The Ernie Fox Quay at the foot of Apple Street, south of Water Street, Brockville
Commemoration
On the night of February 6-7, 1813, Major Benjamin Forsyth of the United States Army, with a detachment of regulars and militia numbering about 200 men, crossed the frozen St. Lawrence River from Morristown, N.Y., and attacked Brockville. The village was garrisoned by a company of Leeds Militia who, taken by surprise, could offer no resistance. The invaders released prisoners from the jail, took a quantity of arms, horses and cattle, and carried off a number of residents. The resentment aroused by this raid led to the successful British attack on Ogdensburg, N.Y., February 22, 1813.
Background
At the time of the attack, Brockville was still known as Elizabethtown. As a result of this raid, Forsyth received a promotion to brevet lieutenant colonel.
Before the War of 1812, Elizabethtown and Morristown would have been neighbours and done business across the river. But, like the Revolution a half century before, this “second revolution” tore apart the fabric of peaceful society.