Burning of Black Rock and Buffalo

The burning of Black Rock and Buffalo on 30 December 1813 was the culmination of the British retaliation for the American destruction of Newark (Niagara-on-the-Lake) three weeks earlier. A British force crossed the Niagara River, routed the defending militia, and systematically burned both towns — leaving the entire American shore of the Niagara in ruins.

The context is essential. On 10 December, the retreating American commander George McClure had ordered Newark burned, turning some 400 civilians out of their homes in midwinter. The British response was immediate and escalating. Fort Niagara was captured on 19 December. Lewiston was burned on the same day. Now Drummond authorised a major raid against the American towns at the southern end of the river.

Major General Phineas Riall crossed the Niagara with approximately 1,400 men — regulars from the 89th, Royal Scots, 8th, and 41st Foot, supported by militia and Indigenous warriors. The crossing was made before dawn on 30 December, with the troops landing near Black Rock.

Brigadier General Amos Hall had approximately 2,000 New York militia positioned to defend the shore. The militia offered brief resistance at the landing point but broke under the pressure of the British advance. Hall attempted to rally his men at Buffalo but found them “panic-struck and ungovernable,” as he later reported. The militia scattered into the countryside, leaving both towns undefended.

The British burned Black Rock and Buffalo systematically. Warehouses, barracks, shipyards, and private dwellings were destroyed. Four American vessels — including the schooner Trippe, captured at the Battle of Lake Erie — were burned at the Black Rock navy yard. The destruction was comprehensive: both towns were reduced to ashes.

British casualties were 31 killed and 72 wounded. American losses were approximately 70 killed and wounded, though precise figures are uncertain given the disorganised state of the militia.

By the end of December 1813, the balance of destruction on the Niagara was overwhelmingly in Britain’s favour. The Americans held nothing on the Canadian side of the river. The British held Fort Niagara on the American side and had burned every significant settlement on the American shore from Lewiston to Buffalo. The cycle of destruction that began with the American burning of Newark had produced consequences that fell far more heavily on the Americans than on the British.