George Hezekiah Boughton (July 31, 1792 – April 28, 1866) was an American politician.
Life
He was born on July 31, 1792, in West Stockbridge, Berkshire County, Massachusetts. The family removed to Canandaigua, New York in 1795. During the War of 1812, he fought in the Battle of Queenston Heights.
During the construction of the Erie Canal, he opened a supply store at a place where the canal was cut through a mountain ridge, and which became the village of Lockport. In 1822, he became the first Postmaster of Lockport. On December 19, 1827, he married Eliza Bates at Hopewell, New York.
He was an Anti-Masonic member of the New York State Senate (8th D.) from 1829 to 1830, sitting in the 52nd and 53rd New York State Legislatures.
In October 1839, he was appointed by Governor William H. Seward a Canal Appraiser. In February 1840, he was elected by the New York State Legislature a Canal Commissioner, and remained in office until February 1842 when the Democratic majority removed the Whig commissioners. From November 1852 to March 1853, he was again a Canal Appraiser.
He died on April 28, 1866, in Lockport, Niagara County, New York.
The Genesee Valley Canal is a former canal that operated in central New York between 1840 and 1878.[1] It ran for a length of 124 miles, passing through 106 locks.[1] Its course was later used by the Genesee Valley Canal Railroad and today comprises portions of the Genesee Valley Greenway.
History
Demand for a canal had increased in the first third of the 19th Century as new settlers cleared the fertile lands along the Genesee River to plant crops such as wheat.[1] Farmers sought a way to transport their crops north to Rochester as the Genesee's cataracts made boat transport ineffective.
On 6 May 1836, an act was passed in the New York Legislature authorizing the construction of the Genesee Valley Canal. It was to run from the Erie Canal on the south side of Rochester south-southwest along the Genesee River valley to Mount Morris, Portageville, and Belfast, and then cross-country to the Allegheny River at Olean, with a branch from Mount Morris paralleling Canaseraga Creek to Dansville.
Construction
According to New York State archives, the reservoir supplying the summit level impounded 68,000,000 cubic feet (1,900,000 m3) of water. A non-navigable feeder creek carried water to the summit at Hinsdale after crossing Oil Creek on an aqueduct. Thirteen feeder creeks fed the Genesee Valley Canal. The Ischua Creek runs north to south to the Allegheny River and the still waters of the Ischua run deep, the town of Ischua was the perfect area to build a dam and utilize the water-way. Routing the canal through the Ischua-Hinsdale area enabled merchants to transport commerce from Rochester to Pittsburgh. The contract for the culverts on the Ischua feeder, as well as on lock sections 98 through 101, in Maplehurst, was awarded to Joseph T. Lyman and Dauphin Murray on Oct. 11, 1839.[2]
The canal builders faced considerable difficulty getting past the Portage Falls gorge in what is now part of Letchworth State Park. This resulted in the building of a 400 foot aqueduct that ran 50 feet above the Genesee River.[3]
Opening
On 1 September 1840, the canal was opened to navigation from Rochester to Mount Morris. The extension to Dansville opened in the fall of 1841, and by then the split between the Dansville branch and the main line was set at Sonyea, southeast of Mount Morris.
After some partial openings, the full line was opened at the beginning of navigation in 1862, running to Olean on the Allegheny River and beyond to Mill Grove, on the river just north of the Pennsylvania state line. However, by then, the Main Line of Public Works and Pennsylvania Railroad had been completed, opening up the interior of Pennsylvania without depending on New York, and there was no interest in improving the Allegheny River, which proved to only be able to handle large ships when its water level was at its highest in the spring. Instead, the Buffalo, Bradford and Pittsburgh Railroad, connecting to the river at Carrollton, west of Olean, was used as a reason to continue building the canal.
Closing
On 4 June 1877, the legislature approved an abandonment of the canal on or after 30 September 1878. The canal was sold on 6 November 1880 to the Genesee Valley Canal Railroad, which had been chartered 15 July of that year.
Visible remnants
The canal is long gone, but its remnants[4] form the Genesee Valley Greenway. Sites like the remnants of the Ischua Dam can be seen by visiting the Town of Ischua Historical Society and Park, on the corner of Route 16 and Farwell Road in the Town of Ischua. Further down Route 16, the Hinsdale VFW post has highlighted the remnants of the lock system of the Genesee Valley Canal located there, both in Cattaraugus County near the Olean terminus.
Cuba Lake, originally known as Oil Creek Reservoir, located in the town of Cuba in Allegany County, was created in 1858 to help maintain water levels on the Genesee Valley Canal. Cuba Lake and its surrounding land is owned by New York State. Today, cottage and home sites on the lake are officially leased from the state as part of the Cuba Lake District.
The Genesee Valley Greenway is a rail trail in western New York's Genesee River valley.
The trail stretches for 90 miles (140 km) along a former Pennsylvania Railroad right-of-way as well as adjacent land from the Genesee Valley Canal. The low grade path is a multi-use trail which is well suited for hiking, biking, horsebacking riding and cross-country skiing.[1]
The Greenway is administered by the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation (NYS OPRHP) and the Friends of the Genesee Valley Greenway. The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation was a partner in the Greenway's management prior to transferring jurisdiction of their lands to NYS OPRHP in 2010.[2] The project began in 1991 as a way to reuse mostly abandoned land from the old railways. Construction and renovation of land for the trail was underway in 1998.[3]
The Genesee Valley Greenway intersects with the Erie Canal Heritage Trail south of the city of Rochester at the Genesee Valley Park, thereby forming part of a network of green corridors for hikers and cyclists stretching across New York State. As of 2016, the Greenway passes through Monroe, Livingston, Wyoming and Allegany counties, connecting the City of Rochester and the Village of Cuba, with plans to eventually extend the trail to Hinsdale in Cattaraugus County.[1]
The Erie Canal is a canal that traverses east–west through upstate New York, eastern United States, as part of the cross-state route of the New York State Canal System (formerly known as the New York State Barge Canal). It was built to create a navigable water route from the Atlantic Ocean to the Great Lakes Basin, originally stretching for 584 kilometres (363 mi) from the Hudson River at Albany to Lake Erie in Buffalo. Completed in 1825, it was the second-longest canal in the world (after the Grand Canal in China) and greatly enhanced the development and economy of many major cities of New York, including New York City, Albany, Syracuse, Rochester and Buffalo, as well as the United States.[2] This was in part due to the new ease of transporting salt and other necessity goods, and industries that developed around those.[3][4]
The canal was first proposed in the 1780s, then re-proposed in 1807, and survey was authorized, funded and executed in 1808. Its construction began in 1817 after proponents of the project gradually wore down its opponents; and it opened on October 26, 1825. The canal has 34 numbered locks with an overall elevation difference of about 565 feet (172 m),[5] starting upstream with Black Rock Lock and ending downstream with the Troy Federal Lock. Both locks are owned by the United States Federal Government.[1]
Prior to the opening of the canal, local transportation of bulk goods was limited to the use of pack animals who had a 250-pound (113 kg) maximum cargo capacity.[6] In the absence of railways, water transport was the most cost-effective way to ship bulk goods.
Political opponents of the canal and of then-New York Governor DeWitt Clinton denigrated it as "Clinton's Folly"[7][self-published source?] or "Clinton's Big Ditch".[8][9][self-published source?] It was the first transportation system between the East Coast of the United States and the western interior that did not require portage. It was faster than carts pulled by draft animals and cut transport costs by about 95 percent.[10] The canal gave New York City's port a strong advantage over all other U.S. port cities and ushered in the state's 19th century political and cultural ascendancy.[2] The canal fostered a population surge in western New York and opened regions to settlement farther west. It was enlarged between 1834 and 1862. The canal's peak year was 1855, when 33,000 commercial shipments took place. In 1918, the western part of the canal was enlarged to become part of the New York State Barge Canal, which also extended to the Hudson River running parallel to the eastern half of the Erie Canal.
In 2000, Congress designated the Erie Canalway National Heritage Corridor[11] to recognize the national significance of the canal system as the most successful and influential human-built waterway and one of the most important works of civil engineering and construction in North America.[11] The canal has been mainly used by recreational watercraft since the retirement of the commercial ship Day Peckinpaugh in 1994, although the canal saw a recovery in commercial traffic in 2008.[12]
Ambiguity in name
The waterway today referred to as the Erie Canal is quite different from the nineteenth-century Erie Canal. More than half of the original Erie Canal was destroyed or abandoned during construction of the New York State Barge Canal in the early 20th century. The sections of the original route remaining in use were widened significantly, mostly west of Syracuse, with bridges rebuilt and locks replaced. It was called the Barge Canal at the time, but that name fell into disuse with the disappearance of commercial traffic and the increase of recreational travel in the later 20th century.
Background
Erie Canal map c. 1840
In the early years of the United States, transportation of goods between the coastal ports and the interior was slow and difficult. Close to the seacoast, rivers provided easy inland transport up to the fall line, since floating vessels encounter much less friction than land vehicles. However, the Appalachian Mountains were a great obstacle to further transportation or settlement, stretching 1,500 miles (2,400 km) from Maine to Mississippi, with just five places where mule trains or wagon roads could be routed.[13] Passengers and freight bound for the western parts of the country had to travel overland, a journey made more difficult by the rough condition of the roads. In 1800, it typically took 2½ weeks to travel overland from New York to Cleveland, Ohio, (460 miles (740 km)) and 4 weeks to Detroit (612 miles (985 km)).[14]
The principal exportable product of the Ohio Valley was grain, which was a high-volume, low-priced commodity, bolstered by supplies from the coast. Frequently it was not worth the cost of transporting it to far-away population centers. This was a factor leading to farmers in the west turning their grains into whiskey for easier transport and higher sales, and later the Whiskey Rebellion. In the 18th and early 19th centuries, it became clear to coastal residents that the city or state that succeeded in developing a cheap, reliable route to the West would enjoy economic success, and the port at the seaward end of such a route would see business increase greatly.[15] In time, projects were devised in Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, and relatively deep into the coastal states.
Proposals and logistics
Proposals
Black-and-white photo of aqueduct over curve in canal
Aqueduct over the Mohawk River at Rexford, one of 32 navigable aqueducts on the Erie Canal
The idea of a canal to tie the East Coast to the new western settlements was discussed as early as 1724: New York provincial official Cadwallader Colden made a passing reference (in a report on fur trading) to improving the natural waterways of western New York.
Gouverneur Morris and Elkanah Watson were early proponents of a canal along the Mohawk River. Their efforts led to the creation of the "Western and Northern Inland Lock Navigation Companies" in 1792, which took the first steps to improve navigation on the Mohawk and construct a canal between the Mohawk and Lake Ontario,[16] but it was soon discovered that private financing was insufficient. Christopher Colles (who was familiar with the Bridgewater Canal) surveyed the Mohawk Valley, and made a presentation to the New York state legislature in 1784, proposing a shorter canal from Lake Ontario. The proposal drew attention and some action but was never implemented.
