Ghosts of 1812 - The Battle of Beaverdams Traditional Cache

Part of the "Ghosts of 1812 Series".  The cache is a tube container that resembles a large cammoed shot gun shell about 12" long and 2 1/2" wide and is suitable for small items and trackables to trade.  When placed it contained a pad and pen along with some small trinkets.  Congratulations to "mijojelweslandon" for being the First to Find this cache! Now on to the story...

The lead-up to the Battle of Beaverdams can be placed at late May, 1813. The Americans had captured Fort George and the Village of Niagara on May 27, 1813 and the British had withdrawn to the head of Lake Ontario. A week later, the Americans marched on Stoney Creek but were defeated and retreated to Fort George. By the third week of June, the British re-established themselves in the Niagara Peninsula with forward posts at Twenty Mile Creek, Ten Mile Creek and the DeCew House in Thorold. Lieutenant James FitzGibbon was placed in command at the DeCew House with about 50 men from the 49^th Regiment and a band of Mohawk warriors from the Grand River.

The Battle of Beaverdams, which occurred on June 24 1813, was a crucial battle during the War of 1812. Following their defeat at Stoney Creek, the Americans sent a force under Lieutenant-Colonel Charles G. Boerstler from Fort George to destroy a British advanced post at Beaverdams. A force of about 600 infantry and cavalry left Fort George for American-controlled Queenston so as not to reveal the true destination of their mission. At Queenston, Laura Secord, the wife of a wounded Loyalist, overheard the American plans and journeyed to Decew House to warn the British of the pending attack. Forewarned, a combined force of Iroquois from Caughnawaga and the Grand River, led by Captains Dominique Ducharme and William Kerr, ambushed the American force. The battle that ensued took place, according to 1812 historians who studied maps of the day, in the area of the cache. 

At the time of the Battle, the local terrain would have consisted of shallow valleys tending east-west, with steep slopes marking where meandering streams had undercut the valley sides.

The battle, unlike a relatively static European-style engagement of two armies, initially involved a long column of American soldiers being attacked by Native warriors from the woods. The American line broke as the darting Natives harassed and fired at the invaders from changing directions from the beechwoods and across the fence rows and open fields. The American forces were frightened into disarray, not knowing where and when the next volley would come, and their commander had difficulty in re-organizing his men for a counterattack.  The Americans were compelled to surrender to British Lieutenant James Fitzgibbon of the British Army. After their defeat, the Americans left the British in control of the Niagara area for the remainder of 1813.

Be sure to visit all the caches in this series! So far, the series includes the 18 caches listed below...

Ghosts of 1812 - Battle of Queenston Heights GC3P0M2

Ghosts of 1812 - Decew House GC3NVYK

Ghosts of 1812 - Engagement at the Forty GC62DG2

Ghosts of 1812 - Raid on Port Dover GC6374A

Ghosts of 1812 - Shirmish at Butler's Farm GC3VHKE

Ghosts of 1812 - Siege of Fort Erie GC62BWX

Ghosts of 1812 - The Battle for Fort George GC3R61W

Ghosts of 1812 - The Battle of Beaverdams GC3PJP9

Ghosts of 1812 - The Battle of Cook's Mills GC3WNPX

Ghosts of 1812 - The Battle of Frenchman's Creek GC424AM

Ghosts of 1812 - The Battle of Lundy's Lane GC3P22C

Ghosts of 1812 - The Battle of Stoney Creek GC3QAQE

Ghosts of 1812 - The Battlefield at Chippawa GC6382A

Ghosts of 1812 - The Burning of Niagara GC3V685

Ghosts of 1812 - The Capture of "Ohio" and "Somers" GC62DE6

Ghosts of 1812 - The Destruction of Fort Chippawa GC3QATK

Ghosts of 1812 - The Fall of a Warrior GC64FF3

Ghosts of 1812 - The Trek of Laura Secord GC3X4J2