The
 |
|
Present site of Fort presentation. |
present city of
Ogdensburg, N. Y., was a little village in 1812, at the mouth of the
Oswegatchie River.
The British village of
Prescott was on the opposite side of the
St. Lawrence.
A threatened invasion of northern New York from that quarter caused
Gen. Jacob Brown to be sent to
Ogdensburg to garrison old Fort Presentation, or Oswegatchie, at the mouth of the
Oswegatchie River.
Brown arrived on Oct. 1, and the next day a British flotilla, composed of two gunboats and twenty-five bateaux, bearing about 750 armed men, left
Prescott to attack
Ogdensburg.
At the latter place
Brown had about 1,200 effective men, regulars and militia, and a party of riflemen, under
Captain Forsyth, were encamped near Fort Presentation, on the margin of the river.
The latter were drawn up in battle order to dispute the landing of the invaders.
Brown had two field-pieces, and when the
British were nearly in mid-channel these were opened upon them with such effect that the enemy were made to retreat precipitately and in great confusion.
This repulse gave
Brown much credit, and he was soon regarded as one of the ablest men in the service.
The
British again attacked
Ogdensburg in the winter of 1813.
On Feb. 22 about 800 British soldiers, under
Colonel McDonell, appeared on the ice in front of the town, approaching in two columns.
It was early in the morning, and some of the inhabitants of the village were yet in bed.
Colonel Forsyth and his riflemen were stationed at Fort Presentation, and against them the right column of the invaders, 300 strong, moved.
Forsyth's men were partially sheltered by the ruins of the fort.
Waiting until the column landed, the
Americans attacked them with great energy with rifle-shot and cannon-balls from two small field-pieces.
The invaders
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6]
were repulsed with considerable loss, and fled in confusion over the frozen bosom of the
St. Lawrence.
Meanwhile the left column, 500 strong, had marched into the town and captured a 12-pounder cannon and its custodians without resistance.
They then expected an easy conquest of the town, but were soon confronted by cannon under
Captain Kellogg and
Sheriff York.
The gun of the former became disabled, and he and his men fled across the
Oswegatchie and joined
Forsyth, leaving the indomitable
York to maintain the fight alone, until he and his band were made prisoners.
The village was now in complete possession of the
British, and
McDonell proceeded to dislodge
Forsyth and his party at the fort.
He sent a message to that commander to surrender, saying, “If you surrender, it shall be well; if not, every man shall be put to the bayonet.”
“Tell
Colonel McDonell,” said
Forsyth to the messenger, “there must be more fighting done first.”
Then the two cannon near the ruins of the fort gave heavy discharges of grape and canister shot, which threw the invaders into confusion.
It was only momentary.
An overwhelming party of the
British were preparing to make an assault, when
Forsyth, seeing his peril, gave orders for a retreat to
Black Lake, 8 or 9 miles distant. There he wrote to the War Department, giving an account of the affair, and saying, “If you can send me 300 men, all shall be retaken, and
Prescott too, or I will lose my life in the attempt.”
The town, in possession of the enemy, was plundered by Indians and camp-followers of both sexes, who came over from
Canada, and by resident miscreants.
Every house in the village but three was entered, and the public property carried over to
Canada.
Two armed schooners, fast in the ice, were burned, and the barracks near the river were laid in ashes.
Fifty-two prisoners were taken to
Prescott.
The
Americans lost in the affair, besides the prisoners, five killed and fifteen wounded; the
British loss was six killed and forty-eight wounded. They immediately evacuated the place, and the fugitive citizens returned.
