27 April 1813 A.D. TORONTO, ONT: Falls to U.S. Forces

27 April 1813 A.D. TORONTO, ONT: Falls to U.S. Forces

Editors. “1813 – American troops capture the capital of Upper Canada in the Battle of York (present day Toronto, Canada).” This Day in U.S. Military History. N.d. https://thisdayinusmilhist.wordpress.com/2014/04/27/april-27/. Accessed 24 Apr 2015.

1813 – American troops capture the capital of Upper Canada in the Battle of York (present day Toronto, Canada). The Battle of York was fought in York (present-day Toronto), the capital of the province of Upper Canada (present-day Ontario), between United States forces and the British defenders of York during the War of 1812. U.S. forces under Zebulon Pike were able to defeat the defenders of York, comprising a British-led force under the command of Roger Hale Sheaffe, combined with a small group of Ojibway allies. An American force supported by a naval flotilla landed on the lake shore to the west, defeated the defending British force and captured the fort, town and dockyard. The Americans themselves suffered heavy casualties, including Brigadier General Zebulon Pike who was leading the troops, when the retreating British blew up the fort’s magazine. The American forces subsequently carried out several acts of arson and looting in the town before withdrawing. Though the Americans won a clear victory, it did not have decisive strategic results as York was a less important objective in military terms than Kingston, where the British armed vessels on Lake Ontario were based.