Fort Wellington - The War of 1812

The War of 1812

Unusually for a fortification of its age in Ontario, Fort Wellington was never attacked. During the War of 1812, Prescott remained an important communications point.

The fort's guns and garrison saw action in November, 1813 when an American army under General Wilkinson descended the St. Lawrence River in an attempt to capture Montreal. Wilkinson feared Fort Wellington's guns enough that he unloaded his army upriver from Ogdensburg and marched it through the town at night while his boats slipped past, empty of passengers.

Once Wilkinson passed Ogdensburg, Prescott's garrison followed along the King's Highway (the modern Highway 2) along the north shore of the river. On November 11, 1813, the two armies fought the Battle of Crysler's Farm, near modern Morrisburg, Ontario. Wilkinson's army was decisively defeated by a much smaller British and Canadian force, and retreated across the River to Fort Covington, New York. The attack on Montreal was abandoned, and Canada saved.