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A hi^fft fc- ILLUS' R WITH THE PICTORIAL FIELD-BOOK \n t OF THE WAR OF 1812 OR, ILLUSTRATIONS, BY PEN AND PExNCIL, OF THE HISTORY, BlOli RAPHY, SCENERY, RELICS, AND TRADITIONS OF THE LAST WAR FOR AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE. BY BE.NSON J. LOSSING. WITH SEVKBAL HUWDRED ENGRAVIXGS ON WOOD, KY LOSSING AND BAUIUTT, * CHIEFLY FROM ORIGINAL SKETCH KS BY THE AUTHOR. NEW YORK: HARPER & BROTHERS, PUBLISHERS, FRANKLIN SQUARE. 186 0. $A:\ nr^ Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1868, by Hakper & BnOTHERS, In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the United States for the Southern District of New York. li! The Close of the Ri the Public Debt, -3; Dissolution venfion to reorgi to form a Niition lishment of a Na Foundations of Gov the Indians and i Hostilities, 40 ; I- Visit to the Place demess, 4(J; St.C coived the News t ference of British down the Maumcc The national Policy Movements in Frai the British Governi the Public Debt, Great Britain, S(> ; ( Difficulties with Algi liness of the French Adams elected I'resii ness of Partisans, !)4 Action in New York Washington appointed ( traordinary sent to p rages; Obsequiougnej in the West Indies, K era! Party, 106 ; Intri I f? ; State Suprema< r I th of Washington, It CHAPTER I. EARLT DAYS OF THE RErUBLIC. The Close of the 'Revolution ; the States free, but not iiule|iunclent, 18 ; Wliy? Articles of Confederation, 19 ; the Public Debt, 20 ; Attitiule of the States, 21 ; British Oidnion concerning them, 22 ; Public Dangers 23 ; DisKoliition of the Hepublic threiitened, 24 ; Washington's Forebodings ; his Proposition for a Con- vention to reorganize (io\eniment, 2't ; Meeting of the Convention, 20 ; Proceedings of the Convention to form a National Constitution, 27-82 ; Katilication of the Constitution ; its Opponents, !)3 ; the Estab- lishment of a Nation, 34. CHAPTER II. EVENTS IN THE NORTHWESTERN TERRITORY. Foundations of Government in the Wilderness, 35 ; the Northwestern Territory ; Settlements there, 36-87 ; the Indians and tlieir British Allies, 38; Councils with the Indians, 39 ; British Intrigues and Indian Hostilities, 40; Expedition against the Indians in the Ohio Coiuitry, 41 ; Battle on the Maumee, 42; Visit to the Place of C'onflict, 43-44 ; Expeditions of Scott and Wilkinson, 45 ; Forts built in the Wil- derness, 4(i ; St. Clair's Expedition, 47 ; bis Battle with the Indians and Defeat, 48 ; how Washington re- ceived the News of St. Clair's Defeat, 49 ; his Justice and Generosity ; Wayne's Expedition, 50 ; Inter- ference of British Officials, 51 ; the British and Indians in armed Alliance, 52; Wayne's Expedition down the Maumee, 53, 54 ; Defeat of the Indians and treaty of Greenville, 55, 56. CHAPTER III. ESTABLISHMENT OP THE NATIONAL GOVERNMENT. The national Policy and Power indicated, 58 ; Relations with France and England, 59 ; revolntionarj- Movements in France, 60, 61 ; diplomatic Intercoiu'se with (Jreat Britain and Spain, 62 ; Discourtesy of the British Government ; mistaken Views (•onceriniig the American Government, 63 ; Acts in relation to the Public Debt, 64 ; Hamilton's financial Scheme ; Currency, 65 ; Jeft'erson's Disappointment and Sus- picions, ()6 ; Progress of the French Revolution, 67 ; the r>oli;ical and religious Views of Jefferson and Adams, 68 ; Democracy in England, 69 ; Adams's Scheme of Government ; Jefferson's Disgust and un- generous Suspicions, 70; Paine's Riijhts of Man ; a Newspaper War, 71 ; the Federal and Republican Parties formed, 72 ; Sympathy with the French Revolutionists, 73 ; Lafayette, 74 ; Monarchy in France overthrown, 75 ; the National Convention ; Execution of the King, 76 ; Minister from the French Re- public, 77 ; Washington's Proclamation of Neutrality, 78. CIIAJ'TER IV. FOREIGN RELATIONS ANO DOMESTIC POLITICS. " Citizen Genet" and his Reception by his political Admirers, 79 ; his first Interview with Washingtou ; Enthusiasm of the Reiniblicans, 80; the American and the French Revolution compared, 81 ; Genet de- fies the American (Jovernment, 82 ; he is recalled ; his Successor, 88 ; Briti-sh " Rules" and "Orders in Council;" Anned Neutrality, 84; British Impre.ssmeut of American Seamen, 85; Jay's Treaty with Great Britain, 8(i ; Opposition to the Treaty, 87 ; the Whisky Insurrection ; Democratic Societies, 88 ; Difficulties with Algiers, 89 ; an American Novy recommended, 90; Constructiori of a Navy ; Unfriend- liness of the ^'rench Directory, 91 ; Struggle between the Republicans and Federalists for political Power; Adams elected President, 92 ; open Rupture between F'rarice and the United States threatened, 93 , Mad- ness of Partisans, 94 ; Aggressions of the French Directory, 95 ; Preparations for War with France ; Action in New York, 96 ; History of the ^ngs " Hail, Columbia !" and " Adams and Liberty," 97. CHAPTER V. WAR ON THE OCEAN. — POLITVCAL BTRITGGLES. Washington appointed to the Command of the Army; Hamilton acting Gcneral-in-chief, 98; Envoys ex- traordinary sent to France, 99 ; Bonoparte in Power ; American War vessels afloat, 1 00 ; British Out- rages ; Obsequiousness of the Americaii Government, 102 ; naval Engagements, 103 ; American (:nii8ers in the West Indies, 104 ; Truxtun's Victory ; Honors to the Victor, 105 ; Peace; Divisions in the Fed- eral Party, 106 ; Intrigues against Adams ; Alien and Sedition Laws ; Nullification Doctrines put forth, 107; State Supremacy asserted; Jefferson elected President. 1 08 ; Mortific^ition of the Federalists; 1> 'Ath of Washington, 109 ; a public Funeral, 110 ; Washington's Person and Character, 111. Iv CONTENTS. CHAPTER VI. M DIFFICUITIES WITH THE lURBARY POWKH8. — ENQLAND AI»r> FRANCE AT WAH. nonnparte's Career uiid Infliioiu'e, \\'2 • (JbseqiiiousneHS of Eiiglinhmcn, II 15; noginniiig of Juff'erRon'H Ad- iiiiiiiHtnitiun ; the Nutioniil Ciipital, lU; ScH'erson's Tolicy; puliticul Proscription, 115; the Niivy re- Uuced, I Hi ; ('Hj)taiu Kaiiibridgu, the l)cy of Algiern, and the Sultan, 117 ; Insolence and Exactions of the Barlmry Hulnrs, IIH; American Navy in the Mediterranean Sea and its OperationH, I I'J-lliO; Uoin- hardment of Tripoli, 121 ; DeHtruction of the P/ii/iiiU//i/iiu, '22 ; Destrnction of the Iittrepid ; Honors to ( 'oinmodo'-e Preble, 123; ronimodore Ilarron's S(iuaaron in the Mediterranean, 124 ; Eaton's Flxpedi- tion in Northern Africa ; Respect of the Uarhary Powers for the American Flag, l2r> ; Honaparte and his Kelations with England, 12(!; a French Invasion of England threatened, 127; a Struggle for political Supremacy; Bonaparte proclaimed EmjHiror, 128; Napoleon's Berlin Decree, 121). CHAPTER VII. EVENTS WEST OP THE ALLKOHANIKS. — SEARCH AND IMPRESSMENT. Orginizntion of new States, liU); Americans disturbed by the Retrocession of Louisiana to France, 131 ; the secret Designs of the latter, Iii2 ; Jetlerson's Letter and Bonai)arte's Necessity; Purchase of Louisi- ana, l.'tH; Eveiiis connected with the Purchase of Louisiana, IJi4 ; the Duel of Hamilton and Burr; the Acts of Burr's political Associates, l;tr>; his ambitious'. Schemes: Blennerfinsseti and Wilkinson, 130; Burr's Operations, Trial for Treason, and Exile, 1 37 ; American commercial Thrift and British Jealousy, 138; British Perlidy defended by British Writers, 13!) ; Unpleasant foreign Relations, 140; Memorial of Mcrchnnts concerning British Depreciations, 141 ; Im|iressment of American Seamen and Right of Search, 142; diplomatic Correspondence on the Subject, 143; cruel Treatment of American Seamen, 144 ; farther diplomatic Action, 145, 14G ; nationi;' Independence and Honor in Peril, 147 ; Minister ex- traordinary sent to England, 148. CHAPTER Vin. SEARCH AND IStPRKSSMKNT. — liMHAROO. — PARTY SPIRIT. Negotiations concerning the Imjjressment of jVnierican Seamen, 14!); a Treaty agreed to, but not ratified ; War on tlie Administration, 1 50, 151 ; The t^ontinental System of Napoleon, 1 52 ; Aggressions on Amer- ican Conuncrce and Neutrality by F'rance and England, 153; Napoleon's Milan Decree and its Ett'ects, 154 ; the Navy and the (iun-boat Policy, 155 ; British Cruisers in American Waters, 15(i ; the Afl'air of the Chesapmk-e, 157; the Outrage resented, 158; Action of the American Government, 159; Action of the British (iovernment, 1(10; fruitless Mission of a British Envoy, 101; political Complexion of the Tenth Congress; an Embargo established, 102; its Effects; Party Spirit violently aroused, 103; the Embargo vehemently denounced, 104 ; the British exact Tribute from neutral Nations, 105 ; Dangers of national Vanity, 166. CHAFrER IX. WAR BETWEEN THE UNITED STATES AND GREAT BRITAIN THREATErED. Provisions for strengthening the American Navy, 107 ; Gun-boats ; Opposition to a Navy, 108 ; British op- position to the Orders in Council, 100; Napoleon's Blow at American Commerce; Modification of the Orders in Council, 1 70 ; Actions concerning the Embargo, 171; Disunionists in New England, 1 72, 1 73 ; Embargo or War the proclaimed Alternative, 174; (^otton supposed to be the King of Commerce, 175; Just Arrangements for settling the Difficulties with Great Britain, 170; the British Government repudi- ates the Acts of its Agent, 177; an offensive British Jiinister sent to America, 278 ; the French Decrees and British Orders in Council, 17!); England and Franco refuse to be just, 180; Outrage by a British Cruiser, 181 ; Method of signaling, 182, 183; Action between tha President and Little JJelt, 184; Tes- timony concerning the Attuir, 185 ; Commodore Rodgers assailed and vindicated, 186. CHAPTER X. HOSTILITIES OF THE INDIANS IN THE NORTHWEST. The Indianji Territory and Governor Harrison, 187; British Emissaries among the Indians, 188; Tecum- tha and his Brother the Prophet, 18!) ; Indian Confederation proposed ; Harrison denounces the Projihet, 1!)0; the Mission of Josei)h Barron, l!)l ; Tecumtha before Harrison at Vincennes, 1!)2; roving Plun- derers; Tecumtha alarmed, 1!)3; Preparations for fighting the Indians, li)4; Jlariison marches up the Wabash with Troops ; Deputation of friendly Indians, 1 95 ; Visit of the Author to the Region of threat- ened Hostilities, 19(5-200; Harrison approaches the Projihet's Town; the Indians alarmed, 201 ; Har- rison's Encampment near the Tippecanoe, 202 ; the Prophet's Teaching, 203 ; Battle of Tiiipecanoe, 204, 205 ; The Prophet disgraced, 200 ; Actors in the Battle of Tippecanoe, 207 ; Author's Visit to the Bat- tle-ground, 208, 209. CHAPTER XI. A WAR SPIRIT AROrSED. — DECLARATION OP WAR AOAIN8T GREAT BRITAIN. The Twelfth Congress and its Composition, 210 ; the President's feeble War-trumpet, 21 1 ; Charges against Great Britain, 212; Action of the ("ommittee on Foreign Relations, 213; Alarm on Acc(anit of the Slaves, 214; Randolph and Calhoun in Congress, 215; Policy of the Federalists, 210; Patriotism of some of their Lejiders, 21 7 ; Debate concerning the Navy, 218 ; the President compelled to adopt War Measures, 21!) ; a British Emissaiy in New England, 220 ; his Revelations and Rewards, 221 ; Action of the British Ministry on the Subject, 222 ; a new Embargo Act, 223 ; delusive Hopes of Justice, 224 ; a preliminary War Measure, 225 ; Reptjrt on the Causes of and Reasons for War, 220 ; Action of Congress on the Subject, 227 ; Declaration of War, 228 ; Protest of the Minority in Congress against the Meas- ure, 229 ; Organization of a Peace Party, 230 ; Measures for carrying on the War, 231 ; public Acts in opposition to the War, 232. 'Die British Rege Frontier, 234 • ; 238-240; Fultoi oniments concer tiotnd Re\ocatioi file Subject of S, Leaders, 24!), 25( Canada to ba invade man, 253 ; A.itho regular and voluii i apers captured, '2 in 1812, 200; Il„| y> nr, 204, L'05 ; D 'naw, 208, 209 ; E Alarmmg Facts and F invasion, 274 ; Syn: Hoine at Brownstoi tmin, 278 ; the Mar J>isaft'ection of the i tacking Detroit, 28^1 render, and refuses, surrenders the Fort Incidents of the Sun render, and public It Character, 295 ; the The Author's Jonmey f chI Localitiei at Ami of Detroit,. 101; Chic 3<).'! ; an Indian Raid nitions of War and Li Savages— Bravery of \ Massacre, 311 ; Mrs I on Fort Wayne, 314; 816 ; Fort Harrison 'b« WA The Nation aroused— En( Head of Kentucky Vol Standard, 324 ; Fort M commands the Northwei Re-enforcements gathei through the Wilderness, thors Visit to the Theal Indians m the IlUuois Cc Soldiers, 337. Ilamson cheerfully meets ,f™y-t"- Western Res. of Colonel VVad.,worth, 34 8*4 ; Services of friendly near the Mississiniwa, 34' the Mnumee Rapids, .S50 • Winchester arrives with 'i Frenchtown,355; Winch, manity of the British Con Massacre, S^,9, Author's 1 i Bayi ii ii i iri I ' i iiMi i i Brii i ir i i CONTENTS. CIIArTEU XII. BROIlUflNO OK THK WAU OF I SI 2. The British Kcgoncy — Politiral Aftnirs in Kiiropc, 'J.'i.'l ; tiie TiiKipu and Fortiflcationn on the Northern Frfmtier, 2M ; Sea-cotiHt DefenHeH of the United StiiteH, 230- '.MH; Fulton's Torj>cdoes imd their lines, 238-240; Fulton's Antifipu'ions, '241 ; Kttects of h Fear of TorjJcdoeH, 242; the Action of State Gov- eniments concerning the War, 243 ; i)iil)lic Feeling in Caimda, 244 ; Signs of Pacification, 24.1; condi- tional Revocation of the Orders in (Joiuicil, 24(i ; hauKhty AKstimptions of the Uriti'.h tiovenimont on the Subject of Search and Imprisoiiraent, 247 ; War inevitable and justifiable, 24H ; Choice of military Leaders, 241), 250. CHAPTER Xlir. IltTLl's CAMl'AION AOAINRT CAVAPA. Canada to he invaded — Object of the Invasion, 2.')1 ; Organization of an Army in Ohio — an .ictivc Frontiers- man, 2ri3 ; Aurhor's Journey through Ohio. 2.14 ; General Hull takes Ounnumd of Ohio Volunteers, 2rir> ; regular and volunteer Triwps in the Wilderness, 2iH]; Hull's March to Detroit, 2.'>7; his liaggage and Papers ca|)tured, 2.18 ; how the ilritish in Canada were informed of the I )eclaration of War, 2.1".( ; Detroit in 1812, 2(iO; Hull invades ('anada, 2G1, 2(i2 ; Reconnoissance toward Maiden, 203; first Battle of the War, 2(!4, "Ct'i ; Distrust of General Hull, 2(!(i ; first Blood shed in the War, 2(i7 ; curly Scenes at Mack- inaw, 2G8, 2tii)i Events at Mackinaw in 1812, 270; Kmploynient of the Indians by the British, 271. CHAPTER XIV. CAMPAIGN ON THK DKTROIT FRONTIEK. Alarming Facts and Rumors, 272 ; Preparations in Canada for resisting Invasion, 273 ; Alarm caused by the Invasion, 274 ; Symptoms of Disloyalty — General Brock's Intiuencc, 27.1; Defeat of Americans under Van Hurne at Brfiwnstown, 27(i ; mutinous Spirit evinced in Hull's Army, 277; Expedition to succor a Supply- train, 278 ; the March toward the Kiver Raisin, 27!t ; Battle of Magiiaga, 280, 281 ; Disappointment and Disaffection of the American Troops, 282 ; Brock goes to Maiden with Troops, 283 ; Preparations for at- tacking Detroit, 284; Hull deceived — an Ellort to reach a Sn;)ply-train, 28.1; Hull sumnuuied to sur- render, and refuses, 28(; ; the British proceed to attaik Detroit, 287; Scenes within the Fort, 288 ; Hull surrenders the Fort, (Jarrison, and Territory, 28!t ; Feeling of tlie Tnuips— Result of the Surrender, 2!K) ; IiU'idents of the Surrender, 2'.ll ; British Occupation of Detroit and Michigan, 21)2 ; Account of the Sur- render, and public Indignation, 2i)3 • Hull tried by a Court-martial, 294 ; a Consideration of Hull's public Character, 2'Ju ; the Government more to blame than Hull, 2!)ti. CHAPTER XV. MILITARY EVENTS IN THE THEN FAR NORTHWEST. The Anther's Jonrney from Chicago to Detroit, 297; a Ride from Windsor to Amherstburg, 298 ; Histori- cal Localities- at Amherstburg or Maiden, 299, Windsor and "Windsor Castle," 300; Pontiac's Siege of Detroit, 301 ; (Chicago, its Name, Settlement, and I'osition, 302 ; Trading-house aiul Fort at Chicago, 303 ; an Indian Raid, 304 ; Troubles at Chicago, 30.1 ; Treacher- of the Indians — a Warning, 306 ; Mu- nitions of War and l-iquor destroyed, 307 ; Ma-ssacro at ("hicago, 308 ; Incident of the Confiict with the Savages — Bravery of VVomen, 309 ; Cruelties of the Indians — their British Allies, 310 ; Survivors of the Massacre, 311; Mrs. Kenzie and the Growth of Chicago, 312; Designs agaii ; llonorn to tlie Victors at Albany, !l7ti ; I'.iear.cM' Williams, or "The I,ost l'rinco,'';t77: the Author's Visit to St. KeK's, !I7H ; HuU'iilo in 1812, !17!»; the Niiigara Fron- tier, ;tHO; American Troops on the NiaRiira F'ronlier, ItHI ; an Armistice ami its Kil'ects, U8;t j Prepara- tions for an Invasion of ( 'anaila, .'tH4 ; |",x|HHlitions for captiirin({ Urilish Vessels, JtHo ; iptnre of the Atlarin and L'a'.edonia near Fort I'^rie, 38(i ; InciduntM uf tlie Exploit, 3M7 ; Feelings nf the Americans and BritUh, BHH. f'HAl'TFU XIX. EVKNTIl ON TIIK. NtAtUIIA FKONTIKR IN 1812. Conduct of Cicneral Smyth, 3W>; Van Itensselaor prepares to attack (jiieenston, .'190; nritish Fim'e on the Niagara Frontier, M!»l ; F^xpcdition against (iiieenston delayed, ;t!)2 ; military Ktiipiette — Colonel Scott, .liW ; Passage of the Niagara Hivcr in the Dark, ili>4 ; Skirmish at Queenston Village, iW.'i ; ( 'olonel Von Ilensseluer wounded and Captain Wool in command, ;)!>(') ; the Americans scale Qiieenston Heights. 3!(7; Kr.ttle on Qucenstcm Heights and Death of (ieneral Brock, !J!t8 ; Passage of the Uiver by Ue-enforce- ments, ;i!t!> ; FXents on Qiieenston Heights, 400 ; another Uattle — W(H)1 wounded, 401 ; bad Conduct of the New York Militia, Coloiu-I Scott in Command, 40i!; Heroes and Cowards made Prisoners of War, 40.1; Surrender of the American Army, 404; a triumphal anil funeral Procession, 40.'); Honors to (ieneral Brock, 400 ; Colonel StJomoii Van Rensselaer, 407 ; Kvents at the Mouth of the Niagara Kiver, 408 ; Protection for American Prisoners of Wor, 40'J j (ieneral Smyth '» injurious I'ride and Folly, 410 j hiit silly Proclamations ridiculed, 411. CHAPTER XX. KVBNT8 ON TUB NIAOAKA tRONTIEH AND VICiyiTT IN 1812. The Autho/s Visit to the Niagara Frontier, 412; Lewiston, (Jucenston, and (jueenston Heights, 4I,T; Brock's Monununt, 414 ; an F^vening on Qiieenston Heights, 41."); Interview with the Cl.ief of the Six Nations, 410; Journey from Qiieenston to Niagara, 417; Fort (ieorge and its Appurtenances, 418; Fort Missis- saga — Ueturu to Niagani. F'alis, 41il; .Journey from Niagara F'lills to the Settlement of the Six Nations on the Grand Kiver, 420; a Morning with the Chief of tlie Six Nations, 421 ; Indian Kelics and CustiHns, 422; the Mohawk Church and Uiant's Tomb, 42.H, 424 ; the Mohawk Institute — (yommnnion-phite from Queen Anne, 42.') ; British attack Black Rock, 420 ; Preparations for anollicr Invasion of Canada, 427 ; 1*16 Hritish forewanuid — Passage of the Niagara River, 428 ; Incidents of the attempted Invasion, 42il ; Smyth's Incompetence and Folly, 430 ; the Invnsiuu of Canada abandoned, 431 ; a Duel, and what come of it — exit Smyth, 432. CHAPTER XXI. NAVAL OPERATIONS IN 1812. Acknowledged naval Suj)eriority of Great Britain, 433 ; ( 'haracter, Distribution, and Condition of the Amer- ican War .Marine, 434 ; (junniodore Rodgcrs's Soiuidron — first Shot in the War, 435 ; Rodgers in Euro- pean waters — British Squadron nt Halifax, 43t) ; (^^riiise of the Constitution, 437 ; how she eluded her Pursuers, 438 ; the tUsex goes on aOuise, 43!) ; Cruise of the Essex, 440; how a Challenge was accepted by Commodore Porter, 441 ; the Coiistitiilioii off the Eastern Coast, 442 ; Battle between the Cvnstitutioti and (riierriere, 443, 444 ; Destruction of the (lucrriere — F2ffect8 of the Victory, 44.') ; Honors to Commo- dore Hull, 440 ; F^ft'ect of the Victory on the British Mind, 447 ; Hull's Generosity, 448 ; (>ui.«e of the Wasp, 44i> ; Fight l)etween the Wnsji and the Fro/ir, 4.")0 ; lioth Vessels ca|)tured by tho Poictiers, 451 ; Honors to Captain Jones, 452 ; Lieutenant Biddle honored and rewarded, 453. CHAPTER XXII. NAVAL OPERATIONS AND CIVIL AFFAIRS IN 1812, Commodore Rodgers's second Cruise, 454 ; Battl;; between the United State's and Macedonian, 455 ; Cap- ture of the Macedonian — Decatur takes her to New York, 450; Honors to Decatur, 457; Bainb)-idge in Command of a Sipiadron, 458 ; his (^ruise on the Coast of Brazil. 459 ; Battle between the Constitution and Java, 40(); Loss of the Java — Incidents of the Battle, 401 ; Honors to Buinbridge, 402 ; Ettects of the naval Battles in Great Britain, 403 ; meeting of the Twelfth Congress, 404 ; Madison re-elected — his Ad- ministration sustained, 405 ; Quince's Denunciations and Clay's Res[)onse, 400 ; Mejisiires for strengthen- ing the Army and Navy, 407 ; Retaliation — Report of the Committee on l''oreign Relations, 408 ; Mani- festo of the Prince Regent and its Charges, 409 ; Mediation of the Empei' r of Russia proposed, 470; Re- joicings over Napoleon's Misfortunes — Peace Commissioners, 471 ; CabiiKt Changes, 472. CHAPTER XXIII. EVENTS ON THE MAUMEE RIVER. Contemplated Expedition against Maiden, 473 ; American (7amp at the Maiimee Rapids, 474 ; Interference of the Secretary of War with General Harrison, 47.S ; General Clay's march to the Maumi.e, 470 ; Ilarri- .son assumes grave Responsibilities, 477; British and Indian F^xpedition against Fort Meigs, 478; the Mission of Captain Oliver, 479; Leslie Combs volunteers for perilous Duty, 480; Incidents of his Voyage down the Maumee, 481 ; Preparations for an Assault on Fort Meigs, 482 ; Attack on Fort Meigs, 483 ; critical Rituati Defeat and hw Fort Meigs, 48 Harrison's Provi: ciiniiha anxiou) to ca|)tiire Fort sumpioncd to m Incidents of tlui '■•<>•■■'. 500 J „I„o ■ssailed and virj Constriictioii oC Vewels, 512; p n. rrison viuits I 1 trry prepares for acter of the oj)), Srpiadroiis— Ope, Si'eries on Iniard i rence to tho Ni,i, tempt to Flscape; Dead, .Vtl ; sad 1 ''•e exultant Amc Alliaiue— Predict tions for unveilii: Statue iinveiled- Cll ; Poiry and :ilH h in Arrangements for .., 540 ; Proctor, frig; British, 548 ; the . dians make a Stain British defeated— I son and Proctor prr thor's Visit to the T leaves the Armv- ^^ ^>n*t the Deiiiegeni, 48,*> ; Dudley '» Defout ami mul Ku.tnltH, 4Htl ; Arrivitl of Ko-enl'iirtTiiiuiitii for I'ort Muig», 487; Kfl'ect of a ^iortiu from Fort MeigH, 480; thu Autliur's Visit tu the Miiiinioo Valley, 4iM)-4*J;i. CIIAITKH XXIV. TlIK ■>VAU IM NORTHKIl.H OHIO- <'(»NHTRL'CTIO!f Of rFHRT'ft FI.EBT. lIivrrinoii'M I'rovisioii for tho Frontier lleft'imes, 4'.t4 ; Kciitiickiiins iiniler Colonel K. M. JohnBon, 4J)r>; Te- c'linithii anxious for hoi'tilo Action, 4!)(i; ,Iohnnon'H Ti-oops iit Fort .Siephonsoii, I;i7 ; uiiHuiTesHfiil Attempt to viipture Fort Moi)(ii, 4!(H ; Foit Ste|ihen!iiin mciiiicetl, 4!l!t ; ('roi;lmn duterniiiu's to h(.ld it, rM); it id RuniiMoned to Hiirrenilor, M\ ; a Siege, MtJ ; Fort StephenHon utornied, and the Asituilaiits repuUed, WKl ; Incident)! of tho Night succec " / the .Strnggle — Honors to Croglian, 'i<14 ; the AiithorV Visit to Sandnsky, fiO'i, fiOtl; also to FriMnont and Site of Fort .Stephenson, M)T ; .Jonrney to Toledo— Harrison's Churaclor assailed and vindicated, M)K ; Captain I'erry sent to Lake Krie, "i(l!l; llaihor of Krie or I'resq' Isle, ">!(); Constrnction of a Lake Fleet bcKiin there, ol I ; Ferry's Services with Chaiincey and in secnring American Vessels, 512 ; Ferry's earnest Call for Men, olJI ; Krie menaced, 61 1 ; first Ci'uiM of I'erry'* Fleet, 615 ; Il'rrison viiiit* i'erry, 61(i ; I'erry '» second Cruise, 517. CIIAl'TKK XXV. THH BATTI.C OF LAKE ERIE. I'trry prepares for Battle, ."IS ; his final Instructions — Hritish Scpindron in sight, 519 ; Names and Chnr- Hcter of tho opposing S(|nndrnns, ^>'2(); CIningo in the Order of Hattle, 521 ; relative Position of the Squadrons— Opening of the Hattle, 522 ; first Position of tho Vessels in the Fight, 52!); the Hattle — S<'ones on board tho Lawrcnve, 524, 525 ; sad ( "ondition of the htwreiire, 52(! ; I'erry goes from the /^tip- rence to the Niaf/nra, 527; I'erry breaks tho Hritish Line, 52H ; his Victory — Hritish ,Ships vainly at- tempt to Kscape, 52'.); Ferry's fauKuii' Dispatch, 5,')(); Surrender of the Hritish (MHcers — Hnrial of the Dead, 531 ; sad KlVects of the Hattle, 5!t2 ; Importance of l'err'"s Victory, 5,'t;t ; public Celebrations by the exultant Americans, 5;t4 ; Honors to Elliott and his Subordinates, 5i(5 ; a I'lei; for a Hritish-Indiaii Alliaufo — Prediction by Washington Irving, 5;t(i ; Author's Visit to Krie ond Cleveland, 537 ; Prepara- tions for unveiling a Statue of Perry at ('leveland, 538 ; surviving Soldiers of tho War of 1812, 53!) ; the Statue unveiled— a rcmarkiiblo Dinner-party, 540; a sham naval Hattle — early Uesidents of Cleveland, 541 ; Perry and his Captives, 542 ; Kecoiitiou of Perry and Harrison at Krie, 543. CIIAPTKU XXVI. ItARRIflON'f) INVASION OK CANAIJA — HI« IIOMK. Arrangements for invading Canada, 544 ; Army of tho Northwest in Motion, 545 ; it crosses Lake Erie. 54(J ; Ptoctor, frightened, flees frimi Maiden — Tecunitha's scornful Itebnke, 547; vigorous Pursuit of the British, 548 ; the Armies in the Hiver 'I'liames, 54'.t ; Destruction of Property, UMi ; the Hritish and In- dians make a Stand for Hattle, 551 ; the Annies in battle Array, 552 ; Battle of the Thames, 553, 554; British defeated — Death of Tecumtha — who killed him, 555 ; Gallnntry of Cohmel Johnson, 55(> ; Harri- son and Proctor i)roperly rewarded, 557, 558 ; Keturns to Detroit — Ktfect of the Victory, 55!) ; the Au- thor's Visit to the Thames Battle-ground, 5(i(), 5tJl ; Harrison on tlic Noithem Frontier, 5(i2 ; Harris;m leaves the Army — Author's .loumey in t)hio, 5()3 ; Anti(niities at Newark, 5(i4, 505 ; Columbus and the Scioto Valley, fidO ; Chiliicutho and its N'icinity, 5(i7, 5(58 ; (iovernor Worthington's Fesidence, 5(!U ; Visit to Hatavin and North Bend, 570 ; North Bond and iti' early Associations, 571 ; Conrtsliip and Mar- riage of Captain Harrison and Anna Symmes, 572 ; Harri.ion'8 Tomb and Dwelling, 673 CHAPTEU XNVII. EVENTS ON THE ST. LAWUKNCK FRONTIEK AND UPPF.M CANADA. The Energies of (jreat Britain displayed, 575 ; Operations in the St. Lawrence Kegion, 576 ; Attack on Elizabfthtown — Retaliation, 577 ; Attack on Ogdonsburg, 578 ; Defense of the Town, 57!) ; Ogdonsburg captured, 58(i ; tho Village phmdered and Citizens carried off, 581 ; Author's Visit to Ogdensburg and Prescott, 582 ; the Canadian Kebellion, 583 ; another Invasion of Canada contemplated, 584 ; Prepara- tions for it, 585 ; Expedition against Little York, 580, 587 ; Americans land and drive the British to Lit- tle York, 588 ; Explosion of a Powder-magazine and Death of General Pike, 58!) ; Capture of York and Escape of tho British, 5!)0; York abundonou Scalp as an 0;nament, 51)1 ; the Author's Visit to To- ronto, formerly I^ittlo York, 5!)2 ; an Adventu. among the Tortifications, 593 ; notable Men and Places nt Toronto, 5!)4 ; Passage across Lake Ontario- Jouniey lO Niagara Falls, 505 ; Expedition against Fort George — the respective Forces, 5!)() ; ('annonaue between Forts (Jeorge and Niagara, 597 ; the American S(iundron and the landing of Troops, 5!)8 ; a severe Hattle — Capture of Fort George, 599 ■ tho Hritish retreat to the Beaver Dams and Burlington Heights, 000; British Property on«the Niagara Frontier de- stroyed by themselves — Expedition toward Burlington Heights, (iOl ; the Americans at Stony Creek, 002; Battle at Stony Creek, (i03 ; Capture of Generals Chandler and Winder, 004 ; the Americans flee and are pursued, 605 ; Destruction of Property at Sodus — British Fleet off Oswego, 000. CHAPTER XXVIIl. EVENTS AT SACKETT'S HARBOR AND ON THE NIAGARA FRONTIER IN 1813. British Designs on Snckett's Harbor — its Defenses, 007; General Brown in ('ommnnd at Sackett's Harbor, 608 ; Assembling of the Militia — Approach of the British, 609 ; Position of the Militio — a Panic and Flight, 610; a Conflict — Destructicn of Public Stores, Oil ; the British retreat, 612; Sackett's Harbor and its Defenses, 1 4 ; the Author's Visit there — the Frigate Neit> Orleans — a neglected Monument, 010; his- torical Ivoealities around Sackett's Harbor — a Visit to Watertown and Brownsville, (fl 7 ; the Story of Whittlesey and his Wife, 018 ; Movements on the Niagara Frontier, 619 ; Exi)edition against the British at the Beaver Dams. 620 ; Services of a patriotic Woman. 021 ; Defeat and Surrender of the Americans — Fort George invested, (522 ; the Author's Visit to the Beaver Dams Region, 623 ; a veteran Canadian WM- : - -^JX-^^^U .tiHiltiniM viU CONTENTS If iHi I i I ! Soldier, G24 ; Vfcit to Sfonv Creek nnd Ilnmilton, (>2.") ; British and Indian Raidit on the Niagara Fron- tier, <)2(! ; Bnttle at Ulnck IJock, (!'J7 ; Kxpcdition to Rurliiigton lleiglits and York, 028 ; Oenrborn suc- ceeded by Wilkinson, (i2!> ; Helations between Wilkinson, A.-iiiatrong, and Hampton, (iUO ; AlFairs on the Niagara Frontier, V>',i\ ; Fort George menaced and Newark lairnt, (i;W : just lndigiiati(m of the Hritish — Retaliation proposed, ()!!.'{ ; Fort Niagara captured — Desolation of tliat Frontier, 7 ; Attempt to seduce American Soldiers from their Allegiance, 658 ; the Author's Visit to the St. Lawrence Region — Carleton Island, 65'.), 000 ; William Johnson of the Thon- ' sand Islands, 661 ; his Exploits, Arrest, and Imprisonment, 662 ; his Services in the War of 1 81 2, 063 ; a Visit to French MilU and Vicinity, 664; Rouse's Point— La CoUe, 665; a Visit to Cliryulor's Farm, Prescott, and Ogdeusbarg, 666. CHAPTER XXX. PREDATOnY WARFARE OF THE HtlTISH ON THE COAST. Blockade of the Chesapeake and Delaware Bays declared, 667 ; Operations of Blockaders in Chesapeake Bay, ' 668; Attack on Lewiston — Cockiiini, the Marauder, G'j'J ; Capture of Fronchtown, 670; Attack on Havre de (irace, 671 ; the Town plundered and fired, 672 ; the Author's Visit to Havre de Grace — John O'Neill, (!73; Cockhurn plunders and destroys other Villages, (!74 ; stirring Scenes in Hampton Roads, 675 ; a Britich Fl^et enters the Roads, (!76 ; Craiiey Island nnd its Deienders, 677 ; Prejjarations for Buttle, 078; the .iritish attack, aie repulsed, and withdraw, 6"it ; they turn upon Hampton, 680; they land and mena"-, it, (>81 ; a Struggle for the Possession of Hampton, 68'i ; Americans driven out, and the Village given up to Rapine and Plunder, 683 ; the Author visits Croney Island an*". Norfolk. 684, C35; the F'ortifications on Craney Island, 68(> ; a Visit to Hamjito'i, 687 ; a Daughter of Coinmcxlore Barron — a Veteran of 1812 — Hampton destroyed by Virginia Rebels, (i88 ; CocUburn in the Potomac and on the Coasts of the C'arolinas and (ieorgia, 68i>; Secret Organizations among the Slaves, 6iM); Decatur nins the Blockade at New York, 6;il ; blockading Scpiadi-on off New London, <)'.)2; Alarm produced by Tor- pedo Vessels, 693 ; the Coast of (Connecticut bliM'kaded — the local Militia, 691 ; Decutur i;i the Thames, 695 ; the Author's Visit to New London and its Vicinity, 696, 697. CHAlTKli XXXI. WAR ON THE OCEAN IN 1813. Bnttio between the ITornel and Peacock, 698 ; Victory of the //erne.'— Prowess of the Americans respected, 699; Honors to (^aptain Lawrence and his Men, 700; (Yuise of the i'hempeake — her Character. 701 ; Lawrence's last official Letter, 7^)2 ; Brokc's Challenge, 703 ; the (.%sni>euk€ and lier Oew, 794 ; the Chem/ieakr. goes out to fight, 70."; ; Battle between the Chesniipuk-c and Shannon — Death of I^awrence, 706 ; Treachery — Capture of the Clicm/ieake — she is taken to Halifax, 70.'S ; Exultation of the British, 709 ; Honors to Captain Broke, 710 ; Respect paid to the Remains of Lawrence and liia Lieutenant, Lud- low, 711 ; funeral Cerenamies ai Salem, 712 ; funeral Ceremonies at New York — Monuments, 713; stir- ring Scenes in Chesapeake Bay, 714 ; Cruise of the Argiix in British Waters, 715 ; Battle between the Art/us :i!id Pelican, 716; Battle between the Kitterprise. and liorer, 717 ; Funeral of the Commander of each at P^irtland, 718 ; Honors to Burrows and M 'Call, 719 ; last Cruise v>f the l^nterpnse, 720. CHAPTER XXXIL CRUISE OF THE ESSEX. Weakness of the American Na^y, 721 ; the Essex starts on a long Cniise~a .Search for Bainhridgc, 722 : she .sails for the Pacific Ocean", 723 ; her Search for British whaling Vessels, 724 ; by ca; tnriiig and ann- ing British whaling Vc!ssels, Po"*er rreafes a Squadron, 725 ; successful Ouise among the Oallapagos Isl- ands, 72(i ; Porter sails for th:: *':'i n^us.'s Islf.nds, 727 ; civil War in Nooaheevah, 728 ; Porter engages in theWor, 729; the Women of Nooaheevah, 730; Incidents in the Harbor of Valparaiso, 731 ; Battle between the Ksspt and two British Ships, 732 ; the Essex captured — Porter returns Home, 733 ; Honors to ( .'omm.xlore Porter — his subsequent Career, 734 ; Rodgers's long Cruiae in I8i3 — his Services to his C-^untry, 735, 736 ; he makes another Cruise in the President — Honors to Rodgers, 737. CHAPTER XXXIIL WAR AGAINST THK f'UEKK INDIANS. Insurrectionary Mo^enlent8 in Ix)uirtM the (^reeks to make War on the White People, 710 ; the Creek Nation and their Position, 74V ; Civil War among '.he Creeks — White People in Peril, 748 , the .Militia in the Field — Battle of Burnt Com Creek, 749 ; Pre|mrali(ins for Defense in Lower Alabama, 750 ; Fort Mima and its Uccupauts, 75! ; Rumors of im])ending Hostilitieii, 752 ; Fort Mims crowded wi Massacre a Help, 758 ; Jackson heeds lower (.'reek sehatche, 76; I'iiited Itulin from (ieorg. ■'•''ght, 770; Armies iu th ('reek, 775; Creek Counti the subdued i c Political Compos — Pcice I'artv ■Act repealed,' tires jiroposcd, on La Collo Mi Brown, moving Forces oi, Uki the War in (Jsv fvir Sackett's H, Author's Visit t( and the Invasioi «<«; .S.-ott prei British Force, 8( heartened, 811; 813; the British The British, re-enfi the British attacl Battery, «:>(, ; ^^ Americans, 822 • ^<'<>tt, woundod.'r Battle-grounds o l;^ne, 829; the Br ^••.">J>83I; the; Ene, 834, 835 ; B: Triumph of Miller Brown, 841; Hone Erie, 843; (ienera American Troops , Holmes's Expeditit Operations in that i llie Downfall of Nap Control of Lake Ch, J'eiminnent, 858 ; c the British advanco 86.^ ; the British ch( ."Pening of naval Bni icuns complete, 871- "i-itisli alarmed, 874 t«) General Macomb, i «'•'; the Autiior's Vi< Ontario, 885; a heavj The Blockade of Ne*] sea-port Towns block;., Boston, 892; theBriti ctation sent to the Bi CONTENTS. rrowded with Refugees, 7."^ ; gathering of hostile Savages near, 7">4 ; furious Assault on Fort Mims, T'lri ; MasKiicre at Kort Mims, 7.")(i ; Horrors of the Massacre, 7ri7; J{espoiise < '"the Tcnncssceaua to a Cry for Help, 758 ; General Andrew Jackson in the Field — Mobile threatened, but savtjd, 759, CHAPTER XXXIV. WAR AGAINST TUB CRE<5K INDIANA. Jackson heeds a Cry for Help from the Coosa, 7(iO; the Army threatened with P'amine — AiTaiis in the lower Creek Coimtrj-, 7(il ; Choctaw Allies — Exjieditioii against Tailasehatche, 7(i2 ; Hattle of Talla- sehatche, "tJiJ ; Ji^cksoii hasten.? to the Kelief of tiireatetied I'osts, 7(i4 ; Battle at Talhulepx, 7(>") ; the dia- jilrited Iiidiaiis sue for I'eace, 7(>G ; Destruction of the HiUabee Towns, 7(>7 ; the Creek Country invaded from Georg.a — Battle of Auttose, 7G8 ; Kxpoditicn under Captain Dale, 70!) ; Dale's terrible Canoe Kight, 770; Fort Claiborne at Kandon's Landing, 771; Battla of Kconochaco, 772; Dissolution of the Armies in the Creek Country — new Voluntsers, 773 ; I?attle of Emucfau, 774 ; JJattle on Enotochopco Oeek. 77.">; Hattle on the Calebee River, 77(i; East Tonnesseeans and Choctaw Allies on the Way to the Crock Country. 777; Battle of the Horseshoe, 77'.); the Power of the Creek Nation broken there, 780; the subdui^d liidians sue for Peace — 'iVeathersford in Jackson's Tent, 781 : the Creek Nation ruined, 782, CHAPTER XXXV. CIVIL AFFAinS IN 1813 — EVENTS ON THE NORTHERN FRONTIER IN 1814. Political Composition of Congress — Peace Commissioners, 783 ; illicit Traffic — Change in public Sentiment — I'cace Party, 784 ; revolutionary Proposition — new Embargo Act, 78,1 ; Rumors of Peace — Embargo Act repealed, 7 8(! ; Provisions for the increa.se of the Army, 787; Prisoner.-i of War — retaliator}- Meas- nrcs )>roposed, 788 ; Campaign on the Northern Frontier and Lake Cnami)lain, 789; Wilkinson marches on I>a CoUo Mill, in Canada, 790 ; Battle of La Colle Mill, 7i)1 ; end of Vvilkinson's military Career, 7i>2 ; Brown, moving toward the Niagara Frontier, perjjlexed by Orders fr )m the War Department, 7i)3; Naval Forces on Lake Ontario, 794 ; the British attack Oswego, 795 ; they cajiiure Oswego, 79(i ; Survivors of the War in Oswego, 797 ; Sackett's Harbor blockaded, 793 ; Woolsey at Big Sandy Creek with Stores for Sackett's Haibor, 799 ; Battle at Big Sandy Creek, 8(X) ; agreat Cab'e carriijd to Sackett's Harbor — Author's Visit to Big Sanely Creek, 801 ; the Anny on the Niagara Fnmtier — Red .Jacket, 802 ; Fort Erie and the Invasion of '^ana(.a, 803 ; an Invasion of (Canada from Black Uock, 804 ; Caj)ture of Kort Erie, 805; Scott prepruej for battle at Street's tireek, 80G; preliminary Fighting, 807; Scott advances — the British Force, 808 ; the Battle of Chippewa, 809, 810; the British driven from Chip])ewa — Indians dis- heartened, 811; the Armies inspirited by the Victory, 812 ; Preparations to cross the Chippewa Creek, 813 ; the British retreat — Brown marches for Fort Georgo, 814— he falls back to Chippewa, 81.J. CHAPTER XXXVL WAR ON THE NIAGARA FRONTIER IN 1314. The British, re-enforced, advance toward Chippewa, 816; vScott discovers them near Niagara Falls, 817; the British attack Scott, 818; Bro\vii advantes from Chippewa, 819; C\ilonel Miller captures a British Battery, 820; A])preciation of his Exploit, 821 ; desperate Struggle in the di>rkness — Victory for the Americans, 822 ; close of the Battle of Niagara Falls, 823 ; the Battie and the Victory considered, 824 ; Scott, wounded, proceeds to Washington, 825 ; Honors awarded him, 82(1 ; the Author's Visit to the Battle-grounds of Chipj)ewa and Niagara Falls, 827,828; the Army falls back and is ordered to Fort Erie, 829; the British again attack Black Rock, 830; Brown wounded — Gaines takes Command of the Army, 831 ; the American Trooiis at Fort Erie, 8;'2 ; tiie I'ritish assail the Fort, 833 ; Battle of Fort Erie, 834, 835 : Brown resumes Command. 830 ; a Sortie, 837 ; brilliant Success of General Porter, 838 ; Triumph of Mdler anil llpham, 839 ; the British abandon the Siege, 840 ; Honors awarded to General Brown, 841 ; Honors to Generals Porter and Ripley, 842 ; two remarkable Survivors of the Battle of Fort Erie, 84.3 ; General l,;ard sends Troops to the Niagara F"roiitier, 844 ; he takes Command there, 815 ; the American Troojjs withdraw from Canada, 84(! ; the Author visits Fort Erie and its Vicinity, 847, 848 ; Holmes's Expedition into Canadu — Battle of the I^ng Woods, 849 ; Expedition to the upper Lakes, 850; Operations in tliat Region, 851 ; M'Arthur's Raid in Canada, 852 — his Bravery and Generosity, 853. CHAPTER XXXVn. KVKNlfl ON LAKE CHAMrLAIN IN 1814. The Downfall of Napoleon, 854 ; English Troops released for Sen'ice in America, 85.5 ; Struggle for the Omtrol of Lake Cham])lain, 856 ; Operations (m the Canada Border, 857; alarming Order from the War Department, 858 ; Concentration of Troops at Plattstiurg, 859 ; Position of American Works there, 8()0; the British advanco on Plattsburg, 8(il ; a Skirmish at Beekmantown, 8(12 ; another near I'lattsburg, 863; the British checked at the Saranac Bridge, 864 ; British land — our naviU Forces in motion, 865; Opening of naval Hattle ott" I'lattsburg, 8(16 ; Battle of Lake Champlain. 867-870 ; Vi<'tory for the Amer- icans complete, 871 ; Casualties, 872 ; Movements of the land Troops — Battle of Plattsburg, 873 ; the British alarmed, 874 ; their hasty Flight into Canada, 875 ; Rejjicings because of Victory, 87(i ; Honors to (Jeneral Macomb, 877 ; Honors to Commodore Macdonough, 878 ; Effect of the Victory at Plattsburg, 879 ; the Autiior's Visit to the Scene of War on and near Lake Champlain, 880-884 ; Operations on Lake Ontario, 885 j a hea\7 British Ship on the Lake, 886; (dose of Hostilitien on the Northern Frontier, 887. CKAl'TER XXXVIIL THE WAR ON THE NEW ENGLAND COAST I 1814. The Blockade of Ne* London, 888 ; amphibious Warfare on tht New England Coast, 889 ; New England sea-port Towns blockaded, 890; Portsmouth and Boston menaced, 891 ; Preparatioiis for the Defense of Boston, 892; the British Squadron attacks Stonington, 893; Captain Holmes and his Ciun, 894; a Dep- utation sent to the British Commander, 895 ; the British repulsed — impoteucy of the Attack, 896 ; a ^ .,w«jir**d;'**ww CONTENTS. British Force on the Coast of Maine, 8!>7 ; Operations in Penobscot Hay and River, 898 ; Preparations nt llHmi)den to oppose tlie British Invasion, 8'J!t ; Panic and Flight of the Militia, 1)00 ; the British at Bangor, i)(ll ; Treatment of General Blake, UO'J ; the British at Custine, 903 ; the Author's Visit to Places on the Ne« Knglund Coast — Observations at Boston, i'04 ; at Salem and Marblehead, 90;)-9()7 ; Journey to the J'enohscot, 908 ; Observations at Castine, 909 ; Voyage up the Penobscot, 910; Hampden, 91 1 ; Obserx-ations at Bangor, 912; Visit to New Bedford and Providence, 913 ; Stoniugton and Mystic, 914 ; Story of a faithful Daughter, 915. CHAPTER XXXIX. THE CAPTURK OF WASHINGTON CITT. Apathy of the Government while the Capital was ;.. peril, 91G; feeble Preparations for its Defense, 917; (jeneral Winder in t:ommand— a Cull for Troops, 918; Tardiness of tlie Secretary of War — Apathy of the Peoi)le, 1(19; Appeiirance of the British in Ciiesapeake Bay, 920; gathering of Troops — Destruction of Barncj's Flotilla, 921 ; the Forces gathered for the Defense of Washington and Baltimore, 922; the British move on Washington from the Putuxent, 923 ; Battle Lines formed mar Bhidunsburg, 024 ; Ex- citement in the national C/'apital, 925 ; the British advance on Bladensburg, 92G ; Arrangements to receive them, 92G, 927 ; Dueling-ground near Bladensburg, 928 ; Battle of Bladensburg, 929, 930 ; Barney wounded and made Prisoner, 931 ; the victorio-js British march on Washington City, 932; Destruction of the public Buildings, 933 ; Destruction of the Navy Yard, 934 ; Flight of the President and his Cabinet — Patriotism of Mrs. Madison, 935 ; Object of the Invasion, 930 ; the British retreat from Washington, 937; Slavery the cause of the Disaster at Bladensburg, 938 ; a British Fleet passes up the Potomac, 939 ; Alexandria plundered — Torpedoes, 940 ; the British Squadron returns to Chesapenko Bay — Visit to the Battle-ground a'. Bladensburg, 941 j Kaloramu and Oak Ilill Cemetery, 942; Congressional Burial- ground — Fort Washington, 943. CHAPTER XL. EVENTS AT BALTIMOKK, PHII-AnELfHIA, AND NEW YORK IN 1814. Tlie British in Cnesapeake Bay, 944 ; Exploits of Parker and Cockbum, 945 ; Operations of the British Fleet in Chesapeake Bay, 94(5; Baltimore threatened, 947 ; I'reparations for the Defense of Baltimore, 948; Fortifications and Troops for its Defense, 949 ; the Britisn land and advance on Baltimore, 950 ; Position of tlie contending Armies, 951 ; Battle of North Point — Death of the British Commander, 952, 953; the British Fleet moves up to attack Fort M'Henry, 954; Bombardment of the Fort, 955; the British Invaders driven otf, 95(>; "The Star-spangled Banner," 957; the British land Troops march on Baltimore, 958 ; they retire to their Ship:; — the "Iritish Programme, 959 ; Honors to Colonel Armistead, 960 ; the ,\uthor's Visit to Baltimore and the hi .orical Localities around it, 9fil-905 ; New York and Pliilndel|)hia relieved, 9(;5 ; the Volunteer Comjianies of Philadelphia, 96G ; Orgenizatiou of Troops and ■ EstiiDiislimeiit of (,'amps, 967 ; Patriotism of the Citizens of Philadelphia, 968; New York aroused — Com- mittee of Defense, 9()9 ; the Citizens assist in casting up Fortifications — " The Patriotic Diggers," 970 ; the Fortifications around New York, 971-975 ; a tloating Battery authorized by Congress, 976; the Steam- ship Fulton the First, 977. CHAPTER XLL NAVAL WARFARE ON THE OCEAN IN 1814 — AMERIUAN PRIVATEERS. New Vessels for the Navy — the Jo/m Adams, 978 ; Cruise of the Wasp — Capture of the Reindeer, 979 , the Was/i and Afnn — Loss of the iVas/i, 980 ; Fight between the Peacock and Fpervier, 981 ; Barney's Flo- tilla in Chesapeake Bay, 982 ; the Constitution, 983 ; Battle between the Constitution, Cyane, and levant, 984; the ConsHlntionand her Prizes — Honors to Commodore Stewart, 985 ; Stewart's Home in New Jersey. 986 ; Decatur's Squadron — he puts to Sea in the President, 987 ; Battla between the President and kndijmion, 9H8 ; the rest of Decatur's Squadron puts to Sea, 989 ; Battle between the Hornet and Penyuin, 990; Honors to Captain Biddle, 991 ; Cruise of the Hornet and Peacock — the Navy at the end of the War, 91,'2 ; the first Privateers, 993 ; Cruise of the Rossie,WA; first Prize taken to Baltimore — thr lltobe, 995 ; Cruise of the Hiyhflyer, Yankee, and Shadow, 99(5 ; Salem and Baltimore Privateers, 997 ; Privateering at the close of 1812, 998; remarkable Cruise of theCome/,999; Cruise of the Chasseur, Sar- atoga, Dol/thin, Lottery, and Yai.kee, 1000 ; Cruisu of the General Armstromj, Ned, and Scomye, 1001 ; the Teasel — Capture of the Fa;//e — Cruise of the Decatur, 1002; Cruise cf the David Porter, (lUilie, and Harpy, 1003; the Career of the General Armstrony, 1004; Honors toCaptain Keid — Cnuse of thePrince de Neti/chatel, llM)5 ; Cruise of the Saucy Jack and Kent]), 1006 ; Cruise of the Macdonovgh and Amelia — the American Privateers and their Doings, 1007. CHAPTER XLII CIVIL AFFAIRS IN 1814 — OPEKATIONS IN THE OHLF REGION. Boston the Centre o. illicit Trade, 1008; the Peace Faction assails the Government and tlie Public Credit, 1009; Ett'ects of the C^on:ipiracy against the Public Cradit, 1010; new financial Measures — Revival of the Public Credit, 101 1 ; Measures for increasing the Army — Discontents in New England, 1012 ; the Hart- ford (Convention, 1013-1015; the Memlxjrs o>' the Hartford Convention, 1016; Jackson recalled to active Service in the Gulf Region, 1017 ; the Baratarians and their Leader, 1018 ; Jackson perceives Miscicief at Pensacola, 1019; Fort llowyer threat^'ued by a British Squadron, 1020; the Fort attacked and the Assailants repidsed, 1021 ; the British at Pensacola — .lackson marches on that Post, 10?2 ; Flight of the British and Indians, 1023; Jnckson in New Orleans — Appearance of the British, 1024 ; Preparations to receive the Invaders, 1025 ; Capture of the American Flotilla or. Lake Borgno, 102(i ; Jackson's Review of 'lYoops in New Orleans and their Disposition, 1027; the British approach the Mississippi, 1028; they march on New Orleans — Kes)H)nse to Jackson's Call for Troops, 1029 ; Events below New Orleans, 1080 ; a night Battle, 1031 ; the British fall back, 1032 ; the Americans withdraw, 1034. CONTENTS. XI till CHAPTER XLIII. DEFENSE OP NEW OHI.EA.N8 PEACE. Jackson's Line of Defense, 1034; a gloomy Day for the Invadei-s — Arrival of General Pakenham, lO.'lfi; Seat of War in Louisiana and Florida, lO.'U! ; severe Battle on the 28th of Decemlier, 1037 ; the British van((uislied — the American Lines of Defense, 1038 ; the British cast up Ledoubts near the American Line, 103i); a heavy Battle, li4i»; the British repulsed and then re-enforcid, 1041 ; Jackson prepares to receive the increased British F> ices, 1042; Character and Disposition of hs own Forces — Position of his Army on the 7th of Jannaiy, 1043; a British Detachment crosses the Misi-issippi, 1044; Battle of New Orleans, 1046-1040; Disposal of the Dead, lO.TO; Attack on Forts St. I'hilip and Bowyer — Jackson's Army in New Orleans, lO'il; Honors acc'orded to Jackson and his Troops, 1052; Humors of Peace and continu- ance of Martial Law, 10;>3 ; Incidents of Jackson's Trial for Contempt of Court, 1054; the Author's Jour- ney to New Orleans — Lexington and "Ashland," 1055 ; Frankfort and its Cemetery, 105(!; a Visit to Nashville and the " i i mitage," 1 *")7 ; New Orleans and its historic Men and Places, 1058 ; Attack on Fort Sumter — Uprising of the Peopie, 105!); Negotiations for Peace and the Commissioners, 10(!0; (Jhent and the Sympathy of its Inhebitivits with the Americans, lOCl; the Treaty of Peace, 1002, lOfiS; Kcjoic- ings of the American People, 1064; Commemorative Medals — its Ratification, 1065; Position of the He- public at the ch)se of the War, 1067; HeiKljustment of National Afl'airs — Dartmoor Prisoners, 1068; Prosperity of the Republic and its liclaticnb to other Nations, 106'J ; Text of tlie Treaty of Peace, 1071. 1: ■ili'*ili 1 B' ' ■ ; I f ' ' ■ ! • '■ "'"mluated 4- Couteiita....' »• Illustrations . «• fnitinl Letter. 7. First Great 8, 8.va'r."'!";;;- 9. Britannia aroi; ]0. Portrait ofWI n. JacksonN Mo,i »»• Portrait and Si 13. Sianatures of ( the Couitltn ,, „ tlon "• Tnii-piece.. .: 16- Initial Letter. . W- Campus Martfii "• Portrait and Sii 18- Portrait and Pj;, 19 o,*""''!''^'-Clair^ J"- Sijrnatrre ofLoi 21. Port Harmar 22. Port Waehingtoi oo H, "' Cincinnati . u &«"■•' "'■''«' *»• ine Mauniee P< It '/"''» Cros.,lng.pi 27. Apple-tree near & 28. Map-Pl,,,, of gj" o- „,nndHattle J". Signature of Tobii MW-Pla.. ofLin. March . 32. Sl^.natnreof■>■.■M; 33. Map-jJattlooftho nors 34. Turltey.fooil{;;ck.' •«• Signature of t'ol a«. Initial Letter . . . 3». Portrait and Signa j". I^lhorty Cek . . I ''"'•jiit «nd Signati 4., pO^'IIomllton . *i- Portrait and Hij,, 43. A Bad iMeasure 44. An AHsiBtwit. . «. Portialt of LoniHXv *f. Panie llttinjr Stays 41. Memorial Medal ' «. Initiall^tter.. ••■ 4». The Contrast... M P ^.""P'W Mifflin^ 6I.Port^.altandSig^'at\i; 52. Portrait 'and 8ignat„r, 63. Signatnre I)f Alexa'ndo "•^pSn^e'-/ «'«""•-« ^. Portrait andSi^nature ifi^ 1. 2. 3. 4. 8. e. 7. 8. 9. 10. U. 13. 18. 14. 16. \i. IT. 18. 19. 20. 21. 22. 23. 84. is. 2C. 27. 29. 80. 81. 82. 83. 34. .%. 8«. 37. 38. 40. 41. 42. 43. a. Hi. 4(i. 47. 48. 4». 00. 61. 92. 63. M. 66. 60. 67. IHumluntort Prontlsploco. Title-page. Preface Page ill Couteiits V IIlUHtratlunB ziii Initial Letter 17 First Great Seal of the United atfttCB 20 War 22 nrltaiiula aroiiaed 22 Portrait of William Jackson.. 20 Jackson's Mimumcnt 27 Portrait and Sleuuturo of Gou- verneur Morris 28 Signatures of the Members of the Cou'ttitutioual Conven- tion 30,81,.32 Tall-piece 84 Initial Letter 36 Campus Martlus 37 Portrait and Signature of Miss Ileckewelder 87 Portrait and f'ignaturo of Ocn- eralSt.Clair .IS Signature of WInthropSargen* 38 SignatiTo of Lord Dorchester. 38 Fort riarmar 39 Fort Washington, on the Site of Cincinnati 41 Signature of Joseph Harmir. . 41 The Mauniee Ford— Place of Ilarniar's Defeat 42 Mip— Ilarmar's Defeat 43 Hall's Crossing-place 4!) Apple-tree ucarllarraar's Ford 44 Map— Plan of St. Clair's Camp and Hattle 47 Signature of Tobi^is Lear 49 Lowry's >'i)i\ument 62 Map-Pla.. of Line of Wayne's Slarch 64 Signature of >. M'Kce 64 Map— Hattle of the Fallen Tim- bers 66 Turkey-foot llock 66 Signature of Colonel Ham- Iramck 60 Coloiiel Ilamtramck's Tomb. . 60 Tall-piece —Indian Implements 67 Initial Letter 68 Portrait and Signature of T. PincKuey 64 Liberty Cent 06 Portrait and Signature of Gen- eral Hamilton 00 Portrait and Signature of Thomas Paine. 09 A Bad Measure 09 An Asslgnat 74 Portrait of Louis XVI 70 Paine fitting Stays 70 Memorial Medal 70 Initial Utter 79 TheContrast 81 Portrait and Signature of Thomas Mifflin 82 Port"-alt and Signature of B. C. Genut 88 Portrait and Signature of John Jay 88 SIgnalnrc of Alexander M'KIm 89 Seal of the Republican Society of Baltimore 88 Porirait and Signature of C. 0. Plnckney 92 Portrait and Signature of John Adams 98 Portrait and Signature of Joel Barlow 94 6S. 69. flo. 01. 02. Oii. 04. 06. 00. 67. 08. 70. 71. 72. 73. 74. 75. 76. 77. 78. 79. 80. 81. 82. S3. 84. 85. 80. 87. 38. 89. 90. 91. 92. 98. 94. 98. 90. 97. 98. 90. 100. 101. 102. 103. 104. 108. 100. 107. 108. 109. 110. 111. 112. 118. 114. 116. Siffuntore o.' Benjamin Stod- dert Page 90 Initial I-ettcr 98 John Bull taking a Lunch 99 Signature of Slei-hcn Decatur 101 Portrait and Signature of John . Barry 101 Commodore Barry's Monu- ment 101 Naval Pitcher 104 Modal presented to Commo- dore Truxtun 108 Signature of Tlionias Truxtun 108 Truxtun's Grave 106 The Lutheran Church in Phil- adelphia Ill Washington Medal Ill Tail-piece— M'Pherson Blue.. Ill Initial Letter 112 Portrait and Signature of Thomas Jefferson 114 Algiers In 1800 117 Portrait and Signature of Richard Dale 118 Dale's Mimunient 119 Portrait and Signature of Kd- ward Preble 120 Tripolitan Weapon 121 Trlpjlitan Poniard 122 Medal given to Commodore Preblo 123 NavalMonument 124 SIgnatirre of William Eaton. . 126 Initial Letter 130 Portrait and Signature of A. Burr 135 Signature of John Adair 130 Blenuerhassett's Residence. . 130 Sigjature of Blennerba8in 298 View at MiihU'U, Upper Can- ada 209 BrltlHh Cannon at Detroit :ilKi Signature of Kobt. KpynoldH. . »(KI Slsfunture of C. Moran 302 Kl^ixie Manflion and Fort Dearborn 3(i3 The Black Partridge's Medal. 300 Map-Site of Chicago 308 Block-house at Chftago 312 Fort Wayne in 1h12 81ft The Little Turtle's Grave 315 Bridiie at the Head of ihe Maii- mee 310 Portrait and Signature of Z. Taylor 318 General Taylor's Rceldence. . 319 Initial Letter 320 Port Detlancc 333 Site of Fort Defiance SXt Apple-tree at Defiance 334 Tuil-piecc — Indians at Ruins of a Village 337 Initial Letier 338 Portrait and Signature of Si- mon Perkins 340 Signature of Elijah Wads- worth 340 Portrait and Signature of E. Whittlesey 341 Signature of" William Eustis, . 349 Winchester's llead-quiirtors. . 351 Map — Movements at French- town .858 Ttesidence of La Salle 359 Monroe, from the Battle- ground 301 Signature of Laurent Dnro- cher 302 Portrait and Siguatnre of Jaa. Knaggs 303 Tail-piece - Tomuhawk and Hcalping-knife 304 Initial Letter 305 Arsenal Building, Watertown 300 Signature of Colonel Benedict 307 Portrait of Captain William Vaughan 308 Cipher Alphabet and Numer- als .870 Signature of Paul Hamilton. . 370 Signature of Richard Dodge. . 373 Appearance of Fort, Presenta- tion in 1812 373 Design on Indian Pass 374 Signature of (•. D. Yonng 370 Portrait and Signature of Ele- azer Williams .877 Old Church in St. Regis 378 Boundary Monument 379 The Port of Ilufl"alo in 1S13. . . 380 Remains at Fort Schlosser, .. 380 Signature of II. Dearborn 3S1 Map of the Niagara Frontier. 382 Portrait and Signature of Ste- phen Van Rensselaer 384 Signature of William Howe Cuyler 387 Portrait and Signature of Jes- se D.Elliott 3SS Tail - piece — Oar, Boarding- i)ike, and Rope 388 Inllia! Letter 389 Signature of Alexander Smyth 389 Queenston in 1812 390 Signature of .Tohn K. Fenwick 391 View from the Site of Vroo- maii's Battcrv 391 Signature of John Ohrystie.. . .892 Signature of James Collier. . . 393 Landing-place of Ihe Ameri- cans at Queenston 395 Russell's Law Ufllce 390 Portrait and Signature of John E.Wool 397 Signature of J. ^. Mullanv. ... 399 Portrait and Signature of John Brant 401 Brant's Mcmnment 401 Signature of Joseph (1. Totten 403 Signature of J. Gibson 403 New Magazine at Fort George 405 Signature of R. H. She;ifl'e. ... 406 MiMlal In Memory of General Brock 400 Brock's Monument 400 260. Portrait and Signature of Sol- I 318. innoii Van Rensselaer.. Page 407 .'119. 261. Signature of John Lovctt 401 320. 252. Tail-piece— Proclumatlon and 321. Sword 411 322. 253. Initial Letter 412 264. Brock's MonumentonQucens- 323. t(m Ilelglits 414 255. Monument where Brock fell.. 410 .324. 260. Signature of Solomon Vron- 326. man 417 'i57. rrcsentOntllneofFortGeorge 418 .320. 268. French Magazine at Fort 327. George 418 328. 2.59. Distant View of Fort Missis- saga 419 329. 200. Interior View— Fort Mlssissa- 330. pa in 1800 419 201. Mission house on the Qrand 331. River 421 332. 202. Portrait and Signature of O. H. M. Johnson 41.>1 8.33. 203. Ornamental Tomahawk 421 3:14. 204. Deer-shnnk \Veap(m 422 3,'I5. 2«i. Silver Calumet 422 330. 20(1. Ancient Scalping-knife 422 207. Mohawk IJhurcli, Grand Rlv- 337. e-, C.W 423 338. 208. Interior of Mohawk Chnrch . 423 339. 209. ronimunion Plate 426 270. General Porter's Residence, .340. Black Rock 420 341. 271. Signature of George M'Feely. 420 342. 272. Signature of Cecil IMsshopp. . 428 343. 273. Signature of Samuel Angus... ^28 ;144. 374. Tall-piece — Snail on Maple- 346. leaf 432 27.1. Initial Letter 483 848. 270. Signature of R. Bvron 430 277. Tlie Cnmtihitmn fn l^illO 430 347. 278. Fac-simile of Commodore Por- H48. ter'8 Writing 441 349. 279. Portrait and' Signature of 350. Cvimmodore Hull 442 280. Hull's Monument 442 351. 281. Portrait of James Richard Da- 352. 282. Hnll's Mcdni '.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'. 440 363. 283. Portrait and Signature of Cap- 3.'*4. tain Jones. . 449 355. 284. Signature of Thos.Whinyates 449 360. 285. Signatureof J. P. Beresford.. 451 280. A Wasp on a Frolic 452 357. 287. Medal awarded to Captain 358. Jones 462 3,59. 288. The Biddle Urn 463 300. 2S9. Tail-piece-EagIc bearing oflf 301. the Trident of Neptune. ... 453 302. 290. Initial Letter 454 303. 291. Signature of John S. Carden. 450 292. Medal awarded to Decatur. . . 468 .304. 293. Portrait and Signature of 305. Commodore Bainbiidge 459 300. 294. Bainbridge's Monument 469 f 57. 295. Bainbridge's New York Gold 308. Box 402 290. Bainbridge's Albany Gold Box 402 .309. 297. Bainbridge's Medal 403 370. 298. Bainbridge's Urn 403 299. Tail-picco — Napoleon's Flag ,371. and Star descending 472 372. .300. Initial Letter 473 373. 301. Signature of C. Gratiot 474 374. 302. Portrait and Signature of 376. Green Clay 470 303. View of Cincinnati from New- 370. port In 1812 470 877. 304. Map— Fort Meigs and its VI- .378. clnttv 477 379. .305. Fac-simile of Harrison's Let- 3so. tcr 479 381. 300. Portrait and Signature of Leslie Combs 4,80 382. 307. Up tlie Mauinec Vallev 481 383. 308. Site of the British Batteries 3S4. from Fort Meigs 482 ,309. Portrait and Signatare of Wm. 386. Christv 483 .180. 310. Plan of fort Meigs 484 387. 311. Signature of W. E. Boswell... ''87 312. Map— Siege of Fort Meigs 488 383. 313. Remains of Walker's Monu- ment 4S9 389. 314. Portrait of Peter Navarre 490 316. Ruins of Fort Miami 491 390. 310. Up the Maumce f^'om Maumee 391. City 492 392. 317. Well at Fort Meigs 492 393. Tail-piece— A Scalp Pago 498 Initial Letter 494 Signature of R. M. Johnson . . 496 Johnson's Monument 490 Portrait and Signature of O. Croghan 490 View at Fremont, or Lower Sandusky 500 Plan of Fort Stephenson 603 Gold Medal awarded to Gen- eral Croghan 60B Lower Castalian Spring BOO Site of Fort Stephenson 607 Part of Short's Sword-scab- bard 607 Perry's Residence 609 Portrait and Signature of Dan- iel Dobbins 509 Wayne's Block-house at Erie 610 Site of French Fort and En- trance to Erie Harbor 611 Month of Cascade Creek 611 Block-house 611 Map— Eric and Presq' Isle fiay 614 Portrait and Signature of Ush- er Parsons 610 Put-in Bay 517 Initial Letter 518 Perry's I,ook-out, Gibraltar Island 618 Perry's Battle-fiag 619 Portrait of O. H. Perry 621 View of Perry's Birth-place.. . 621 Calafalco 621 Perry's Monument 621 The two Snuadrons Just before the Battle 522 Portrait and Signature of 8. Chainplln 523 First Position in Ihe Action. . 623 Signature of J. J. Varnall .524 Second Position in file Battli 520 Portrait and Signature of J. ChRpman 627 Signature of Thomas Holdup 628 Position of the Souadions at the close of the Battle 529 Almy's Sword 529 Fac-simile of Perrv's Dispatch ^30 The Burial-place, Put-in Bay. 532 Queen Charlotte and Johnny Bnll 6.34 The Perry Medal 5;;3 The Elliott Medal 636 Signature of Ascl Wilkinson. 538 Portrait of Benjamin Fleming 638 Perry's Lantern 5.39 Perry's Statue 640 Portrait and bignatiire of S. Sholes 541 Cbanii)lin'« Chair 642 Perry's Quarters at Erie 643 Portrait of T. II. Stevens 643 Initial Letter 644 Portrait and Signature of C. S.Todd 648 Dolsen's 649 View at the Mouth of M'Greg- or's Creek 660 M'Grcgor's Mill 660 Portrait of 0«hawahnah 562 View cm the 'I'linines 553 Map- Battle of the Thames. . 564 Portrait and Signature of S. Theobald 660 The Harrison Medal.. 668 The Shelby Medal 658 Tecumtha's Pistol 600 Thames Battle-ground 501 Remains of an ancient Cofflu 604 The four Sides of the Holy Stone 504 Stone Axes 504 Sectional View ot a Pyramid. 604 Great Earth-work near New- ark 805 The old State-honse 607 General M 'Arthur's Residence 808 F.rtralt and Signature of T. Worthlngton 868 Adcna, Governor Worthlng- ton's Residence 669 Portrait and Signature of Mrs. Harrison 671 Pl.nieer Honse, North Bend.. 87t Block-honse at North Bend.. 871 Harrison's Grave 678 Sy mmcL's Monument \ . . 678 894. HarrLior Bend.. 396. Initial Li 390. Block-ho 397. Parish's 898. Portrait W. t'hi 399. Silo „f \,\ 400. Map-Op burg. . ■101. Portridt York . . 402. Court-hon 403. The battel ■ 404. Wind -mil Prescott 40.5. Fort Weill 400. Portrait ai Pike... 407. LHlle York 408. Remains o tery. . . 409. Pow(ler-n 410. Map— Ali:i 411. Signatinv 412. Renniln- of 413. Old Kort ,u ■ 414. View on tl Lewislori 416. Entrance I, 410. Plan of o, ,,, ^ Mouth of 4 T. A North Uiv 413. Portrait and II. Merrltt 419. Bnttle-grounc 420. Tail -pice,. .„, , Store-hous( 421. Initial Letter 422. Portrifit and Ann .< '^'''' "'■'"vn. 423. General Brow 424. Light-house a «6. Signature of ( 420. Map— Oporatii Harbor... 427. Sackett'a llar'b '8. Mao— Sackoti'i ,_, Defenses. 429. Signature of \\ 4.10. The S'm Orient 431 Pike's Monumt 4.32. Remains of Vm 433. Block-house, Sa 434. Mansion of Gen 4.35. Whittlesey Rod 4.30. Signature of c.( 43T. German Church 438. Portrait and Sig .„„ „ra,Secord... 439. Beaver Dams 1 ...n „,""'' Surround: 440. Si^'iiature of .Ian 44 . BLsshopp's Mom 442. Interior of Port] 44.1. SlirnatureofOer 444. T,ni-piece-Pnr) fire 446. Initial Letter 440. Portrait and s'io ^ , G.Swift 447. Signature of ■Tof field 44''. Signatureof A. D 449. Portrait and Sign, „„ crtCarr...... 4O0. Portrait and Sign Wilkinson...^. 451. Signature of W I] 452. M.i.ith of French 463. Bald Island and Flotilla . . . 464. Chrysler's In 18,5(s' 466. Signature of Rob't 460. signature of .1. A 467. Signature of ,r w'n 468. Map-Cliiysler's P 469. Signature of M.Mj 400. Place of Deharkat jft- T 'Salmon River. . . 40i. Lewis and Boyd's ters 462. Brown's Head-qua, 403. Fac-simile of writt 404. Remains of Fort Ci iw- J'""'"" Armlet.... 400. Light-hou..ekeptb' 407. Peel Island....: ILLUSTRATIONS. XV 394. Ilnrrisnn'H Residence at North Bend Puge 574 396. Initial Letter M6 JHI«. HliKk-liDiise lit Brockvllle 5TT .197. I'lirlsh'H Htore-hoime B7S il98. Portrait niid flignnture of D. W.riiiirch B7S .199. Site of Fort PresenlatloD B79 400. Map— Operfttli" " at Ogdcna- Imrg 5S0 401. Portndt and Sii;natnre of J. York 5W 402. CIdiirt-honsc, OifdenBbnrg B80 4(til. The battered Wind-mill NO 404. Wlnil-mll) and RiihiH near Prescott &S4 40.'5. Fort Wellington In IHiiO 884 400. Portrait and Slgiinture of Z. Pike WB 407. Utile York In l.s'.it B87 408. Remains of the Western Bat- tery BSS 409. Pow(ler-nia«a/.tne at Toronto ft'*'.! 