town. For his prompt action, Vincent was of-
ficially commended by Governor-General
George Prevost,who the following Febru-
ary promoted him to brigadier general.
Vincent arrived at Niagara in the spring of
1813 to replace the ailing Roger Hale
Sheaffe. He was tasked with defending the
entire Niagara Peninsula from invasion with
only 1,900 soldiers and militia, divided be-
tween himself, Lt. Col. John Harvey, and Lt.
Col. Christopher Myers. Vincent warily ob-
served the construction of batteries at Fort
Niagara across the river, as he well under-
stood that this event presaged an eventual in-
vasion. On May 27, 1813, Chauncey’s fleet em-
barked the army of Gen. Henry Dearborn at
Fort Niagara and sailed over to the Canadian
side. Vincent, who pondered which route the
Americans would take, had previously con-
centrated his forces along the Niagara River.
As an armada of rowboats, carrying nearly
2,500 soldiers, beat to shore, the general hur-
riedly redeployed his men on the beach to
repel them. They were met with a concen-
trated barrage from cannons aboard the fleet
and from Fort Niagara and suffered heavy
losses. Vincent nonetheless strongly con-
tested the landing, headed by Gen. Winfield
Scott and Lt. Col. Benjamin Forsyth. After a
stout fight, numbers finally prevailed, and Vin-
cent ordered a headlong retreat to the south.
“I could not consider myself justified in con-
tinuing so unequal a contest,” he wrote Pre-
vost. This was accomplished so rapidly that
the women and children of soldiers belonging
to the 49th Regiment were abandoned at the
fort. A prompt pursuit might have ensnared
Vincent’s entire force, but Scott was ordered
by the timid Dearborn to halt and return.
Vincent took his battered forces south to
Queenston Heights, then turned and marched
west into the Niagara Peninsula. He halted at
Burlington Heights to rest, regroup, and await
developments. The region was now finally in
American hands, but not entirely secure as
long as British forces were still intact. There-
fore, in June Dearborn dispatched two
brigades under Gens. John Chandler and
William H. Winder in a tardy pursuit. They
marched as far as Stoney Creek on June 5,
1813, and carelessly encamped for the night.
Vincent, meanwhile, pondered his options. If
he retreated back to Kingston, the entire
peninsula would be lost for good. Further-
more, forces further west commanded by
Gen. Henry Proctor at Detroit would be
summarily cut off and captured. The only vi-
able option seemed to be a sudden, violent
counterattack to discourage a further ad-
vance. To this end, he dispatched Colonel
Harvey to reconnoiter the American camp,
which he daringly accomplished, reporting
back that enemy dispositions were disjointed
and inviting attack. This was all the encour-
agement Vincent needed, and he authorized
Harvey, who was familiar with the ground, to
lead the charge. That night, asserted by the
local Canadian scout Billy Green, a British
column of 700 soldiers departed Burlington
Heights and made for Stoney Creek—10 miles
away. During these deliberations, word was
also received of Vincent’s promotion to major
general.
On the morning of June 6, 1813, Harvey led
a stealthy advance directly into the sleeping
American camp. Although surprised, the
Americans recovered and fought back
gamely, inflicting heavy losses on the British.
Harvey finally retreated at daybreak, but not
before capturing Chandler, Winder, and 100
prisoners. Bereft of high command, the lead-
erless American force fell back to Fort
George, with Harvey in pursuit. Vincent,
meanwhile, had missed most of these pro-
ceedings, as he sustained a heavy fall from his
horse and was lost for several hours in the
dark. He finally stumbled into camp the fol-
lowing noon. However, his gamble, born of
strategic desperation, stopped the Americans
cold. Vincent then established several strong
outposts in and around Fort George to watch
enemy movements. One of these, commanded
by Lt. James Fitzgibbon, became the object
of American attention later that month. A 500-
man force under Lt. Col. Charles Boerstler
was directed to attack DeCou House, whereVINCENT, JOHN