The Battle of Fort George was a military engagement during the War of 1812, occurring from May 25 to May 27, 1813. It took place at Fort George, a British post located on the western bank of the Niagara River in Upper Canada (present-day Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario).
The battle was a significant amphibious operation conducted by the United States against British forces. Following a heavy two-day artillery bombardment from both Fort Niagara and American naval vessels on Lake Ontario, U.S. forces launched a landing on May 27. The American contingent was commanded by Major General Henry Dearborn, with the landing force led by Colonel Winfield Scott and supported by a naval squadron under Commodore Isaac Chauncey.
The British garrison, commanded by Brigadier General John Vincent, was outnumbered. Despite initial resistance at the landing site, the British forces were unable to repel the American advance. To avoid being surrounded and captured, Vincent ordered his troops to spike their guns, destroy the fort's magazines, and retreat toward Burlington Heights.
The American victory resulted in the capture of Fort George and the temporary occupation of the Niagara Peninsula. This allowed U.S. forces to neutralize the British presence at the mouth of the Niagara River for several months. However, the American success was limited by the failure to pursue and destroy Vincent's retreating army, which later regrouped and countered the American advance at the Battle of Stoney Creek in June 1813. The U.S. military eventually abandoned Fort George in December 1813, at which point the British reoccupied and rebuilt the fortifications.