410. Map— Attack w Orleatm t) I •• 481. Pike's Monument OHl 432. Remains of Fort Pike , 017 4;t3. Block-house, Sackett's Harbor 017 434. Mansion of General Brown... OIH 4.3,\ Wblttlesiey Rock, Watertowu. 018 436. Signature of C. «. BiErjtlcr... 020 437. German Church (120 438. Pin-trfllt and Signature of Lau- ra Sccord 021 4.39. Beaver Dams Battle-ground and Surroundings 624 440. Sl<,'nature of James Ulttrlck.. 024 441. Bissiiojjp's Monument Il2« 442. Interior of Fort Niagara 0,34 443. Signature of General A. Hall. 0,36 444. Tall-piece — Farm* house on Are 037 446. Initial Letter 087 440. Portrait and Signature of J. O. Swift ■338 447. Signature of .Toseph Bloom- Held 6.39 448. Slgnatnreof A. De Salaberry. 039 449. Portrait and. Signature ofRoD- ertCarr 640 460. Portrait and Signature of Jas. Wilkinson 640 4,11. Signature of W. Hampton. . . . WS 4B2. Mo.itb of French Creek 049 463. Bald I.-land and Wilkinson's Flotilla 060 464. Chrysler's in 18.%B fi,V2 466. Signature of Rob't Swartwont 0,N2 460. Signature of J. A. (Joles 053 4.'>7. Signature of.'. Walbach 06;t 468. Map— Chrysler's Fie'.d 064 469. Signature of M. Myers 664 400. Place of Debarkation on the Salmon River 066 40i. Lewis and Boyd's Head-quar- ters 660 462. Brown's Hend-qiinrtcrs 660 463. Fac-slmile of written Placard 068 464. Remains of Fort Carleton. ... 659 406. Indian Armlet 660 46<5. Light-house kept by Johnston 661 4. ft 16. ."17. ftl8. . 1 9. 820. 621. 822. 62:!. 824. 628. 823. 527. 828. B29. ,%30. Wl. 8,32. .wa. 634. 6i)6. .\30. 637. .ftiW. 839. 540. 541. Portrait and Signature of W. S42. Johnston Page 662 MJ. .lohiiHtini'.s Comhilssion 603 French Mills in IsiKi 664 644. Signature of James Campbell lUiB 646. The Block-house Well (UIB 640. Signature of Peter Brousc. . . . 606 r'7. Victoria Medal mill o4S. luillal Letter 607 Interior of lcllcr«' Mi>numeut Page 848 Kiley'K Mimunieiit 849 Hi);iiaturu of U. M'Uoiiall 860 Miip— M'Artbiir'a Kaid 862 Portrait of (leucral Bcott 863 Initial Letter 884 Portrait and Signature of T. Macdiiuoii^'li 866 .IiulKe .Moore's IIoubo 867 Signature of D. BInboII 867 Signature of (1. Prevost 868 Portrait and Sig. of B. M(iocr« 868 Portrait and Stguatiire uf A. Maoomb 869 SanipHon'H 869 Sla|i~FortiflcatlouB at Platts- biirg 800 M. Smltli'H Monument 801 lIowe'K IloiiHC 802 Pliitt'8 Hiwidpnce 803 Old Stone Mill 804 The 8ara".ic 808 Ilenley'H Medal 808 CuKsin's Medal 808 Portrait and Signature uf U. Paulding 869 View from Cumberland Uead 870 Mii|) — Naval Action 871 Macdonough'rt Dispntcb 872 Portrait and SIg. of ,1. Smith . S72 Itattle of PlattBburg 873 Tlie Saranac at Pike's Canton- ment 874 Huiiis '-f Fort Brown 878 Arliilcry Quadriiut 878 Oeneraf Moocrw'^ Grave 870 I'nited States Hotel 870 Macornl)'« .Monumcut 877 Macomb's Mediii 878 Macdonougli'8 Medal 878 Macdouougli'B Farm-house... 879 Downlc's Orave 879 View iu Beekmautowu 880 Soldiers' Graves aso Ma])— Sent of War 881 Siiire-houhes 882 .Mooers's House 8S2 Woolsey's Hou'— FIglit of Ouu-boatH and Barges 1026 828. Cathedral in New Orleans... 102T 929. Fort .St. John 10'28 830. Villcri-'s .Mansion 1029 .831. Portrait ij!ii^&'*^'^'' ^^^^ °f reality that makes us proud of the title — Amkeican l/f Citizen. When, on the 25th of November, 1783, John Van Arsdale, a '■' sprightly sailor-boy of sixteen years, climbed the slushed flag- staff in Fort George, at the foot of Broadway, New York, pulled down the British ensign that for more than seven years had floated there, and un- furled in its place the banner of the United States,' the work of the Rev- olution was finished. As the white sails of the British squadron that bore away from our shores the last armed enemy to freedom in Amer- ' Before the Britleh left Fort George they nailed their colors to the summit of the flag-staff, knocked oflT the cleets, and "slushed" the pole fi'om top to bottom, to prevent its being climbed. Van Arsdale (who died in 1830) ascended by nailing on cbets, and applying sand to the greased flag-staff. In this way he reached the top, hauled down the British flag, and placed that of the United States in its position. It is believed by some that the nailing of the flag there by the British bad a higher gigsiflcanco than was visible in the outward act, namely, a compliance with orders fi-om the impe- rial government not to strike the flag, as in a formal surrender, but to leave it flying, in token of the claim of Great Britain to the absolute proprietorship of the country then abandoned. It was believed that the absence of British aa- thority in the United States would be only temporary. B « 18 I'lCTOUIAL JblKLU-BOOK Th« bopM of the Amariwiii not rMltMd. Thajr ware f m, bat not iDitopMidnt. i ! W'f i ica bocninu inero Hpocks upon tho Iiorizoii in tlio owning nun to tho ^training eyes of cuger tliousandH gazing Heawunl beyond tlio Narrows,' tho idea of absolute iiidepend- cnco tool* posHosNioii of llio mind and lioart of ovcry tiiio iVnioiica;!. Ilo saw tiic vitii- blo boiidti of liritiHli tlinildoni fall at his feet, and IiIh pulse beat high with the inspira- tion of uotisciouH freedom, and the full assm'ance that the power and intluence of jirit- ish sovereignty had departed from his country forever. Alas ! those natural, and generous, and patriotic, and hopeful emotions were falla- cious. They were born of a beautiful theory, but derived no real sustenance from so- ber facts. They were the poetry of that hour of triumph, entrancing the sjtirit and kindling tho imagination. They gave unbounded pleasure to a disenthralled people. But there were wise and thoughtful men among them who liad communed with tho teachers of the I'ast, and sought knowledge in the vigorous school of tho I'resent. They diligently studied the prose chapters of the great volimie of current history spread out before them, and were not so jubilant. They reverently thanked God for what had been .'iccomplishcd, adored him for the many interpositions of his providence in their beliall", and rejoiced because of tho glorious results of the struggle thus far. I5ut they clearly perceived iliat the pe.ico established by tho decrees of high contract- ing parties would prove to bo only a lull in tho great contest — a truce soon to be broken, not, perhaps, by tho trumpet calling armed men to the field, but by the stern behests of tho inexorable necessities of tho new-born republic. Tho revolution was accomplished, and the political separation from Great Britain was complete, but abso- lute independence was not achieved. Tho experience of two years wrought a wonderful change in the public mind. Tho wisdom of the few prophetic sages who warned tho people of dangers became painful- ly apparent. Tho Americans were no longer the legal sidyects of a monarch beyond tho seas, yet tho power and influence of Great Britain were felt like a chilling, over- shadowing cloud. In tho presence of her puissance in all that constitutes tho material strength and vigor of a nation, they felt their weakness ; and from many a patriot heart came a sigh to tho lips, and foimd exi)rossiou there in the bitter words of deep humili- ation — We arc free, but not iitdepcndoit. Why not ? Had not a solenm treaty and the word of an lionest king acknowledged the states to bo free and independent ? Yes. The Treaty of '^eace had declared tlic confederated colonies " to be free, sov- ereign, and independent states ;" and that the King of Great Britain would treat them as such, and relinquish "all claims to the government, propriety, and territorial rights of the same."- The king, in his speech from the throne," had said, "I . December n, have sacrificed &vcYy consideration of my own to the wishes and opinion "'^''• of my people. I make it my hmnble and earnest prayer to Almighty God tliat Great Britain may not feel tho evils which might result from so great a dismemberment of the empire, and that America may bo free from those calamities which liave formerly proved, in the mother country, how essential monarchy is to the enjoyment of consti- tutional liberty. Religion, language, interest, affections may, and I hope will, yet prove a bond of permanent union between the two countries : to this end neither attention nor disposition shall bo wanting on my part."' ' The paosnge from New fork Harbor to the pea, between Long Island and Statcn Idland. ' See Article I. of the Treaty of Peace between the T'nited States niu! (Ireat Britain, Kigncd at Paris on the 8d of September, 1T><3, by David Hartley in behalf of Orcat Britain, and Benjamin Franklin, John AdamH, and John Jay for the United Statef). ' This acknowledgment was wrung from the king He had long detested the very name of every thing American ; and this feeling was strengthened by his inteuie resjyected; nnd sagacious '•-'il by the fjita 'is, and goveri t-'nibarrassment "lost important waited with coi ynited States, ( in a state of wa colonists of Grc their literature, country, withoii was added a tra "iferior people,' ^'y tho conscious c'fiiJ to com man sufficiently impoi tions. Such is a gei pendent of Gi-eat t" i^i-. Franklin -. commenced in 177 siiccessfully close J ho war for ?W^ I nave remarket and in tliat fact w tne hopes of the v, .t'"s, let us take a '" tho autumn of of 1787. TJie Articles of adopted by the Co '•atification of all tli American League f t-onstitution, was st '"Even the chlmnev-swp InglyofthcirsubjecuiuAu 'o OF TlIK WAR OF 18 12. 10 Roceptlon of John Adami In BnK)*nd. Why the American! were not Independent Article* of Conhderktloa. Tills was nil very kind, nnd yot tlio Americans were not Independent. Why not? Iliul not the roprescntiilivo of their indepeiulcnt sovcreiirnty been up- pointed by the Congress to reNido as tho agent of the lepublio in the IbiliHh capital, and been received with cordiality? VoH. John Adams had been appointed* minister plenipotentiary to tho •FcbniHryS4, Court oflireat Ibilain, and had been ordered to leave sunny France for log- "'^ gy England. Tho Duke of Dorset, tho Hrilish embassailor at Paris, had treated liim most kindly at Auteuil, and had as kindly jirescribed a gay court-dress to bo worn by the embassador at his fust presentation to the king on his majesty's birth-day. That plen- ipotentiary had been presented,'' most graciously received, and afiected almost t.j,ine4, to tears by these honest words of good King George: "I was the last man in "*• the kingdom, sir, to consent to the independenco of America; but, now it is granted, 1 shall be the last man in tho world to sanction a violation of it." This reception was significant, and this declaration of his majesty was explicit and sincere. Yet tho Americans were not independent. Why not? IJccausc tlwif luul not formvd a nation, and therehj created a power to be respected ; because British statesmen were wise enough to perceive this weakness, nnd sagacious enough to take advantage of it. Without tho honesty of the king, mis- led by the fatal counsels of tho refugee loyalists who swarmed in tho IJritish metropo- lis, and governed wholly by the maxims nnd ethics of diplomacy, tho ministry cast embarrassments in the way ofthe Confederation, neglected to comply with some of the most important stipulations ofthe Treaty of Peace, maintained a haughty reserve, and waited witli complacency and perfect faith to see tho whole fabric of government in tho United States, cemented by the bonds of common interest and common danger while in a state of war, crumble into fragments, and tho people return to their allegiance as colonists of Great Britain. Their trade and commerce, their manufactures and arts, their literatiu-e, science, religion, and laws were yet largely tributary to the parent country, without a well-grounded liope for a speedy deliverance. To this domination was added a traditional contempt ofthe English for their transatlantic brethren as an inferior people,' and the manifestation of an illiberal and mifriendly spirit, heightened by the consciousness that the Americans were without a government sufliciently pow- erful to command the fulfillment of treaty stipulations, or an untrammeled commerce sufficiently important to attract the cupidity and interested sympathies of other na- tions. Such is a general statement of "easons why the United States were not inde- pendent of Great Britain after their total political separation from her. These gave to Dr. Franklin and others tho consciousness of the incompleteness of the struggle commenced in 1775. When a compatriot remarked that the war for independence was successfully closed, Franklin wisely replied, " Say, rather, the var ofthe Revolution. The war for indipendence is yet to be fought." I have remarked that our fathers had not formed a nation on the return of peace, and in that fact was the inherent weakness of their government, and the spring of all the hopes ofthe royalists for their speedy return to colonial dependency. To illustrate this, let us take a v.ipid survey of events from the ratification of the Treaty Oi Peace in tho autumn of 1784, to the formation ofthe National Constitution in the autumn of 1787, The Articles of Confederation, suggested by Dr. Franklin in the summer of 1775, ado|)ted by the Continental Congress in November, 1777, and finally settled by the ratification of all the states in the spring of 1781, became tho organic law ofthe great American League of independent commonwealths, which, by the first article of that Constitution, was styled " The United States of America." In behalf of this Confeder- ' "Even the chimney-sweepers on the streets," said Pitt, In a speech in the House orCommuus In 1703, " talk boast- ingly of their subjucts in America." 11 ! 1 20 riCTORIAL FIELD-BOOK The League of States. The States not sovereign. The Public Debt. ;j i» i| acy, commissioners were appointed by the Continental Congress to negotiate for peace with Great Britain. That negotiation was successful, and, in September, 1783, a defin- • September 3, ii^v. OF THE WAR OF 1812. 23 Expectations of British Statesmen. Lord SlicSSeld'B Pamplilct. British Legislntiun. Public DangofB. sion in whicli they were involved in consequence of their independence. He assumed that tlie New England States in particular would speedily become penitent suppliants at the foot of the king for pardon and restoration as colonies. lie saw the utter weak- ness and consequent inefficiency of the League as a form of government, and advised his countrymen to consider them of little account as a nation.^ " If the American states choose to send consuls, receive them, and send a consul to each state. Each slate will soon enter into all necessary regulations with the consul, and this is the whole that is necessary." In other words, the League has no dignity above th.at of a fifth-rate power, and the states arc still, in fact, only dislocated members cf the British Empire.^ In considering the more remote causes of the War of 1812, and the final independ- ence of the United States achieved by that war, that pamphlet of Lord Sheffield, which gave direction to British legislation and bias to the English mind in reference to the American League, may be regarded as a most important one. It was followed by Orders in CounciP by which American vessels were entirely excluded from the British West Indies; and some of the stapli ^ reductions of the United States, such as fish, beef, pork, butter, lard, et cetera^ Avere not permitted to be carried there except in Brit- ish bottoms. These orders were continued by temporary acts until 1788, when the policy was permanently established as a commercial regulation by act of Fariiament. In view of this unfriendly conduct of Great Britain, the General Congress, in the spring of 1784, asked the sever.al states to delegate powers to them for fifteen years, by which they might compel England to be more liberal by countervailing measures of prohibition.* Well would it have been for the people of the young republic had some restrictive measures been adopted, whereby British goods could have been kept from their ports, for in a very short time after the jjeace a most extravagant and ruinous trade with Great Britain was opened. Immense importations were made, and private indebtedness speedily added immensely to the evils wiiich the war and an inadequate government had brought upon the people. But tiie appe.il of the Congress was in vain. The states, growing more and more jealous of their individual dignity, would not invest the Congress with any such power ; nor would they, evQii in the fiice of the danger of having their trade go into the hands of foreigners, make any permanent and uniform arrangements among themselves. Without public credit, with their commerce at the mercy of every adventurer, without respect at home or abroad, the League of Siates, free wilhoiit independence, presented the sad spectacle of the elements of a great nation l)aralyzed in the formative process, and the coldness of political death chilling every developing function of its being. Difficulties soon arose between the United States and Great Britain concerning the ' " It will not be ni. easy matter," he said (and he no donht spoke the lan<;iiace of the Enelish people In general), "to bring the American states to net as a nation ; they are not to beft'ared as mrh by im. It wl.; be a long time before they can engage or will concur in any material expenses. A stamp act, a tea act, or such net that can never again occur, would alone unite them. Their climate, their staples, their manners arc different ; tlieir Interests opposite ; and that which is beneliclal to one la destructive to the other. We niiglit as reasonably dread tlie effects of combinations nmong the Oermau as among the American states, and deprecate tlie resolves of the Diet ns those of the Congress. In short, every circumstance proves that It will be extreme folly to enter into any engagements ft// xililct ih entitled, "Sketelies of Anierlenn rolicy." TIiuh thinking men nil lamented tlic wcaknesH of the gen- enil government, and foresaw tlie dangers of the doctrine of Bujjremc wtnte sovereignty, wliich has wroiiglit so mucli inipchief in imr day. ' Tlie following arc the names of tlic representatives : ^'eu> IVrfc— Alexander Hamilton, Kghert Benson ; !feiv JiTsni— Abraham Clarke, William C. Houston ; /'.'»)ui;/(rnHii(— Tencho Coxc, James Schnreman ; IMaimre — George Read, John Dickinson, Richard Bassett ; iVi-f/imo— Kdmund Randolph, James Madison, Jr., St. George Tucker. ' This action of the Congress took jilace on the 2l8t of February, 1T8T. The resolution (which was submitted by the delegates from MassachuscttP) was as follows: " Itemhml, That in the opinion of Congress it is expedient that, on the second Monday in May next, a Convention of Delegates, who shall have been ap|)ointed by the several states, be held at Philadelphia, for the sole and express pur- pose of revising tlie Articles oft.'onfederatlon, and rei)orting to Congress and the Bevernl Legislatures such alterations and provisions therein as shall, when agreed to In Congress and confirmed by the states, render the Federal Constitu- tion adequate to the exigencies of government and the preservation of the Union." ' William .lackson was an eminent patriot, and one of Washington's most intimate i)ersonal friends. He entered the Continental army at the age of sixteen years, and served his country faithfully during tie whole war for independ- ence. He became an aid to the comnnmder-in-clilef, with the rank of major. In 17S1 he accompanied his fl-lend, Colonel ilohn Laurens, on a diplonnitic mission to France. At the close of the war he visited Kiirope, and on his re- turn was appoiutcd, on the uomiuation uf Washington, secretary to the Convention that formed the National Coustt- Wll ;.1AM .lAeKHON. William Jacka the 28tb, h business of the serious to secure th s'ty ofa inc vention fift( form a new I do not f '"gs of that! merely direc that were ad "lation conce men, whose c The venerj most conspici before he had "or the provi success. Job tiitlon. Hlsprivat. of his family, jje and nccom|,nniccl h lie held the offlce i eustoms there untf tlicn started a daily later." ' Major Jackson liv, I 1 Christ Cliurch ya ll";eo f,et high mark to the memory of Ma ed this life Decemb. born March the "Ttl, Jackson was ninety v I am indebted to \ for the portrait given 111 her piLssession, pi, '" her failier, cut by l:il^ Mrs. General Win The signature ofs,. "'el;'onstitutlon,onp Ediniiml Kandohll yer,andawarmpatrlo 'Wmui,,.,., ,j^^^. » lih>, and Washinjit. •-' "H but, In eonsp*'^, .lied 1,1 December, isis " Khodc Island was Assembly of the state i "lost intluential men in "ympatliy with the obj might adopt. The foil, ««««rt<-/(»M,.w«.-_Franc f!"""*«"''"'.-Wil|iam Aew 1 or*._R„,,e,t Y« l"'m Clark, and Jo„„t,,a ./'■"''^'/'''«"'V».-Thoma <">iivcrneur Morris, „,„! (f '«"•«'•'■— Oeorge Rea v.."-"''""'— JainesM'Il '""."'■«'«— George Was «..d George Wythe. P„tri fxyth Carolina.~nkbn •f»MM. Richard Caswell a'«o declined his appoin, ^WA Caro?,>,„.ifr„h„ ffr/^7"-^^""'"nPew, V,u , ^'J« Assemblies did i Englandltwasjudgedtol OF THE WAU OF 1812. 21 WUliam Jackson and Edmund Randolph. HemberR of the Convention. Attltnde of Kbodo Inland. tlie 28th, Edmund Randolph, of Virginia,* at the request of his colleftgues, opened the business of the Convention in a carefuiiy considered speech, in which he pointed out tlie serious defects in the Articles of Co/ifcikration, iWu^tvatcd their utter inadequacy to secure the dignity, peace, and safety of tlie republic, and asserted the absolute neces- sity of a more energetic government. At the close of his s])ecch he offered to the Con- vention fifteen resolutions, in which were embodied the leading principles whereon to form a new government according to his views. I do not propose to consider in detail, nor even in a synoptical manner, the proceed- ings of that Convention, which occupied several hours each day for four months. I will merely direct attention to the really great men who composed it, and the measures that were adopted, and leave the reader to seek in other sources the interesting infor- mation concerning the events in the daily session" of that remarkable congress of wise men, whose efforts bore noble fruit for the political sustenance of mankind.^ The venerable Dr. Franklin, then near the close of a long and useful life, was the most conspicuous member of that Convention next to Washington. Thirty-three years before he had elaborated a plan of union for the colonies, to which neither the crown nor the provinces would listen ;3 now ho came to revive that plan, with full hope of success. Johnson, Rutledgo, and Dickinson had been members of the Stamp-act Con- tntion. His private record of the proceedings and dcbntca Is In the hands of hiB family. He became the private secretary of President Washington, and accompanied hhn on his tour through the Southern States lu 17111. He held the olflce of surveyor of the port of Philndi'lphln and Inspector of customs there until removed, for ])olltlcal causes, by Mr. Jefferson. He then started a dally newspaper, called "The Political and Commercial Keg- Isler." Major Jackson lived n life of nnsullled honor, and at his death was bnrled lb Christ Church yard, on Fifth Street, Philadelphia. A i)laln slab about three feet high marks the si)()t, and bears the following inscription: "Sacred to the memory of Major William Jackson : born March the fith, 175il ; depart- ed this life December the 17th, 18i!S. Also to Elizabeth Willing, his relict: born March the 'J7th, 17(iS; departed this life August the 6tb, 1S68." Mrs. Jackscm was ninety years of age at the time of her death. I am Indebted to Miss Ann Willing Jackson, daughter of Major Jackson, for the portrait given on the preceding ])age. It Is copied from a mlniaturo in her possession, painted by Trumbull. She also has a silhouette profile of her father, cut by Mrs. Mayo, of Ulchmond, Virginia, the mother of the late Mrs. General Wlulield Scott. The signature of Secretary Jackson Is with those of the other signers of the Constitution, on page S'i. ' Edmund Randolph was a son of an attorney general of Virginia before the Revolution. He was an eminent law- yer, and a warm j)atrlot throughout the old war for independence. He was a member of the Continental Congress from 1779 until 17S'J. He was active lu the Convention that formed the Constitution. He was elected Governor of Virginia lu 17SS, and Washington chose bim for his first attorney general of the United States In 1781). He was secretary of state lu 171t4, but, in con.sequence of being engaged In an Intrigue with the French minister, he retired from public life. He (lied In December, 1S13. ' Rhode Island was not represented In the Convention. Ignorant and unprincipled men happened to control the Assembly of the state at that time, and they refused to elect delegates to the C(mventlon. Bnt some of the best and most influential men in Rhode Island jolued In sending a letter to the Convent'on, In which they expressed their cordial sympathy with the objects of the movement, and promised their accpiiescence In whatsoever measures the majority might adopt. The following were the names of the delegates from the several states: Xew Jtmvpaltire,— John Langdon, John Pickering, Nicholas Oilman, and Benjamin West. Afa«»nr/i»M('f/»._Francls Dana, Elbrldge Gerry, Nathaniel Gorhani, Rufus King, and Caleb Strong. Coniuvtieiit — William Samuel Jobnsou, Roger Sherman, and Oliver Ellsworth. A'cio I'ori.— Robert Yates, John Lansing, Jr., and Alexander Hamilton. ..Vcic./<'r»7/.— David Brcarley, William Churchill Houston, William Paterson, John Nellson, William Livingston, Abra- ham Clark, and Jonathan Dayton. /Vii)wn/?rn»iM.— Thomas Mifflin, Robert Morris, George Clymer, Jarcd Ingersoll, Thomas Fitzslramons, James WUeon, (iouverneur Morris, and Benjamin Franklin. /Jcfnicnrc— George Read, Gunning Bedford, Jr., John Dickinson. Richard Bassett, and Jacob Brown. 3/ii);//rt»(/.— James M'Henry, Daniel of Ht. Thomas Jenifer, Daniel Carroll, .John Francis Mercer, and Lnther Martin. rir.(;ini«.— George Washington, Patrick Henry, Edmund Randolph, John Blair, James Madison, Jr., George Masrtn, and George Wythe. Patrick Henry having declined bis aiipointment, James M'Clurc was nominated to snpi)iy his place. North Carodna.— Richard Caswell, Alexander Martin, William Richardson Davie, Richard Dobbs Spaight, and Willie Jones. Richard Caswell having resigned, William Blount was appointed as deputy in his place. W'illie Jones having also declined his appointment, his jdace was supplied by Hugh Williamson. South Carolina — John Rutledge, Charles Pinckney, Charles C. PInckney, and Pierce Butler. Ofor.Tia.— William Few, Abraham Baldwin, William Pierce, GeorgeWalton, William Houston, and Nathaniel Pendleton. » " The Assemblies did not adopt It," said Franklin, "as they all thought there was too much iirfTojatit'c In It; and lu England It was judged to have too much of the demoeratic." JAOKSOM'S UO.Nl'JII'.NT. f ( 28 PICTORIAL FIELD-BOOK Leading Members of the Convention. lU Objecta. Its Proceedinge. Oonveruenr Morris. Signing the Co >■„ gress in 1705, and tho last two had been compatriots of Washington in the Congress of 1774, Livingston, Siierman, Read, and Wythe had siiared the same honors. The last two, with Franklin, Sherman, Gerry, Clymer, Morris, and Wilson, had signed the Declaration of Independence. Tiio Continental army was represented by Washington, Mifflin, Charles Cotesworth Pinckney, and Hamilton. Tho yonnger members, who had become conspicuous in public life after tho Declaration of Independence, were Hamilton, Madison, and Edmund Randolph. Tho latter was then Governor of Virginia, having suc- ceeded Patrick Henry, the "trumpet of sedition" when the states were British provinces. The Convention was marked by long and warm debates, and with dignity suited to tho cccasion. Tiio most prominent speakers were King, Gnrry, and Gorham, of Massa- chusetts; Hamilton and Lansing, of New York ; Ellsworth, Johnson, and Sherman, of Connecticut; Paterson, of New Jersey ; Franklin, Wilson, and Morris, of Pennsylvania; Dickinson, of Delaware ; Martin, of Maryland ; Randolph, Mason, and Madison, of Vir- ginia ; Williamson, of North Carolina, and the Pinckneys, of South Carolina. Such wore the men, all conspicuous in tho history of tho republic, who assembled for tho purpose of laying the broad foundations of a nation. They had scarcely a prece- dent in history for their guide. The great political maxim established by the Revolu- tion was, that the original residence of all human sovereignty is in the people: it "was for these founders of a great state to parcel out from the several commonwealths of which the new nation was composed, so much of their restricted power as tho peo- ple of the several states should be willing to dismiss from their local political insti- tutions, in making a strong and harmonious republic that should be at tho same time harmless toward reserved state rights. This was the great problem to be solved. "At that time," says a recent writer, " the world had witnessed no such spectacle as that of the deputies of a nation, chosen by the free action of great communities, and assembled for the purpose of thoroughly reforming its Constitution, by the exercise and with the authority of the national will. All that had been done, both in ancient and in modern times, in forming, mouldhig, or modifying constitutions of government, bore little re- semblance to the present undertaking of tho states of America. Neither among the Greeks nor the Romans was there a precedent, and scarcely an analogy."' Randolph suggested the chief business of the Convention in his proposition "that a NATIONAL government ought to be established, consisting of a supi-eme legislative, ex- ecutive, and judiciary." L^pon this broad proposition all future action was based ; and they had not proceeded far before it was clearly perceived that the Articles of Confed- eration were too radically defective to be the basis of a stable government. Therefore, instead of trying to amend them, the Convention went diligently at work to form an entirely new Constitution. In this they made slow progress, opinions were so conflicting. Plans and amendments were oflfered, and freely discussed. Day after day, and week after week, the debates contin- ued, sometimes with great courtesy, and sometimes with great acrimony, until the 10th of September, when all plans and amendments which had been adopted by the Convention were placed in the hands of a committee for revision and arrangement .^ By ' Curtls's Uialory of the Origin, Formation, and Adoption n* the Consti- tution of the United States. ' This committee, appointed on the 8th, consisted of Messrs. Madison, Hamilton, King, Johnson, and Gonvemeur Morris. They were directed to " revise the style of, and arrange, the articles agreed to by the House." They placed the matter In the hands of Qouvemcur Morris for the pur- pose. In language and general arrangement, the National Constitution was the work of that eminent man.* • Qouvemeur Morris was bom near the Westchester shore of the Harlem River, New York, at the close of January, 176!!. He was educated at King's (now Columbia) College, in the city of New York, studied law under the eminent this commii considered the 15th it copy on pai far more im ence, eleven In tho pe part of a few — so seiioiis utter failure, adopted, and bers wished ively, but wit desire of Dr and biing ab( Morris, that words : " Don sci-ibed," etc. Hamilton p ment did not government, own ; but is it the chance of | The appeals secured the si Mason and Ra tion.* While occupied by W have often and fears as to its i whether it was rising sun." The Conventi the new Constil William Smith, of tha the Continental Cong on a diplomatic missi flunlly appointed min Senate of the United S ' For a full account 1 lion, and Adoption oft) ia two volumes : New » George Mason was those of his associates was octive in the Conv Virginians have nlwayi state sovereignty— the Patrick Henry, he oppc ment for converting tl autHmnofl792, atthea ' We shall have occi United States in 1812. ♦The names of the d are given \n om fac-sin parlmcnt at Washingfo York (Yates and Lansi offlclally represented. j)ortant, and In the place llton, of New York." i This is owing to the pa would have done. Thes( OF THE WAR OF 1812, 29 Signing the Constitution. Hesitation on the part of aome. Patriotic Course of Franklin, Hamilton, and otherR. this committee a Constitution was reported to the Convention. It was taken up and considered clause by clause, discussed, slightly amended, and then engrossed. On the loth it was agreed to by the delegates of all the states present. On the 17th a fair copy on parchment was brought in to receive the signatures of the members — an act far more important in all its bearings than the signing of the Declaration of Independ- ence, eleven years before.' In the performance of that act, as in the former, there was some hesitation on the part of a few. There had been serious differences of opinion during the whole session — so serious that at times there seemed a probability that the Convention would be an utter failure. There were still serious differences of opinion when the instrument was adopted, and delicate questions arose about signing it. A large majority of the mem- bers wished it to go forth to the people, not only as the act of the Convention collect- ively, but with the individual sanction and signature of each delegate. This was the desire of Dr. Franklin, and, with pleasant words, ho endeavored to allay all irritation and bring about such a result. It was finally agreed, on the suggestion of Gonverneiir Morris, that it might be signed, without implying personal sanction, in these closing words : " Done by consent of the states present. In testimony whereof, we have sub- scribed," etc. Hamilton patriotically seconded the efforts of Franklin, notwithstanding the instru- ment did not have his approval, because it did not give power enough to the national government. " No man's ideas," he said, " are more remote from the plan than my own ; but is it possible to deliberate between anarchy and confusion on one side, and the chance of good on the other?" The appeals of Franklin and Hamilton, and the example of Madison and Pinckney, secured the signatures of several dissatisfied members ; and all present, excepting Mason and Randolph, of Virginia,^ and Gerry, of ^Massachusetts,^ signed the Constitu- tion.* While this important work was in progress, Franklin looked toward the chair occupied by Washington, at the back of which a sun was painted, and observed, " I have often and often, in the course of the session, and the vicissitudes of my hopes and fears as to its issue, looked at that sun behind the President without being able to tell whether it was rising or setting : at length I have the happiness to know that it is a rising sun." The Convention, by a carefully worded resolution, recommended the Congress to lay the new Constitution before the 2)eople (not the states), and ask them, the source of all William Smith, of that city, and was licensed to practice in 1771. He was an active patriot durin;; the war, serving in the Continental Congress, on committees of safety, etc. He resided some time in Philadclpliia. He was scut abroad on a diplomatic mission, and resided for a while in Paris. He afterward went to London on public business, and was flually appointed minister plenipotentiary at the French Court. He returned to America in 17118, was elected to the Senate of the United States, and was active In public and i)rivate life until his deatli in ISlfl. 1 For a full account In detail of all the proceedings in relation to the Constitution, see the Uixtor;/ of the Origin, Forma- tion, and Adoption of the Cotutitution of the United States, with Notices of its I^rincipal FramerSfhy GeoTgo TIcknor Curtis, la two volumes : New York, Harper & Brothers. ' George Mason was Washington's neighbor and early personal friend. He was a statcsffinn of the first order among those of his associates In Virginia, and a thorough republican. He was the fi-amer of the Constitution of Virginia, and was active in the Convention that formed the National Constitution. He was so Imbued with the state pride for which Virginians have always been noted, that he would not agree to that Constitution because It did not recognize individual state sovereignty— the very rock on which the new republic was then in danger of being wrecked. In conjunction with Patrick Henry, he opposed its adoption In the Virginia Convention, professing to believe that it would be the instru- ment for converting the government into a monarchy. He died at his seat on the Potomac (Gunston Hall) in the autumn of 1702, at the age of sixty-seven years. ' We shall have occasion to consider the public character of Mr. Gerry hereafter. He was Vice-President of the United States in 1812. * The names of the delegates have been given in note 2, page 27. The names of those who signed the Constitution are given in our facsimiles of their signatures, which have been engraved from the original parchment in the State De- partment at Washington. It will be seen that Alexander Hamilton's name stands alone. His colleagues from New York (Yates and Lansing) had left the Convention in disgust on the 1st of July, and New York was considered not officially represented. Bnt Hamilton, who had not swerved from duty, was there. The weight of his name was im- portant, and In the place that should have been filled with the names of delegates from his state was recited, " Mr. Ham- ilton, of New York." It will be observed that the hand-writing of all seems defective, the lines appearing irregular. This is owing to the parchment on which their names are written, which did not receive the Ink as freely as paper would have done. These irregularities have all been carefully copied, so as to give a perfect /ac-simifc of the originals. »i I i|ifi!lf ,l,n #f-^ I . V' 30 PICTOKIAL FIELD-BOOK If ii I j i; « 1 Ji'' * ? ' N Signntttreg to tho Nntiuiml Constitution. ^ sA^-ey^^ (>^.^Cy^ ^,X (y'i^ •'< ^ I {/^cA^c^ f^l^.^^^ \ -^fc RetolatJoiK Mm '■'■Itesolvm witli tho res OP THE WAR OF 1819. 31 RMolatloiii nent to the State LeKl*l*t>>rei. BlKnntnrea to the NRttonoI Conilltntlon. sovereignty, to tfttify or reject it. Tho viows of thu great majority of tlio luumbers of Congress wore coiiuurrciit, ami on tiie 28lli of September that body ^^Jiesolvcd ununimousli/fThiit tlic said report [of the Convention to the Congress], witli tho rcsolutics and letters accompanying thu same, bo transmitted to tho several J-^i^rrL^ ^/'ffi^^^\ /cKori.K TiiKKKUF, iu coulbrtuity to tlio resolves ot'tbo Convoutioa made ami provided in tliat case." Conventions of tliopw;)/^ were accordingly licld'in tlio several states to confiider tlie Constitution. Lonj? ami stirring debates occurred in these Conventions, and at every piihllo gathering and private lioartli-stono in the land. Hamilton, Madison, Jay, and others fed ihe public understanding witli able essays on government and in favor of the now Constitution.' That instrument was rood and discussed every whore. IJut it e^Aj c^^/^ BIQNATtlRES TO TIIE OONBTITCTIOS. ' The essays of Hamilton, Madison, and Jay were published mid'T the pcncral title of The FederalM. It was origin- ally designed to comprise the eerles within twenty, or, at moBt, twenty-five numhcrs, but they extended to elghty-flve. Of these llamilton wrote sixty-live. The first nnmber, written by Hamilton in the cabin of a Hudson Elver sloop, was Ratlflrntlon of tli was nine mo ratified it — t ninth state w i-'lst of J line, adopted nieas tho first Wet Uovernment s tho Constituti Theso met on chief ni.igistr; was inaiigurat( of all the state) After oarno! ment involvini I advantages an fairly tried, it \ order to form provide for the of Liberty to oi lor the United S pnbllshed on tho 27th They were publlHh(Ml i III AngiiBt, I (MS: "vvIk appeared, that work I J lirluclples of freedom o lift connected In civil so ' That state was Rhn Constitution in tlie fol cumber 18, UST; (Jeorgi April 28, UHS; South Ci •-'11, 17S8; North Caroiln tumn of 1781), President Ktate, he avoided It. ■^ The Constitution wo pr ance to a state as para ll wa» Intended to d. th os|)ecialiy, such a result state in the League, and to the breaking out of th feeling was somewhat nn Yet much of the old pri(i thought of hnvln^i the " sovereignty. The new Ic Henry violently denonnci stood its character when, to speak the language '»' valor, I would have a reaf cause, as he asserted, it " eruments." Tlie opposition In sever tlie Constitution were assi wrote: "Their strength, a to inflame the passions ar lu-guments, or fair and imp ify and debase tlic characi The papers, tiy Colonel sense of superiority to all Imne of progress and natlo (,'iiiiiing. In the:, 17ftO. During tho recess of Congress, in the au- tumn of 178!), President Washington visited the New England States. As Rhode Island yet remained a kind of foreign state, he avoided It. 1 The Constltutl(m was violently assailed by tho " State Rights" or state sovereignty men— men who regarde-^ allc- i; ance to a state as paramount to that dno to the national government. Their chief objection was that It destroyed (as II was intended to dv Ihc alleged sovereignty of the several states, and constituted a consolidated nation. In Virginia, csi)eclally, such a result was looked upon by the proud aristocracy with great disfavor. Virginia was then the niling state in the League, and her political power wan swayed by a few flimlllea. These were exceedingly proud, and, down to the breaking out of tho war for Independence, they looked with disdain upon the people of tho other colonieu." This feeling was somewhat modlfleu by the operatiims of the war, and new men were found at the helm of the vessel of state. Yet much of the old pride remained, and the leading Virginians, with n few honorable exceptions, could not bear tho thought of having the "Old Dominion," as they were proud to call the coinmonweailh, stripped of her independent sovereignty. The new lenders sei/.cd ujion this dominant state pride and made It subservient to their wishes. Patrick Henry violently denounced the Constitution because of Its destructive effects upon state sovereignty. Ho clearly under- stood its character when, with n loud voice, in the Virginia Convention, he demanded, " Who anthorlxed the Conventlcm to speak the language 'We, the people,' instead ot'We, the atatesl' Even from that illnstrions man who saved us by his valor, I would have a reason for his conduct." George Mason, In the same Convention, denounced the Constitution be- cause, ns he asserted, it "changed tho confederation of states into a consolidation, and would annihilate the state gov- ernments." The opposition in several other states was very powerful, for various reasons, and the Constitution and the friends of the Constitution were assailed with the most outrageous misrepresentations. Of the opponents In Virginia Washington wrote : "Their strength, as well as those of the same class in other states, seems to lie in misrepresentation, and a desire to inflame the passions and alarm the fears by noisy declamation, rather than to convince the understanding by sound lu-guments, or fair and impartial statements. BafBed in their attacks upon the Constitution, they liave attempted to vil- ify and debase the characters who formed it, but I trust they will not succeed." The papers, by Colonel Byrd (who was a member of the Colonial Council), above referred to, afford a glimpse of the nense of superiority to all the other colonists entertained by the leading families In Virginia, which was always the Ijnne of progress and national feeling, and made large numbers of tho politicinns of that state dlsnnlonists from the be- giiuiing. In the;

- piriied, and bereft of all conli- dence in tlie commaiiding gen- eral. All accused liini of in- capacity ; many of them di- nounced him in j)rivatc coiivo sation as a coward, and a liw ex])ressed the bclieflhat he wii'^ treacherous. Tlv'se suspicions were confii-med to their minds by his leaving his aiiny j on the 21st of July, and remaining at Detroit four days, without, as they alle!.'ed,j any but frivc^loiis pretexts.' i)uring the absence of J lull, tlie command of the troops in Canada devolved nn| Colonel M'Arthur,^ who resolved to make an effort to attack Maiden, lie dispatelud, » M'Afee, pseen fi« to (Vs. ' A bloj:nii)hical iskctcli of M'Arlhur will be found In anotber part of tbls work. See Index. gy ^^^i ii e-iUji^ P ^ J^ Skirmishes with t tcT^ crossed the bridi fiarty returned t. the FiitsT hlooj) • Wliile tlie litth 1'} (li'cadful siisp i-imefi-om the hdi was considered th nalers of tlie 8tr; Icngtli and four breadth — stands limestone rock, ali ^^cven nules in cire, ft'i'eiiee, rising in tt'iitre to an'altifii of nearly thiw Ji;„ r^'I ft'ct, an.l cover «'t'i a rough a I Mierous soil,' out ( »'"cli (.i,' tlie Alg,„„, "'"'<"li signifies Th( ■Britisliaull.oritlesf.aytl, ■laclilnlock, page r,2 * V General nr,„.I<,:; , fmr Thf.vleu-I, fi,„„„„| |'^«l>.nevi,|,e(,s,.^,ui„,!;;,: Skirmishes with the Intllnns. ^^-^ ^^^ u4€i/i^:.. 267 _, , _______Michilllni,,ckhii;^ Captain JVrCuIIoucjh .yuu t. i;a.^Hai,'o for a.tillefy ; 'ro^ "'^f'^' ^ '^^^ - tlio bridire, so -IS to n, , , ^ axarcls above rnfonnccl tl^at tt 'lU ri^^'r""^ ™"^'^- twoen the Auv Ton ., i , '''^" ■''^^^'" ^P" ^^I'Arthur ^^^"^^ '^"^^ ^"'■'^•T Crook, ^v}.e.•e he capturod o F. , *' ^fttlouiont, «»;';3 for t.-„ ,nile.s a„^ ., JaIU)ythoT,Kl.ia„,s.' Kear ^'^'ulth- stands a ^*'''»t <«rty nulos m '"'K'stone rock, about weinniloH hi circuni- fcreiico, risinij in its w'ntre to airaltitiido of nearly tliroo Iiund- rc;l foot, an.l oo^erod - «'fli a roush and ?>'n<'ro,is soil, out of "'"*■'' •'^J^-iii.iTs hoavv '""''^■•- Thol„,ii.,„; ^m^mmm^^^^mmr ■i;;';-"",!? tho Alo-o,„j,;i„ . --0.^.,,,,, ,„,„ „,.^^^„ .„..,„;. — - ■- wliioli siirnifies Tl.n n "-"f^' "nprossod Avitli iis .),., ^hejrih^f,,,, ,,„,,j^ ^^^^ ^j^^ ^ o h Cr'r i' ^^'^■''■"--^•kinaok, '^« M. l''*<''i". .';L ■.,.„..,, «..„„ . „ ■ ' "''■""S^''""«"on I. „ general onUr "•■i.iiil, aiullsproiiomicHibyii,,:. ^i'lM M -BiO K Pontine'* Confederacy. Trt*iii»ftM' A Masmicie. Scenery at Mackiuaw • June 4. eriy pmnt of the peninstik fjf lftl«M5gM^, Ab- FBearfi Jesuit niisHionaries planted the Hymfeol of" Christianity as i-^fiy nn /'WJ. aaJ-eafci tike Hei^land Point of lonatins. La .Sa4i«». the discoverer of liv ' ^ ,1, "ithtT Hennepin and otluis, m, n there in 1479; and by tl>e side sif ]*Vince of Peace they eivitcd a strong-hold of war, anara, The jjrincipal tribes of that region M^ere the Ottawas and Ojibwas, or Chippcwas. The latter were the most jx>werful. Tlieir most important village was upon tli( baok of Miclalliraackinack,The Great Turtle, in the strait, where a hundred warriors resided. On the morning of the king's birthday,* 1763, the forests and Fort Mack- inack was tilled Avith the Ojibwas. They professed warm friendship for the English, and invited the garrison out to see their great game of ball, the favonto amuwment of th* Indians. It was a gay and exciting scene. At lengtli a ball wont mp frot; i ',<■ inid«€ if>f the players in a h>fty curve, and fell near the pickets of the fort. It was '4 yrrconceri^'A signal. The warriors ruslu;d toward the fort as if in quest of the hull. J .' ir liands were soon filled with gleaming hatchets, whicli the squjifls hft'1 /'()/i''eale(J beneath ^jt ManketB. A bloody massacie ensued. After a satur- IIKJhi //f'p( by (he hands of friendly Indians. The flilhiHing year I'orl Mackinack was garrisonetl by (he Iflii/jllpli, The Iri(||iiiiH had I|(mI from the island, and ; i iiji ments upon it immediately comn](ii('( d ll H \\ \\\m\ delightful spot. As seen from (lie water, it presents a most striking ])ietiii(' ofwliili ell "s, contrasting beautifully w((h the green foliagi' lliat hall' covt is them, hi (he centi'e the land rises in wooded heights, in some jihiees (liree liiindretl feet above iIk. lake. The rocks tbriii fantaslie shapes. Here may be seen a ease, there a (iiwcriiirr ])innacle, and in other jilaces gorges are sjjan- ned by natural l)ridges. One of the nuM noted of tliese is the Arch Hock, seceinl (ii;h in ])icturesqueness (o the fainnus Natural ISridge in Virginia. The crown is over nm hundred feet above the 'water, and aliiuM forty above the ground. It Avas Coiiikm] liy the falling out of great masses of stone. The l{iibbi;V T'eakjthe Sugardoaf, Plutonic Cave. lieviPs Kitchen, Ciant's Causeway, a'ni the !jo\er's I, cap, are ail faiiious jdaees, ami clus- tered with stirring legends connected iviili the French and English occnp., 'ion. or run- ning back to the dim old I radii ions efiln' Children of the Forest. But J wid not ocni- )iy more space in describing this now famous summer resort for Ineiists and sportsmen— a^ place T have never visited. I was .about to take passage at Chicago for the strait in the autumn of 1800, when I heard that sno«s| had tidkii there, and that the sceptre of Boreas was omnipotent over all those Dorth| AliUll KI>v- an ;j- of the United Stit^ Mackinack came into the P"-o.ss,o„ of the United ^^LJ" .!?«' -^'-^ the British; and in 1812 For. TT T"' fi„anv'"""""*''""-'^J*"^^=^ ^^•"'•^' lookin. the fine hrrLf"' ''"''''' "" *''« '"'.'^^'^ «o„thwe "bl J'"J!r^''r^'^ ^>' the «as a very imnort-mf / 'lanckH, of the United *-». T,fo sr;.:: :;;;,r„",;!;"'""« r '"« ««™itt* :,\^'rr ™? >•« i" ovtont, with an nnJnf '''"^ "verlookino- the fine LJt ■ . "''^" the In- ^Mn,nn on t , v^ ' ir^'' ^'^^^ "'*« Lake u';: ZZ""'': ''''''''-^ ^ '""'' '•''«'v'. which ^Lrickl, ;\''''*"'^^^ -pounder wn^ 0,^,0, 'T'"^ ''^ *-> '''ook-Ion^e LS""/''?""'^ "^ t'.e ■'■''" 'm>U„u ,v„W.o „ ' r'';".""^'''- '^ • commanded tJef '""^T""'^^'''^^' ^^^o tr „ „„, ' ^^^ '"'-" ■■- «-»• -r;;::: i;'.ts !«'.. orocted in the .''">'•■» Veteran Battah-on fort J ' ■^'''^"■'«oned with a de- -nnstaJ^ ad "iv "'^ "' ^'^^ "^y -'^^ oJ^^'^^^^,"' "'""'^-^ This fort Z "'"^''^^ '•"^•^•ivod of th i r,''''"'^^^^''^ to J.im hv tr dei . ; .,"'""'•" "^ ^xpeet- "'^ morning of Mo ntujf ;l^'c'aratio„ of war m .s fiom^ "'' ''^;^''«t kno„ I.d.„ •Named In honor of LlPutonnnt 17 i " — ^ (IPfkratlon of war he -«^^HI|HBSs nCTORIAL FIELD-BOOK ;i ■ ■ Kxpedition ognlust Mackluack. ]C the Secretary o liostilities nearly u instead of British fwve hmi a British '"frcrwh of the enemy t '^'foi-r officers; Canadian , ™ and 0l(an-a,, 57-2 r", Briiish two day. afte; „,„',;' I /.'""■e course of a debate p' (Earl of Chatham) S, host aI)onii„al,le avowal", mi,ei-(.ho,.,,tho :;:;[,,. "*, am. to vindicate tie . employment Of, he «av,a, ';.^'^'Wis,d„^rhe^rn1h:/;r;^ ''t^fthelndmmr '^ AiiuTican crent cmo,. {TTi Z ~~ ^mpioyi * ""' 1" the fort iiwl :* — — s^—""''"yinoBrh. a-Kl tl.oso of Great Jrita '; '' '"' !"''-'^^'=*" the A,„er can -fw H-nornhl, terms (lie Lonons of ^vav T "^ ^"'* '" their niaee T I, "^'"■' ^^'^''-^ taken d,nv„ uann,,,. all those „»o„ M, l'.„^^V''^'' ''^''^'^ to Detroit. aT ^ 1'" ^^^'''^'^"'1 »<> I<-avo '■^ffi: ! l.tion. All |„-i,,„, ,,m'". , ° "'»"'l "•"liin •■> .i,„„.|? ," ' "* """Siancc to tho believe not a sonl nfih *^'f"o'it firin.r a sin-ests, I" ' > the possessio . of tllTj'-' '^'"' '^'^'^^ ^^ tl e L t"! of^'^" ^^^-tly' I J'Fr Lakes, ,vith all its IZT"" "' ^''^ ^^"'tecl State Th ' '''* '■'"'"" ^^'«^ i;n.o„ bar that kept back t},l ^^^^^'^'"tages, was transferal t .'i '"°"'''*'"^ ^^ the -l'-.i«-n, ai'd T)(>f j' ^"^ "'e .savages of that recrfon '^' ^ ''"'^^'' to that ene.nv Tho 'r':r!!!^,"''''-- >vi.u:r"°"'>-'' ''-'-•:n.t;\S^^^^^^ "ftl» Secretary of War V, °'™"""' ■"..issue, „.|llfi I , ke*e„,„. of the e"!'"'/!"!"^"; "■"" ""ere mson,ZrZZ~~~~ ■ ll,1 I! Illl 272 PICTOUIAL FIELD-BOOK AlarmlDK RnmorH nnc) FactK, A mntliiong Spirit In Hnir» Array. CIIAPTER XIV. "They who hnvc nothing more to fenr may well Iiululfic a cmile at that Avhich once apiiiiU'd, A» chilUrcu at diucovereU bugbcuiH," Bybon: Sardanapalm. ISASTIIOUS in the highest degree to the American cause 'vas the fill! of Mackinack, aiul tlie prospect whieli it presented lo Hull Avas justly appallhig. Ilis uneasiness was increasetl by in- telligence that came almost hourly of the web of extreme ditti- culties fast weaving around him. He liad sent to the (iovern- ors of Ohio and Kentucky for re-enforcements and 8up])lies, but ' he had, as yet, no positive tidings of their approach. Fnim the '"•^-^^ " north came sounds of dreadful import to a handful of isoiatod soldiers. The savage chiefs in alliance Avith the British at Mackhiack had sent cou- riers to all the villages south as far as the Maumee, informing their warriors of that alliance, of the fall of Mackinack, of the investment of Chicago, and of their activi preparations to proceed to Maiden in great force, to join other warriors there, and attack Detroit. From the east came a rumor that the Canadians and savages in that direction Avere also hasting toward Maiden, and that a detachment of iJritish sol- diers, with artillery, under the command of Major Chambers, had landed at th( Avest end of Lake Ontario, penetrated in the direction of Detroit as far as the Kivor Trench, or Thames, and Avere receiving great accessions of militia and Indians on • their march. The alarm created by those facts and rumors Avas hnmediately intcusi- • AnKn8t4, fit'd by farther reports* that Colonel Proctor, of the British army, had ai- 1S12. vived at Maiden Irom Fort Erie Avith re-enforcements.' Then caniu over from SandAvich an intercepted letter from a member of the NorthAvest Company ai Fort William, dated two days after the fall of Mackinack, saying that, on the recfiiit of the declaration of Avar, their agents ordered a general muster of their forces, wiiidi amounted to tAvelve hundred men, exclusive of several hundreds of the natives. "We are equal, in all," ho said, " to sixteen or seventeen hundred strong. One of our gtn- tlemen started on the 17th Avith several light canoes for the interior country to ioum the natives to activity, Avhich is not ha rd to do on the present occasion. We liki- Avise dispatched messengers in all directions Avith the ncAvs. I have not the least doubt but our force tAvo days hence Avill amount to iive thousand eftective men, Our young gentlemen aiid engagees offered most handsomely to march imnKHliatciy for ]\Iichillimackinark. Our chief, Mr. SIuxaa', exnressed his gratitude, and uraftod one hundred. They are to proceed this evening for St. Joseph's. lie takes about as many Indians. Coidd the vessel contain them, he might have had four thousaitd more. It noAV dejjcnds on Avhat acct.nnts we receive from St. Josej)h's, Avhether these numerous tribes from the interior Avill proceed to St. Joseph's or not."^ In addition to these causes for alarm, Hull discovered a spirii, of mutiny in his owiij camp Avhich gave him more uneasiness still — a spirit, he said, " Avhich before hadj manifested itself in Avhispers, increased and became more open. It Avas evident it| Avas now fostered and encouraged bj-^ the principal officers of the miliiia, and wn* ' Hnll's Cavipnign qf 1S12, page 6S. « Letter of Mr. M'Kenjsle, of the Northwest Company, at Fort William, to Mr. M'lutosh, of SaucU. ;ch, July W, ISl^ cited by Hull in hid Campahjn vf ISI'2, page 5;>. Ibtrgy and Vlglla fast rising in jire.sently. Such was t ueek in .Viiirti Ijriisli, of Cliii Ix'cf cattle am .sin, thirty-five The eiiei'gy ; at this time in a 111 ia hie Sir Ge Quebec in ahso] K"i»n,haa iiient of ITpjjor moment of his f ai'cordingly. Jj, Ill's inadequate n "|'|»O.S.'(I to tliQ , •House tJieir resei "ly cumjjclied hi iiioto military pos ply of ordnance ai ter post early i„ j Forty-fii-st IJegimt -is late as his deuj ties to be near, rec ''vpenditiire, and tc Jilculty of raising ^^'lien intelJigcrK Toronto, the capita '«' sons, v.'ith tJieir !ii>nHoIcroft,oftJ,e mnmmj when the Inordinary session < '"■wand his aid-,h ••?.™ frontier, and t) to cross the Niagara P»t}'e shrank from t :ln'ctio„s,atthesam( I oiuid necessary, in ],. |6r offensive or defend l»f the peninsula betw m hundred men re I'Pon.tJie Indians on th f™?";g promise of th /.' f'le 3d of Jujy t, pJ-^ considerable for I)r i Ini I «"*MM ^^'TilE WAH OF .8,3. «;ch was the situation of Go„en, ir M "'''"* ^' "^'"^ ^^"^^^^^'r Mc.ttl. and other' .Soli's. '^'^ '"'"^''•''^^I an 1 th ■ v ''," '''"* ^"«Ptain IW >iMi.iny-fivo n.i,e:;,cr"' ^"'^ ^ -^'' -- - ^"c.;s::^v^T ^'"""'^ Quebec i„ absoJutt unl S 'f ' ^^''"'■"'"- g^'»^''-al wi^ ?''""" '"^'''^i"' • The K" 1«11. had boon "^if .f^;.;"|-^"d'ng -a!-, whil^ B .:ek'";;f "^ ^;r''«"« thno a met of Upp,r CanadI" H ^''''^''''"t ai,d administra or' 7 /'' "' ^^''^^■ moment of his ardval aM^* '' *" ''^y- ^i-tena t ' ^ *''"' S*^^'^''-"- '°'"""'"'- opFsecl to the employment of fiT "."''"" «"!""• From "'^- ''^' '»««t of arou«e their resentnfonf a^ ,;/,^ ,J"^^"^««. and discount,"! :':^;«'"""'g ''« ^v^as ^'ty -mpcHed him to ac«^ 1*^ '^ ^ before wa' was do ,*'"', ""^''"l'^« to motennJito When L '"■''^''^•' He end, omW "''"'' '^"^ ''oces- ply of ordnance and store o^rf'"" °J^"^"^ *« the sorh ' ", f '■^'"^'*'^<^" the re- '"•Post early i„ June tili,, ^ " f^^^'Ph's and to Ami « ^ ""^ T^'^'' «^'''t a sun- Forty.fir.st l^™,,;^ ^^^J "|^ -th „,, , re-enforce!; r':;;^ , ^'^^ visited the ll -i^l«te as his departure for In ^"l "^«vements he wa tt ' '"f '"' "'^'^ "^ the fe« to be near, reoommemLf " 'T'^"'"^'' ^'' «^'o'-ge iwl !'?^ '"'^ «"l'^->ior. ^vpenditure, and to avo dall . *^ '''"l^^^^ the molt ,S ' ""* ^^'''^'V'""g I'ostili: ^'Jnlty of raising „,;"' "^^ ^^'l^'-^^ not absolutely efarrr'""^ '' ^^'" P"*'^^ IVhen intelliironce of th', 1 , '*'*' ^' '^^''^ause of the great Toronto, the capitaTofV '^""'''*™tioi, of war reaob„ , t. , »"y<"-. and his aid-de-camn r "'■'' ^^as summoned • " ' i ^"^^'^'Pted. An ev- ^- th>ntier, and t^^^^fe'" ^''^^^ f- '-s;^:^,'^f jj^lfi^-ns, his briga^ ^ !» cross the Niitrnvo i>- ^""^'^""shed his militn,.,r h / ^'t Gcoi-ge. on th.T\r- •<•"<■">•", .« ti,c .1" tirr'*'"'^ <"■ ""<"« d. t tr"'""" '"" ■"■"■»' '.»mr PMf^. on mt fl^, ^.^r^" '^ovos,, wrUte^ n'' ^T ^*"' "'"''"s work ^ — s 'I'-iHMt r: 1 '1 1 ^HRBlii . 1 i w II A i 274 PICTORIAL FI£LD-BO£)K Alarm cauied by IIull'i Invnalon. Brock before the CaaadUn LoKUIatnre, That HiMly (i(.f|, ,||,i,,|„^ ''^■^■^sr^sse^.ip* FORT NIAUAIIA, lilMM I OUl (il.ulU.L. along a line of tliirty miles from Buffalo to Fort Niagara, and estimated by Gcncial Brock to be twelve hundred strong.' On the 20th of July Brock received intelligence of Hull's invasion; also a coiiv of his proclamation, with hints of its effect. Those hints, and a knowledge of tlie wiak- ness of Fort Maiden, alarmed hun.^ The Legislature, about to meet at York, wouM require his presence, and he could not leave for the field in the West, as he disircil to do. Divided duties perplexed him. He instantly recalled a portion oftliu iiiilitiu whom he had permitted to go home to gather in the grain harvest, and they mm- mured. lie dispatched Colonel Proctor, of the J'orty-first Regiment, Avith suoli iv- enforcements as he coidd spare, to assume command at Amherstburg, and the iiilial- •July 22, itants of the Niagara border felt themselves abandoned. He issued a eoun- 1812. ter-proclamation" to neutralize the effect of Hull's, and hope revived. Leaving the military along the Niagara frontier in charge of Lieutenant Colonel Myers, Brock hastened to York, and, with much parade, opened the Legislature in person. His address was cordially responded to ; but he soon found that tiie Legis- lature partook, in a large degree, of the despondency of a great portion of the pcojik' of Upper Canada, which Hull's menacing proclamation and actual invasion had pro- duced. Five hundred militia in the Western District had already sought Hull's pro- tection ; the Norfolk militia, most of tliem connected by blood with the inhabitant-ij of the United States, peremptorily refused to take up arms; and the Luliaiis on tlii'f Grand River, in t] le heart of the province, after some 'of their chiefs returned from A visit to Hull, refused, with few exceptions, to join the British standard, declariug tliiirl intention to remain neutral. With such promises of failure and disaster before then if resistance should be made, a majority of the Assembly were more disposed to sub 1 Brock wns very anxious to cnpture Fort Niagnrn, but was restrained by l\is superior. Sir George Prcvost IjoIIcvm it to be a party war, and was unwilling to do that which might rouse the national spirit of the American?, and nnid both parties against the British. Ue believed that tho war party could not carry on hostilities long. He thereforj commanded Brock t', •ill sent forwai I H'liijer soon bore ih .;";''_"■• Tecumtha, an -'LiMeii, ai„l wore ly pie miles belon- Fo ,'%Oeor;fe Prevost seen,! H*""""ofitlnLoZ |'''™''«P^"clan.atiort *W.» mniestv'» .^^ -""^ '^' K"'y and wealth aV"7;'-' ^^-^i-'^onacco,,'."/, tan. " Ar„ „,' " "" ''''n;:c "•ins under thl" '''"P''^ "'"i'lea war, and aT .""""""'^ , iM not make (h„ "^ """' Ht.'h»n ',W,!!'?K''"-<""i'" K'" "Bvwh"'/''"^'"'''""^ b'l'tanot.-'a'd^'y™'" F'Mn ■ anH „ " """ exi m ■' B-fc .■.•.ol„.,l ,„ ,,„ ,,„,; ' ",","'™"a.iT ; l.«l, after "Z^3" ^'"*«'- C»7.i '-WcI to write to S r G oo ' zV'"^"" «-"tin..„t "s ?o ''" "" *''^' ^'''^'•"it fro,.": Iircctcd to moon^A ,...., '"• 1 i'avo scJeofprl ^„„ / I'- 't of tJio Movii.f.,. _ « . have „,,.„„e J ,h,. ,|,„ ^_ . '^ ' " """' '"""""d by a8 ^n^ kr martin, ufu . rnj-^-;,,^--'". a.ul r^,!:, ^, ~ ^■'om yo/r ^ - = " <« thereforet ^o , '[7:™'''?" h'«^e,«„„, „„ „ccom t .f m" .'"^ ""'bit// 8^n!'T '« '" be found "mv"?'' ""« ^''" '"Z n.vT"™""''"'' h^' liberality of their » ',''^"' '"yn'ty, not „ . '' ""' ""Irty yea« h!^,''"''' "' ">« ^vorld a „ .!7v. ^ «''^''"'- h ^.'- 'heir auce«,o ' '""?;<"?■>. ""s not „cn , "r"""'»« "f these hi ' " ■"""' "^ veterans evlCj '" "P'" i" h«"^« Britain .,1 ■ ""^ "'on Wnrnll ,h "" " ^'"P^'tv wdV" '"'"P'" '« '«> he Tmrnllu ^""^ "'<=''• for- ' "f Coniinen „, F '^"""'« <>f Canada to hlr " ""'" «trn»,„.,| ^ ''" f "^'^ff a Territory of " kins'8 ,.p„, ,"' ^"™P« «'(th a rod Jul^^'t""' vvim„„ „„„.^' ' fr^-n the protection of nl". •",c uiuain, the ^ip,,.„„, "■araed them nf.i ,' "•' ""d meana r.V » • " "" '"'"Hi wl ^["ited States, ^nd llu , """-'"me natio,!°^n L '* '""nen«o adva ?1 ""J^y^fnt s'lpcrior t I fo (. I *or wqicJi every ( i ir,^ r" IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT^3) V // ^6r C/j I.V/ |iO i^ili i2J I.I 1^ 1^ 12.2 us lU Li u, 1^ II 1.8 L25 IliU ■!.6 '<5 Hiotographic Sciences Corporation <> # .