York, Battle of , was an important United States victory in the War of 1812 (1812-1815). In April 1813, United States forces captured York (now Toronto ), the capital of the British colony of Upper Canada. The explosion of Fort York’s magazine (store of gunpowder and ammunition) killed many of the American invaders, including Brigadier General Zebulon Pike . The Americans burned some of the city’s public buildings after the battle.
In 1793, the British established a city at York and named it the capital of Upper Canada. They built Fort York to protect the small city and its shipyard. British forces strengthened the fort’s defenses about 1811. In the spring of 1813, the fort’s defenders included about 400 British regular soldiers, nearly 500 militia (citizen soldiers), and more than 50 Mississauga and Ojibway warriors. At the start of the war, British officers believed that their superior naval strength on Lake Ontario protected the city from invasion. The Americans, however, launched an ambitious shipbuilding operation at Sackets Harbor, New York—their naval headquarters on the lake.
Fourteen U.S. vessels under the command of Commodore Isaac Chauncey sailed from Sackets Harbor on April 25, 1813, carrying nearly 1,800 soldiers. About dawn on April 27, American soldiers made landfall on the shoreline west of the fort. Major General Henry Dearborn , the leader of the Army forces, remained aboard a ship throughout the fighting. Brigadier General Pike led the American assault. (Pike had won fame for his 1806 sighting of what is now called Pikes Peak in the Rocky Mountains.) The British-allied forces slowed the American advance during the morning, but they retreated while under fire from American warships. By noon, Pike and his soldiers had advanced to within 200 feet (61 meters) from the fortified barracks that formed the main part of the fort. British Major General Sir Roger Hale Sheaffe ordered his regular soldiers to flee and left a small number of militiamen to surrender the fort. Sheaffe’s troops also burned the city’s shipyard to keep it out of enemy hands. Soon afterward, the fort’s magazine (store of gunpowder and ammunition) ignited, causing a devastating explosion. The blast killed about 40 Americans and wounded more than 200. Pike was seriously wounded by flying debris and died later in the day.
Military historians have long debated the cause of the explosion. Some believe the magazine was ignited by accident. Others believe that the explosion was triggered by a deliberately lit fuse, possibly under the direct orders of General Sheaffe.
United States losses in the battle totaled about 55 dead and more than 250 wounded. About 80 British-allied defenders were killed in the fighting, and about 100 were wounded. The Americans also took several hundred British-allied defenders prisoner. Following the battle, American troops burned some of the city’s public buildings and seized British supplies. The Americans then invaded the Canadian side of the Niagara River and captured Fort George. Attempts to advance farther were stopped by British victories at Stoney Creek and Beaver Dams in June. The Americans returned to York in July and burned more buildings.