Jesse Hawley had envisioned encouraging the growing of large quantities of grain on the western New York plains (then largely unsettled) for sale on the Eastern seaboard. However, he went bankrupt trying to ship grain to the coast. While in Canandaigua debtors' prison, Hawley began pressing for the construction of a canal along the 90-mile (140 km)-long Mohawk River valley with support from Joseph Ellicott (agent for the Holland Land Company in Batavia). Ellicott realized that a canal would add value to the land he was selling in the western part of the state. He later became the first canal commissioner.
New York legislators became interested in the possibility of building a canal across New York in the first decade of the 19th century. Shipping goods west from Albany was a costly and tedious affair; there was no railroad yet, and to cover the distance from Buffalo to New York City by stagecoach took two weeks.[17]
Engineering requirements
Relief map of New York State.
The Mohawk Valley, running east and west, cuts a natural pathway (water gap) between the Catskill Mountains to the south and the Adirondack Mountains to the north.
The Mohawk River (a tributary of the Hudson) rises near Lake Ontario and runs in a glacial meltwater channel just north of the Catskill range of the Appalachian Mountains, separating them from the geologically distinct Adirondacks to the north. The Mohawk and Hudson valleys form the only cut across the Appalachians north of Alabama. A navigable canal through the Mohawk Valley would allow an almost complete water route from New York City in the south to Lake Ontario and Lake Erie in the west. Via the canal and these lakes, other Great Lakes, and to a lesser degree, related rivers, a large part of the continent's interior (and many settlements) would be made well connected to the Eastern seaboard.
The problem was that the land rises about 600 feet (180 m) from the Hudson to Lake Erie. Locks at the time could handle up to 12 feet (3.7 m) of lift, so even with the heftiest cuttings and viaducts, fifty locks would be required along the 360-mile (580 km) canal. Such a canal would be expensive to build even with modern technology; in 1800, the expense was barely imaginable. President Thomas Jefferson called it "little short of madness" and rejected it;[18] however, Hawley interested New York Governor DeWitt Clinton in the project. There was much opposition, and the project was ridiculed as "Clinton's folly" and "Clinton's ditch". In 1817, though, Clinton received approval from the legislature for $7 million for construction.[5]
The original canal was 363 miles (584 km) long, from Albany on the Hudson to Buffalo on Lake Erie. The channel was cut 40 feet (12 m) wide and 4 feet (1.2 m) deep, with removed soil piled on the downhill side to form a walkway known as a towpath.[5]
Its construction, through limestone and mountains, proved a daunting task. In 1823 construction reached the Niagara Escarpment, necessitating the building of five locks along a 3-mile (4.8 km) corridor to carry the canal over the escarpment. To move earth, animals pulled a "slip scraper" (similar to a bulldozer). The sides of the canal were lined with stone set in clay, and the bottom was also lined with clay. The Canal was built by Irish laborers and German stonemasons.[19] All labor on the canal depended upon human and animal power or the force of water. Engineering techniques developed during its construction included the building of aqueducts to redirect water; one aqueduct was 950 feet (290 m) long to span 800 feet (240 m) of river. As the canal progressed, the crews and engineers working on the project developed expertise and became a skilled labor force.
Elevation drawing of the canal's length
Profile of the original canal
Freight boats
Operations at Lockport, New York, in 1839
Canal boats up to 3.5 feet (1.1 m) in draft were pulled by horses and mules walking on the towpath. The canal had one towpath, generally on the north side. When canal boats met, the boat with the right of way remained on the towpath side of the canal. The other boat steered toward the berm (or heelpath) side of the canal. The driver (or "hoggee", pronounced HO-gee) of the privileged boat kept his towpath team by the canalside edge of the towpath, while the hoggee of the other boat moved to the outside of the towpath and stopped his team. His towline would be unhitched from the horses, go slack, fall into the water and sink to the bottom, while his boat coasted with its remaining momentum. The privileged boat's team would step over the other boat's towline, with its horses pulling the boat over the sunken towline without stopping. Once clear, the other boat's team would continue on its way.[citation needed]
Pulled by teams of horses, canal boats moved slowly, but methodically, shrinking time and distance. Efficiently, the smooth, nonstop method of transportation cut the travel time between Albany and Buffalo nearly in half, moving by day and by night. Migrants took passage on freight boats, camping on deck or on top of crates.[citation needed]
Passenger boats
Packet boats, serving passengers exclusively, reached speeds of up to five miles per hour (8.0 km/h) and ran at much more frequent intervals than the cramped, bumpy stagecoach wagons.[20]: 54 These boats, measuring up to 78 feet (24 m) long and 14.5 feet (4.4 m) wide, made ingenious use of space, accommodating up to 40 passengers at night and up to three times as many in the daytime.[20]: 59 The best examples, furnished with carpeted floors, stuffed chairs, and mahogany tables stocked with books and current newspapers, served as sitting rooms during the days. At mealtimes, crews transformed the cabin into a dining room. Drawing a curtain across the width of the room divided the cabin into ladies' and gentlemen's sleeping quarters at night. Pull-down tiered beds folded from the walls, and additional cots could be hung from hooks in the ceiling. Some captains hired musicians and held dances.[20]: 59
Construction
Stonework of lock abandoned because of route change, at Durhamville, New York
An original five-step lock structure crossing the Niagara Escarpment at Lockport, now without gates and used as a cascade for excess water
Erie Canal lock in Lockport, New York
The men who planned and oversaw construction were novices as surveyors and as engineers. There were no civil engineers in the United States.[21] James Geddes and Benjamin Wright, who laid out the route, were judges whose experience in surveying was in settling boundary disputes. Geddes had only used a surveying instrument for a few hours before his work on the Canal.[21] Canvass White was a 27-year-old amateur engineer who persuaded Clinton to let him go to Britain at his own expense to study the canal system there. Nathan Roberts was a mathematics teacher and land speculator. Yet these men "carried the Erie Canal up the Niagara escarpment at Lockport, maneuvered it onto a towering embankment to cross over Irondequoit Creek, spanned the Genesee River on an awesome aqueduct, and carved a route for it out of the solid rock between Little Falls and Schenectady—and all of those venturesome designs worked precisely as planned".[21]
Construction began on July 4, 1817, at Rome, New York. The first 15 miles (24 km), from Rome to Utica, opened in 1819. At that rate, the canal would not be finished for 30 years. The main delays were caused by felling trees to clear a path through virgin forest and moving excavated soil, which took longer than expected, but the builders devised ways to solve these problems. To fell a tree, they threw rope over the top branches and winched it down. They pulled out the stumps with an innovative stump puller. Two huge wheels were mounted loose on the ends of an axle. A third wheel, slightly smaller than the others, was fixed to the center of the axle. A chain was wrapped around the axle and hooked to the stump. A rope was wrapped around the center wheel and hooked to a team of oxen. The mechanical advantage (torque) obtained ripped the stumps out of the soil. Soil to be moved was shoveled into large wheelbarrows that were dumped into mule-pulled carts. Using a scraper and a plow, a three-man team with oxen, horses and mules could build a mile in a year.[22]
The remaining problem was finding labor; increased immigration helped fill the need. Many of the laborers working on the canal were Irish, who had recently come to the United States as a group of about 5,000. Most of them were Roman Catholic, a religion that raised much suspicion in early America due to its hierarchic structure, and many laborers on the canal suffered violent assault as the result of misjudgment and xenophobia.[20]: 52
Construction continued at an increased rate as new workers arrived. When the canal reached Montezuma Marsh (at the outlet of Cayuga Lake west of Syracuse), it was rumored that over 1,000 workers died of "swamp fever" (malaria), and construction was temporarily stopped.[23] However, recent research has revealed that the death toll was likely much lower, as no contemporary reports mention significant worker mortality, and mass graves from the period have never been found in the area.[24] Work continued on the downhill side towards the Hudson, and the crews worked on the section across the swampland when it froze in winter.
The middle section from Utica to Salina (Syracuse) was completed in 1820, and traffic on that section started up immediately. Expansion to the east and west proceeded simultaneously, and the whole eastern section, 250 miles (400 km) from Brockport to Albany, opened on September 10, 1823, to great fanfare.[25] The Champlain Canal, a separate but connected 64-mile (103 km) north-south route from Watervliet on the Hudson to Lake Champlain, opened on the same date.
In 1824, before the canal was completed, a detailed Pocket Guide for the Tourist and Traveler, Along the Line of the Canals, and the Interior Commerce of the State of New York, was published for the benefit of travelers and land speculators.
After Montezuma Marsh, the next difficulties were crossing Irondequoit Creek and the Genesee River near Rochester. The former ultimately required building the 1,320-foot (400 m) long "Great Embankment," to carry the canal at a height of 76 feet (23 m) above the level of the creek, which ran through a 245-foot (75 m) culvert underneath.[26] The canal crossed the river on a stone aqueduct, 802 feet (244 m) long and 17 feet (5.2 m) wide, supported by 11 arches.[27][self-published source?]
After the Genesee, the next obstacle was crossing the Niagara Escarpment, an 80-foot (24 m)-high wall of hard dolomitic limestone, to reach the level of Lake Erie. The route followed the channel of a creek that had cut a ravine steeply down the escarpment. The construction and operation of two sets of five locks there soon gave rise to the community of Lockport. The 12-foot (3.7 m) lift-locks had a total lift of 60 feet (18 m), exiting into a deeply cut channel. The final leg had to be cut 30 feet (9.1 m) deep through another limestone mass, the Onondaga ridge. Much of that section was blasted with black powder, and the inexperience of the crews often led to accidents, and sometimes to rocks falling on nearby homes.[citation needed]
Two villages competed to be the terminus: Black Rock, on the Niagara River, and Buffalo, at the eastern tip of Lake Erie. Buffalo expended great energy to widen and deepen Buffalo Creek to make it navigable and to create a harbor at its mouth. Buffalo won over Black Rock, and grew into a large city, eventually encompassing its former rival.
The entire canal was officially completed on October 26, 1825. The event was marked by a statewide "Grand Celebration," culminating in a series of cannon shots along the length of the canal and the Hudson, a 90-minute cannonade from Buffalo to New York City. A flotilla of boats, led by Governor Dewitt Clinton aboard Seneca Chief, sailed from Buffalo to New York City over ten days. Clinton then ceremonially poured Lake Erie water into New York Harbor to mark the "Wedding of the Waters". On its return trip, Seneca Chief brought back a keg of Atlantic Ocean water, which was poured into Lake Erie by Buffalo's Judge Samuel Wilkeson, who would later become mayor.
