The Battle of Fort George was a battle fought during the War of 1812, in which the Americans defeated a British force and captured Fort George in Upper Canada. The troops of the United States Army and vessels of the United States Navy cooperated in a very successful amphibious assault, although most of the opposing British force escaped encirclement. Background Fort George was the westernmost of the British fortified posts on Lake Ontario, the others being York, the provincial capital of Upper Canada, and Kingston where most of the ships of the Provincial Marine were based. The fort was situated on the western bank of the Niagara River near its mouth. On the American side of the river lay Fort Niagara. Fort George was constructed to replace and counterbalance Fort Niagara, which the British lost to the Americans after Jay's Treaty in the year 1796. Events in 1812 At the beginning of the war both the British forces near Fort George and the American forces at Fort Niagara felt unprepared for conflict. On May 18, 1812 Sir George Prévost, the Governor General of the Canadas, wrote a letter in response to the Secretary of State for War and the Colonies who was inquiring about the military situation in Canada. He stated that there were 400 soldiers of the 41st Regiment and a Captain's Command of Artillery stationed at Fort George. He also wrote that he felt Fort George would not be able to withstand an attack by the Americans if they came with a considerable force. On the American side, Colonel Philetus Swift and Benjamin Barton wrote before the war to the Governor of New York, Daniel Tompkins, that Fort Niagara would fall to the British if a war were to be declared. By July 1812 however, the American commander at Fort Niagara was expecting a British attack and was demanding more reinforcements. On October 8, 1812 Major General Stephen Van Rensselaer of the New York state militia outlined a plan of attack to send a militia force from Lewiston to attack Queenston which would force the British to send soldiers from Fort George to Queenston. When that happened, a force of U.S. Regulars commanded by Brigadier General Alexander Smyth were to travel by boat from Four Mile Creek to the rear of Fort George and capture the fort. This plan failed to materialize in part because Smyth failed to