Excavated War of 1812 Shoe Buckle, recovered at Battle of French Mill, NY

This is another nice piece coming out of a 60-year collection of French & Indian War, Revolutionary War, and War of 1812 artifacts. Being offered is an excavated War of 1812 soldier’s shoe buckle. It measures 2” x 1 ¾” and is mostly complete. It was recovered during the War of 1812 at the Battle of French Mills, NY

The Battle of “French Mills” (near Fort Covington, NY) was fought very briefly under a night sky and in poor weather on November 22nd, 1812, and Canadian occupation carried over to the early hours of the next day, November 23rd. Fort Covington initially became occupied by the Americans in July of 1812 when they proceeded to begin the construction of a blockhouse on Covington Hill.

It was from Fort Covington that Major Guilford Young (Troy Militia) twice made raids on St. Regis in Lower Canada, the second being successful in that the Americans plundered Canadian provisions and captured a company of British soldiers in the process. The distance between the two locations was approximately 18 miles.

The American junior officers involved in the second raid on St. Regis expressed concern that Major Young was attempting to lead them against a British/Canadian force at Montreal and so they withdrew their men quickly to French Mills on the Salmon River. It was here that the Americans, numbering 50, were attacked by the Canadians.

The Canadian attacking force comprised of approximately 150 men of which one company was Glengarry Light Infantry Fencibles, while the remainder of the force was made up of men from the Glengarry Militia and the Stormont Militia, as well as Indian allies. The attack was in retaliation for the most recent raid on St. Regis.

Lt. Col. Alex McMillan (Glengarry Militia) commanded and led a direct and spirited assault against the Americans using sound judgment. His second in command, Lt. Col. Neil McLean (Stormont Militia) was in command of the embarkation. In less than an hour the enemy that had fled to a blockhouse for protection had surrendered because they were outnumbered and completely surrounded. The Canadians had captured 4 river boats (bateaux), 57 muskets, 47 soldiers, 2 lieutenants and 1 captain.

This buckle remains in nice condition for being dug, still solid and no chipping. There are examples in "Collector's Illustrated Encyclopedia of the American Revolution", by Neumann & Kravic (see pictures). This collection began in the late 1950s and was created by private acquisitions, closed museums, diggers, and lake divers. The collector meticulously displayed and cataloged every piece along with its provenance.

This is the first time it has been on the open market, and it is truly a great piece of early American History. As with all the pieces in this esteemed collection, a Certificate of Authenticity will be included. It comes in the glass top display case pictured.