The Erie Canal was thus completed in eight years at a cost of $7.143 million[28] (equivalent to $116,000,000 in 2020).[29] It was acclaimed as an engineering marvel that united the country and helped New York City develop as an international trade center.[5]
Route
Wikimedia | © OpenStreetMap
The original path of the Erie Canal
1853 map of New York canals emboldened, center: the Erie Canal; other lines: railroads, rivers and county borders
Lithograph of the Erie Canal at Lockport, New York c. 1855. Published for Herrman J. Meyer, 164 William Street, New York City.
The canal began on the west side of the Hudson River at Albany, and ran north to Watervliet, where the Champlain Canal branched off. At Cohoes, it climbed the escarpment on the west side of the Hudson River—16 locks rising 140 feet (43 m)—and then turned west along the south shore of the Mohawk River, crossing to the north side at Crescent and again to the south at Rexford. The canal continued west near the south shore of the Mohawk River all the way to Rome, where the Mohawk turns north.[5]
At Rome, the canal continued west parallel to Wood Creek, which flows westward into Oneida Lake, and turned southwest and west cross-country to avoid the lake. From Canastota west, it ran roughly along the north (lower) edge of the Onondaga Escarpment, passing through Syracuse, Onondaga Lake, and Rochester. Before reaching Rochester, the canal uses a series of natural ridges to cross the deep valley of Irondequoit Creek. At Lockport the canal turned southwest to rise to the top of the Niagara Escarpment, using the ravine of Eighteen Mile Creek.[5]
The canal continued south-southwest to Pendleton, where it turned west and southwest, mainly using the channel of Tonawanda Creek. From the Tonawanda south toward Buffalo, it ran just east of the Niagara River, where it reached its "Western Terminus" at Little Buffalo Creek (later it became the Commercial Slip), which discharged into the Buffalo River just above its confluence with Lake Erie.[5] With Buffalo's re-excavation of the Commercial Slip, completed in 2008, the Canal's original terminus is now re-watered and again accessible by boats. With several miles of the Canal inland of this location still lying under 20th-century fill and urban construction, the effective western navigable terminus of the Erie Canal is found at Tonawanda.
The Erie made use of the favorable conditions of New York's unique topography, which provided that area with the only break in the Appalachians south of the Saint Lawrence River. The Hudson is tidal to Troy, and Albany is west of the Appalachians. It allowed for east–west navigation from the coast to the Great Lakes within US territory.[30] The canal system thus gave New York a competitive advantage, helped New York City develop as an international trade center,[5] and allowed Buffalo to grow from just 200 settlers in 1820 to more than 18,000 people by 1840. The port of New York became essentially the Atlantic home port for all of the Midwest—because of this vital connection and others to follow, such as the railroads, New York would become known as the "Empire State" or "the great Empire State".[5]
Enlargements and improvements
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Aqueduct over Nine Mile Creek north of Camillus, New York, built in 1841 and abandoned c. 1918; one of 32 navigable aqueducts on the Erie Canal, it has since been restored.
Problems developed but were quickly solved. Leaks developed along the entire length of the canal, but these were sealed using cement that hardened underwater (hydraulic cement). Erosion on the clay bottom proved to be a problem and the speed was limited to 4 mph (6.4 km/h).
The original design planned for an annual tonnage of 1.5 million tons (1.36 million metric tons), but this was exceeded immediately. An ambitious program to improve the canal began in 1834. During this massive series of construction projects, known as the First Enlargement, the canal was widened from 40 to 70 feet (12 to 21 m) and deepened from 4 to 7 feet (1.2 to 2.1 m). Locks were widened and/or rebuilt in new locations, and many new navigable aqueducts were constructed. The canal was straightened and slightly re-routed in some stretches, resulting in the abandonment of short segments of the original 1825 canal. The First Enlargement was completed in 1862, with further minor enlargements in later decades.
Today, the reconfiguration of the canal created during the First Enlargement is commonly referred to as the "Improved Erie Canal" or the "Old Erie Canal", to distinguish it from the canal's modern-day course. Existing remains of the 1825 canal abandoned during the Enlargement are officially referred to today as "Clinton's Ditch" (which was also the popular nickname for the entire Erie Canal project during its original 1817–1825 construction).[31]
Upstream view of the downstream lock at Lock 32, Pittsford, New York
Additional feeder canals soon extended the Erie Canal into a system. These included the Cayuga-Seneca Canal south to the Finger Lakes, the Oswego Canal from Three Rivers north to Lake Ontario at Oswego, and the Champlain Canal from Troy north to Lake Champlain. From 1833 to 1877, the short Crooked Lake Canal connected Keuka Lake and Seneca Lake. The Chemung Canal connected the south end of Seneca Lake to Elmira in 1833, and was an important route for Pennsylvania coal and timber into the canal system. The Chenango Canal in 1836 connected the Erie Canal at Utica to Binghamton and caused a business boom in the Chenango River valley. The Chenango and Chemung canals linked the Erie with the Susquehanna River system. The Black River Canal connected the Black River to the Erie Canal at Rome and remained in operation until the 1920s. The Genesee Valley Canal was run along the Genesee River to connect with the Allegheny River at Olean, but the Allegheny section, which would have connected to the Ohio and Mississippi rivers, was never built. The Genesee Valley Canal was later abandoned and became the route of the Genesee Valley Canal Railroad.
In 1903 the New York State legislature authorized construction of the New York State Barge Canal as the "Improvement of the Erie, the Oswego, the Champlain, and the Cayuga and Seneca Canals".[32]: 14 In 1905, construction of the Barge Canal began, which was completed in 1918, at a cost of $96.7 million.[32]: 557 Freight traffic reached a total of 5.2 million short tons (4.7 million metric tons) by 1951, before declining in the face of combined rail and truck competition.
Competition
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Map of the "Water Level Routes" of the New York Central Railroad (purple), West Shore Railroad (red) and Erie Canal (blue)
As the canal brought travelers to New York City, it took business away from other ports such as Philadelphia and Baltimore. Those cities and their states started projects to compete with the Erie Canal. In Pennsylvania, the Main Line of Public Works was a combined canal and railroad running west from Philadelphia to Pittsburgh on the Ohio River, opened in 1834. In Maryland, the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad ran west to Wheeling, West Virginia, then a part of Virginia, also on the Ohio River, and was completed in 1853.
Other competition was more direct. The Mohawk and Hudson Railroad opened in 1837, providing a bypass to the slowest part of the canal between Albany and Schenectady. Other railroads were soon chartered and built to continue the line west to Buffalo, and in 1842 a continuous line (which later became the New York Central Railroad and its Auburn Road in 1853) was open the whole way to Buffalo. As the railroad served the same general route as the canal, but provided for faster travel, passengers soon switched to it. However, as late as 1852, the canal carried thirteen times more freight tonnage than all the railroads in New York State combined; it continued to compete well with the railroads through 1902, when tolls were abolished.
During Rockefeller's consolidations of the late 1860s and early 1870s, he used the canal as a cheaper form of transportation – in the summer months when it was not frozen – to get his refined oil from Cleveland to New York City. In the winter months his only options were the three trunk lines: the Erie Railroad, the New York Central Railroad, or the Pennsylvania Railroad.[33]
The New York, West Shore and Buffalo Railway was completed in 1884, as a route running closely parallel to both the canal and the New York Central Railroad. However, it went bankrupt and was acquired the next year by the New York Central.
Impact
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Economic impact
Rochester, New York, aqueduct c. 1890
The Erie Canal greatly lowered the cost of shipping between the Midwest and the Northeast, bringing much lower food costs to Eastern cities and allowing the East to economically ship machinery and manufactured goods to the Midwest. The canal also made an immense contribution to the wealth and importance of New York City, Buffalo and New York State. Its impact went much further, increasing trade throughout the nation by opening eastern and overseas markets to Midwestern farm products and by enabling migration to the West.[34][35]
The Erie Canal was an immediate success. Tolls collected on freight had already exceeded the state's construction debt in its first year of official operation.[20]: 52 By 1828, import duties collected at the New York Customs House supported federal government operations and provided funds for all the expenses in Washington except the interest on the national debt.[36] Additionally, New York State's initial loan for the original canal had been paid by 1837.[20]: 52 Although it had been envisioned as primarily a commercial channel for freight boats, passengers also traveled on the canal's packet boats. In 1825 more than 40,000 passengers took advantage of the convenience and beauty of canal travel.[20]: 52 The canal's steady flow of tourists, businessmen and settlers lent it to uses never imagined by its initial sponsors. Evangelical preachers made their circuits of the upstate region, and the canal served as the last leg of the Underground Railroad ferrying runaway slaves to Buffalo near the Canada–US border.[20]: 53 Aspiring merchants found that tourists were reliable customers. Vendors moved from boat to boat peddling items such as books, watches and fruit, while less scrupulous "confidence men" sold remedies for foot corns or passed off counterfeit bills.[20]: 53 Tourists were carried along the "northern tour," which ultimately led to the popular honeymoon destination Niagara Falls, just north of Buffalo.
Consisting of a massive stone aqueduct that carried boats over incredible cascades, Little Falls was one of the most popular stops for American and foreign tourists. This is shown in Scene 4 of William Dunlap's play A Trip to Niagara, where he depicts the general preference of tourists to travel by canal so that they could experience a combination of artificial and natural sights.[20]: 55 Canal travel was, for many, an opportunity to take in the sublime and commune with nature. The play also reflects the less enthusiastic view of some who saw movement on the canal as tedious.
Migratory impact
Two "low" lift bridges in Lockport, New York, July 2010
New ethnic Irish communities formed in some towns along its route after completion, as Irish immigrants were a large portion of the construction labor force.[37] A plaque honoring the canal's construction is located in Battery Park in southern Manhattan.[38]
Because so many immigrants traveled on the canal, many genealogists have sought copies of canal passenger lists. Apart from the years 1827–1829, canal boat operators were not required to record passenger names or report them to the New York government. Some passenger lists survive today in the New York State Archives, and other sources of traveler information are sometimes available.[39]
Cultural impact
The Canal also helped bind the still-new nation closer to Britain and Europe. Repeal of Britain's Corn Law resulted in a huge increase in exports of Midwestern wheat to Britain. Trade between the United States and Canada also increased as a result of the repeal and a reciprocity (free-trade) agreement signed in 1854. Much of this trade flowed along the Erie.
Its success also prompted imitation: a rash of canal-building followed. Also, the many technical hurdles that had to be overcome made heroes of those whose innovations made the canal possible. This led to an increased public esteem for practical education. Chicago, among other Great Lakes cities, recognized the importance of the canal to its economy, and two West Loop streets are named "Canal" and "Clinton" (for canal proponent DeWitt Clinton).
Concern that erosion caused by logging in the Adirondacks could silt up the canal contributed to the creation in 1885 of another New York National Historic Landmark, the Adirondack Park.
Many notable authors wrote about the canal, including Herman Melville, Frances Trollope, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Harriet Beecher Stowe, Mark Twain, Samuel Hopkins Adams and the Marquis de Lafayette, and many tales and songs were written about life on the canal. The popular song "Low Bridge, Everybody Down" by Thomas S. Allen was written in 1905 to memorialize the canal's early heyday, when barges were pulled by mules rather than engines.
