The Battle of Ogdensburg will be recreated on Saturday, Feb. 17, with activities beginning with a wreath laying ceremony at 10:30 a.m. at the grave of Sheriff Joseph York at the Ogdensburg Cemetery.
York was undersheriff for St. Lawrence County for three years and sheriff for another four. He also served as the county representative in the New York State Legislature for three years. York was born in 1781 at Claremont, NH and moved to Ogdensburg in 1805.
During the War of 1812, on Feb. 22, 1813, the defensive forces for Ogdensburg, composed of U.S. Riflemen under Benjamin Forsyth, local militia, and volunteers from the town, readied for an oncoming British attack across the ice of the frozen St. Lawrence River with Sheriff York commanding an iron twelve-pounder cannon at the intersection of State and Ford Streets.
The British forces attacked in two columns with one coming ashore near the unfinished earthen works known as Fort Oswegatchie and the other near the lighthouse to flank Fort Presentation. The two columns were comprised of 700 troops, 200 to the left column and 500 to the right. The right column made its way to Ford Street and proceeded west until it met fire from two artillery pieces, one commanded by Captain Kellogg, New York State Militia, and that under the command of Sheriff York.
Both guns fired until Kellogg’s gun was disabled and his gunners left to join forces at the fort. But Sheriff York continued to operate his gun until his crew members were wounded. As the enemy approached, York continued to load. The enemy troops were about to charge York with their bayonets, when their commander halted the line and declared “there stands a man too brave to be killed” and York was taken prisoner. York was taken to Prescott. The town was taken, and Forsyth was forced to retreat.
The battle will be re-enacted at 1:30 p.m. along Ford Street with coffee immediately following at the Ogdensburg History Museum at 206 Ford St. At 3 p.m., there will be a lecture on medicine and surgical procedures of the period at the museum.
All events are free to the public.
fort1749.org 