| Description: |
Overall Extremely Fine, sharpness of About Uncirculated. 64.4 mm. Rims 3.5 - 3.7 mm.
thick. 1,783.3 gns. (115.4 gms.). Specific gravity 10.47 (per the late Ted Craige). Bright
silver in color, once cleaned. Extremely rare: Carlson noted four auction records for a
silver Gaines but the cataloguer can only trace three different specimens: this;
Dreyfuss:5261 (Uncirculated, 1,774.8 gns., sold for $3,300); and the Bushnell to
Garrett:1965 to Dusterberg Collection:472 piece (Presidential Coin and Antique Company,
October 2000, 115.8 gms., graded Brilliant Proof, sold for $20,000). The gold medal given
to Gaines by his country was struck in 1824 and it is logical to suppose the silver medals
were made soon afterwards. The date August 15, 1814 on the reverse of the medal is that of
the repulse by Gaines' force besieged in Fort Erie of a British attack under General
Drummond. @ When the American army under General Ripley retired from the Battle of
Chippewa (July, 1814), it reformed in and around Fort Erie on the Niagara River, which had
recently been captured from the British by General Brown. The Americans set about
finishing the fort's defenses, erecting bastions for cannon, and digging trenches against
an anticipated siege and assault. Pursuing them was British General Gordon Drummond. Both
sides had suffered at the Battle of Chippewa but both were about equally matched.
Following an inconclusive siege of Fort Erie and believing that General Gaines' defense
numbered no more than 1,500 effectives, General Drummond decided on a night assault by
2,150 of his soldiers. Planned for the night of August 14/15, Drummond believed that
success depended on surprise and ordered an attack by bayonet to preserve silence by
ruling out accidental discharge of musketry. Unknown to Drummond, Gaines' force actually
numbered 2,200 men. Further, Gaines suspected an impending assault and kept half his force
on watch and ordered that the rest sleep with their weapons at the ready. |
