Editing War of 1812 (section)

==== Niagara and Plattsburgh campaigns, 1814 ====

[[File:Battle of Lundys Lane.jpg|thumb|right|upright=1.0|American infantry prepare to attack during the [[Battle of Lundy's Lane]]]]

The Americans again invaded the Niagara frontier. They had occupied southwestern Upper Canada after they defeated Colonel Henry Procter at [[Delaware Nation at Moraviantown|Moraviantown]] in October and believed that taking the rest of the province would force the British to cede it to them.{{sfn|Hickey|1989|p=137}} The end of the war with Napoleon in Europe in April 1814 meant that the British could deploy their army to North America, so the Americans wanted to secure Upper Canada to negotiate from a position of strength. They planned to invade via the Niagara frontier while sending another force to recapture Mackinac.{{sfn|Benn|2002|p=47}} They captured Fort Erie on 3 July 1814.{{sfn|Benn|2002|p=49}} Unaware of Fort Erie's fall or of the size of the American force, the British general [[Phineas Riall]] engaged with [[Winfield Scott]], who won against a British force at the [[Battle of Chippawa]] on 5 July. The American forces had been through a hard training under Winfield Scott and proved to the professionals under fire. They deployed in a shallow U formation, bringing flanking fire and well-aimed volleys against Riall's men. Riall's men were chased off the battlefield.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://armyhistory.org/the-battle-of-chippewa-5-july-1814/|title=The Battle of Chippewa, 5 July 1814 – The Campaign for the National Museum of the United States Army|date=16 July 2014 }}</ref>

An attempt to advance further ended with the hard-fought but inconclusive [[Battle of Lundy's Lane]] on July 25. The battle was fought several miles north of [[Chippawa Creek]] near Niagara Falls and is considered the bloodiest and costliest battle of the war.{{sfn|Heidler|Heidler|2002|pp=307–309}}{{sfn|Hickey|1989|p=187}} Both sides stood their ground as American General [[Jacob Brown (general)|Jacob Brown]] pulled back to Fort George after the battle and the British did not pursue.{{sfn|Benn|2002|p=51}} Commanders Riall, Scott, Brown, and Drummond were all wounded; Scott's wounds ended his service in the war.{{sfn|Heidler|Heidler|2002|p=309}}

The Americans withdrew but withstood a prolonged [[siege of Fort Erie]]. The British tried to storm Fort Erie on 14 August 1814, but they suffered heavy losses, losing 950 killed, wounded, and captured, compared to only 84 dead and wounded on the American side. The British were further weakened by exposure and shortage of supplies. Eventually, they raised the siege, but American Major General [[George Izard]] took over command on the Niagara front and followed up only halfheartedly. An American raid along the [[Grand River (Ontario)|Grand River]] destroyed many farms and weakened British logistics. In October 1814, the Americans advanced into Upper Canada and engaged in skirmishes at [[Cooks Mills, Welland|Cook's Mill]]. They pulled back when they heard of the approach of  the new British warship {{HMS|St Lawrence|1814|6}}, launched in Kingston that September and armed with 104 guns. The Americans lacked provisions and retreated across the Niagara after destroying Fort Erie.{{sfn|Benn|2002|p=52}}

[[File:British taking of the Northeast Bastion during the night assault on Fort Erie, August 14, 1814.png|thumb|left|upright=1.0|Unsuccessful British assault on [[Siege of Fort Erie|Fort Erie]], 14 August 1814]]

Meanwhile, after Napoleon abdicated, 15,000 British troops were sent to North America under four of [[Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington| Wellington]]'s ablest brigade commanders. Fewer than half were veterans of the [[Peninsular War]] and the rest came from garrisons. Prévost was ordered to burn Sackett's Harbor to gain naval control of Lake Erie, Lake Ontario, and the Upper Lakes, and to defend Lower Canada from attack. He did defend Lower Canada but otherwise failed to achieve his objectives,{{sfn|Grodzinski|2010|pp=560–561}} so he decided to invade New York State. His army outnumbered the American defenders of [[Plattsburgh, New York|Plattsburgh]] under General [[Alexander Macomb (general)|Alexander Macomb]], but he was worried about his flanks and decided that he needed naval control of Lake Champlain. Upon reaching Plattsburgh, Prévost delayed the assault until Captain [[George Downie]]  arrived in the hastily built 36-gun frigate {{HMS|Confiance|1814|6}}. ''Confiance'' was not fully completed, and her raw crew had never worked together, but Prévost forced Downie into a premature attack.<ref>George C Daughan. ''1812: The navy's war''. {{ISBN|0465020461}} pp. 343–345</ref>

The British squadron on the lake was more evenly matched by the Americans under Master Commandant [[Thomas Macdonough]]. At the [[Battle of Plattsburgh]] on 11 September 1814, ''Confiance'' suffered heavy casualties and struck her colours, and the rest of the British fleet retreated. Prevost, already alienated from his veteran officers by insisting on proper dress codes, now lost their confidence, while Macdonough emerged as a national hero.{{sfn|Hickey|1989|pp=190–193}}

[[File:Battleofpburg.jpg|thumb|right|upright=1.0|Defeat at Plattsburgh led Prévost to call off the invasion of New York.]]

The Americans now had control of Lake Champlain; [[Theodore Roosevelt]] later termed it "the greatest naval battle of the war".{{sfn|Roosevelt|1900|p=[https://archive.org/stream/navalwarorhisto00roosgoog#page/n120/mode/1up 108]}}

Prévost then turned back, to the astonishment of his senior officers, saying that it was too hazardous to remain on enemy territory after the loss of naval supremacy. He was recalled to London, where a naval court-martial decided that defeat had been caused principally by Prévost urging the squadron into premature action and then failing to afford the promised support from the land forces. He died suddenly, just before his court-martial was to convene. His reputation sank to a new low as Canadians claimed that their militia under Brock did the job but Prévost failed. However, recent historians have been kinder. Peter Burroughs argues that his preparations were energetic, well-conceived, and comprehensive for defending the Canadas with limited means and that he achieved the primary objective of preventing an American conquest.{{sfn|Burroughs|1983}}