-<«g :\ ^ \ V ^:^' 23 WEST MAIN STREET WEP^TER.N.Y. M5«0 (716) 372-4;^03 ;^> ^"^^ :<$> %. ^ t ' I : ' [\y'. i 27« PICTOUIAL FIELD-BOOK Re^nforcementa and Hupplien «t the River Raliln. Defeat of X^)or Van Uorne at Browattawn. Brush, 80 precious to the littlo army. Brush was unwilling to dsk those treasures and his small force without an escort, and he appealed to Hull to send him a detaeh- mont of men for that purpose. The general hesitated, and, when the Ohio colonels joined in a reipiest that an escort should be sent, ho flatly refused compliance. At length better counsels prevailed, and, after much persuasion, ho ordered Major Thom- as H. Van Home, of Colonel Findlay's Ohio regiment, to proceed to the Raisin witli a detachment of two hundred men from that corps, to join Brush, and aft'ord a safe convoy for the cattle, provisions, and mail. The major obeyed with alacrity. He crossed the Detroit with his command on the 4ih of August, and encamped that night on the banks of the Ecorces Kiver, where ♦Jie soldiers slept on their amis. Tljey resumed their march early on the following mornnig, A light fog veiled the flat country along the borders of the river. The air was still and sultry. Four spies, under Captain William M'CuUougli, preceded the troops, to watch for the en- emy. They lost their way, and, while passing around a corn-field in bloom, tliev were fired upon by a dozen Indians who lay in ambush there. M'Cullough fell from his horse severely icounded, and, before the detachment could reach the spot, tlic savages had scalped him and bore away his shining locks in triumph. His coimtrv Avas thus bereaved of one of the bravest and most devoted of its defenders, and the whole army sincereiy mourned a real loss. The d(!tachment was moving very cautiously half an hour after this sad occiii- rence, when it was joined by some mounted militia, and a few gentlemen who had taken this opi)ortunity to travel in safety to the Raisin. These, with ]\[ajor Van Home, stopped at the house of a Frencliman for water, and were informed by iiim that several hundred Indians and British soldiers were Ij ing in ambush, near Browns- town, for the purpose of intercepting the party. Van Ilorne had become accustoineil to aiai-mists, and did not credit the story. He marched on in fancied security, his front guard of twenty- four men in two col- umns, each column pre- ceded by three dra- goons, and the main body in the same or der. The mail, with a mounted escort, was placed in the centre. Where the ground would permit, the col- umns marched a hund- red yards apart. As they approached Brownstown the road passed through a nar- row prairie skirted with thick woods, and a creek on the right. Tlie woods on the creek came to a point toward the town, through THOMAS B. Vj^ UOBNK. which the road passe,! to the ford. On the left were corn-fields ami thickets of thorn biisli- es ; and near the creek the columns were com- pelled to approacii eacli other on account of i narrowness of the wa Just as they readied its margin, and were en- tering upon the open ground around the vil- lage, near the house of Adam Brown, a heavy firo, at only fifty yards' distance, was openeil upon them from hotli sides by a large body of Indians who lay in am- bush in the thickets and the woods. The attack was sudden, sharp, and deadly, and the troops were thrown into confusion. Appre- hensive that he might be surrounded, Major Van Home immediately ordered a re- treat. This movement was conducted with much confusion. The Indians pursued, and a ninning fight was kept up for a considerable distance, the retreating Americans frequently turning upon the savage foe, and giving hira deadly volleys. The retreat PerlboraSnpptj continued to followed abo the Hntisli a and disaffect: written freely seventeen kil Hull was g colonel.H urgci liegged him t tween Detroit the suj)])lies ii and no time a men at once," red men," wai terprise was a and his savairi niinent peril. The inutinoi ed. There wfi eral, and cause was an agreen sued for the ir field ; for the s officer at Sand v and planks for of the 8tli, by t "all artificers, i diately. This order d for energetic a- summer's day w eral east a clone night tliat spee( Detroit/— an or iniment the inh to take up arm 'liicnceofintellii litia, and Indiani lii'ock. Hut Canada v aiul thirty convf li'ft " to hold pr to the well-disp ''wn stockaded, ;;^(ling in Sam ' For his gallnutry In wHalaeTweuty-slxt •Thebatrle-gronndv Amoni; the killed w 'want Jacob Pentz, nn, i"yofWar,,iatortSnn; cjlumus of smoke are rising. These compose the copper smelting-works at Spring Wells. A long wharf on the Sand- I! ' I .i;: ,:mm m ii: ill 278 PICTORIAL F^ELD-BOOK The Arm; racroMed to Detroit. Expedition to Buccor the Sapply-tralu. Colonel Miller and hl« iioi. HABBAOKB AT HAMDWIOII. valescents were placed, and Denny was ordered to defend the post to the last ex- tremity against musketry, but to leave it in the event of artillery being brought against it so powerfully as to make it untenable.' Sullenly that humiliated army obeyed their overcautious commander, and (liirinij • Augngt, the night of the 7th and morning of the 8th* they crossed the deep, dark ^"*- rapidly-flowing river in sadness, and encamped upon the rolling plain be- hind Fort Detroit. Hull's reason for this mortifying termination of his invasion of Canada was the receipt of intelligence, as we have observed, that General Brock Mas hasting toward Amherstburg with re-enforcements, and the necessity of securing a permanent communication between his army and the sources of its supplies in the Ohio settlements. He accordingly dispatched six hundred men, under Lieutenant Colonel James Miller, on the afternoon of the 8th, to open a communication witli the Raisin and escort Brush to Detroit. The detachment consisted of the Fourth Regi- ment of regulars ; two small corps of the First Regiment, under Lieutenant Dixon Stansbury and Ensign Robert A. M'Cabe ; detachments from the Ohio and Micliigan volunteei-s — the latter, sixty in number, from the "Michigan Legion,"^ mostly French, under Captain Antoine Doquindre ; a corps of Captain Dyson's artillerists, then sta- tioned at the fort with a six-pounder, under Lieutenant John L. Eastman (who was Miller's brigade major on this occasion), and a howitzer, under Lieutenant James Daliba ; and a part of Captains Smith and Sloan's cavalry, under the latter. Majoi's Van Home and Morrison were associated with Lieutenant Colonel Miller as field officei"8. " Commodore" Brevoort, who was a captain of infantry, and appointed com- mander of any government vessels that might be placed on the lakes, and Captain A. F. Hull, the general's son, who was afterward killed at the Battle of Niagara Falls, volunteered as aids to Lieutenant Colonel Miller.^ The troops paraded on the north side of Jefferson Avenue, in Detroit, nearly op- posite where the Exchange now stands. When placed in marching order, Lieuten- ant Colonel Miller rode up in front of them, and in his clear, loud voice, said to the volunteers and militia, " Soldiers, we are now going to meet the enemy, and to btat them. The reverse of the 6 th (Van Home's) must be repaired. The blood of our brethren, spilt by the savages, must be avenged. I shall lead you. You shall not disgrace yourselves nor me. Every man who shall leave the ranks or fall back with- out orders will be instantly put to death. I charge the officers to execute this or- der," Then, turning to the veteran Fourth Regiment of regulars, he said, " 51y brave soldiers, you will add another victory to that of Tippecanoe — another laurel to that gained on the Wabash last fall. If there is now any man in the ranks of the detachment who fears to meet the enemy, let him fall out and stay behind." A loud \vich Bide of the river is seen toward the right of the position. The British picketed this bnilding, and used it for bir- racks in 1818. > M'Afee, page 77. » This " Legion" had been organized daring the winter of 1811-'12, as a home guard against the Indians, who were then mouacing the Mici Ml ■'u m t 1 1:.^^ 280 PICTORIAL FIELD-BOOK Battle of the Oak Wr a larger force of Europeans and savages to bar the way to the Raisin, and attack Hrush there. He therefore cent this laconic disj)atch to Hull : "Siu, — Colonel Miller is Kick- may I relieve him? — L. Cass." Receiving no reply, he returned to Detroit, meeting on his way an express bearing to Miller positive orders for the whole detachment to return to head-quarters. Thus another favorable moment for achieving great food was lost by what seemed the timidity and instability of the commanding genorai. Miller was oidy twenty-two miles from the Raisin. Dispirited in the extreme, he and his troops left their camp at noon on the day after the battle, and made their way slowly back to Detroit. Hull's shortcomings were freely spoken of, and the belief was inculcated among the troops that he was either traitorously inclined, or had become an imbecile. At times he would be shut up in his room' for hours, inaccessible to all but his son, who was bin aid-de-camp; at others he appeared abstracted and confused — "sullen in de- portment, and wavering in his orders. "^ His incompetency to meet the crisis at hand was felt by all, and his officers of every grade, after consultation, oame to the conclu- sion that the salvation of the little army would only be found in depriving him of the command and giving it to another.^ Lieutenant Colonel Miller was invited to accept it. He declined, but expressed his willingness to unite with them in giving the command to M'Arthur, the senior officer of the volunteers, and one of the most vigilant and active soldiers in the army. J*, would be a bold step for subordinates to strip a commanding general of his sword and epaulets while at the head of his army, and, when they were ready to act, they naturally hesitated. Relief might speedily come from Ohio. Governor Meigs, it was suggested, might accompany it in person, and upon him the honor might properly be laid. Colonel Cass acted • AuRHPtiz, promptly on this suggestion, and wrote* an energetic letter to the gov- ^'*^''^' ernor, urging him to press forward with re-enforcements and supplies. He informed him that the army had been reduced to a critical situation " from causes not fit to be put on paper." He told him that the golden opportunity for success had passed by, and mildly remarked that, unfortunately, the general and the princi- pal officers could not view the situation and prospect of aifairs in the same light. "That Maiden," he said, "might easily have been reduced, I have no doubt. . . . But instead of looking back, we must now look forward. . . . Our supplies must come from our state." He called for two thousand men at least, and added, " It is the unanimous wish of the army that you should accompany them." Before this letter was shown to the other officers a change in affairs had taken place. The British were congregating in force at Sandwich, and, in view of this men- ace, the following postscript was ad'ied to the letter : " Since the other side of this letter was written, new circumstances have arisen. The British force is opposite, and our situation has nearly reached its crisis. Believe all the bearer will tell you. Believe it, however it may astonish you, as much as if told by one of us. Even a c**** is talked of by the ***** The bearer will supply the vacancy.* On you wc 1 " In my boyhood," says Judge Witherell, "I knew him well. His appearance was venerable and digiiifled ; his heart was the scat of l^indnesb ; he was unquestionably an honest man. TJie general had a n.ost excellent family. Mrs. Hull, a portly, flne-looking woman, made It the principal business of her life to visit the sick and provide for tlic desti- tute poor." ' M'Afee, page S2. > Colonel Hatch says, "On a private conenltation on the 12th of August with those known to be the most active of the subordinate officers and men of the volunteer regiments, it was decided to get up a Round Robin* (so callcii), ad- dressed to the three colonels, requesting the arrest or displacement of the general ffgm his command, and vesting, by common consent, the eldest colonel, M'Arthur, with all the powers incidental to chief command. * " The donbtfiii fate of this letter rendered it necessary to use circumspection in its details, and therefore the blank! were left. The word ' capitulation' will All the first, and ' commanding general' the other."— Colonel Cass to the Sec- retary of War, Washington City, Septembe r 10, 1812. • A phrase (rond mban) originally derived ftom a custom of the French officers, who, on sigrning a remonstrance or petition to their enperiors, wrote their names in a circular form, so that it might be impossible to ascertain who lud beaded the list. raeunliry Aid OF THE WAR OF 1812. 288 r«conl»ry Aid for Brock. Be proceeds to Fort Maiden. Coolbrence with IndUni. depend." This was signed by CasB, Findlay, M'Arthur, Taylor, and Colond Elijah Bnisii, of the Michigan militia. General Brock joined Proctor at Amhersthurg or Maiden on the night of the ISth." Relieved from civil duties on the 0th, he procured pecuniary aid .AjiRnBt, from an association of gentlemen, and, with two hundred volunteers, he ''*'''• sailed from York for Burlington Bay, at the west end of Lake Ontario. lie had been called upon to repel a formidable invasion with few troops, and witho\it a money- chest, provisions, blankets, or even shoes for the militia whom ho exj)ected to muster into the 'service. Those gentlemen known as "The Niagara and Queenston Associ- ation" supplied him with several thousand pounds sterling in the form of ban? -notes, which were afterward redeemed v/ith army bills. He had sent forty of the Forty- firet Uegimcnt to Long Point, on Lake Erie, to gather the militia there, and fifty more of the same regiment were sent to the Lidians in the interior, to induce them to en- gage in the expedition. On his way across the country he held a coun- cil^ at the Mohawk settlement on the Grand River, and sixty warriors °^"' promised to join him on the 10th. With his few regulars and three hundred militia. Brock embarked in boats, bat* teaux,and canoes (sup- plied by the neighbor- ing fanners) at Long Point," a u d, ' Angnot 8, ^ , alter a rough voyage of five days and nights, nearly two hundred miles in ex- tent, he reached Am- herstburg a little be- fore midnight of the 13th. The patient en- durance of his troops (klightedhim. He was welcomed by a feu de joie of musketry from Teoumtha and his band on Buis Blanc Island, before Amherstburg. Half an hour after- ward that warrior was brought over by Colo- nel Elliot, the Indian agent whom we have already spoken of (who lived near Amherst- burg), and Brock Avas introduced to the great chief of the Shawno- ese.^ It being late, the conference was snort, and they parted with the understanding that a council would be call- ed immediately. Brock held a confer- ence with the Indians on the morning of the 1 4th. About one thou- sand were present. The general opened the in- terview by informing 1 Coptain J. B. Olcgg, Brock's aid-de-camp, hes left on record tlie following description of Tecnmtha at that inter- view: "Tecumieh's appearance was very prepossessing: his figure liglit, and finely proportioned ; ilia age I imagined to lie about f. .e-imd-thirty [he was aI)out forty] ; \u height, five feet nine or ten inches ; his complexion light copper ; countennnco oval, with bright hazel eyes, bearing cheer(\ilnes8, energy, and decision. Three small silver crosses or coronets were suspended from the lower lartilagc of his nqalline nose, and a large silver medallion of George the Third, which 1 believe his ancestor had received from Lord Dorchester when Governor General of Canada, was attached to a mixed-colored warapnm string and hung r"und his neck. His dress consisted of n plain, neat uniform, tanned" deer-skin jacket, with long trowsers of the same material, the seams of both being covered with neatly- cut fringe, and he had on his feet leather moccasins, much ornamented with work mode from the dyed quills of the porcupine." The portrait of Tecuratha above given is from a pencil sketch try Pierre le Dm, mentioned in note 1, page 189. In Ibis I have given only the head by Le Dm. The cap was red, the bond ornamented with colored porcupines' quills, and m front was a single eagle's feather, black, with a white tip. The sketch of his dress (and the medal above described), in which he appears as a brigadier general of the British army, is from a rough drawing which I saw in Montreal in the .'nmmer of 1868, made at Maiden soon after the surrender of Detroit, where the Indians celebrated that ..vent by a grand fei\«t It was only on gala occasions that Tecnmtha was seen in flill dress. The sketch did not pretend to give a trae liliencss of the chief, and wa:< valuable only as a delineation of his costume. Prom the two we are enabled to give a pretty faithful picture of the creat Sbawnoese warrior and statesman as he appeared in his best mood. When in frill (itess he wore a cocked hat iinil plume, but would not give up his blno breech-cloth, ted legglns firinged with buckskin, sod backskiu moccaains. TEOUMTHA. ^ .K m m' VilBI 284 nsnoMpi PICTOr.IAL FIELD-BOOK Amneitjr oflfered and accepted. Preparationa for attacking Detroit. Its Snrrender prcdetemloed. them that he had come to assist them in driving the Americans from Detroit and their rightful liunting-grounds north of tlie Oliio. His speech was highly aj)pliiu(l((l by Tecumtha, who replied in an elocpient and sagacious manner, and gave Brock a higlkopinion of his genius.' Not deeming it j)rudent to reveal too much of his plan of operations to the assembled savages, the latter invited Tecumtha, with a few old chiefs, to Colonel Elliott's quarters, and there he laid the whole matter before tlu'ui. The chiefs listened with great attention, and assured lirock that he should liave their cordial co-operation. In reply to his question whether the warriors could be re- strained from drinking whisky, Tecumtha re))lied that, before leaving their country on the Wabash, they had i)romised liim that they would not taste a drop of the fire- water until they had humbled the biff-knives — the Americans — and that they might be relied on.'^ Brock had issued a general order early in the morning of the 14th, in which he calmed the fears of those inhabitants who had deserted from the British army, or liad taken protections from Hull, by expressing his willingness to believe that their con- duct proceeded more from their anxiety to get in their harvests than from " any pre- dilection for the principles and government of the United States." This ingrnlous offer of amnesty by implication was sent out upon the roads northward, and was ac- cepted by the great body of the inhabitants, who were alarmed and exasperated l>v Hull's desertion of them ; and when, en the same day, Brock marched from Maiden to Sandwich, he passed through a country of friends. • AuRust 11, Major Denny had already evacuated Fort Gowris,* and, with the con- 1S12. valescents and troops under his command, had crossed the river to De- troit. The American camp at Sandwich and vicinity was immediately taken pos- session of by British troops, under Captain Dixon, of the Uoyal Engineers (whcmi we shall meet at Fort Stephenson), and a battery was planted so as to command Detroit. The American artillerists begged permission to open upon them from the fort with twenty-four pounders,^ but Hull would not grant it, and the enemy was allowed to complete his preparations for reducing the fort without molestation. The brave Captain Snelling asked pel-mission to go over in the night and take the works, hut Hull would listen to no propositions of the kind. He seemed unwilling to injure or exasperate the enemy. That General Hull had determined to surrender Detroit, under certain contingen- cies, rather than risk an engagement with, or a protracted siege by the British and Indians, at least two or three days before that deed was accomplished, the careful student of the history of that affair can not doubt. All of his movements indicate this, according to the positive testimony given by M'Afee, and of Colonel Stanley Hatch's narrative, already cited. Hatch was Hull's assistant qnartennaster general. Hull seemed convinced that, under all the circumstances, the post would be untenahle against such a force as the enemy might bring to bear upon it, unless his communi- cation with Ohio might be kept up. Dearborn had failed to make any diversions in his favor on the Niagara or at Kingston, as he had been directed to do.* His com- munication with Ohio (his only source of supply), lyhig beyond a trackless wilder- > Brock wrote of Tccnmthn as follows : " A more eagacions or a more gallant warrior does not, 1 beHeve, exist. He was the admiration of every one who conversed with him. From a life of dissipation he has not only become, In evpry respect, abstemious, but he has IlkewlL;e prevoiled on all his native, and many of the other tribes, to follow his ex- ample." " Tapper's Life of Brock, paj;c t». ' The execution of heavy giius at long distances at that time was feeble when compared to that of the rifled cannon and conical balls used at the present day. In the year 1812, the late Ichabod Price, of New York (who died in that city on the 1st of March, 1862, at the age of eighty-one years), suggested to the War Department both rifled cannon and con- ical balls. He was then a sergeant of an artillery corps of tlie State of New York, who volimteered for the defense of the state. The department would not listen to Price's proposition ; but his genius was so well attested in the presence of President Madison that be commissioned htm a lieutenant in the regular army of the United States. * Letter of the Secretary of Wor to Qeueral Dearborn, Aagnst 1, 1812. Of the position of affaire on the Ningnra front- ier at this time much will be said hereafter. Suffice it to say now that Qcneral Dearborn agreed to a conditiounl nr- mistice ^vith Sir Oeorge Prerost, an arrangement which the government of the United States subsequently repudiated. Hi 'I deceived noss two h ing too soi from Proof from that i a|)|iointmer old ,'ige, ma at 3Iahlen 1 kiMw that i the militia ( Ho was too tioiis of thit inated by th of another n uniphed ovei sistance of a mayed antag On the lit sufficient det; directing Jiim attempt a for with Colonel . evening of th< to escort Bru! Cas.s, Avho not permitted to ( 3rArthur, as 8( without a suffi et» for repose i between the lli remonstrated b • promised to sei al with him to provisions recei The detachmt ing," and the nc head waters of tangled in a sw tigued by their i when, just as tin nions from Hull i 'I was informed by tl m de British army In < W8 cnusldorable, and tl lions, was Intercepted, a flown upon his rear, whi » I visited the Long Pr «s Informed, from the I nelghoorhood were dres. raw recruits were mixed »a« deceived into the bel «e soon won ,^g 'hfromAmherstburg: ftlls, take his place. As "jcnmstancetoshowhov Hul'sjfr,^,.^^^^^ 'teller of Colonel Cass OF THE WAK OF 18 12. 28S III 'I deceived by M»e Keporta nud Appearancef. Ktcort Rent for Bruiih. lu Fate. iiess two hundred miles away, was cut off. His provisions, lie thought, were becom- iiii' too scarce to warrant the risk of a I'rotractcd siege, and an intercepted letter from Procfor to Roberts at Mackinack tiireatened a descent of live thousand Indians from that region. Ilenmied in on every side, and his force- wasting Avith disease, dis- appointnu'Ut, and death, his kindness of heart, and the growing caution incii' it to ol(l age, made him timid and fearful. He diil not know that the letter from 1 octor at Maiden had been sent for the purpose of interception to alarm him.' He did not know that a large portion of Brock's troops, reported to him as regulars, were only till- militia of Long Point and vicinity, dressed in scarlet uniforms to deceive him.^ IL' was too honest (whatever may be said of his military sagacity) to suspect decep- tions of this kind, and he sincerely believed that his little army would bo exterm- inated by the savages should he exasperate them by shedding their blood. " A man of another mould, full of resolution and resource," says Ingersoll, " might have tri- umplied over the time-serving negligence of his own government, and the bold re- sistance of an enemy who could not fail to perceive that he had a feeble and dis- mayed antagonist to deal with."' On the 14th General Hull sent a message to Captain Brush informing him that a gufficient detachment to escort him to head-quarters could not then be spared, and directing him to remain where he was until farther orders, or, if ho thought best, to attempt a forward movement by a circuitous and more inland route, after •suiting with Colonel Anderson and Captain Jobard, the bearers of the letter. ' ^Toward the evening of the same day, he changed his mind, and concluded to send a detaclwnent to escort Brush to Detroit. ^ He communicated his plan to Colonels M'Ai-thur and Cass, who not only approved of it, but volunteered to perform the duty, ^hey were permitted to choose three hundred and fifty men from their respective regimentb. , jr Arthur, as senior officer, took the command ; and they left in haste in the e^^ening without a sufficient supply o*^ provisions for a protracted absence, or even of blank- ci» for repose in resting, for they were assured that they would doubtless meet Brush between the Rouge and Huron, and not more than twelve miles distant. When they remonstrated because they were dispatched with a scanty supply of provisions, Hull , promised to send more after them on pack-horses. But Brush's orders left it option- al with him to remain or move forward. He was not found on the way, nor were provisions received from Hull as promised. The detachment under M'Arthur and Cass crossed the Rouge that even- • August 14, ing," and the next day pushed forward by a circuitous route toward the *'^**' head waters of the Huron, twenty-four miles from Detroit, when they became en- tangled in a swamp, and could proceed no farther. Half famished and greatly fa- tigued by their march through the forest, they had prepared to bivouac for the night, when, just as the evening twilight was fading away, a courier arrived with a sum- mons from Hull to return immediately to Detroit.* The order was obeyed, and they 1 1 was inrortned by the venernble Robert Reynolds, of Amherstbnrg, who was a deputy assistant coramtssnry general in the British army In Canada dnrlng the war, that Proctor sent a letter to Cnj/tain Roberts telling him that his force was considerable, and that he need not send down more than five thousand Indians. This letter, according to instruc- tiong, was intercepted, and placed in the hands of Hull, who had visions immediately of an overwhelming force coming dowB upon his rear, while a superior army should attaclt him in fi'ont. ' I visited the Long Point region at NorwichviUe in the autumn of ISCO, where early settlers were yet living. There I was Informed, ftom the lips of Adam Yelgh, of Bnrford, who was one of the volunteers, that all of the recruits ttom hig neighborhood were dressed in scarlet uniform at the public expense. When they approached Sandwich he said these raw recruits were mixed with the regulars, each volunteer being placed between two regulars. By this stratagem Hall mw deceived into the belief that a large British force was mnrcliing against him. Yeigh was an energetic young man, and soon won the confidence of Brock, who gave him the following directions on the day that they marched upon Sand- wich IVom Amherstburg : If your lieutenant falls, take his place : if your captain falls, take his place ; if your colonel falls, hike his place. As no blood was shed on the occasion, and nobody fell, Yelgh failed of promotion. He cited this circnmstance to show how nearly he came to being a Britisli colonel. > HMorinil Sketehe* qf the Second War, etc., 1., 81. < Hull's Memoir oif 1M Campaisfn i\f 1812, page 73. ' l.etter of Colonel Cass to the Secretary of War, September 10, 1812. i in '11 li! (1 1 ' i ; I cf 111 ill ^ m 1^ is :| 286 PICTOUIAL FIELD-BOOK Dtuuuid tot tb« Bnmnder of Detroit. Tb« Oarrlioii tbrMtaned with Mmmck. Th« Demand rarii>«<|. M tan- 111 approachod )i(>it(l-pearanee, and nineh attention and rema<'k waH elicited by it, < Hpcciiij- ly heeauHc itH top was ornamented with red and bhie HtripeH, which made it coiiHiiic. W0U9 among the tents.' The Ih'itiuh iiad been in coimidera'de force on the ojjpositc shore Mince tlie l'M\\, and liad been j)ermitted to throw uj) intrenchnuMitH, and to plant a baMiiy for two eigiilcon-pounchTH and an eiglit-inch howitzer in a position to com- mand the town and fort, notwithstanding the latter wan armed with twenty-eij^ht pieces of heavy ordnance, whicli the artillerists were anxious to use in drivini,' the enemy from his works. When hi.s preparations for attack were comi»let« 1, (n-ncral Brook, at little past meridian on the Ifith, sent Lieutenant Colonel M'DontU and^Iu- jor Olcgg from Sandwich, with a flag, to bear to General Hull a fuimm.mH for tlii' unconditional surrender of the post. "Tiic force at my disposal," said Jirock, "au- thorizes me to require of you the surrender of Detroit. It is far from my inclination to join in a war of extermination, but you must be aware that the nimierous bodydf Indians who have attached themselves to my troops will bo beyond my control the moment tho contest commences."* This covert threat of letting loose the blood-thirsty savages upon tho town and garrison of Detroit deeply impressed the comnninding general with contending emo- tions. His pride of character, and his patriotism, for which all venerated him, hmh him figlit ; his fear of the consequences to the army and the inhabitants under liis charge bade him surrender. His whole eflectivc force then at liis disposal did net exceed one thousand men,' and the fort was thronged with trembling women, and children, and decrepit old men of the town and surrounding countiy, who had fled tliither to escaj)o the blow of the tomahawk and the keen blade of the scalping-knil'e. For full two hours he kept the flag waiting while revolving in his mind what to do. His troops wera confident in their ability to successfully confront the enemy, and were eager to measure strength with him; and at length Hull mustered resolution Buflicient to say to Brock, " I have no other reply to make than to inform you that I am ready to meet any force which may be at yotir disposal, and any consequencos which may result from its execution in any way you may think proper to use it." He added, apologetically, that a certain flag of truce, sent to Maiden at about the time Colonel Cass fell upon the British and Indians at the Aux Canards, proceeded contrary to his orders; and that the destruction of Gowris's house at Sandwich was also contrary to his orders.* Hull's response to Brock, when made known, was welcomed by the troops with the most liv(dy satisfaction ; and when the flag touched the Canada shore, the bearere were staitled by a loud huzza from the fort at Detroit and the adjacent camp. The time for trial, and, as Hull's little army believed, of victory for them, was at hand, and the most active preparations to meet the foe was seen on every side. Major Jcsup rode dow u to Spring Wells to reconnoitre the onemy at Sandwich. He was satisfied, from the position which the Queen Charlotte had taken, that the British intended to land ai tliat place under cover of her guns. Having selected a commanding point for a battery from which that vessel might possibly be driven away, he hastened back to head-quarters, and requested Hull to send down a twenty-pounder for the puqjose. Hull refused. Jesup returned to Sjjring Wells, where he found Captain 1 M'Afee, page 86. a Brock to Hull, dated Sandwich, Angnst 15, 1812. ' Hull, In hlB report to the Secretary of War, Augmt 26, 1S12, said It " did not exceed eight hundred men." Colonel Can, In a letter to the mme Cabinet minister, on the Iftth orSeptemher, said that the momlDg report of the 15tb " made onr effectWe men present fit for dnty 1060." Mnior Jesup estimated them nt 980. « When Major Denny evacuated Fort Qowrls he set Are to the picket and other works used for strengthening It, when the flames accidentally seized the house and destroyed it. OF THE VVAIl OF 1812. 287 BombinlmtntonrortDrtroU. ItrltUh «nd In pliico ho iiiul Hclcctt'd for liJH buttery. Tlii'y jKTtviv.'d tiii. t tin* ^^roiiter juirt ot'tlu' J5i ilJHli fon'o.s wt-rc iit SuikI- ^'ii'li and bot!i liUHtenod to lu-ti l-<|iiarti>rM. Jchii|) now aHktMl for oiio luindrcd mid fifty iiH'ii to K" "^■*''' "'"' •♦p^ko t!u ciu'iny'H guns oppoMito Detroit. Hull said he eould not spiire ho niiiny. "(Jive mo one hundred, then," Hiiid llie hnive Jewup. "Only one hundred," wild SnelHng. iniph rhigly. " 1 will think of it," wuh llulPs reply; and so(m iiHerwiird he c,.t»k refuge in tiui fort, for iit four o'eloek in the afternoon tlie IJrilicli buttery of five g\inH opposite, under t)ie direction of t'uptain Dixon, of the Koyiil EngineerH, opened upon the town, the fort, and the eanip, with Hhot and shell. AH the troojJH, except Findlay's rei^inient, which was Ht:itioned three hundred yards northwest oi'tho fort, wero ordoretl witlii-i the walls, crowding the work tin beyond iU capacity.^ The Hritisl'. kept up their cannonade and bombardment nntil toward n\idnight.* Tiie lire was returned with great spirit, and two of ihe enemy's guns were silenced ;iiul disabled.' At evening twiliglt it was suggested to Hull that as tlie fort diil not command the river, a strong buttery might be placed near the margin of the stream, so as to destroy the enemy as liist as they should attemj)t to land. An clisjihle point for the purpose, in the direction of Spring Wells, was selected, but the oeiieral, whose mind seemed to have been bcnuml)ed from the moment the enemy's battery was opened, would listen to no suggestions of the kind; and when that ene- my, in full force, crossed the river during the early morning of the 10th — a calm and beautiful Sabbath morning — completing the passage in the nnuin twilight, they wiTC allowed to land witliout the least molestation from ball or bu'let. Colonels Elliott and M'Kee, with Tecumtha, had crossed during tlie night two miles be- low, with six hundred Indians, and taken position in the woods to attack the Americans on flank and rear, should they attempt to dispute the debarkation of the rcifulars and militia, who numbered seven hundred and seventy men, with live pieces of light artillery.* When all had 1 reakfasted, the invaders moved toward the fort; the white troops in a single column, their left flank covered by the Indians, who kopt ill the woods a mile and a half distant. Their right rested on the Detroit River, and was covered by th" guns of tjie Queen Charlotte. Lieutenant Colonel Miller, with the 4th Regiment, was now in ,o fort; and the Ohio Volunteers and part of the Michigan militia were jiosted behind the town pali- eailes, so as to annoy the enemy's whole left flank. The remainder of the militia were stationed in the upper part of the town, to resist the incursions of the Indians, I nittorical Sketches of the late War, by John Lewis Thomson, page 30. ' Durhig the evening a larj^c shell was thrown from a battery opposite where Woodward Avenue now is. It passed over the present Jefferson Avenue, then the principal street of the town, and fell upon the roof of Aufjustus Langdon, irhlcli stood on what is now the southerly c • of Woodward Avenue and Congress Street. Coming down through Ihe bonne, which was two stories in l.cight, it i upon a table around which the family were seated, and went through to tlie cellar. The family had just time to flee im tiie house, when the shell exploded, almost wrecking the building. -Mije WilherfU. , ' Tlie battery that did the greatest execution was placed, according to Judge WItherell, in the rear of the spot where tbe'Jnlted States Court-house now stands. It was commanded by tieutenant Dullba, of Dyson s Artillery Corps. He wu a brave soldier. Daring the cannonade ho stood in the ramparts, and when he saw the smoke or flash of the enc- my'i cannon, he would call (jut to his men "Down 1" when they would drop behind the parapet until the shot had struck. k large pear-tree stood near the battery and was somewhat in the way. Colonel Mack, of the Michigan militia, or- dered a young volunteer named John Miller to cnt it down. John obeyed with alacrity Seizing an axe, he hewed ma; diligently until be had about half severed the trunk, when a cannon bail fi-om the enemy cut away nearly all of the remainder. The young man coolly turned toward the enemy and called ont, " Send us another, John Bull : you can cil faster than I can." It ig related that a negro was seen, on the morning of the lAth. when the shot were striking thick and fast around the tiirt, behind a chimney on the roof of one of the barracks in the fort. lie watched the smoke of the cannon across the tiier, and would then dodge behind the chimney. At length an eight-pound ball struck the chimney Just over his head, iemollehed it, and coverea the skulker with brick and mortar. Clearing himself from the rubbish, and scratching his woollf bead, he exclaimed, " What de debble you doin up dar I" He fled to a saflsr place. i ■ According to Brock's official account, the number of troops which he marched against the fort was a little over thir- I Iten hnndrcd, as follows ; 30 artillery ; 200 of the 4l8t Regiment ; 50 Royal Newfoundland Regiment : 400 militia, and iboat 600 Indians. His artillery consisted of three 6-pounders and two 3-poundera.— Tapper's Life of Brock, page 260. I Tie number of Indians was probably greater than here stated, as 1000 warriors attended a cooucil a few days before. tJHil MP ^ijII li •i t } 4 , . !:^, ■ 1 ■ ' > ,: 'I! is ■ j/"^ f ; 1 i| f ■ ii V 1 r -.ill H i . t' 288 PlCTOllIAL FIELD-BOOK Ilttll'ii Troopn rimtrnincd ttnm Action. All ordered Into tbo Fort. 8ceue« within the Port. whoHQ chiof motive in joining the Ih'itiHh Htandanl wa» plunder, and tlio free and safe indulufenco of their foroeity. Two twenty-tbur-j)()uiitierH had Ix-en placed in brttlcry on ill) eniinenee from which they couki sweep the advaiif ing eoliimn.' Tiie Anu'iiciin force was eoiiKiderabiy k>ss tiian tiiat of the Britisli, white and red eombinvil, but tlieir position was nmeh Huperior. They had four iiundred rounds of twemv-four. pound nliot fixed ; about one hundred tiiouwtnd eartridgen prepared ; ample provisions ibr tilU'en diiyw and more approaehing, and no lack of arms and hume animunition.''! The invaders advanced cautiously, and had reached a point within live lunuliod yards of the American line, near the site of (Jovernor VVoodl)riung men from the best families in Ohio, showed syinpioins of positive mutiny at first ; and the twenly-four-])oiinder would have j)oured a ilestructive stoini of grape-shot upmi the advancing column, notwithstanding the humiliating order, had hot Lieutenant Anderson, who commanded the guns, acting under the general's di- rection, forcibly restrained them, lie was anxious to reserve liis fire untii the a|i- proachiiig column should be in the best j)osition to receive the most destructive volleys. The guns were heavily chr.rgeil with grape-sliot, and would have wnt terrible messengers to many of the "red-coats," as the scarlet-dressed British weiv generally termed. The eager artillerists were about to apply' the niatch too soon, when Anderson sprang forward, with drawn sword, and thruatem;d to out down the first man who should disobey his on ers. The infuriated soldiers entered the already over-crowded fort, vhile the enemy, afler reconnoitring the fort und discovering tlie weakness of the fortification on the land si le, prepared to storm it. Hut, before they could form for the purpose, the oc- casion iiad ceased. The fire from the battery on the Canada shore, kept up slowly since dawn, had become very vigorous. I']) to this time no casualty had resulted from it witliM. the fort. Now a ball came bounding over the fort wall, dealing death in its passage. A group standing at the door of cme of tlie ofticers' quarters were almost annihilati'd. Captain Hancks, of Mackinaw, Lieutenant Sibley, and Dr. Rey- nolds, who accoin])anied lluirs invalids from the Maumee to Detroit, were iimtaiuly killed, and Dr. Blood wr..: severely winnided. Two other soldiers were killed almost immediately afterward by another bail; ai\d still two others on the outside of the fort were slain. Many women and cliildrcn were in the Iiousp where the ofKeers were slain. Among them were Genc'-al Hull's daughter and her children. Some of the v.-omen were j.ot- rifled with affriglit, and were carried senseless to the bomb-proof vault for safety. Several of them were bespattered with blood; and the general, who sav; the effects of the ball from a distance, knew not whether his own child was slain or not. These casualties, tlic precui-sors of future calamities, almost unmanned him, and he paced the parude backward and forward in the most anxious frame of mind. At that mo ment an officer from the Michigan militia in the town, who had observed the steady approach of the enemy without a gun being fired from the fort or the twenty-four ' This WHS In .TelTerson Avenue, in front of the C'sbd farm, before the hill was cU down. The elevation was then aliont the same as It Is lowat the Intersection of Wtioiiward Avenae. These giins were placed there by Mcntcniint Andersoo, of the United Slates Kniflneera. Althoufih the landlnif-placu of the enemy at Sprinf; Wells was about three milts olTf Aadcraou o|)eued npon the foe while they were crosslm;, but wlthont dolDg much damage. » Colonel Care to the Secretary of War, September 10th, 18H. ' The same to the eome- DgrrtuderofDetrul pounders outs cral to allow t ish and Indian |)ly, Imt, stej)pi to liiK son, ('aj: the Willis of th( n» (> me. Th [lectcdly seen ;i boat, with a shore. Captain Ifiil) Lieutenant (^ol negotiate the ti ful suspicions ; lison. Hull ha( render.' His a^ Not a shot had inade. For a m dier of the Itevr his incensed peo disappointment. The terms of sued a general o to the North »vee to auicles of ea ' "Leonard IlarrlBoii ilandlii); near (Joloniil i Undliiy finid, ' Colonel Fiiidlay f nni a soldier imy lie would obey lili oflhom would luive Ink Miller's true soldierly bcvfroloc(iiiceriilii({ lli «(terl, wlUi six huudiT took Fort Detroit, mul i liuin KoliiR on below i "Valiistiisisyotunknc «l it. But Ocncrul Hi Braih and I miule the b ' The white " ttnn" « ment, by order of Oeiiei ' In his iMspntch to I wll know the IiIkIi ros| Mil a fiill conviction of lifTond any former exni Eumpe do !s not furnlsli brave an IgBllniit omicr l*iidod and the baydiiot kncwitwna imposslb;,. bm been fHrnishcd wit iwk-horses, ihronuh a i little army, worn down l raliectal force of all ihc lion consists of more thi o'the regnlar forces of | among the Indians, w:,!,, Afler alludluR to Coloi Piaradurinfjtheearapaii sti should be dlsapprov J«%atlonofhl8condu ■ ™ll«oflhe brave me ' It was stipulated tha "at..'MlohipinTorritor l^liPoommuudofCaptai "I'll, iwhuled In the car iliatlney should return! OF THE WAR OF 18 12. 2H9 gorrtmieroflJotrolt. Indignation of the Troop*. Hull Bii^w.-naii all Rfliiponttblltty. pounder LTS outside, cam« in haato to inquire whether it wivh tlie intention of the gon- orul to uUow thut b(<(ly iih)iie to deiciid tlie placv ; aluu to iiiiorm hiiii tliat tlie lirit- ishaud Indians were at tlu) tan-yard, clocc upon tiio town. Th», general inado no re- ply, lmt,8to|>iting into a room in tlie barrickH, he pr(!j»arod a note iiastily, lianded it 10 liJK rton, C'aptain Hull, and directed him to diHplay a whitt flag immediately I'roni tlio wallH of the fort,' where it might he Keen by Caj)tain Dixon ov(m- the river.- This was (iwe. The liring hooii ceaHed, and in a ' announced the virtual betrayal of the gar- rison. Hull had asked no man's advice, nor suggested to an^ the possibility of a sur- render.* His act was quick, and as unexpected as a thinulerbolt from a (;lear sky. Not a shot had been lired upon the emuny — not an effort to stay Ids course had been iiiiulo. For a moment nothing hut reverence for gray hairSj and veneration for a sol- dier of the Revolution, saved the commander from ))eisonal violence at tlie hands of his incensed people. Many of the soldiers, it is said, shed tears of mortification and diMppointment, The terms of capitulation wore soon agreed to,* and the American commander is- sued a general order saying that it was " with pain and anxiety" that lu! announced to the North \vest Army that he had been compelled, from a sen.ie of duty, to agree to ftuides of capitulation. M'hicli were appended to the averment. He tlien sent a > " Leonard Ilarrion, iif Dearborn, told lao that Hoon nttcr n will e Unit whh luilHled nt the fort ho hap|>«ned to be Minding near Ooluiiol Findlay, of the Ohio VohiiitccrH, and Li«utcnai\t Ooloiivl Mllltir, of thu Fourth Infantry. Colonel Vlmlliiy said, ' Coloiiol Mlllur, the giiiicral tulks of u aiirrouder ; let ut put hlin under nrreBt." Miller rejilled, ' Colonel Fiiidln.v I am u soldier ; I (shall obey my .'•upcrior ofHrcr,' Intimating that if Fiudlay would aeiumo the command of the arm; \\« would obey him. U d the eterii old M'Arthnr, or the younger and moru impetuous Cass been priiiient, either ottliom would have taken the reaponslbllity."— Jim/i/o U'ltherett. MIller'K true" ooUllerly ipialitleH of obedience and ucquio'iccnco la aaown lu the carcftil manner In which, to hli wife, hewnito conremluK tlie nurronder, from his prison at Fort Oeorgc, on the '27th day of Auguat, 1H12. " Only one week niter I, with nix huiulred men, ooranietely conquered nlnmat the whole force which they then had, they came onttand tiKik Fnrt Detroit, ntui made nearly two thousand of um priaouerH, on Sunday, the 10th inatant. There beliiK no opera- tii)ii« i;ulii); on below uh I meaning Nlacura frontier] ga\. This paroxysm of feeling was soon succeeded by dignifi>^d calmness; and in the dim tAvilight M'Arthur and Cass, Avith their Avhole detachment, Avere marched into tlie fort, Avhere the arms of the soldiers Avere stacked. Befoi-e the curtain of night had been fairly di-aAvn over the humiliating scene the act of capitulation and sunendii Avas completed — an act Avhich produced universal mortification and intense indiirna- tion throughout the counii*y.* In less than tAvo months after war Avas declared, ami the favorite scheme of an invasion of the enemy's provinces had been set in inotioi, a strong military post, a spirited army, and a magnificent territory, Avitli all its in- habitants,* had been given up Avithout an eflfbrt to save them, or a moment's Avaitiiig lor the arrival of powerful re-enforcem(;nts and ample supplies, then on their way from the southAvard. About two thousand men in all® became prisoner of nar, ' "Such part of the Ohio militia," he said, "as have not joined tl e army [meaning Brush's detachment at t! e RaUim will be permitted to return to their hemes, on condition that they will not serve duriiij; the war. Their arras, tow- ever, will be delivered up, if belonging to the public." ' They had been discovered by Broclt's scoutB, and their presence in the rear caused the British general to move \« the attack sooner than he intended to. "Hearing," says Brocii, in his ufflclal dispatch, " that bis [M'Artliur'B] cavalry had been sean that morning three miles in our rear, I lieclded on an immediate attack." ' On the evening of the 17th, Captain Elliott, son of Colonel Elliott, with a Frenchman and Wyandot Indian, ap- proached Brush's encampment at the Raisin bearing a flag of truce, a copy of the capitulation at Detroit, and nuthoritv to receive tlie surrender of Brush an 1 his command. Lieutenant Couthler, of the Kaisiu, the officer of the day, blind- folded Elliott, and led him to the block-house. Brush was not satisfied that his visit was by autliority, or thai the ilw ument was genuine, so he ordered Elliott's arrest and confinement. M'Arthur's letter testified to the gomiincncfs of Blliott'B document and authority, when Brush hastily packed up the public property at the Kaisin, and, with hla wlidlo command and his cattle, started for Ohio, directing Elliott to be released the next day. The angry Elliott scut for Te- cunitha to pursue Brush. It was too late.— Statement of Peter Navarre (who was an eye-witness) to the Author in S«p- tember, 1S60 ; Letter to the Author from the Hon. Elisha Whittlesey, of Ohio. ♦ Among other demonftrations in dlflfercnt i)artt of the couptry, the newspapera of the day noticed that at Grceni'- borongh, North 'Jarolina, General Hull was hung and burat in cfllgy, " in accordance with the prescription of a public meeting." The whole white population of Michigan at that time was between four and five thousand. The greater part wfrt Canadians. Tlielr settlements were chiefly on the Maumcc, Raisin, Ecorce, Rouge, Detroit River, Lake St. Clair, aoii the island of Mackinack. They paid very little attention to agricuUnre, being engaged chiefly in hunting, fljihins;, anit trading with the Indians. They did not produ''e siifllcient from the earth to give tliemseiveg sustenance ; and their beef. pork, corn, and flour were brought from a distance. < Estimates of the number actually included in the capitulation vary from 1800 to 8000. I have examined all, and think the number was not far trom 2000. Effect of the Surrei These con,3i8ti .States Keginu teera, and one Illation (for it of wliich, espei to the provin .iiiother invad time for prej); ivho, as usual, and safest as a The formal s At the same h with other ofHc from the esplai; capituLition. 1 OK OcfOItEU, 1 7 some of tlieni g tliein reniai'ked liicts, " Ave must TEOIT AuousT ] Canada shore, a the river from ti rcctiy in front o) It Avas on thi lie took off his o the chief Teem ill? day Jie appei ll'.'ise had been gi modesty and Avitl liody of Round I not wan? to weai myself is present. The volunteer officers, wefe pei c!ia:-ed at Detr( «liich point they •IS prisoners of a»- cmharkcd on boa veycd to Fort Er ('corgc, Aviiere thi post they were es General Hull ai ^'6th of August, siiiTeiider and att •Hal at Montrea ' The spoils were 2Nio po'lier, a stand of colors f "• She was immedlai lerherenfte^ln til" Brit' ' 'Tbegnnisoniiagsurr loi" cannon was retal «««l Frankfort, Kentuck '"yb. It ha, the Brit "er the surrender, O »>» then (X'cupicd by Mr ' II WMUnll'g Intention OF THE WAR OF 1812. 291 Effect of the Surrender. IncideiiU. DlnpoBnl of the Prisoners. These con.?i8ted of two squadrons of cavalry, one company of artillery, the 4th United States lii'giiiient, and detaclinients from the 1st and 'Ml ; three regiments of Ohio Volun- teers, and one regiment of the Michigan militia. The British obtained by this capit- ulation (for it was not a victory) a large amount of arms, ammunition, and stores, all of wliieli, especially arms, were greatly needed in I'pper Canada.' It was a godsend to the provinces in every aspect. The surrender caused months of delay before another invading army could be brought into the fieid, and thus gave the British. time for prejjaration ; and it secured the friendshij) and alliance of savage tribes, who, as usual, were ready to join whatever side seemed to be the stronger party, iind safest as an ally. The formal suri-ender of the fort and garrison took place at meridian, on the 16th.* At the same hour the next day (Monday, the 1 7th) General Brock and his statt", with other officers, ai)peared in full uniform, and in their presence a salute was fired I'roin tiic esplanade in front of the fort, with one of the brass cannon included in the capitulation. It bore the following inscription: "Taken at Sakatoga on the 17tii OF OcrroKEK, 1777." When the British officers saw this, they were so delighted that some of them greeted the old British captive, now released, with kisses ; and one of them remarked to Colonel Hatch, from whose raannscript narrative I have gained the facts, " we must have an addition put to that inscription, namely, ' Retaken at De- troit August 16,1812.'"^ The salute was ansAvered by Di.von's battery on the Canada shore, and by the Queen Charlotte, which came sweeping up the middle of thi' liver from tlie waters between Spring Wells and Sand^vich, and took position di- rectly in front of the town.* It was on this occasion that General Brock paid marked respect to Tecnmtha. He took off his own rich crimson silk sash and publicly placed it round the waist of the chief. Tecumtha received it with dignity and great satisfaction ; but the follow- ing day he appeared without the badge of lionor. Brock apprehended that r.ome ol- fnse had been given to the chief, but, on inquiry, he found that Tecumiha, with great modesty and v/ith the most delicate exhibition of prai**e, had placed tho sash upon the Iwdy of Round Head, a celebrated and remarkable Wyandot warrior, saying, " I do not want to wear such a mark of distinction, when an older and abler warrior than myself is present." The volunteers and militia who were made prisoners, and some minor regular otiieers, wei'e permitted to return home on parole. Those of Michigan were dis- cliarged at Detroit, and the Ohio Volunteers ^vere borne in vessels to Cleveland, from which point they made their way home General Hull and the regulars were hold as prisoners of war, and sent to Montreal.^ They M'cro taken to Maiden, and there eml)arked on board the Queeti Charlotte, Jlitntcr, and other public vessels, and con- veyed to Fort Erie, opposite Buffalo. From that point they were marched to Fort George, where they were agtiin placed in vessels and sent to Kingston. From that post they were escorted by ?and to Montreal. General Hull and his fellow-prisoners reached Fort George, on the Niagara, on the ■Ml of August, when the commander immediately wrote a lengthy report of the surrender and attendant events, but was not pennitted to forward it, until his ar- rival at Montreal.^ Information of the disaster bad already reached General Van ' The spoils were 2P0O stand of arms ; twcnty-flve Iron, and eight brass pieces of ordnance ; forty barrels of gnn- pos'der, a stand of co'ors, and a great quantity and variety of military stores. The armed brig Aitnmii also became n priif. She was immediately put in complete order, and her name changed to Detroit, under which title we sliall meet ter hereiifter, in th" Brit'fh service. ' The gun ison il»g surrendered on that occasion was taken to Montreal by 'Captain Glegg, Brock's aid-de-csrop. ' This cauuon was retaken ftom the British at the battle of the Thames, in October, 1S13. I saw it in the state arse- Mlat t^riuikfort, Kentucky, when I visited that city In April, 1S«1. It Is a .imall three-pounder, three feet four Inches in length. It has the British mark of the broad arrow upon It, and the date of " ITTS." '.\nerlhe furrenrter. General Hull returned to his own house, where he haci resided as Governor of Hicbigan, It nr then wcupicd by Mr. Hickman, his son-in-law. A British guard at. -nded hii.n.— Wallace. ' U was Unll's intention to forward his dispatch from Fort George by Mi-jor Wltherell, of the Michigan Volnr.teers ;. i i iir w i ■■ i i^ II n\ t .1 HI ssrrfsssfsuf^ffmmmm 'ih ; ; » ILK lit :nh ij nut '^'11^ 1 i i • ^^4 ^ ■ in 1 1 PICTORIAL FIELD-BOOK A Courier's remnrkable Ride. British Occnpatton uf Detroit and Michigan. General Brock knighted. /2i'J^ * Angnst 16, 1812. ReriS8ela«r, at Lowiston, and he had promptly sent the news by express to General Dearborn, the senior comnmnd- er in the army, whose heafl-quarters at that time were at Greenbush, opposite iMbany, on the Hudson River. For th.s important errand Van Rensselaer emj)loyed Captain Darby Noon tiie leader of a fine company of A]l)anv Volunteers, who were then stationed at or near Fort Niagara, Captain Noon was a man of great energy, and lie ne,-. formed the service in an incredibly short space of time. He rode express all the way, changing his horses by ira- pressing them when necessary, assur- ing the owners of remuneration from the government. He neither slept on the way. nor tasted food, exceptinf what he ate on horseback. When he arrived at Greenbush, he was so much exhausted that he had to be lifted from his horse, and he Avas compelled to re. main in his bed for several days. ' On the djiy of the surrender,* General Brock issued a proclamation to the inhabitants of Michigan, in which they were assured of protection in life, property, and religious observances, and were called upon to give up all public property in the Territory. Having made arrangements for the civil and military oc- cupation of the Territory, and leaving Colonel Proctor in command of a garrison of two hundred and fifty men at Detroit, he hastened back to York, where he arrived on the 27th,'' and was received with the greatest enthusiasm by the peo])le, who regarded him as the savior of the province. In the short space of nineteen days he had met the Legislature, arranged the public afiairs of the prov- ince, traveled about three hundred miles to confront an invader, and returned the possessor of that invader's whole army and a vast territory, about equal in area to Upper Canada. Henceforth, during his brief career, he was the idol of the Canadi- ans, and the Prince Regent, representing the majesty of Great Britain, cre- ated him a baronet.'^'* Wliile General Hull was on his way toward Montreal, Colonel Cass, at the request i of Colonel M' Arthur, was hasting to Washington City, " for the purpose," as he said, " of communicating to the government such particulars respecting the expedition j lately commanded by Brigadier General Hull, and its disas*''ous results, as might en- able them correctly to appreciate the conduct of the officers and men, and to devclopi the causes which produced so foul a stain upon the national character."^ This coni-i but Brock having gone directly to York, the commander of the post wonld not take the responsibility of nllowiii!; hiil prisoner to correspond with his trovernment. Fi „m Montreal he sent bis dispatch, dated August 'iflth, by LlfuloDantl Anderson, of the Artillery, to the Secretarj of War.— Hull's Ijttter to the Seeretar;/ of War, Montreal, September S, WIS. J ' Darby Noon was a native of Ireland, and a man of great personal worth. He raised and equipped a volunteer com-l pany at Albany, almost entirely at his own expepse, and In ISIS was commissioned a majoi In the 41st Regiment or] New York State Mlll'ila. His wife was Caroline Broome, daughter of Lieutenant Governor Broome, of New York. MiJ Jor Noon survived the war only eight years, dying in September, 1823. Prom his widow, who died In 1S01, 1 recelvei the above portrait of the g| |ntCD3llt| B,1SU. rer comj Imcnt otj Ik. «>■! |recelve< lofOcloi IretedJ kytotbl OF THE WAIt OP 181?. 203 ColoDcl Caas'B Stateineut about fhe Surreuder of Detroit. Public ludlguation. A mlHcliievons Arinlatice. raunication was made in writing on the 10th of September, in wliich was given an outline history of events near Detroit, from the landing in Canada nntil the surrender. It exl>il)ited mucli warmth of feeling, and its cii'culation in print prijudiced the pub- lic mind against Hull, and intensified tb j indignant reproaches which the first intel- ligence of the surrender liad caused to oe hurled at the head of the unfortunate gen- eral. It also diverted public attention for the moment from the palpable inefliciency of the War Department,' the effects of the armistice, and the injurious delays of General Dearborn,^ to Avhich much of the disaster should properly be charged. Col- onel Cass's opinions, as well as facts, were eagerly accepted by the excited public as veritable history, and few had words of palliation to offer for the captive veteran when they read the following glowing, dogmatic words at the conclusion of the young colonel's letter : " To see the whole of our men, flushed with the hope of victory, eagerly awaiting the approaching contest — to see them after\)fard dispirited, hope- less, and desponding, at least five hundred shedding tears, because they were not al- lowed to meet their country's foe and to fight their country's battles, excited sensa- tions wliich no American has ever before had cause to feel, and which, I trust in God, will never again be felt wliile our men remain to defend the standard of the Union. Confitftnt I am that, had the courage and conduct of the general been equal to the spirit and zeal of the troops, the event would have been as brilliant and suc- cessful as it is disastrous and dishonorable.^ General Hull and his fellow-captives amved at Montreal on Sunday afternoon, the 6th of September, and attracted much attention. The prisoners numbered, rank and file, three hundred and fifly. They were escoi-ted from Kingston by one hundred and thirty men, under Major Heathcote, of the Newfoundland Regiment. At Cornwall, opposite St. Regis, they were met by Captain Gray, of the Quarter-master's depart- ment, who took formal charge of the prisoners. They had other escoi of troops until iUt of government, Huntington accompanied him to Washington, at the roqueat of General Wadsworth. When fflthln two days ride of the national capital, Cass was prostrated by sickness. Huntington pressed forward, and was ihe llrst to give positive information of Hull's surrender, to the Sesretary of War. This made Dr. Enstls impatient for the arrival of Cass. " The Secretary at War," wrote Huntington, " was very desirous to see him, and requested me to (" ifter hlra in a carriage. X met '..im the first day, about thirty-flve miles from this. He had recovered sufflciently to parsne the journey."— Autograph Letter of Governor Huntington to Oeueral Meigs, Washington City, September 12,1S12. 1 Secretary Kustie seems to have been so conscious of his fatal mistaiie in not sending his letter to Hull, announcing the declaration of war, by which his vessel and its precious contents, captured at Maiden at the beginning of July, jnlght hire been saved, that, as late as the 16th of December, four months after the surrender of Detroit, he gave evidence of hi! belief that public opiulon would lay the responsibility of the disaster upon him. In a letter to General Dearborn of that date, he said : " Fortunately for yon, the want of success which has attended the campaign will be attributed to the Secretary of War. So long as you enjoy the confidence of the government, the clamor of the discontented should Dotbe regarded." Governor Huntington, in his letter to Governor Meigs, mentioned in the preceding note, sold : " The ithole blame is laid at the dooi' of the present administration, and we are told that if De Witt Clinton had been our president, the campaign would have been short and glorious— it would have been short, no doubt, and terminated by an ingloriuns i)eace."