Engagement at Conjocta Creek

The engagement at Conjocta Creek (also called Black Creek), fought on 3 August 1814, was a rearguard action during the American retreat from the Lundy’s Lane battlefield to the safety of Fort Erie. It was a minor action in terms of casualties but significant as the moment when Drummond’s pursuit confirmed that the American invasion of 1814, like its predecessors, was ending in withdrawal.

Following the appalling carnage at Lundy’s Lane on 25 July, the American force under the wounded Major General Brown had retreated first to Chippawa and then toward Fort Erie at the southern end of the Niagara River. Drummond pursued with approximately 1,200 regulars, intent on maintaining pressure and preventing the Americans from establishing a new offensive position.

At Conjocta Creek, Brigadier General Eleazer Ripley’s rearguard had destroyed the bridge and positioned troops to cover the crossing. Drummond’s advance guard, arriving at the creek, found the bridge demolished and the opposite bank defended. A sharp exchange of fire ensued as British troops attempted to ford the creek under fire.

The action lasted several hours but was not pressed to a conclusion. Drummond, recognising that forcing the crossing against prepared positions would be costly, contented himself with confirming that the American retreat was genuine and continuing. The Americans completed their withdrawal to Fort Erie, where they would be besieged for the next two months.

British casualties were 7 killed and 20 wounded; American losses were 8 killed and 14 wounded. The numbers were modest, but the engagement’s significance lay in what it confirmed: the American offensive in Upper Canada was over. The army that had crossed the Niagara with such confidence in early July, that had won at Chippawa and fought to a bloody standstill at Lundy’s Lane, was now retreating to a defensive position from which it would eventually depart Canadian soil entirely.