For those of you who are interested in Niagara County's 1812 history, this concerns a couple of fellows who never lived in Niagara, but almost died there. The following is written by Gerald Piechocki, whose wife Dottie, like me, descends from Noah. (His sources for this were mainly Noah's pension file and David Nevin's "1812".) Cheers, Ron Kyser Noah Howe Austin, born 1794, was 17 years of age when he and his friend Alexander McIntyre enlisted in Captain Brown’s company of New York militia in April 1812, at Canandaigua, NY. After a very brief period of training, the militia marched to Lewiston, NY, on the Niagara River, where it joined with other militia regiments and regular troops of the Army under the command of Gen. Solomon Van Rensselaer. Noah was about to take part in the first battle of the War of 1812. The overall plan of this battle was to be a prelude to the invasion of Canada. The U.S. forces would board boats and row across the Niagara River from Lewiston, five miles below the great falls, to Queenston, on the Canadian side. The two hundred-and-fifty-yard distance and the roaring current were difficult enough, but the Canadian side was practically a sheer cliff defended by cannon and several companies of the "Forty-Ninth Foot", crack British troops. For this reason, the first wave of Americans to cross would attack at night, using volunteers, as casualties would be heavy and surprise necessary. Noah Austin and Alexander McIntyre both volunteered to be part of this first group. It had rained most of the night, but by 3:00 AM on the 13th of October, the rain had stopped and the boats were launched. Things went badly as boats ran into each other, oars splintered, and soldiers shouted and cursed. The British could hardly miss the noise, and the element of surprise was lost. As the boats reached the halfway point, the British began to fire down upon them with grapeshot from the cannon on the far cliff. For the next forty-five minutes the Americans had to endure the hailstorm of bullets and grapeshot from enemy guns as they struggled to row against the strong current. As predicted, the casualties were mounting as the volunteers sat unprotected from the lead fired down upon them. Just as Noah’s boat was about to reach shore, another blast from the cannon and volleys from the troops above raked over the boat. One shot struck Noah in the face, entering under his left eye and burrowing deeply into his head. While his comrades climbed the cliffs to capture the cannon, Noah lay wounded in the boat. Whether he was able to climb ashore or was sent back across with the other wounded, the records don’t say. What we do know is that the battle went on for the entire day with the Canadian town of Queenston being captured and then lost again with heavy casualties. Noah survived his wound but carried the iron ball in the roof of his mouth for the next 59 years, enduring constant pain and suffering. It did not, however, prevent him from marrying Ursula Freeman, fathering twelve children, and farming. His old friend Alexander became a doctor, treating Noah for many years. His affidavit helped Noah obtain a military pension for partial disability. Noah and his family eventually moved from New York to Indiana, where he continued farming. Eventually the shot that caused him so much pain throughout his life brought him infection and a high fever. The ball, having finally destroyed the surrounding bone, broke through the roof of his mouth and he was able to remove it, just days before he succumbed to the fever at age 77. Noah’s wife Ursula lived till 1883, passing in her 83rd year. She and Noah are buried in LaGrange Co., IN. Their daughter Mary Jane married Alanson Youngs in 1857 and moved to Saranac, Michigan. Their son John, who in 1871 married Mary Sarah Youngs, the daughter of Alanson’s brother George, lived nearby his sister in Saranac.