— Autograph Letter, Washington City, September 12, 1812. > General Dearborn, early In August, signed an armistice, entered Into between himself and Sir George Prevoat, for a cessation of hostilitie.i until the will of the United States government 3hould be known, there then being, it was supposed, propositions for peace on the part of Great Brltniu before the Cabinet at Washington. On this account Sir George had issued positive instnictlons for a cessation of hostilities. Dearborn signed the armistice on the nth of August. Had he HDt a notice of It by express to Hull, as that ofllccr did of his surrender to Dearborn, Detroit might have been saved, tir it would have reached Hull before the 16th of August, and the imperative commands of Provost would have pre- vented Brock's acting on the oflfenslve. Meanwhile Hull's supplies and re-enforcements would have arrived from Ohio, udmadc him strong enough to invade Canada again at )hc conclusion of the armistice. But instead of sending ii notice of the armistice to Hull by express, Dearborn, like the Secretary of War with his more Important dispatches, iitniBted his letter to the Irregular malls, and It wa^ actually nine days going from Albany to Buffalo 1 The first Mmatlon of an armistice which Hull received was while on his way toward the Niagara as a prisoner of war. ' Lewis Cass was bo.-n at Exeter, New Hampshire, on the nth of October, 1782. At the age of seventeen years ho dossed the Alleghany Mountains on foot, and settled in Marietta, Ohio, where he studied law, and was active in pro- (Ndiogs against Aaron Burr. JeflTerson appointed him Marshal of Ohio in 180T. He took an active part in the war of ISIiintheWest, and, late in 1813, President Madison appointed him Governor of the Territory of Michigan. He held that position till 1831, when he was called to the Cabinet of President .Jackson as Secretary of War. In 18i«( he wenl to France as American Minister at the Court of St. Cloud. He returned home in 1842. He was elected United States Senator by the Legislature of Michigan in 1846, and he held that position until called to Buchanan's Cabinet in 1867. He nsiinied that position at near the close of 1860, because he could not remain associated with the President's confidential I idtisers, who, he was satisfied, were plotting treason ngainst bis country. He retired froiu public life, and died at Detrult OP the ITth of June, 1S66, at the age of elghty-fuur ye«rb. \Y^ ^K— 1 I H i! ill! Ill I I 'l^liii ! I 204 PICTORIAL FIELD-BOOK Hull In Captivity. A Court-martial callei* to Try bim. Its Cuniposltiou and DeclnloD. they reached the vicinity of Montreal when they were left in cliargo of tin' militia until preparations coukl be made for the formal entrance into tlic citv. This was not accomplished until quite late in the evening, when they were marched in in the presence of a great concourse of rejoicing people, who had illuminated the streets through which the triumphal procession passed, (ien- oral Hull was received M'ith great jxilite- ness by Sir George Prevost, the Gov- ernor General and Commander-iii-chief and invited to make his residence at his mansion during his stay in Montreal, On Tliursdav following," .„ . , General Hull and eight of I812. his officers set out for tm3 United States on tlieir parole. General Hull retired to his farm at Newton, Massachr setts, from wliieh ho was summoned to appear before a court- martial at Philadelphia on the 2oth of February, 1813, of which General Wade Hampton was appointed president. The members appointed consisted of three brigadier generals, nine colonels, and three lieutenant colonels ; and the eminent A. J. Dallas, of Pennsylvania, was judge advocate. This court was dissolved by the Presi- dent without giving a reason for the act ; and, almost a year afterward, Hull wa? summoned to appear before another, to convene at Albany, New York. It met on the 3d of January, 1814. General Dearborn was the president, and he was assisted by three brigadier generals, four colonels, and five lieutenareauf ill?- Ihill had warne "The rolls of the army tail- The general court-: I ' These were published "tfrn Army of the United liml in the vessel in whic I iraliong he vainly applied I MlnnHlJohn C.Calhoun I wed copies to bo made r j»rt mentioned. I ' "» ''"s 'ilways calm, tr liistary wonid nt last do hi ifcerarrender of Detroit, ai *romp«,v,no/lsi2Kvhi8 I ?*'' «"h the general at i Too retnrn to your family h»e™j-ed the Inhabitant^ ""tVnllace.oueofHul W me that he thought the. "terans who took the field pulages. Oursuperaununi j! liK'tt lis \> liH'li -'''" ^\'^' iill ilH^B fl 1 „Md (Iwira 1 1 O F T 11 E WA U OP 18 1 2. 295 Uoll pardoned by the Pre»tdeDt. A Conaideratluu of Hull's public Character. tlla uwu Uofeuse. The court strongly recommended him to tlie mercy of the President, on account of his nfi;e and his revohitionary services. Mr. Mudison pardoned him, and lie retired to liis fiirm, to live in comparative obscurity, under a cloud of almost universal re- proach, for iibout twelve years. He wrote a vindication of his conduct in the cam- naiiju of 1812, in a scries of letters, jjublished in the American Statesnian newspaper ill Boston,' and on his dying bed he declared his belief that he was right, as a sol- ilier and n, man, in surrendering Detroit. lie had the consolation of feeling, before his death, a growing sympathy for him in the partially disabused public mind, which urophesied of future vindication and just appreciation.^ I have given, in tills and the preceding chapter, as faithful a general history of Iliiii's campaign as a careful and dispassionate study of documentary and other con- ti'inporaneous narratives, written and verbal, have enabled me to do, I have record- ed what I believe to be undoubted facts. As they stand in the narrative, unattended hy analysis, comparison, or argument, they present General Hull in his conduct of the campaign in some instances in an unfavorable iight : not as a traitor — not as an act- ual coward, but as bearing to the su[)erficial reader the semblance of both. But, after weighing and estimating the value of these facts in connection with current cir- cumstances to which they bore positive relationship — after observing the composition of the court-martial, the peculiar relations of the court and the witnesses to the ac- cused, and the testimony in detail, the writer is constrained to believe that General Hull was actuated throughout the campaign by the purest impulses of patriotism and humanity. That he was loeak, we may allow ; that he was wicked, we can not be- lieve. His weakness, evinced at times by vacillation, was not the child of cowardice, but of excessive prudence and caution, born of thi noblest sentiments of the human heart. These, in his case, were doubtless enhanced by the disabilities of waning physical vigor.' He was thus far down the westem slope of lif ,when men counsel more than act. The ]> He was always calm, tranquil, ond happy. He knew that his country would one day also understand him, and thnt hLMarjr wonld at last do him justice. He was asked, on his death-bed, whether he still believed he had done right in theinrrender of Detroit, and he replied that he did, and was thankfiil that he had been enabled to do it.— HMory of fcromjKiii/nn/lSlZ, by his grandson, James Freeman Clark, page B(i6. Mr. Wallace, one of his aids, says that when he pirted with the general at Detroit to return home, the white-haired veteran said, " God bless you, my young friend 1 Ton return to your family without a stain ; as for myself, I have sacrificed a reputation dearer to me than life, but I ksve saved the inhabitants of Detroit, and my heart approves the act." ' Mr. Wallace, one of Hull's aids, whose testimony we have before alluded to, sayg : " General Cass has since declared I » me that he thought the main defect of General Hull was the ' imbecility of age,' and it was the defect of all the old «leran8 who took the field In the late war. A peaceftil government like ours must always labor under similar diaad- Tutages. Our Bupcraunuated officers must be culled Into gervlce, or men without experience must command our nrrn- ift" "i. n ! \ :l ! ;l i ( i! >. U' 296 PICTORIAL FIELD-BOOK The Government more to H'.me than Hall. A Bcape-Kont wanted und found. BlogrBpblcal Sketch of Hull. aila without better preparation. But the yottng hot-bloods of the administration- Clay, and others — coultl not wait ; and the President and his Cabinet, lacking all tin- essential knowledge for planning a campaign, had sent him on an errand of vast im- portance and difficulty without seeming to comprehend its vastness, or estimating the means necessary for its accomplishment. The conception of the campaign was a huge blunder, and Hull saw it ; and the failure to put in vigorous motion for his sniiport auxiliary and co-operative forces, was criminal neglect. Wlien the result was foinid to be failure and humiliation, the administration perceived this, and sought a rcfujrp. Public indignation nmst be appeased — the lightning of the j)ublic wrath must be averted. General Hull was made the chosen victim for the peace-offering — the sin- bearing scaj)e-goat ; and on his head the fiery thunderbolts were hurled. The grass has grown greenly upon his grave for more than forty years. Let his faults (for, like all men, he was not immaculate) also be covered with the verdure of bliad Charity.' Two generations have passed away since the dark cloud first brooded over his fair fiime. We may all see, if we will, with eyes unfilmed by prejudice, the silver edglnf; which tells of the brightness of good hitentions behind it, and prophesies of evanish- ment and a clear sky. Let History be just, in spite of the clamors of hoary Error. " ' TIs Btrnnge how many nnimagincd charges Can Bwarm upon a man, when once the lid Of the Pandora-box of contumely Ib • drizzling rain moi » We listened in the afternoon f the prospect of fin the aflernoon, but At nine o'clock a rain until past mi( morning — Tiie sky was clou( liad felt since the fame from the far- ' the hills. jUan^arly houi !*n above tide water Is! I The residence of the lal tteooraorofFortandCaB. "wtorled building, wlthl •fSecond Street. OF THE VVAK OF 18 12. 207 Journey from Chicago to Detroit A BabbBth in Dttrott. CHAPTER XV. "And '.vlio Hupplies the murderous mcol / And who preparcH the ba8o rowurd Thnt wiikcs to ileedB of desperate zeal The fliry of each Hlumbcrin); horde f From Britain conien each fatjil blow ; From Britain, still our deadliest foe." TiiK Kentucky Voi.itntiiib ; ut a Ladt, [T was a beautiful, clear breezy morning, early in October, 1800, when /-^ t' T writer left Chicago, with his family, to visit tlie theatre Oi events described in the two preceding chapters. We took the Michigan Central train for Detroit, and soon lost sight of the marvelous metropolis of Illinois, and Lake Michigan, on which it stands.* We swept rapidly around the magnificent curve of the head of the lake, and after leaving the sand dunes of Michigan City, and the withered bud of a prospective great mart of commerce at New Buffalo, traversed a beautiful and fertile country in the western half of the lower part of the peninsula and State of Michigan. Large streams of water, mills, neat villages, broad fields covered with ripe corn, spacious barns, and hurdy people, seen all along the way to Marshall, where we dined, and beyond, pi'o- cLiimed general prosperity. Among the most considerable sti'eams crossed during the day were the St. Joseph, Kalamazoo, Battle Creek, and Huron. Over the latter, in its crooked course, we passed several times when approaching the metroi)oli8 (Lansing is the capital) of Michigan. It was the dusk of mere starlight when we traveli'd over that section of the route, and it was late in the evening when we reach- ed Detroit, and found a pleasant home at the Russell House for the few days of our sojourn in that neighborhood. The following day was the Sabbath. The air was as warm as in early June. A drizzling rain moistened all the streets and caused small congregations in the church- es. We listened to the full, powerful voice of Bishop M'Coskry in the moniing, and in the afternoon strolled with a friend far down beautiful Fort Street,'* and enjoyed tlie prospect of fine residences and ornamental gardens. The sun shone brightly all the afternoon, but in the evening heavy clouds came rolling up from the southwest. At nine o'clock a thunder-storm burst over the city, which sent down lightning and rain until past midnight. No traces of this elemental tumult were seen above in the morning — "The thunder, trfimplng deep and loud. Had left no foot-marks there." Tiic sky was cloudless, and a cool breeze from the northwest — cooler than any we hi felt since the dog-days — reminded us that autumn had succeeded summer. It came from the far-off region beyond Mackinack, where snow had already \> uitened the hills. At an earl y hour I started for Monroe, on the site of old Frenchtown, on the river • This is the largest of the lakes that lie wholly within the United States. It is 830 miles long, and has an average >idth of (io miles. It contains lt(,981 square uiiles, or 10,868,000 acres. Its average depth is about 900 feet, and its ele- ntion above tide water is about .SOO feet. ' The residence of the late General Cass was on this street. It was a spacious but very modest wooden bnildiner, on He comer of Port and Cass Streets, a little westward of the site of the ..Id fort. IIIb former residence — a small, low, me^torled building, with four dormer windows— was yet standing, ou the west side of Lamed Street, near the corner of Second Street. : ■ - li Ill I I m i. I. i I] ill ili1 >H l^llll 3M PICTOniAL FIELD-BOOK A Trip from Detroit to Amheratbnrg. One of the " oldeit Inhuhltant'a" Recollection! of the War iit im. Itiiisiii, to visit tlio |»Iiicoh of hintoric intcrcHt in tluit vicinity, wlicro I spent tlic day lilcjisantly and profitably. Oftlii' events of tliat day I siiall write lien-after. On the ■Ociobcro, fbllowiiifi niorning" I j)roeured a horse and ii^Jit wajjon, erossed tlic tiny 1800. to the Canada shore at Windsor, and started for Andierstbiirj^, eightoeii miles down the stream toward Lake Erie. In the lower part of Windsor I sketcluMl Colonel Habie's house, delineated on pajrc 202, and then rode on to Sandwich, two miles below, where 1 met one of that famous class known as " the oldest inhabitaiitH" in the ))erson of Mr. John H. Laufjiiton, who was born in Detroit, but who has been a British subject from his early years. When, in 1700, the post of Detroit was evinu. ated by the British, according to the provisions of the treaty of 17h;j, many residents of English, Irish, and Scottish line. Jige, preferring "not to be Yankees," !is Mr. Laugliton said, crossed the river and settled a" )ng its Canail;i shore. Mr. Laughton was a num- ber of the Kent militia in 1812 ; and from Sandwich he saw the white flag that |)ro- claimed the surrender of Detroit. He was then a young man twenty-two yt;.rs of age. He was afterward in the affair known as the V)attle of the Long Woods, in Canada ; also at the battle of Chippewa, where he lost a brother killed ; and at that of Niagara, where he lost his own liberty, and was sent a prisoner to Greenbush, op- posite Albany. He related many interesting circumstances connected with flie sur- render. He spoke of the Canadian Volunteers in the uniforms of regulars, by whioli Hull was deceived ; and said that among the Indians who followed Brock into the tort at Detroit were several Canadians, [)ainted and dressed like the savages, who each held up a white arm to show Hull that they had defied the menace in his j)roi'- lamation respecting the treatment of such offenders. Sandwich was an exceedingly pleasant village. Around it were orchards of pear and apple trees of great size, which attested the fact that it is one of the oldest settle- ments in Canada. Here the disbanded French soldiers settled after the peace of Paris in 1703. The houses had pleasant gardens attached to them; and as the town was the capitjil of Essex County, it contained a jail and court-house, and the resi- dence of the county officers. I left Sandwich toward noon, and a little past meridian crossed Turkey Creek. For i?everal miles below SandAvich the banks of Detroit are low and sandy. The road, lying much of the way in sight of the river, was in excellent condition, and with the picturesque and interesting scenery forms a most attractive drive in pleasant weather. Passing through the Petit Cote settlement,.! arrived at a neat little tavern near tlie northern bank of the Atix Canards, where I met an old French Canadian who was present Avhen Cass, and Findlay, and M'Arthur, and Snelling made thoir military visits there in 1812. He was loyal then, but quiet; and wiien it was safe to do so, in the absence of the Americans, he furnished the Queen Charlotte with vegetables. He pointed out the ridge from which JM'Arthur reconnoitred the whole position, and also the spot where Colonel Cass planted his six-pounder, and " blazed away" at the enemy on the southern sJiore of the stream. The bridge seen in the centre of the picture on page 264 was upon the site of the old one, and, like it, was reached by a causeway at both ends. I sketched the scene, then crossed the Am Canards over the causeway and the bridge, and hastened on to Amherstburg, for the day was rapidly wearing away. Most of the way from Aux Canards, or Ta- ron-tee, to Amherstburg, the river bank is high, and the road passing along its niargin was thickly settled, for the farms were narrow. Most of the houses were large, with fine gardens around them. Among the most attractive of these was " Rosebank," i the residence of Mr. James Dougall, an eminent horticulturist, about three miles from j Amherstburg. Tin Vicinity of Ai It was neai ence. I soon on the lefl by in heigiit, witl hundred and t anninited Brit riijht of the i-c H-as Fort Mall |)iii-|)oses than parent nsylurn remained. Tii "Patriot War,' break in tho Cn Anilierstburg by the French. irreifular stones, ordering dinner and other jilaces lieet on Lake Er n large red stone 'fnsive view of th( Island on the right, for wood, was precii 'lie ship under sail ( Erie. Looking a 11 house, near which i hroupofsailsat th I'I'lock-liouse on th slup-yai-fl, near the f After dinner I vis 'ion, surrounded by '''"'•g. From his grc |IO'f|i^ OF THE WAH OF 1812. 200 Th« Vlclnliy of Amhoriitbiirg. Illitorlcal LucaUtiei. It was nearly thrco o'clock when the stoeplcH of Aniherstburg announced its preB- onco. I •*""" crosHcd a beautiful open plain, whereon cattle were grazinj;, bi>uii(lc,'ed with Putnam in Nortliem New York, arrived with re-enforcements for the fort at the chisc of tiie montli, aixl obtiiined permission of the comnmndant to attack Pontiac at once. A perti within the fort api)arently unmoved by Ww tenors of the scene. He related many interesting particulars of occurrences within the fort at that time, and i., was with real regret that I felt compelled to make the interview short, for I had made an engagement to call on Mr. Robert M. Eberts, a native of De- troit, and a resident of that place since his birth in 1804. Mr. Eberts Mas full of in- teresting remmiscences, and the half hour passed M'ith him M'as one of real pleasure and protit.^ Late in the evening I returned to the RasBpll House, copied the ])itture of Mackinack on page 207, and early the following morning — a cold, blustering, The place of confllctat the Sand Tlills wnH on the site of a lot (vacant when I visited It in 1860) in the rear of the honro of the late Widow Clark, between Indiana and Michigan Avenuea, .'lut south of North Street, and about flily rudi frjm the lalie. . Incidents of the "^^ OF THE WAR OF 1812. 809 Incidents of tbe Conflict with the Savaf;e8. Death of Captain Wells. Bravery of Women. and gained a sliglit eminence on tlie prairie near a grovo called Tlie Oak Woods. The savagea did not ])ur8iie. They gathered upon the Sand IlillH in consultation, and cave signs of willingness to parley. Farther conflict with them would be rashness ; so Taptain Ileald, ac A writer, signing his communication "An Officer," under date of "Buffalo, March 8, 1818," speaks of the nrrlvsl there of Mrs. Helm, and her narrative of sufferings at and after the massacre at Chicago. "She knows the fact," be says, " that Colonel Proctor, the British commander at Maiden, bought the scalps of our mnrdered garrison at Chicago, and, thanks to her noble spirit, eh'! boldly charged him with the Infamy In his own house." This independence was probably the cause of the cruel treatment which she and her husband received at the h>f'« of Proctor. She and her husband, after several weeks of captivity among the Indians, were united at Detroit, whviv. i .. -tor caused them both to be arrested, and sent on horseback, in the dead of a Canadian winter, across the wilderness to Fort George, on tbe Niagara frontier. The writer farther says concerning the statements of Mrs. Heald, " She knows, f^om the tribe with whom she was a prisoner, and who were the perpetrators of those murders, that they intended to remain true, bnt that they reixived orders bom the British to cut off our garrison whom they were to escort."— NUes's Weekly RegitUr, April 3, 1818. . > John Kinzie, who bore so conspicnouB a part in the events we are considering, was bom in Quebec, in 1763, tml was the only offspring of his mother's second marriage. His father died while he was an infant, and bis mother mar- ried a third time, and with her husband (Mr. Forsythe) removed to the city of New York. At the age of ten yean guvlrors of thi OF THE WAlt OF 1812. 811 gurlvora oflhs Manaor* at Chicago, Sketch of Mr. Klnxle. Remain! of the Fort. house, where they were greeted by the friendly lilack Partridge. Mrs. Helm was placed in the house of Ouilmette, a Frenchman, by the same friendly hand. But these and all the other prisoners were exposed to great jeopardy by tlie arrival of a band of fierce Pottawatomies from the Wabash, who yearned for blood and plunder. They scarelied the houses for prisoners with keen vision, and when no farther concealment and safety seemed possible, some friendly Indians arrived, and so turned the tide of affairs that the Wabash savages were ashamed to owu their blood-thirsty iuten- tlons.' In this terrible tragedy in the wildeniess fifty-five years ago, twelve children, all the masculine civilians but Mr, Kinzie and his sons. Captain Wells, Surgeon Van V'wr- heeo^Knsign Ronaii, uiid twcnly-six private soldiers, were murdered. The prison- ers were divided among the captors,^ and were finally reunited, vr restored to their friends and families. A few of them have survived until our day. Mrs. Rebecca IleaUl died at the St. Charles Mission, in yissouri, in the year 1800. Major John II. Kinzie, of Chicago (husband of the writer of " Wau-bun"), his brother Major Robert A. Kinzie, and Mre. Hunter, wife of General David Hunter, of the National Army, arc [1867] surviving children of Mr. Kinzie, and were with their mother in the boat. The brothers were both oflicers of Volunteers during the late Civil War; and a most promising sou of John Kinzie became a martyr for his cou? try in that war, Paul do Ganno, another survivor, was living at Maumee City, Ohio, when I visited that place in 1860, but I was not aware of the fact until after I had left. Jack Smith, a . '*ilor on the lakes, who was a drummer-boy at tlie time, was alive within the last two or three yeai'S. It is believed that no other survivors of the massacre are now [1807] living. On the morning after the massacre the- fort was burned by the Indians, and Chi- cago remained a desolation for about four years. In 1810 the Pottawatomies ceded to the United States all the land on which Chicago now stands, when the fort was rebuilt on a somewhat more extended scale, and the bones of the massacred were col- lected and buried. One of the block-houses of the new fort remained, near the bank of the river, until 1850, when it was demolished. The view here given (by whom joang Ktnzie was placed In a school in Wtlllamsbnrg, near Long Island. One day he made his way to the North River, got ou board of an Albany sloop, and started for Quebec. Fortunately for him, he found a passenger who was on his way to that city, who took charge of him. At Quebec the boy apprenticed himself to a silversmith. Three years after- ward, his family, having returned to Canada for the purpose of moving to Detroit, discovered him. They hud supposed him lost forever. When he grew up he loved the wilds. He became a trader, and lived most of the time on the ft-ontler and among the Indians. He eBtabllshed trading-houses. He married the widow of a British officer in ISOO, and settled at Chicago iu 1804. There ho became a captain in 1812, and In January, 1813, Joined his family at Detroit. There he was badly treated by General Proctor, who cast him into prison at Maiden. Ho was Anally sent to Quebec, to be for- warded to England, for what purpose was never known. The vessel In which he sailed was compelled to put back, when he was released and returned to Detroit, where he fonnd General Harris In possession. He and his family re- turned to Chicago in 'i810, when the fort was rebuilt. Mr. Kinzie died there on the 6th of Jonuary, 182S, at the age of slity-llve years. This was two years before the town of Chicago was laid out into lots by commissioners appointed by the state. ' The leader of the friendly party was Billy Caldwell, a half-breed and a chief. The Black Partridge told him of the etldent intentions of the Wabash Indians. They had blackened their faces, and were then seated sullenly In Mr. Kinzle'B parlor, preparatory to a general massacre of all the remaining white people. Billy went In, took off his ac- coutrements, and said, iu a careless way, " How now, my friends 1 A good day to you. I was told there were enemies here, but I am glad to And only friends. Why have you blackened your faces f Is It that you are mourning for your friends lost in battle f Or Is it that yon are fhsting t If so, ask our friend here (Mr. Kinzie), and he will give you to eaL He is the Indian's fl-iend, and never yet refused them what they had need of." The hostile savages were sur- priaed and overwhelmed with shame.— Mrs. KInzte's Wmt-fmn, page 238. ' John Cooper, M.D., of Poaghkeepsie, New York, was the Immediate predecessor of Doctor Van Voorhees at Fort Dearborn. They were natives of the same town (Flshkill, Dutchess County, New York) and class-mates. Van Voor- hees was a yonng man of great powers. Dr. Cooper left the fort in 1811, tendered his resignation, and left the army. He died at Poughkeepsle in 1863, where he had been for many years the oldest medical practitioner in the place. ' Captain Heald was quite severely wounded and made a prisoner by an Indian from the Kankakee, who had a strong personal regard for him, but who, on seeing the feeble state of Mrs. Heald, released him and allowed him to accompany her to the month of the St. Joseph's, in Michigan. On returning to bis village, the Indian found himself an objeot of great dlsBatisfaction because he had released his prisoner ; so he resolved to go to St. Joseph and reclaim him. Friend- ly Indians gave Heald warning, and he and his wife went to far-off Mackinack iu an open boat, and surrendered them- selves tn the British commander there as prisoners of war. This kept them out of the hands of the savages.— Wai»-buu, page 243. ^— Ilill liii 813 nCTOUiAL klELD-BOOK Block-hoDM at GUcago. Tb* Aatlicw of RDiN-ltm. Amariag Omwth of Chlctgo. ULOUK-IIUUHE AT UUIUAdO, sketched I know not) was drawn not long before the demolition. On the left of tlio picture is seen the light-house and a steam-boat in the Chicago River, above theHusli Street bridge, at the terniiiiation and junction of Wabash Avenue and River Street. On the right, across the river, not far from the site of the Kinzie mansion, is seen tlie hotel called the lake House, and in the foreground, on the right, is seen two vener- able trees, one of which was standing on the vacant lot where the block-house was when I visited Chicago in 1860. At that time I had the pleasure of meeting Mrs, John II. Kinzie, the author of Wmtrbim, at her own house, and heard from her own lips interesting reminiscences of Chicago in 1831, the year after state commissioners laid it out into town lots. To Mrs. Kinzie's skillful pencil we are indebted for the sketch of Fort Dearborn and the Kinzie mansion printed on page 303 ; also for tlie map on page 308. Although she was a woman of about middle age, she and her Ims- band were the " oldest inhabitants" of Chicago. They are the only persons now [1867] living there who were residents of Chicago in 1831, within the present city limits. Tliere were two settlers living without the city limits in 1860 who resided on the same spot in 1831. These were Archie Clybourn and John Clack, the latter generally known as " Old Hunter Clack." They were originally from the Kanawha Valley, in Virginia. These had been witnesses of its marvelous growth from a stockade fort in the wilderness, and a few rude houses, to a city of almost two hundred thousand inhabitants in the course of only thirty-six years I Chicago is now the great en- trepot for the grain of the teeming Northwest — the central point to which about a dozen important railways converge' — and yet there, only thirty-six years ago, Mm Kinzie and her family, during a whole winter, were compelled to use the greates* economy for fear they might exhaust their slender stock of flour and meal before it could be replenished from " below !" At the same time, the Indians of that neigh- borhood were famishing — " dying in companies from mere destitution Soap made from the bark of the slippery elm, or stewed acorns, was the only food that many had subsisted on for weeks. "^ ' The Hichigan Centrat ; the Michtgan Sonthern and Northern Indiana ; the Pittsbnrg, Fort Wayne, and Chicago ; tbe Chicago branch of the Illinois Central ; the St. Lonie, Alton, and Chicago ; the Chicago and Kock Island ; the Xllinolt Grand Tmnk : the Chicago, Falton, and Iowa ; the Oalena, Chicago, and Union ; the Chicago and Northwestern ; ud tbe Chicago and Milwaukee, with nnmerons tribntaries. ' For a fall description of Chicago bfi 1S31, the reader is referred to the seventeenth chapter of Mrs. Eeuzie'a ITau-hiit. Cklcigo a Ueoei I lii OF THE WAR OF IBIS. 619 I- CUetfO • Gtanwatlou •tfu. Iti blilortoal Loctlltlw. Tccamtha'i Uop«s rerlvad. Oetlgni *Ktinit Tort Wsjnw. The city of Chicago now covcrH the entire theatre of the eventH just described. The ohi channel of the river, froai the fort to its mouth, has been filled or (lovered, iind the present harbor constructed. The Sand Hills have been leveled ; and where the battle on the prairit — the struggles of brave warriors, an See page 66. ' See page 19T. •James Rhea was a native of New Jersey, and was lieutenant and adjutant of "Rhea's levies" in 17B1. He was en- tii-n and second lieutenant of infantry in 1T99, and was promoted to first lientenant In 1800. He was commissioned a uptaUi in July, ISOT, and resigned at Fort Wayne at the close of 1818.— Gardner's JXetionar}/ qf the Army, page STT. • 1812. m m HI, :t' ^ I 114 PICTORIAL FIELD-BOOK 1 I \ •fBttUwi. ▲tUck on Fort Wajm*. ••QnUMrGaiM.'' TtasUwrUoaiia, • 1819. tary of the Whito River, within tho limitH of tho prcHt'iit Scott County, in Hoiithem Indianii, on the Hd of tcptemher.'' They tirMt kiUod two bee-hunterH of the Het- tienient ;' and between BunHet and diirit tliey murdered one iniin, five woiiit'ii an tliuir wiiy, under tho cover of the night, to the houHc of ii settler hix nul<« diHtiiiil. Om, hundred and fifly mounted ritlemen, under Major John M'Coy, gave (^hawe to the •> September 4. niurdererH tho next day.** They followed them twenty milcH, but they OHcaped during tho night. Tho militia of Scott, JefliTson, Clarke, and • SeptcmiHir T. Knox Counties were Hoon aHHombled, and wore joined'^ by about three hundred and titty volunteerH from Kentucky, under Colonel Geiger, for tho imrpone ofdoHtroying the towns of tho Dela wares, on the White liiver, wlio were Huspccleil of boijig the nmrderors. Evidence of tho inLocence and even friendlinesH of those In- dians was not wanting, and they wore spared. From that time until the close r" tho war, the settlers in that region lived in a continual Ktato of fear and excitement.' For several days the Indians, in large numbers, liad been seen hovering in tho woods around Fort Wayne, and on the night of the 5th of September thoy commenced a sc- ries of attacks by tiring upon tho sentinels, without effect. Up to tluit time, the Mi- amis in tho neighborhood, who had resolved to join the British, had made great pro- fessions of friendship, hoj)ing, no doubt, to gain possession of the fort by a surprise. This hypocrisy availed them nothing, so they cast oft' all disp uise and opened liostili- ties. On the nioniing of the 0th they were invisible, and some of the soldiers ven- tured out of the fort. They had not proceeded seventy yards when bullets from a concealed foe killed two of their number. Their companions hastened back, currying tho bodies of their comrades with them. On the niglit of the 6th the wliole body of Indians, 8uj)posed to have been six hund- red strong, attacked tho fort. They attempted to scale tho palisades, but so vigilani and skillful were the garrison tliat the savages were not permitted to do the least damage. Perceiving such assaults to be useless, they resolved to employ strategy in the morning. Two logs were formed into the Blia])e of cannon, and placed in battery before the fort. A half-breed, with a flag, ajjproached and informed tho commandant that the British, then on their march, had sent them two battery cannon, and that il' a surrender Avas not immediately made, the fort would be battered down. lie also threatened a general massacre of the garrison within three days, as a re-enforcemenl of seven hundred Indian warriors were expected the next day. The troops were not frightened by tho " Quaker guns." They were aware that friends were on the way to relieve them,* and resolved to hold out while their provisions lasted. For nearly three days after the menace there was quiet. Then the savages renewed the at- > Jereminh Pajme and Fiederick Kaupftnan. ' These wcrp Henry CiillingB and his wife ; the wife of Jeremiah Payne and eight of her children ; Mrs. Richard Col- llngg and seven of her children ; Mrs. John Morris and her only child, and Mrs. Morris, the mother of her husband. ' Mrs. Jane Biggs and her three children, and the aged William Collings and Captain John Morris, with two oftht children (John and Lydla) of Urs. Collings who was murdered. They all escaped to the house of Zebalon Collings.- Dlllon's HUtory of [ndiaim, page 402. • Mr. Zebulon Collings, to whose honse the fugitives from The Pigeon Roost escaped, has left on record the foUowlD!; vivid account of the sense of peril felt by the settlers during those dark days between the summer of 1812 and 1$15: " The niauuer In which I used to work was as follows : on all occasions I carried my rifle, tomahawk, and butcher-knifr. with a loaded pistol In my belt. When I went to plow, I laid my gun on the plowed ground, and stuck up a slicli by it for a mark, so that I could get It quick In case It was wanted. I bad two good dogs. I took one Into the bouse, leav- ing the other out. The one outside was expected to give the alarm, which would cause the one Inside to bark, by vhlcli I would be awakened, having my arms always loaded. I kept my horses in a stable close to the house, having a pon- hole so that I could shoot to the stable-door. During two years I never went from home with a certainty of returaliij;, not knowing the minute I might i jceive a hall from an unknown hund ; but. In the midst of all these dangers, tbat GoJ who never sleeps nor slumbers has kept me."— Dillon's Hintorj/ of Indiana, page 498. » Qeneral Harrison, then at Piqua In command of Kentucky troops, sent M^or WillUm Oliver, a gallant officer, with four Shawnoese, to Fort Wayne to assure the garrrison of speedy re-enforcement. Tbeypushed through the wildemc!! for about slzty miles. Oliver was In Indian costume. When they approached the fort they came upon the ont-piards of the savages. With great skill they evaded them, made tlielr way through the lines of the besiegers, and, with fleei •^ot, gained the fort. Oliver and his companions remained there until the close of the siege. —Early Hiiiory c/thtMati- .tnee KoUeyi by H. L.Ho8mer, page 88. OF THE WAR OF 1 8 H. Mf I of Fort Wcyne raited. HaTiR*! of the Indlanii, Th« any of Little ToHto. t»ok,* and kept np ii Hre at, intorvnlM for twelve hount. Oi. tliw tollow!::^ •H«ipt«'mbor», jjiy tlit'y raiHod a trt^iiitMuIoiiH wiir-wlioop, to tVi^litcn tlie jj;arriHon, uixl '^"'' airain i-otnini'iiccd an UHHuiilt, with um little hiiik^ohh an on previoiiH oc^c-aHioiiH. Tlio patii'iit little xarriHon reiiiaiiieil iiiiharnied ; and on the 12th, the heHJej^erM tletl preeip- itiitely, havinji heanl of the approach of a larji;e re-eiiforceincut for the fort. '''••"* evening the delivererH arrived, and Fort Wayne was Haved.' That run WAYNK IN MVi. Before they left, the Indians destroyed every thing outside the fort — live-stock, crops, and dwellings. Among the latter was the house of Captain Wells, who was killed at Chicago. It was on his reservation of rich bottom lands on the north side of tiie St. Mary's River, opposite the present city of Fort Wayne, and not more than half a mile distant from it. When I visited the spot in/ the autumn of 1860, in com- pany with the venerable Mr. Hedges, already mentioned,'* and the Hon. I. D. G. Nel- son, more than twenty apple-trees of an orchard planted by Captain Wells — the old- est iti Northern Indiana, having been set out in 1804 or 1805 — were yet standing, sketch of that group "" ""■•' '"'"■''"'« "^'''"'- es was at his funeral. ' Thomson's Skelehe* of the War, page 60 ; M'Afee, page 12T. ' See page 44. > Ur. Drake, iu his Book of Ihe Indian*, qnotea.the following notice of the Little Tortle'a death from one of the pnbllc prints of the day : " Fo vt Wayne, 81 July, 1812.— On the 14th instant the celebrated Miami chief, the Little Turtle, dl?d It this place, at the age of slzty-flve years. Perhaps there Is not left on this continent one of his color so dlsthignished itcooncilandln war. Hla disorder was the goat. He died in a camp, becaose he chose to be in the opeu air. He met _ - *- -T !l ■'} 1 fill » M I r iJ'llilii^ll tfff PICTORIAL FIELD-ROOK ForU Wayne and MinniL Treachery of the Indiana, Site of Port Wayne. By tho side of liis romains reposed those of his sister, tlio wife of Captain WcIIh, Tlioir graves were tiiiiioiiore(!), in the autumn of 1 794. It was not on the site of the old Freneli stoekade, known as Koit ^liami ;' nor on that of tiie t)iu' 'vhich was oeeuj)ied by an Enjflisli tfanison, consist- inu;of a (•a|>tain's eommand, at tin lime ofl'ontiae's eonspin.ey in 17(i;t. At liialtiiiie tiie old Fori, ISIiami was a ruin, and the stockade to which reference is here made was in perfect order. It was about half a mile from the |)resent bridge across the Man- nu'c, on the east bank of the St. Joseph. The eoiMinander was a surgeon, and liis ino- fession was the cause of his own deatli .and the capture of the jjarrison by the Indiiuis at that time. He was asked by an Indian gir! to ljo out of the fort to see a sick sav- au[e at the Miami village near by, where a young woman of the tribe, eliosen for the purpose, to show the contempt of the savages for the English, murdered him. The garrison became prisoners to the I\Iiamis.~ When, three years later, (leorge Crofrlimi visited the spot, tlie fort was "somewhat ruinous." He foiintl forty or fifty Indian cabins at the village across the Mauinc;' (that " stood on both sides of the St. Josciih"), besides " nine or ten French houses." yVmong the latter was that of Dronet de Hich- urdville, a French trader, and fiither of Chid' Hichardville, already mentioned as ijie successor of the Little Turtle.^ Tlie tort of 1794-1812 stood on the bank of the Man- IIUIIKIE AT TUK UBAU OK TlIK MAUMKK, AT FOllT H AV.NE. mee (see map on ])age '208), at the junction of the present Main and Clay Streets, Fort Wayne. The Wabash and Erie Canal passes through a portion of it. It was a l\is dfiith with pn at flrmucPB. Ttie Ajient for Indian Affairs liad hlni burled witli tho honorn of war, and other m«rk» of distinction suited to liis ch .. icter." A writer, quoted hy Mr. Dralje, says that he saw the Little Turtle, soon iiftcr St. Clair's defeat, iit Montreal, anil describeil him as ab(mt «U feet in height, sour and morose, and apparently crafty and subtle. Kt! wore Indian moccasins, a blue petticoat that came half way down his thighs, and a Kumpean walstcuiil auJ surtout. On his bead was a cap that hnii); tialf way down his back, hespaBcled with alxint two hundred silver brndclio. In eatii oar wore two rlnirs, the upper parts of each bearlti); tl.ree silver medals about the ri/.f of a dollar, and lliv liuvcr parts quarters of a dollar. They fell more than twelve iuilies from hi« cars. One from ejich ear fell over his lircast, the others over his back. He also had three larjie nose Jewels of silver, cunningly painted. Little Turtle was of niixiii blood -half Mohican and half Miami. Colonel .Johnston, who knew him well, called him " the geiitlcman of his rncr." ' The French governor of Louisiana mentioned this stockade In a letter in 1761. It was situated near tlic St. MnryX probably in the vicinity li'Mic canal aqueduct. The dim outlines of this fort were traced by Wayne in IT'.W, uud by Colonel .lohnston in 18(10.— Lecture by J. L. Williams before the congregation of the First Presbyterian Chiirdi of Fort Wayne, March ith, 1800. ' Oral statement of Colonel John .Tohnaton, of Tlayton, Ohio, to the writer, who knew the murderess, she bcini; a red- dent of the Miami village when he went to Fort Wayne In the year IHOO. Colonel .Johnston gave nie the nanu's of Iho United States commandcs of the fort in regular succceslon, as follows; Colonels. J. F. Hamtramck, and Thomas Hunt; MaJorsiJohn Whistler, Thomas Pasteaur, andZebuIon M. PIrie; Captains Nathan lleald, .James Khea, and Hugh Mitorc; and Colonel Joseph H. Vose. The fort was iibandonedln iSlS. Captain Vose was a citizen of ManclieBter, andliadbecn commissioned a captain in the Twenty-flrst Infantry In April, 1812. Colonel .Tohuston, in a letter written in 1S6!>, eaid that Captain Vose was the only army offlcer within his knowlcnge. In 1812, who publicly professed Chrlstlaiiit). He was in the constant habit of assemoling his men on the Sabbath and reading the Scriptures to them, and coiiversiof with them on religious subjects.— Wllliama's Lectu'e, p. 12. Captain Vose was promoted to major during the War of 1812. In 1842 he received the commiesiou of colonel. He died at the NewOrlean8barrack8,Just below the city, on the 15th of July, 1840. 3 Dillon's auturi/ nf Indiaixa, p. 403. OF THE WAK OF 1812. 911 Fort Harrison beoleged. PorilB (if the Garrison. Firmness and Conrngo nfCnplain Taylor. ilnry f. laiitl liy lot Fori I; a rpfi- < (it tlic lUmiU btlourc ; tdbftn |). Be Versing Varot I, on itie 1.403. «'ell-l»'iilt Htockade, with two blook-housos and comfortable barmcks, anrl ofHufficient jitrenfjlli to defy tlie IiuliaiiH, but not the Ib'itiHh witli cannon. A largo and Mubstan- tiiil bridfje now wpanw the Maiiinuo from near the site of Fori Wayne to the plains on wliioli the Miami village stood. The sketch on page 310 was taken from near the liiii' of the eastern side of the fort. At the centre of the picture is seen the j>oint of confluence of the St. Mary's and the St. Joseph's rivers, which form the Maumee. Willie these demoiist'-ations against Fort Wayne were in progress, similar ciForts were made against F'ort Harrison, on tlu^ Wabash. At sunset on the day of the Piireon Roost massacre," two young iiaymakcrs near Fort Harrison were . September s, kiiled and scal])ed by a [)arty of IndianK, The crat^k of the murderers' "*'■'■ imiski'ts was heard at the fort, and excited the vigilance of Captain Zachary Taylor, the coiumaiider of the garrison, who was just recovering from an attack of bilious fever. On the following ni(,riiiiig the bodies of the young men were taken to the fort ami buried. Late that evening'' old Joseph Lenar came to the fort with i. September 4. a llivj?, followed by about forty Indians, one fourth of them women. The men were chiefs of the several tribes — Winnebagoes, Kickapoos,Pottawntomie8, Shaw- noese, and some Miarais — who still adhered to the fortunes of the Prophet. They came from his town near Tip])ecanoe, on the Wabash, wliere he was still busy in stir- rini; up the Indians against the white pefjplc. One of Lenar's party, a Shawnoese w ho could speak English, told Taylor that their leader would speak to him in the morning about food for his company. Friendly Miarais had warned Taylor of the Iiostile disposition of all the nv '"hboring tribes, and he was perfectly on his guard. The garrison consisted of oo!^ bout fifty men, of whom, on account of the prevail- ing fevers, not much more than a dozen were free from the care of Dr. Clark, the sur- geon. Only six privates and two non-C(nnniissioned officers could mount guard at a time. Yet now, hi tlie presence of impending danger, some of the convalescents went freely upon duty. The arms of the garrison were examined with great care that evening ; and, when every thing necessary for watchfulness and security bad been arranged, the commander, weak and exhausted, lay down and fell asleep. His slum- bers were short. Toward midnight he was aroused by the firing of his sentinels. Springing from his couch, he hastened to the parade and ordered every man to his l)ost. It was soon ascertained that the lower block-house (on the left of the picture of the fort on page 315), had been set on fire by the savrtges. It was the most im- iinportant point in the fort excepting the magazine, for there were the contractor's stores — the supplies for the garrison. The guns, at this time, had " begun to fire pretty smartly" on botli sides, and the attack and defense were fairly begun at a little past eleveti, with great vigor. The chief efforts of the commander were directed to the extinguishment of the fire. General contusion reigned, and efforts for the safety of the fort were, for a while, put forth feebly. The entire garrison Avcre either sick or faint with fatigue, and for a time the utter destruction of the whole fortification seemed inevitable. The block- iiouse was consumed, and the fort was thus opened to tlie savage foe. This exposure and their horrid yells dismayed the little garrison, and for a moment they regarded all as lost, and gave n\, in despair. Two of the stoutest and most trusted of the sol- diers leaped the palisades, and attempted to escape, leaving their companions to their fate. Nothing saved the fort and garrison but the presence of mind, courage, pru- dence, and energy of the commander. The fire was about to communicate to the barracks, when he shouted, "Pull off the roofs nearest the block-house, pour on wa- ter, and all will be well !" His voice gave new courage to his troops. Water was brought in buckets, and several of the men, led by Dr. Clark, climbed to the roof, cut off the boards, and by great exertions, in the face of bullets and arrows, they sub- dued the flames, and saved the menaced buildings. Only eighteen or twenty feet of tiie fort was opened by the fire, and up to this time oiily one man had been killed f!l! '! i 818 PICTORIAL FIELD-BOOK The Indiana driven from Fort Harrison. Relief sent to the Garrison. Character and Services of Captain Taylor and two wounclcd. Before daylight the breach was covered by a b'-eastwork as hifth as a man's head, in spite of the incessant firing of the foe, and only one man was killed (none wounded) in the fort. At six o'clock in the morning, when the garrison returned the fire more briskly, afler a conflict of almost eight liours, the savages re- tired beyond the reach of the guns of the fort, and then proceeded to destroy or drive off the live-stock — horses, hogs, and cattle — found in the neighborhood. Fortunately for the garrison, the standing corn around the fort was left unharmed. Their food having been destroyed with the block-house that contained it, and their cattle being driven away, they were compelled to subsist for several days on that delicious and nourishmg green corn. One of the men who leaped the pickets and fled from the fort returned toward morning badly wounded. He approached the gate, and begged, " for God's sake " to be let in. Captain Taylor was near, but, not recogr izing the voice, and believinir it to be a trick of the Indians to get the gate open, he ordered the soldiers near to shoot the man. Fortunately for him, he had run to the other bastion with the same supplication, where liis voice was recognized, and he was told to lie quietly behind some empty barrels at the foot of the pickets until morning. He did so, and was saved. His companion had been hterally cut in pieces by the savages within a few- yards of the fort. The entire loss of the garrison was only three men killed and tlirce wounded, and all but two of the latter met with disaster because of disobedience of orders.* On the 5th» Captain Tay- . September, Ic^ effectually repaired the ^*''^' \r. '> m the fort made by the fire by pluoing in the opening strong pickets made of the logs of the guard - lionse ; and he furnished a messenger with dis- patches for Vincennes, asking for relief. This was a difficult task, for the Indians hovered about the fort for several days. At length the messenger made his way through their circumvallating line, dur- ing a dark night, and soon afterward General Hopkins, with Kentucky Volun- teers, marched up the valley on an ex- pedition against the Indians on the head waters of the Wabash, and gave amjile relief to the sick, weary, and worn sol- diers at Fn '■ ■ u-rison. The so' ■' 'ualities display?'^ by Captain T > ',> t.lie defense of his post against cuc i*^' ^ odds won for him promotion to .. (laior by brevet, and from that time until his death, nearly forty years afterward, whicli occurred while he was President of the Unitnl States, he was one of the most reliable, useful, and modest of public officers.'^ ' Captain Taylor's Dispatch to Governor Harrison, dated "Fort Harrison, September 10, 1812." » Zachary Taylor was bom in OranRe County, Virginia, on the 24th of "• itcmbor, 1784. His father removed with hii family to Kentucky the following year, and settled near the site of the , ent city of Louisville, then known ae The Palis of the Ohio. Zachary entered the army when about twenty-five yw r. of age as first lieutenant of Infiiutry. Two years afterward (May, 181(1) he was promoted to captain, and at about i L ; i i time he was married to Margaret Smith, a young ludy of good family iu Maryland. When war was declared he :v u cuLimand of Furt Harrison, and fur hli Attack on Fori OF THE WAR OF 1812. 319^ AtUck on Fort Madison. Repulse of the Savages. Biography ofZachary Taylon Simultaneous with the attack on Fort Harrison, an attempt was made hy a party of the British allies to fiapti'ie a small military post a short distance from the site of the present city of St. Louis, on the bank of the Mississippi River, The place was called Bellevue, and the stockade Fort Madison. The poist was very ineligibly situ- ated, and totally unfitted for defense. The savages appeared before it on the afternoon ofthe 5th of September." They were fierce Winnebagoes, two hundred strong. The garrison, under Lieutenants Hamilton and Vasques, consisted of a small party of the First Regiment of United States Light Infantry. The approach of the foe was heralded by the shooting and scalping of one of the garrison within thirty yards of the fort. For three days the Indians kept up the assault, with frequent attempts to fire the block-houses and barracks. Buildings outside were burnt, and all the live- stock were slaughtered. The gallant little garrison defended the imperiled fort, with irreat spirit and perseverance, until ten o'clock on the night of the 8th, when the enemy withdrew. With the exception of the man murdered at the commencement of the attack, not one of the garrison was seriously injured. One of the men was slightly wounded in the nose. services there In defending it, in September, 1812, he was breveted n major. He was an active and useful officer in the ffett during the remainder of the war. When the army was reduced at the close of the contest, he was deprived of his commission of major, and recommlssloned a captain, iu consequence of which he resigned. He was soon afterward called back to the service by President Madison, and commissioned a major in the Third Infantry, and placed In com- mand of a post at Green Bay. In 1810 he was promoted to lieutenant colonel, and in that position he remained until 1S32, when President Jackson commissioned him a colonel. He served with distinction in the " Black Hawk War" that year, and remained in command of Fort Crawford, at Prairie du Chien, until 1830, when he was sent to Florida to op- erate against the Seminole Indians. His services there were of great importance, and at the close of 1837 he was bre- veted brigadier general. He remained In charge of all the troops in Florida until 1840, when he was appointed to the command of the southwestern division of the army. Fort Gibson was made his head-quarters in 1841, and the same year he purchased an estate near Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and placed his family there. When, in 1846, war with Mext- OKNEHAI. TAYLOB'b KEglDENOR AT HATON BOUQB. CO was imminent, he was ordered to take post in Texas with an army of observation, as it was called. It soon became au army of Invasion. In the war that ensued he gained, in quick succession, several brilliant battles; and when the conflict was ended, and he returned home, he was greeted with the wildest enthusiasm. Congress honored him with tlie commission, by brevet, of major general, its thanks, and also with a ponderous gold medal, "In the name of the re- public, as a tribute due to his gallant conduct, valor, and generosity to the vanquished." The " Whig" party nominated him for the presidency of the grateful republic, and ho was elected to that high office in November, 1848. He entered upon the exalted duties of his office on the 4th of March, 1840, and died at the presidential mansion, in Washington City, on the 9th of Jnly, 188fl, at the age of slxty-flve ye-ars. The portrait of General Taylor, glvin on page 318, is from a daguerreotype taken after his return from Mexico. The picture of his residence is a fac-simile of a pencil-skitch made by the venerated hero himself for the author. In Novem- ber, It*. In his letter covering the drawing, he says, I he sketch, you will perceive. Is rude, but the best I can offer to you at this time. Indeed, the building Is rude iu itself, and scarcely worthy of being sketched. I hope, however, that this may be suited to your purposes." It was the residence of Colonel Dixon, the English commander at Baton Roage, when the furt there was tnkcn by the Spaniards, under Don Bernardo de Galvez, In 1TT9, and that commander then made it hia residence. It was demolished iu ISCB. u r^ijttitfilWwWKWhiM^tfi nSSSSBR N't 320 PICTORIAL FIELD-BOOK The Nation aroused. Eutliusiasm of the People. Volunteers In Aliiindance. CHAPTER XVI. "They rise, by stream and yellow shore, By mountniu, moor, and fen ; By weedy rock and torrent hoar. And lonesome forest glen I From many a moody, moss-grown monnd, Start forth a war-worn baud. As when, of old, they caught the sound Of hostile arms, and closed around. To guard their native land." J. M'Lki.lan, Je. TE have observed tliat troops, in ample numbers, were sent to tlie relief of Forts Harrison and Wayne. Whence came they? What spirit animated them when pushing eagerly into the wilderness among hostile Indians, after the disasters in the Northwest — the utter failure of Hull's campaign, which had created such great expectations on the part of both govern- ment and people ? Let us consult contemporary records and traditions for an answer. Those sad disasters on the Northwestern frontier, aroused, as we have before ob- served, the most intense feelings of indignation and mortified pride throughout the whole country, and especially in the region west of the Alleghany Mountains and beyond the Ohio River, Avhich was thereby exposed to Indian raids and British inva- sion. When intelligence of those disasters spread over that region, a burning desire to wipe out the disgrace was universal ; and there was a general uprising of senti- ment and action for the recovery of all that had been lost, the extermination of the brutal savages, and the expulsion of their British allies from the soil of the Re- public' Even before the formal declaration of war Kentucky had made military prepara- tions for the event. Her quota of the one hundred thousand detached militia which the President w.^s authorized to summon to the field was almost ready when the fiat went forth. Early in May, Governor Scott,^ in obedience to instructions from the War Department, had organized ten regiments (the quota of his state), and filled 1 " The War," a weekly paper, published in the City of New York, by Snmnci Woodworth, the poet, gives the follow- ine glimpses of the spirit of the people at that time In its issue of September 19, 1812: "The citizens of Albany, im- mediately on hearing of the surrender of General Hull, commenced a subscription for raising a regiment of voliinloor« Very lil)ernl subscriptions were made for the comfort and convenience of those who might offer their services. A rtf- ment of volunteers is also raising in the City of Baltimore, and $lS,Oflfl have already been subscribed for the purpose of furnishing the men with every thing necessary for their comfort. Fifteen hundred men are immediately to mnrcb from Virginia, to rendezvous at Point Pleasant, on the Ohio. Theladieg of Richmond volunteered their services to malie tents, knapsacks, etc., for the soldiers, and in Ave days all things were ready. When the news of the fall of Detroit reached Lexington, in Kentucky, Instead of deploring the loss, the citizens Immediately set about repairing it An immense number of volunteers immediately came forward, among whom were several members of Congress, ami shouldered their muskets in their country's cause. The greatest enthusiasm prevails throughont ihe whole Western conntry ; almost every man has volunteered his services, and, if we may Judge from appearances, it will not be long 1k^ fore onr Western brethren will wipe away the stain upon the American arms by the Ignomlnloii surrender of Detroit and the American army under General Hull. " The citizens of New York are forming patriotic associations for the purpose of raising ftands to assist the faisiiies of volunteers and drafts detached for the defense of the borders, who may be in want during their absence on duty. Large supplies of vegetables, coffee, tea, chocolate, sugar, etc., have also been sent to the troops stationed in and about the harbor. This conduct Is worthy of imitation." ' Charles Scott was a native of Cumberland County, Virginia. He was a corporal In a militia company under Brad- dock in the campaign of 1T6P, and was a distlngnished officer in the Revolution. Bee Lossing's FieU-Book qf the Retxiltt- Uon. For a brief biographical sketch of hira and tils signature, sec the same, Note 3, li., 147. Goveruors M( U if .it il. . ! flifiil! Ifnr.iiios Ton duty. |]d about OF THE WAR OF 1812. 8^1 GoTernorB Meigs and Harrison active. Harrison In Kentucky. Volunteers (lc\;'-Jng to the Camp. them without difficulty with volunteers, making an eftective force of five thousand live hundred men. Governor Meiga, of Ohio, was equally active and vigilant. He promptly responded to the call for troops to accompany IIull to Detroit, as we have seen ; and when he was informed of the danger that menaced Hull's command, he immediately ordered out the remaining portion of the quota of detached militia, twelve hundred in nv.m- ber, to rendezvous at Urbana, on the border of the wilderness, under Brigadier Gen- eral Tupper. And when the fall of Detroit was known, he sent expresses in every direction to the militia generals of the frontier, Avith orders to adopt eneigetic meas- ures for defense within their respective commands, and to advise the inhabitants on the borders of the wilderness to associate and erect block-houses for the defense and accommodation of families. He also sent arms and ammunition to different parts from the public stores at Urbana,' Governor Harrison, of Indiana, with his usual vigilance, promptness, and forecast, had already caused block-houses and stockades to be erected in various parts of his territory as defenses against the hostile Indians, and the militia were placed in a state of preparation for immediate action when called upon. He had been a.uthorized ]}\ the national government to take command of all the troops of the territories of Indiana and Illinois in prosecuting the war against the Indians commenced in the autumn of 1811, and to call on the Governor of Kentucky for any portion of the con- tnifcnt of that state which was not in service. Under that authority he went to Kentucky, by invitation of Governor Scott, to confer respecting the troops of that state. Kentucky was forever freed from apprehensions of Indian incursions, and her sons, Avho had suffered, were eager to assist their neighbors over the Ohio in their efforts to drive the murderous hordes back into the wilderness. Harrison repaired to Frankfort, Avhere the military, were paraded and he was hon- ored with a public reception. He remained there several days, and met many of the most eminent military men and civilians in the state. He comprehended in all its length and breadth the difficulties and dangers to which Hull was exposed, and ex- pressed his opinions freely at a dinner-party in Lexington, whereat Henry Clay was one of the guests. That gentleman and others urged him to present his views to the government.