Battle of Crysler ' s Farm The Battle of Crysler ' s Farm , also known as the Battle of Crysler ' s Field , was fought on 11 November 1813 , during the Anglo - American War of 1812 . ( The name " Chrysler ' s Farm " is sometimes used for the engagement , but " Crysler " is in fact the proper spelling . ) A British and Canadian force won a victory over an American force which greatly outnumbered them . The American defeat prompted them to abandon the St . Lawrence Campaign , their major strategic effort in the autumn of 1813 . The St . Lawrence Campaign . The American plan . The battle arose from an American campaign which was intended to capture Montreal . The resulting military actions , including the Battle of the Chateauguay , the Battle of Crysler ' s Field and a number of skirmishes , are collectively known as the Saint Lawrence Campaign . The American plan was devised by United States Secretary of War John Armstrong , Jr . , who originally intended taking the field himself . Because it was difficult to concentrate the necessary force in one place due to the initially scattered disposition of the troops and inadequate lines of communication , it involved two forces which would combine for the final assault . Major General James Wilkinson ' s division of 8 , 000 would concentrate at Sackett ' s Harbor on Lake Ontario , and proceed down the Saint Lawrence River in gunboat s , batteau x and other small craft . At some point , they would rendezvous with another division of 4 , 000 under Major General Wade Hampton advancing north from Plattsburgh on Lake Champlain , to make the final attack on Montreal . Even as preparations proceeded , it was apparent that the plan had several shortcomings . Until the last minute , it was uncertain that Montreal was to be the objective , as Armstrong originally intended to attack Kingston , where the British naval squadron on Lake Ontario was based . However , Commodore Isaac Chauncey , commanding the American naval squadron on the lake , refused to risk his ships in any attack against Kingston . There was mistrust between the Army officers concerned ; Wilkinson had an unsavoury reputation as a scoundrel , and Hampton originally refused to serve in any capacity in the same army as Wilkinson . The troops lacked training and uniforms , sickness was rife and there were too few experienced officers . Chiefly though , it appeared that neither force could carry sufficient supplies to sustain itself before Montreal , making a siege or any prolonged blockade impossible . American preliminary moves . Hampton began his part of the campaign on 19 September with an advance down the River Richelieu , which flows north from Lake Champlain . He decided that the defences on this obvious route were too strong and instead shifted westward to Four Corners , on the Chateauguay River near the frontier with Canada . He was forced to wait there for several weeks as Wilkinson ' s force was not ready , which cost him some of his initial advantage in numbers as Canadian troops were moved to the Chateauguay , and reduced his supplies . Armstrong had intended that Wilkinson ' s force would set out on 15 September . On 2 September , Wilkinson himself had gone to Fort George , which the Americans had captured in May , to arrange the movement of Brigadier General John Parker Boyd ' s division from Fort George to rendezvous with the troops from Sacket ' s Harbor . Possibly because he was ill , he delayed around Fort George for nearly a month . He returned to Sacket ' s Harbor , and Boyd ' s division began its movement , only in the first week in October . The poor prospects for success ( and possibly his own illness ) led Armstrong to abandon his intention of leading the final assault himself . He handed overall command of the expedition to Wilkinson and departed Sacket ' s Harbor on his way to Washington on 16 October , just before Wilkinson ' s part of the campaign was at last launched . Armstrong ' s letter to Hampton , notifying him of the change in command and also throwing much of the burden of supplying the combined force onto him , arrived the evening before Hampton ' s army fought the Battle of the Chateauguay . Although Hampton nevertheless attacked , as part of his force was already committed to an outflanking move , he immediately sent his resignation , and fell back when his first attack was repulsed . Wilkinson ' s moves . Wilkinson ' s force left Sackett ' s Harbor on 17 October , bound at first for Grenadier Island at the head of the St . Lawrence . Mid - October was very late in the year for serious campaigning in the Canadas and the American force was hampered by bad weather , losing several boats and suffering from sickness and exposure . It took several days for the last stragglers to reach Grenadier Island . On 1 November , the first boats set out from the island , and reached French Creek ( near present - day Clayton , New York ) on 4 November . Here , the first shots of the campaign were fired . British brigs and gunboats under Commander William Mulcaster had left Kingston to rendezvous with and escort batteaux and canoes carrying supplies up the Saint Lawrence . The aggressive Mulcaster bombarded the American anchorages and encampments during the evening . The next morning , American artillerymen under Lieutenant Colonel Moses Porter drove him away , using hastily - heated " hot shot " . ( The red - hot American cannonballs set fire to the brig " Earl of Moira " , and the crew intentionally scuttled the brig to extinguish the fire . The brig was later salvaged and returned to service . ) From French Creek , Wilkinson proceeded down the river . On 6 November , while at the settlement of Hoags , he received the news that Hampton had been repulsed at the Chateauguay River on 26 October . He sent fresh instructions to Hampton to march westward from his present position at Four Corners , New York and meet him at Cornwall . Wilkinson ' s force successfully bypassed the British post at Prescott late on 7 November . The troops