The Erie Canal changed property law in New York. Most importantly, it expanded the government's right to take private property.[40] Cases surrounding the newly-built Erie Canal expanded condemnation theory to permit canal builders to appropriate private land and broadened the meaning of "public use" in the 5th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.[40] The canal also had an impact on water access jurisprudence as well as nuisance law.[40]
Sunday closing debate
The New York State Legislature debated closing the locks of the Erie Canal on Sundays, when they convened in 1858. However, George Jeremiah and Dwight Bacheller, two of the bill's opponents, argued that the state had no right to stop canal traffic on the grounds that the Erie Canal and its tributaries had ceased to be wards of the state. The canal at its inception had been imagined as an extension of nature, an artificial river where there had been none. The canal succeeded by sharing more in common with lakes and seas than it had with public roads. Jeremiah and Bacheller argued, successfully, that just as it was unthinkable to halt oceangoing navigation on Sunday, so it was with the canal.[20]: 172
20th century
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The modern Erie Canal has 34 locks, which are painted with the blue and gold colors of the New York State Canal System.
In 1918, the Canal was replaced by the larger New York State Barge Canal. This new canal replaced much of the original route, leaving many abandoned sections (most notably between Syracuse and Rome). New digging and flood control technologies allowed engineers to canalize rivers that the original canal had sought to avoid, such as the Mohawk, Seneca, and Clyde rivers, and Oneida Lake. In sections that did not consist of canalized rivers[32] (particularly between Rochester and Buffalo), the original Erie Canal channel was enlarged to 120 feet (37 m) wide and 12 feet (3.7 m) deep. The expansion allowed barges up to 2,000 short tons (1,800 t) to use the Canal. This expensive project was politically unpopular in parts of the state not served by the canal, and failed to save it from becoming obsolete for commercial shipping.
The new alignment began on the Hudson River at the border between Cohoes and Waterford, where it ran northwest with five locks (the so-called "Waterford Flight"), running into the Mohawk River east of Crescent. The Waterford Flight is claimed to be one of the steepest series of locks in the world.[41][5]: 19 [42]: 267
Gateway Harbor in North Tonawanda, about 1,000 feet (300 m) from the present-day western terminus of the Erie Canal where it connects to the Niagara River
While the old Canal ran next to the Mohawk all the way to Rome, the new canal ran through the river, which was straightened or widened where necessary.[5]: 13 At Ilion, the new canal left the river for good, but continued to run on a new alignment parallel to both the river and the old canal to Rome. From Rome, the new route continued almost due west, merging with Fish Creek just east of its entry into Oneida Lake.[7]
From Oneida Lake, the new canal ran west along the Oneida River, with cutoffs to shorten the route. At Three Rivers, the Oneida River turns northwest, and was deepened for the Oswego Canal to Lake Ontario. The new Erie Canal turned south there along the Seneca River, which turns west near Syracuse and continues west to a point in the Montezuma Marsh. There the Cayuga and Seneca Canal continued south with the Seneca River, and the new Erie Canal again ran parallel to the old canal along the bottom of the Niagara Escarpment, in some places running along the Clyde River, and in some places replacing the old canal. At Pittsford, southeast of Rochester, the canal turned west to run around the south side of Rochester, rather than through downtown. The canal crosses the Genesee River at the Genesee Valley Park, then rejoins the old path near North Gates.
From there it was again roughly an upgrade to the original canal, running west to Lockport.[43] This reach of 64.2 miles (103.3 km) from Henrietta to Lockport is called "the 60‑mile level" since there are no locks and the water level rises only two feet (0.61 m) over the entire segment. Diversions from and to adjacent natural streams along the way are used to maintain the canal's level. It runs southwest to Tonawanda, where the new alignment discharges into the Niagara River, which is navigable upstream to the New York Barge Canal's Black Rock Lock and thence to the Canal's original "Western Terminus" at Buffalo's Inner Harbor.
The growth of railroads and highways across the state, and the opening of the Saint Lawrence Seaway, caused commercial traffic on the canal to decline dramatically during the second half of the 20th century.
New York State Canal System
In 1992, the New York State Barge Canal was renamed the New York State Canal System (including the Erie, Cayuga-Seneca, Oswego, and Champlain canals) and placed under the newly created New York State Canal Corporation, a subsidiary of the New York State Thruway Authority. While part of the Thruway, the canal system was operated using money generated by Thruway tolls.
21st century
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Since the 1990s, the canal system has been used primarily by recreational traffic, although a small but growing amount of cargo traffic still uses it.
Today, the Erie Canalway National Heritage Corridor covers 524 miles (843 km) of navigable water from Lake Champlain to the Capital Region and west to Buffalo. The area has a population of 2.7 million; about 75% of Central and Western New York's population lives within 25 miles (40 km) of the Erie Canal.
The Erie Canal is open to small craft and some larger vessels from May through November each year. During winter, water is drained from parts of the canal for maintenance. The Champlain Canal, Lake Champlain, and the Chambly Canal, and Richelieu River in Canada form the Lakes to Locks Passage, making a tourist attraction of the former waterway linking eastern Canada to the Erie Canal. In 2006 recreational boating fees were eliminated to attract more visitors.
Travel on the canal's middle section (particularly in the Mohawk Valley) was severely hampered by flooding in late June and early July 2006. Flood damage to the canal and its facilities was estimated as at least $15 million.
There were some 42 commercial shipments on the canal in 2008, compared to 15 such shipments in 2007 and more than 33,000 shipments in 1855, the canal's peak year. The new growth in commercial traffic is due to the rising cost of diesel fuel. Canal barges can carry a short ton of cargo 514 miles (827 km) on one gallon of diesel fuel, while a gallon allows a train to haul the same amount of cargo 202 miles (325 km) and a truck 59 miles (95 km). Canal barges can carry loads up to 3,000 short tons (2,700 long tons), and are used to transport objects that would be too large for road or rail shipment.[12] Today, the system is served by several commercial towing companies.[44] In 2012, the New York State Canal System (which consists of the Erie Canal and a few smaller canals) was used to ship 42,000 tons of cargo.[45]
Erie Canal Aqueduct crossing the Genesee River in Rochester, New York. Broad Street now runs atop it. A proposed rewatering project of the Erie Canal Aqueduct to connect to a round lock on the Genesee River is under review. This revitalization project will also facilitate boating.
On the Erie Canal Aqueduct looking north below Broad Street, downtown Rochester. The Aqueduct is divided by the concrete support for the Broad Street Bridge above. In the former bed ran the Rochester Subway.
A commercial tour boat locks through Baldwinsville's Lock 24.
Aside from transportation, numerous businesses, farms, factories and communities alongside its banks still utilize the canal's waters for other purposes such as irrigation for farmland, hydroelectricity, research, industry, and even drinking. Use of the canal system has an estimated total economic impact of $6.2 billion annually.[45]
In 2017, the New York State Canal Corporation was transferred from the New York State Thruway to the New York Power Authority.[43]
Old Erie Canal
The Old Erie Canal and its towpath at Kirkville, New York, within Old Erie Canal State Historic Park
Sections of the old Erie Canal not used after 1918 are owned by New York State, or have been ceded to or purchased by counties or municipalities. Many stretches of the old canal have been filled in to create roads such as Erie Boulevard in Syracuse and Schenectady, and Broad Street and the Rochester Subway in Rochester. A 36‑mile (58 km) stretch of the old canal from the town of DeWitt, New York, east of Syracuse, to just outside Rome, New York, is preserved as the Old Erie Canal State Historic Park. In 1960 the Schoharie Crossing State Historic Site, a section of the canal in Montgomery County, was one of the first sites recognized as a National Historic Landmark.[46]
Some municipalities have preserved sections as town or county canal parks, or have plans to do so. Camillus Erie Canal Park preserves a 7-mile (11 km) stretch and has restored Nine Mile Creek Aqueduct, built in 1841 as part of the First Enlargement of the canal.[47] In some communities, the old canal has refilled with overgrowth and debris. Proposals have been made to rehydrate the old canal through downtown Rochester or Syracuse as a tourist attraction. In Syracuse, the location of the old canal is represented by a reflecting pool in downtown's Clinton Square and the downtown hosts a canal barge and weigh lock structure, now dry.[citation needed] Buffalo's Commercial Slip is the restored and re-watered segment of the canal which formed its "Western Terminus".
The Erie Canal is a destination for tourists from all over the world, and has inspired guidebooks dedicated to exploration of the waterway.[42][48] An Erie Canal Cruise company, based in Herkimer, operates from mid-May until mid-October with daily cruises. The cruise goes through the history of the canal and also takes passengers through Lock 18.[49][citation needed]
In 2004, the administration of New York Governor George Pataki was criticized when officials of New York State Canal Corporation attempted to sell private development rights to large stretches of the Old Erie Canal to a single developer for $30,000, far less than the land was worth on the open market. After an investigation by the Syracuse Post-Standard newspaper, the Pataki administration nullified the deal.[50]
Buffalo's Erie Canal Commercial Slip in Spring 2008
Records of the planning, design, construction, and administration of the Erie Canal are vast and can be found in the New York State Archives. Except for two years (1827–1829), the State of New York did not require canal boat operators to maintain or submit passenger lists.[51]
Parks and museums
Parks and museums related to the old Erie Canal include (listed from East to West):
Day Peckinpaugh ship; restoration and conversion to a floating museum was planned for completion in 2012 by the New York State Museum
Watervliet Side Cut Locks, located at Watervliet and listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1971[52]
Enlarged Erie Canal Historic District (Discontiguous), a national historic district located at Cohoes, New York listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2004[52]
Erie Canal Lock 18, Cohoes, New York.
Cohoes Falls Park, 231 N. Mohawk St., Cohoes, New York, offers, looking away from the river, a dramatic view of abandoned and dry Erie Canal lock 18, high above.
Enlarged Double Lock No. 23, Old Erie Canal, Rotterdam
Schoharie Crossing State Historic Site at Fort Hunter
Old Erie Canal State Historic Park, DeWitt, New York
Old Erie Canal State Historic Park, 36-mile linear park from Rome to DeWitt
Erie Canal Village, near Rome
Canastota Canal Town Museum, Canastota
Chittenango Landing Canal Boat Museum, near Chittenango
Erie Canal Museum in downtown Syracuse
Camillus Erie Canal Park in Camillus
Jordan Canal Park in Jordan, town of Elbridge
Enlarged Double Lock No. 33 Old Erie Canal, St. Johnsville
Erie Canal Lock 52 Complex, a national historic district located at Port Byron and Mentz in Cayuga County; listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1998[52]
Seneca River Crossing Canals Historic District, a national historic district located at Montezuma and Tyre in Cayuga County; listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2005[52]
Centerport Aqueduct Park near Weedsport; listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2000[52]
Lock Berlin Park near Clyde
Macedon Aqueduct Park near Palmyra
Old Erie Canal Lock 60 Park in Macedon
Perinton Park in Perinton near Fairport
Genesee Valley Park in the city of Rochester
Spencerport Depot & Canal Museum, Spencerport
Niagara Escarpment "Flight of Five" locks at Lockport
Erie Canal Discovery Center, 24 Church Street, Lockport (Locks 34 and 35)
Canalside Buffalo at the Canal's "Western Terminus"
Erie Canalway Trail
Further information: New York State Canalway Trail
Locks
The modern single lock at the Niagara Escarpment
The following list of locks is provided for the current canal, from east to west. There are a total of 36 (35 numbered) locks on the Erie Canal.