^ He did so in a letter, dated the 10th of August, in which he suggested a system of military operations in the Northwest. He expressed his fears of the re- sult of the fall of Mackinack, by which the Indian tribes might bp let loose upon De- troit, and "meet, and perhaps overpoAver, the convoys and re-enforcements" which liad been, or might be, sent to Hull. After speaking of those re-enforcements, he said : " I rely greatly upon the valor of these troops ; but it is possible that the event may be adverse to us, and if it i?,, Detroit must fall, and with it every hope of re-establish- ing our affairs in that quarter until the next year." Before this letter reached the War Department, Detroit had fallen, and Chicago too, and the worst fcara of the people of tJie West were realized. But these disas- ters, instead of depressing them, gave them increased elasticity and strength. The whole total of society bordering upon the Oliio Ri'-er heaved, like a storm-smitten iiccan in its wrath, with patriotic emotions. The murders by the Indians which soon tbllowed, and the alliance of the British with such fierce barbarians, excited a vehe- ment cry for retributive justice. Christian civili 'in, national pride, and an enlight- ened patriotism, all pleaded for vindication, and nobly was that plea responded to. \Vhen a call for troops was made, men of every -class and condition of life — farmers, merchants, lawyers, physicians, and young men innumerable — flocked to tlio recruiting stations and offei'ed their services. Tenfold more men than Avcrc needed might have ' Reply of Governor Meigs to the memorial of the citizens of Chllllcothe, Ohio, on the subject of protecting the fron- 1 cr.-NlleB'B We^lji Reni»ltv, 8ci)teml)er 2fl, 1812. = Wemuirs (>fthe Public Services 1ow that a fiavago can receive, especially at that Hcason of the year, is to deprive him of food and shelter. So, when the torch was applied to the cabins, the knife destroyed the corn and the vegetables. GeneralJames Winchester arrived at Fort Wayne on the 18th of Sepii,...'„,T and on the following day General Harrison formally resigned all command into his lianils. The change produced almost a mutiny among the soldiers. They were greatly at- tached to Harrison. Winchester was a wealtliy citizen of Tennessee, and had not for many years had any military experience. He had Ijeen a subordinate officer in the army of the Revolution, but for thirty years had lived in ease and opulence in Ten- nessee. His deportment was too aristocratic to please the great mass of the troops and this, added to their expectations of more severe discipline from an officer of the Regulars, caused a large number of them to positively refuse at first to serve under the new commander. It required all the address of Harrison (popular as he was and as ready as were his followers to comply with all his wishes), together with tlic i)er- Huasions of the other officers, to reconcile them to the change. It was effected Imt only when they were allowed to indulge the hope that their beloved general miirht be reinstated in command.' Harrison left Fort Wayne on the evening of the 19th,* and returned to St. Mary, where he intended to collect the mounted men from Kentucky, and prepare for an expedition against Detroit. "From Fort Wayne," he wrote " there is a path, which has been sometimes used by the Indians, leading up the St. Joseph's, and from thence, by the head watera of the River Rezin [Raisin], to Detroit. By this route it appears to me very practicable to effect a coup-de-main upon ti it place, and if I can collect a few hundred more mounted men, I shall attempt it."^ To the accomplishment of this design he prepared to lend all his energies. Already there was a respectable force of mounted men at St. Mary, and others were on the marcli to that place. Harrison went to Piqua to perfect his arrangements. There, on the 24th/' he received a dispatch from the Secretary of War in reference to his let- ter concerning the acceptance of a brigadier's commission, which opened thus : " The President is pleased to assign to you the command of the Northwestern Arniy, which, in addition to the regular troops and rangers in that quarter, will con- sist of the volunteers and milif ia of Kentucky, Ohio, and three tliousand from Virginia and Pennsylvania, making your whole force ten thousand men." It then went on to instruct him to first provide for the defense of the frontiers, and then to retake De- troit with a view to the conquest of Canada. He was assured that every exertion would be made to send him a train of artillery from Pittsburg, in charge of Captain Gratiot, of the Engineers, who would report to him as soon as some of the pieces could be got ready. He was also informed that Major Ball, of the 2d Regiment of Dracfoons, would join him ; and that such staff officers as he might legally appoint would be ap- proved by the President. " Colonel Buford, deputy commissioner at Lexington," he said, "is furnished with fxinds, and is subject to your orders." More ample powers than had ever been given to any officer of the American army since Washington was invested with the authority of a military dictator were intrusted to him in the fol- lowing closing sentence in the dispatch : " You Avill command such means as may l)i' ' At St. Mary's, Harrison wrote to Governor Shelby as foUows: "My sitnation here is very embarrassing, so ranch BO that I have determined within the two honrspast to propose to General Winchester to recognize me as commander- in-chief, or to relinqnlsh all command whatever, unless it is of the mounted forces which I have prepared, and with which I shall strike a strolce somewhere. Ton will hear fi:om another qnarter t'.ie very aerions difficulty which was to be en- countered before the men of Scott's, Allen's, and Lewis's regiments could be reconciled to the command of General Winchester. I fear that the other three regiments will prove still more refractory."— Autograph Letter, Seplembet 22d, 1S12. » Autograph Letter to General Shelby, dated "St. Mnry, 22d September, 1S12." I have before me an autograph note ft-om General Harrison to Governor Meigs, of similar purport, dated at St. Mary, the 20th of September. " Bnt it muiit be kept profoundly secret," he wrote. " September. Winchester's Man ul[ m lll. 'il ff ni M J OF THE WAR OF 18 12. til Wlnchenter'a March thniuKh tha WildemeM. Confruuted by Brltlih and Indlani. Sadden Flight of the latter. practicable. Kterciae your own discretion, and act in all cases according to your ovm juihjinent," With Huch ample powers inveHted in a commander-in-chief, Shelby's "Hoard of War" would have been (jiiite iiHelesH. Harrison had reason to be proud (if the honor conferred, and the "special trust and confidence" reposed in him; wiiilo his soldiers, rejoicing in tho fact, appeared ready and eager to follow whithersoever he might lead. General Winchester, with al)out two thousand men, left Fort Wayne on the mom- iiij» of the 22d of September (each soldier carrying six days' provisions) for tho Mau- inee Uapids. He moved cautiously down the left bank of that river, to avoid a sur- uiise, in three divisions, his baggage hi the centre, and a volunteer company of spies, under Captain Ballard, supported by (iarrard's dragoons, moving abet two miles ill advance. Winchester intended to halt at Fort Defiance, at tho confluence of the Mauinee and Au Glaizo Rivers, fiily miles from Fort Wayne, and there await rc-enforcemonta from Harrison at St. Mary. They encountered Indians on the way. Some of the spies were killed ; among them Ensign Leggott, of the Sevonteenth United States Infantry, who, with four otiicrs of a Woodford (Kentucky) company, had been permitted to push forward to reconnoitre the vicinity of Fort Defiance. They were all killed and scalped. When their fate was made known in the camp. Captain liallard' was ordered out with his spies and forty of Garrard's dragoons to bury the bodies. This sad oftice they undertook on the morning of the 27th, and when within two miles of the place of the massacre they discovered an Indian am- buscade. A conflict ensued. Garrard's troops charged upon the wavages, when they fled in dismay, closely pursued for some distance, and found refuge in the swamps, where cavalry could not penetrate. Tliose Indians were tho advance of a heavy force — heavy by comparison only — under Major Muir, consisting of two hundred British regulars, one thousand savages, under Colonel Elliott, and four pieces of cannon. They were making their way up tiie Mauinee on its southern side to attack Fort Wayne. Their artillery and bag- gage had been brought to Defiance in boats from Maiden, and with them they were marching by land to Fort Wayne. Fortunately for the little army under Winches- tor, a Hhrewd subaltern of Scott's regiment (Sergeant M'Coy) had been captured and taken before Muir, who was then twelve miles above Fort Defiance. He was ques- tioned closely, and in his answer he magnified Winchester's army fourfold. He also told Muir that another army equally large was coming down the Au Glaizo to join Winchester. The exaggerated facts given to the British commander by his own credulous and excited scouts made him believe the stories of M'Coy ; and when he heard of the defeat of his advance by Ballard and Garrard, he ordered a retreat to Fort Defiance, where he re-embarked his artillery and baggage. Relying upon his boats for facility in retreating, in the event of a defeat, Muir re- solved to give battle about four miles above Fort Defiance, at the ford of a creek on the north side of the Maumee, where Wayne crossed in 1794 ; but when, on the morn- ing of the 28th, he attempted to form his line of battle there, he found, to his great nortification and alarm, that about three fourths of his Indian allies had deserted h m. They had heard of IVL'Coy's stories, and, asscciating them with Muir's retro- gvade movement, and the re-embarkation of liis arti llery and baggage, they became greatly alarmed, and abandoned the expedition. Thus weakened, Muir conceived himself to be in great danger. He hastened back to Defiance, and fled twenty miles I Captain Bland Ballard was a dlgtlnifnished citizen of Kentncky. He was bom in Fredericksburg, Virginia, October 10, 1701, and at this time was just past fifty years of age. He had been in Kentncky since 17T9. He was with General Clark when ho invaded the Ohio country in 1781, where he was severely wounded. In all that service, as a spy and olherwijc, Ballard was exceedingly active. He was with Wayne in his campaigns. He Joined Allen's regiment in M2, and, as we have seen in the text, was wounded at the Raisin and taken prisoner. He frequently represented Shelby County in the Kentncky Legislature. Ballard Connty, Kentucky, was so called in his honor, and Blandvllle, the connty seat, bears the Christian name of Captain Ballard. He was living, at the age of eighty-seven years, in 184T. For a fuller account of him, see Collins's Historical Sketches of Kentuchj, page 171. i 1 1 ^ £ : •- I \ ! f ! ! ^ i ; V: - ■ ■ 1 l;f ' ii m i ill I 928 PICTORIAL ■'.LD-BOOK Ii WlnchMter arrival at Fort Deflanca. Rfr«nft>reau.v>^ gatlMriDc. Th ilr lUwh towatJ Fo rt DaiUnt*, down the Mauraeo belbro ho haltc<1, U'aviiij5 soino luithful inoiinted IikUuhh bfliii,,) to watch the inovcmoiitH of the AiiioricaiiH. Wiiiehi'Hter, in tlie mean time, waH inoviiifif caittioiiHly forward. ITo could recoive no certain intolligoncc concerning the force and ponition of the enemy. Two Rcouts (Hickman and Uidtlle) had gone completely around the invaders on tlio 20tli wilh • Seutombcr, t'"* Hceing them,' and otiiers were ecjually unwucceHHful on the 27lh aiicl "'*• 28th.' When the army approached the creek where Muir expected to make a stand, Winchester was informed of its advantageous position for the cneinv and crossed to the southeast side of tlie Maumee to avoid him. There they (Uncov- ered the trail of the invader, with Ids artillery. Ignorant of the alarm of Muir, tluy encamped on a rise of ground and fontified their position. Then a council of war was held. Some officers were in favor of sending a detachment in pursuit of tlie rt- treating foe, but the general and a majority determined otherwise. Their provisions were almost exhausted, and the unknown force of the enemy caused pnidence to ask for strength in re-enforcements.^ Several mounted parties were sent out to recon- noitre, and expresses were detached to General Harrison at St. Mary, asking for re- lief by sending mer> and food. It was aoon ascertained that the enemy Jiad left Fort Defiance, and on the 30th Winchester moved down tho river to a high bank of the Maumee, within a mile of the fort, and again fonned a fortified camp. On the Ist of October Colonel Lewis made a reconnoissanco in force, and ascertained that the ene- my was entirely gone.^ While Winchester was making his way toward Fort Defiance, the troops that were gathering in the rear of the army had mostly arrived at St. Mary. These consisted of three regiments from Kentucky, commanded respectively by Colonels Joshua IJaibee, Robert Poague, and William Jennings (the latter riflemen), and three comj)anic8 of mounted riflemen, from the same state, under Captains Roper, Bacon, and Clark. Also a corps of mounted "'en from Ohio, under Colonel Findlay, who, as we have seen, had been active wi' 'neral Hull. These had been raised pursuant to a call of Governor Meigs and ( ' Harrison, at the beginning of September, and rendez- voused as early as the 15tn at Dayton. They were intended to operate against some of tho hostile Indian towns. On the 2l8t of September, Hai-rison ordered Colonel Jennings to proceed with his regiment down the Au Glaize to establish an intermediate post between St. Mary and Fort Defiance, and to escort provisions to the latter place for the use of Winchester on his routs to the Rapids of the Maumee. Wlien Jennings had marched between thirty and lb'"ty miles, he found the Indians hovering round his camp at night, and his scouts brought intelligence that they were in considerable force toward Fort De- fiance ; so he halted and constructed a stockade on the bank of the Ottawa River, a tributary of the Au Glaize, not far from the present Kalida (the Greek for beantifiil), the capital of Putnam County, 'Ohio. It was named Fort Jennings, in honor of the commander of the detachment. At the same time Colonel Findlay was ordered to attack some Ottawa towns* farther eastward, on Blanchard's Fork, below Fort Find- lay, in the same county.' ' September Winchester was informed of the march of Jennings with provisions, and on the 29th,'' his army being half famished, he sent Captain Garrard ' They crogsed the Hanmeo to the south side, and took as direct a route as they could to the Au Glaize. They croseed that atream, and descended It along its eastern shore to Us month at Defiance. Two miles below the conflu- ence of the streams they crossed the Maumee, and returned uji the north side to the army. » At about this time Peter Navarre (whom we shall meet hereafter), who had piloted the British as far as the Rap- ids, deserted them, and pushed on to meet Winches' &nd Inform him of the approach of the enemy.— Hosmer's Earln History of the Maumte Valley, page 34. » M'Afee, pages 10?-138, inclusive ; Thomson's Sketetui of the Late War, ch. iv. ; Perkins's History, etc., of the Utt War ; Brackenridge's HUtorii of tl\/e Late War, pages NS-68, Inclusive. 4 The emphasis in the word Ottawa being In the middle syllable, these were called 'Tawa towns. The Lower 'Tawa town was on Blanchard's Fork, on the site of the present village of Ottawa, two miles below the Upper 'Tawa town. • See page 2B7. Birrlioa'i Aatan OF THE WAR OF 1812. 889 Hirrlion't Antamn C'ainp^l|n> nmnged. Patrlutlim of the Women of Kentucky. Troopi rendjr for an Advaaw. with (IragoonH to aHsist in escortinpf to his camp n brip;n(lo of pack-horBPH with siiiii)li«'H. (tiirrard wiih HucccHsful, aiul roturiu-d, allor a tour of thirty-six hours, in a ilrent'hiug ruin. WinchcHter was still in his fortified can)|» near Fort Defiance, and Oarrard was received at tliat beautiful spot in the wilderness with the lively satis- faction of the famislied when fed. During the few days of suspenso concerning tlio extent of his command General Harrison formed projects for the immediate future, whieli incxorabh? circuinstanoes conipi'lled him to abandon, to 8(mie extent. He had now, as commander-in-chief, at- ranged with caro the plan for an autumn canij)aign, which contemplated the seizure ami occupation of the strategic position at the foot of the Maumec Rapids, and pos- sibly the captnro of Detroit and Maiden. His base of military operations, having the Rapids as the first object to b<^ possessed, was a line drawn along the margin of tlic swaiiipy region from St. Mary to Upper Sandusky, the former to bo tin principal de- nnsit ior provisions, and tlie latter for artillery and military stores. Ho intended to march his anny in three divisions: the right column to bo composed of tlie Virginia and Pennsylvania troops, to rendezvous at Wooster, the capital of the present Wayne County, Ohio, and proceed from thence, by Upper Sandusky, to the Rapids. The centre column, to consist of twelve hundred Ohio militia, to march from Urbana, where they were then collected, to Fort M'Arthur, and follow Hull's road to the Rapids. The left column, to be composed of the regulars under Colonel Wells and tour regiments of Kentucky volunteers, to proceed down the Au (ilai/e to the Mau- mec from St. Mary, and from their confluence pass on toward the Rapids. He designed to send the mounted horsemen, by way of the St. Joseph of the Lake, to make the mip-de-main on Detroit, already alluded to ; but this project was abandoned, for, should they take that post without the support of infantry, they might be compelled to ah' "Ion it, and would thereby expose the inhabitants to the fury of the Indians, who ist be exasperated by the movement. Harrison therefore determined to em- ploy ihera in making destructive forays upon Indian towns, and sweep the savages from the line of march from the Rapids to Detroit, when the troops should all be ready to move. Harrison now made urgent appeals for supplies of every kind. He sent an express to Pittsburg to hurry forward the cannon and ordnance stores to Wooster ; and, as the troops were nearly destitute of winter clothing, he and Governor Shelby appealed to the inhabitants of Kentuckj' for voluntary contributions. It was generously re- sponded to. A thousand needles were speedily put in motion in fair hands ; and many a poor soldier, as he stood sentry on the banks of the Maumee or the Raisin a few weeks later, had reason to feel grateful to the patriotic women of Kentucky. On the 1st of October there were nearly three thousand troops at St. Mary. Har- rison resolved to employ the portion of the left wing, under Winchester, at Defiance, as a corps of observation, and to make that place an important deposit for provisions, preparatory to the advance of that corps upon the Rapids. This movement was to commence as soon as the artillery should arrive at Upper Sandusky, and the other supplies had accumulated along the base of operation. A corps of observation was also to be placed at Lower Sandusky, which, with Defiance, would form the extremi- ties of a second base when the Rapids should be occupied. These arrangements for operations were exceedingly judicious for an economical use of supplies, and a per- fect defense of the frontier while the troops were concentrating at the Rapids. The mounted men, consisting of the companies of Roper, Clark, and Bacon, and the volunteers under Major Richard M. Johnson, were formed into a regiment. They elected Johnson their colonel ; and these, with the Ohio mounted men under Find- lay, formed a small brigade, which Harrison placed in charge of General Edward W. Tupper, of Gallia County, Ohio, a gentleman about fifty years of age, who had, by his own exertions, raised about a thousand men for the service. This brigade was des- !' 1 \l>' I .h ifllil'^t^l ] ■ I • ij 1 ! 1 ii Si 1 ,< ■ liX 880 PICTORIAL FIELD-BOOK A great Stir in Camp. Rapid forward Muvement. Harrigou at Fort Defiance. tined for the expedition against Detroit, by Avay of the St. Joseph, which the general hoped to set in motion soon. A few hours after it was organized, an express from Winchester reached Harrison with the intelligence of his encounter with the invad- ing force under Muir. At almost the same moment, an express arrived from Gov- ernor Meigs, with a letter to him from General Kelso, who was in command of some Pennsylvania troops on the shore of Lake Erie, informing him that, as late as the 16 th of September, some British regulars, Canadian militia, and two thousand In- dians, had left Maiden with two pieces of artillery for Fort Wayne. These dispatches created a great stir in camp. Three days' cooked provisions, with ammunition and other military stores, were immediately issued to the troops, and a command for a forced march was given. Three hours afterward General Ilarrison was in the saddle, and his whole corps were following him toward the wilderness in a drenching rain, and the road filled with deep mud. They reached the camp of Col- onel Jennings at twilight, and officers and men, from the general down, slept in the cold, damp air, without tents, and nothing between them and the water-pools on the surface of the flat ground but brush from the beech-trees. There Ilarrison was met by anotlier express from Winchester, notifying him of the flight of the enemy down the Maumee. The rapid march was stayed. Barbee's regiment was ordered back to St. Miiry, and Poague's was directed to cut a road to Fort Defiance from Camp Jennings. The mounted men, more than a thou- sand in number, pressed forward in five lines, mak- ing an imposing appearance in the stately forest, Avhere tlie leaves were just assuming the gorgeous autumnal hues. Tlie troops were disappointed and depressed because of the flight of the enemy ; and the commanding general was vexed when he dis- covered that Winchester's alarm was quite unnec- essary. He reached that officer's camp at sunset. His soldiers bivouacked three miles in tlic rear. Eaidy the next morning they marched down to tlie confluence of the Maumee and An Gk izc, and en- camped there around the ruined intrcnchmeuts of old Fort Defiance. Harrison found the troops under Winchester in a deplorable condition, and one regiment in a state of open mutiny. He ordered the " alarm" instead of the "reveille" to be beaten on the followinij morning. This brought all the troops to arms;. They were drawn up in a hollow square, when, to the surprise and delight of the soldiers, Harrison, their beloved general, appeared among them. It was with difficulty that they restrained their voices, for shouts of welcome were ready to hurst fi-om their lips. He addressed them as a kind fa- ther would talk to his children. He shamed the malcontents by saying tliat while he lamented the fact of their mutiny, and was mor- INDIAN CAMP FOBT DEHANOK.' 1 This fort was constructed of earth and logs, with a ditch extending around It, except on tl^e An O'aize eldc. At cact angle was a block house, connected by a line of pickets at their nearest angles. Ontside the fort there was a uhdn. or sloping wall of en th, eight feet thick, and outside of this the ditch, fifteen feet wide and eight feet deep. The i/taw next to the ditch was supported by a log wall, and hyfamtwx, or fagots, on the side next to the Au Glaiio. Plckol?, eleven feet long and ona foot apart proJccteTl from the wall diagonally over the ditch, forming a. /"raw of forniidaWe api earance. The diagram, showing the relative position of the ft rt t.. the two rivers at their conliuence, a'ul to n new fon aflerw.->.dl)ulltby Winchester, ma he explained as follows: A, officers' quarters; B, store-houses ; CCCC.f^e ditch ; E E, gateways ; F, a dry ditch, cljnt feet deep, used for the safe procurement of water from the river, witli pick- ets {a a) guarding It; G, draw-bridge. Harrison's Addresi OF THE WAR OF 1812. 331 liarrisun's Addresii to his Troops. Erection of new Forts ordered. Troubles among Leaders. tified on their account, it was of no consequence to the government, as he had now more troops than he needed, and was in expectation daily of receiving large re-en- forcements from Pennsylvania and Virginia, As they had come to the woods ex- pecting to find all the comforts and luxuries of home, they must be disappointed, and he gave them liberty to return. But be could not refrain from alluding to the mor- tification which he anticipated they would experience from the reception they would meet from the old and the young, who had greeted them on their march to the scene of war as their gallant neighbors. Then he appealed to their pride ^s soldiers and their patriotism as citizens. He told them that his government had made him com- mander-in-chief of tlio army in which they were serving, and assured them that am- ple supplies of provisions and other stores were on the way. When he had con- cluded, and the veteran Scott addressed them, saying, " You, my boys, will prove your attachment for the service of your country and your general by giving him three cheers," the wilderness instantly rang with shouts of applause, and before the sun went down perfect harmony and good feeling prevailed in the camp. General Harrison selected a site for a new fort on the bank of the Au Glaize, about eighty yards above Old Fort Defiance, and ordered the immediate assignment of fatigue parties to construct it. General Winchester at the same time moved his camp from the Maumee to the Au Glaize, about half a mile above the site of the new fort. This movement was made on the 4th of October. That evening Harrison, accom- panied by Colonel Johnson and his original battalion (composed of Johnson's, Ward's, and Ellison's companies), turned their faces toward St. Mary, Avhere, three days after- ward, their i;erm of enlistment having expired, they were discharged. Poague's regi- ment was directed to return to the old Ottawa towns, twelve miles from St. Marj% after the road to Defiance should be completed, and erect a stockade there. They did so, and Poague named it Fort Amanda, in honor, of a loved one in Kentucky. General Winchester was left in command of the left wing of the army, with instruc- tions to facilitate the transportation of supplies to Fort Defiance, and to occupy a position at the Maumee Rapids as speedily as possible. When he left Winchester, Ilarrison expected to have all necessary supplies for advancing against Detroit within a fortnight. Before leaving Fort Defiance Harrison ordered General Tupper to lead the mounted men, then over nine hundred in number, down the Maumee to the Rapids, and beyond if desirable, to (Jisperse any detachments of the enemy, civilized or savage, that might be found, and to return to St. Mary by the " 'Tawa" or Ottawa towns on Blanchard's Fork of the Au Glaize. But this order was not executed on account of several dis- turbins, causes, namely, extensive damage to powder and scarcity of food, which made it difficult to provide adequate supplies for an expedition that might occupy a week or ten days; the sudden appearance of hostile Indians, who menaced Winchester's camp; dissatisfaction of some of the Kentr.cky troops with Tupper and his command; misunderstanding between Winchester and Tupper, and the unfriendly conduct of the former toward the latter; the weakening of Tupper's forces by the withdrawal of Ken- tucky troops and Simrall's dragoojis ; iid finally the dismissal of Tupper from the command of the expeditici by WinchesK r. v!.o gave it to Colonel Allen, of the reg- ulars, and which caused the Ohio troops to cross the Au Glaize, and positively refuse to march under any other than their own chosen leader.' The chief difliculty seen .i to have arisen from conflict between regular officers and volunteers ; and thus termin- ated the expedition, said Tupper, " at one time capable of tearing the British flag from the walls of Detroit."''* ' H' Afeo, pages 14^ Ufl ; Tupper's Letter to General narrlson from Urbana, October 12, 1812 ; Brackcnridge, page 59 ; Perkins, pope 97. ' Uttor to Gonerf 1 Harrison f.-om Urbana, dated October 12th, 1S12. M'Afeo, who gives a more detailed acconnt of this affair than any other writer, says, " Some of the Eevtackiaus were not inclined to march under Tupper unless 1 i«lli I 1j I "1 iilliii til 882 PICTORIAL FIELD-BOOK The Conduct of Colonel Tapper. Expeditions against tlie Indians. Harrison in Central Ohio, Instead of returning to St. Mary, Tupper took the most direct route to Urbaiia by way of Hull's road, from near the present town of Kenton, where he immediately piv- pared for another and independent expedition to the Kapids. Winchester pi-efened charges against him for alleged misconduct at Defiance, and Harrison ordered his ar- rest, but the accused being far on his way toward the Rapids, as we shall observe presently, when the order was given, the prosecution was stayed. At Tupper's re- quest a court of inquiry afterward investigated the matter, and he was honorabiv acquitted. While on his way from Defiance to St. Mary, General Harrison was infonncd, by ex- press from P"'ort Wayne, that the Indians were again menacing that post. At St. ilaiy he found Colonel vVllen Trimble at the lioad of five hundred mounted men of Ohio, wliii came to join Tupper in the expedition against Detroit. These were immediately dis- patched to the relief of Fort Wayne, with instructions to proceed to the St. Joseph of the Lake, about sixty miles distant, and destroy the town of the hostile Pottawatomie chief White Pigeon. The troops were disappointed, and at Fort Wayne about one half of Trimble's command refused to go farther. The gallant colonel pushed on with the remainder, destroyed two Pottawatomie villages, and Avould have killed or oa]i- tured the inhabitants had not a treacherous guide given them timely warning of danger. At St. Mary Harrison found some penHent Miami chiefs who had joined the enemv. They had come at the summons of messengers, and were prepared to deny their guilti- ness, or to palliate it, as circumstances might dictate. They found Harrison well in- formed concei-ning their bad conduct, and they cast themselves upon the meiTy of the government. As proof of their sincerity, they sent five chiefs to Piqua as iiost- ages until the decision of the President should be made known. Thither General Harrison repaired, where he found some of T. pper's troops. He passed over to Urba- na, and then southeastward to Franklinton, on the west bank of the Scioto, opposite the present city of Columbus, the capital of Ohio, whose site was then covered by the primeval forest. There, in the heart of Ohio, and at a convenient point for the concenti-ation of troops and supplies from a distance, Harrison established his head- quarters, and occupied much of the remainder of the autumn and early winter in laborious preparations for an advance on Detroit and Canada — collecting troo]is and creating depots for supplies, building stockades and block-houses, cutting roads, and dispersing or overawing the hostile Indians, who might be excessively mischievous on the flank and rear. Poague speedily completed Fort Amanda on the Au Glaize. Colonel Barbee ei-ected another at St. Mary, which was called Fort Barbee, and he- fore the 1st of November the new stockade at Defiance, built chiefly of logs, was completed and named Fort Winchester. I visited the ruins of Fort Defiance on a wanii «unny day late in September, 1860. I came up the Maumee Valley by railway from Toledo on the previous evening, and arrived at Defiance Station at midnight. The tillage of Defiance,^ lying mostly on the Maumee, upon the beautiful plain at the confluence of that river and Au Glaize, was shrouded in a chilling fog. Warned of the danger of the night air in that valley accompanied by some field officer from Winchester's command. Colonel Allen therefore tendered his services to ac- company General Tnpper in any capacity he might choopc to receive him. The offer was accepted. But Oeiiprnl Win- chester, havhiix niisundcrstoo'' ihc nature of the arranRcment between them, issued an order directing Culoncl .\lloiiio taltc the command and march toward the Rapids. This caused a serious misunderstanding between the two general^. Colonel Allen, however, having infirnied General Winchester correctly on the subject, the order was immodinld.v rf- Bcindcd, The greater part of the men having by this time refiised to proceed directly to the Rapids, Ocncriil Tiipixr marched them over the Au Olalzc, and proceeded to the Ottawa towns, wliere he professed to expect re-en fore enicnt* ftom Ohio," This account agrees siihstantlnlly with that of Tupper in his letter to Harrison, in which he says, " It is a duty I owe to Colonel Allen to gay that I have not the smallest reason to believe be was privy to the orders uf Qeneral Winchester." ' Defiance Is the connty seat of Defiance County, about fifty miles northeastward from Fort Wa.vne. It was laid oul In 1822, and from its eligible situation and fertility of the country around— the rich Black Swamp region— seems denlincd to become a jdace of much importance. Bemains of Forti OF THE WAR OF 1812. 838 Kemaius of Forts Uetlaucu aud Wluchester. Their Locatiun and Appearance. Au antienl Apple-tree. at that Beason of the year, I fclt as if fever and ague were inhaled at every inspira- tion Avhile walking a long distance to a hotel. There all was darkness. A slumber- in<' attendant was finally aroused, and I was directed by the feeble light of a small candle to a most cheerless bedroom at one o'clock in the morning. After an early breakfast I went out to find the historical localities of tlie place, and was fortunate enough to be introduced to Mr. E. H. Leland and Doctor John Paul, who kindly ac- companied me to them. We first visited the interesting remains of Fort Wayne on tlic point of land where the two ruins meet. We found the form of the glacis and ditch very distinctly marked, the remains of the former rising six or eight feet above the botto'u of the latter. The shape of the fort was perfectly delineated by those momuls and the ditch. Some large honey-locust-trees were growing among the ruins. These have appeared since the fort was abandoned in 1795. One of them, with a trip'e stem, standing in the southeastern angle of the fort, measured fifteen iect in circumference. These ruins are likely to be preserved. The banks were covered with a fine sward, and they were within an inclosurc containhig about two acres of land, which the heirs of the late Curtis Holgate presented to the town. We visited the site of Fort Winchester, a little above Defiance, on the bank of the An Glaize, and found the remains of many of the pickets Drotruduig from the ground. Across a ravine, just above the fort, was the garrison burying-ground. We returned to the village, crossed the long bridge which spans the JMaumee, and from the heights (if Fail's Grove, on the eastern side of the river, obtained a comprehensive view of the two streams at their confluence, the site of the fort, and the village of Defiance. The - sketch there made is here " given. The meeting of the waters is seen toward the le/l, those of the Maumee flowing in from the right to meet those of the Au Glaize, over which, in the distance, a bridge is seen. The group of trees (the hon- ey-locusts spoken of) seen near the centre of the pic- ture mark the site of Fort )efiance. In the foreground s seen a garden ext' uding from the hiL'hway at the foot of the liei-hts of Fail's (irove to t!;i' bank of the Maumee, with waving broom corn then ripe and BUB OF rOBI DEFlA>'aK. ready for the knife. On our return to the village we visited ■ the way, near the margin of the ]\raumee, :m aged and gigantic apple-tree, coeval, no doubt, with the one near Fort Wayne.' We found it carefully guarded, as a sort of " lion'' 'f the place, by a high board fence, the ground around it, within the inclosurc, tlr ' oovered with burr-bearing weeds. It was upon the Southworth estate, and . to it might be had only through a Ismail house near. That tree was a living nioniauent of the French occupation of the LE-TBEE AT DEriANOE. its size, by comparison with the body of a stout man. We returned to Defiance in time for dinner, and left with the early train for Fort Wayne.^ Let us resume the naiTative of events in the North- west in the autumn of 1812. We left General Harrison nt Franklinton, General Tupper at Urbana, and General Winchester at Fort De- fiance, all engaged in preparations to move forward to the Rapids of the Maumee, and thence to Detroit. While the movement of the troops in Western Ohio and Eastern Indiana, just related, were in progress, stirring events of a like nature occurred in the region nearer the Mississippi River. We have already noticed the departure of troops from Kentucky for Vincennes, and the messengers sent to that post by Captain Taylor, asking immediate aid for Fort Harrison on the Wabash.^ This call was immediately responded to. Colonel William Russell, of the Seventh United States Regiment of Infantry, just arrived at Vincennes, departed at once for Fort Harrison with about twelve hundred n '» con- sisting of three companies of Rangers, two regiments of Indiana militia, under c'olo- nels Jordan and Evans, and Colonel Wilcox's regiment of Kentucky Volunteers. Lieutenant Richardson, of the regulars, was 'lirected to follow with eleven men as an escort for provisions. By a forced marcli Russell and his party reached Fort Har- rison on the 16th, much to the joy of Captain Taylor, without encountering the foe. Not so the provision escort. That was attacked by the savages on the 16th, wjio killed more than one half of the detachment and captured all of the provisions. An- other provision train that followed immediately afterward was more fortunate. Tlu savages were not seen. The great body of the Indians seemed to have fled from the vichiity, and Russell and his troops, except Wilcox's regiment, returned to Vincennes. At about this time the Indians of Illinois ar.d Northern Indiana, persuaded, like the rest of the savages under the influence of Teonmtha, after the fall of Mackinaw. Detroit, and Chicago, that the time was at hand when the white people might be driven beyond the Ohio River, every where showed signs of hostilities. Tliest' were so menacing that Nini.on Edwards, the GoveiTior of the Illinois Territory, called on the executive of Kentucky for aid. That aid was on its way in the person of Colonel Barbour and his ct ramand, when it was diverted to Vincennes, on acconnt of the dangers impending over Fort Harrison. Edwards had sent out spies, and was persuaded that no time was to be lost in making preparations for ofl!ensive and de- fensive operations againft the savages, He combined the scattered militia of his Territory, and caused se ^-eral companies of Rangei-s to be encamped on the Missis- sippi, above St. Louis, and in the Illinois River. Tliese served to keep the Indians in •Septembers, check for a tiiae. Meanwhile Governor Shelby had made the stirring ''^^'^' appeal* to the Ki^ntuckians already alluded to.^ He told them of tlic "extensivd combination of the K-'vages, aided by the British from Canada," who were momentarily expected on the frontier settlements of Illinois and Indiana. Twenty- one persons, he said, had already becr^ murdered not more than twenty miles north of the Ohio ! " It is hoped," he remarked, " that it will rouse the spirit and indigna- tion of the freemen of Kentucky, and induce a sufficient number of them to give their services to their country for a short period." He asked them to rendezvous at Louis- ville on the 1 8th of the month, with thirty days' provisions. " Kentuckians," lit said, " ever pre-eniuient for their patriotism, bravery, and good conduct, will, I am persuaded, on this occasion, give to the world a new evidence of their love of conn- 1 See page 43. ' See page KIT. J page 323. H'ealth and Fatr OF THE WAU OF 1812. 335 Wenltb and Patriutism of Kentacky illuRtrated. Hopkins's £xpedition against Illinois Indians. Insubordination. try, and a determination, at every liazard, to rescue their fellow-men from the mur- ders and devastations of a cruel and barbarous enemy."' This address, as we have seen, was responded to with wonderful alacrity. Hund- reds more than were needed were at Louisville on the appointed day, and were turned back with feelings of the keenest disappointment. One old veteran, who had suf- fered from savage cruelty, and had fought the dusky foe in the early days of Ken- tucky settlement, although greatly chagrined when he found his company rejected, said, " Well, well, Kentucky has often glutted the market with hemp, flour, and to- bacco, and now she has done so with volunteers." This was a truthful exposition, in few words, of the wealth and patriotism of Kentucky. General Samuel Hopkins, under whom the Kentucky Volunteer^ were placed, made his head-quarters at Vincennes. Tlie troops continued to arrive and were mustered into the service from the 21st of September until the 2d of October, when Hopkins, then convalescing after a severe attack of fever, found himself at the head of almost four thousand men, about two thousand of them expert riflemen, on horseback. His little army was speedily organized,^ and on the 10th of September he started with the mounted riflemen for the Indian country by the way of Fort Harrison. The chief design of the expedition was to march an annihilating force upon the principal Kick- ; poo and Peoria Indian villages on the waters of the Illinois River, the former sup- |)Osed to be about eighty miles distant, and the latter one hundred and twenty miles. Hopkins ai^d his two thousand horsemen crossed the Wabash on the afternoon of the 14th,* and iijade their first encampment that night three miles from Fort •October, Harrison. Before them lay magnificent level prairies, covered with tall ^^^^' ijrass, both dry ard green. The guides passed a satisfactory examination as to their knowledge of the route, and the plans of the general were unanimously approved by a council of oflicei's. On resuming the second day's march, every thing promised well excepting the lack of discipline and evident restlessness under restraint manifest- ed by the troops. Indeed, so far as military discipline was concerned, they constituted little more than a vast mob, and it was soon found that every man was disposed to he a law unto himself Every hour of the march revealed to the commanding gen- eral evidences of the fact that his army was as combustible as the dry grass around them, The symptoms of discontent, seen even at Vincennes, now assumed the posi- tive forms of complaint and murmuring. The guides were suspected of ignorance or disloyalty; and food and forage, it was alleged, Avere becoming alarmingly scarce. Finally, while halting on the fourth day's march, a major, whose name is withheld, rode up to the commanding general, and in an insolent manner peremptorily ordered liim to march the troops back to Fort Harrison. Not long afterward a violent wind arose that blew directly toward them, and very soon it Avas discovered that the prairie was on fire at the windward. They saved themselves by burning the grass around their camp. It was believed that this was the work of tlie Indians, and it gave the finishing blow to the expedition. The troops would not march farther. Hopkins called a council of oflicers,'' when it was decided by them to re- turn, as tiieir men were utterly unmanageable. The mortified commander then called for five hundred volunteers to follow hira to the Illinois. Not one re- sponded to his summons. His authority had vanished. They even refused to sub- " October 20. 1 Address of Governor Shelby, issned at Prarkfort September S, 1812. ' Four regiments were at first formed, to be commanded respectively by Colonels Samnel Catdw«11, John Thomas, James Allen, and Yountf Kwlng. ^hese const tnted two brigades, the first to be commanded by General James Ray, M early advcuturer In Kentucky and experienced India: fighter," and the other by General Jonathan Ramsey. After Ibis arrangement was made, another, under r Thus ended an apparently formidable and promis- ing expedition. Yet it was not unfniitful of good. It alarmed the Indians I 'olouel William liassuU'a Letter to Qenaral Qibsou, the acting governor of Indiana, dated "Camp Russell, October 81,1812." Tbe Indians atti OF THE WAR OF 1812. 337 Xhe Indiuua attack a Bnrlal Party. Sufferings of the Kentucky Soldiera. Close of Hopkins's military Career. red and sixty huts, with all their winter provision of corn and beans, were utterly destroyed. It was not until the 21 st that any Indians were discovered. On that day they Bred upon a small party of soldiers, and killed one man. On the following morning sixty horsemen, under Colonels Miller and Wilcox, went out to bury the dead, when they were suddenly attacked by Indians in ambush, and lost eighteen men, killed, ffouiuled, and missing, in the skirmish that ensued.' The rendezvous of the savages, in a strong position on the Wild Cat, was soon discovered, and preparations were made for dislodging tnem, when they decamped and disappeared. The season was far advanced, the cold was increasing, and ice was beginning to form in the river. These circumstances, and the fact that many of the troops, especially the Kentuck- ians were " shoeless and shirtless" — clad in the remnants of their summer clothes, caused an order to be issued on the 25th for a return to Fort Harrison and Vincennes.^ "We all suffered very much," said Pierre La P.'antc, of Vincennes, who was one of the troops, " but I pitied the poor Kentuckians. They were almost naked and bare- foot—only their linen hunting-shirts — the ground covered with snow, and the Wabash freezing up."^ With this more successful expedition ended General Hopkins's military career. In general orders, issued at Vincennes on the 1 8th of December following, he said : "The commander-in-chief now closes his command, and, in all probability, liis military serv- ices forever." Most of the volunteei-s were now discharged, and Illinois and Indiana experienced a season of comparative repose. 1 This detachment was composed of Captain Beckcrs's company of Rangers, a small number of mounted mllltlo, and sfTornl nrmy officers. ! Genernl Hopkins's Lptter to Oovcrnor Shelby, November 27, 1S12. ! Dillon's Uiatory vf Indiana, Note, page 602. 1 ■'\i ;l I lii m y 338 PICTORIAL FIELD-BOOK Impatience oftlie People. Harriaon'8 Difflcultles. He Ik UopcfUl and Chcertni. CHAPTER XVn. "How dread was the conflict, how bloody the fray, Told the banks of the liuiKlu at the dawn of the day ; While the gush from the wounds of the dying and dead Uad thaw'd for the warrior a suow-shecled bod. "But where is the pride that a soldier can feel, To temper with mercy the wrath of the steel, Willie Proctor, victorious, denies to the brave Who had fallen iu battle, the gift of a grave t" LL through the months of October, November, and De- cember,* General Harrison labored incessantly and in- '^''" tensely in making preparations for a winter campaign in the Northwest. The nation was feverish and impatient. I<'iio- rauce of military necessities allowed unjust and injurious cen- sures and criticisms to be made — unjust to the officers and sol- diers in the field, and hijurious to the cause. The desire of the people to recover all that Hull had lost would brook no n- straint, nor listen to any excuse for delay. A winter campaign was demanded, ami Harrison was not a man to shrink from any required duty. He knew that miuli was expected of him ; and day and night his head and hands were at work, with only the intermissions required by the necessity for taking food, indulging in sleep, and tlie observance of the Sabbath. Taking all things into consideration, his task was Herculean, and to some men would have been appalling. He was compelled to create an army out of good but exceedingly crude materials. He was compelled to reconcile many differences and difficulties in order to insure the harmony arisins from perfect discipline. He was compelled to concentrate forces and supplies at some eligible point, like the Rapids of the Maumee, while perplexed with the great- est impediments. His operations were necessarily threefold in character — prepara- tive, offensive, and defensive, in a wilderness filled with hostile savages controlled and supported by British regulars. A frontier, hundreds of miles in extent, must be protected at all hazards from the hatchet and the knife. The season was bceoming more and more inclement. From the fortieth degree of latitude northward (the di- rection of his projected march) was a region of dark forests and black swamps. The autumnal rams had commenced, filling every stream, and making eveiy morass brim- ful of water. Through these, roads and causeways for wagons and pack-horses must be cut and constructed, over which supplies of every kind, with men and artillery, must be conveyed. Block-houses were to be built, magazines of provisions estab- lished, and a vigilant watch kept upon the savages who might prowl upon flanks and rear. All this had to be done with undiscij)lined troops prone to self-reliance and independence, with great uncertainty whether volunteers would swell his army for invasion to the promised dimensions of ten thousand men. Yet, in view of all these labors and difficulties, Harrison was cheerful and hopeful. " 1 am fully sensible of the responsibility invested in me," he wrote to the Secretar)- of War on the 13th of October. "I accepted it Avith full confidence of being able to effect the wishes of the President, or to show unequivocally their impracticability. If ^Be fall should be very dry, ^ will take Detroit before the winter sets in ; but if wo should have much rain, it will be necessary to wait at the Rapids until the Mi- OUectiou fo I OF THE WAR OF 1812. sao OhJectioDS to & Winter Campaign. DMBcuUles of TrauBportatlon. Ooneral Simon Perklna. nmi of the Lake [Maumee, or Miniiii of the Lakes] is sufficiently frozen over to bear tho nriuy and its bagj^age," Nine (lays later Harrison wrote, "I am not able to fix any period for the advance of the troops to Detroit. It is pretty evident tliat it can not be done upon proper iiriiiciples until ihe frost shall become so severe as to enable us to use the rivers and till' margin of the lake for transjxjrtation of the baggage and artillery upon the ice. To i?t't them forward through a swampy wilderness of near two hundred miles, in wagons or on pack-horses, which are to carry their own provisions, is absolutely im- itossible." lie then referred to a suggestion of a Congressman that the possession of Detroit by the enemy would probably be the most effectual bar to the attainment of peace, then hoped for, and observed, " If this were really the case, I would under- t;iljp to recover it with a detachment of the army at any time. A few hundred pack- horses, with a drove of beeves (without artillery or heavy baggage), would subsist the fifteen hundred or two thousand men which I would select for the purpose until the residue of the urmy could arrive. But, having in view offensive operations /ro»t Detroit, an advance of this sort would be premature, and ultimately disadvantageous. No species of supplies are calculated on being founeen sold by the State of Connectl- int, the now proprietors Invited Mr. Perliins to explore the domain, and report a plan for the sale and settlement of the lands. He went to Ohio for that purpose in the sjiring of 1708. lie spent the summer there in the performance of the duties of his agency, and returned to Connecticut in the autumn. This excursion and these duties were repeated by liim for several successive summers. He Unaily married in 1804, and settled on tlie "Reserve" at Warren. So ex- tensive were the land agencies intrusted to him, that in 1S16 the state land-tax paid by him into the public treasury was one seventh of the entire revenue of the state. Mr. Perkins was the first post-master on the "ReserN-e," and to him the post-master general intrusted the arrangement of post-offlces In that region. For twenty-eight j-ears he re- ceived and merited the confidence of the department and the people. At the request of the govcrnmcut, in 1S07 he established expresses through the Indian country to Detroit. His efforts led to the treaty of Brownsville lu tho autumn 01 ISOS, wheu the Indians ceded lands for a road from the " Reserve" to the Maumee, or Miami of the Lukes. In May otlliat year he was commissioned a brigadier general of militia, in the division commanded by Major Ocneral Wads- worth. On hearing of the disaster to Hull's army at Detroit, be Issued orders to his colonels to prepare tbclr regiments foracllve duty. To him was assigned the duty of protecting a large portion of the Northwestern frontier. "To the ore of Brigadier General Simon Perkins I commit yon," said Wadsworth on parting with the troops of the Renerve, '■ wli(/wlll be your commander and your friend. In his integrity, skill, and courage, we all have the utmost confidence." He was exceedingly active. His scouts were out, far and near, continually. His public accounts were kept with the greatest clean ess and accuracy for more than forty years. " No two officers In the public service at that time," testifies the Honorab'.'Ellsha Whittlesey, "were more energetic or economical than Generals Harrison andPerkins." When, In IS13, General Harrison was sufflclently re-enforced to dispense with Perkins's command, he left the service [February iS, 1SI3], bearing the highest encomiums of the commander-in-chief of the Army of the Northwest. President Madl- nn, at the miggestlon of Harrison and others, sent him the commission of colonel In the regular army, but duty to his ramil; and the demands of a greatly increasing business caused him to decline it. General Perkins was Inirusted with the arrangement and execution, at the head of a commission, of the extensive ca- nal system of Ohio. From 18311 nntlll33S he was an active member of the " Board of Canal Fund Commissioners." They were under no bonds and received no pecuniary reward. In the course of about seven years they issued and sold state bonds for the public improvements to the amonnt of four and a half millions of dollars. Among the remnrkailte'men who settled the " Western Reserve," Qeueral Simon Perkins ever held ontf of the most conspicuous places, and his in- fhience in social and moral life Is felt In that region to this day. He died at Warren, Ghlo, on the 19th of Nbvember, 19H. His widow long survi>ed him. She died at the same place In April, 1862. To their son, Joseph Perkins, Esq., of Cleveland, I am Indebted for the materials for this brief sketch, and the llkeue^u of the patriot on the uest page. 1 ^^^■m ::f| jll N I i ■ I li'i ii;!-, i J^A 1 840 PICTORIAL FIELD-BOOK DlTiiloDS of the Army of tbe Northwest. Employment of the Troop*. The Weiteru ReMrri, Tuppcr's brigade, that wan to move on Iliiirs road, by Fort M'Arthur, waH called the centre ; and the KentuckianH under Winehester were styled the left wing. Tlie Virginia and Pennsylvania troops were emj)loyed in escorting the artillery and military stores toward Ujjper San- dusky; the Ohio troops conveyed pro- visions from Alanary's IJlock-housc, near the liead of the Great Miami, twenty miles north of Urbana, to Forts M'Arthur and Findlay, on IIulPs road; while the Ken- tuckians were traversing the swamps of the St. Mary and the An Glaize, and de- scending those rivers in small craft, lo carry provisions to Fort Winchester (De- fiance) on the left wing.^ Northwestern Ohio, particularly the settlements on the WcaterTi liescrve,^ had been alive with excitement and patriotic zeal during all the autumn, and General Wadsworth, com- ,^5k- — mander of the 4th Division of f/VV^ * the Ohio jNIilitia (the boundaries sT^^/^^^^^-ytn of which comprised the counties of Jefferson and Turnbull, thus embracing at least one third of the state) was continually, vigilantly, and efficiently employed in the i)romotion of measures for the defense of the frontier from the Maumee to Erie, and for the recovery of Michigan. In politics General Wadsworth was a Democrat of the Jefferson school. He had watched with interest and indignation the course of Great Britain for many years, and when the Congress of the nation de- clared war against her, hC' rejoiced in the act as a righteous and necessary one. He had been an active soldier of the Revolution,^ and now, when his country needed his ' M'Afce, pages 103, 104. » The charter of Conncctlcnt, granted In 1602, covered the country ft-om Rhode Island, or, as expressed, " Nnmiffan- set River," on the east, to the Pacific on the west. When NowYorlc, New Jersey, and PcniiBylvania claimed dominion above the line of the southern boundary of the province, difflculties appeared. These were disposed of. \\\ nso tlic State of Connecticut ceded to the United States all tiic lands within tlie charter limits westward of Pennsylvania, ex- cepting a tract one hundred and twenty miles in lengtli westward, adjoining that state. The cession was accepted. This was called the CmvnaAimt, or HVjitern Reserve ; and many settlers went tlierc from the State of Connecticut. A p.irt of the Reserve, containing half a million of acres, was granted by the state to the Inhabitants of New London, Fnir- field, and Norwalk, whose property had been burnt by the British during tbe Revolr.tion. This was known as Tlie. firt Landu. The remainder of the Reserve was sold in 1T06, and the proceeds of the sale were devoted to the formation of the present school fhud of Connecticut. ' Elijah Wadsworth was boru in Hartford, Connecticut, on the 4th of November, 1T4T, and became a resident of Litcb- field before the Revolution. After the battle of Bunker's Hill he volunteered to go to Boston, but his purpose was frustrated, when he eugaged heartily in raising Colonel Elisha Sheldon's troop of light-horsemen. He was commis- sioned a lieutenant of the company of which Benjamin Tallmadge was captain. He served with zeal during the entire war. He commanded tbe guard in whose custody Major Andrd was placed immediately after his arrest. Wadsworth was a man of great energy. He went early to Ohio, ard was part owner of the " Western Reserve." He made his residence at Canfleld, Ohio, iii 1802, and was always a leading man in that section of tbe new state, and waa Ellritisli and their savage allies. Alread . citizens of the region adja- cent to Canfield had formed a corps of (IragnoTia, under Captain James Dowd. This company was ordered into the serv- ice; and so pronii)tly did it respond to the call, that by noon the following day (Sun- (lav, August 23d, 1812), it was on its march toward Cleveland as an honorary escort V. vient In the organization of the crude material of pioneer life Into well-balanced Boclcty, the eetabllohment of HU aid wac CHdcntlal In the cstabllBhmcnt of the state Kovcnimcnt, and when the milltln waB enrolled he .1 major general of the 4th nivlslon. In that office he was found when war broke out In 1812. IUb ncrvlces ,ir are recorded In the text. On his tomb-stone at Cinnflcld are the following words : " Major General Elijah ,, „i-H()rth moved Into Caufleld In October A.D. 1802, and died Deccmbtr 30, 1817, aged 70 years, 1 month, and 17 days." 1 Elislia Whittlesey was born In LltchHeld County, Connecticut, on the IHth of October, 1783. Ills father, a practical farmer, was a member of the Connecticut Legislature seventeen consecutive sessions, and was a member of the Htaie I'oiivenllDn that ratiflcd the Constitution of the I'nited States. The subject of this brief memoir was a pupil of Rev. Thomiii! Robbins, of Daubury, Connecticut, who died only a few years ago, and also of the eminent Moses Stnart, of .Andovcr. He studied law, and was admitted to practice at Fairfield in the winter of 1805. He commenced practice at NewMilford, but in June, iwx!, he emigrated to Ohio, and settled at Canfield, Tumbull County, which place was his liiime when in private life. In the autumn of that year he was admitted to practice in the Supreme Court of Ohio, and .It the llrst session of the Court of Common Pleas thereafter he was appointed prosecuting attorney, which office he held fistcen years. When the war broke out he was appointed aid to General Wadsworth. On the retirement of General Wadsworth from the service, Mr. Whittlesey was appointed brigade major in General Simon Perkins's corps, and was viith lli:it officer during the remainder of his campaign in Northern Ohio in 1S1'2-'1.1. He was sent by General Harrison from the Rupids of the Maumcc, after the defeat of General Winchester at the Raisin, to ask the Legislature of Ohio to pass a law providing for the payment of Buch Ohio troops as should remaiu in service after their time of cullstnieut (houlrt expire. He was successful. Mr. Whittlesey resumed his profession after the v.-aii He served as a member of the Ohio Legislattire from 1S20 to hit incluBlve, when he was elected to Congress, in which he served fourteen consecutive years. During all that time he Kss a member of the Committee on Claims, ftiU one half of that time its chairman, and was never absent, excepting on public busiuess, but for one day, for which, in the settlement of his accounts, he deducted the sum of eight dollars— a (laj'a salary ! President Harrison appointed him auditor of the treasury of the Post-office Department iu March, 1S41. lie resigned it iu 1S43. President Taylor appointed him comptroller of the tirasury in .Tune, 1849. He oflbred his re- (isQiition tu President Pierce, but that gentleman, knowing the value of an honest man in that responsible station, would not accept it. In March, 18,^7, he tendered his resignation to President Buchanan. He accepted it In May, flay- in?, "The Lord knows I do not wish yon to resign at all." On the 10th of April, ISdl, President Lincoin called him from his home to occupy the same responsible position. He cheerfully responded to the call of his country, although MTeaty-eight years of age, and faithfully discharged the duties of his office until a few days before his death, which occurred on Wcduesday, the 7th day of .January, 1863, when in the eightieth year of his age. ' Canfield, the capital of Mahoning County, Ohio, was then the residence of General Wadsworth, and also of Hr. ^Vhittlcsey. 'Itcimelnthe form of aletterwrlttenby AlfredKclley, and slgnedby twelveothercitiiens ofClevelsnd. B.Fitch, o( Ellsworth, was the bearer of It. i V ■ 1 1 'I II .142 riCTOIlIAL FIKLD-nOOK Troop* welcomed to C'levelnnd. KnerKjr ofUnnaml Wadiwortb. DlitrcM on the Halilo HWtr. for the commanding general. Thoy marclu'd by the wny of IIiidBon,' twcnty-fivo milon •AtiBUit, from iMovoliind, ami hn'aktiiNtoil t lion*, at ()viatt'H,on tlio morning of t lie 'j uli.» ""''• Soon afliT n'Huming tlicir marcli tlioy met Homo of IIuII'h paroii'd arniy, wlm had boon iandod from UritiNli boats at Clovoland. Tiioir HtorioH incroaHod the hinii,. oauHod by Htartling rumorH, and many of tlio iiiliabitantH along thu laku were t|(.