Battle of the Boquet River - May 14, 1814
- dhwickman
- Feb 18
- 6 min read
Updated: 17 minutes ago
By Don Wickman
In the War of 1812 on Lake Champlain, most attention is given to the Battle of Plattsburgh naval engagement on September 11, 1814. And rightfully so as the result halted a British advance and forced a withdrawal back into Canada. But there was more than just Plattsburgh. Scattered military actions occurred on both land and water and a naval arms race took place with the Americans primarily at Vergennes and the British shipyard at Isle aux Noix in the Richelieu River. In the spring of 1814, the British had the upper hand and decided to use their numerical advantage and strike.
On May 9, the British fleet of the newly launched brig Linnet of 16 guns, sloops Finch and Chub, 11 guns each, two sloop tenders, Icicle and Canada plus 7 galleys departed Isle aux Noix and headed south. Moving slowly against the current and south wind the vessels reached Lake Champlain the next day and anchored off Chazy. Captain Daniel Pring commanded.
The intended target was the mouth of Vermont’s Otter Creek. The waterway served as the only exit for the American fleet being constructed at Vergennes. A small fort armed with four cannon guarded the creek mouth along with four gunboats. At this time the Americans had nearly completed two large vessels and several additional gunboats.
Both British and American fleets used row galleys or gunboats on Lake Champlain. For a body of water like Champlain their versatility proved worthy.
The British galleys ranged from 40 to 55 feet in length, and featured a shallow draft. Though commonly powered by oars that also possessed a single mast with a triangular or lanteen sail. Such a rig made it easy to sail and could be managed by relatively inexperienced crew members. The shallow draft permitted the boats to access rivers, bays and coves.
For firepower, a 12- or 18-pound cannon was mounted in the bow and soldiers on board had their muskets. Apparently boats of longer length might have a cannon also mounted in the stern. The one disadvantage of the galleys lay in their design; there existed limited freeboard; or the space between the waterline and gunwales. This afforded the crew limited protection from enemy fire, especially firearms.
Since a shortage of trained seaman prevailed, the British drafted Canadians to served a sailors and regular infantry to man the cannons and act as marines.
On May 13 one of the British galleys spotted a small American boat off the shore of Willsboro. It set off in pursuit and followed it up the Boquet River.
Not able to catch the vessel, the galley stopped in fear of rowing into an ambush going up the river without support. The boat’s officer ordered the vessel to halt along the north shore, disembarked a number of the crew and pillaged the farm and homestead of Aaron Fairchild located near the river’s mouth (present end of River Lane). Here they “shamefully plundered of stock, household furniture, and clothing to the amount of 300 dollars.” A British officer endorsed the crude action.
Satisfied with their accomplishment, the crew again boarded their craft and departed. It subsequently joined the other vessels off Split Rock,
As for that boat which evaded capture, there is no further mention. It probably escaped under cover of darkness.
Because of the British presence on the lake and in close proximity to Essex, a ship building center, Lieutenant Colonel Ransom Noble of the 37th New York State Militia ordered out the local troops from Willsboro, Lewis and Elizabethtown. They dropped everything and started to gather a mile west of town at Roger’s Corners (present day intersection of Route 22 and Middle Road west of Essex). They trickled into the camp through the night and waited. By the next day 150 men had assembled.
Noble’s superior, Brigadier-General Daniel Wright, also of Essex, fully supported the proactive decision by his lieutenant colonel. Wright himself was a veteran of the American Revolution having served for three years. When the British threat grew near, he was several miles away planting crops on his farm. He rode into the militia camp on one of his farm draft horses.
On the morning of Saturday, May 14, Pring ordered his vessels to bombard the fort protecting Otter Creek. The Americans fired back and for one to one and half hours the sides traded fire. The British cannonade made no impression and Pring withdrew.
After the failed attempt on the American fort, Pring had his vessels sail north and towards Willsboro. He then ordered three galleys to enter the Boquet River at Willsboro and row up to the falls and village to capture flour and other public stores that the captain had receive intelligence were present. The galleys were perfect for this mission with their shallow draft and being powered by oars. About three o’clock the vessels entered the river that featured high banks on both sides of the river.
The boats rowed the two miles upstream, landed raiding parties, but quickly discovered the supplies had been moved to safety. The Ross gristmill stood empty, Both the presence of the British vessels and the excursion of the galley a day earlier had raised concerns regarding the store of vital supplies.
Discouraged by the discovery of no supplies to be captured or destroyed, the British took out their frustrations on local townspeople. A Vermont newspaper specifically noted four families which witnessed the plundering of their homes: Daniel Rowley, William Blinn, Frederick B. Reuben and George Tharp. As they were finishing up their work word reached them that Noble’s party of militia was enroute to Willsboro.
The British ran to their boats and started rowing back to Lake Champlain. Not only was the current in their favor, but the thought of getting caught by the enemy hastened their pace.
It was a race that the British lost.
Wright and Noble understood the best place to intersect the galleys was close to the mouth of the river. Moving with the “greatest promptness” the militia reached the south bank of the river tired from the fast pace, but ready to engage.
The advance party encountered the British galleys a half mile from the river’s mouth and opened fire from a close range of 65 to100 feet distant. They followed along the steep banks shielded by the woods and firing from between trees.
The cannon on board could not be elevated sufficiently to rake the top of the banks and the soldiers had to resort to their muskets. As the boats drew closer to the river mouth the banks grew steeper and higher.
The well protected militiamen immediately opened a “destructive fire.” Another described the musket fire forced the galleys “to run the gauntlet of a shower of bullets.” Being able to fire down into the boats exposed that design weakness of little cover for the crew. The sailors and soldiers became prime targets.
For 15 minutes the militiamen showered the boats with musket until the boats drew out of range. All the crews wanted was to reach Lake Champlain where the rest of the flotilla waited to assist.
Unfortunately, the last galley in line bore the brunt of the gunfire. Battered and ladened with casualties, this vessel escaped capture when the crew hoisted a distress flag and one of the British sloops came to its rescue. The sloop’s crew, with untold bravery, lowered a boat with a heavy line, attached it to the galley and towed it to safety.
The British flotilla off shore attempted to help their brethren. They fired round shot and grapeshot at the well shielded militia with either the shots passing overhead or plunging into the sand river bank. It was during this cannonade the New Yorkers sustained one of their two casualties. Job Stafford of Willsboro and a member of Captain Ezra Parkill’s company, received a glancing blow from a grapeshot that maimed his calf. For the rest of his life Stafford received a disability pension and required the help of a cane.
The other man wounded remains unidentified, but his wound was simply described as “slight.”
With all vessels accounted for the British sailed to Schuyler’s Island where they supposedly buried their dead. Captain Pring’s report mentions no recorded casualties from the Boquet River engagement. The Americans estimated 30-40 British killed and wounded.
General Wright proudly proclaimed in his report to Governor Daniel Tompkins, “With pleasure, I can assure you that every man engaged conducted himself with the cool deliberation of a veteran.”
There is no formal list of the militia who answered the call to repel the British incursion. One of Noble's descendants assembled a short file and one of the names, verified by a second source, was the noted "Lewis Giant," Joe Call.
The Battle of the Boquet had ended.
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