06/06/2026
: June 6, 1813 – The Battle of Stoney Creek.
Having established a toehold in Canada, American forces had allowed the beaten and outnumbered British army to slip away. A force of roughly 3,000 men under Brigadier-Generals Chandler and Winder left (the then American occupied) Fort George in pursuit of the retreating British.
Their hopes were dashed, however, by a British counterattack on their camp on the farm of the Gage family in Stoney Creek. Early in the morning of June 6th, 1813, after killing or capturing guards in outlying posts, 700 British regulars fell upon the American camp. In the confused and fierce night battle, the British took both Chandler and Winder prisoner and retreated before the remaining Americans could organize and bring their full numbers into action. Leaderless and badly shaken, the American forces retreated to the mouth of Forty Mile Creek to regroup.
On the way, they were harassed by John Norton (Teyoninhokarawen) and his small band of Six Nations (Haudenosaunee) warriors; furthermore, upon arriving at the creek mouth they were fired upon by British warships on Lake Ontario. These unexpected attacks caused the Americans to lose heart and retreat all the way back to Fort George, abandoning much of their baggage along the way.
Curbed in their advance, the American forces set to work building defences for the encampment at Fort George.