All locks on the New York State Canal System are single-chamber; the dimensions are 328 feet (100 m) long and 45 feet (14 m) wide with a minimum 12-foot (3.7 m) depth of water over the miter sills at the upstream gates upon lift. They can accommodate a vessel up to 300 feet (91 m) long and 43.5 feet (13.3 m) wide.[53][54][55][self-published source?] Overall sidewall height will vary by lock, ranging between 28 and 61 feet (8.5 and 18.6 m) depending on the lift and navigable stages. Lock E17 at Little Falls has the tallest sidewall height at 80 feet (24 m).[56]
Distance is based on position markers from an interactive canal map provided online by the New York State Canal Corporation and may not exactly match specifications on signs posted along the canal. Mean surface elevations are comprised from a combination of older canal profiles and history books as well as specifications on signs posted along the canal.[53][57][58] The margin of error should normally be within 6 inches (15 cm).
The Waterford Flight series of locks (comprising Locks E2 through E6) is one of the steepest in the world, lifting boats 169 feet (52 m) in less than 2 miles (3.2 km).[5]: 19 [41][42]: 267
All surface elevations are approximate.
Lock # Location Elevation
(upstream/west)
Elevation
(downstream/east)
Lift or Drop Distance to Next Lock
(upstream/west)
Troy Federal Lock * Troy 15.3 ft (4.7 m) 1.3 ft (0.40 m) 14.0 ft (4.3 m) E2, 2.66 mi (4.28 km)
E2 Waterford 48.9 ft (14.9 m) 15.3 ft (4.7 m) 33.6 ft (10.2 m) E3, 0.46 mi (0.74 km)
E3 Waterford 83.5 ft (25.5 m) 48.9 ft (14.9 m) 34.6 ft (10.5 m) E4, 0.51 mi (0.82 km)
E4 Waterford 118.1 ft (36.0 m) 83.5 ft (25.5 m) 34.6 ft (10.5 m) E5, 0.27 mi (0.43 km)
E5 Waterford 151.4 ft (46.1 m) 118.1 ft (36.0 m) 33.3 ft (10.1 m) E6, 0.28 mi (0.45 km)
E6 Crescent 184.4 ft (56.2 m) 151.4 ft (46.1 m) 33.0 ft (10.1 m) E7, 10.92 mi (17.57 km)
E7 Vischer Ferry 211.4 ft (64.4 m) 184.4 ft (56.2 m) 27.0 ft (8.2 m) E8, 10.97 mi (17.65 km)
E8 Scotia 225.4 ft (68.7 m) 211.4 ft (64.4 m) 14.0 ft (4.3 m) E9, 5.03 mi (8.10 km)
E9 Rotterdam 240.4 ft (73.3 m) 225.4 ft (68.7 m) 15.0 ft (4.6 m) E10, 5.95 mi (9.58 km)
E10 Cranesville 255.4 ft (77.8 m) 240.4 ft (73.3 m) 15.0 ft (4.6 m) E11, 4.27 mi (6.87 km)
E11 Amsterdam 267.4 ft (81.5 m) 255.4 ft (77.8 m) 12.0 ft (3.7 m) E12, 4.23 mi (6.81 km)
E12 Tribes Hill 278.4 ft (84.9 m) 267.4 ft (81.5 m) 11.0 ft (3.4 m) E13, 9.60 mi (15.45 km)
E13 Yosts 286.4 ft (87.3 m) 278.4 ft (84.9 m) 8.0 ft (2.4 m) E14, 7.83 mi (12.60 km)
E14 Canajoharie 294.4 ft (89.7 m) 286.4 ft (87.3 m) 8.0 ft (2.4 m) E15, 3.35 mi (5.39 km)
E15 Fort Plain 302.4 ft (92.2 m) 294.4 ft (89.7 m) 8.0 ft (2.4 m) E16, 6.72 mi (10.81 km)
E16 St. Johnsville 322.9 ft (98.4 m) 302.4 ft (92.2 m) 20.5 ft (6.2 m) E17, 7.97 mi (12.83 km)
E17 Little Falls 363.4 ft (110.8 m) 322.9 ft (98.4 m) 40.5 ft (12.3 m) E18, 4.20 mi (6.76 km)
E18 Jacksonburg 383.4 ft (116.9 m) 363.4 ft (110.8 m) 20.0 ft (6.1 m) E19, 11.85 mi (19.07 km)
E19 Frankfort 404.4 ft (123.3 m) 383.4 ft (116.9 m) 21.0 ft (6.4 m) E20, 10.28 mi (16.54 km)
E20 Whitesboro 420.4 ft (128.1 m) 404.4 ft (123.3 m) 16.0 ft (4.9 m) E21, 18.10 mi (29.13 km)
E21 New London 395.4 ft (120.5 m) 420.4 ft (128.1 m) −25.0 ft (−7.6 m) E22, 1.32 mi (2.12 km)
E22 New London 370.1 ft (112.8 m) 395.4 ft (120.5 m) −25.3 ft (−7.7 m) E23, 28.91 mi (46.53 km)
E23 Brewerton 363.0 ft (110.6 m) 370.1 ft (112.8 m) −7.1 ft (−2.2 m) E24, 18.77 mi (30.21 km)
E24 Baldwinsville 374.0 ft (114.0 m) 363.0 ft (110.6 m) 11.0 ft (3.4 m) E25, 30.69 mi (49.39 km)
E25 Mays Point 380.0 ft (115.8 m) 374.0 ft (114.0 m) 6.0 ft (1.8 m) E26, 5.83 mi (9.38 km)
E26 Clyde 386.0 ft (117.7 m) 380.0 ft (115.8 m) 6.0 ft (1.8 m) E27, 12.05 mi (19.39 km)
E27 Lyons 398.5 ft (121.5 m) 386.0 ft (117.7 m) 12.5 ft (3.8 m) E28A, 1.28 mi (2.06 km)
E28A Lyons 418.0 ft (127.4 m) 398.5 ft (121.5 m) 19.5 ft (5.9 m) E28B, 3.98 mi (6.41 km)
E28B Newark 430.0 ft (131.1 m) 418.0 ft (127.4 m) 12.0 ft (3.7 m) E29, 9.79 mi (15.76 km)
E29 Palmyra 446.0 ft (135.9 m) 430.0 ft (131.1 m) 16.0 ft (4.9 m) E30, 2.98 mi (4.80 km)
E30 Macedon 462.4 ft (140.9 m) 446.0 ft (135.9 m) 16.4 ft (5.0 m) E32, 16.12 mi (25.94 km)
E32 Pittsford 487.5 ft (148.6 m) 462.4 ft (140.9 m) 25.1 ft (7.7 m) E33, 1.26 mi (2.03 km)
E33 Rochester 512.9 ft (156.3 m) 487.5 ft (148.6 m) 25.4 ft (7.7 m) E34/35, 64.28 mi (103.45 km)
E34 Lockport 539.5 ft (164.4 m) 514.9 ft (156.9 m) 24.6 ft (7.5 m) E35, adjacent to Lock E34.
E35 Lockport 564.0 ft (171.9 m) 539.5 ft (164.4 m) 24.5 ft (7.5 m) Black Rock Lock in Niagara River, 26.39 mi (42.47 km)
Black Rock Lock * Buffalo 570.6 ft (173.9 m) 565.6 ft (172.4 m) 5.0 ft (1.5 m) Commercial Slip at Buffalo River, 3.89 mi (6.26 km)
* Denotes federally managed locks.
There is a 2-foot (0.61 m) natural rise between locks E33 and E34 as well as a 1.5-foot (0.46 m) natural rise between Lock E35 and the Niagara River.[55]
There is no Lock E1 or Lock E31 on the Erie Canal. The place of "Lock E1" on the passage from the lower Hudson River to Lake Erie is taken by the Troy Federal Lock, located just north of Troy, New York, and is not part of the Erie Canal System proper. It is operated by the United States Army Corps of Engineers.[53] The Erie Canal officially begins at the confluence of the Hudson and Mohawk rivers at Waterford, New York.
Although the original alignment of the Erie Canal through Buffalo has been filled in, travel by water is still possible from Buffalo via the Black Rock Lock in the Niagara River to the canal's modern western terminus in Tonawanda, and eastward to Albany. The Black Rock Lock is operated by the United States Army Corps of Engineers.
Oneida Lake lies between locks E22 and E23, and has a mean surface elevation of 370 feet (110 m). Lake Erie has a mean surface elevation of 571 feet (174 m).
See also
Robert C. Dorn
List of canals in New York
List of canals in the United States
"Low Bridge", a song written by Thomas S. Allen, also known as "The Erie Canal Song"
John C. Mather (New York politician)
Ohio and Erie Canal, connecting Lake Erie with the Ohio River
Welland Canal, opened in 1829, bypasses the Niagara River between Lake Erie and Lake Ontario
Mount Morris is a town in Livingston County, New York, United States. The population was 4,465 at the 2010 census.[3] The town and village were named after Robert Morris, a Founding Father of the United States.
The town of Mount Morris has a village also called Mount Morris. The town is on the western border of the county and is home to part of Letchworth State Park.
Communities
Brooks Grove – A hamlet in the southwest part of the town on Route 408. The name is from the founder, General Micah Brooks.
Deyuitga'oh ("Where the Valley Widens") – A native village once located near where the Mount Morris Dam is currently situated.
Letchworth State Park – A state park on the west border of the town.
Mount Morris – The village of Mount Morris near the northern border of the town.
Mount Morris Dam – A dam northwest of Mount Morris village.
Ridge – A hamlet southwest of Mount Morris village on NY-408.
River Road Forks – A location west of Brooks Grove. This location has also been called "River Road".
Tuscarora – A hamlet and census-designated place in the southeast part of the town.
Union Corners – A hamlet on the town line east of Tuscarora.
