Some of the fugitives braving the fire of the guns in the village, ran down the hill towards the landing; Scott, himself, and a number of others scrambled down the steep bank to the water’s edge, in the hope of finding the promised boats; Wadsworth and Chrystie, with more than five hundred oficers and men, surrendered on the verge of the cliff.
Meanwhile the fire of Holcroft’s artillery had rendered the passage of the river so dangerous, that the boatmen positively refused to undertake it, and dispersed. As no boats were waiting to receive them, a few desperate men plunged into the river and attempted to swim across, of whom some perished; the remainder tried to secrete themselves among the rocks and thickets along the shore. The Indians lined the cliffs above, or perched themselves in the trees whooping incessantly, and firing at the fugitives whenever an opportunity offered. Under these circumstances Scott was glad to raise a white flag in the hope of preserving the lives of the rest of his command. For a few minutes, even after this was done, the Indians continued their firing either not observing or disregarding this token of submission, until it is said that Sheaffe grew so indignant at their misconduct, that he dashed his hat and sword on the ground, and threatened that he would resign the command if they were not at once restrained. When this was accomplished, 290 officers and men surrendered there. Some yet evaded discovery, and forty were brought in next day, swelling the entire number of prisoners taken to an aggregate of 958, among whom there was one general, six colonels, three majors, seventeen captains and thirty-six subalterns.
The loss in killed and wounded cannot be exactly stated on either side. The British official return is missing, but is said to have footed up a total of only sixteen killed and sixty-nine wounded. It is doubtful whether the casualties among the militia were included in this. Two Cayuga chiefs and three warriors, whose names have been preserved were killed, and Norton himself and eight others wounded, although this loss was insignificant in point of number. The death of Gen. Brock was felt to be an almost irreparable blow, and by many of his opponents was considered to have fully compensated for their defeat. Besides him, Lieut-Col. McDonnell seems to have been the only British officer killed, and none but Captains Dennis and Williams appear to have been wounded.
No complete return of casualties was attempted by the Americans, probably owing to the immediate dispersal of a large portion of the militia. A week after the battle, Van Rensselaer stated officially that it would be impossible to furnish a complete statement, but estimated the number of killed at sixty, and of wounded at one hundred and seventy. It was but natural that he should be disposed to minimize his losses, and accordingly we find others inclined to believe them very much greater. Lossing and J. L. Thomson, neither of whom would be prone to exaggeration in this respect, agree in placing the number of killed at ninety, but diminish the number of wounded. Contemporary accounts generally put both still higher. Colonel Mead, a prisoner, estimated the killed and drowned at one hundred, and the wounded at twice that number, while Colonel Bloom, who was wounded but escaped capture, thought that a hundred were drowned alone, and three hundred killed and wounded. An eye witness whose letter was published in the Boston Messenger stated that 1600 Americans were engaged, of whom 900 were regulars, and that the number of killed was variously estimated from 150 up to 400. A letter in the Ontario Repository also from an eyewitness, computed the killed and missing at 250, while still another in the Geneva Gazette raised the number to 300. But a British officer writing from Fort George on the 17th of October, fairly distanced all others by the conjecture, that 500 of their men must have perished in the action, or in the river, relating in support of his opinion that one boat was seen to sink with about fifty men, while two others, each having as many on board, did not bring more than half a dozen ashore alive in either of them.
There can be no doubt that their loss was severe. A single company of the 13th, lost thirty men in killed or wounded, and four out of the five captains of that regiment engaged, were disabled by wounds. Three captains and three subalterns were killed, and besides those who were taken prisoners, two colonels, four captains, and five subalterns were wounded. There were one hundred and twenty wounded officers and men among the prisoners, thirty of whom died. The hospital at Niagara was filled, and the remainder laid in the courthouse and churches. One hundred and forty others had been removed before the surrender to Lewiston, and of these, not less than one hundred are related to have been buried within a month, many of them dying from flesh wounds through insufficient care.
Van Rensselaer’s failure was complete and disastrous. He had lost all his best
