Because American troops were already concentrated at Buffalo and Black Rock, the attack was to be launched across the southern part of the Niagara frontier.

Lieutenant General Gordon Drummond, the British commander in Upper Canada, hoped that the garrison at Fort Erie could at least buy him enough time against the American invasion to concentrate his forces.

Brigadier General Winfield Scott landed a mile and a half (3 km) north of the fort with a brigade of regulars while it was still dark.

The British commander at Chippawa, Major General Phineas Riall, believed that the garrison of Fort Erie was still holding out, which contributed to his decision to launch a hasty and ill-fated attack.

Following the Battle of Lundy's Lane in July, British forces under the command of Gordon Drummond advanced and unsuccessfully besieged the fort.