Lacolle, Québec, Canada (Saint-Bernard-de-Lacolle)
First Skirmish at Lacolle Mill, 1812

This brief skirmish at Lacolle Mill (now Lacolle, Que) during the War of 1812 marked the end of the American campaign to invade Lower Canada and take Montréal in the fall of 1812. In the summer of 1812, US Major General Henry Dearborn collected 2000 regular soldiers and 3000 militiamen at Plattsburgh, New York, for the coming offensive. He arrived in Plattsburgh on 10 November, already very late in the campaign, and by 19 November he was in Champlain, New York. American brigadier general Zebulon Pike crossed the border into Lower Canada early the next day, with 650 regulars and a party of Aboriginal warriors. Their plan was to suppress British allies active in the area, but instead they moved in on a British guardhouse at Lacolle. They were met by a modest force of only 25 militiamen and 15 Aboriginal men.

Clearly outnumbered, the allies soon withdrew, allowing the Americans to destroy the guardhouse and several buildings before Pike and his men moved on to the frontier. It was not long before British lieutenant colonel Charles de Salaberry responded to the attack with 100 members of the Canadian Voltigeurs and 230 Kahnawake warriors, who set off in pursuit of the Americans. As Pike approached the border, his force suffered a major setback when it came under friendly fire from American militia, killing 2 men and wounding 12 others. Pike returned to Champlain, and Dearborn, sensing potential defeat, cut his losses and retired to Plattsburgh for the winter.

The Canadian Encyclopedia

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