Duane Beckett
Early American history wasn’t all polished portraits, brave speeches, and clean victories. Before 1815, which is the line we’ve drawn to define Early American history, colonial and U.S. forces stumbled through raids, invasions, bad planning, and outright collapse.
The military disasters listed here are forgotten outside academia and serious history buffs. However, they shaped frontier defense, naval planning, and the young nation’s confidence going forward. Check out these five forgotten military disasters below.
The Kittanning Raid Misfire (1756)
The Kittanning Raid happened on September 8, 1756, during the French and Indian War. Pennsylvania troops under Lt. Colonel John Armstrong attacked Kittanning, a Delaware town used as a base for raids on western Pennsylvania settlements.
The American Battlefield Trust states that Armstrong’s 300-man force burned the town and killed Captain Jacobs, but many Delaware escaped, some with captives. That’s where the “victory” gets shaky.
Armstrong’s men suffered heavy losses, and the raid didn’t stop frontier attacks. A historian wrote in the American Battlefield Trust coverage that this event may have made the frontier situation worse.
The Penobscot Expedition (1779)
Massachusetts launched the Penobscot Expedition in July 1779 to remove a British post at Penobscot Bay, Maine, which was then a part of Massachusetts.
The American Battlefield Trust reported that the Massachusetts militia, 20 transports, and 19 armed vessels laid siege to British forces at Castine, with Brig. Gen. Solomon Lovell, Commodore Dudley Saltonstall, and Paul Revere were involved.
The disaster came from delay, poor coordination, and hesitation. Saltonstall failed to support the land attack; then a British relief fleet arrived. The Americans retreated and scuttled their boats along the Penobscot River. Saltonstall was removed from the Navy, and Massachusetts was left with a crushing bill.
The Defeat at Queenston Heights (1812)
Queenston Heights was the first major American attempt to invade Canada in the War of 1812. It happened on October 13, 1812, across the Niagara River in Upper Canada. Major General Stephen Van Rensselaer’s U.S. regulars and militia faced British regulars, Canadian militia, and Native warriors, with Isaac Brock killed during the fighting.
According to the American Battlefield Trust, American militia refused to cross the Niagara when ordered, leaving the troops already on the heights exposed. The stranded Americans eventually surrendered. Information from the Trust lists more than 1,100 American casualties, and the defeat badly hurt the country’s morale.
St. Clair’s Defeat (Battle of the Wabash, 1791)
St. Clair’s Defeat took place on November 4, 1791, in the Northwest Territory, near present-day Ohio. Major General Arthur St. Clair led U.S. regulars, militia, volunteers, and camp followers against a Native confederation that included Miami, Shawnee, and Delaware warriors under Little Turtle.
The U.S. Army states that St. Clair’s force was weakened by poor supply, bad weather, desertion, and exposed camps. Then came the dawn attack. Over 1,000 warriors struck separate camps, artillery crews were cut down, and the army broke after about three hours.
More than 900 soldiers, women, and children were killed or wounded in this disaster, marking it as one of America’s forgotten military disasters.
The Burning of Washington, D.C. (1814)
The Burning of Washington followed the Battle of Bladensburg on August 24, 1814. U.S. forces under General William Winder faced British troops under Major General Robert Ross, with Rear Admiral George Cockburn also central to the raid.
The American Battlefield Trust states that the embarrassing defeat at Bladensburg left Washington dangerously exposed. British troops marched into the capital and burned public buildings, including the presidential mansion, Capitol, Treasury, and War Office.
As the National Park Service put it, the rout and burning marked one of the lowest points of the war for the young American military. It was a genuine national gut punch.