Nearby :
Larger Settlements
# Location Population Type Area
1 †Geneseo 8,031 Village Center
2 Dansville 4,719 Village South
3 Avon 3,394 Village North
4 Mount Morris 2,986 Village Center
5 Conesus Lake 2,584 CDP Lakeside
6 Caledonia 2,201 Village North
7 Lima 2,139 Village North
8 Livonia 1,409 Village Lakeside
9 Nunda 1,377 Village South
10 Lakeville 756 CDP North
11 East Avon 608 CDP North
12 Hemlock 557 CDP Lakeside
13 Springwater 549 CDP Lakeside
14 York 544 CDP North
15 Leicester 468 Village Center
16 Livonia Center 421 CDP Lakeside
17 Dalton 362 CDP South
18 Retsof 340 CDP Center
19 Conesus 308 CDP Lakeside
20 Cuylerville 297 CDP Center
21 Groveland Station 281 CDP Center
22 South Lima 240 CDP North
23 Fowlerville 227 CDP North
24 Piffard 220 CDP Center
25 Greigsville 209 CDP North
26 Wadsworth 190 CDP Center
27 Cumminsville 183 CDP South
28 Scottsburg 117 CDP South
29 Kysorville 110 CDP South
30 Woodsville 80 CDP Lakeside
31 Hunt 78 CDP South
32 Linwood 74 CDP North
33 Websters Crossing 69 CDP Lakeside
34 Byersville 47 CDP South
Towns
Avon
Caledonia
Conesus
Geneseo
Groveland
Leicester
Lima
Livonia
Mount Morris
North Dansville
Nunda
Ossian
Portage
Sparta
Springwater
West Sparta
York
Villages
Hamlet
Coopersville
The Battle of Queenston Heights was the first major battle in the War of 1812. Resulting in a British victory, it took place on 13 October 1812 near Queenston, Upper Canada (now Ontario).
The battle was fought between United States regulars with New York militia forces, led by Major General Stephen Van Rensselaer, and British regulars, York and Lincoln militia and Mohawk warriors, led by Major General Isaac Brock and then Major General Roger Hale Sheaffe, who took command after Brock was killed.
The battle was fought as the result of an American attempt to establish a foothold on the Canadian side of the Niagara River before campaigning ended with the onset of winter. The decisive battle was the culmination of a poorly-managed American offensive and may be most historically significant for the loss of the British commander.
Despite their numerical advantage and the wide dispersal of British forces defending against their invasion attempt, the Americans, who were stationed in Lewiston, New York, were unable to get the bulk of their invasion force across the Niagara River because of the work of British artillery and the reluctance on the part of the undertrained and inexperienced American militia. As a result, British reinforcements arrived, defeated the unsupported American forces, and forced them to surrender.
Background
The United States invasion across the Niagara River was originally intended to be part of a four-pronged attack on Upper Canada's border strongpoints. From west to east, Brigadier General William Hull would attack Amherstburg through Detroit, Major General Van Rensselaer would attack across the Niagara River, another diversionary attack would cross the St. Lawrence River to take Kingston, and Major General Henry Dearborn, the commander in chief of the United States Army, would make the major attack via Lake Champlain to capture Montreal in Lower Canada.[9] These attacks were expected to bring the colony to its knees and ensure a quick peace.
However, the four attacks on Upper Canada failed or were not even launched. Hull was besieged in Detroit and, fearing a massacre by Britain's Native American allies, surrendered the town and his entire army following the Siege of Detroit. Dearborn and his army remained relatively inactive at Albany, New York and seemed to be in no hurry to attempt an invasion.
Van Rensselaer was also unable to launch any immediate attack on the Niagara Peninsula, lacking troops and supplies. Although he held the rank of Major General in the New York state militia, Van Rensselaer had not commanded troops in battle and was not a warrior, being considered the leading Federalist candidate for the governorship of New York. Possibly hoping to get Van Rensselaer out of the way, New York Governor Daniel Tompkins had put Van Rensselaer's name forward to command the army on the Niagara, and he officially took command on 13 July. Van Rensselaer secured the appointment of his second cousin, Colonel Solomon Van Rensselaer, as his aide-de-camp. Solomon van Rensselaer was an experienced soldier who had been wounded at the Battle of Fallen Timbers in 1794, and a valuable source of advice to the General.
Prelude
British moves
Major General Isaac Brock was both the civil Administrator of Upper Canada and Commander of the military forces there. He was an aggressive commander, and his successful capture of Detroit had won him praise, the reputation as the "saviour of Upper Canada" and a knighthood, the news of which would only reach Upper Canada after his death. However, his superior at Quebec, Lieutenant General Sir George Prevost, was of a more cautious bent, and the two clashed over strategy.
Major General Isaac Brock led a force made up of British regulars, Canadian militiamen, and Mohawk warriors during the Battle of Queenston Heights.
Brock had hastened back from Detroit, intending to cross the Niagara, defeat Van Rensselaer before he could be reinforced and occupy upper New York State. Prevost vetoed this plan, ordering Brock to behave more defensively.[10] Not only was Prevost concerned by Brock's apparently rash actions, but he was aware that the British Government had revoked several Orders in Council which affected American merchant ships, and thus removed some of the stated causes of the war. He believed that peace negotiations might result and did not wish to prejudice any talks by taking offensive action.[11] He opened negotiations with General Dearborn, and arranged local armistices. The United States government rejected Prevost's approach and ordered Dearborn "to proceed with the utmost vigor in your operations", after giving Prevost notice of the resumption of hostilities.[12] However, it took several weeks for this correspondence to travel between Washington and the frontier.
While Brock had been at Detroit, Major General Sheaffe had been in command of the troops on the Niagara. Acting under Prevost's orders, Sheaffe had concluded an armistice with Colonel Van Rensselaer on 20 August and had even gone further than Prevost's orders by voluntarily restricting the movement of British troops and supplies.[13] Brock returned to the Niagara on 22 August, to find the armistice in effect. The terms of the armistice permitted the use of the river by both powers as a common waterway and Brock could only watch as American reinforcements and supplies were moved to Van Rensselaer's army, without being able to take action to prevent it. The armistice ended on 8 September, by which time Van Rensselaer's army was considerably better supplied than it had been before.
American internal quarrels
Even with Hull's failure and Dearborn's inaction, Van Rensselaer's situation appeared strong. On 1 September he had only 691 unpaid men fit for duty, but the arrival of reinforcements boosted his force considerably. In addition to his own force of around 6,000 regulars, volunteers and militia, Van Rensselaer had Brigadier General Alexander Smyth's force of 1,700 regular soldiers under his command. However, Smyth, who was a regular officer although a lawyer by trade, steadfastly refused to obey Van Rensselaer's orders or respond to his summons.[14] As soon as his force reached the frontier, Smyth deployed his force near Buffalo, New York, at the head of the Niagara River.
Maj Gen Stephen Van Rensselaer planned for the main American force to cross the Niagara River from Lewiston, New York and take the heights near Queenston, Ontario.
Van Rensselaer planned for the main force to cross the Niagara from Lewiston and take the heights near Queenston, while Smyth crossed the river near Fort Niagara and attacked Fort George from the rear. However, Smyth made no reply to Van Rensselaer's plan. When summoned to a council of officers in early October to plan the attack, Smyth did not respond, nor did he reply to a letter sent soon after. A direct order to arrive "with all possible dispatch" was also met with silence. Van Rensselaer, an amiable politician in a hurry to launch his attack, chose to proceed with the attack from Lewiston only, rather than bring Smyth before a court-martial and possibly delay the start of the battle. His aim was to establish a fortified bridgehead around Queenston, where he could maintain his army in winter quarters while planning for a campaign in the spring.[14] Colonel Van Rensselaer had visited the British side under the escort of Brock's aide, Lieutenant-Colonel John Macdonell, and had gained a fairly good idea of the lie of the land.
On 9 October American sailors, artillerymen and volunteers from the Militia, commanded by Lieutenant Jesse Elliot, launched a successful boarding attack on the brigs Caledonia and Detroit, anchored near Fort Erie at the head of the Niagara River. Both brigs were captured, although Detroit subsequently ran aground and was set on fire to prevent it being recaptured. Brock feared this might presage an attack from Buffalo and galloped to Fort Erie. Although he soon realised that there was no immediate danger from Smyth in Buffalo, and returned to his headquarters in Niagara that night, it was mistakenly reported to Van Rensselaer that Brock had left in haste for Detroit, which Major General William Henry Harrison was attempting to recover.[15] Van Rensselaer decided to launch an attack at 3 a.m. on 11 October, even though Colonel Van Rensselaer was ill.
On 10 October, Van Rensselaer sent orders to Smyth to march his brigade to Lewiston in preparation for the attack "with every possible dispatch."[16] Smyth set out upon receipt of the letter. However, in foul weather, he chose a route to Lewiston that was so bad that abandoned wagons could be seen "sticking in the road."[17] The same tempestuous weather drenched Van Rensselaer's troops as they stood and waited to embark. One of the lead boatmen, a Lieutenant Sims, rowed his boat away and deserted the army, taking with him most of the oars. By the time the oars could be replaced, the attack had to be postponed. Colonel Van Rensselaer set the second attempt for 13 October.[18]
Smyth received word the attack had been postponed at 10 a.m. on 11 October. He then turned back to his camp at Black Rock, New York, near Buffalo, rather than press on to Lewiston. He wrote to Van Rensselaer on 12 October that his troops would be in condition to move out again on 14 October, a day after the postponed attack was to be launched.
Brock's preparations
Attempts to perform a prisoner exchange were made on 11 October by Major Thomas Evans. Intelligence gathered from the attempted exchange led Evans to deduce an American attack was imminent.
Brock was aware of the failed attempt to cross the river on 11 October but was not certain this was not a mere demonstration to distract him from a major attack elsewhere. On 12 October, Major Thomas Evans (the Brigade Major at Fort George)[19] crossed the Niagara River under a flag of truce to request an immediate exchange of prisoners taken in Elliot's raid on the British brigs three days before. He attempted to see Colonel Solomon Van Rensselaer but was told the Colonel was ill. Instead, he was met by a man who claimed to be General Stephen Van Rensselaer's secretary, Toock. Toock was probably Major John Lovett (Van Rensselaer's private military secretary) in disguise, and he repeatedly stated no exchange could be arranged until "the day after tomorrow".
Evans was struck by the repetition of this phrase and spotted several boats hidden under bushes along the shore. He deduced that a crossing was planned for 13 October, but when he returned to the British lines a council of officers responded to his statement with laughter and mockery. However, Brock took Evans aside and after a meeting was convinced of the possibility. That evening he dispatched several orders for the militia to assemble.
On 13 October, Brock was at his headquarters in Niagara. Major General Sheaffe was at Fort George nearby with the main British force. There were other British detachments at Queenston, Chippawa, and Fort Erie.
Battle
British dispositions
Depiction of Vrooman's Point. A mile north of Queenston, the British positioned a twenty-four-pounder artillery piece used to harass American troops attempting to embark across the Niagara River during the battle.
