Battle of River Canard 1812
Recorded location from Wikidata; battle sites are often approximate.
Key facts
| Date | 16 July 1812 | Wikidata |
|---|---|---|
| Year | 1812 | Wikidata P585 (point in time) |
| Era | 19th century (1800–1913) | derived from year |
| Location | Canada | Natural Earth (modern borders) |
| Continent | North America | Natural Earth |
| War / conflict | War of 1812 | Wikidata P361 |
| Participants | United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United States | Wikidata P710 |
| Coordinates | 42.1884, -83.0925 | Wikidata P625 |
About the battle
The Battle of River Canard (French Bataille de Rivière aux Canards) was an engagement between British and American forces on July 16, 1812, during the War of 1812. Although it is called the "Battle" of River Canard, it should be thought of as a series of skirmishes. The battle was the first engagement on Canadian soil after war between Britain and the United States was declared on June 18.
On July 12, 1812, Brigadier General William Hull crossed the Detroit River and occupied the village of Sandwich in Upper Canada, 16 miles (26 km) upriver of the British naval base and fort at Amherstburg. On July 16, Hull ordered 280 men under Colonel Lewis Cass and Lieutenant Colonel James Miller to reconnoitre south 12 miles (19 km) to the bridge over the Canard River.
The bridge over the Canard River was held by a small detachment of the 41st Regiment of Foot supported by a group of Menominee that had arrived at Amherstburg days earlier. Cass decided to ford the river upstream of the bridge and attack the enemy's flank while Miller would keep the British at the bridge pinned down by steady fire. The British, however, recognized the danger and pulled back from the bridge, leaving two soldiers, James Hancock and John Dean to form a rearguard.
Text adapted from the Wikipedia article Battle of River Canard (revision 1370587579), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: excerpted from the article lead section; shortened by selecting paragraphs and trimming at a sentence boundary; formatting and citations removed. No text added.
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