(.. ing from tlioir liomos eastward or toward tiie Ohio, to avoid the ap|»relien(h'(l (in- coming ovilH. Wadsworth tried to allay the excitement, but it was rolling over tlic frontier in an almost resistless flood. When tho cavalcade entered (!levelniid thai afternoon at four o'clock, it created great joy atnong tlie few inhabitants there. Two or three hours later Cohmel Cass arrived at Cleveland from Detroit on his way tu Washington City, and at tho request of (Jenoral Wadsworth lie was accompanied tu tho seat of government by ex-govemor Samuel Huntington, then at Cleveland," ns bearer of an important letter to the Se<'retary of War. Jn that lettiir Wadsworlli informed the secretary that he had cidle . . I" . 1 5 ul OP THE WAR OF 1818. 848 KMnAirccmcnti for lUrtk to Dttrolt nspradad. Atunpttd Lodgmant at thu Miiuiikm' KhiiUIk (iencral Hfiizin Hciill' wiih uIho rraiirc nearly cdniplcttMl, wlion WatlMworlh received ilihuatclu'H from tlic Sccn-tary of War Haying that tho IVowidont intended t<> adopt tho moHt vigorouH int'UMunfS "to rt'pair tlio diHaHtcrH ut Detroit," and to proHccuto with inereaHed ardor tlu' important ohjeetH of tlie eanii)ai},'n. WadHwortli waw di- recti'd to forward litloen hundred men to the frontier an (piiei^" there, at the name time promiHing an a*le<|iiato mipply of arniH and ammunition. Arrani^ementH for the movement w«'re npeetlily nuuU', and Perkins and Heail, wlio liad i)een em- ployed l»y (lovernor MeijjH in openinjj a road from Manntiehl, in the interior of Ohio (now capital of liieldand ('ounty), to Lower SanduHky, were onh'red toward the lat- ter plaoe. Some* elanhinn of authority between Wadu worth and Aleij^H, and Hoin(* compliiiiits concerning afi'airH in tlie region bordering on F.ake Erie, cauHcd IlarriHon, will) (iiH we Iiave Heen) was made commander-in-chief of the NorthwcHtern Army, to niiiko a jK'rHonal examination of matterw there toward the cIohc of ()«'■»"" •'" OP THE WAR OF 1812. 345 SerTic«« of Captain Logan. UiB Death, Wa-pagli-ko-nettu and its notable Indiana. At about this ti' le the American service in the Northwest lost a valuable friend. It was the settled policy of the government not to employ the Indians in war, but there were occasions when exceptions to the rule became a necessity. It was so in Ohio. There was an active, intelligent, and influential cliief, a nephew of Tecum- tha (son of his sister), who, when a boy, having been captured by General John Lo- ffan of Kentucky, receivetl that gentleman's nam.c, and bore it through life. His wife iiad also been a captive to a Kentuckian (Colonel Hardin), and both felt a warm at- tachment to the white people. Major Hardin (then in tlio Army of the Northwest, and son of Colonel Hiirdin) and Logan were true friends, and highly esteemed each otiier. Logan had iiiuch influence with liis tribe, and when the war broke out he asked for employment in the American service. It was granted, because he might have been made an enemy. He accompanied Hull to Detroit, .ind was exceedingly active as a scout. We have also §een that Harrison employed liim on a mission to Fort Wayne. Soon after the return of Tupper from the Kapids, Logan and his followers were sent toward that post to reconnoitre. They met a strong opposing party, and, to save themselves, scattered in every direction. Captain Logan, with two friends (Captains John and Bright Horn), made liis way to Winchester's camp, whore he re- lated their adventures. His fidelity was ungenerously suspected, and ue was believed to be a spy. His pride and every sentiment of manliood were deeply wounded by the suspicion, and he resolved to vindicate his character by actions rather tlian by words. He started" with his two friends for the Kapids, with the de- 'November 22, termination to bring in a prisoner or a scalp. They had not gone far wlien ^^^^" tliev were made prisoners themselves by a son of Colonel Elliott and some Indians, among whom was Win-ne-meg, or Win-ne-mac — the Pottawatomie chief who bore Hull's dispatch from Fort Wayne to Chicago.' He was now an ally of the British. He knew Logan well, and rejoiced in being the captor of an old enemy. The latter resolved to m.ake a desperate effbrt for liberty. His companions were made to un- derstand significant signs, and at a concerted signal they attacked their captors. Logan shot Win-ne-meg dead. Elliott and a young Ottawa chief were also slain. Logan was badly wounded, so was Bright Horn ; but they leaped upon the backs of horses of the enemy and cscai)ed to Winchester's camp. Captain Jolin followed tiic next morning with the scalp of the Ottuwa. Logan's honor and fidelity were fully vindicated, but at the cost of Ids life — his wound was mortal. After he had siittered great agony for two days, his spirit returned to the Great ]\Iaster of Life. I'luctor had oftered, it is said, one hundred and fifty dollars for his scalp. It was never taken from his head. His body was carried in mournful procession, by Major Hardin and others, to Wa-pagh-ko-netta,^ where liis family resided, and was buried ' Sec page B05. > This is n Bninll villngo in Allen County, Ohio, on the An Glaize Blver, abont ten miles from St. Mary. After the Shawnoc?e were driven from Piqun by General Clark in USO, they cetabllshed a village here, and named it Wa-pagh- lio-Dctta, in honor of a chief of that name. Colonel ,Iohn Johnston informed me that he knew the chief well. Ue said ho hart a club-foot, and thinks the name had some relation to that deformity. Colonel .Johnston resided at Wa-pngh- lio-iietta for some time. The Society of Friends, or (Jnakers, had u mission there for a nnmber of years. It was the home of Blue Jacket, spoken of in onr account of the invasi(m of the country by Wayne, in 17'.)4. Buckongahelos also ro'iiloil there ; also the ceiohrated Black Hoof, who was a native of Florida, whose birthplace was on the Suwancc. He rcmcml)ered the removal of that tribe from their southern liome to the fofosts of Pennsylvania and Ohio. He was at the defeat of Braddock in ITRB. In all the wars with the white people in his region, from that time until the treaty of Greenville in 1706, he was a popular leader, and could always command as many men for the war-path as he desired, lie WHS a party to the treaty at Oreenvllle, and was ever faithful to his pledges there made. Tccnmtho could not se- duce liim, and ho was the faithful friend of the Americans in the war with Great Britain which we are now considering. A few weeks after the burial of Logan (January, 1S131, lie visited General Tuiiper's camp at Fort M'Arthur. While fiitiiii,' by the tiro with the general, a scoundrel militia-man, Colonel Johnston informed me, flred a i)i9tol ball at him iliM«;;h the l()i;s of the block-house, which entered his check, passed through his mouth, cut off his palate, and lodged in his nock. lie would never have the ball removed, but would call the children to feel of It, and then wonid tell them "f his wrongs. Colonel Johnston gave him a healing plaster for his wound in the form of a bank-note of the denomi- nation of one hundred dollars. Colonel Johnston says he was one of the most jwrfectly formed men he ever saw. Ue «a« naturnlly clieerfnl and good-natured. Ue lived with hla wife faithfully for forty years. Hie statnre was amall, and Ills eyesight remained perfect during his whole life. \ t. if! 346 PICTORIAL FIELD-BOOK liiWil M i I Expedition nKainxt Hiamia and Delawarea. FricndB to be spared. Campbell on the MiBslseiniwa. there with mingled savage rites and military honors. The scalp of the slain Ottawa raised upon a pole, was carried in the funeral procession and then taken to the coun- cil-house. Logan's death was mourned as a public calamity, for he Avas one of the most intelligent, active, and trustworthy of Harrison's scouts. At this time the Miamis, nearly all of whom had become wedded to the interests of the British, were assembled, with some Delawares from White River, in towns on the Mississiniwa, a tributary of the Wabash, fifteen or twenty miles from its conflu- euce with the latter stream, near the boundary-line between the present Wabash and Grant Counties, Indiana. They were evidently there for hostile purposes, and (ivn- cral Harrison resolved to destroy or disperse them. He detached for the purpose Lieutenant Colonel John B. Campbell, of the Nineteenth Regiment of L^nited States Infantry,' composed mainly of Colonel Simrall's regiment of Kentucky dragoons ; a squadron of United States volimteer dragoons, commanded by Major James V. Bail' and a corps of infantry, consisting of Captain Elliott's company of the Nineteenth United States Regiment, Butler's Pittsburg Blues, and Alexander's Pennsylvania Riflemen. A small company of spies and guides were attached to the expedition, Campbell left Franklinton, the head-quarters of the Army of the Northwest on the 25th of Novembei", with his troops, instructed by Harrison to march for the Jlis- sissiniwa by way of Springfield, Xenia, Dayton, Eaton, and Greenville, so as to avoid the Delaware towns. He was also instructed to save, if he could do so without risk to the expedition, Chiefs Richardville (then second chief of the Miamis), Silver Heels and the White Lion, all of which, with Pecan, the principal chief of the Miamis, and Charley, the leader of the Eel River tribe, were known to be friendly to the white people. The son and brother of Little Turtle were also to be saved, if possible; also old Godfroy and his wife, who were true friends of the Americans. It was the middle of December before the expedition left Dayton, on account of delay in procuring horses. Their destination was eighty miles distant. Each sol- dier was required to carry twelve days' rations, and a bushel of corn for foraste, The ground was hard frozen and covered with snow, and the weather was intensely cold, yet they marched forty miles the first two days. On the third they made a forced march, and during that day and night they advanced another forty miles. when they reached the Mississiniwa, and fell upon a town inhabited by a number of Miamis and Delawares. Eight warriors were slain, and eight others, with thirty- two women and children, were made prisoners. The town was laid in ashes with the exception of two houses, which were left for the shelter of the captives. Cattle and other stock were slaughtered. Campbell left the ])ri8oners in charge of a sufficient guard, and pushed on down the river three miles to Silver Ileels's village with Simrall's and Ball's dragoons. It was deserted ; so also were two other towns near. These were destroyed, with many cattle. They captured several horses, and with these and a very small quantity of corn they returned to the scene of their first victory, and encamj)ed for the night on the shore of the Mississiniwa. The camp was about two hundred yards square, and fortified with a small redoubt at each angle. The infan<^ry and rifiemen v/ere posted in front, on the bank of the river. Captain Elliott's company on the right, Butler's in the centre, and Alexander's on the left. Major Ball's squadron occupied the right BIacIc Hoof was often nolicd to sing the sonpB of the wornhlp of hlfl people, but notliinj; couM Induce him to do w. He wonld not even repeat the words to the white man. Hie was like the refusal of the Hebrew niptlvc lo riii;; llic Bongs of Zion on the hanks of the rivers of Babylon. Black Hoof was the principal chief of the Shawnoese for many years before his death, which occurred at Wa-pagh-ko-netta about the year 1>-:I0, at the age, it was believed, of ooe hundred and ten years. ' John B. Oampbcil was a native of Virginia, and nephew of Colonel CampbcM, who was dlslingnished at the bntlle of King's Mountain in 1780. He was commissioned jleutenaiit colonel of the Nlnelecnth Regiment of Infantry in March, 1*^12. For his good conduct In the e!t)ieditlon mentioned above he was breveted a colonel. In April, IS14, hf was commissioned a colonel in the Eleventh Infantry, and was dlstinguihhed and severely wounded in Ihe bnlllf nt Chippewa on the 5th of Jaly following. He died of bis wounds on the 38th of August, 1814. Attack on Campb and one half the rear line. ing. Major At inidnig doTVTi the riv at four o'cloc officers to a going on twe there. Whih the camp wf furious attack of the river, formed, and t upon the angl right of Capta manded at tlu the lines. Th rear. The Pii kept the sava: terminated, be burg cor])s, an Johnson, when the field. Can latter aflerwar killed. What supposed that 1 .leld. Little T lormed great s gallant deeds. ; their army on t the prisoners young warriors Rumors reac nr six hundred nut calling a c( lie sent a mess expected to be was a dreadful They moved si the camp was they met provi was timely and three hundred i Ureenville. Mc wilderness were I'rrand, but at a I Joeeph Markic, aft ' Lieiiteiiant Cohmei mo US: Dillon's //|-« "fll wilt a brief dlsp, ISlh, and addressed frc ' "I have on thisoc( 'il. Among the fornif »ai> from Zanesville • itrough the head. On OF THE WAR OF 1812. 347 Attack on Campbell's Camp. A desperate Fight. DistressiDg Retreat to QreenriUe. Slid one half of the rear line, and Colonel Simrall's regiment the left and other half of tk rear line. Hetween Ball's right and Simrall's left there was a considerable open- iii(r. Major Ball was the officer of the day. At midnight the sentinels reported the presence of Indians, and a fire was seen down the river. The greatest vigilance was exercised, and the reveille was beaten at four o'clock in the morning. Adjutant Payne immediately summoned the Held officers to a council at the fire of the commander to consult upon the propriety of (Toinf on twelve miles farther down the river, to attack one of the principal towns there. While the officers were in council, half an hour befo>'e dawn,* . December is the camp was startled by terrific yells, followed immediately by a i**^- furious attack of a large body of savages who had crept stealthily along the margin of the river. Every officer flew to his post, antl in a few moments the lines were formed, and the Indians were confronted with a heavy fire. The attack was made upon the angle of the camp, formed by the left of Captain Hopkins's troops and the liffht of Captain Garrard's dragoons of Simrall's regiment. Captain Pierce, who com- manded at the redoubt there, was shot and tomahawked, and his guard retreated to the lines. The conflict soon became general along the right flank and part of the rear. The Pittsburg Blues promptly re-enforced the point assailed, and gallantly kept tlie savages at bay. For an hour the battle raged furiously. It was finally terminated, between dawn and sunrise, by a well-directed fire from Butler's Pitts- Imr" corps, and desperate charges of cavalry under Captains Trotter, Markle,' and Jolinson, when the Indians fled in dismay, leaving fifteen of their warriors dead on the field. Campbell had lost eight killed and forty-two wounded. Several of the latter afterward died of their wounds.^ Campbell had one hundred and seven horses killed. What the whole loss of the Indians was could not be ascertained, but it is supposed that they carried away as many mortally wounded as they left dead on the .ieki. Little Thunder, a nephew of Little Turtle, Avas in the engagement, and per- formed great service in inspiring his people with confidence by stirring Avords and gallant deeds. Although Silver Heels, a friend of the Americans (and who was with their army on the Niagara frontier the following year), was not present, nearly all of the prisoners were of his band. He did every thing in his power to persuade his young warriors to remain neutral, but in vain. Rumors reached Campbell immediately after the battle that Tecumlha, with five or six hundred warriors, was on the Mississiniwa, only eighteen miles below. With- out calling a council, the commander immediately ordered a retreat for Greenville. He sent a messenger (Captain Ilite) thither for re-enforeements and supplies, for he expected to be attacked on the way. Fortunately the savages did not pursue. It was a dreadful journey, especially for the sick and wounded, in that keen winter air. They moved slowly, for seventeen men had to be conveyed on litters. Every night the cnmp Avas fortified by a breastwork. At length, wearied and with little food, they met provisions with an escort of ninety men under Major Adams. The relief was timely and most grateful. All moved forward together, and on the 26th, with three hnndred men so frostbitten as to be unfit for duty, the expedition arrived at Greenville. More than one half the corps that a month before had gone gayly to the wilderness were now lost to the service for a while. They had accomplished their errand, but at a great cost.^ The commander-in-chief of the army of the Northwest, ' Joseph Markle, afterward a dlRtlnpnlshed citizen of Pennsylvania. He died In IMT. = Ueiiteimnt ODlonel CnmpbellV official report U) General Harrison, dated at Greenville, Decemher«6th, 1R12 : M'Afee, paco lis : Dillon's Ujntnqi i}f Imliava, page BIO ; Thompson's Sketches f{f the War, page fi-2. Llciilennnt Colonel Camp- iiell eciit a brief dispatch to Harrison on the momlnpj after the battle, misdated December 12th instead of December ISlh, and addressed from " Two miles above Silver Heels." ' " I have on this occasion," wrote ( 'ainpbell to Harrison, " to lament the loss of several brave men and many wound- fit. Amnns the former are Captain PIcrcp, of the Ohio Volnntcers, and Lientenanl Walt/,, of Markle's troops. Pierce was fmm Znnesvllle ; I.ienlcnant Waltz was of the Pennsylvania corps. He was first shot throiich the arm, and then ihroisjih the head. Captain Trotter was wounded in the head." Lieutenant Colonel Campholl hlp^hly commended these mt^*- .|, ,! ^'^f^'^mm^g^ 348 PICTORIAL FIELD-BOOK Qood Effects of th« Chastisement of the Indians. Safferings and Difflcultles of Harrison's Army. Waste of norees in a general order, congratulated Lieutenant Colonel Campbell on his success and commended him for his obedience to orders, his gallantry, and his magnanimity.' Tiiose e-Ypeditions against tlie savages produced salutary effects, and smoothed the way for the final recovery of Michigan. They separated the friends and enemies of the Americans effectually. The line between them was distinctly drawn. 'I'liere were no middle-men left. The Delawares on the White River, and others who de- sired to be friendly, and who had been invit(!d to settle on the Au Glaize in Ohio now accepted the invitation.^ The other tribes, who had cast their lot with the li\\[. ish, were made to feel the miseries of war, and to repent of their folly. So Kcvere had been the chastisement, and so alarmed were the tribes farther nortli, who re- ceived the fugitives from tlie desolated villages on the Wabash and the Illinois at the close of 1812, that Tecumtha's* dream of a confederacy of Indians that should drive the white man across the Ohio was rapidly fading as he awoke to the reality of an unsuspected power before him, and the folly of putting his trust in princes— in other words, relying upon tiie promises of the representatives of the sovereignty of * England to aid liim in his patriotic schemes. Before the war was fairly commenced the spirits of the Indians, so buoyant because of the recent misfortunes of the Amer- icans in the Nortinvest, were broken, and doubt and dismay filled the minds of all excepthig those who were under the immediate command and influence of tiie threat Shawnoese leader. As winter came on the suffering;? and difficulties of Harrison's invading army were terrible, especially that of the left wing imder Winchester, which was the most ad- vanced, and the most remote from su])plies. Early in November typhus fever was slaying three or four of hi- small command daily, and thi-ee hundred were upon the sick-list at one time. So discouraging became the prospect at the begiiming of De- cember of reaching even the Rapids, that, having proceeded abnut six miles below the Au Glaize, Winchester, partly from necessity and partly to deceive the eiiemv, ordered huts to be built for the winter shelter of the troops. Clothing was seantv, and at times the whole corps Avould be Avithout flour for several days. These pri- vations were owing chiefly to the difficulty of transportation. The roads were wretched beyond the conception of those who have not been in that region at the same season of the year. It was swamp, swamp, swamp, with only here and there a strip of terra Anna in plight almost as wretched. The pack-horses sank to their knees, and wagon-wheels to their hubs in the mud. Wasting weariness fell upon man and beast in the struggle, and the destruction of horses Avas prodigious. "The fine teams which arrived on the 10th at Sandusky with the artillery," wrote Ilarri- Bon to the Secretary of War on the 12tli of December, " are entirely Avorn down; and two trips from M'Arthur's block-house, our nearest deposit to the Rapids, will com- pletely destroy a brigade of pack-horses." It was sometimes found imj)ossible to get even empty wagons through the mire, and they were abandoned, the teamsters heins glad to get out with their horses alive; and sometimes tlie quarter-master, tnkini; advantage of suddenly frozen mud, would send off a quantity of provisions, which offlcerp, also Lieutenant Colonel Slmrall, Mijor M'Donnell, Cnptnlns Ilite and Smith, and Captains Markle, M'Clolland, Garrard, nud IIopkliiH. Lieutenants Hedges, Bnsyp, and Hlikman were amon^; the wounded. • ' " It is with the slncerest pleasure," said General Uarrison, in a general order, " that the general has heard thattht most punctual obedience was paid to his orders in not only saving all the women and children, but in sparing all Hie warriors who ccised to resist, and that, even when vigorously attacked by the enemy, the claims of mercy prcvnilrd over every sense of their own danger, and this heroic band respected the lives of their ])risonere. Let im account of murdered innocence he opened in the records of Ileavcn against our enemies aioue. The American soldier will follow the example of his government, and the sword of the one will not be raised against the fallen and tlie hclplesf, nor the gold of the other be paid for the scalps of a massacred enemy." ' The Delawares had emlgrnted from Pennsylvania about fifty years before, wiiere they had had an acquaintance with the white people for as long a period under the most favorable circumstjinces. They had experienced the justice and kindness of William Penn and his immediate successors. They were settled on the Au OInize, about half Hvy Ix"- tweeji Pirinii and Wa-pagh-ko-nctta. Some of them went farther east, and settled on the banks of the Scioto, within the limits of the present Delaw.ire country, whoso name is derived from these Indiana. Buckiiiigahelos, already meu- tioned, and an eminent chief named Kill-buck, were of this tribe. Tmosportatlon In I i'iW' "W» OF THE WAE OF 1812. 849 jnunportatlon In the Wilderiiess. HariiHOD's Instractiuns. The effective Force in the Northwent. would be swamped and lost by a sudden thaw. Water transportation was quite as diflicult. Sometimes the streams would be too low for loaded boats to navigate ; then they would be found crooked, narrow, and obstructed by logs ; and again sud- den cold would produce so much ice that it would be almost impossible to move for- ward. Then sleds would be resorted to until a thaw would drive the precious freight to floating vessels again, Such is a glimpse of the difficulties encountered in that wilderness of Northern Ohio; but it affoi'ds a faint idea of the hardships of the little invading army trying to make its way toward Detroit. All this was endured by the patriotic soldiers without scarcely a murmur. Ill view of all these difficulties, the enormous expense of transportation, and the advantages wliieh dishonest contractors were continually taking, Harrison suggested to the War Department, at about the middle of December, that if there existed no urcent political necessity for the recovering of Michigan and the invasion of Canada during the winter, the amount of increased expenditure of transportation at that sea- son of the year might be better applied to the construction of a small fleet that should command the waters of Lake Erie — a suggestion made by Hull, but little heeded, ear- ly in the year.' The response came from the pen of a new head of the War Depart- ment. Dr. Eustis* had resigned, and James Monroe, the only man in the cabinet who had experienced actual military service, had succeeded him. With a more perfect knowledge of military affiiirs, he better comprehended the character of the campaign ; and, having perfect confidence in the commander-in-chief of the Northwestern Army, he reiterated the instructions of his predecessor to Harrison, directing him to conduct the campaign according to his own judgment, promising, at the same time, that the toverument would take immediate measures for securing the command of Lake Eiie. Only on two points were positive instructions given : First, in the event of penetrat- iiisr Canada, not to promise the inhabitants any thing but the protection of life, lib- Ht V, and property ; and, secondly, not to make any temporary acquisitions, but to pro- aid 80 surely that any position which he might obtain would be absolutely permanent. Early in December a detachment of General Perkins's brigade reached Lower San- dusky (now Fremont, Ohio), and repaired an old stockade there which had protected ;in Indian store. The remainder of the brigade arrived soon afterward. On the 10th a l)attalion of Pennsylvania troops made their appearance there, Avith twenty-one pieces of artillery, which had been escorted from Pittsburg by Lieutenant Hukill. Very soon a*"terward a regiment of the same troops and part of a Virginia brigade arrived, speedily followed by General Hai-rison, who made his head-quarters there on the 20th. He remained but a little while. There he received the second dispatch [Deceraher 25th] from Lieutenant Colonel Campbell, givuig a more detailed account ofiiis expedition to the Mississiniwa. Harrison at once repaired to Chillicothe to consult with Governor Meigs on the propriety of fitting out another expedition in the same direction, to complete the work begun by destroying the lower Mississini- wa towns. The project was abandoned. The whole effective force in the Northwest did not exceed six thousand three hundred infantry,' am' a small artillery and cavalry force; yet Harrison determined 1 See page 251. ' William Enstis was bom in Cambridge, MiiBflachusetts, on the lOtli of June, 1T63. College at the af;c of nineteen, and chose the practice of medicine for hi! profession . He entered the Con- tlneolal Army of the Revoiution as irfgimental snrReon, and served in llist capacity dnring the war. lie He was graduated at Ilartard r^.jhj. was at the Robinson HouHe, oppo- site West Point, while Arnold occu- pied it as his head -quarters. He commenced the practice of his pro- fession at Boston at the close of the lie was an ardent iiolitician, imd was a representative of Massachnsetts in the National Conjrress, of tlie Repnblicnn party, f^om ISOl till Iso.'S. Presl- tal Madison appointed him Secretary of War in 1809, and he retained the offlce until the autumn of ISliJ, when he re- i tisnei). He was appointed minister In Holland in 1R14. After his return he was chosen to a seat in Congress ai;ain, which he held for nearly two terms from 1820. In 1823 he was chosen governor of Massachusetta. He was then sev- nlj years nfaice. He died in 1826, while holding that office, in the geventy-eecond year of bis age. ' Harrison's Letter to the Secretary of War, January 4, 1S13. m I 4" l"lf!-,JII 350 PICTORIAL* FIELD-BOOK H r t' iiW PMIt HovemenU ordered. Tbu Minion and SufTeriuga of Captain Combs. The Army at the Maumce Hapld,. to press forward to the Kapids, and beyond if possible. From Lower Sandusky he dispatched Ensign Cliarles S. Todd, tlien division judge advocate of the Kintuckv troops, to communicate instructions to Wincliester. He was accompanied by twii wliite men and three Wyandottes. He bore oral instructions from General Har- rison to General Winchester, directing the latter to advance toward the Ilaijids when he should have accumulated twenty days' provisions, and there conniuncf building huts, to deceive the enemy into the belief that he intended to winter tiiere- at the same time to prepare sleds for an advance toward Maiden, but to conceal from his troopd their intended use. He was also to inform Winchester that the difftTcnl lines of the army would be concentrated at the Kapids, and all would proceed from thence toward Maiden, if the ice on the Detroit Riv< • should be found strong enoiich to bear them. Young Todd performed this danfious and didicate duty with such success that he received the highest commendatiniis of his general. Meanwhile Leslie Combs, another Kentuckian, a brave and spirited young man of scarcely nineteen years, who had joined Winchester's army as a volunteer on its march from Fort Wayne to Defiance, had been sent by Winchester to Harrison on an errand fraught with equal peril. He bore a dispatch to Harrison comniunicatin" the fact that tlie left wing had moved toward tlie Kapids on the 30th of DecoinlKr. Combs traversed the pathless wilderness on foot, accompanied by a single guide (A. Ruddle), through snow and water, for at least one hundred miles, enduring iiri- vations which almost destroyed him. He, too, performed his mission so gallantly and satisfactorily that his general thanked him. These two messengers, who passed each other in the mazes of the great Black Swamp fifty years ago — young, ambitious, m- triotic, and daring — performed other excellent service during the war, as we shall have occasion to observe. Combs and Todd are still [1867] living; both residents of Kentucky, enjoying a green old age, and wearing the honors of their countrvV gratitude. I had the pleasure of meeting them both during 1861, and listening to interesting narrations of their experiences in that war. Portraits and biograj)hical sketches of these heroes may be found in future pages of this w^ork.* While on his march toward the Kapids, Winchester received a letter from Ilani- son recommending him to abandon the movement, because, if, as Lieutenant Colonel Campbell, in his second dispatch," had been informed, Tecumtha was on the Wabash with five or six hundred followers, he might advance rapid- ly and capture or destroy all the provisions in Winchester's rear. It was this sec- ond disj)atch of Campbell, as we have seen, that sent Harrison in such haste back to Chillicothe, to consult with Governor Meigs. W^inchester did not heed the cautious suggestions of his superior, but pressed on toward the Kaj)ids. General Payne, with six hundred and seventy men, was sent forward to clear the way. Payne went down the Maumce several miles below old Fort Miami, but saw no signs of an enemy. The remainder of the army arrived at the liapids on the 10th of January, 1813, and estiiblished a fortified camp on a pleas- ant eminence of an oval form, covered with trees and having a prairie in the rear. This was a little above Wayne's battle-ground in 1794, opposite the camp-ground of Hull at the close of June, 1812, and known as Pi-esque Isle Hill.^ On the day of their arrival, an Indian camp, lately deserted, was discovered. Captain Williams, with a small detachment, gave chase to the fugitives, whom he overtook and routed. ' Combs'B enfferlngs were very Revere. He carried a heavy mnsltet and accoutrements, a blanket, and font diiyi' provisions. The snow commenced falling on the morning after his departure, and continued without intermission for , two days and nights. On the third day of their march Combs and his companion found the snow over two feet detp | in the dense forest. Ruddle had been a captive among the Indians In this region and knew the way, and the nielbod i of encountering such hardships us they were now called npou to confront. The storm detained them, their pruvifioni became scarce, and for several nights they could find no place to He down, and sat up and slept. Hunger came to bolk J on the sixth day of their journey, and illnew to young Combs. Nothing but his ever uufliching resolution kept him | up. On the ninth evening they reached Fort M'Arthur, and were well cared for by General Tupper. Combs Iny pros- j trated with sickness for several days. > See page 26T, and map of the Maumee in this vicinity, page U. Troops re-enlistei The enlist! had requeste 8i.x months 1 was so much their strengtl en them into he would moi and confidenc Winchester raon him to t want of suocei to move upon tioii from Ohi( seiigors from ] traveling, bi'inj tered had passt tion of the inl ed,'' deeply agi the shield of m moved by the fense of the aU dusky,' sixty-fi' council of office between thirty- ion was appi-ov( ingof the 17th rection. A few men. Lewis's i -ion of Freiichtc Isle, a point on J twenty miles fro British Indians ment from Maid was sent by ex] iiig with a messii Ilaisin, and sugg wing. Colonel Lewis cold, and strong tering bridge the and were within scouts of the ene little army calml 'ii'iJs to an open ni<^iient. The ric ' Tpper Sandusky, th< mafky" made famous Tom (so called from an «« vlllsge of Upper 8ai ste of the modem Upper 01(1 Upper Sanduskv w Wyandot Indiana, and n »«s murdered by flre nr «"n(s In this vicinity mt OeneramarrlBon built Smdiuky. OF THE WAR OF 1812. 361 Xroopi ro-enlluted. The Settlement of FrenchtowD tbreuteued. Wiuchester Hends them Defender*. The enlistments of the Kentucky troops would expire in February, and Harrison had requested Winchester to endeavor to raise a new regiment among them to serve six months longer. Inaction and suffering had greatly demoralized thera. There was so much insubordination among them that Winchester had little confidence in their strength. Harrison, on the contrary, believed that active service would quick- en them into good soldiers, and did not hesitate to include thera in those on whom he would most rely iu his ex^ieditiou against Maiden. Events justified that faith aud confidence. Winchester was now satisfied that the pleadings of humanity would speedily sum- mon him to the Raisin. First came rumors that the enemy, exasperated by their want of success in their recent movements, were preparing at Maiden an expedition to move upon Frenchtown, on the Raisin, for the purpose of intercepting the expedi- tion from Ohio on its way to Detroit. These rumors were speedily followed by mes- sengers from Frenchtown," made almost breathless by alarm and rapid •January 13, traveling, bringing intelligence that the Indians whom Williams had scat- ^^^^' tercd had passed them on their way to Maiden, uttering threats of a sweeping destruc- tion of the inhabitants and their habitations on the Raisin. Others soon follow- ed,'' deeply agitated by alarm, and, like the first, earnestly pleaded for "January the sliield of military power to avert the impending blow. The troops, ""^ "'"^ '""'• moved by the most generous impulses, were anxious to march instantly to the de- fense of the alarmed people. Harrison, the commander-in-chief, was at Upper San- dusky,' sixty-five miles distant, and could not be consulted. Winchester called a council of officers. The majority advised an immediate march toward the Raisin, between thirty-five and forty miles distant by the route to be traveled. This decis- ion was approved by W^inchcster's judgment and humane impulses, and on the morn- ing of the 17th he detailed Colonel Lewis and five hundred aud fifty men in that di- rection. A few hours afterward Colonel Allen was sent Avith one hundred and ten men, Lewis's instructions were " to attack the enemy, beat them, and take posses- sion of Frenchtown and hold it." Tiiese overtook Lewis and his party at Presque Isle, a point on Maumee Bay a little below, opposite the present city of Toledo, about twenty miles from the Rapids. There Lewis was told that there were four hundred British Indians at the Raisin, and that Colonel Elliott was expected with a detach- ment from Maiden to attack Winchester's camp at the Rapids. This information was sent by express to General Winchester, Avhose courier was on the point of start- in? with a message to General Hai-rison, informing him of the movement toward the Raisin, aud suggesting the probable necessity of a co-operating force from the right wing. Colonel Lewis remained all night at Presque Isle. The weather was intensely cold, and strong ice covered Maumee Bay and the shore of Lake Erie. On that glit- tering bridge the Americans moved early and rapidly on the morning of the 18th, and were within six miles of their destination before they were discovered by the scouts of the enemy. On the shore of the lake, in snow several inches in depth, the little army calmly breakfasted, and then marched steadily forward through timber lands to an open savanna in three lines, so arranged as to fall into battle order in a moment. The right, composed of the com,janie8 of M'Cracken, Bledsoe, and Matson, 'Upper Snndnsky, the present capital of Wyandot County, Ohio, Is not the j/lace above alluded to. The "Upper Smdnfiky" made famous during the Indian wars, and as the rendezvous of Anerlcnns in the war of 1812, was at Crane Tom (90 called from an eminent chief named Tarhe or Crane), four miles liortheast from the court-house in the pres- ent Tillage of Upper Saiidnsky. After the death of Tarhe in 1818, the Indians transferred their council-hoase to the lileof the modem Upper Sandusky, ^ave It its present name, and called the old ))lace Crane Town. Old Upper Sandusky was a place of much note iu the early history of the country. It was a favorite residence of the Wyandot Indians, and near it Colonel Crawford had a battle with them and was defeated in June, 1782. Crawford was mardcred by fire and other slow tortures which the savuijes inflicted on leading prisoners. A full account of mm In this vicinity may be found in Howe's Hx»tmical Cnlleetinng 0/ Ohio. General Uarrtson built Fort Pcrree, a stockade about fifty rods northeast of the court-house in the present Upper Samluslty. ill ■•"^^ 352 PICTORIAL FIELD-EOOK I tfreochtown and Its rofTeriiiK iDhabitantR. Arrival of Winchester's relief Party. Battle and Monaacrt. was commanded by Colonel Allen ; the left, led by Major Green, Avaa composed of the companies of Hamilton, Williams, and Kelley; and the centre, under Major Madi- son, contained the corps of Captains Ilightown, Collier, and Sebrees. The advanced guard was composed of the companies of Captains Hickman, Glaives, and Janus and were under the command of Captain Ballard, acting as major. The chief of the lit- tle army was Colonel Lewis. Frenchtown,' at the time in question, was a flourishing settlement containing thir- ty-three families, twenty-two of whom resiiled on the north side of the Raisin. (lar- dens and orchards were attached to their houses, and these were incUwed with heavy pickets, called " puncheons," made of sapling logs split in two, driven in the ground and sometimes sharpened at top. The houses were built of logs of good size and furnished with most of the conveniences of domestic life. Two days after the su;- render of Detroit, as we have seen, this j)Iace was taken possession of by Coloiiei Elliott, who came from Maiden for the purpose with authority from General Brock. The weaptnis and horses of the inhabitants were left on parole, and protection to lifo and property was promised. The protection was not given, and for a long time the inhabitants were plundered not only by the Indians, but by Canadians, French, and British,'' and were kept in a state of almost continual alarm by their threats. In the autumn two companies of the Essc.v (Canadian) militia, two hundred in number, un- der Major Reynolds, and about four hundred Indians, led by Round-head and Walk- in-the-water,3 were stationed there, and these composed the force that confronted Colonel Lewis when he approached Frenchtown on the 18th of January, 1813, and formed a line of battle on the south side of the Raisin, within a quarter of a mile of the village. Lewis's force numbered less than seven hundred men, armed only with muskets and other light weapons. The enemy had a howitzer* in position, directed by bonibardier Kitson, of the Royal Artillery. When within three miles of Frenchtown Colonel Lewis was informed that the ene- my was on the alert and ready to receive him ; and as the Americans approached the village on the south side, the howitzer of the foe was opened upon the advancing column, but without (ffect. Lewis's line of battle was instantly formed, and the whole detachment moved steadily forward to the river, which was hard frozen, and in many places very slippery. They crossed it in the face of blazing muskets, and then the long roll was beaten, and a general charge was executed.' The Americans rushed gallantly up the bank, leaped the garden pickets, dislodged the enemy, and drove him back toward the forests. Majors Graves and Madison attempted to cap- ture the howitzer, but failed. Meanwhile tlie allies were retreating in a line inclin- ing eastward, when they were attacked on their left by Colonel Allen, who pursued them more than half a mile to the woods. There they made a stand with their howitzer and small-arms, covered by a chain of inclosed lots and groups of houses, and having in their rear a thick, brushy wood, full of fallen timber. While in this position Majors Graves and Madison moved upon the enemy's right, while Allen was sorely pressing his left. The enemy fell back into the wood, closely pursued, and the conflict became extremely hot on the right wing of the Americans, where both whites and Indians were concentrated. The contest lasted from three o'clock until dark, the enemy all .the while slowly retreating over a space of not less than two miles, gallantly contesting every foot of the ground. The detachments returned to the village in the evening, and encamped for the night on the ground which the ene- ' The Rnliiln, on which Frenchtown was sitnated, was called Sturgeon River by the Indians, because of the abund- ance of that floh In its waters. It flowed throngh a fertile and attractive region, and late In the last century a niimhcr of French rnmllles settled upon Its banks, and engaged In farming, and trading with the Indians. Becauee of the abundance of grapes on the borders of the stream tliey called It Rivirre mix llainins, and on account of the nationality of the settlers the village was called Frenchtown. It is now Monroe, Michigan. ' Statement to the anthor by the Hon. Laarent Durochcr, of Monroe (Frenchtown), who was an actor In the ?c«nes there during the war of 1S12. » See nots 8, page 279. * A hoiciu or homtzcr Is a kind of moftar or short gun, mounted on a carriage, and used for throwing bomb-shellfi. freacbtown to bo my had occu ish officers ht ease of delim iif Americans (•ral Harrison. the latter wa: Captains Past l)een much gr guinary j)orti( ed their dead inhabitants an As soon as 1 strong " j)uncl of the battle," ( a brief report c camp before di with the tiding Lewis called place and wait From the mom ohcKter's camp, ward, not doub siiecess until D( was also appare jirincipal rendes iiiiies from Fren to recover what on the evening Samuel Wells, Frenchtown wit from the camp ai noon of the next liie right of Lew licliind as a rear- re-enfoi-cements. Ills staif, recross Colonel Francis from the Americ ' Captain Bland W. . Khen ho was wounded. ' Hickman led n part; ' Mateon was afterwa < Colonel Lewis's full January 20, 1813, on the s It is asserted that C'( there being plenty of ro military rule would not Biischlcvous. ' The view of Colonel lioared in 1813, with a ilwr. The room was a ^replace. In this room * of the house are ntl 'i.f the early settlers. T Ike owner in 1813, Ilcni llie structure of 18,10 was Tlie log-house of 1830 hi Monroe, It stood back i OF THE WAR OF 1812. 353 FrcnctHown to be held. Winchester arrives with lle-oiifdrcemuntii. Position of Troops there. my hail occupied. American officers occupied the Hamo buildiiigH in which the Brit- ish officers had lived. The troops had behaved nobly. There had not been a Hingle (•(180 of (lelinqiienoy. " This amply supported," as was said, " the double character iif Americans and Kcntuckians," and fully vindicated the faith and judgment of Gen- eral Hufison., Twelve of the Americans were killed and iifty-five wounded. Among the latter was Capttin IJ. W. Ballard,' who gallantly led the van in the fight ; also Captains Paschal, Hickman,'' and llichard JMatson.^ The loss of the enemy must have Iweii much greater, for they left fifteen dead in the open field, while the most san- (minary ])ortion of the conflict occurred in the wood. That night the Indians gather- ed their dead and .vounded, and, on their retreat toward Maiden, killed some of the inhabitants and pillaged their liouses. As soon as his little army was safely encamped in the village gardens, behind the stronc; " puncheon" pickets, and his wounded men comfortably housed, on the night of the battle," Colonel Lewis sent a messenger to General Winchester with i jannnry is, a brief report of the action and his situation.^ lie arrived at Winchester's ^'**''' camp before dawn, and an express was immediately dispatched to General Harrison ^nth the tiduigs. Lewis called a council of officers in the morning, when it Avas resolved to hold the place and wait for re-enforcements from the I{ai)ids. They were not long waiting. From the moment when intelligence of the aff"air at P^enchtown was known in Win- ohcF.tcr's camp, the troops were in a perfect i'erment. All wore eager to ])ress north- «arcl, not doubting that the victory at the Kaishi was the harbinger of continued success until Detroit and Maiden should be in the possession of the Americans. It was also apparent that Lewis's detachment was in a critical situation ; for Maiden, the principal rendezvous of the British and Indians in the Northwest, was only eighteen miles from FrenchtoAvn, and that every possible method would be instantly put forth to recover what had been lost, and bar farther progress toward Detroit. Accordingly, on the evening of the 1 0th,'' General Winchester, accompanied by Colonel Samuel Wells, of Tippecanoe fame, marched from the Maumee toward Krcnchtown Avith less than three htmdred men, it being unsafe to withdraw more from the camp at the Rapids. Ho an-ived at Frenchtown at three o'clock in the after- noon of the next day, crossed the river, and encamped the troops hi an open field on the right of Lewis's forces,'' excepting a small detachment under Ca])tain Morris, left licliind as a rear-guard with the baggage. I^eaving Colonel Wells in command of the re-enforcements, after suggesting the propriety of a fortified camp, Winchester, with ills staff, recrossed the liaisin, and established his head-quarters at the house of Colonel Francis Navarre, on the south side of the river, and more than half a mile from the American lines.* 1 Captnin Bland W. Bnllnrd was a son of Captain Ballard, of Winchester's army. He was acting mivjor at the time when he was wounded. i lUckmiiu led n party of opics under Wayne from December, 17i)4, until June, 1796. > Matson was afterward with Colonel R. M. .Johnson In the bnltle of the Thames. ' Ciiloiiel Lewis's fn'.l report to Oeneral Winchester was written two days afterward, dated "Camp at Frenchtown, January 20, 1S13, on the River Kaislu." The facts In our narrative of the battle were drawn chiefly from this report. i It is asserted that Colonel Lewis recommended the encamping of the re-enforcements within the picketed gnrdeng, [here beinj; plenty of room on his left. Wells being of the regular army, precedence gave him the right of Lewis, and military rule would not allow him to take position on his left. This observance of etiquette proved to be exceedingly uiisohievonB. ' The view of Colonel Navarre's house, the head-quarters of Winchester, given on page 364, represents it as it ap- peared in 1813, with a "puncheon" fence in front. General Winchester occupied the room on the left of the cntrance- Joor. The room was a long one, fronting east (we are looking at the house in a southeast direction), and had a large fireplace. In this room the Indians who came to trade with Navarre rested and slept. The trees seen on the west indc of the honse arc utill there— venerable pear-trees (originally brought from Normandy), which were planted there livthe early pcttlers. Those which remain Btill bear fruit. In 1S30 the old Navarre House was altered by the son of ibeowner in 1813. lie made additions to It, and raised the roof so as to make it two stories in height. Like the origin.il, ibe structure of 1S30 was a log edifice. When I visited the spot in the autumn of 1800, it had undergone another change The log-houBC of 1830 had been clap-boarded, and it was then the residence of the rector of the Kpiscopal church In Monroe. It stood back a little from Front Street, witliin the square bordered by Front, Murray, Hamphrcy, and Wads- ^^ 354 PICTORIAL FIELD-BOOK w Wlncheitor'ti I^ck of ViKilauce. W«iiilii|{a of Oaotcer unheeded bjr Wincbeitor. Other OffloWi on tti« Alert WIMUIIKBTKItH llKAI>-\\\ the UapidH, was not (lin- triliuted, altiidUgh the rc-enforociiii'iits iiad only ten rounds of cartridnes each' and the urLicnt reconiniendation of Colonel Wells that the quarters of the comnuinder-in-chief and the priiuijiul officers should bo with the troops was unhec' (1.' On I lie morning of the 21st Winchester rt'iuested Peter Navarre and his four brothers to gn on a scout toward the mouth of the Detroit liiver. Peter was still living when I visited the IMaumee Valley in the aiiluinn of 1800, and aceonipaniod me from Toledo to the liapids. He was a young man at the time in (piestitm, full of courage and pliysical strengtli. He and his brothers (■(>nij)lied with Windiest it's request with alacrity. They saw a man, far distant, coming toward them on llic m'. He proved to be Joseph Bordeau, whose daughter Peter atlerward married, lie had escaped from Maiden, and was bringing the news that the British would be at the Raisin, with a large body of Indians, that night. Peter hastened back to Winchester with this intelligence. Jacques La Salle, a resident of Frenchtown, in the interest of the British, was jiresent, and asserted, in the most positive language, that it must lie a mistake. Winchester's fears were allayed. Peter was dismissed with a laugh, and no precautions to insure safety were taken by the general.^ Another scout confirmed this intelligence during the afternoon. The general was still incredulous. Late in the evening news came to Lewis's camp that a very largo force of Briti-^li and In- dians, with several pieces of heavy artillery, were at Stony Creek, only a lew miles distant, and would be at Frenehtown before morning. The picket-guard was im- mediately doubled, and word was sent to the commanding general. lie did not be- lieve a word of it; but Colonel Wells, wiio did believe the tirst rumor brought hy Bordc.au, had meanwhile hastened to the Bapids with Captain Lauham for re-enforce- ments, leaving his detachment in charge of Major M'Clanahan. When the late evening rumors had been communicated to Winchester, the field oflicers remained up, expecting every moment to receive a summons to attend a council at head-quarters. They were disappointed. The general disbelieved the alarming rumors ; and before midnight a deep repose rested upon the camp, as if some trusted power had guaranteed perfect security. The sentinels, as wo have ob- served, were well posted, but, owing to the severity of the weather, no pickets were sent out upon the roads leading to the town. All but the chief officers in Lewis's camp and some better-informed inhabitants seemed perfectly free from apprehension. At head-quarters the night was passed by the general and his staff in sweet slumber; but just as the reveille was beaten, between four and five o'clock in the moniing, and the drummer-boy was pkyiug the Three Camps, the sharp crack of the sentinels" worth Streets. I nm indebted to the khid courtesy of MrH. Sarah A. Noble, of Monroe (Frenehtown), Michigan, for (he foregoing facts, and fur the -bove sicetch of VVinchesterV ((iiarters as it appeared in 1S13. ' Major Elijah M'ClaualiMM to General Uarrlson, dated "(amp on Carrying River, January 26, 1818." Carryin? River wns eighteen miles fi'om Vv'inchester's camp, on the Maumce, on the way toward the Raisin. ' Oral statement of Peter Navarre to the author. Aiuck on n«M MiiiBketH firi iiediateiy h "nliiance, ac ilif terrible amp with c terri'dc fulfil vet yielded ucri' iinknoM iiolhing else i I'latioua of di tory. 'Hie expose I'll i-.iiMji, aflei (foneral U'inc ■|iiiiic'heon" fi iiijlil, and find their savage ai .1 large body o I'outiision, and liiindred men \ .Allen joined \^ I'enees on the 8( •V.'ijors Graves viiiii. The Iixli Hoofis on the li l;uie leading fror by the savages ftoods hoping tJ i'very turn by f :i liundred yards tlie hatchets of after^vard bore t preeious article i irliethor in High irinisoned with allies of the Briti ' 'Never, dear motlii wmelj-painted Indians »iiok», and yet covered "Urw, who, I was told, \ PfocturwasadlRgrace t -l^llerofA.O. Tuftin, = .No rule of civilized ■ iTiCfwemed disposed n. i»sabontamllo,wcre pi I W' of forty men, wer mandedln the thigh in telionoftheManmee, tW, who, perceiving his |ta Mmc moment two ot W one of them dead np 7 "■-;;, of "hooting on. K™ti,ckyiniTso,«nd, tie family removed to am [ftelvcilhlDcdiiration. II ieDlacky.lniTiw. He wi J "tflment of riflemen fo |Wii,onthe22dof Jan OF THE WAR OF 1812. 8S9 Aiuck on Frenrhtown bjr Proctor and hli Pellow-MviKM. A ttrrtble Htrnfrgld. A Panic and Mamscre. muskcl'^ firing an alann wuh lu-nnl by Ktill <1ull oars. These were followed im- iiiodiaU'lv l>y a shower ol'bonihslit'Hs ami eiini«ter-Hhot hurled from Heveral j)ie('es of iinlniiiH'*') acconipunied by a furious charge of aliuoHt iaviMible Hritish regularH, and till' terrible yellw of painted HavageH. The BoiindH and missileH fell upon tlie startled ,amp with apjmlling HuddenneHS, giving fearful 8ignili( anee to the warniiigH, and a terrilile fultillnient of the predictions uttered th« previous evening. Night had not vet yielded its gloomy sceptre to Day. The eharaetcr and number of assailants were unknown. All was mystery, terribhi and profound ; and the Amerieiiiis had nothing else to do but to oppose force to force, as gallantly as possible, until tlio rev- elations of daylight should point to strategy, skill, or prowess for safety and vic- tory. The exposed re<'nforccments in the open field were driven in toward Lewis's pieket- wl camp, arter bravely maintaining a severe eontlict for sonic time. At this moment (renerai Winchester arrived, and endeavored to rally the retreating troops behind a imiicheon" fence and second bank of the Haisin, so that they might incline to the rijjiii,aiid find shelter behind Lewis's cam|). His efforts were vain. The Hritish and thi'ir savage allies were pressing too heavily njioii the fugitives; and when at length iiliirpe body of Indians gained their right flank, they were thrown into the greatest I'onfiision, and fled pell-mell across the river, earrying with them a detachincnt of one hiuidrc'd men which Lewis ha, niid yet covered with blood, and wore congratulated by Colonel Proctor for their t/raveri/.' I heard ii liritieh (ilUctr, who, I was told, wbh Lientenaut Colonel 8t. George, tell another offlrtT, who, I believe, was Colonel Vincent, that Prattor was a dlc^race to the British army— that snch encouragements to devils was a blot upon the British character." -Letter of A. 0. Tuetin, of BardstDwii, Kcntncky, to bis mother, dated Fort Maiden, .lanuary 28, 1818. ' No rule of civilized warfare >vaii observed. Blood and scalps were the chief objects for which the Indians fought. They seemed disposed not to take any prisoners. A party of flflecn or twenty, nnder Lleatenant Garrett, after rctreat- lORibont a mile, were compelled to surrender, when all but the y ng commander were killed and scalped. Another [•uly, of forty men, were more than one half murdered under similar clrcnmstanccs. Colonel Allen, who hud been touidedin the thigh in the nttrmpt to rally the troojis, after abandoning all hope, and escaping about two miles In the dirptlion of the Mauinee, was compelled, by sheer exhaustion, to sit down npon a log. He wa^' -ibserved by an Indian riief.wlio, perceiving his rank, promised him his protection If he would surrender without resi-ianco. He did so. At ihe ssmo moment two other savages approached with murderous intent, when, with a single blow of his sword, Allen lild one of them dead upon the ground. His companion instantly shot the colonel dead. "He had the honor," says [ M .Uce, " of shooting one of the first and greatest citizens of Kentucky." Jiihn Allen was bom in Rockbridge County, Virginia, on the .'5nth of December, 1TT2. His father emigrated with him I M Kentucky In 17S0, and settled about a mile and a half below the present town of Danville, in Boyle County. In 1784 the family removed to auother part, five miles from Bardstown, and in a school in that then rndo village young Allen received hl« education. He studied law in Staunton, Virginia, forfonr years, and commenced its practice In Shelbyvllle, Ktnlucky, in Hits. He was following his profenslon successfully there when the war broke out in 1S12, when he raised I r»):lmcnt of riflemen for service under Harrison. He was killed, as we have seen, at the massacre on the River RaifiD, on the i!2d of January, 1813, at the age of forty-one years. Allen Cotinty, Kentucky, was so named in bis "I, i I 3Ae PICTORIAL FIELD-BOOK I I Wlncbaater made Priionar. Proctor rapuUed. Wluchntsr A)r(')!d to lurrendar bla Armjr. U»iat Madlton Ooncittl WinchcHtor and Colonel I^ewia woro made priBonen by Round-heail > at a bridge about tlirco fourtlm ot'ii rniK' from tlio village, stripped of their clotlicH oxvk'm shin, ]»antalo<)nH, and V)ootB, and in thiw pliglii, were taken to the quartern of the Uritisli commander, who proved to be I'olonel I're -lor, tlie unworthy HucceHnor of tlic worthy Brouk in tho command at Detroit and AndicrHthurg, He waw in Fort Mahh i>, at the latter place, when intellififonee of Lewis's occupation of Frone.htown reached m and he nmde immediate preparations to drive the AmericaiiH buck. The Hritisli and In- dians expelled from Frenchtown on the 18th hak'<]s fihould be sent the ne.vt morning to remove the sick and wounded to Amherst- Imrf; that the diHabled Hhonld be protected by a proper guard; and that the side- anus of the officers should be returned when the captives should reach Maiden. I'nictor refused to commit thcHc conditions to writing, I ut i)ledged his honor as a Mildier and a gentleman that they Hhonld be observed. Madison was ignorant of I'lootor's poverty in all that constituted a soldier and man of honor, and trusted to IiIk promises. On the conditions named, he and his otKcers agreed to surrender them- M'lves and their men prisoners of war. Before .the surrender was fairly completed the Indians began to plunder, when Major 3Iadison ordered his men to resist them, even with ball and 1)ayonet. The cowardly savages quailed before the courage of the white captives, and none of the prisoners were again molested by them while on their way to Maiden. Quite ililfer- eut was the fate of the poor wounded men who were left behind. Having secured Ills oliject, Proctor violated his word of honor, and left them exposed to savage cruelty, liiiiiiors came that Harrison was ap])roaching, and the British commander, more intent m securing personal salt'ty than the fultillmcnt of solemn promises, left for Maiden witli most of his savage allies, within an hour after the surrender, leaving as a "guan!" aitly Major lieynolds and two or three interpreters. Proctor did not even name : .'iiard, nor spoke of conveyances for the wounded after leaving Frenclitown ; and vlieu both Winchester and .Madison reminded him of his promises and the ])eril of 111' wounded, he refused to hear them. It is evident that from the first that inhuninii nicer uitended to almndon the wounded prisoners to their fate. Among them was I'aptain Hart, brother-in-lav,' 'if Henry Clay, and inspector general of the Army of ilic Northwest. He was anxious to accompany the prisoners to Maiden, but Captaii. Elliott, son of the notorious Colonel Elliott, who had known Hart intimately in Ken- tucky, assured him of perfect safety at Frenclitown, and promised to send his own conveyance for him the next morning. Elliott assured all the wounded that they need not apprehend danger, and that sleds from Maiden would come for them in the morning. The wounded Avere taken into the houee ' \;he kind-liearted villagers, and cared for by Drs. Todd and Jiowers, of the Keni :kj v olunteers, who were left behind for the purpose. In every mind there tvas an indefinable dread when Proctor and his motley crew departed ; and Avhen it Avas known that he had promised his savage allies a " frolic" at Stony Creek, only about six miles from the Raisin, lot only the wounded soldiers, but the villagers, and Major lieynolds himself, felt a th ill of horror, for there could be no doubt that the drunken Indians, after their deba; icii, would re- turn to Freuchtown to glut their appetites" for blood and plunder. Even those who remained Avent from house to house, after Proctor's departure, in search of plunder. The night following the battle Avas a fearful one at Frenchtown. .January as. Day dawned with hope, but the sun at his rising* found the inhabitants **^-- * ■ Tecnmthn, ns we Bliall observe herenfler, resardeil Proctor as a coward, and by threats compelled him to make a 'tand on the Thames ; and the venerable Robert Heynolds, of Amheretburg, and other survivors of tbo British army in Cauaila with whom I have converBt'd, spoke of him vplth contempt as a boasting coward. i .