CHIPPEWA, BATTLE OF

(July 5, 1814), in the War of 1812, victory by U.S. forces that restored American military prestige but accomplished little else, largely because the expected naval support needed for a U.S. advance to the north and west failed to materialize. At the beginning of July 1814, an American army of more than 4,000 men under Generals Jacob Brown and Winfield Scott crossed the Niagara River and took Fort Erie. The Americans intended to push northward toward Lake Ontario and on to Burlington and York (modern Toronto). About 2,000 British regulars and Canadian militia from Fort George and along the lower Niagara, under General Phineas Riall, rushed southward to stem the U.S. advance. On July 5 Riall launched an attack at Chippewa upon the more numerous U.S. forces and was badly beaten. British casualties numbered 604; the Americans, 335.