The Battle of French Mills or First Salmon River Raid was a raid and battle fought on November 22, 1812. 100 American soldiers stationed at French Mills led a successful attack against 45 Canadian

voyageurs The voyageurs (; ) were 18th and 19th century French Canadians who engaged in the transporting of furs via canoe during the peak of the North American fur trade. The emblematic meaning of the term applies to places (New France, including the ' ...

on 22 October at the

Battle of St. Regis The Battle of St. Regis was a military skirmish during the War of 1812, occurring on October 22, 1812 on the Saint Lawrence River front at the U.S.–Canadian border. Two miles outside of St. Regis, 45 Canadian voyageurs were stationed in a ho ...

. Half returned to French Mills while the other half departed for

Plattsburgh, New York Plattsburgh ( moh, Tsi ietsénhtha) is a city in, and the seat of, Clinton County, New York, United States, situated on the north-western shore of Lake Champlain. The population was 19,841 at the 2020 census. The population of the surrounding ...

. In retribution, a mix of Canadian regulars and

militia A militia () is generally an army or some other fighting organization of non-professional soldiers, citizens of a country, or subjects of a state, who may perform military service during a time of need, as opposed to a professional force of r ...

amounting to 150 men attacked the 50 Americans at French Mills forcing their surrender.

Background

In early July 1812, the American soldiers began constructing a

blockhouse A blockhouse is a small fortification, usually consisting of one or more rooms with loopholes, allowing its defenders to fire in various directions. It is usually an isolated fort in the form of a single building, serving as a defensive stro ...

at French Mills on the

St. Lawrence River The St. Lawrence River (french: Fleuve Saint-Laurent, ) is a large river in the middle latitudes of North America. Its headwaters begin flowing from Lake Ontario in a (roughly) northeasterly direction, into the Gulf of St. Lawrence, connecting ...

.The Glengarry Light Infantry The 100 Americans at French Mills, commanded by Major

Guilford Dudley Young Guildford is a town in Surrey, England. It gives its name to the Borough of Guildford, the Diocese of Guildford and the Parliamentary constituency of Guildford. Guildford, Guilford, or Gildford may also refer to: Places Australia * Guildf ...

, launched an attack against 45 Canadian Voyageurs camped outside the village of St. Regis. Their purpose was to watch for American attacks as well as provide confidence to the Mohawks at St. Regis. The attack was a success killing 5 while capturing the remaining 40 at the Battle of St. Regis. After the battle 50 of the Americans departed for Plattsburgh New York while the other 50 returned to French Mills.

Action

A month after the attack on St. Regis a company of

Glengarry Light Infantry The Glengarry Light Infantry Fencibles were a light infantry unit, raised chiefly in the Glengarry District of Upper Canada shortly before the outbreak of the Anglo-American War of 1812. The unit fought throughout the war, and was disbanded shor ...

Fencibles, Stormont militia, Dundas Militia, and Glengarry Militia numbering 150 left

Cornwall, Ontario Cornwall is a city in Eastern Ontario, Canada, situated where the provinces of Central Canada, Ontario and Quebec and the state of New York (state), New York converge. It is the seat of the United Counties of Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry, Unit ...

for French Mills. They were under command of Lt. Col. Alex McMillan of the Glengarry Militia. In the middle of the night, they approached the Americans. The Americans, seeing they were heavily outnumbered, retreated to the blockhouse. They didn't fire their weapons allowing the Canadians to entirely surround them. Seeing the hopelessness of the situation the Americans surrendered.

Aftermath

The Canadians looted 4 river boats and 57

musket A musket is a muzzle-loaded long gun that appeared as a smoothbore weapon in the early 16th century, at first as a heavier variant of the arquebus, capable of penetrating plate armour. By the mid-16th century, this type of musket gradually d ...

s. All the muskets were broken in half and thrown into the St. Lawrence River. The American prisoners were escorted by the Glengarry company to

Fort Coteau-du-Lac A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facere'' ...

and from there to Montreal. They were released in an exchange for York Militiamen who had been captured by Americans.

References

Sources

* *{{cite web , url=https://glengarrylightinfantry.ca/the-battle-of-french-mills/ , title=The Battle of French Mills , last=Pudwell , first=Jesse , date=August 2009 , website=Glengarry Light Infantry Fencibles , access-date=2022-09-01 1812 in Canada 1812 in the United States Conflicts in 1812 Battles of the War of 1812 in New York (state) Battles involving the British Empire Battles involving the United States