Since you brought up the Was of 1812, there is a commemorative plaque half a mile down the road from me for this Battle. Sackets Harbor holds a re-enactment every year. Good block party, afterwards.
The Battle of Big Sandy Creek was fought in northwestern
New York on May 29–30, 1814, during the
War of 1812. The battle was an
American victory in which American
militia and
Oneida Indians launched a surprise attack on
British soldiers who were chasing them inland from
Lake Ontario.
[h=2]Contents[/h] [ hide] |
[h=2][
edit]Background[/h]After the successful attack on
Fort Oswego on May 5–6, 1814, the British withdrew to the Galloo Islands in northern Lake Ontario where they could monitor and intercept any supplies on their way north to
Sackets Harbor, New York. At the American ship yards in Sackets Harbor, two
brigs, the
USS Jefferson and the
Jones, and a
frigate, the
Superior, waited for armament and rigging necessary for their launch. The supplies needed to outfit the ships had been transported from the
Brooklyn Naval Yards in
New York City to
Albany, New York, and from Albany up the
Mohawk River to Wood Creek and
Oneida Lake, finally arriving at the
Oswego River. These supplies still needed to be transported from Oswego to Sackett’s Harbor, but it needed to be done without alerting the British.
On April 21, 1814, Commodore
Isaac Chauncey sent orders from Sackets Harbor to Lieutenant
Melancthon Taylor Woolsey directing him to choose five officers and twenty-five men to proceed in the
USS Lady of the Lake to Oswego and then bring the shipbuilding supplies north to the shipyards.[SUP][
citation needed][/SUP]
[h=2][
edit]Battle[/h]On the rainy evening of May 28, Woolsey set out with 150 riflemen under the command of Major
Daniel Appling in 19 boats loaded with supplies. On the morning of May 29, they arrived at the mouth of the
Big Salmon River having mysteriously lost one of their boats. This boat, discovered by the British forces, eliminated the secrecy of Wooley’s mission.
At Big Salmon, the American forces met up with the Oneidas (estimates range from 120 to 130 Indians), who Woolsey had dispatched the previous day. The Oneidas marched north along the shore as the boats proceeded in the lake. At noon on May 29, they reached the mouth of the Big Sandy Creek. All the boats were sent as far inland as possible.[SUP][
citation needed][/SUP]
Woolsey then sent a lookout to scout for British ships. The lookout discovered that a
gunboat and three barges were headed for the location of the American forces. Woolsey set out a call for the neighboring militia and hastily prepared for battle.
At 8 a.m., the British began to cannonade the American forces from the mouth of the Big Sandy Creek. The American forces hid along the shoreline of the creek and waited for the British to advance inland. At about 10 a.m., when the British forces had progressed up the creek, the American forces rose from their concealment, and a brief ten-minute battle ensued. The British officers quickly surrendered to avoid further casualties