The Niagara Campaign of 1814: The Battle of Lundy's Lane "A soldier's life is very horrid sometimes". - British Lieutenant John Le Couteur Further Reading The Battle of Lundy's Lane Background to the Battle of Lundy's Lane The Americans at Lundy's Lane Two Accounts From The Battle The Aftermath of Lundy's Lane Surgeon William Dunlop Tends to the Wounded William Dunlop Remembers a Tragic Scene Books Where Right and Glory Lead! The Battle of Lundy's Lane, 1814 Donald E Graves

The British at Lundy's Lane As the last traces of daylight vanish from the scene, Jacob Brown's American reinforcements take to the field and the battle intensifies. It quickly becomes apparent that this will be an engagement for well-trained soldiers. The Canadian militia are ordered to hand over their ammunition to the regulars and fall back. They will be extremely busy for the rest of the night carrying hundreds of wounded to the makeshift hospitals at nearby farmhouses. Drummond now hopes that Colonel Hercules Scott has received his earlier order to march toward the Niagara River with his 1600 men from Twelve Mile Creek. Using the darkness to mask their advance, the Americans make a direct assault on Drummond's position on the hill. The fighting is close and fierce, and the British soldiers around the guns must move forward to stop the advance. The chief British gunner, Maclachlane, fires into the first attack wave just as a number of men around him fall in a hail of bullets. Seconds later, Americans emerge from the darkness on their left, driving the remaining British from the hilltop. General Drummond has lost his position and his guns. As Drummond moves about the field trying to organize a counter-attack, he is shot through the cheek and the bullet lodges in the base of his neck. But the general, every bit as determined as his adversary Brown, wraps his wound with a handkerchief and continues to try to direct the battle. But with the darkness and the deteriorating organization of troops, no one alerts the newly arrived battalion under Hercules Scott about the turn of events. It marches right up the hill and into a withering American fire. For two hours the British try to regain their guns with direct assaults on the hilltop position. Each successive attempt becomes increasingly difficult to organize; the pool of intact men diminishes while the corpses ringing the hill multiply. Rallying the troops out at the front of the fighting, Drummond's horse is shot out from under him for the second time that evening. On their second drive up the slope, the British succeed in taking out the Americans manning the guns before being driven down again. Brown has no experienced men to replace them, and ammunition is dwindling fast. Using almost every available man on the field, Drummond organizes a third assault. This final push is desperate. Again, the men come within meters of the Americans as infantry battles infantry with bayonet, sword and musket-butt. One British regular described the clash as "obstinate beyond description." But Drummond calls on his men to fall back once again and is on the point of giving up. His men catch their breath and undoubtedly contemplate whether they will live through another attempt. Word reaches Drummond that the Americans appear to be leaving the hilltop and the battlefield altogether. Drummond waits for confirmation before cautiously moving his troops toward the hilltop. Drummond surveys the scene as best he can. A couple of his guns remain on the slope, and he figures the Americans have made off with the rest. Perhaps they are getting these into position elsewhere to mount an attack. To be on the safe side, Drummond orders his men to defend the hill and to create a makeshift barricade using the bodies of several dead horses scattered nearby. They wait with muskets steadied on the carcasses, but the American army is well on its way toward Chippawa. The British are left with nothing but the devastation.