were disembarked and marched around Ogdensburg on the south bank of the river , while the lightened boats ran past the British batteries under cover of darkness and poor visibility . Only one boat was lost , with two killed and three wounded . The next day , while the main body re - embarked , an advance guard battalion commanded by Colonel Alexander Macomb and a battalion of riflemen under Major Benjamin Forsyth were landed on the Canadian side of the river to clear the river bank of harassing Canadian militia . On the following day ( 9 November ) , Wilkinson held a council of war . All his senior officers appeared to be determined to proceed with the expedition , regardless of the difficulties and alarming reports of enemy strength . The advance guard was reinforced with the 2nd Brigade ( 6th , 15th and 22nd U . S . Infantry ) under Brigadier General Jacob Brown , who took command of the force , and marched eastward along the northern bank of the river . Before the main body could follow by water , Wilkinson learned that a British force was pursuing him . He landed almost all the other troops as a rearguard , under Brigadier General John Parker Boyd . Late on 10 November , after a day spent marching under intermittent fire from British gunboats and field guns , Wilkinson set up his headquarters in Cook ' s Tavern , with Boyd ' s troops bivouacked in the woods around . British counter - moves . The British had been aware of the American concentration at Sackett ' s Harbor , but for a long time they had believed , with good reason , that their own main naval base at Kingston was the intended target of Wilkinson ' s force . Major General Francis de Rottenburg , the Lieutenant Governor of Upper Canada , had massed his available troops there . When Mulcaster returned from French Creek late on 5 November with news that the Americans were heading down the Saint Lawrence , de Rottenburg dispatched a " Corps of Observation " after them , in accordance with orders previously issued by Governor General Sir George Prevost . The corps initially numbered 650 men , and was commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Joseph Wanton Morrison , the commanding officer of the 2nd Battalion , the 89th Regiment . They were embarked in the schooners " Beresford " and " Sidney Smith " , accompanied by seven gunboats and several small craft , all commanded by Mulcaster . They departed from Kingston in thick weather late on 7 November and evaded the ships of Commodore Isaac Chauncey , which were blockading the base , among the Thousand Islands at the head of the Saint Lawrence River . On 9 November , they reached Prescott , where the troops disembarked as the schooners could proceed no farther ( although Mulcaster continued to accompany them with three gunboats and some batteaux ) . Morrison was reinforced by a detachment of 240 men from the garrison of Prescott , to a total strength of about 900 men . Marching rapidly , they caught up with Boyd ' s rearguard on 10 November . That evening they encamped near Crysler ' s Farm , two miles upstream from the American positions . The terrain was mainly open fields , which gave full scope to British tactics and musketry , while the muddy ground ( planted with fall wheat ) and the marshy nature of the woods surrounding the farm would hamper the American manoeuvres . Morrison was keen to accept battle here if offered . Battle . As dawn broke on 11 November , it was cold and raining , though the rain later eased . Firing broke out in two places . On the river , Mulcaster ' s gunboats began shooting at the American boats clustered around Cook ' s Point , while a Mohawk fired a shot at an American party scouting near their encampment , who replied with a volley . Half a dozen Canadian militia dragoons bolted back to the main British force , calling that the Americans were attacking . The British force dropped its half - cooked breakfast and formed up , which caused American sentries to report that the " British " were attacking , and forced the Americans in turn to form up and stand to arms . At about 10 : 30 in the morning , Wilkinson received a message from Jacob Brown , who reported that the previous evening he had defeated 500 Stormont and Glengarry Militia at Hoople ' s Creek and the way ahead was clear . To proceed however , the American boats would next have to face the Long Sault rapids and Wilkinson determined to drive Morrison off before tackling them . He himself had been ill for some time , and could not command the attack himself . His second - in - command , Major General Morgan Lewis , was also " indisposed " . This left Brigadier General Boyd in command . He had immediately available the 3rd Brigade under Brigadier General Leonard Covington ( 9th , 16th and 25th U . S . Infantry ) and the 4th Brigade under Brigadier General Robert Swartwout ( 11th , 14th and 21st U . S . Infantry ) , with two 6 - pounder guns . Some distance down - river were part of Boyd ' s own 1st Brigade under the brigade ' s second - in - command , Colonel Isaac Coles , ( 12th and 13th U . S . Infantry ) , four more 6 - pounder guns and a squadron of the 2nd U . S . Dragoons . In all , Boyd commanded perhaps 2 , 500 men ( though some sources put the figure at 4 , 000 ) . Initial dispositions . The British were disposed in echelon , with their right wing thrown forward : Action . Boyd did not order an assault until the middle of the afternoon . On the American right , the 21st U . S . Infantry under Colonel Eleazer Wheelock Ripley advanced and drove the British skirmish line back through the woods , for almost a mile . Here they paused to draw breath , and were joined by the 12th and 13th U . S . Infantry from Coles ' brigade . ( Where Swartwout ' s other two regiments were at this point is unclear ) . Ripley and Coles resumed their advance along the edge of the woods , but were startled to see a line of redcoats ( the 2nd / 89th , on Morrison ' s left flank ) rise up out of concealment and open fire . The American soldiers dived