The Napoleonic Wars and the War of 1812

The Battle of Crysler's Farm

Map of the battle of Crysler's Farm, 11 November 1813

Caption: Map of the battle of Crysler's Farm, 11 November 1813

But where was General Wilkinson's army? At the beginning of November, after many delays, it was moving up the St. Lawrence River towards Montreal. Wilkinson still did not know about Hampton's defeat. Part of his army, approximately 3,700 men, disembarked on the Canadian side of the river east of Prescott. An Anglo-Canadian "observation corps" followed them, having been assigned the task of slowing their march. The corps consisted of some 900 officers and soldiers under the command of Lieutenant-Colonel Joseph Wanton Morrison. On the 11th the Americans decided to drive away the troops that were harassing them, and 2,000 American soldiers attacked the Morrison contingent on the farm of one John Crysler, which today is in Morrisburg, Ontario. The American infantry and cavalry attacks were repeatedly beaten back by the British line. The Americans eventually withdrew after having incurred heavy losses: 102 dead, 237 wounded and over 100 taken prisoner. Morrison had only 22 dead and 148 wounded. The next day Wilkinson abandoned the invasion plan and the American troops crossed to the other side of the border.