Ghosts of 1812 - Skirmish at Butler's Farm Traditional Cache

Part of the "Ghosts of 1812" series.  This cache is a medium cammoed container with a pad and pen and some swag.  It is hidden on what use to be part of the Butler farm, site of a small battle that took place in 1813. Make sure to visit the Butler Graveyard before moving on! Congratulations to Hellnite on the First to Find!! Now on to the story...

It was July 8th, 1813 during the height of the War of 1812. Major General Francais Baron De Rottenburg gave orders for a small detachment to make their way to the home of Mr. Cassel Chorus, once there this force was to recover a large quantity of medical supplies. Mr. Chorus's home was located at Two Mile Creek near Fort George, and these supplies had been buried there when the British forces were retreating from the Battle of Fort George.

This British force consisted of some Native warriors, some provincial dragoons and men from the 8th regiment. They made their way to the farm without being detected by the enemy pickets, but while they were loading the supplies the Americans appeared. The Indians under the command of Captain John Norton engaged the American force.

This battle lasted until the afternoon when American reinforcements joined the battle. The reinforcements were men from the 13th U.S. Infantry. This was too much for the small British force and they began to retreat. The greater part of the American force held back out of musket range but a group of some 40 or 50 men of the 13th US Infantry Regiment under command of Lieutenant Eldridge came from the vicinity of the Butler farm to try to outflank the First Nations men. The warriors saw the move and raced to cut this group off from the main American force. In a matter of minutes at Butler's farm, twenty-three Americans lay dead and the balance surrendered. Eldridge shot one of the warriors after being surrounded (possibly after he had surrendered) and he in turn was killed by the warriors.

Source: www.warof1812.ca

Be sure to visit all the caches in this series! So far, the series includes the 8 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