📅 On This Day in Military History
1 event across history
As part of the American plan to capture Montreal by advancing down the St. Lawrence River, a force of some 8,000 soldiers under General James Wilkinson was harassed by a much smaller British force under Lieutenant Colonel Joseph Morrison. When the Americans turned to fight on a riverside farm owned by John Crysler, Morrison's disciplined regulars delivered a devastating defeat to troops twice their number. The American attack was poorly coordinated, and Morrison's veterans repulsed every charge with steady musket fire. The defeat, combined with reverses further south, doomed the Montreal campaign entirely.
Crysler's Farm demonstrated the growing tactical competence of British and Canadian regular forces. The defeat ended the 1813 American offensive on the St. Lawrence and ensured that Montreal — and the heart of Canada — remained safe for the war's duration.
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