THE WAR OF 1812 AND THE BATTLE OF COOKS MILLS

THE ONLY WAR FOUGHT ON WELLAND SOIL

BY GERALD D. KIRK

[Welland Tribune, 1984]

By the middle of October 1814, a point of virtual stalemate had been reached in the struggle for control of the Niagara Peninsula.

The American invaders continued to hold Fort Erie and a narrow strip of territory north to the Welland River, with their main body, 8,000 strong, camped at Black Creek. Their ambitions were effectively checked, however, by General Gordon Drummond’s force of British and Canadian regulars, the Lincoln Militia, and some Indians, based at Fort Chippawa.

At the tiny settlement of Cook’s Mills on Lyon’s Creek, a tributary of the Welland River, grain from the surrounding farms was still in the process of being ground into flour and meal. At least some of this product was earmarked for Drummond’s army, and a detail of militiamen under Captain Henry Buchner had been posted at the mill to guard the precious source of provisions.

On the morning of Oct. 18, a long column of infantry and dragoons was spotted leaving the American escarpment at Black Creek, headed westward. The going was rough, with the ground swampy from unusually heavy autumn rains, and the roads and bridges in very poor condition. The detachment slogged along in the general direction of Brown’s Bridge, a footbridge over the Welland River at the Pelham and Thorold line.

SUSPICIOUS

Suspicions were raised at Fort Chippawa that the Americans were aiming to cross the Welland and proceed to attack the main British command post of Burlington Heights. General Drummond lost no time in detailing a militia unit to destroy Brown’s Bridge, along with Misener’s Bridge further downstream.

At the same time, Drummond ordered the Glengarry Light Infantry and soldiers from the 82^nd Regiment to march in the direction of Cook’s Mills.

Late in the afternoon of the 18^th, scouts who had been shadowing the American column reach-Ed Drummond’s headquarters with the news that the enemy had changed their line of march and were bearing down on Cook’s Mills.

ATTACKED

By that time, the Americans had already overrun the settlement, driving before them the militiamen stationed there, who understandably saw discretion as the better part of valour. Their leader, Captain Buchner, who may have lived nearby, was somehow captured and held prisoner.

The Americans set up camp on both sides of Lyon’s Creek, with their main force on the high ground north of the mills. Pickets were stationed on the roads leading into the hamlet. They then settled down to recuperate from the long march, with the satisfaction of having captured 150 to 200 bushels of grain and wheat from under the noses of the British.

Meanwhile the column from Fort Chippawa had reached the meeting house at White Pigeon, and a field headquarters was established across the road at Misener’s farmhouse. The soldiers set up camp for the night.

At daybreak on the 19^th, the British began their advances on Cook’s Mills, led by a Canadian regiment, the Glengarry Light Infantry. Their assault force was supported by a single six-pound cannon and a new terror weapon the Congreve rockets.

SURROUNDED

Arriving at the edge of the settlement, the British encountered and drove the enemy back. Reacting to the rockets and cannon fire, the Americans took to the surrounding woods, from where they responded pouring musket fire on the attackers.

Suddenly the British realized that a company of Americans was moving through the trees on their right, obviously intending to surround them, or to capture the cannon. The signal for retreat was sounded, and the British withdrew to their camp, reportedly pursued rather gingerly by the Americans. The British had lost one man, with 35 wounded. Twelve American soldiers lay dead, 54 were wounded, and one man was missing.

BURIED DEAD

Having buried the dead of both sides, the Americans remained at Cook’s Mills until mid-afternoon of the following day, Oct. 20^th, when they began the long trek back to Black Creek. Unable to transport the flour and grain, they destroyed all of it, but left the mill, the dam and the bridge intact.

So concluded the last conflict of the War of 1812 fought on Canadian soil.

The tragic story that began at Fort Detroit two years earlier ended in an obscure hamlet on Lyon’s Creek in 1814. The battlefield at Cook’s Mills is every bit as much a part of our Canadian heritage as are the military actions of Stoney Creek,  Beaverdams, Lundy’s Lane and Queenston Heights. It should have even more meaning for the people of Welland since it lies wholly within our city limits.