Many times, the folklore or oral history of a people or region is more interesting than the official printed account of times past. The history of Niagara County is no exception. While you probably won’t find the following in any historian’s treatise, the story is still retold by some War of 1812 enthusiasts, today.

As the county entered the 19th century, rumors of a second war with the British began to intensify with each military skirmish. Some children of the county took note from their elders and began to prepare for war in their own way. One group of lads that lived along the Niagara River organized their own company of “militia” in early 1812, and set about daily drills with stick “muskets” and marching along the river in strict military formation. With true Yankee ingenuity, the lads also fashioned ten hardwood canons and stationed them in a make-shift embrasure facing Canada. They then proceeded to make hundreds of two-inch canon balls out of mud and stacked them in military regulation pyramids next to the canons, all of which were in plain sight from the river.

The boys continued to drill night and day and awaited the right opportunity when their elders were away to stage a “real” attack. The right moment came one day when an English boat was sailing with a favorable wind up the river. The boys decided that this was their opportunity to contribute to the “war effort.” Loading the cannons with a good charge of black power and wadding followed by mud cannonballs, all was ready when the British ship reached the “battery.”

Alexander Millar, the boy in “command,” gave the signal to fire the canons and the mud balls began to rain down all around the British vessel. The ship’s commander ordered his men to move the ship out of range of this perceived threat and retreat down the river. The next day, a delegation of indignant English officers paid a visit to the American authorities and demanded to know why their ship had been fired upon and insisted upon a formal apology. When it was determined that the coupe had been pulled off by a group of boys with wooden canon and mud balls, the British were noticeably mortified, but still demanded an apology. Of course the parents of the boys made sure the lads gave a fitting apology and a promise of better behavior. The young “soldiers” also received an admonishment from the American forces and learned that given the state of tension between the two countries, their actions could have sparked an actual war. At any rate, perhaps spurred on by the boys’ earlier “attack,” history has properly recorded that the Americans did declare an actual war against the British, just a few months later on June 18, 1812.

Douglas Farley, Director
Erie Canal Discover Center
24 Church St.
Lockport NY 14094
716.439.0431
CanalDiscovery@aol.com
www.NiagaraHistory.org