Battle of Beaver Dams

Battle of Beaver Dams
Conflict	War of 1812
Date	June 22, 1813
Place	Near Thorold, Ontario
Result	Decisive British victory
Combatants Britain United States Commanders James FitzGibbon Charles G. Boerstler Strength 50 British 400 natives 575 Casualties Negligible 80 dead or wounded 462 captured Battle before: Battle of Stony Creek

The Battle of Beaver Dams was a small battle in 1813 during the War of 1812. Through a ruse staged by the British commander, Lieutenant James FitzGibbon , a force of Mohawk, Odawa, and British soldiers ambushed and captured a larger army of Americans.

FitzGibbon had been warned of American invasion plans on July 22 by local resident Laura Secord. Acting on the intelligence, he assembled a group of 50 British soldiers and marched in support of the nearby bands of Native American allies under Dominique Ducharne . The latter force tracked and ambushed the American army, pinning down some elements with sharp musketry and overwhelming others in brutal hand-to-hand combat.

FitzGibbon arrived on the scene and offered terms of surrender, promising to avert what appeared to be rapidly deteriorating into a massacre. Boerstler, unaware of true British numerical inferiority, complied.

The defeat at Beaver Dams discouraged further American incursions along the Niagara frontier for the remainder of the year.

In Canada, the battle is remembered largely for the heroics of Laura Secord.