[8] Vincent sent his deputy assistant adjutant general, Lieutenant Colonel John Harvey, to reconnoitre the American position.

Harvey recommended a night attack, reporting that "the enemy's guards were few and negligent; his line of encampment was long and broken; his artillery was feebly supported; several of his corps were placed too far to the rear to aid in repelling a blow which might be rapidly struck in front".

[17] Snider was confusing Harvey with Colonel Murray, June 1813 with December 1813 and Stoney Creek with Youngstown near Fort Niagara.

Snider makes several obvious errors, such as "the British General St. Vincent was found some days after wandering about in the woods nearly dead of hunger."

While Vincent was the senior officer present, the troops were placed under the conduct and direction of Lieutenant Colonel Harvey, who led them silently toward Stoney Creek.

However at the repeated urging of Second Lieutenant Ephraim Shaler, the U.S. 25th Regiment which had earlier been camped there had been moved from their previous exposed position, leaving behind only the cooks who were preparing the troops' meal for the next day.

[19] Shaler had returned to the original position when he heard a sentry cry out as he was being tomahawked after being shot with an arrow from one of John Norton's small band of First Nations warriors.

[19] Their men took up the cheer, relieving their tension but depriving them of the element of surprise that was their primary advantage given the lopsided number of troops they faced.

Lieutenant James Fitzgibbon and three sergeants of the Light Company of the 49th were able to keep their men from taking up the shout "until a late stage of the affair, when firing on our side became general".

[23] Major Charles Plenderleath, commanding the British 49th Regiment, was able to ascertain the position of the American artillery when two field guns fired in quick succession (43°13′07″N 79°45′52″W / 43.218493°N 79.764344°W / 43.218493; -79.764344).

With bayonets fixed, Plenderleath led the charge up Gage's Lane, volunteers following at a run, all fearing that the next discharge from the cannons might annihilate them.

However, the U.S. 2nd Artillery under the command of Captain Nathaniel Towson at that moment responded to an order to cease firing,[24] unaware of the British troops advancing on their position.

[24] They set upon the helpless gunners, bayoneting man and horse, quickly overrunning and capturing the position[25] before continuing on to engage the U.S. 23rd Infantry which got off one round before the momentum of the 49th scattered them.

Thinking himself to be among the U.S. 23rd Infantry and intending to bring order back to the "new and undisciplined" troops,[28] he realised to his horror that the soldiers were British and Alexander Fraser immediately took him prisoner at bayonet point.

[1] They later watched from a distance as the Americans returned to their camp after daybreak, burned their provisions and tents and retreated toward Forty Mile Creek (present day Grimsby, Ontario).

He had been injured after a fall from his horse during the battle and was found wandering in a state of confusion, convinced that the entire British force had been destroyed.

[4] The American casualty return for 6 June gave 17 killed, 38 wounded, and 7 officers (2 brigadier-generals, 1 major, 3 captains and 1 lieutenant) and 93 enlisted men missing.

Under the de facto leadership of Colonel Harvey, and with some good fortune, they had successfully forced the Americans back toward the Niagara River.

At Forty Mile Creek, the retreating American troops were met by reinforcements under Dearborn's second-in-command, Major General Morgan Lewis.

The American armed vessels under Commodore Isaac Chauncey had abruptly vanished when they heard that Yeo and troops under Lieutenant General Sir George Prevost had attacked their own base at Sackett's Harbor, New York.

With Yeo threatening his communications, which ran for 40 miles (64 km) along the edge of the lake, Lewis decided to retreat at once to Fort George, leaving a large quantity of tents, arms and supplies for the British to acquire.

It was unveiled following a signal given by Queen Mary in England, via the transatlantic telegraph cable, and commemorates British soldiers who died in the fight.

[41] The battle is commemorated in the song "Billy Green" from the 1999 album From Coffee House to Concert Hall by Canadian folk singer Stan Rogers.