The 11th U.S. Infantry was one of several regiments authorized by Congress in January 1812, several months before war was declared. The officers appointed to the regiment began recruiting in Vermont, Connecticut, and New Hampshire. Isaac Clark was appointed colonel of the regiment in March 1812 and he remained in command until April 1814. He was followed by J.B. Campbell who commanded until August. Moody Bedel, who was the regimental lieutenant colonel since the battalion was first formed, replaced Campbell and remained in command until the regiment was amalgamated in 1815. 1812 was a quiet year for the 11th Infantry. The men did not receive their initial issue of uniforms until September. They probably received the new 1812 regulation uniform with blue coat and red facings with white tape although this cannot be verified. The regiment marched to New York and participated in Henry Dearborn's short and abortive invasion of Lower Canada. After wintering in Burlington, Vermont, the regiment was divided into two battalions. The first battalion consisting of six companies of the 11th [about 500 soldiers] was ordered in early May to march to Sackett's Harbor to guard that important naval base while Dearborn was attacking Fort George on the Niagara Peninsula. Arriving in June, after the big battle, the men of the 11th did not see action until later in the year. Meanwhile, the second battalion comprised of four companies of the 11th, which had remained near Lake Champlain, was part of Wade Hampton's army. This battalion temporarily joined the 29th U.S. Infantry, under its commander, Colonel Melancthon Smith. Under Smith, the men of the 11th and 29th were assigned to Brigadier General George Izard's Second Brigade. At Chateuguay, they participated in the firefight in front of the main British position until Hampton broke off the attack. Montreal Campaign The first battalion at Sackett's Harbor fought in Major General James Wilkinson's unsuccessful campaign in November 1813 to capture Montreal. For this operation, the 11th was under Lieutenant Colonel Timothy Upham of the 21st Infantry. Upham had been a major in the 11th until his promotion in March. The first battalion of the 11th served in Brigadier General Robert Swartwout's Fourth Brigade. On the day of battle, Upham was put in charge of the detachment guarding the boats and it isn't clear who commanded the 11th in battle but it was very likely the senior captain present. The 11th, like many of the regiments in Wilkinson's army, was poorly trained and disciplined. Committed to a critical attack, the soldiers of the 11th failed to maintain their ranks or fire in controlled volleys. As a result, they were torn apart by the disciplined and rapid fire of the 89th Regiment of Foot. The battle of Chrysler's Field ended in an embarrassing defeat for American arms. The first battalion wintered over at French Creek in stark circumstances similar to Valley Forge. On December 1813 it reported a strength of 454. In the early spring of 1814, the first battalion under command of Lieutenant Colonel Moody Bedel was assigned to Major General Jacob Brown's Left Division and started marching westward toward Buffalo. Meanwhile, the second battalion, under Colonel Isaac Clark, participated in James Wilkinson's last battle, La Colle Mill. In Buffalo, the first battalion corrected its training deficiencies under Brigadier General Winfield Scott's hard regimen. Colonel Campbell eventually joined his regiment, just in time for its last campaign and his last battle. On 3 July 1814, the 11th Infantry crossed over into Canada with the rest of the Left Division. In their simple but smart gray jackets and white trousers, the 11th proudly displayed its newly acquired skills. At Chippawa, two days later, the 11th more than made up for its poor showing at Chrysler's Field. Leading his regiment onto the Chippawa Plain, Campbell was severely wounded in the knee from the initial artillery fire and was carried off the field. Major John McNeil took command and led the 11th with distinction. Hoping to catch the advancing British in a funnel of fire, Winfield Scott ordered McNeil to move his battalion laterally and to throw its left flank forward, which the 11th did with precision. The 11th traded volleys with the 100th Regiment of Foot giving much more than it received. Exultant in victory at Chippawa, Scott’s Brigade nonetheless took 19% casualties. Lundy’s Lane Three weeks later, the 11th, still a part of Scott’s Brigade and still commanded by McNeil, fought and suffered at Lundy’s Lane. The 11th was on the extreme left of Scott’s outnumbered line which traded ineffectual volleys with Lieutenant General Sir Gordon Drummond’s full division of British regulars and Canadian fencibles and militia. Early in the fight, McNeil was wounded and carried to the rear. Threatened on its left, the 11th refused its flank. The minutes stretched into hours as British cannon fire took increasing numbers of casualties from the 11th. The men of the 11th were running out of ammunition and every company commander was killed or wounded. Soldiers carried their wounded comrades to the rear and sometimes did not return themselves to the battle line. The handful of survivors moved to the right and joined up with the remnants of the 9th Infantry, themselves in a pitiable state. Fortunately for all, darkness fell and Jacob Brown arrived with the rest of the Left Division. Sheltered behind the newly arrived troops, the couple hundred soldiers of Scott’s Brigade were not yet out of the fight. Later in the battle, Winfield Scott twice formed his shattered brigade into a column and struck out at the British lines, each time failing to close with the enemy and suffering losses until his brigade was hardly the size of a company. The Left Division, minus its commander, Jacob Brown who was severely wounded at Lundy’s Lane, withdrew to Fort Erie and the British eventually laid siege to the American camp there. Winfield Scott was also wounded at Lundy’s lane and command of the shattered brigade was given to Lieutenant Thomas Aspinwall. McNeil returned to command the 11th and soon received a brevet promotion to lieutenant colonel for his bravery and skill displayed at Chippawa. The siege dragged on for weeks and the 11th took its share of casualties from round shot hurled over the breastworks and careening through the lines of tents. During the British attack in mid August, the 11th, along with the rest of the brigade, successfully defended the northern face of the American camp. On 29 August, Moody Bedel, who had returned to Vermont to recruit, arrived at the Left Division with the second battalion as well as new recruits. The 11th was finally all fighting in one place and time. Jacob Brown, still not healed from his wounds, returned to his Division and started plotting a way to lift the siege. At the sortie from Fort Erie on 17 September, the 11th Infantry was with Brigadier General James Miller's command. Miller was the second prong of a two-pronged attack. While the first prong made a wide, stealthy flanking move through the woods to attack one of three British batteries, Miller’s brigade pushed straight ahead into the woods to attack a second battery. The fighting in the dark woods and light rain was hand-to-hand and brutal. Successfully spiking the guns in the two batteries, the Americans had a tough time extricating themselves from the forest and returning to the safety of the fort. However, when it was all over, Sir Gordon Drummond broke off the siege. The campaign on the Niagara took a different direction when Major General George Izard arrived with the Right Division. The Americans pursued the British as they withdrew down the river valley but could not bring them to battle. In the end, the Americans withdrew to their side of the river, blowing up Fort Erie as a final shot. After the war, the 11th Infantry was consolidated with the 25th, 27th, 29th and 37th Infantry to form the new 6th U.S. Infantry. The commander was Colonel Henry Atkinson. Back to Table of Contents -- War of 1812 #3 Back to War of 1812 List of Issues Back to MagWeb Magazine List © Copyright 2002 by Rich Barbuto. This article appears in MagWeb (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web. Other military history articles and gaming articles are available at http://www.magweb.com