Battle of Crysler's Farm
Near Morrisburg, on the St. Lawrence River, Ontario, Canada
What happened
A small British and Canadian force under Lieutenant Colonel Joseph Wanton Morrison fought an American army led in the field by Brigadier General John Parker Boyd. In the War of 1812, an American army moved down the St. Lawrence River to attack Montreal. On a farm beside the river, the British line held against the American attack and then counter-attacked. As darkness and storms set in, the Americans withdrew in disorder across the river.
Why it matters
Why it matters: Together with the defeat at Châteauguay, it ended the American threat to Montreal in 1813. The United States gave up its St. Lawrence campaign.
What came next
The American army went into winter quarters. A monument was put up on the battlefield in 1895, and it became a National Historic Site of Canada in 1920.
Did you know?
The battlefield now lies under water: it was flooded in 1958 by a dam built for the St. Lawrence Seaway, and its monument was moved to a park in Morrisburg.
Timeline
- 26 October 1813The Americans are defeated at Châteauguay.
- 11 November 1813The British win at Crysler's Farm.
- 1895A monument is put up on the battlefield.
- 1958The battlefield is flooded by the St. Lawrence Seaway project.