^. ■I -mmmkif^ MHiai ifliltS: 358 PICTORIAL FIELD-BOOK Magsiicre aud Scalping of wounded Prisoners allowed by Proctor. Incidents of tiie liorrlble Evem. and prisoners in despair. Instead of the promised sleds from Madden, about two hiiiul- rcd half-drunken savages, with their faces painted red and black in token of their fiendish purposes, came into the village. The chiefs held a brief council, and determined to kill and scalp all the woiuid- ed who were unable to ti'avcl in revenge for the many com- rades they had lost in the fisxht. This decision was announced by horrid yells, and the savages went out upon their bloody errand. They first i)lundereti the village; then they broke into the houses wlicre the wounded lay, stripped them of every thing, and then toma- hawked and scalped them. Thi houses of Joan B. Jereaumo ami Gabriel Godfrey, that stood near the present dwcllina; of Matthew (liibson, sheltered a large number of prisoners. In the cellar of Jereaiimo's lionso wiiH stored a large (luaiitity nl whisky. This the savages took in sufficient quantities to mad- den thciu, when they set both dwellings on fire. A number of the w^ounded, unable to nioyc, were consumed. Others, at- tempting to escape by the doors and windows, were tomahawk- ed and scalped. Others, ou*- side, were scalped and cast intu the flames, and the remaiiidov, who could walk, were man lied ofi" toward Maiden. When any of them sank from exhaustion, they were killed and scalped. Doctor Todd, who had ocen tied and carried to Stony Creek, informed Elliott ol what was g()i:>g on at the Raisin, and begged him to send conveyances for ihf wounded, espet lally for Captoin Hart ; but that young officer coolJv rej)lied, "Charity begins at home ; my o kU wounded must bo carried to Maiden first." He well knew that an hour more would be too late for re.'scue.' M.ajor Graves was never 1 I'ard of after tlie Maumee. Captain Hickman was mur- dered in Jereaurae's house. Captain Hart was removed from that house by Di^ctor ' This Is from ft eketcli xcnt to Colonel Wi I llnm II. Winder by Lieut': iiantCotone" Bocretlcr, in a letter dated "Buffiilr ITIh February, ISlil. I nenrt you," ho rniyp, "a hnstysket^ li of the H.uatlon of the troops at Frcnchtowu ' Fie ohtniiicil It from some subordinat'- officer amone; the prisoiiern from the Rrli>tn, who weic paroled, and passed t'lrough llnffalu He says. "The prisoners liave passed throuKh to tlic number of four huiulrod nud sliiy-two. The K''iieral anil llcl ofllcprs are not yot sent across.'' '.utngraph Jjelltr. » Klllott had been in Le-Tington, where lie W'\s very 111 of fever for a lonp time in tlie fiinillv of Colonel Thomm Ha;' the f»t!ier of Captain Hart. During that lltnesh tie h»A lecelvcd mwy attentions from t!»< young man whom Ijo cm ba«e1y deserted 1p his hour of greatei:r«ted to Kentucky from Maryland, and settled in LcxiiiKton. Captain Hart was born at Ilagcrstowu, in Maryland. One of his sisters married Henry Clay, another ninrricd James llnnvn, lon^ the United States minister at the French Court. Hart was making a fortune in mercantile imr.'iis when the war of ISl'i broke out, when (at the age of about twenty-se> on years) he was in command of the l.rx'iifitan Liijht Infantry, ii company which was organized by Cicucral .Jamrj .Wilkinson, who was Itn first captain, in IM. Vndcr its fourth captain (Beatty) It was with Wayne In the campaign of Ui)4. Hart was its seventh captain, and wns at the head of it in the expedition to the Raisin. When I visited Lcxinuton in April, ISdl, I i-alled on the then commander of the company, Cajitam Samuel 1). M'Cullough, who showed me the crimson silk sash of Captain Hart In ills possesHioii, which was torn and had blood-stains upon it. C^ssius M. ('lay, now [ISliTl America!' minister to the Court of St. Petersburg, commanded this company In the United States army In Mexico. In the battle of Buenn Vista its flaj was the regimental color of the ivenlucky cavalry. On the ISth of .Tanuary, ISOl, a flag was jircsonted to this rompnny (now called the " Lextuaton Old Infantry") at the Odd Fellows Hall in Lexington, by General Leslie Combs, ill liehalf of the donor, David A. Sayre. On that occasion the United States band from the barracks at Newport, Ken- lacky, performed the mu.^lcal part of the ccemonles. The Star-npantjled llaniier was sung, aiid the roil of all the captains, from llWto isiil, was called. The only survivors of the company when Il'irt was captain, who were pre«eiit. were, ThomasSmith, of Loul'/llle: Lawrence Paly, of Fayette ('ouiity: andJudgo Levi L. Todd, of Inuianapolis. The latter, ivtn wftK Hart's successor as captain, gave the opening address. • A few divs affer tho massacre at the Hiiisin Prctor irdered all th" Inhabitants there to leave their houeee and move to Detroit. It wnf mid-winter and severely cold. Tho snow was vcr^ ,1eep, and they suffered dreadfu'Iy. Borne onveyan'-i-s were sent down from Detroit for tbem. For a while Freochtown was a desolation, and the remains of the nmi'Siicred were unbarled. ' William Lewis was in Gaithor's iiattnllon itt St. Clart's defeat In ITSl. He was then captain, and was appointed to •he mme position In tht M Retriment of Infa..try the following year. Ho resigned In 1T9T. In August, iSl'i, he was com- ™b"Ioiici1 Lieutenant C.-lonel of Kfiiiuckv A'olunteers, and, as we have seen, behaved gallantly at Frenchtown. He wM a 'inilve of Virginia. His death occu red nei'i- T.ittlc Rock, arl-ansas, on the 17th of Janiary, 1'<25. ' Ociirf!*! Madison wis a native of Virginia, where he was born in 17(13. He was a soldier In the Revolution, although lie KM oiilv ,1 lad of twelve years when it broke out. He was with General Clarke In the Nort'^vest, and was at the toad uf a cmpaay lu at. Clair's defeat In ITOl, \vhere he was wounded. Uo was also wounded In an attack by the Id- i^mmmm i-' 360 PICTORIAL FIELD-BOOK . i; Wnr-cry of the Kcntuckiuns. Iluuur couferred on Proctor. Shamefulnesis of the Act. " GunrrtlauH of Civllizatiou " The loss of the Americans in the affair at the Raisin was nine hundred and thirty- four. Of these, one liundriMl and ninety-seven were killed and missing ; the romaiixlor were made prisoners. Of the whole army of about a thousand men, only thirty-tliroc escaped. Tiie loss of the British, according to Proctor's report, was twenty-t'tiur killed, and one hundred and fifty-eight wounded. The loss of their Indian allies is not known. The event was a terrible blow to Kentucky. It caused mourning in al- most every family. The first shock of grief was succeeded by intense exasperation and the war-cry of Kentucky soldiers after that was, Hemember the River Raisin! •Jnnnnry20, At Sandwicli Proctor \yrote his dispatch* to Sir George Prevost, the ^^^" commander-in-chief in Canada, giving an account of his expedition to Frenclitown, and highly commending the conduct of his savage allies.' His privato representations were such that the evidently deceived Assembly of Lower Canada passed a vote of thanks to him and his men, and the equally duped Sir Geortrc promoted him to the rank of brigadier general " until the pleasure of the Prince Re- gent should be known.'"'- That " jileasure" was to confirm the apjiointment, and there- by the British government indorsed his conduct. I visited Frenclitown (now Monroe), in Michigan, early in October, 18G0. I wont down from Detroit by railway early in the morning, after a night of tempest — min- gled lightning, wind, and rain. The air was cool and pure, and the firmament was overhung witii beautiful cloud-pictures. I bore a letter of introduction to the Honor- able D. S. Bacon, a resident of the plaj30 for almost forty yeai'!*^ Avho kindly spent the day with me in visiting persons and places of interest on that memorable spot. Crossing the bridge to the north side of the stream, we passed down "Water Street toward the site of La Salle's, the camp of Colonel Lewis, and other places connected with the battle and massacre already described. We met the venerable Judge Du- dians in the camp of Major John Adair the following year. For more than twenty years he was ai:ditor of pnlilic ac- counts in Kentucky. When Kentncky was asked for troops in ISIii he took the ticld. Ho was kept a prisoner at (Jucboc for siiue tinio. In ISltt lie was nominated for the office of governor of Kentucky, ile was sobelced and pupuliir Iha: hi', opponent vvltlidrew in the l\cat of the canvass, declaring that nobody could resist ' at popularity. He was electeil, but died on the U'li of October the same year. ' "The zeal and couraj^o of the Indian Department," he eali, "were never more conspicuous than ou this occa.«ioD, and the Indian warriors I'ougnt with their usual bravery." 5 It seems hardly possible that the Canadian Assembly or Sir George Prevost cou'k' have known the facts nf the hor- rors of Frcnchtown, and Proctor's inhunuiu abandonment of He prisoners, or (hey would have punished rather than rewarded the commander ou that occasion. Sir George, in his general order .^nnoHncing the promotion of Proctor, ai- tually said, " On this occasion the gallantry of Colonel Proctor was most nobly displayed in his humane and unmarird I'Xfrtions, ichich mineeeded m rexming the ranqtiiahot from tlie re'>e)uje nf the Indian warriors !" British writers, unable to offer the shadow of an excuse for Proctor's coudnct, either avoid all mention of the n,assn- ere, or endCiivor to shield him from the si-ourge of just criticism by affecting to disbelieve the fact that he agreed to give protection to the wounded, or accepted the surrender on any condilions whatever. " Indeed," says .Tames, with an air of trinmpii lii discussioi., " General Wiuchestcr was not in a condition to dictate term."," because he wn« "strip- ped to his shirt and trowsers, and suffering exceedingly from the cold."— ^Icfoi"!^ af the MUitarn Ocetirrenees of the. Wt Hiir, etc., 1., ISS. But the testimi>ny of eye and ear ■, itiiesses to the fact are too iibundaut for any honest-niindcd man to dontit. Before all his men, iu the presence of Colonel Proctor, not tweiUy rods from the house of Francois Lasallo, Major Madison declared the conditions that had been agreed upon. The late Judge Durocher. who was iircscnt, in- formed mi- that he heard these conditions announced, and that Proctor assented to them by his silence. This is in con- firmation of Winchester's statement in his report, written at Maiden on the 23dof .lannary, the day after the (•jm uler, II gives the writer no pleasure to record the cruelties of savages and the unchristian conduct of British coininanilcrs who employed them. He would prefer to Imry the knowledge of these thingb in oblivion, and let the aniaioslties which they engender die w lib the generation of men who were actors In the scenes ; but when a Pharisee, affecting to be the "guardian of civilization," preaches censorious homilies to an equal in virtue and dignity, it is sometimes a wholesome service to prick the bubble of his pride with the bodkin of just exposure. When the Briti!t'the stream, I made the above sketch (looking Avestward) of the river, the railway liiiilgo, and the distant town. Gibson's house is seen in the foreground, on the right; t!ie railv.ay bridge, on four piers in the water, with the town beyond it, is seen in the centre ; and by the distant trees, seen immediately beyond the jtoiut on the left, is indicated the spot near which Winchester was captured. Returning to the village, 1 called upon .I'udge Durocher, who, in the course of a ])leasant interview of an hour, .rave nic many items of information conccniing the events we have been considering, lie spoke of Winchester as a "fussy man,'" quite heavy in person, and illy fitted for tlie peculiar service in which he was engaged. He also assured me that atler the de- flat of tlie AuKM-icans at Frenchtown, Prcctor endeavored to persuade the Indians to destroy the French settlements there, because lie believed the inhabitants to hv lii\ or- ;ilile to the United States. It was even proposed to the Indians in council, and an- I'tlier cold-blooded massacre, not by the permission, but at the instig;;'-ion of Proctor, irasonly ])revented by tlu! Hrmness of the friendship which the Pottawatomies bore to the inhabitants on the Raisin. Judge Durocher was seventy-four years jf :iv when I visited hitn, A little less than a year afterward he was borne to tlic grave.' ' Lniircnt Durocher wat, the con of a FrtMiii; Caniiillnii, aiiil wan born at St. Oomn-ieve Mlwtoii, In MIbbou: ., in 1786. His talhor ilicil when he was young, i\U(l lila uuclc sent him to o college In Montreal to be cdactttcd. At the oloke of his ii itii 3«2 riAL FIELD-BOOK The vslUnt im r Kmiy I public Career. Ills RelatioDB with the ludiaus. Our next %'^ wan to y th*' in the battle of the Thames, under Colonel Hi lull il kf. Johnson. While Avith Hull at Sandwich, iittaelicd to Col- i,.iel ]\I' Arthur's regiment, /((( fiiil'l'iiruim] iipportant scout service. On on(: occofiion, aceoiiipfinicd l)y four men. he peiu'tradd (he iiiHliliy lis ihr nn the site of (lie preKcnt village of Chatliam, on the Thames, and there capluied (I C(t||(//('l i>f'filiegor, a burly British officer, iifid a Jew natned Jacobs, and carried them to Jlull's ('(i(n|». Ilif (Im) M viregor to a horse, and thus took him to the head-quarters of his chief After (Ik surrender IM'Gregor offered five hundred dollars i'lir the capture of Knaggs, deail or alive. The Indians Averc constantly on the watch for him, and he hml many studies, in 1^06, he settled nt Fronchtown rcgl(Mi, joined tlic nrniy of General null for a year. They were at the Raisin when Hull surrendered, and gave tlicinselves up to Captain Kl- liott. Dniingthe remainder of the war he wan cliarged hy the Ainer- racmber of the Territorial Council ofMldii; At the beginni np of the var of 1S12, he, with other young Frenchmen of Hint icn .! commander with Kovcrnl im- portant trusts. When, in ISh. Monroe County was orgnnized. I)urocherwasclio.«en ilsriprk, Ilf held that offloe for about Iwiiil; years. ITc was for six years a and in 1S.1B was a member of the Convention that framed the ptateCon- 't:^noii for not promptly s ortiiig Winchester; and that in the political campaign of 18)0, when Harrison a, elected President of the United States, his enemies cited his alleged shortcomings on this occasion as evidence that his military genius and service!*, on Avhich his liinie mostly rested, were myths. But contemporary history, iiid the well-settled con\ ictions of his surviving companions in arms whom I met in lilt' Northwest, as well as the gallant engineer, Colonel Wood, Avho afterward fell at Fort Erie,^ fully accjuit General Harrison of all blame or lack of soldierly qualities 111 tluit occasion. It was not until the night of the 16th that he was hiformed by a messenger that General Winchester had arrived at the Iin\' Is, and meditated a for- ward movement. The latter intimation alarmed Harrison, and lie made every exer- tion to push troops forward from Upper Sandusky, where he was then quartered, sixty miles from the Kapids by way of the Portage River, and seventy-six miles by Lower Sandusky. He immediately ordered his tutillery to advance by way of the Poi'tao;e, with an escort of three hundred men, under Major Orr, with provisions ; and lie pressed forward himself, as speedily as possible, by the way of Lower Sandusky, where one regiment and a battalion were stationed, under the command of General Perkins. This battalion Avas ordered to march immediately, under Major Cotgrove, ami Ilarrisou determined to follow it the next morning. He was just rising from hia ' lam inilebtcd to Mr. WilUnni H. Ttowlsby, n i>hotographer In Monroe, for the likeness of Mr. KnniiKS. It wis taken from life \,y Unit gentlemiui. The Bignntiirc wan written in my noto-book by Mr. Knaggs when I \ Uited him. : lieulouiiiit Colonel Woixl, then Ilanlnon's chief engineer, with the rank of ciiptaln, afterward said, " What humaii iiioana wilhiu the control ofOcneral Harrison rould prevent the anticipated disaster, and save that corps which wa-s al- ipaily lijoked upon as lost, as doomed to Inevitable destrnctlon f Certainly none, because neither orders to halt nor roops to succor him LWinchesler] could be received in time, or at least that was iho expectation. He was already in iiintion, and General Harrison still at I'pper Sandusky, seventy miles in his rear. The weather was Inclement, the snow 1 IS i;.t'|), and a large portion of the Black Swamp was yet open. What would a TareuDe or a Eugiuo have doaei KMkr «uch a pressure of embarrassing circumstances, more tUau Harrison did ?' 364 PICTORIAL FIELD-BOOK Harrison at the Maamce Knpids. He asoigtB the Fugitives from tlic Raisin. His Aniiy at the Mattnicc Kapidg bed when a messenger ctiine with the tidings of tlio advance of Lewis upon Froiicli- town. Perkins was immediately ordered to press forward to the Hapids the remain- ing troops under his command. After hastily breakfasting, he and Perkins procetilcd in a sleigh. They were met on the way by an express with intelligence of Lewis's victory at the Haisin. This nerved Harrison to greater exertions. He pushed I'oi'- ward alone and on horseback, through the swamps filled with snow, in daylight and in darkness, and, after almost superhuman eflbrts, he reached the Rapids early on tia. morning of the 20th. Wiu,chester had dejiarted for the Raisin the previous evonini;, and Harrison could do nothing better than wait for his oncoming troops, under Poikins and Cotgrove, and the artillery by the Portage. What remained at the Rajjids of Winchester's army, under Colonel Payne, were sent forward toward the Raisin, and Captain Hart, the inspector general, was sent to inform Winchester of the supportiii<> movements in his rear. Alas ! the roads were so almost impassable tliat the troops moved very slowlv, After the utmost exertions they were too late. News came to Harrison, at tvn o'clock on the morning of the 22d, of the attack of the British and Indians on tiic Americans at Frenchtown. The fraction of Perkins's brigade which liad arrived at the Rapids was sent forward, and Harrison himself hastened toward the Raisin. He met the affrighted fugitives, who told doleful stories of the scenes of the morninff and assured the commander that the British and Indians were in pursuit of the broken army of Winchester toward the Rapids. This intelligence spurred on the re-enforcements. Other fugitives were soon met, who declared thai the defeat of Winchester was total and irretrievable, and that no aid in Harrison's power could Aviu back the victory of the enemy. A council of officers Avas held at Ilai-rison's head-quarters in the saddle, when it was decided that a farther advance would be useless and imprudent. A few active men v/ere sent forward to assist the fujfitives in escaping, Avliile the main body returned t(- the Rajdds. There anotlier couiieil «aj held, which resulted in an order for the trocps, ntimbering not more than nine hund- red men, to fall back to the Portage (pbou eigliteon miles), establish there a forti- fied camp, wait for the arrival of the at i!! "y and accompanying troops, and tlien tu push forward to the Rapids again. The latter movement was delayed on account of heavy rains. On the 30th of Jan- uary Colonel Leftwitch arrived with Ids brigade, a regiment of Pennsylvania troops, and a greater part of the artillery, and on the 1st of February General Harrison moved toward the Rapids with seventeen hundred men. He took post on the rii;lit bank of the river, upon high ami commanding ground, at the foot of the Raj)ids, and there established a fortified camp, to which Avas afterward given, in honor of the gov- enior of Oiiio, the name of Fort Meigs. All the troops that could be spared from other posts Avere crdered there, Avith the design of pressing on toAvard Maiden before the middle of February ; but circumstances caused delay, and the Array of the Xorth- west tarried for some time on the bank of the Maumec before opening the campaign of 1813 in that region. Events on tb We will paign of 181 St. LaAvrenc ill |)oint of t initiated the oflhitish vi mh of the wh'wh lay a miles, were £ When wai eru li-ontier 'he construe iind Henry F Tnited State She was inte iin the fronti of intimtry a of Lake Onta m the south .u'ling. Til is and viiidicarii iinlil the sprii The LegisI; government, t that commoin arms to be dt lowing year a ' The Indians ga> fireat River." It rt l'^«, and in isu it fronlier. Millioua . foraif not to have b ' The cnjuhvint; o Wftod at a cost of i l»mbiii) Street, betw II was sold. I'll II OP THE WAR OF 1812, 305 E/ents on the Northt-rn Frontier. First wnrlike Menaurefi there. Enforcement of the Keveuue Law). CHAPTER XVra. "Oh 1 now the time hns come, my boys, to cross the Yankee line. We remember they were rebels once, and conquered John Unrgoyne; We'll 8iil)due those mighty Democratc, and pull their dwelliufjs down, And we'll have the States inhabited with subjects to the crown." SoNu— TuE NouLB Lads of Ci.i(Adjl. iX j)rece(lint? chapters the military events in the Northwest, w here the Avar was first commenced in earnest, have heen con- sidered in a group, as forming a distinct episode in tlie history. By such grou[)ing, in proper order, the reader may obtain a comprehensive view of the entire campaign of 1812 in that re- gion, wJiich ended with the establishment of Generalllarrison's head-quarters on the banks of the Maumee early in February, 1813. We will now consider the next series of events, in the order of time, in the cam- paign of 1812, which occurred on the Northern frontier, from Lake Erie to the River St. Lawrence. The movements in the Northwest already recorded claim precedence, in point of time, over those on the Northern frontier of only seven days, Hull liaving initiated the former by the invasion of Canada on the 12th of July, and a squadron oflhitish vessels having opened the latter by an attack on Sackett's Harbor on the 19th of the same month. The parties hi these movements, between the scenes of wjiit'h lay an almost unbroken wilderness of wood and water of several hundred miles, were absolutely independent of each other in immediate impulse and action. When M'ar was declared the United States possessed small means on the north- ern frontier for offensive or defensive operations. The first warlike measure was tlie construction,, at Oswego, on Lake Ontario, of the brig Oneidu, by Christian Berg ,111(1 Henry Eckford, under the direction of Lieutenant Melancthon Woolsey, of the Tnitod States Navy. She was commenced in 1808, and was launched early in 180f). She was intended chiefly ibr employment in the enforcement of the revenue laws (Ml the frontier, under the early embargo acts. For a shnilar purpose, a company (if inf'iiiitry and some artillery were pooted at Sackett's Harbor, at the eastern end ut'Lake Ontario,' in 1808; and in March, 1809, militia detachments were stationed (111 tlie southern shores of the St. Lawrence, opposite Kingston, to prevent smug- (.'iinc;. Tliis duty gave rise to many stirring scenes on the frontier hi the violation mill vindication of the revenue laws, which were generally evaded or openly defied until the spring of 1812, when a more stringent embargo act was passed." -April 4, Till' Legislature of the State of New York, as vigilant as the national ^'*''^- .'Dveniinent, took measures early for enforcing the laws on the Canada frontier of tlmt commonwealth. In February, 1808, the governor ordered five hundred stand of linns to be deposited at Chamjiion, in the ])resent county of Jefferson ; and the fol- lowing year an arsenal was built at Watertown,* on the Black River, twelve miles s 1 The Indians ijave this an almost unpronounceable and interminable name, which sipnlfled "Fort at the month of Groat River." It received its name from Augustus Saokett, the first se'tler. It was constituted an election district in I^iVI, and in 1?I14 it was incorporated a village. Unring the war of 1812 It was the chief military post on th'5 Northern froiilicr. Millions of dollars have been expended there for fortifications and war vessels, yet prosperity as a village fOPniB not to have been its lot. It contains loss than one thousand inhabitflnts. ' Tlic cngrnving of the Arsenal lliilldtn!; on the following page Is from n sketch made by the writer in 18.1(5. It wa« jrcctod at a cost of about two thousand dollars. Il is still [ISfiT] standing, on the south side of Arsenal (formerly Co- lumbliO Street, between Benedict and Madison Streets. It was maintained by the state as an arsenal until 1S50, when Il was sold. # r 306 riCTOItlAL FIELD-BOOK War Uateriali at Wutertown. The Militia there in Commuud of General Brown. The detached Militia of the 8Ut«. eastward of Sackett's Harbor, under tho di- rection of Hart Massey,' where arms, llxid iuninunition, aceoutri'inents, and otlicr war sujiplieH were Hpoedily gathered for use on tJie Northern frontier. In May, 1 ftl 2, a ri'ir. iincnt of militia, under Colonel Ciiristdplur I', liellinger, was stationed at Saekett's Ilai- bor, a part of which was kept on duty at Cai)e Vincent. Jacob Brown, an entcrjiris- int; farmer from I'eniifiylviinia, who hud set- tled on the borders of the Black Hiver about four miles from Watertown, and had bocii appointed a brigadier general of militia in 1811, was then in command of the first de- tachment of New York's quota of the one liundred thousand militia which the Presi- ' April 10, dent was authorized to call out by act of Congress.* When war was do- dared he was charged with the defense of the frontier from Oswego to Laki' ABUKNAL Ul'ILUl.NU, WATKUTUW.N. Api 18 812. St. Francis, a distance of two hundred miles.* ' Mr. Maosey was one of the earlier settlers of Watertown. The first religious mcetlnp; there was held in his honKp He wascollector of the port of Sackett's Harbor at the time in question, and held that office all lliroui;h what was call- ed " Embargo times" and the War. He died at Watertown in March, 1S63, at the age of eighty-two year;?. ' By a General Order Issued from the War Department on the 'Jlst of April, 1S12, the detached militia of the State of New York were arranged in two divisions iiud eight brigades. STr.rnEN Van Uenpsei.aek, of Albany, was appolnlcil major general, and assigned to the command of the First Division ; and Benjamin Mooeus, of Plattsburg, was ii|i. pointed to the same office, and placed in command of the Second Division. The eight brigadiers commissioned for the service were assigned to the several brigades as follows: Ist brlsado. OEEAai) STEniiiFORP, of the city of New York ; 2d, Reuiikn Hoi-kinb, of Goshen, OraBge County; 8d, Micajah PETiif. of Queensbury, Washington County ; 4th, Kiohako Dodue, of .lohnstown, Montgomery County ; BIh, Jaooii linowN, of Bro^'nsville, Jefferson County; fltli, Daniel Mii.i.er, of Homer, Cortland County; 7th, Wii.liah Wadswoutii, ofOeu- cseo, ')ntarlo County; 8th, Geoboe M'Clube, of Bath, Steuben County. This force was farther subdivided Into twenty regiments, and to the command of each a lieutenant colonel was aj- signed, ac follows: First Brigade : tst regiment, Beehman M. Van liuren, of the city of New York; 2d, Jonas Mapeii, of the city of New York ; 3d, John IHtmiu, of Jamaica, Queens County. Second Frigade: 4tli regiment, Abraham J. Iltirdenherc/h, of Shawangnnk, Ulster Connty; 6th, Martin Ileermamt, o( Rhlneheck, Duche.ss County; fith, Abraham Van Wi/ck, of Fishkiil, Duchess County. Third Brigade : 7th regiment, Jameti Green, of Argyle. Waslilngton County ; 8th, Thoman Miller, of Plattsburg, Clin- ton Connty ; nth, Peter I. Voittmrgh, of KInderhook, Clolumbia Connty. Fourth Brigade : 10th regiment, John Prior, of CJreenfleld, Saratoga Connty, and llth, Calviri llich, of Sharon, Scho- harie County, to be attached to the regiments from General Veedcr's division ; 12th, JuAn T. Vaji Dal/sm, o( Cmymati't. Albany County, and 13th, Putnam Farrington, of Delhi, Delaware Connty, to be attached to the regiments from Gen- eral Todd's division. Fifth Brigade : 14th regiment, Willitr'n Stone, of Whltestown, Oneida Connty ; IBth, Thmnas B. Benedict, of Dc Kalb, St. Lawrence County. Sixth Brigade : 10th regiment, Farrand Stranahan, of Cooperstown, Otiiego Connty ; ITth, Thmnas Mead, of Norwich, Chenango County. Seventh Brigade : !9th regiment, Htuih W. Dobbin, of Juntas, Seneca Connty ; 19th, Uenr^ Bloom, of Geneva, Cayu- ga Connty ; 20th, Peter Allen, of Bloomileld, Ontario Connty. To tho Eighth Brigade was assigned the regiment of light Infantry under Colonel ieremlah Johnson, of Brooklyn, Kings County, and the regiment of riflemen under Colonel Francis M'Clure, of the c .y of New York. General Van Rensselaer assigned to the several brigades the following staff officers : RrigwlM. BriKade MiljoM amt Innprrlom. Drigoilp QiiarVminAtcn. nrigadea. Bl^ade Mnjora and Inflpectora. nrlgaile QuBrtiirniiutcrf 1 2 3 4 Theophilns Pierce. John Dill. Michael S. Van der Cock. Moses S. Cantine. Charles Graham. Robert Heart. Dean Edson. Leon'd H. Oansevoort. S 6 7 8 Robert Shoemaker. Thomas Greenley. Julius Keyes. Joseph Lad. Henry Seymour. Nathaniel R. Packard. Henry Wells. Jeremiah Anderson. I have compiled the above statement from Ocnen.l Vcji Rensselaer's first General Order, Issned from hie head-quar ters at Albany on the 19th of June, 1S12." The following paragraph fW)m his second General Order, issued on the IStli of Jnly, indicates the special field of operations to which General Van Rensselaer was assigned : " Major General Ste- phen Van Rensselaer having been requested to repair to the command of the militia heretofore ordered into the service. and to be hereafter ordered Into the service of the United States for the defcT?e of the Northern and Western IVoiiti'-'f of thir state between St. Regis and Pennsylvania, enters upon his command tnla day." In the same Order General Van Rcnsselaet declared that all the militia comprehended in the brigades organized by his General Order of the ISth of June, " together with the corps commanded by Lieutenant Colonels SwlP, Flemmlng, and Bellinger, were subject to his division orders." • General Van Rensselaer's MS. Order Book ffom June 18th to October let, 1812. SelznreofBritlsl In 3Iay, ] Canada, and Sliu was foil mandiiig \V( Act. Aboul tiired at St. ^ same time, st of a violatior iiition. Wh( leuce, eiglit - ored to escaj: effects. An f present villaj gave chase in Islands,' a lit Packet), and It was beli( tensive ones, Thousand Ish boats were tc General I3ro\\ measures to r to the former, laration of wa militia of Jeff if necessary, f Grosse River. St. Lawrence, the frontier fi-c Piogis. Measii and Cape Vin Kingston in a built vessels ft On the llth Comraander V> squ.idron of Bi Xekon and dc Harbor. Tlie similar form. ;it early dau i ward the Ilarh -4; Frince lie^ command of Ci returning from to Ce'linger, tl ' Tils group of Isla seven miles along its most of them arc me mter'sedgc. Some i_ miles. Cauoesandsi other large vessels, w from two to nine mil fus determined in 181 Md WelU's, belonging daring two centuries i ' lili'ory (if St. iMwr 1*1 i'l iiij' it it ngmmmmi^' 1 V OF THE WAR OF 1812. 867 Stinre of British Veeeela on Lalce Ontario, Retaliation expected. Nortliem Militia called oat. In May, 1812, tho schooner Lord Nelson, owned by parties at Niagara, Upper Camilla, and laden witli flour and merciiandiHo, sailed from that jjort for Kingston. She waH found in American waters, captured l)y the Oneid'i, under Lieutenant C.'om- maiKliiig Woolsey, ami condemned as a lawful jirizo for a violation of the Embiirgo. jU't. About a month later," anotlier British schooner, the Ontario, was ca[»- • june i4, tared at St. Vincent, but was soon afterward dischargwl; and at about the *^'*" same time, still another British schooner, named Niagara, was seized, and sold because of a violation of tho revenue laws. These events, as v/as expected, soon led to retal- iation. When news of tlie declaration of war reached Ogdensburg, on tiic St. Law- rence, eight American schooners — trading vessels — lay in its harbor. They endeav- ored to escape'' to Lake Ontario, bearing away aft'riglited families and their „ effects. An active Canadian partisan named Jones, living not far from tl;c present village of Maitland, had raised a company of volunteers to capture tliem. He i;ave chase in boats, overtook the fugitive unarmed flotillii at the foot of the Thousand islands,' a little above IJrockville, captured two of the schooners [Sophia and Island Packet), and emptied and burned tliem. The remainder retreated to Ogdeusburg.'- It was believed that this movement was only the beginninfj of more active and ex- tensive ones, oftensive and defensive, on the part of the Tiritish — that several of the Thousand Islands were about to be fortified, and that expeditions of armed men in boats were to be sent over to dt vastate the country along the northern frontier. General Brown and Commander Woolsey, vested with full authority, took active measures to repel invasion and protect the lake coast and river shores. In a letter to tlie former, Daniel D. Tompkins, Governor of New York, informed him of the dec- laration of war, and directed him to call out re-enforcements for Bellinger from the militia of Jcfierson, Lewis, and St. Lawrence Counties, and to arm and equip them, if necessary, from the arsenals at Watertown, and at Russel, farther north on the Grosse River. Colonel Benedict, of ^ ^ ^^ y St. Lawrence, was ordered to guard €^^^^tc^(^, S^ c^^^t^^t/t^^^^' the frontier from Ogdensburg to St. Regis. Measures were also taken to concentrate a considerable force at Ogdensburg and Cape Vincent, for the twofold purpose of guarding the frontier and keeping Kingston in a state of alarm, that being the chief naval station where the British built vessels for service on Lake Ontario. On the 11th of July the inhabitants on the frontier were alarmed by a rumor that Comraander Woolsey and his Oneida had been captured by the enemy, and that a squadron of British vessels were on their way from Kingston to recapture the Lord XelsoH and destroy Sackett's Harbor. General Brown immediately repaired to tlu- Harbor. The rumor was a false one, but a part of it was the precursor of truth in a similar form. Eighteen days afterward Commander Woolsey saw from his mast-head, lit early dau n, a squadron of five British vessels of war olF Stony Island, beating to- ward the Harbor with the wind dead ahead. These proved to be the Royal George, 24; Prince Regent, 22; Earl of Moira, 20; Siincoe, 12; and Seneca, 4, under the command of Commodore Earle, a Canadian. On the way up they captured a boat returning from Cape Vincent ; and by the crew (who were released), they sent word to lie'Unger, the commandant at Sackett's Harbor, that all they wanted was the ' This group of islonds, lying in the St. Lawrence River, jnst below the foot of Lake Ontario, (ill that river for twenty- seven mi]c9 along its course, and number more than flflcen hiinrtred. A few of them are large and cultivated, but the most of them arc mere rocky islet?, covered generally with stunted hemlocks and cedar-trees, which extend to the water's edge. Sonie of them contain an area of only a few square yards, while others present many supeiUcial square miles. Cauoes and small boats may pass in safety among all of thcra, and there is a deef) channel for steamboats and iither large vessels, which never varies in depth or position, the bottom being rocky. The St. Lawrence here varies trom two to nine miles In width. The boundary-line between the United States and Canadu passes among them. It ns determined In 1818. The largest of the islands ore Orand and //ow,-, belonging to Canada, and Carlcton, CfritulHtnne, iiid VriMe, belonging to the tJullcd States. They have been the theatre of many historic scones aud legendary tales daring two centuries and a half. ' Uli'ory of St. .'Mwrence ond Franklin Countie*, by Franklin Hough, M.D., pages 020, 021. 1 ( .::i. . : 1 Ill 'I ;iC8 PICTORIAL FIKLD-UOOK PropiiratiiiiiH for Ivnttle. Approach of the Krltlali S(|niidr»ii. A brief Bklrmlib. Captiiln VaughM, Oneida and the Lord Nelson, at tlie sami! time warning the inhabitants that if the wqnadron whould he tired upon, i\\v town Hhould be bnniud. l'('rellinger's regiment. Camp's Sackett's Harbor .Vrtiikiv, which proni])tly volunteered for thirty days' service, the crew of the 07ii'ida, ;iiiil three hundred militia. At the first appearance of the enemy alarm-guns were ijitil, and couriers were sent into the country in all directions to arouse tlie militia. At sunset nearly three thousand had arrived or were near, but they were too late. Vic- tory had been lost and won earlj' in the day. Woolsey, the best engineer otticer present, left his brig in charge of his lieutenant, it at eight o'clock liy a shot from the liii; gun, which was harm- less, and drew from the peojile on tlio lioi/al George a re- sponse of derisive laughter, which could be plainly heard on the shore. This was followed by some shots from those two vessels in the advance at the distance of a mile, which were quickly answered by Vauirhan, The firing was kept up for about two hours, the scpiadrou standiiij; off" and on, out of ran!j;e of the smaller guns. and took the general command on shore. He placed the 32-pounder in charge of Captain William ^ auglian, a sailing-master of emi- nence then living at Sackett's Harbor,' and directed Cajjtain Camp to manage the others in battery. Meanwhile the enemy Avere slowly drawing near; and by the time Woolsey was pre])ared to receive them, the British flag- ship Iloyal Georf/e, closely followed by the Prince liefjent, were close enough for ac- tion. Vaughan opened 0« WIU.IAM VACailAN. ' From tlic widow of Captain Vnudlian, yet [1807] living nt Sacltott's Ilarlior, I received tlie foilowiiiB l)ri('f sktii li of his life : Ho was borii in the middle of Antmst, 17T0, nt Will{ea-Bnrri\ in the Valley of Wyoming, Penn«ylvuiiiii. llf was two years old wlicn the maBPacre took place there, and his inotlier fled with him over the mountains. At tlii' :li- of eighteen years he visited Canada. The posts of Oswego, Fort Carloton, and Presentation, or Oswegatchie, \ww \\\n\ held T>-j the British, and ho was comi)elled to have a passport to go from post to post on the soil of the United Siates. He returned to Canada in 1797, after these posts were given up, and engaged In lake navigation. Ho was a pilot on Lake Ontario for many years, and when the war broke out he was appointed a sailing-master. He served with Rrcul activity during the war. Wo shall meet him occasionally in the course of our narrative. After the war he rctiinicd tc the occupation of mariner, and was master, at different times, of six steamboats on Lake Ontario. Alimit the year iswi his Rj>inc received an Injury by his falling on the ice while rescuing a man and two women from destruction ammig floating ice agitated by liigh winds. He never recovered. He died at Sackctt'e Harbor ou the 10th of Doccmber, WT, aged eighty-one years. FaUl R«t>oand 'flip most ! I tliirty-tw man.Hion (fl iloor-yard. ' ('a|)taiii Va (•aii!,'lit 'em liu>inl Geon captive ball plctely, sent HiHiiided eir licr sides, ain to|»irallaiit-iii li.id lieeii cliii ^iirnal of reti passage thro wliile the ha L't'eeted their ha tenant 11. \\. ^ ride corps luide Harbor on tJie 'iiemy. "Our n kins on that d; ' One of Captain Va Kad- Julius. He eerv laall-iimis, moHtofth( • -^iilioiigh tlie gnn V 'w II lhlrty-two.poun( ' I ii'I'.v wrapping then ('.*"tu.«cdonthator( 'On iny way to Sack ""wrd, who was at S,i »nt concerning the n 'Mhorlty of James But n-iiiior that the Ameri( "i™ of being a spy. ti Briilsh and returned to 7*'H-'"-,l.,S2;Coo "Hi Hatcments to the Ilonard. OF THE WAR OP 1812. noo PiKlBtbouiA of* Brttlib Hhot. The 8<|uailrnn repuli'cil. Preparntlonii fur War on Lake Ontario. The inoHt of tlio t'tu'iny's wliot foil n liy Sergeant Spier, wlio ran witii it to Captiii" Vaughan, exelaiining, "I've been playing ball witli the red-coats, and liave cftui;lit Via . } destroy them was an important object to the British ; to save and arm tlu'iii "its a more important object to the Americans. To accomi)lish the former re- Milt, ti . Ihitish sent the l^Jorl of Moirii^ 14, and Duke of Gloucester, 10, down the St. l,awri'iice to Prescott, opposite Ogdcnsburg, to Avatch or seize the imprisoned ves- H'is. To accomplisli the latter, the Americans sent a small force in the same direc- lioii, consisting of the schooner Julia (built by the late venerable IVIatthew M'Nair, (if Oswego, and named in honor of his daughter), armed with a long thirty -two ami two long sixes, bearing about sixty volunteers, under the command of Lieu- tenant II. W. Wells, from the Oneida, -with Captains Vaughan and Dixon ; also a rifle corps under Noadiah Hubbard, in a Durham boat. These sailed from Saekett's Harbor on the evening of the 30th of July, unmindful of the superior force of the nK'iuy. " Our means are humble," General Brown wrote to Governor Tomp- . j„iy gy^ kins on that day," "but, with the blessing of Heaven, this republican gun- 1812. I One of Cnptnln Vnughan's gunners wns .Inlius Torrey, ft negro, who wns a great favorite, and known In camp ne Bhfk Julius. He served at hie post with the greatest courage and activity. As the enemy was heyond the reach of smll-arms, most of the troops were Inactive spectators of the scene.— Hough's Ilitttorii nf Jeffermn Cimiit]/, page 404. = .Mthough the gini was well managed, the range of the shot had hccn a little wild hecause of their size. The gun it» n ihlrty-lwo-pounder, bnt the largest balls to be found i.t Saekett's Ilsrbor were twenty-fours. These were made ;iii! by wra|)plng Uiem In pieces of carpet. The British thirty-two wsif just the shot needed for precision. The small- trflii.t used on that occasion were brought from the Taherg Work.-^, Di.ir Rome, or.ly a week before. ' On my way to Saekett's Harbor in the summer of ISflO, I saw at Big Sandy Creek an old seaman named .Ichaziel Howard, who was at Saekett's Harbor at this time, and fVom him I learned some of the facts al)ovi '^llflifiil i i . „i liiif, § h hi hi. » i! S* ■ I Hi 3T0 PICTORIAL FIELD-BOOK A Fight on the St. Lawrence. Riflemen at Sacke.t'e Harbor. Channcey chief Commander on Lake Ontario boat muy give a good account of the Duke and the Earl; and a successful termina- tion of this enterprise will give us an equal chance for the command of the lake." The Julia and her Durham consort went to the St. Lawrence that night. Although it was very dark, they arrived in safety at Cape Vincent. At early dawn, under a deeply-clouded sky, they pressed forward among the Thousand Islands, the wind •July 31, blowing down the river, and, at three o'clock in the afternoon," met the two 1812. British vessels off Morristown, eleven miles above Ogdensburg. They an- chored at once, and opened fire upon each other. The action lasted more than three hours, during which the cannonading was almost incessant, and yet the Julia was only slightly injured by a single shot, and not one of the Americans was killed or wounded. Tlie Earl of Moira was hulled several times, and both of the British ves- sels withdrew toward the Canada shore. Night came with intense darkness, but fre- quent flashes of lightning in the southern horizon reveaUMl surrounding objects for a moment. With the aid of the Durham and her own yawl, the Julia made her way to Ogdensburg before morning,*^ when Lieutenant Wells left her in charge "^°* ' of Captain Vaughan, and returned to Sackett's Harbor. The armistice tliat soon followed' enabled the Julia, with the six schooners in her wake, to make her Avay to the lake." Meanwhile the guns of the Earl and Duke were landed at Elizabethtown (new Brockville), and placed in battery there,^ Early in Atigust Captain Benjamin Forsyth arrived at Sackett's Harbor with a well-drilled company of riflemen. These were the first regular troops seen on tliat frontier, and were welcomed with much satisfaction. General Brown urged Forsyth to open a recruiting station at once, hoping to enlist two full companies of the sharp- shooters. At the same time, the national government was putting for^h vigorous ef- forts for acquiring the supremacy of the lakes. The appointment of a proper com- . mander-in-chief of the navy to be created on them, who might properly superintend its fonnation, was the first and most important measure. Fortunately for the service, Captain Isaac Channcey was chosen for this responsible and arduous duty. He was then at the head of the navy yard at Brooklyn, New York. He was one of the best practical seamen of his time, possessed a thorough knowledge of ships in whole and in detail, and was in the constant exercise of energy and industry of the highest or- der. On the 31st of August he was commissioned for that special service, and on the following day, Paul Hamilton, the then Secretary of the Navy, sent him a ciplier alphabet and numerals, by which he might make secret communications to the De- partment.' :i 7^ d\*>]A\s\C i-o-dl I 2/| 'to' rshifitiimnrMi^. OIPIISB ALPHADET ANIl NUMEBALS. ' See note 2, page 293. ' Letter of General Brown to Governor Tompitins, August 4, 1812. Hough's nistory ofJeferaon CouttUj, pnge 4f..''>, 4C(!. Hough's History of St. Laureruse and Franklin Counties, page 022. Written Statement to the Author by the lute Amaea Trowbridge, M.D. 3 " After your arrival upon the lakes," wrote Mr. Hamilton, "yon may experience some difflcnlty and risk in sending ^_^ I your dispatches to me ; and you may find It necesnary lo /^f jy >» yf y ^ employacipher in yonr communications, esppcla'lyeucb ^ /Jc/jtf^ ^^fjLyt/^..^^t.>C^'''CO't,AJ ofthem as might do the service an injury by falling into •■^'^ ' i««.-'#'i''V- --U' the hands of the enemy. Under such circumstiinces, yon will communicate to me in cipher by the following alphabet whenever yon may Judge It expedient." Here follows the cipher alphabet and numerals, of which a fac-similo Is above given. The original la In the possession of the New York Historical Society. It was presented by the Ilev. Mr. Cbauucey, a sou of the commodore, on the litb of February, ISIil OF THE WAR OF 1812. 371 American and British Squadrons on Lake Ontario. Elliott sent to Lake Erie. Cbauncey's first Cruise. Chauncey entered upon his new duties immediately after the receipt of his orders. In the first week in September he sent forward forty ship-carpenters, with Henry Eckford at their head. Others soon followed ; and Commander Woolsey was direct- ed to purchase some merchant vessels for the service. On the 18th of the same month, one hundred officers and seamen, with guns and other munitions of war, left yew York for Sackett's Harbor, and Chauncey arrived there himself on the 6th of October. The schooners Genesee Packet, Meperztnent, Collector, Lord Nelson, Charles and Ann, and Diana, were purchased, and manned and named respectively in the same order, Conquest, Chowler, Pert, Scourge, Governor Tompkins, and Jlamilton. Their armament consisted principally of long guns mounted on circles, with a few lighter ones that could be of very little service. Add to these the Oneida and Jidia already in the service, and the entire flotilla, exclusive of the Madison, 24 (whose keel was laid before Chauncey's arrival'), mounted only forty guns, and was manned l)y four hundred and thirty men, the marines included. The Oneida carried sixteen ijnns, therefore there was an average of only five guns each among the remainder of the squadron. The British, at the same time, had made for service, on Ijake Ontario, the ships Royal George, 22, and Earl of Moira, 14; and schooners Prince Regent, 16, Buke of Gloucester, 14, Simcoe, 12, and Seneca, 4. These, in weight of metal, were double the power of the American, while there was a corresponding disparity in the number of men.^ Lake Erie, over which also Chauncey was appointed commander, was separated from Ontario by the impassable cataract of Niagara, and vessels for use on the wa- ters of the former had to be constructed on its shores, or at Detroit, where the unfin- ished brig Adams, captured at the surrender of Hull, had been built. For the pur- pose of creating a fleet there, Chauncey sent Lieutenant Jesse D. Elliott with orders for purchasing vessels similar to those given to Commander Woolsey. We shall consider some of Elliott's earlier operations presently. Cliauncey first appeared on Lake Ontario as the commander of a squadron on the 8th of November, a cold, raw, blustery day, with his broad pennant fluttering over the Oneida, his flag-ship, accompanied by six small vesf^els,^ and bound on an expe- dition to intercept the entire British squpdrou on their return from Fort George, on the Niagara River, whither they had gone from Kingston with troops and munitions of war. Chauncey took his station near the False Ducks, some small islands nearly di'3 west from Sackett's Harbor, on. the track to Kingston, and in the afternoon of the Oth* iell in with the Royal George, Commodore Earl's flag-ship, mak- . November, ing her way for the latter place. Chauncey chased her into the Bay of ^^'*' Quint6, and lost sight of her in the darkness of the night that soon followed. On the raoruinsT of the lOth** he captured and burnt a small schooner, and soon ^„ afterward espied the Royal George headed for Kingston. He gave chase with most of his squadron,'' followed her into Kingston Harbor, and there engaged botli her and five land batteries' for almost an hour. These were more formidable than Chauncey supposed ; and a brisk wind having arisen, and the night coming on, lie withdrew and anchored. The breeze had become almoct a gale the next morn- ing,' so Chauncey weighed anchor and stood out lakeward. The Tomp- ^ jf^^ember ii Um, Eamilton, and Jnlia chased the Simcoe over a reef of rocks, and so ' The Mttdimn was launched on the 26th of November, only forty-flvo days after her keel was laid. Henry Eckfurd Kaa her constructor. " . ' Cooper's .VaiiaJ Historj/ > There was a battery on both India and Navy Points. Three others guarded the town ; and soipc movable cannon were brought to bear on the Ame.icau vessels. ■'»< 1 I' • VI — ■.!». tjm i 'Ml 1 i .v. I 372 PICTORIAL FIELD-BOOK Oporatious uear Kiu;;stuii. Cbaancey'8 Prizes. Forsyth's Kxpcrtltlnn. riddled her that she sank before reaching Kingston. Soon afterward the Hamilton captured a large schooner from Niagara. The prize was sent past Kingston under convoy of the Growler, hoping to bring out the Royal George, but tliat vessel liad been so much damaged in the action that she was compelled to haul on shore to keep from sinking. She had received several shots between wind and water, somo of her guns were disabled, and a number of her crew had been killed The gale continued on the 12th, and during the following night a heavy snow- storm set in. Chauncey was undismayed by the fury of the elements. lie had set his heart on obtaining the supremacy of the lake at all hazai'ds, and he continued his cruise. Inxormed that the Earl of Moira was off the Real Ducks, he attempted to capture her. She was on the alert. A schooner that she was convoying was seized but the warrior escaped. During the day Chauncey saw the Jtoyal George, and two schooners that he supposed to be the Prince Hegent and Duke of Gloucester, but they did not seem disposed to meet him. In this short cruise Commodore Chauncey captured three merchant vessels, destroy- ed one armed schooner, and disabled the British flag-ship, and took several prisoners ' w^ith a loss on his part of only one man killed and four wounded.* The loss of the British is not found on record. Leaving the Governor Tom2Mns, Conquest, Hamilton, and Growler to blockade Kingston harbor until the ice should do so effectually, Chauncey sailed on the 19tli, in the Oneida, for the head of the lake, accompanied by the remainder of the squad- ron. " I am in great hopes," he wrote to Governor Tompkins, " that I shall fail in with the Prince Regent, or some of the royal family which are cruising about Yorls. Had we been one month sooner, we could have taken every town on this lake in three weeks ; but the season is now so tempestuous that I am apprehensive we can not do much more this Avinter." His anticipations were realized. He was driven back by a gale in which the Growler was dismasted, and the ice formed so fast that all the vessels were in danger. He retired to Sackett's Harbor, and early in Decem- ber the lake navigation was closed by the frost.^ While Chauncey was commencing vigorous measures for the construction of a navy at the east end of Lake Ontario, the land forces there and on the St. Lawrence were not idle, although no very important service was perfoi-med there during the remain- der of 1812. The vigilant Captain Forsyth made a bold dash into Canada late in September. Having been informed that a large quantity of ammunition and other munitions of war were in a British store-house at Gananoqui, on the shores of the Lake of the Thousand Islands, in Canada,* and not heavily guarded, Forsyth asked and obtained permission of General Brown to make an attempt to capture them. He or- ganized an expedition of one hundred and four men, consisting of seventy riflemen and thirty-four militia, the latter oflicered by Captain Samuel M'Nitt, Lrieutenant Brown, and Ensigns Hawkins and Johnson. They set out from Sackett's Harbor on the 18tli of September, and on the night of the 20th they left Cape Vincent in boats, threading their way in the dark among the upper group of the Thousand Islands, They landed a s}iort distance from the village of Gananoqui, only ninety-five strong, without opposition ; but as they approached the town they were confronted by a party of sixty British regulars and fifty Canadian militia drawn up in battle order, wlio poured heavy volleys upon them. Forsyth dashed forward Avith bis men with- ' Among the prisoners was Captain Brock, brother of Major General Brock, who had been killed recently at Queens- town. He had some of his brother's baggage with him. a Mr. Arnndel, the commander of the Pert, wag badly Injured by the bursting of one of her guns, and a midshlpaan and three seamen were slightly wonnded. Mr. Artmdel reftued to leave the deck, and was afterward knocked over- board by accident and drowned. 3 Chauncey's Letter to Govercor Tompkins, November 18, 1812 ; Cooper's Saval Bittory, il., 333 to 83T inclusive. ' Gananoqui Is pleasantly situated at the month of the Gananoqui River, where it enters the npper portion of the St. Lawrence, known as the Lake of the Thousand Islands, It Is In the town of Leeds, lu Canada West, nearly opposite the town of Clayton (old French Creek), New York. OF THE WAR OF 1812. 373 Spoils takou at Oananoqul. General Brown sent to OgdenH))nrg. Uoettle Movements there. out firing a shot until within a hundred yards of the enemy, when the latter fle-^ pell- mell to the town, closely pursued by the inv.»ders. There the lugitives rallied and renewed the engagement, when they were again compelled to flee, leaving ten of their number dead on the field, several wounded, and eight regulars and four militia- men as prisoners. Forsyth lost only one man killed and one slightly wounded. For his own safety, he broke up the bridge over which he had pursued the enemy, and then returned to his boats, bearing away, as the spoils of victory, the eight regu- lars sixty stand of arms, two barrels of fixed ammunition comprising three thousand ball-cartridges, one barrel of gunpowder, one of flints, forty-one muskets, and some other public pronerty. In the store-house were found one hundred and fifty barrels of provisions, but, having no means of carrying them away. Captain Forsyth applied the torch, and stoi 3-house and provisions were consumed. ' The public property secured on tliis occasion was given to the soldiers of the expedition as a reward for tiieir valor. While Forsyth Avas away on his expedition. Brigadier General Richard Dodge ar- .s«pten.her2i, "ved at Watcitown* with a 'S12. detachment of Mohawk Val- ley militia. He outranked General Brown, and on his arrival he ordered that officer to proceed to Ogdensburg, at the mouth of the Oswegatchie River, to orarrison old Fort Presentation, or Oswegatchie, at that place.^ General Brown was chagrined by this unlooked-for order, but, like a true soldier, he immediate- - . ,— -^ 'October 12. ly obeyed it. A part of Captain Forsyth's company went with liim ; and three weeks later, at the request of the goveiTior. Gen oral Dodge sent to Brown'' the remainder of the riflemen, and the artillery compa- appearanok of rom i ■.. i.jaiuuie in mvi. iiies of Captains Brown, King, and Foot, in all one hundred and sixty men, with two brass 9-pound cannon, one 4, and an ample supply of muskets and munitions of war. General Brown arrived at Ogdensburg on the Ist of October. Already the militia had been employed in some hostile movements. At {.bout the middle of September infonnation reached Ogdensburg that some British bateaux, laden with stores, were ascending the St. Lawrence. It was resolved to capture them. A gun-boat, with a brass six-pounder and eighteen men, under Adjutant I'aniol W. Church, accompanied by a party under Captain Griffin, in a Durhaji boat, went down the river in the niglit, and encountered the enemy near Toussaint Island. The Durham boat was lost in the aftray, and the gun-boat was in great peril at one time. It was caved, how- ever. The expedition was a failure. Five of Church's men were wounded, and one was killed. The British lost several in killed and wounded. They were led by Ad- jutant Fit'.gibbon.' On the day after General Brown's arrival at Ogdensburg,<= about forty British bateaux, escort (d by a gun-boat, were seen aoproaching Prescott ' ^'^'°''*' ^' tVom below, and as the/ neared the town a battery at that place opened upon Og- 'Letter of General Brown to Covemor Torapkine, September 23, 1812 ; Letter from Utfcn, September 29, 1812, pub- luhcd In The War, page Tl. Th.- same letter appears In Niles'ti Weekli/ PegiOer, October 10, 1812. ' A partirular account of t>.i8 fort will be given hereafter. ' Hough's Jlistory ttf St. I xtvrenee and Franklin Counties, page 024. " li 1 1 ni 374 PICTORIAL FIELD-BOOK A British Bxpedltion on the St. Lawrence. It attacka Ogdeuaburg. The British repulecd. densburg to cover tlie flotilla.^ The heavy guns at the latter place consistecl of a brass six-pounder under the charge of Adjutant Church, and ai; .on twelve-prmndor managed by Joseph York, sherift' of the county, and a volunteer citizen. These re- plied to the British battery for a while. On the following day the firing from IVs- • October <^ott was renewed, but was not answered; and on Sunday mommg, the 4tli ' 1812, t^yo gun-boats and twenty-five bateaux, filled with about seven hundred and fifty armed men, under Colonels Lethbridge a.id Breckinridge, went up the river almost a mile, and then turned their prows toward Ogdensburg, with the evident intention of attacking it. Forsyth's riflemen were encamped at the time nc ar tiie old fort on the west side of the Oswegatchie, and General Brown, with regulars and militia, were stationed in the town.* The whole American force amounted to about twelve hundred eflective men. These were immediately drawn up in battle order to receive the invaders. When the latter had approached to within a quarter of a mile of the town, nearly in mid-channel, the Americans opened such a severe fire from their two cannon that the enemy retreated in confusion and precipitation, witli the loss of three men killed and four wounded.' About thirty rounds were fired from each of the tAVO cannon, and the action lasted two hours.* Not one of the Ameri- cans was injured in the action, but some damage was done to the town by the can- non-shot of the British. " This enterprise," says Christie, a Biitish author, " under- taken without the sanction of the commander of the forces, was censured by him, and the public opinion condemned it as rash and premature."* Eighteen days after the repulse of the British at Ogdensburg, Major Guilford Dud- ley Young, and a small detachment of militia, who were chiefly from Troy, New- York, performed a gallant cxjjloit at St. Regis, an Indian Village lying upon the boundary-line between the United States and Canada. The dusky inhabitants of that settlement were placed in a very embarrassing position when war was declared. Tlieir village lay within the boundaries of both governments, and up to that time the administration of their internal affairs, managed by twelve chiefs, had been nom- inally independent of both. The annuities and presents fi-om both governments were equally divided among them, and in all matters of business and profits every thintr was in common. That this relation should not be disturbed, commissioners, appoint- ed by the two governments, agreed that the Indians should remain neutral, and tiiat the troops of both parties should avoid intrusion of their reservation. But they be- came objects of suspicion and dread. The settlers in that region had been horrified with tales of Indian massacres remotely and recently. And t^e8e people could not pass the boundaries of their domain without being regarded as possible enemies. So vig- ilant was this general fear that the Indians were compelled, when they went abroad, to carry a pass from some well-known white inhabitant, among the most prominent of whom, appointed by the chiefs, was Captain Policy, late of Massena Springs.* 1 William K. Gnest, Esq., whom I met atOgdenebnrg in the snmmer of 1860, In some of his published " Recollections" of that place, speaking of the affair, says, " The villagers came out in large numbers, and stood In Washington Street, near the residence of Mr. Parish. Among them were a number of indies, who felt safe, as no balls had as yei come into the village. While all were intently ivatching, with great excitement, the movements of the contending parties, a 12-poMii shot, with its clear, singing, hnrnming sound, passed over our heads, in the line of State Street, as near as we could judge, and fell in the rear of the village. A sudden change came over the scene. It became an Intimate matter to all, and ibe •* ladles heat ;i rapid retreat." When I was in Ogdensburg in 1SS5, and made a sketch of the old Conn- house, printed In a note In Chapter XXVII. of this work, I was Informed '.hat that ball passed tbrongh the building, and a hole made by it was pointed out to me. ' The subordinate commanders on this occasion were Colonel Benedict, Mnj.- DImock, Adjutant Uoskiu, and Captains Forsyth, Orlffln, Hnbbard, Benedict, and M'Nitt. — Ogdenstntrff Palladmrn, Oc- tober 0, qaoted in The War, I., T8. ' One account says that one of their gun-boats wrd disabled, and another that " two of their boats were so knocked to pieces as to render it necessary to a*>andon them." * Hough's HMnni of St. Laurenee and Franklin rountie*, page 626. Letter iVom PlaMsburg, dated October 9, In Niles's Wetklij Heiiiatet , :' ;., 196. Christie's Military Operatiom in Canada, page SI. ' Christie's Militanj Operation* in Canada, page 81. « These passes stated that the bearer was n quiet, peaceable person. It was their custom to liold these passes up on approaching a white person that they might not be alarmed. On the other hand. M OF THE WAR OF 1812. 875 Tbe British violate a Neatrnllty Agreemeut. British Troops occupy St. BeglB. Its Capture by the Amcrlcaus. These restrictions curtailed their hunting and fishing, and they were reduced to such great extremities that they were compelled to apply to Governor Tompkins for re- lief.' The governor listened to their request, and during the war they received about five hundred rations daily from the United States government stores at French Mills,'' now Fort Covington, on the Salmon River. The neutrality agreement was violated by Sir George Prevost, the British cora- maiulcr-in-chief in Canada, who placed Captam M'Donell and a party of armed Cana- dian voyageurs in the village of St. Regis " for the security of that post," to " guard .".ciiinst any predatory incursions of the enemy, to inspire confidence in the Indians," and to give " support and countenance" to " Monsieur de Montigny, captain and res- ident agent at the village."^ The real object appears to have been the seduction of the hulians • from their neutrality by persuading them to join the British standard. In this they were successful, as the presence of more than eighty St. Regis warriors in the British army at different places on the frontiers subsequently fully proves.'' Major Young was stationed at French Mills when M'Donell took post at St. Regis, and he wished to attempt the capture of the whole party at about the Ist of October. William L. Gray, an Indian interpreter, was then running a mill on the site of the present village ofllogansburg, two miU d above St. Regis, and consented to be Young's ffiiide. He took him and his command along an unfrequented way, that brought them out suddenly upon the eastern banks of the St. Regis, opposite the village. The stream was too deep to ford, and, having no boats. Major Young was compelled to abandon the project at that time. The British intruders were alarmed ; but as day after day wore away without farther molestation, M'Donell settled doAvn into a feel- ing of absolute security. From that state he was soon aroused. Young left French Mills, with about two hundred men, on the night of the 21st of October, at eleven o'clock, crossed the St. Regis, at Gray's Mills, at half past three in the . October 22, morning,* in a boat and canoe and a hastily-constructed raft, and before ^*''^' aawn arrived within half a mile of St. Regis, where they concealed themselves, while taking some rest and refreshment, beliind a gentle hill westward of the village. Hav- ins carefully reconnoitred the position, the little party moved in three columns to- ward the British part of the village, at the northern extremity of which, not far from the ancient and famous church, stood the houses of Montigny and M'Donell, in which the officers and many of the men of the British detachment were stationed. Caj)tain Lyon, editor of the Troy Jimlget, moved with his company along the road upon the bank of the St. Regis, so as to gain the rear of Montigny's house and a small block- house, while Captain Tilden and his company made a detour westward, partly in rear of M'Donell's, for the purpose of reaching the St. Lawrence and securing the boats of the enemy. Major Young, with the companies of Captains Higbie and M'Neil, moved through the village in front. Thus the enemy was surrounded. Lyon was first discovered by the British sentinel and attacked. Young was then within one hundred and fifty yards of Montigny's house. At that instant an ensign of the enemy, attempting to pass in front after being ordered to stand, was shot dead ; and a few minutes afterward complete success crowned the enterprise of the gallant major. Forty prisoners (exclusive of the commander and the Catholic priest), with their arms and accoutrements, thirty-eight muskets, two bateaux, a flag, and a quantity of bag- the Indians requlrcil persons traveHng acrosi; their domain to exhibit passes. As few of these Indians conld read, a dc- rice (see preceding page) was adopted to obviate the difBcultles which that deficiency might give rlBe to. If a person was going through to French Mills, a simple bow was drawn on the paper; If he was Intending to visit St. Regis vil- lage, an arrow was added to the bow. ' The letter written to Tompkins for that purpose was signed by the mark and name of Lewis Cook, one of the chleft of the St. Regis Indians, and a colcnel In the service of the Uulted States. ' Hongh's Hwtjrj; q/ St. Laterencf and Franklin Countien, page 166. ' Letter of Adjutant Baynes to Captain H'Donell. ' Le Clerc, who succeeded Montigny as agent, raised a company of warriors there, and crossed over to Cornwall. These participated In several engagements during the war.— Hongh's St. Lawrence and Franklin Counties, page 1B6. i ^ i\ i 376 PICTORIAL FIELD-BOOK First Trophy-Bag of the War taken on Land. Its public Reception at Albany. Sketch of Colonel O. D. Youi.1. gage, including eight hundred blankets found at the Indian agent's house, were the fruits of the victory. The British had seven men killed, including a lieutenant en- sign, and sergeant, while the Americans were all unhurt. The late distintniislu'd civilian, William L. Marcy,' who was a lieutenant hi Lyon's company, and assailc(! the block-house, was the captor of the flag that waved over it. He bore it in triuiniili back to French Mills, where Young and his party arrived the same day, at clovoii o'clock, witii the prisoners and spoils — the latter in the captured bateaux, bv way of Salmon River,^ Tiie prisoners were sent to Bloomfield's head - quarters at Plattsburg. Early ill January Major Young and lii.s de- tachment retiiini'd to Troy, and witli his own hand pre- sented that Ihitisli flag — t:ie first tro- phy of the kind that had ever been taken on land^to the people of the State of New York in the capital at Albany.^ Soon after the affair at St. Regis the British retaliated by an expedition to Frencli Mills, which captured the company of Captain Tilden stationed there. Le Clerc also captured Mr. Gray, the interpreter, and sent him to Quebec, where he died in the hospital. During a brief sojourn at the Masscna Springs, on the Racquetto River, in the sum- mer of 1855, I visited St. Regis, or Ak-ioia-sas-ne, the place "where the partrideo drums," as the Indians called it.* I rode out to Hogansburg, ten miles eastward of ' The pnbllc career of Mr. Marcy is too well known to require more than a passing notice here. Ho was then tweulv- six years of age, and had studied law, and was practicing it in Troy. He served with credit in the New York State mi- litia during a greater part of the war. In 1821 he we.s appointed adjutant general of the state. In 1S29 he wns majo a Justice of the Supreme Court of the state. In 1831 he was elected to a seat in the United States Senate, and In 1>33 governor of the State of New York, which office he held, by re-election, six years. In 1846 President Polk called hini to his cabinet as Secretary of War, and in 1863 he became one of President Pierce's constitutional advisers as Sccrelarv of State. On the 4th of March, 1867, he retired to private life, and jnst four mouths afterward he died suddenly at Balls- ton, New York, while reading in his bed, at the age of seventy years. 2 Major Young's dispatch to General Bloomfield, October 24, 1812 ; Thomson's Historical Sketchet, etc. ; Hongh's Hnhmj of St. Lavrrmce and Franklin Counties ; statement of Rev. Elcnzcr Williams to the author. 3 That ceremony took place ou the 6th of Januarj-, 1S13, at one o'clock in the afternoon. Major Young, with a de- tachment of his Troy volunteers, entered Albany. The soldiers bore two fine living eagles in the centre of the detach- ment, and the trophy-colors In the re.ir, while a band played y'ankce. Doodle. They passed through Market Street (near Broadway), and up State Street, *,o the Capitol, where they were greeted by an immense crowd who thronged the liuild- ing. The governor was too ill to be present, and Colonels Lamb and Lusk acted as his representatives. Mnjoi Yoiin<;, after an appropriate speech, delivered the trophy to those gentlemen, and received from Colonel Lnsk a complimentary response. Guilford Dudley Young was bom at Lebanon, Connecticut, in June, 1T70, and in 1798 married Miss Betsey Huntington, of Norwich. In 1805 no settled in Troy, New York, where he engaged in mercantile pursuits. He raised a corps of volunteers in the summer of 1812, and joined the service on the St. Lawrence frontier under Colonel Benedict. Be- cause of his exploit at St. Regis he was promotefl to major in the 20th Regular Infantry in February, 1813, and was raised to the rank of lieutenant colonel two months afterward. Ho was disbanded in 1818, and soon afterward j