behind tree stumps and bushes to return fire , and their attack lost all order and momentum . As ammunition ran short , they began to retreat out of line . Meanwhile , Covington ' s brigade struggled across the ravine and deployed into line , under musket and shrapnel fire . Legend has it that at this point , Covington mistook the battle - hardened 49th Regiment in their grey greatcoats for Canadian militia and called out to his men , " Come on , my lads ! Let us see how you will deal with these militiamen ! " A moment later , he was mortally wounded . His second - in - command took over , only to be killed almost immediately . The brigade quickly lost order and began to retreat . Boyd could not bring all his six guns into action until his infantry were already falling back . When they did open fire from the road along the river bank , they were quite effective . Morrison ' s second - in - command , Lieutenant Colonel John Harvey , ordered the 49th to capture them . The 49th made a charge in awkward echelon formation , suffering heavy casualties from the American guns as they struggled across several rail fences . The United States Dragoons ( under Wilkinson ' s Adjutant General , Colonel John Walbach ) now intervened , charging the exposed right flank of the 49th . The 49th halted their own advance , reformed line from echelon formation and wheeled back their right . Under heavy fire from the 49th , Pearson ' s detachment and Jackson ' s two guns , the dragoons renewed their charge twice but eventually fell back , leaving 18 casualties ( out of 130 ) . They had bought time for all but one of the American guns to be removed . Barnes ' s companies of the 2 / 89th overtook the 49th and captured the one gun which had become bogged down and been abandoned . It was now about half past four . Almost all of the American army was in full retreat . The 25th U . S . Infantry under Colonel Edmund P . Gaines and the collected boat guards under Lieutenant Colonel Timothy Upham held the ravine for a while , but Pearson threatened to get round their left flank , and they too fell back . As it was growing dark and the weather was turning stormy , the British halted their advance . The American Army meanwhile retreated in great confusion to their boats and crossed to the south ( American ) bank of the river , although the British did not stand down from battle stations for some time , wary of the Americans renewing the attack . An American witness stated that 1 , 000 American stragglers had made their way across the river during the battle itself . Casualties . Although the British casualties were reported in Morrison ' s despatches as 22 killed , 148 wounded and 9 missing , it has been demonstrated that a further 9 men were killed and an additional 4 men were missing , giving a revised total of 31 killed , 148 wounded and 13 missing . The American casualties , from the official return , were 102 killed , and 237 wounded including General Leonard Covington . No figures were given for men missing or captured but the official return notes that three of the sixteen officers listed as wounded were also captured . The number of American prisoners taken was initially reported as " upwards of 100 " by Morrison but he wrote that more were still being brought in . The final tally was 120 . Most of these were severely wounded men who had been left on the field but fourteen unwounded enlisted men were captured after trying to hide in a swamp . A Canadian who rode across the battlefield on the morning of 12 November remembered it being " covered with Americans killed and wounded " . Aftermath . On 12 November , the sullen American flotilla successfully navigated the Long Sault rapids . That evening , they reached a settlement known as Barnhardt ' s , three miles above Cornwall , where they rendezvoused with Brown ' s detachment . There was no sign of Hampton ' s force , but Colonel Henry Atkinson , one of Hampton ' s staff officers , brought Hampton ' s reply to Wilkinson ' s letter of 6 November . Hampton stated that shortage of supplies had forced him to retire to Plattsburgh . Wilkinson used this as pretext to call another council of war , which unanimously opted to end the campaign . The army went into winter quarters at French Mills , from the Saint Lawrence , but the roads were almost impassable at this season , and Wilkinson was also forced by lack of supplies and sickness among his army to retreat to Plattsburg . He was later dismissed from command shortly after a failed attack on a British outpost at Lacolle Mills . He subsequently faced a court martial on various charges of negligence and misconduct during the St . Lawrence campaign , but was exonerated . Lewis was retired , while Boyd was sidelined into rear - area commands . Brown , Macomb , Ripley and Gaines were subsequently promoted . Ten active regular battalions of the United States Army ( 1 - 2 Inf , 2 - 2 Inf , 1 - 4 Inf , 2 - 4 Inf , 3 - 4 Inf , 1 - 5 Inf , 2 - 5 Inf , 1 - 6 Inf , 2 - 6 Inf and 4 - 6 Inf ) perpetuate the lineages of a number of American infantry regiments ( the old 9th , 11th , 13th , 14th , 16th , 21st , 22nd , 23rd and 25th Infantry Regiments ) that took part in the battle . On the British side , Mulcaster was promoted to Post - Captain to take command of a frigate but lost a leg in 1814 during the Raid on Fort Oswego , ending his active career . Morrison also was severely wounded later in 1814 at the Battle of Lundy ' s Lane . Morrison , Harvey and Pearson all eventually became Generals . Twelve rank and file survived to claim a Military General Service Medal in 1847 for serving at the battle , although others may not have bothered to do so . The battle site was designated a National Historic Site of Canada in 1920 . The area of Crysler ' s Farm was permanently submerged in 1958 during the construction of the St . Lawrence Seaway . A monument ( erected in 1895 ) commemorating the battle was moved from Crysler ' s Farm to Upper Canada Village in Morrisburg . See also The Lost Villages .