In 1814 the 4th was stationed at the US base in Plattsburg,
New York. The Rt. was part of General Izzard’s Division. The bulk of this
division was ordered to Scakett’s Harbor by Secretary of War Armstrong despite the
fact that the British had assembled an army of 17,000 Regulars just brought in from Europe
at Quebec. On the 23rd of August General Izzard’s Division, with the bulk of the 4th,
departed for the Niagara. General Alexander Macomb was left to defend the base with 3,500
US Regulars. The position the Americans had chosen was a good one surrounded on three
sides by water Izzard had concentrated his defenses on a peninsula between the Sarnac
River and Lake Champlain. Three forts and two blockhouses were built across the mouth of
the peninsula. It was one of these blockhouses that was occupied by a company of the 4th
that had remained behind. They were joined by Captain John Smith’s Company of the 1st
US Rifles. This blockhouse was located at the current site of the Delaware and Hudson
Railroad Station overlooking what was then the mouth of the Sarnac River. This position
had a clear view of the Kent De Lord House and the British batteries established there. A
fact that Captain Smith’s men took good advantage of. Once the long expected invasion
was begun by the British Army General Macomb immediately called upon the militia. Vermont
responded with 2,500 men and New York with an additional 800. On September 3rd Commodore Macdonough arrived with his
fleet. By the 5th of September the British had
neared Plattsburg. They split into two columns and continued south. The shoreward column
was shelled by Navy Gunboats while the inland column was ambushed by Major Wool and 300 US
Regulars. The British pushed through after suffering over 200 casualties. The
American’s did everything possible to delay and confuse the English, such as planting
trees in existing roads and cutting what appeared to be roads into that ended in the
middle of the woods, forcing the army to double back. Unable to find a suitable ford
General Sir George Prevost cancelled the immediate assault he had planned. He would await
the Royal Navy. Prevost planned an attack to coincide with the Royal Navy’s attack on
Macdonough. Gen. Brisbane’s Brigade of 3,500 would pin Macomb down at the Sarnac
while Gen. Robinson’s Brigade of 2,500 would cross the River a few miles upstream
followed by Gen. Power’s Brigade of 3,500 assaulting the forts. The British land
forces began the attack as the Royal Navy began theirs on September 11th at 9:00 AM.
Brisbane was stopped at the bridges. Robinson was thrown back several times, but finally
was able to bring the bulk of his Brigade to the south side of the river. The total defeat
of the British Fleet halted any further British advance. Robinson was recalled and Powers
never crossed the Sarnac. The British had suffered over 2,000 casualties in the assault to
Macomb’s 150, without having even gotten to the forts yet. The British retired back
into Canada suffering many desertions along the way. The British Generals attempted to
save face by blaming each other, while the Army and the Royal Navy did the same thing. The
combined Battles of Plattsburg and Lake Champlain would be called the most decisive
engagement of the war by none other than Sir Winston Churchill.
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