After the victory at Chippawa, the overall American commander in the Niagara region, Major General Jacob Brown, advanced his army to Queenston to rendezvous with the American fleet under Commodore Chauncey for an attack on Fort George. Chauncey, however, did not appear, so Brown and his army returned to Chippawa.

Lieutenant General Sir Gordon Drummond, the British commander in Upper Canada, was impatient to drive the Americans back over the border. He dispatched troops from Fort Niagara on the American side of the Niagara River to march south toward the American base at Fort Schlosser, which was across the Niagara River from Chippawa. Brown decided to counter that move with an advance by General Winfield Scott toward Queenston.

Scott got a big surprise when his troops walked into the force of General Riall located at Lundy's Lane. Scott's initial attack was too hot for Riall to handle so the British began to retreat. Just then, Drummond arrived on the scene, took charge, and ordered the troops back to the battlefield just as Scott attacked again. The Americans attacked the British left and centre. In the centre, they could not make much impression but managed to capture a battery on a strategic hill that later was named Drummond Hill. On the left, the Americans achieved a bigger breakthrough, capturing a surprised General Riall for a short time.

Immediately after losing the battery on the hill, the British re-formed, beating back the Americans to recapture the battery. The bloody fight continued back and forth until dark. In the end, it was General Brown who decided that enough was enough. The next morning, the British found that the Americans had gone, burning Street's Mill and the bridge at Chippawa as they retreated to Fort Erie. Dr William "Tiger" Dunlop and his fellow surgeons were left to do what they could for the wounded, which included the commander, Sir Gordon Drummond, and General Riall.