The village of Queenston consisted of a stone barracks and twenty houses each surrounded by gardens and peach orchards.[15] Several farmhouses were scattered through the neighbouring fields and pastures. The village lay at the mouth of the gorge of the River Niagara. Immediately south of the village, the ground rose 300 feet (100 m) to Queenston Heights. The slope from the heights to the river bank was very steep but overgrown with shrubs and trees, making it fairly easy to climb. Lewiston was on the American side of the river, with the ground to its south rising to Lewiston Heights. The river was fast-flowing and 200 yards wide but was described as being little trouble to even an indifferent oarsman.[15] In time of peace, there was a regular boat service between Queenston and Lewiston[20] with permanent landing stages in both villages.
The British detachment at Queenston consisted of the grenadier company of the 49th Regiment of Foot (which Brock had formerly commanded) under Captain James Dennis, a flank company of the 2nd Regiment of York Militia (the "York Volunteers") under Captain George Chisholm, and a detachment of the 41st Regiment of Foot with a 3-pounder Grasshopper cannon. The light company of the 49th under Captain John Williams was posted in huts on top of the heights. An 18-pounder gun and a mortar[21][22] were mounted in a redan halfway up the Heights, and a 24-pounder gun and a carronade were sited in a barbette at Vrooman's Point, a mile north of the village, guarded by a company of the 5th Regiment of Lincoln Militia under Captain Samuel Hatt. Two more companies of York Militia under Captains Cameron and Heward were stationed at Brown's Point, three miles to the north.[23] The remaining local militia of the 5th Lincoln Regiment were not on duty but could assemble at very short notice.[24]
First American landing
"The grape and musket balls, poured upon them at close quarters as they approached the shore, made incredible havoc. A single discharge from a field-piece directed by Captain Dennis himself (the captain of the 49th Grenadiers) killed fifteen in one boat."
Lt. John Beverley Robinson of the 2nd York Volunteers[25]
The American forces involved were the 6th, 13th and 23rd U.S. Regiments of Infantry, with detachments of U.S. Artillery serving as infantry. There were also the 16th, 17th, 18th, 19th and 20th Regiments of New York Militia and a volunteer battalion of riflemen,[23] totalling 900 regulars and 2,650 militia.[2] Because the United States Army was being rapidly expanded, most of the regulars at Lewiston were recent recruits, and Van Rensselaer considered the militiamen's drill and discipline superior to that of the regulars. The Americans had twelve boats, each of which could carry thirty men, and two large boats which could carry eighty men and which were fitted with platforms on which field guns or wagons could be carried. A last-minute squabble over seniority and precedence led to the command of the first landing party being split. Colonel Van Rensselaer led the militia contingent and Lieutenant Colonel John Chrystie of the 13th U.S. Infantry led the regulars.
The Battle of Queenston Heights by eyewitness James B. Dennis, depicts the American landing on 13 October 1812. The village of Queenston is in the right foreground, with Queenston Heights behind. Lewiston is in the left foreground
The Americans began crossing the river in thirteen boats at 4 a.m. on 13 October. Three boats, including Chrystie's, were swept downstream by the current. One landed lower down and the other two under Chrystie returned to the American side of the river. Ten minutes after they began the crossing, the remaining ten boats under Colonel van Rensselaer began landing at the village.[23] A sentry noticed them and, rather than fire his musket to raise the alarm and thus warn the American troops that they had been spotted, ran to Dennis' headquarters. After waiting and observing the enemy landing build up for several minutes, Dennis' troops began firing rolling, accurate volleys into the Americans in the midst of their coming ashore, firing low so as to inflict debilitating wounds.[26] Colonel Van Rensselaer was hit in the thigh by a musket ball as soon as he stepped out of his boat on the Canadian shore. As he tried to form up his troops, he was promptly hit five more times in the heel, thighs and calf, and though he survived, he spent most of the battle out of action, weak from loss of blood.[26] Captain John E. Wool of the 13th U.S. Infantry took over and fought to retain the American foothold in Queenston.
Meanwhile, the British guns opened fire in the direction of the American landing stage at Lewiston, and the American guns (two 18-pounder guns in an earthwork named "Fort Gray" on Lewiston Heights, two 6-pounder field guns and two 5.5-inch (140 mm) mortars near the landing stage) opened fire on Queenston village.[23] Dennis' troops were driven back into the village but kept firing from the shelter of the houses.
As the light grew, the British guns became more accurate. As a second wave of six American boats began to cross the river, the crews of three of them, including their two largest, one of which was carrying Lieutenant-Colonel Chrystie, panicked as they came under fire. Chrystie's pilot turned the boat back for shore, despite Chrystie's efforts to restrain him. This later caused controversy when Captain Lawrence, commanding the next boat following, asserted Chrystie had ordered him to retreat, leading to accusations of cowardice.[27] One of the four remaining boats was sunk by fire from a 3-pound Grasshopper and a trio of others, carrying Lieutenant-Colonel John Fenwick (formerly the commandant at Fort Niagara) and 80 men, drifted downstream and landed in Hamilton Cove, a hollow about 800 yards downriver, where a detachment of York and Lincoln Militia quickly surrounded Fenwick's men. A blistering fire was opened upon the U.S. infantry; Fenwick was grievously wounded in the face by a pistol shot, also receiving musket balls in his thigh and right side - his cloak was riddled with nine additional balls.[28] Their boats' hulls perforated with musket fire, and most of their comrades killed or wounded within minutes, all the other survivors of Fenwick's party quickly surrendered.[29][25] Three men managed to escape in one boat, which sank on reaching the American side of the river. The last boat drifted within easy range of the gun at Vrooman's Point and its occupants surrendered.
Death of Isaac Brock
At Fort George, Brock had been awakened by the noise of the artillery at Queenston. As he considered this might only be a diversion, he ordered only a few detachments to move to Queenston but galloped there himself, accompanied by a few aides. He passed through the village as dawn broke, being cheered by the men of the 49th, many of whom knew him well, and moved up to the redan to gain a better view.[30]
The 18-pounder cannon and the howitzer[21] in the redan were causing great carnage amongst the American boats. Since coming ashore an hour-and-a-half earlier,[31] the U.S. forces had been pinned down along the river. Prompted by Lieutenant Gansevoort of the U.S. Artillery, who knew the area well, the wounded Colonel Solomon Van Rensselaer ordered Captains Wool and Ogilvie to take a detachment upstream "and ascend the heights by the point of the rock, and storm the battery".[32] The redan had very few troops guarding it, the light company of the 49th having been ordered from the heights into the town by Brock to join the fighting in the village in support of the grenadier company.[33] Wool's troops attacked just after Brock arrived, forcing his small party and the artillerymen to flee into the village, after quickly spiking the guns. Brock sent a message to Major General Sheaffe at Fort George, ordering him to bring as many troops as possible to Queenston. He then resolved to recapture the redan immediately rather than wait for reinforcements.[34]
General Brock leading the charge. Brock was later killed in action, leading the right flank towards the top of Queenston Heights
Brock's charge was made by Dennis' and Williams' two companies of the 49th and two companies of militia.[29] The assault was halted by heavy fire and as he noticed unwounded men dropping to the rear, Brock shouted angrily that "This is the first time I have ever seen the 49th turn their backs![35][36] Surely the heroes of Egmont will not tarnish their record!"[36] At this rebuke, the ranks promptly closed up and were joined by two more companies of militia, those of Cameron and Heward. Brock saw that the militia supports were lagging behind at the foot of the hill and ordered one of his Provincial aides-de-camp, Lieutenant Colonel John Macdonell, to "Push on the York Volunteers" while he led his own party to the right, presumably intending to join his party with that of Williams' detachment who were beginning to make progress on that flank.[35]
Brock was struck in the wrist of his sword arm by a musket ball but pressed home the attack he was directing. His height and energetic gestures, together with his officer's uniform and a gaudy sash given to him eight weeks earlier by Tecumseh after the Siege of Detroit,[34] made him a conspicuous target. He was shot down by an unknown American who stepped forward from a thicket and fired at a range of barely fifty yards. The ball struck Brock in the chest, killing him almost instantly.[37] His body was carried from the field and secreted in a nearby house at the corner of Queenston Street and Partition Street, diagonally opposite that of Laura Secord.[38]
Despite being a lawyer by trade with little military experience, Lieutenant-Colonel Macdonell led a second attempt, together with Williams, to retake the redan.[39] With Williams' men of the 49th starting from brush to the right of the line near the escarpment and Macdonell's anchoring the left, the force of between 70 and 80 men (more than half of whom were militia) advanced toward the redan. Wool had been reinforced by more troops who had just made their way up the path to the top of the Heights, and Macdonell faced some four hundred troops.
Despite the disadvantage in numbers as well as attacking a fixed position, Williams' and Macdonell's small force was driving the opposing force to the edge of the gorge on which the redan was situated, and seemed on the verge of success before the Americans were able to regroup and stand firm. The battle's momentum turned when a musket ball hit Macdonell's mount, causing it to rear and twist around, and another shot hit him in the small of the back, causing him to fall from the horse.[40] He was removed from the battlefield but succumbed to his injuries early the next day. Captain Williams was laid low by a wound to the head, and Dennis by a severe wound to the thigh (although he continued to lead his detachment throughout the action).[41] Carrying Macdonnell and the body of Brock, the British fell back through Queenston to Durham's Farm a mile north near Vrooman's Point.[42]
According to legend, Brock's last words were "Push on, brave York Volunteers", but this is very unlikely, since Brock was not with them when he fell. Moreover, the wound's location (as seen on his coat, which is on display at the Canadian War Museum) suggests Brock died almost instantly, without time to speak. According to historian J. Mackay Hitsman, Brock's earlier command to push on the York Volunteers, who had just arrived from Queenston, was transformed into the later legend.[34]
Movements, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
By 10 a.m., the Americans were opposed only by the 24-pounder at Vrooman's Point which was firing at the American boats at very long range. The Americans were able to push several hundred fresh troops and a 6-pounder field gun across the river. They unspiked the 18-pounder in the redan and used it to fire into Queenston village, but it had a limited field of fire away from the river. Some American soldiers entered Queenston village and looted some houses. They also rescued Lieutenant Colonel Fenwick and other survivors from his party, but did not attempt to drive Dennis from his position near Vrooman's Point.[43]
Lt Col Winfield Scott was instructed to take command of the American forces that captured Queenston Heights earlier in the day. Scott was later captured at the end of the battle.
Colonel Chrystie briefly took charge of the troops on the Canadian side but returned to Lewiston to collect reinforcements and entrenching tools. At about noon, General van Rensselaer and Chrystie crossed to the Canadian side of the river. They ordered the position on Queenston Heights to be fortified. Lieutenant Joseph Gilbert Totten of the U.S. Engineers traced out the position of the proposed fortifications. Van Rensselaer appointed Lieutenant Colonel Winfield Scott of the 2nd U.S. Artillery to take command of the regulars on Queenston Heights. Brigadier General William Wadsworth, who was nominally present as a volunteer[43] and who waived his right to overall command, took charge of the militia. There were few complete formed units; there was only a collection of unorganised detachments, some without their officers. Likewise some officers had crossed but their men had not followed them. Little more than a thousand of General Van Rensselaer's men had crossed the Niagara River.
