Wednesday · November 11, 2026
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18141776 Club

Brown's troops take Fort Erie; garrison surrenders after only a few shots

Major Thomas Buck hands over the unfinished British post at the head of the Niagara River as Major General Jacob Brown pushes onto the frontier.

By the summer of 1814, the Niagara frontier had already changed hands twice, with American gains from 1813 squandered by a failure to follow up. On July 3, 1814, Major General Jacob Brown's troops moved on Fort Erie, an unfinished British post at the head of the Niagara River. Major Thomas Buck surrendered the garrison after only a few shots were fired. The fort would soon become the anchor for the bloodiest fighting of the Niagara campaign…

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