois of New York have tied white cloths around their heads to distinguish them from enemy tribesmen. It is a telltale sign that they expect to encounter former kinsmen. Porter and Chief Red Jacket’s Iroquois enter the woods south of the American camp, out of view of the snipers. Once the British allies were in view, the Porter’s force spreads out and approaches within firing range. The battle that ensues is short and bloody. As Porter later remembered it: "[The Iroquois] rushed forward with a deafening chorus of war cries and pursued the snipers, for more than a mile through scenes of indescribable horror, few only of the fugitives surrendering themselves as prisoners, while others believing that no quarter was to be given, suffered themselves to be overtaken and cut down with the tomahawk, or turned upon their pursuers and fought to the last." As Porter’s force chases the snipers that are still able to flee, it runs straight into one of Norton's lines of Grand River Iroquois and light infantry. Believing themselves to be outnumbered, it is now the Americans and Iroquois who turn and run for their lives. They must retreat back through the remnants of the recent carnage. Porter’s men attempt a stand, but upon seeing fresh British reinforcements approaching from the north, they abandon their position and race for the American lines.