Meanwhile, British reinforcements had begun to arrive from Fort George. A detachment of the Royal Artillery (a "car brigade", with draught horses and drivers provided by Canadian farmers and militia)[44] under Captain William Holcroft with two 6-pounder guns moved into Queenston village, supported by a company of the 41st under Captain Derenzy. Militia Captain Alexander Hamilton guided them to a firing position in the courtyard of Hamilton's house. When they opened fire at 1 p.m., it once again became hazardous for the American boats to attempt to cross the river. Two American boats and a scow were sunk, and shrapnel fire several times silenced the American batteries in Lewiston.[45]
At the same time, 300 Mohawk[44] warriors under Captains John Norton and John Brant climbed up to the top of the heights and suddenly fell on Scott's outposts. None were killed, and the Mohawk force was driven back into some woods, but the Americans' spirits were badly affected by their fear of the natives. Warcries could be clearly heard in Lewiston, and militia waiting there to cross the river refused to do so.[46]
Sheaffe's attack
Sheaffe arrived at Queenston at 2 p.m. and took charge of the British troops. He ordered yet more reinforcements to join him, and when they had done so, he led his force on a 3 miles (4.8 km) detour to the Heights, shielding them from the American artillery. Here, he was joined by another column of reinforcements from Chippawa under Captain Richard Bullock of the 41st. In all, he commanded over 800 men. In addition to the remnants of the force which had been engaged under Brock in the morning, he had five companies of the 41st and seven of militia (including Captain Runchey's Company of Coloured Men), with two 3-pounder guns, belonging to Swayze's Provincial Artillery (a militia unit) but commanded by Lieutenant Crowther of the 41st.
Arriving at Queenston at 2 p.m., shortly after Brock's death, Major General Roger Hale Sheaffe took charge of the remaining British regulars, Canadian militiamen, and Mohawk warriors.
General Van Rensselaer determined at this point to re-cross to Lewiston to push forward reinforcements and munitions. Refugees and stragglers crowded into his boat and nearly capsized it.[47] In Lewiston, he found that the troops had dissolved into a disorderly crowd[48] and was unable to cajole any more of the militia into crossing the river. He then tried to induce the civilian boatmen to cross the river and retrieve his soldiers from Canada, but they refused even that. The General reported the next day that, "...to my utter astonishment, I found that at the very moment when complete victory was in our hands, the ardor of the unengaged troops had entirely subsided. I rode in all directions – urged men by every consideration to pass over – but in vain."[49] He sent a message to Brigadier General Wadsworth which left the decision whether to stand and fight or withdraw across the Niagara to him, promising to send boats if the decision was made to withdraw.[50]
As Sheaffe's force began to advance, Scott and Wadsworth received Van Rensselaer's message. At this point, according to Scott, the effective American force on the heights consisted of 125 regular infantry, 14 artillerymen and 296 militiamen.[50] The Americans decided to abandon their incomplete field works and withdraw. Scott fell back to the top of the heights where he attempted to throw up a barricade of fence rails and brushwood to cover the evacuation with his regulars. He placed the 6-pounder gun in front of the line, and posted some riflemen on the right among the huts formerly occupied by the light company of the 49th.
Sheaffe took his time forming his men up and preparing them for battle and attacked at 4 p.m., twelve hours after Van Rensselaer launched his assault. The first attack was made by the light company of the 41st with 35 militia and some Native Americans against the riflemen on Scott's right. After firing a volley, they charged with the bayonet, forcing the riflemen to give way in confusion.[51] Sheaffe immediately ordered a general advance, and the entire British line fired a volley, raised the Indian war-whoop and charged. The American militia, hearing the Mohawk war-cries and believing themselves doomed, retreated en masse and without orders. Cursing the men who would not cross the river, General Wadsworth surrendered at the edge of the precipice with 300 men. Scott, Totten and some others scrambled down the steep bank to the edge of the river. With no boats arriving to evacuate his men and with the Mohawk warriors furious over the deaths of two chiefs, Scott feared a massacre and surrendered to the British. The first two officers who tried to surrender were killed by Native Americans, and after Scott had personally waved a white flag (actually Totten's white cravat), excited Natives continued to fire from the heights into the crowd of Americans on the river bank below for several minutes.[50]
Once the surrender was made, Scott was shocked to see 500 militiamen, who had been hiding around the heights, emerging to surrender also.
Casualties
The British official casualty return gave 14 killed, 77 wounded and 21 missing, with the loss of Norton's Native Americans not included.[52] Historian Robert Malcomson has demonstrated this computation to be in error and shows that the British and Canadian losses were 16 killed, 83 wounded and 21 captured, with a further 5 killed, 2 wounded and 1 captured among the Native American contingent.[3] This gives a total loss of 21 killed, 85 wounded and 22 captured. Among the wounded Canadians was James Secord, husband of Laura Secord.
The number of Americans killed in the battle has been variously estimated at 60,[4] 90[53] and 100.[5] 82 severely wounded Americans were evacuated across the Niagara before the surrender, of whom 2 soon died.[6] 955 Americans were initially captured by the British, including 120 severely wounded officers and men. This was more than the hospital at Niagara could accommodate, so some of them had to be cared for in the court house or in nearby churches. These were only the men who were badly injured enough to require hospitalization: the numbers of the walking wounded, who were seen by the British surgeons and then kept with the other prisoners, have not been recorded. Of the severely wounded prisoners, 30 soon died,[7] so by the time a full report on the prisoners was issued on 15 October, there were 19 officers and 417 enlisted men of the U.S. regulars and 54 officers and 435 other ranks of the New York Militia.[8] The 80 surviving wounded in the American hospital and the 90 surviving wounded prisoners were presumably the basis for General Van Rensselaer's statement, in a letter to Dearborn on 20 October, that "the aggregate" of his information would indicate that 170 Americans had been wounded in the battle.[4] This gives total American casualties of 60–100 killed, 80 wounded, 90 wounded prisoners and 835 other prisoners. 6 officers (4 regular and 2 militia) were among the killed; 11 officers (6 regular and 5 militia) were among the wounded who escaped capture and 8 officers (4 regular and 4 militia) were among the wounded prisoners. Those captured included Brigadier General William Wadsworth of the New York Militia, Lieutenant Colonel Scott and four other lieutenant-colonels.[54] A 6-pounder gun and the colours of a New York Militia regiment were also captured.
Aftermath
Sheaffe immediately proposed a temporary truce and invited Van Rensselaer to send surgeons to assist in treating the wounded. Having assented, General Van Rensselaer resigned immediately after the battle and was succeeded as senior officer on the Niagara by Alexander Smyth, the officer whose insolence had badly injured the invasion attempt. Smyth still had his regulars at Buffalo but refused to launch an attack until he had 3,000 men under his command. He launched a successful raid to prepare the ground for a full-scale invasion at the Battle of Frenchman's Creek but then bungled two attempts to cross the river near Fort Erie and drew the loathing of his soldiers. Universally castigated for his refusal to attack and with rumours of mutiny in the air, Smyth slipped away to his home in Virginia rather than remain at his post.
Brig Gen Alexander Smyth, the officer who refused to support Van Rensselaer's attack, succeeded him as the senior American officer on the Niagara, after the latter's resignation.
At Albany, the defeat of Van Rensselaer only increased Henry Dearborn's reluctance to act. With two armies already defeated, Dearborn was not keen on leading the third. He led a half-hearted advance as far as Odelltown, where his militia refused to proceed further. After his regulars were easily repulsed by the garrison of an outpost at Lacolle Mills, Dearborn retired to American territory. He would be replaced the following year with only minor successes to his credit.
The question of who was to blame for the defeat was one that was never resolved. Stephen Van Rensselaer's popularity remained high enough that he was able to make an unsuccessful attempt to unseat Daniel Tompkins as Governor of New York, and he later served in the United States House of Representatives. General John Armstrong, Jr., the Secretary of War for much of the war, pinned the blame on General Van Rensselaer in his Notices of the War of 1812, published after the war. This provoked an indignant response from Solomon Van Rensselaer, who compared Armstrong to Benedict Arnold and laid the blame squarely on Lieutenant-Colonel Chrystie (who had died of natural causes in July 1813), who he accused of cowardice and said "to his failure may mainly be attributed all our disasters."[27]
The loss of General Brock was nevertheless a major blow to the British. Brock had inspired his own troops and the militia and civilian authorities in Upper Canada by his blustering confidence and activity. Sheaffe, his successor, received a baronetcy for his part in the victory but could not command the same respect. He was already known to many of the troops in Upper Canada as a harsh disciplinarian. His success where Brock had rashly sacrificed himself could not help him escape censure for not having followed up the victory at Queenston Heights with an attack on Fort Niagara (which had been left virtually evacuated by its garrison after a bombardment from British batteries that afternoon).[55] The following April, he was defeated by a numerically superior American force at the Battle of York. Although his decision to retreat with his few regulars was accepted by his superiors (and his American opponents) to be correct in military terms, it left the local militia, the Assembly of Upper Canada and the population of York feeling abandoned and aggrieved. He was relieved of his appointments in Upper Canada.
Legacy
A 56 metres (184 ft) column, known as Brock's Monument was constructed atop Queenston Heights in order to commemorate the battle as well as General Isaac Brock.
A 56-metre (185 ft) column atop Queenston Heights in Queenston, Ontario, Canada, known as Brock's Monument, commemorates the battle as well as the memory of the British General who died there.
The song "MacDonell on the Heights", by Stan Rogers, commemorates the role of John MacDonell in the battle.
The Battle Honour "Queenstown" was awarded to two British Regiments in the aftermath of the war: the 41st and 49th Regiments, whose successor units in the modern British Army are the Royal Welsh and the Rifles Regiments.
In the Canadian Army, the Lincoln and Welland Regiment, the 56th Field Artillery Regiment, RCA, the Queen's York Rangers the Royal Hamilton Light Infantry, and The Lorne Scots perpetuate the history and heritage of Canadian militia units that took part in the battle. These regiments also carry the Queenston Heights Battle Honour.
The Ontario Highway 405 that connects the Queenston-Lewiston Bridge to the Queen Elizabeth Way is named the General Brock Parkway.
Many songs have been written about the battle. In 1959, as an answer to "The Battle of New Orleans", then a hit record by Johnny Horton, Toronto radio station CHUM recorded "The Battle of Queenston Heights", with DJ Mike Darow on lead vocals.[56] Credited to "Mike Darow and the CHUMs", the number became a regional hit in its own right, reaching the top twenty on CHUM's own chart.[57]
Multiple streets, avenues, roads and a university in Ontario are named after Major-General Brock, as is the city of Brockville in the province.