War Of 1812 69 Caliber Musket Ball & Canister Shot

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War Of 1812 69 Caliber Musket Ball & Canister Shot:
$31.01

The 69 caliber musket ball and the canister shot were found scuba diving in the Niagara River, across from old Ft. Erie, in Ft. Erie Ontario.

Fort Erie was the site of the bloodiest battlefield in the history of Canada. This new fort was unfinished when the United States declared war on June 18, 1812. Part of the garrison of Fort Erie fought at the Battle of Frenchman\'s Creek against an American attack in November 1812. In 1813, Fort Erie was held for a period by U.S. forces and then abandoned on June 9, 1813. The fort had been partially dismantled by the small garrison of British troops and Canadian militia as they withdrew.

British reoccupation followed American withdrawal from the area in December 1813. The British attempted to rebuild the fort. On July 3, 1814 another American force landed nearby and again captured Fort Erie. The U.S. Army used the fort as a supply base and expanded its size. At the end of July, after the Battles of Chippewa and Lundy’s Lane, the American army withdrew to Fort Erie and were besieged by the British. In the early hours of August 15, 1814, the British launched a four-pronged attack against the fortifications. A well-prepared American defence and an explosion in the North East Bastion destroyed the British chance for success with the loss of over 1,000 of their men.

An American sortie on September 17 captured two of the British batteries and the American troops were able to spike the guns in one of them before being driven back to the fort. Brevet Lieutenant Colonel Eleazer D. Wood was killed leading this sortie. Shortly afterward, the British lifted the siege and retired to positions to the north at Chippawa. After an unsuccessful American attack at Cook’s Mills, west of Chippawa, news reached the American forces that the Eastern seaboard of the U.S. was under attack. On the November 5, 1814, with winter approaching, the Americans destroyed the fort and withdrew to Buffalo. See Siege of Fort Erie.[1]

Aftermath of warThe Treaty of Ghent was signed December 24, 1814, ending the War of 1812. Fearing further American attacks, the British continued to occupy the ruined fort until 1823. Some of the stones from the fort were then incorporated into the construction of St. Paul’s Anglican Church in 1824, which stands today (rebuilt after fire and explosion in 1892[5]) on the Niagara Parkway 3km (1.9mi) north of the fort.