The Battle of York is a War of 1812 battle fought in York, Upper Canada (today's Toronto, Ontario, Canada) on April 27, 1813.
An American force supported by a naval flotilla lands on the lakeshore to the west and advances against the town, which is defended by an outnumbered force of regulars, militia, and Ojibway natives under the overall command of Major General Roger Hale Sheaffe, the Lieutenant Governor of Upper Canada.
Sheaffe's forces are defeated and Sheaffe retreats with his surviving regulars to Kingston, abandoning the militia and civilians.
The Americans capture the fort, town, and dockyard.
They themselves suffer heavy casualties, including force leader Brigadier General Zebulon Pike and others killed when the retreating British blow up the fort's magazine.
The American forces subsequently carry out several acts of arson and looting in the town before they withdraw several days later.
Although the Americans win a clear victory, the battle does not have decisive strategic results as York is a less important objective in military terms than Kingston, where the British armed vessels on Lake Ontario are based.
