Formed in 1685, the 8th arrived in North America in 1768. Serving throughout the American Revolution, the regiment returned to Britain in 1785. As the winds of war were blowing, the First Battalion of the 8th arrived in Halifax, Nova Scotia, in 1809 and deployed to Quebec in May. The Second Battalion arrived in Nova Scotia the following year and was stationed in Fredericton, New Brunswick until 1814. When war was declared, the First battalion of the 8th moved to Montreal and posted a detachment at Chambly to help block the Lake Champlain - Richelieu River corridor. The expected American invasion into Lower Canada was aborted in November, and the 8th was sent to the province of Upper Canada. In its first serious fight, the 8th was represented by two companies who participated in the successful raid on Ogdensburg in February 1813. Expecting action further west, the 8th positioned two companies at York while five companies situated themselves at Fort George on the Niagara Peninsula. The two companies at York, which included the grenadier company, were unsuccessful in stopping the American raid in April. Caught in the center of the fighting, these two companies suffered approximately 50% casualties. Fort George Meanwhile, at the defense of Fort George the following month, the King’s Regiment, under command of Major James Ogilvie, backed up the Canadian fencibles and militia defending against the American assault across the shore. The American force greatly outnumbered the defenders and in a three hour battle pushed them back. Unable to maintain his position, Brigadier General John Vincent withdrew from Fort George rather than lose his entire division. In this furious fight, the 8th suffered 202 casualties out of the 310 troops involved. The British gained their revenge at the night battle at Stoney Creek that June. Lieutenant Colonel John Harvey, commanding about seven hundred men of the 8th and 49th Regiments, saw an opportunity to punish a larger American force which was moving cautiously westward from Fort George toward Burlington Heights. Five companies of the 8th, including the Light Company, made a daring and successful attack in the darkness that forced the Americans to withdraw back to Fort George. Later that month, the Light Company was present when the Americans surrendered at Beaver Dams. Taking the war to American territory, a small detachment of the 8th raided Black Rock on the Niagara River in July. Two companies of the 8th participated in the raid on Sackett’s Harbor in late May. These companies were commanded by Major Thomas Evans were in a larger force under command of Colonel Thomas Young, also of the 8th. Young led the right wing of the attack which was eventually stopped at the American barracks only 300 yards short of the U.S. Navy ships at anchor. Sir George Prevost, who led the raid himself, was forced by the determined American defense to withdraw his men and return to Kingston. Fort Niagara Closing out 1813, Lieutenant General Sir Gordon Drummond decided to follow up on his successful night attack on Fort Niagara by clearing the American side of the Niagara River of all American forces. He sent Brigadier General Phineas Riall to capture the villages of Black Rock and Buffalo. Riall’s force included the 8th under Lieutenant Colonel Ogilvie. The 8th fought its way through Black Rock and into Buffalo. After an initially strong defense, the American effort collapsed and Riall was in possession of an empty town. Riall destroyed the supplies he could not carry with him and he burned both public buildings and private dwellings in order to deprive the American forces of shelter and also in retribution for the destruction of Newark by the Americans just a few short weeks earlier. Stationed as a garrison in the newly won Fort Niagara in early 1814, a detachment of the 8th suffered greatly. Ague and dysentery spread through the ranks. Pay was in arrears and even good soldiers were deserting. Pulled out of Fort Niagara, the First Battalion was largely consolidated in Kingston. When the well-trained soldiers of Major General Jacob Brown’s Left Division crossed the Niagara River in July, Lieutenant General Sir Gordon Drummond sent the hard-fighting 8th to throw them back. Arriving on the Niagara Peninsula on the 4th of July, the 8th marched all night to arrive at the British camp at Chippawa where General Phineas Riall was planning his attack. Major Thomas Evans led the 8th, which followed the Royal Scots and the 100th Regiment of Foot onto the battlefield. The 8th covered the right rear of the attack formation but hardly entered the fight when its two sister battalions were forced to withdraw. The 8th suffered 27 casualties of the approximately 480 men who fought on the Chippawa Plain. Lundy's Lane Despite this setback, Sir Gordon Drummond was not about to let the Americans have their way on the Niagara Peninsula. He arrived from Kingston and massed his division on the ridge at Lundy’s Lane. There, on 25 July, six companies of the 8th fought at Lundy’s Lane under Major Evans. After the Americans pushed the British off the ridge, Drummond launched three attacks back up the slopes to regain the crest. The 8th attacked on the left flank of the line. Three times up the hill in the dark, the British stopped just yards away from the American line and the two sides blasted away. Each time the British fell back but not before inflicting horrendous casualties and suffering likewise. After Lundy’s Lane, the American Left Division withdrew to Fort Erie and prepared to defend the ground at all costs. Drummond eventually brought up his force and laid siege to the American camp which was surrounded by breastworks and abatis. After a few days of bombardment, Drummond launched a three-pronged night assault. The 8th and De Watteville’s Regiment made the main assault against what was perceived to be a gap in the far side of the American camp. To maintain silence, Drummond ordered the attackers to remove the flints from their weapons. This was to be an attack with cold steel alone! Unfortunately, the gap had been closed by an abatis and the 8th, unable to cross the barrier and unable to return the fire of the defenders, was cut down and forced to withdraw back to the original lines. Fort Erie The siege of Fort Erie continued into September. It rained nearly every day and the British besiegers were without tents. Sir Gordon Drummond divided his forces into three brigades. While one brigade was defending the three siege batteries, the other two were in camp trying to stay dry and resting. On 17 September, the Americans sortied from their camp in an attempt to break the siege. The 8th and De Watteville’s were on duty that day. In the mist, a large American force moved silently through the woods and took the two British battalions by surprise. De Watteville’s collapsed but the 8th maintained its integrity and resisted while falling back. When the other two British brigades arrived on the scene, the pendulum swung in their favor. Slowly the Americans conducted a fighting withdrawal back to their fort. Both sides suffered grievously and in vain because Drummond had decided earlier to break off the siege and return to his defensive line along the Chippawa River. The hard-used 8th was sent to the rear to garrison the forts at the northern mouth of the Niagara which remained in British hands. The war was over for the First Battalion of the 8th. Starved for reinforcements in Lower Canada, Governor General Sir George Prevost ordered the Second Battalion of the 8th Foot early in 1814 to move from Fredericton to Quebec City. Six companies marched in snowshoes across desolate woodlands and arrived at Quebec City in March. In June, this battalion was assigned to Major General Conran’s Brigade of Lieutenant General de Rottenburg’s Left Division. In September, the Second Battalion, 8th Foot participated in the unsuccessful Plattsburg expedition. Post War After the war, in June 1815, the King’s Regiment departed British North America for Britain. The First battalion proudly displayed a hard-won trophy, the battle honor “Niagara.” The battalions in British North America were slow to be issued the 1812 uniform but it appears that sometime during 1813 the 8th traded in its stovepipe caps for the elegant Belgic shako. The 8th sported blue as its regimental color. Regimental lace was square-ended, set across the breast singly, and included blue and yellow threads. 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