strong position on Burlington Heights, having first spiked his guns and blown up his magazine. Fort George was now taken possession of by the Americans. While Chauncey was at Fort George, Sir George Prevost and Sir James Yeo, a naval officer just arrived from England, crossed the lake from Kingston with a large force and attacked Sackett’s Harbor, hoping to destroy the naval stores there. When on the point of success, Prevost withdrew his men, imagining the Americans were trying to entrap him. These disasters were more than balanced by two brilliant exploits, one at Stony Creek, near Hamilton, the other at Beaver Dams. At the former place, on the 4th of June, Colonel Harvey, of General Vincent's army, with seven hundred men, made a night attack on four thousand Americans who had advanced from Fort George to drive Vincent from his post on Burlington Heights. The attack was completely successful, the Americans taken by surprise, after a brief resistance, retreating hastily with the loss of four cannon, and one hundred and twenty prisoners, including two generals. At Beaver Dams (near the present town of Thorold), Lieutenant Fitzgibbon with a small force was stationed. General Dearborn hoped to surprise this post, and for that purpose sent six hundred men from Fort George, under Major Boerstler. A Canadian heroine, Mrs. Laura Secord, became aware of the plan, and set out on foot to warn the British of the intended attack. To avoid the American sentries she had to walk twenty miles, a journey that took all day, from early morning till sunset. Fitzgibbon, warned, made such a skilful arrangement of his few men in the woods, that the Americans thought they were surrounded by a large force, and, after a brief resistance, surrendered to only one half of their own number of men. The Americans were now, in turn, besieged in Fort George by Vincent and his small army.
Two serious disasters now befell the Canadians. Captain Barclay, with six British vessels, was defeated on Lake Erie by Commodore Perry, with nine American vessels; and this loss compelled Colonel Proctor and Tecumseh to abandon Detroit and retreat into Canada, as their supplies could no longer come to them by the lakes. Proctor was closely followed by General Harrison with a large force drawn from the west, many of them Kentucky riflemen accustomed to border warfare. Tecumseh urged Proctor to make a stand against the Americans, but Proctor continued his
