Giving the inhabitants only a few hours' notice, he turned them out into the cold winter night and burned all but one of the hundred and fifty or so buildings to the ground.

Another force under Major General Phineas Riall raided the American side of the lower Niagara River, destroying the villages of Lewiston, Youngstown, Manchester, Tuscarora and the small military post and surrounding settlement of Fort Schlosser.

He delegated Lieutenant Colonel John Gordon and the Royal Scots to land at Black Rock itself in order to attack the Americans from a different direction.

He ordered a detachment under Lieutenant Colonel Blakeslee to attack the British left and advanced toward Black Rock with the rest of his men.

[11] As dawn broke, Hall directed "a very heavy fire of cannon and musketry" at Gordon's Royal Scots as they tried to land at Black Rock.

Gordon was supported by the fire of a five-gun battery but several of his boats grounded and his regiment incurred substantial casualties before they could force their way ashore.

[10] Riall now advanced with his main body against Hall's center, sending a detachment from his left wing to hit the American right flank.

[17] On January 22, 1814, Lieutenant General Sir George Prevost, British Commander-in-Chief in North America, issued a proclamation in which he expressed his regret that "the miseries inflicted upon the inhabitants of Newark" had necessitated such retaliation.