  • '•«"*'' SiMgbMr of lb* AiMtlantt. Thfl BrilUh onil Indlsni repniMd. ri.AN OK I'OIIT mUrilK.NHON.' liravcly pushed forward over the glacis, and leaped into the ditch to assail the pick- ets. Lieutenant Colonel Short was at the head of the gallant party, and when a siif- ticient number of men were in the ditch behind him, ho shouted, " Cut away the pick- ets, my brave boys, and show the damned Yankees no quarter !" Now was the mo- ment for the voice of the unsuspected six-pounder to be heard. Tlie masked port flew open instantly. The gun spoke with terrible eifeet. Slugs and grapeshot streamed along that ditch overflowing with human life, and spread terrible havoc there. Few escaped. A similar attempf, Avas made by the second column of the storming-party, w! n another discharge from the eix-pou .der and a destructive volley of rifle-balls ended the contest. Brevet Lieutenant Colonel Short and Lieutenant Gordon, of the Forty-first Regiment, Laussaussiege, of the Indian department, and twenty-five pri- vates, were left dead in the ditcli,'^ and twenty-six of the wounded were made pris- oners. Captain Dixon and Captain Muir, and Lieutenant M'Lityre, of the Forty-first Kcgiraent, were slightly wounded and escaped. A precipitate and confused retreat immediately followed this repulse. Warburton and his grenadiers did not reach the south front of the fort until after the disaster. They were assailed with a destruc- tive volley from Hunter's corj)8, and fled for shelter to the adjacent woods. Tiie whole loss of the garrison was one man killed and seven slightly wounded. Tlie loss of the British in killed and wounded, according to the most careful estimates, was one hundred and twenty. The cowardly Indians, as usual when there was open 1 EspLANATioN OF TiiK Plah.— 1, Hdo of plcketB ; 2, embankment from the ditch to and against the pickets; 8, dry ditch ; 4, ontward embankment or glacis ; A, block-honse first attacked by cannon ; B, bastion or block-house from ffhich the ditch was raked by the slx-ponndcr In the fort ; C, gnard block-bonse ; D, hospital while attacked ; E E E, military store-honses; F, commissary's Rtore-honse ; O, magazine; H, fort gate; KKE, wicker gates; L, partition gate : 5, position of the five six-ponnders of the British on the night of the 2d of Angnst ; P, the graves of Lientenant Colonel Short and Lieutenant Gordon, who were killed in the ditch. The mortar or liowitzcr shifted position, as indicated on the plan. Tn the first ossanlt there were four six-pounders in battery, only one being left In the first position near the ri«r. This Plan was first published, from the oflicial drawing, in the Port Folio for March, 1815, and soon afterward in Thomson's carefully prepared Ilintorical Sketehea of the Late War. The graves of the two British officers are a few yards northcaihrard fl-om the junction of High and Market Streets. > It Is said that Lientenant Colonel Short, when he fell, twisted a white handkerchief on the end of his sword as a itippllcatlon for that mercy which bis battle-cry a moment before denied to his foe. 1 m- I ' 'ill '^m HllW 504 riCTORIAL FIELD-BOOK Dead and V/ouudcd borne away. The Night succeeding the Struggii,, figliting or great guns to face, kept themselves out of harm's way in a ravine near by, find the wliolc battle was fought by the small British "force, Avlio behaved most gallantly. During the night Proctor sent Indians to gather up the dead a.-d wound- ed, and at tlirce o'clock in the morning" the invaders sailed down the San- dusky, leaving behind them a vessel containing clothing and military stores. At about tlin same Jiour the gallant Major Croghan wrote a hurried note to General Harrison, informing him of his victory and the retreat of Proctor. The assault lasted only about half an hour. The dark storm-cloud in the west passed northward, the setting sun beamed out with peculiar splendor, a gentle breeze from the southwest bore the smoke of battle far away over the forest toward Lake Erie, and in the lovely twilight of that memorable Sabbath evening the brave youn;; Croghan addressed his gallant little band with eloquent words of praise and grateful thanksgiving. As the night and tho silence deepened, and the groans of the wound- ed in the ditch foil upon his ears, his generous heart beat with sympathy. Buckets filled with water were let down by ropes from the outside of the pickets; and as tiie gates of the fort could not be opened with safety durhig the night, he made a com- municition with the ditch by means of a trench, through which the wounded were borne into the little fortress and tiieir necessities suj)plied.' Intelligence of this gallant defense caused the liveliest sentiments of admiration th )ughout the country, and congratulations were sent to Major Croghan from every quarter. His general, in his official report, spoke of him in words of highest praise.^ The ladies of Chillicothe, Ohio, jmrehased and presented to him an elegant sword ;^ and the Congress of the United States voted him the thanks of the nation.* Twenty- two years la*er the Congress gave him a gold medal, in commemoration of his signal service on that day. Posterity will ever regard his name with honor.* ' Major Croghnn'B Report to General Ilarrtson, Angnst 8, 1S18 : General Ilarrison's Renort to the Secretary of War. August B, ISia ; M'Afee's IlinUny of the. Lata War, pages 322 to 328 ; Auchlnleck's Hiatori, of the War nf 1812, pajjes 1S4 lo 1S7 ; James's Military Occurrences, etc., pages 2B2 to 200 ; Mles's Register, August 14, 1813 ; The Pirrt Folin, March, KK; The War, volume 11., pages 3(1, 43, 47, 49, 61, 01 ; Address of Colonel Elisha Whittlesey at Fremont, August 2, 1S5S; Ad- dress of Homer Everett, Ksq., at Fremont, February 24th and 25th, ISUO ; Perkins's History of the Late War, pages 23, 224 ; SkcteheK of tlu: War (Rutland, ISIB), pages 100 to lOS ; Atwater's Hietory of Ohio, pages 22(1 to 229 ; Dawson's Life of Oi'ncral llarrimn, pages 249 to 251 ; MS. of Dr. Brainerd, quoted by Homer Everett, Esq. 2 " I am sorry," wrote General Harrison to the Secretary of War on the 4th of Augu.ft, "that I can not trauemlt jou Major Croghan's official report. He was to have sent it to mo this morning, but I have just heard that he was bo much exhausted by thirty-six hours of continued exertion as to be unable to make it. It will not be among the least of Gen- oral Proctor's mortiflcatlouo to find that he has been baffled by a youth who has Just passed his twcnty-Urst year, lie is, however, a hero worthy of his gallant uncle. General George Rogers Clarke." 3 This gift, at their request, was presented to him by Samuel Fluley and Joseph Whcaton, with the following letter bearing tho signatures of the donors : " Cnn.i.ioornE, August 13, ISl.l. "Sin,— In consequence of tho gallant defense which, under Divine Providence, was cfTected by you and the Iroiips under your command, of Fort Stephenson, at Lowor S.r .dusky, on the evening of tlie 2d inet., the ladies of tlic town ot Chillicothe, whose names are un-lorsigned, impressed with a high seiiBC of your merits as a soldier and a gentleman, and with great confidence in your patriotism and valor, present yon with a sword. Mary Flnlcy, Mary Stcrret, Aim Crelghton, Eliza CreJL'hton, ..:eanor Lamb, Nancy Waddle, Eliza Carlisle, Mary A. Southward, Susan D. Whcnton.of Washington City, Rlchamah Irwin, Judith Delano, Margaret M'Lnnburg, Margaret Miller, Elizabeth Martin, Nancy M'Arthur, ,Ti,no M'Coy, La-ina Fnlton, Catharine Fnllerlon, Rebecca M. Orr, Susan Wake, Ann M. Dunn, Marjarct Keys, Charlotte James, Esther Doolittlc, Eleanor Buchannnn, Margaret M'Farland, Deborah Ferree, Jauc M. Evaii'. Frances BriLsh, Mary Curtis, Mary P. Brown, Jane Heylin, Nancy Kerr, Catharine Hough, Eleanor Worthiugton, 5Isr- tha Scott, Sally M'Lean." To this letter Major Croghan replied at Lower Sandusky on the SKth of Angnst; "Lapiks or Cnii.i.inoTnR,— I have received tho sword which you have been pleased to present to me as a tost.raoiiial of your approbation of my conduct on the 2d instant. A mark of distinction so nattering and unexpected has cxiiuil feelings which I can not express. Vet, while I return you thanks for tho unmerited gift you have thus bestowed, I feci well aware that my good fortune (which was bought by tho activity of the bravo soldiers under my command), te raised in yon expectations from my future cITorts which must, I f ar, be sooner jr later disappointed. Still, I plcda myself (even though fortune should not bo again propitious) tliat my exertions shall bo such as never to couee yon in the least to regret the honors you '.uive been pleased to confer on your 'youthftil soldiei.' " * On the 8th of February, 1814, the Committee on Militar/ Aflfalrs reported a resolution, among others similar, to rfr quest the President to present an elegant sword to Colonel Croghan. This resolution was passed by at the time, and never called up again. » George Croghan was a son of Major William Croghan, of the Revolntionary army. His father was a native of Ire- land ; hie mother was a sister of General George Rogers Clarke, sometimes called the F.ither of tho Northwest. Ik W08 bom at Locust Grove, near the Falls of tho Ohio (now Louisville), in Kentucky, on the 16th of November, 1191. Ut the 8lri\gg\c. .vine near ived most .d wound- n the S;m- ary stores. to General 1 tl\c west ntle breeze ward Lake rave youiii]; .nd grateful the wound- f. Buckets ; and as the lade a com- >unded were [■ admiration a from every 'hcst praise.^ rant sword;' n.* Twenty- i of liis signal Secretary of War. 1812, paj;cs W lo ii'(i(/(),Mnrcti,l«°"!!; Itlic Northwest. W November, nol. U' OF THE WAR OF 1812. 605 Miidal presented to Croghan. A Visit to Sandusky. A Hide to C'astalinn 8priUK«. aOLD MEDAL AW ADDED TO OENER' L flB0nUAH.> It was a soft, hazy, half sunny day, late in September,* when I visit- ■September 24, ed tiie site of Fort Stephenson and the places of events that made it fa- ^*™" inous. I had come up by railway during the early hours of the morning from pleas- ant Sandusky City, where I had spent two or three days with friends, vainly en- deavoring to visit Put-in-Bay, where Perry's fleet rendezvoused before the battle n'hicli gave him victory and immortality. Tlie excursion steam-boat to that and otiier places had been Avithdrawn for the season, and the wind was too high to make a voyage thither in a sail-boat safe or pleasant. I was less disappointed than I should iitherwise have been, by the discovery that an artist (Miss C. L. Ransom), 11100 in Sandusky City, had made careful drawings of the historical points about Put-in-Bay. I had the pleasure of meeting her, and availing myself of her courteous permission to copy such of her drawings as I desired. Of these more Avill be said when giving an account of the naval battle near tliere. In company with Mr. Barney, with whom I was staying, I visited the famous Cas- talian Springs, at the village of Castalia, five or six miles south from Sandusky City. Tliey flow ''p from subterranean fountains, almost as limpid as air, and in volume so itreat that along the outlet, wliich is called Cold Creek, in its course of three miles tluongh a beautiful prairie of three thousand acres to Sandusky Bay, no less tlian wns graduated at William and Mary College, in Virginia, in the summer of 1810 ; entered its law Bchool, and remained ilicre until the fall of ISll, when he Joined the army under Harrison at Vincennea. He was volunteer aid to Colonel Boyd at the battle of Tippecanoe. On account of his services in the Wabash expedition, he was appointed a captain of iuf.uitry in the spring of 1S12, and in August he marched with the forces under General Winchester to the relief of Gen- eral Hall in Canada. In March, 1813, ho was promoted to major, and became aid-ue-camp to General Harrison. In that capacity he distinguished himjelf In the defense of Fort Meigs, and the sortie on the 8th of May under the gallant Col- onel Miller. For his gallantry at Fort Stephenson he was breveted a lieutenant colonel, and was appointed colonel of a rifle corps in February, 1814. At the close of the war he was retained In service, but married In ISU and resigned. In b!4 he wno appointed postmaster at New Orleans, and re'.irned to the service in tS25 as Inspector general, with the r„uk of colonel. In 1836 Congress awarded him a gold medal for his gallantry at Fort Stephenson. He died at New Orleans on the 8th of ilanuary, 1840. I On Tuesday, the 27th of January, 1S3B, a Joint resolution passed the House of Representatives, authorizing the Pres- ident of the United States to " present a gold medal to General Croghan" (he was then inspector general of the army), and swords to several officers under his command. These were Captain Jamss Hunter, and Lieutenants Benjamin Johuion and Cyrus A. Baylor, of the Seventeenth Regiment, Mcutennnt .lohn Meek, of the Seventh Regiment, and En- siuns Edward Shipp and Joseph Duncan. The latter was nfierward Governor of Illinois. lieiilennnt Johnson was promoted to captain of a rifle corps in Mnrch, 1814, and left the service at the close of the war, Lieutenant Baylor also left the servlrfl at the close of the war. Lieutenant Meek reslrrned in May, 1814. He was ai)|i()inted military store-keeper at Llllle Rock, Arkansas, In tlie summer of 1838, and was removed, on n change of ad- ministration, in 1841. Ensign Duncan was promoted to first lieutenant of infantry in July, 1814, and was disbanded 'n M5. lie wns a representiUive In Congress from Illinois fi-om 1827 to 1835, Governor of illluois from »834 to 18S8, and died at Jnrksoiiville on the 16th of January, 1844. It Is proper to observe that the representation of the fort an 1 its surronndlngo, on this medal, presented to General CroRhnn, is Incorrect. It was not a regular fort, but a picketed inclosiire, with rudely-built block-bousos. The 8an- ilusky River Is here a narrow s' earn, and not such an expanse of water as the place of the vessels represent. It may liarc been Intended for Sandusky Bay. 1. m i 1 1 506 riCTORIAL FIELD-BOOK Appearance and Character of the Castalian Springe. Au Evening in Sanduslsy. Journey to Fremom. I.OWEU OAHTALIAN BPBIMO. fourteen sets of mill-stones were kej)t in motion by it. In a rough scow we liovirod over the centre of tin spring, and, peering clown into its cloar", mysterious depth?' saw logs, and plants' and earth in grotto form, made iridescent !^'- by the light in tiio aqueous prism.' AVe intended to visit the somewhat marvelous cave in the range of limestone about two miles from the springs, but the day Avas too far f^cnt when I liad completed mv sketch of the fountains to allow us to do so. We returned to the town by the way of Mr. Barney's fine vineyard, and arrived at sunset. I spent the evening with General Leslie Combs at the " West House," and in a public meeting.'* The next day was the Sabbath, and on Monday morning I started by railway for Lower Sandusky with impressions which have crystallized into pleasant memories of a delightful little citv on a slope overlooking one of the finest bays that indent the ^outl '• " shores of Lake Erie.^ On our way we stopped a few minutes at the little "v Clyde, whoro the railways from Cleveland and Toledo and from Cincinnati and Sandusky Citv cross each other. There a crowd had collected to sec and hear the late Judge Douo- las, then one of the andidates for the presidency of the United States, who was trav- eling foV his political health, weary and wayworn. Eager eyes, vociferous shouts. loud huzzas, and the swaying of a little mnltitude, is the picture of a few minutes of time impressed upon the memory. An hour later I was in Fremont, as the old vil- lage of Lower Sandusky was named a few years ago in honor of the accomitlishtil explorer in earlier years, and general in the army of the republic during a portion of the late Civil War. Very soon after my arrival I was favored with the company of Messrs. Sardis Biidi- ard and Homer Everett (residents of the village, and familiar with its history) in a pilgrimage to places of interest in and around that shire-town of Sandusky County.' ' The Castalian Springs are great natural curiosities, and are mnch visited'. There are two, Icnown respectively as Upper and Lower. They arc about one fourth of a mile apart, and are connected by a race. At the lower one, where Messrs. Cochrane and Weston had o flouring-mlll, a dike had been raised (seen in the above sketch) to p'- • im,,''- 'r.ll to the water. The two springs are of about equal dimensions. That of the lower one, which I visited. ' ; rir!j feet in depth. The water is so limpid that a white ol)Jcct an inch In diameter may be plainly seen lyin" . ■'• Imw. Tlie tcmiierature of the woter Is about 40° Fahrenheit, and holds in solution lime, soda, magnesia, and I ■ ' ■» i- fles every thing with which it conies in contact. This process makes the mill-wheels indestnictible. M.i. v -Mi a half from the sprint's is a limestone ridge covered with alluvium. From beneath this these sprlngo up; ; it ft and are doubtless the lirst appearance on the earth of a little subterranean river, like that of the Eutaw in S n. Una. ■ » See pnffe ;' , ' Sandusky City is the capital of Erie County, Ohio. It was named Portland when it was first laid out in isn, nhoo there were only two log houses there, ono on the site of the "Veranda Hotel," and the other about sixty rods cost of ll. The town stands upon an inexhaustible quarry of the finest limestone. It wns a favorite resort of the Indians, mi previous to the War of 1S12 it w.ns known as Ogontz's Place, Ogont/. being the name of a Wyandot chief who rosldoil there. A writer in the AmfHeaii I'Inneer, I., WD, says the name of Sandnsky is derived from that of a Polish trader who was with the French when they wen' establishing their lino of trading-posts on the Maumee and Wabash Hirers. Hi* name was Sanduski, and established himself near the present village of Fremont. Ills trading operations were cm:- flncd to the river and bay there, and these became known to both Indians and Euroi)eans as Sauduski's River mid Saii- ctii'ki's Bay. Sauduskl quarreled with the Indians, fled to Virginia, and was there killed by some of those who followcil him. On the peninsula, across the bay opposite Sandnsky, is a rough monument, erected there by the n-1cr and at the ex- pense of the late Honorable Joshua R. Oiddings, to ])erpetuate the memory of the spot where he am enty-oue ()tlier« had a skirmish with the Indians on the 20th of September, lSt2. He was a suljstltnte for an older bn'i jr, audwnsonlr fourteen years of age. The regiment to which he belonged was commanded by Colonel Rlchar' ■> i' and the little company, who had been ordered on duty on the peninsula after the defeat of General Hull, was lei. v ; ,.(nii' Colloii They had two skirmishes with the savages, in which, of the twenty-two soldiers, six were killed, and .in equal nninber were wounded. Mr. Oiddings was the youngest soldier of the regiment. • This town stands at the head of the navigation of Sandusky River, eighteen or twenty miles (^om Sandusky Biv H'ii 10 Fremont. liovcrod ;rc of tin peering its eloar, depths, 1(1 pliiiits, ill grotlii iriclescent it ill the sm.' Wo visit the marvelous 1 range of ibout two ipleted my the way of itli General it (lay was xlnsky with il little city jres of Lake Hyde, where idusky City [iidge Doug- ho was trav- rous shouts. y minutes of the old vil- iccomplishcil a portion of Sardis Birch- liistory) in ii vv County/ vu rcspeclivdy as lower one, where to p'- ted.' . iV ,ud I •V 1- •,)rmed the De- partment that, nnder the lead of Ebenezer Crosby, a good ship- wright, and such honse-carpcntcrs as he could supply, he had two of the gun-boats— 60 feet keel, IT feet beam, and 6 feet hold —on the stocks, and would engage to have them all ready by the time the ice was out of the lake. rEBBV's BESninsrE.' C^yO/vuU^ ]D a-^^trt^iy^^ • On his return from Detroit ha wos sent by Qeneral David Mead with dispatches to Washington. There he was summoned to a Cabinet council, and was ftally interrogated concerning the lakes. His opinions were received with deference ; and such was the confidence of the Cabinet in his judgment that he was ap- pointed sailing-master, and directed to construct gnu-boats at Erie. II i 1 m I M It II f 1 1 i* " ' ' -' i !fiir 6ie PICTORIAL FIELD-BOOK The Harbor of Erie or Prcsqa" IbIc. History of the Locality. Villnj;eofErie. spent the next day in examining vessels on the stocks at the navy yard at Black llock, then superintended by Lieutenant Pettigru, and made arrangements for liaviii" stores forwarded to him. He pressed onward by land, and at an inn on the way he was informed by the keeper, who had just returned from Canada, tliat the British were acquainted with the movements at Erie, and would doubtless soon attempt to penetrate the hal-bor, and destroy the naval materials collected there. The harbor of Eric is a large bay, within the embrace of a low, sandy peninsula that juts five miles into the lake, and a bluff of main land on which the pleasant vil- lage of Erie, the capital of Erie County, Pennsylvania, stands. The peninsula has sometimes been an island when its neck has been cleft by storms, and the harbor has been entered from the west by small vessels. Within the memory of livinir men Presqu' Isle (the peninsula) has been a barren sand-bank ; now it is covered by a growth of young timber. It is deeply indented toward its extremity by an estuary called Little Bay. The harbor is one of the finest on the lake when gained, but at the period in question, and until lately, its entrance was by a shallow channel, tortu- ous and difficult on account of sand-bars and shoals. Although Presqu' Isle Avas a place of historic interest in colonial times,* it was an insignificant village in 1812, and less than twenty years of age.^ Many miles of wilderness, or a very sparsely-popu- lated country, lay betAveen it and the thick settlements ; and the supplies of every Cnptnin Dobbins was nn efficient man and faithful officer. He was duly appointed a sailing-master in the navy, and was highly esteemed by Commodore Perry. He was born in Mifflin County, Pennsylvania, on the Bth of July, ijto, ami first visited Erie, with n party of surveyors, in 1796. It was then a ivilderncss. He was there with General Wayne at the time of his death. He settled there, and became a navigator on the lakes. He was at Mackinaw with his vcfscl thcSiifina, when that place was captured by the Biitish in 1S12, and, with R. S. and William Held, of Erie, he was pa- roled. At Detroit he was again made prisoner, and paroled unconditionally. He was very efBclcnt in fittliig out tli» squadron at Erie, and in the expedition, under Commodore Sinclair, that attempted to retake Mackinaw. After the nar he was in command of the Wanliingion, and in ISlC he conveyed troops in her to Green Bay. She was the first vessel, ex- cept n canoe, that ever entered that harbor. A group of islands in that vicinity were named Dobblns's Islands In honor of him. He was ordered to sea iu 1820, when he resigned his commission In the navy, but remained in the government employment. In 1829 President Jackson appointed him commander of the revenue cutter /Jun/i, He left active senlce iu 1849, and died at the age of almost eighty-one, February 29, 1850. The likeness of Captain Dobbins, given cii the pre- ceding page, is from a portrait painted by Moses Billings, of Erie, when he was seventy-five years of age. 1 Here was erected one of the chain of French forts in the wilderness which first excited the alarm and jeiilonsy of the English colonies in America and the government at home. The remains of the ramparts and ditches, seen In the sketch on the opposite page, are very prominent upon a point overlooking the entrance to the harbor, which It com- mands, and a deep ravine, through which Mill Creek flows, wltliin the eastern limits of the borough of Erie. The fort is supposed to have been erected early in 1749, that being the year when the French sent armed emissaries thronghout the Ohio Valley to drive off the English traders. It was constnicted under the direction of Jean Cceur (commonly writ- ten Joucoire in history), an influential Indian agent of the French governor general of Canada. This was Intended by the French for an important entrepot ofstip- plles for the interior forts j but when Cauada passed into the possession of the English, a hundred years ago, the fort was abandoned, and fell Into decay. General Wayne established a small garrison there In 1794, and caused a block-house to he bnilt on the bluflf part of Mill Creek, at the lake shore of Garrison Hill. On his return as victor over the Indians iu the Maumee Valley, he occupied a lo;; house near the block-house. There he died of gout, and, at his own request, was burled at the foot of the flag-sti'^T. His remains were removed to Radnor ChnrcU-yard, Pennsylvania, in ISW. The block-house fell into decay, and. In the win- ter of 1813-'14, another was built oil Its site ; nlsu one on the Point of the Peninsnia of Presqu' Isle, The former remained until 1863, when some mis- creant burnt It. It was the last relic of the War of 1812 in that vicinity. I am indebted to B.F. Sloan, Esq., editor of the Brie Observer, for the ac- companying sketch of the block-house, made by Mr. Chevalier, of Erie. The view is fi-om the edge of the water at the month of Mill Creek, just below the old mill. On the left Is seen the open lake, and on the right of the block-house, where a small building Is seen, was the place of the flag-staff and Wayne's grave. ' It was laid oat in ITOfi, when reservations were made of certain lots for the use of the United States. The first while settler there ivas Colonel John Reid, fl-om Rhode Island, who built a log cabin, enlarged It, and called It the Presqu' We Hotel, entertained travelers, soldiers, traders, speculators, and Indians, and laid the foundation of a large fortase. His fson built the " Reld House," iu Krle, one of the finest hotels Iu the country out of the large cities. WATME B BLOOK-aODBE AT ERIE. OF THE WAR OF 1812. 511 lOKeofErle. at Black 31" liiiving e way lie le British tteiupt to peninsula easant vil- insula has liavbor has iviiiiT men leered by a an estuary lied, but at nnel, tortu- Isle was a .n 181 2, and ivsely-popu- es of every In the navy, and of July, I'TC, and Icnernl Wayne at V with his vessel, r Erie, he was pa- in flttlnK out the w. After the war he first vessel, ex- i Islands in honor 1 the govcrnrociit left active 6er\lce given I'n the prc- uiul Jeulonsy ot _ hcs. Been in the lor, which it com- ofErie. Thefott saries throughout (commonly writ- his was intended entrepot of sup- len Canada passed a hundred years id fell into decay, ittll garrison tliere sc to he hnilt on ihc lake shore of ^g victor over tlic tie occupied a los There he died ot .■asi hurled at tlio ins were removed sylvania, in 1S«. , and, in the win- t oil its site; also laofPresqu'lelc. when some mis- relic of the War [indehted to B.F. ...'tier, for the ac- ;.hoHse, made by Is from the edfc id on the right lit The first white fit the Prr»q«' '* Irgo fortune, nis Pcrrj'9 Arrival ut Krle^ Cuuatructlon of a Fleet begun. Cascade Creek, and Block-bonse near. yitW OF TUB BITE Of TUK FUE.NUU FUUT AND KMTBANOI TO KBIE IIAOUOB.' kind but timber, for naval preparations, had to be brought from far-away places with creat labor. Zeal and energy overcame all difficulties. Perry arrived at Erie, as we have observed, on the 27th of March. He established his quarters at Duncan's " Erie Hotel," and entered upon the duties of his important errand by calling around him the employ6s of the government there. Much pre- liminary work had al- ready been done under the direction of the ouergetic Sailing-mas- ter Dobbins and Noah Blown, a shipwright tVoni New York. For- est-trees around Erie li.id been felled and iiewn ; the keels of two twenty-gun brigs and ;i clipper schooner had been laid at the mouth ofCascade Creek; two gun -boats were nearly planked up at tlie mouth of Lee's Run,hetween the pres- ent Peach and Sassa- fras Streets; and a tiiird, afterward call- .5»ff~-- C'^^^. MODTII OF GABOAUE OBEEK." I This view of the entrance to Krle Harbor was taken from the site of the old French Fort de la Presqu' Isle, mentioned in the note on the preceding page. The mounds Indicating the remains of the fort are seen on the right, and near them, ill the centre of the picture, is a small building used as a powder-house. On the bluff on the extreme right is seen a little structure, indicating the site of the block-house mentioned in the note on the preceding page, which is not far from the present light-house. On the left, in the extreme distance. Is Presqu' Isle Point, and in the water, piers that have been constructed for the Improvement of the entrance channel, and a light-house. » This is a view of the site of the navy yard at the month of the uascade Creek, and of a portion of the harbor of Erie, made by the author early in September, 1800. The creek and the gentle cascade, which gives Its appropriate name, are seen in the foreground. Beyond It, and the small boats seen in Its waters, is the beach where the Laturenee, Xiagara, and Ariel were built. On the clay and gravel bluflr at the extreme right, the fence marks the site of a block-house built to protect the ship-yard, whose stout flag-staff, with cross-pieces for steps, served as an observatory. From its top a Ml view of the lake over Presqn' Isle could be seen. The lower part of the block-house was heavy, rough logs ; the upper, or battery part, was made of hewn timber. Ic the distance. In the centre of the picture, is seen the landing at Erie, and on the left the pier and llght-honse at the entrance to the harbor. Just behind the bluff, in the distance, is the mouth of Lee's Rua, where the Poreupine and njiTM were Imilt. The cascade is about flfteeu feet in perjiendlcnlar full In iU passage over a ledge of slate rock, and 1« alKint one mile from the public square lu Erie. BI.OOK-UIHSK. ! 1:1 I m 512 PICTORIAL FIELD-BOOK A GaarJ at Erie. Perry baateiis to Cbaarcey. Eventa on the Niagara Frontier. ctl Scorpion, waa just commenced. To guard against surprise and the destruction of the vessels by the Britislj, a volunteer company of sixty men, under Captain Fos- ter, had been organized. Captain Dobbins had also formed a guard of the ship-cai. I)enter8 and other mechanics engaged on the vessels. On the arrival of Sailing-master Tiiylor, on the 3d of March, with officers and mon Perry hastened to Pittsburg to urge forward supplies of every kind for the comple. tion and equipment of his little squadron. He had already ordered Dobbins to Ijuf. • April 10, falo for men and munitions ; and on his return" ho was gratified to find that ^^^^- faithful oflicer back and in possession of a twelve-pound cannon, four cliests of small arms, and ammunition. The vessels, too, were in a satisfactory state of for- wardness. They were soon off tlio stocks. Early in May the three smaller ones were launched, and on the 24th of the same month the two brigs were put afloat.' ' M 21 "^' sunset of tlie day before the launching of the brigs,'' Perry k-ft Erie in an open four-oared boat, to join Chauncey in an attack upon Fort Geove at the mouth of the Niagara River. Tlie commodore had promised him the command of the marines in the enterprise. All night he buffeted the angry waves of Lake Erie and arrived at Buffalo the next day. Perry was accompanied from Erie as far as Lewiston by his faithful coadjutor, Captain Dobbins. From that point the latter was sent back to Schlosser, to prepare boats for seamen who were to be sent up after tlic reduction of Fort George, and to the Black Kock navy yard, to hasten the equipment of some government vessels that were to join the growing squadron at Erie. Fort George fell," Fort Erie was evacuated and burnt, and the British abandoned the entire line of the Niagara River. This enabled Perry to take safely from that stream ijito Lake Erie and the sheltering arms of Presqu' Isle five vesselswhich Henry Eckford had prepared for warlike service, and Avhicli had been detained belo^v Buffalo by the Canadian batteries. They were loaded Avith stores at the Black Rock navy yard; and on tlie morning of the 6th of June, oxen, seamen, and two hundred soldiers, under Captains Brevoort and Younge, who had been de- tailed to accompany Perry to Erie, with strong ropes over willing shoulders com- menced warping or "tracking" them up the swift current. It Avas a task of incredi- ble labor, and occupied full six days. The little flotilla'^ sailed from Buffalo on the 13th. Perry was in the Cakthin". sick with symptoms of bilious remittent fever. Head Avinds prevailed. " Wo inadi tAventy-fivo miles in tAventy-four hours," Avrpte Doctor Usher Parsons, Perry's sni- geon, in Ms diary.^ It Avas not imtil the 19th that they entered the harbor of Erie, just in time to avoid the little cruising squadron of the enemy under tlie gallant Captain Finnis, of the Royal Navy, which had been on the look-out for them. Of this Perry had been informed, on his way, by men in a small boat that shot out from the southern shore of the lake, and he had prepared to fight. "When the last vessel of the flotilla had crossed the bar at Erie, the squadron of the enemy hove in sicht off Presqu' Isle Point.* Three or four days afterward the flotilla went up to the mouth of the Cascade Creek, Avhere the tAvo brigs and a gun-boat lay. Perry's fleet was completed and finished on the 10th of July; but, alas! be had ' The timber for the veesels was fonnd on the spot. Their frames were made of white and black oak and chesliin!, the onteide planking of oak, and the decks of pine. Many trees found their places as timber In the vessels on the veir day when they were felled in the forest. " It consisted of the prize brig Caledonia («ce page 3Sfl) ; the schooner Homers (formerly Catharine), carrying one loog 24 ! schooner Amelia (formerly Ti;iress), carrying one long 18 ; and schooner Ohio, carryiii.; one long 24 ; the sloop Con- tractor (now called Trippe), carrying one long 18. The commanders of this flotilla,from Buffalo to Eric were Peirr, Almy, Uoldnp, Darling, and Dobbins. ' Doctor Usher Parsons, of Providence, Rhode Island, Is the last surviving commissioned officer of Perry's fleet. Iiiii greatly indebted to him for many valuable contributions to this portion of my work, both oral and written, cspfcijlly for the use of his diary kept daring the campaign of 1813. We shall meet him presently as the surgeon of Ihcioir- reiuf, Perry's flag-ship, In the battle of the 10th of Sepfernber. * This crnising squadron consisted of the ship Queen Clmrlotte, mounting IT gnns : the fine schooner Ladti Preml, mounting 13 guns ; the brig Hunter, a smaller vessel of 10 gnns ; the schooner Little Belt, of 3 guns ; and the CMppKt, of 1 gun. ti I ! ■■!■ OF THE WAR OF 1812. 518 Brig Xaic twt to bo the Flag-nhlp. Lnck of Men, Perry's Earue«tne9> uud UnnelOiibneM, Jnly 19. only men enough to officer and man one of the brigs, and he was compelled to lie idle in the harbor of Erie, an unwilling witness of the insolent menaces of the enemy on the open lake. The brig that was to bear his broad pennant was named (by order of the Secretary of the Navy, received on the 12th) LaxDrence, in honor of the gallant captain of the Chesapeake^ who had just given his life to his country." The .jnnc, other bris? was named Niagara, and the smaller vessels constructecl at Erie '^**- ttcre called respectively Ariel (the clipper schooner), Porcujniie, and Tigress. But what availed these vessels without officors and crews? The two hundred soldiers lent as a guard for the flotilla on its voyage from ButTalo had been ordered back. Only Captain lirevoort, who was familiar with the navigation of the lake, remained, and he was assigned to the command of the marines of the Niagara. Perry was sick and almost one fifth of his men were subjects for the hospital in the court-liouse, under Doctor Horsley, or the one near the site of Wayne's block-house, under Doctor Hoherts. And yet the government, remiss itself in furnishing Perry with men, was aUIn" loudly upon him to co-operate with Harrison. Twice within four days he re- (cfved orders to that eiFect from the Secretary of the Treasury.'' Ilarri- ^ snii too, was 8endin'ad ar- rived with seventy men. Perry wrote to Channcey : " For God's sake, and yours, and mine, send me men and officers, and I will huve them all [the British squadron] in a (lay or two. Commodore Barclay keeps just out of the reach of our gun-boats The vessels are all ready to meet the enemy the moment they are officered and man- ned. Oiu" sails are bent, provisions on board, and, in fact, every tiling is ready. Bar- day has been bearding me for several days ; I long to be at him." Tlien, with the most generous patriotism, he added, " However anxious I am to reap the reward of the labor and anxiety I have had on this station, I shall rejoice, whoever commands, to see this force on the lake, and surely I liad rather be commanded by my friend i than by any other. Come, then, and the business is decided in a few hours." Perry's importunities were almost in vain. Few and mostly inferior men came to him from Lake Ontario, and, so far as the government was concerned, he was left to I call them from the forest or the deep. When he gave Harrison the tnie reason for failing to co-operate with him, the Secretary of the Navy reproved him for exposing ' Two days aficrwnrd [.Tnly 81] the enemy were becalmed off the harbor, when Perry went ont with three gnn-boat* from Cajcnde Creek to attaoi. him. Only a few shots were exchanged, at the distance of a mile. One of Perry's shots Suck the mizzen-mast of the Qu«ett Charlotte. A breeze sprung np, and the enemy's sqnadron bore away to the open like. 1 1 , 1; '■ 1 '.,, . Hi ^ ^^^^^^BTii<^ ' jk ■V Ek iij. If' !! I hi fili PICTORIAL FIELD-BOOK Belatiunt ofC'hnuuccy iiud Perry. Erie menaced. Prepar«tlon« for nu AitMk. his wt'iiknosH ; and when ho complained to Chaunccy of tho inferiority of the men Bent to him — " a motley set, blacks, Boldiers, and boys" — he received from the irritated commodoi-e a letter ho tilled with caustic but half-concealed irony, that ho felt con- strained to ask for a removal from the station, because, as he alleged, he " could not serve longer under an officer who had been so totally regardless of his feelingg."' a nianly, generous letter from Chauncey soon afterward restored ^'le kindUness of fed- ing between them. In the mean time tho post of Erie had been Boriously menaced. General Porter at Black Koi'k, sent word that the enemy were concentrating at Long Point on tin- Canada shore of the lake, opposite Erie. At about the same time a hostile movement was made toward Fort Meigs, and tho British fleet mysteriously disappeared. Ko doubt was entertained of a design to attempt the capture of Erie, with the vessels and stores, by a combined land and naval force. A panic was tho conseijuence. Tlie families of many citizens fled with their valuables to the interior. Already a block- house had been erected on the bluif east of (Cascade Creek to protect the ship-yard,- and a redoubt mounting three long twelve-pounders had been planted on the heiglits (now called Garrison Hill), near the present light-house, and named J^ort Waynu. Barracks had been erectefl u the village,^ and a regiment of Pennsylvania militia were encamped near Fort ^^ ayne. The vessels were as well manned as possible, and boats rowed guard at tho entrance to the harbor. But these means of defense were not considered sufficient, and Perry called on Major General David Mead, of Mead- ville, to re-enforce the troops with his militia. This was done,* and in the course ofa few days upward of fifteen hundred soldiers were concentrated at a rendezvous near. But an invasion from the lake was not attempted, owing, as was afterward ascertain- ed, to the difficulty of collecting a sufficient number of troops in time at Long Point. At the close of July Perry had about three hundred eifective officers and men at ' Letter to the Secretary of the Navy, dated on board the Lawrence, at Eric, August 10, 1813. > See note 2, page 511. ' These occupied a portion of the space now bonnded by Third and Fifth and State and Sassafrne Streets. Th«( objects and locnlllies, and others, are indicated on the above map, in the constrnction of which I nclsnowledge jld kindly afforded mo by Giles Sanford, Esq., of Erie. The public square is indicated by the white space on the village plan, and the court-house by the shaded square within it. * Doctor Parsons wrote in bis diary, under date of Augnst 1, 1818, "General Head, of Headville, arrived two ortbrw : days afro, and, with his suite, came on board the Laurence under a salute of thirty-two guns." OF THE WAR OF 1812. 016 fuugt of V«Mel» over Krie Bar. FIrrt Crulie of Perry'i Fleet. Re^enforcements nnder Captain Elllolt. gric with which to man two 20-giin brigs and eight smaller veHscls. The enemy jj^jppeared ."••'' *-o lake was calm. lie was so restive umler the bearding of Bar- ilav and the chafing from superiors, that he resolved with these to go out upon the lake and try the fortune of war. On Sunday, tho first of August, he moved his flo- tilla down to the entrance of the harbor, intending to cross early the next morning. 'file lake was lower than usual, and the squadron would not float over the bar. Even the smaller vessels had to be lightened for the purpose, and at one time it was con- sidered doubtful whether the Lawrence and Niagara could be taken otit of the har- l,or at all. The flag-ship was tried first. Her cannon, not " loaded and shotted," as the historians have said (for they had been discharged in saluting General Mead), «cre taken out and placed on timbers on the beach, while the Niagara and smaller vessels lay with their broadsides toward the lake forlicr protection, iu the event of tiie reappearance of Barclay.* By means of " camels"^ the Lawrence was floated over on the morning of the 4th, and by two o'clock that day her armament was all on board of her, mounted and prc- iiiircd for action. The Niagara was taken over in the same way with very little (rouble, and the smaller vessels reached the deep water outside* without . Angust ^ much difficulty. The labor of this movement had been exciting and ex- ^^'*' hausting, and the young commander scarcely slept or partook of food during the four days. The enemy was expected every moment. Should he appear while the tliitilla was on the bar, H might be lost. Fortunately, Commodor.. liarclay's social wiakness — the inordmate love of public festivities — j)rolonged his absence, and his sniadron did not heave in sight until the 6tli, just as the Niagara M'as safely moving into deep water.^ The Ariel, Lieutenant Packet, and Scorpion, Sailing-master Cham- iiHii, were sent out boldly to engage and detain the squadron. Barclay was surprised at this movement, and ]K;rceiving that his golden opportrnity was lost, he bore away toward Long Point. The whole of Perry's flotilla was in perfect preparation before night. That evening it weighed anchor," and stood toward Long Point on its first cruise. Perceiving no farther use for the militia, who were anx- ious to get into their harvest-fields, General Mead discharged them, and the aimed citizens of Erie resumed their accustomed avocations. Perry cruised between Erie and the Canada shore for two or three days, vainly searching for the enemy, who had gone to INIalden to await the completion of the Detroit, a ship that would make the British force superior to that of the Americans. But the latter now received accessions of strength. On the 9th the squadron was joined at Erie by Captain Jesse D. Elliott,* who brought M'ith him about one hundred officers and superior men. With these he manned the Niagara and assumed com- mand of her. Thus re-enforced, Perry resolved to sail up the lake and report himself ready to co-operate with Harrison. The squadron left Erie on the 12tli° in double column, one line in regular ' August. battle order,' and rendezvoused in an excellent harbor called Put-in-Bay,'' " Auguat is. • 1 MamiBcript corrections of the text of M'Kenzle's Life qf Perry, by Captain Daniel Dobbins, who assisted .,n the EOTeraent. I am indebted for the use of these notes to his son, Captain W. W. Dobbins, of Erie, Pennsylvania. i 1 A "camel" Is a machine invented by the Dutch for carrying vessels over shallow places, as bars at tlie entrance of I hu!wr«. It is a huge box or kind of scow, so arranged that water may be let in or pumped out at pleasure. One of ihem is placed on each side of a vessel, the wafer let In, and the camels so snnkcn that, by means of ropes nnder the keel and windlasses, the vessel may be placed so that beams may bear it, resting on the camels. The water iu the j tsnieli is then pnraped out, they float, and the vessel, raised by them, Is carried over the shallow place. ' Captahi Dobbins, in his MS. notes on M'Kenzle's Life qf Commodore Perry, says that the citizens of Port Dover, a saisll village on Ryason's Creek, a little below Long Point, in Canada, oflTered Commodore Barclay and his officers a I [ubllc dinner. The invitation was accepted. While that dinner was being attended Perry was getting his vessels over I the bar, and thereby acquired power to successfully dispute the supremacy of Lake Erie with the British. At the din- jner Captain Barclay remarked, in response to a complimentary toasts "I expect to And the Yankee brigs hard and fast I on ihe bar at Erie when I return, in which predicament it will be but a smf.U Job to destroy them." Had Barclay been limmlndfnl of duty, his expectations might have been realized. Captain Dobbins makes this statement on the au- jihoriiyofan old lake acquaintance, Mr. Ryasou, who was at the dinner. ♦ See page .188. • Penj's nsgregato force of officers and men was less than four hundred. His squadron was composed as follows: Ir I. ' I » ^!l i sie I'ICTOUIAL FlKLU-nOOK bUndi aronnd Pnt-ln-Bny, HtrrUon vlilU Parry on hti Fl«g-*hlp. BIcknni In the V\m. formed by ii proup of iHliuuls known as the North, AliihUo, and South Huhr, Put-jn. Bay, Siij:jiir, (iihraltar, and Strontian,' and nuiucrous wmall iHlotB, Home of tluin con. taining not more than lialf an aero. These lie ott'Port Clinton, the eapital ofOttuw i County, Ohio. Nothint; wan Been of the enemy ; and on the following day, towanl evening, the wiuadron weighed anchor and sailed ft)r Sandusky Bay, when a straiii'. eail was discovered ott" Cunningham (now Kelly) Island by Champlin, of du. ,sv„,.. pion, who liad been sent out as a sort of scout. lie signaled and gave oliaxc i',,|. lowed for u short time by tlie whole sijuadron. It was a British sehoontT reconnoi. tring. She eluded her pursuers by darting among the islands that form I'ut-in Hnv under cover of the night. A heavy storm of wind and rain came with the darkness The Scorjiion j)artly grounded, the schooner ran ashore in the gale, and the ^(luadrnii lay at anchor all night.^ On the following morning the point of the peiiiiiMiiJa oti' Sandusky Bay was reached, when Perry fired signal-guns, according to agrecnicnt \» ap[)riBc Harrison at his quarters at Camp Seneca of his j)resencc. That eveninu ('(,i. onel E. P. Gaines, Avitli a few officers and a guard of Indians, appeared on board iIk Lmcrence, and informed Perry that Harrison, with eight thousand men — militia ric- ulars, and Indians — was only twenty-seven miles distant. Boats were innncdiatclv dispatched to bring the general and his suite on board. lie arrived late in the even- ing of the 19th, during a heavy rain, accompanied by his aids, M'Arthur and Cass, and other officers composing his staff, and a large number of soldiers and Indians, twenty-six of the latter being chiefs of the neighboring tribes, whose friendship it was thought important to maintain. The plan of the campaign was then anani;eil • AugiiBt, by the two commanders. The 20th,'' a bright and beautiful day, was spent 18111. ju reconnoitring Put-in-Bay, with the view of concentrating the army tlieu for transportation to Maiden, and on the 21st the general returned to his camp. Ah Harrison ns not quite ready for ' AngiiM ^ZtijHe^ the forward ' uent. Perry sailed'' on a )itring ex- pedition toward Maiden, first ordcrinff tin ever-trusty Captain Dobbins to hasten with the Ohio to Erie on the important e"rand of procuring additional stores. He found the enemy within the mouth of the Detroit River. The new vessel had not yet joined the squadron, and he rcsolvi 1 to strike a bold blow. Unfavorable wind- made the measure very perilous ; and be- fore the elements were pro])itious he was prostrated by an attack of bilious remit- tent fever, then very prevalent in the squadron. His surgeon and chaplain, and his young brother Alexandtr, who had accompanied him from Rhode Island, were also severely ill, and the assistant surgeon. Doctor Parsons, was too weak from a similar attack to walk.^ Tlie en- terprise was abandoned for the time, ami ryatrrerue, commanded by Commodore Perry; Niagara, Captain Elliott; CatefoiWn, Pnreer M'Orath; Ariel, Llcntenanl : I'ackct; Sarnert, Salltug-maBter Almy; Tirrrem, Master'g-mate M'Donald; Soorpion, Sailing-maBter Champlln; hra- \ pirn, Midshipman Senat ; Ohio, Sailing-master Dobbins ; TripjMt, Lieutenant Smith. I So named becanee of the quantity of that mineral found there. ' I'arsons's Diary, MS. statement of Captain Champlln, communicated to the Author. ' "Though 80 111 as to be incapable of wnlking," gays M'Kenzle, "with a humane self-devotion most honorable to 1 hhn, be continued to attend at the bedside oi the sick, to which he was carried, aud to prescribe for them, not oiil;oii i OF Tllli WAR OF 1813. »17 «• III the Vim |'ut.|ii-B»r- A Rsconnoliunca bjr Parry. The Clrcum>peetlon oftba Britlih eominapiter. Ih ; Ariel, LicnltMit %t Cliamplin; ft'«- \ oil the 27tli,* ftt c'itcht oVIock in tlio ovoiiing, the Bqundron ngnin nncliorocl • Aneuiit, ill I'lit-iii-Hiiy. Tlicrc, on tlu^ 31»t, IVrry rcccivctl from Harrison n tf-cn- '""'• ruT-iN-iur. forccment of thirty-six men, to act as marines and supply the i)lace8 of some of the sii'k. At the end of a week's confinement !*( rry gave orders for another cruise, and on the first of September the sqiiadron Meighed anchor and sailed again for ]Malden, where he challenged Barclay, who did not then choose to respond, but, under shore l)attcries, lay securely and unmoved. On the following morning Perry sailed for Siiiuliisky Bay, to communicate with General Harrison, and then, with his whole «(luiulron, returned to anchorage in Put-in-Bay.^ luiard of the Laierenee, but of the smaller vessclg, bein^ lifted for the purpose In his cot, and the sick brought on deck (ir tils prescriptions."— iy« nf I'ernj, i., 203. r»hcr Parsons was born at Alfred, Maine, on the 18th of August, 1T88. Ho chose the medical profession as a life- l-ur»ult, and Btiidicd with Dr. John Warren, of Cambridge, Massachnsctts. On the promulgatlim of the declaration of war ht entered the navy as surgeon's mate. lie volunteered to accompany Perry to Lake Erie with the crow of the John .\dams. In the battle on Lake Eric, described In the next chapter, he was on the flng-ship Latrmiee as acting snrcfon, his Biiperlor being too 111 to attend to his duties. Indeed, the duties of both Dr. Barton and Dr. Ilorseley devolved on Dr. Parsons wlien the battle was over. Speaking of him In a letter to the Secretary of the Navy, Perry (ail lean only say tliut In the event of my having another command,! should consluer myself particularly fortu- iialc m having him with me as a surgeon." In 1814 he served on the upper lakes under Commodore Sinclair, At the request of Perry, Parsons became the snrgeon of the new frigate Java, 44, commanded by the hero of Laka Erie. After ten years' service In the navy he retired, settled as a physician and surgeon in Providence, Rhode Island, wa.t professor In Brown University and other colleges, president of the Rhode Island Medical Society, and first vice-presi- dent of the National Medical Society. In 1822 he married a daughter of Rev. Dr. Holmes, of Cambridge, the author of \U Anml» ({f America. She died three years afterward, bearing one son. Dr. Charles W. Parsons, now [1S6T] president of the Rhode Island Medical Society. Dr. Parsons is the enthor of several medical works and historical discourses, and jvvcll-wrlttcn Li/e of Sir William Pepjtereii, liart. Dr. Pirsons is stUl [180T] In the enjoyment of perfect physical and mental health, at the ago of seventy-nine years. I Pul-in-Bay Harbor is on t'.ie north side of Put-in-Bay Island, one of the largest of the group of aboat twenty In that neighborhood. The view of the harbor from Pat-ln-Bay Island, given above, is from a drawing made on the spot, in September, 185!), by Captain Van Cleve, a veteran Lake Ontario steam-boat commander, who kindly presented it to me. llirectly In front is seen Oibraltar Island, and the place of "Perry's Look-out," delineated In the little picture at the lednning of the next chapter. Is Indicated by the flag. The smoke In the distance points out the place of the battle, ten itiilcs In a northwardly direction from Put-In-Bay. The Bass Islands are seen on the right, and Rattlesnake Island tn the left. The beaches of all are chiefly of white pebbles. The view is from Pat-iu-Bay Island, near the landing. ■fei a 101^' 518 PICTORIAL FIELD-BOOK Perry's Antagonist in Sight. Preparations for Bnttle. Rcndczvoiis at Put-in-Bay. CHAPTER XXV, " September the tenth ftill well I ween, lu eighteen hundred and thirteen, The weather mild, the eky serene. Commanded by bold Perry, Onr saucy fleet at anchor lay In safety, moor'd at Put-in-Bay ; 'Twixt sunrise and the break of day. The British fleet We chanced to meet; Our admiral thought he would them greet With a welcome on Lake Eric."— Old Soaa. i-Sjc-^ AIL ho!" were the etirring words that rang out loud and clear from the mast-head of tlie Lawrence on the warm and pleasant morning of the 10th of September, 1813, That herald's pioc- lamation was not unexpected to Perry, Five days before lie had received direct and positive information from Maiden that Proctor's array were so short of provisions that Barclay was preparing to go out upon the lake, at all liazards, to open a com- munication with Long Point, the chief deposit of supplies llir the enemy on the banks of the Deti'oit River. Perry had made preparations accord- ingly ; and, day after dny, from the rocky heights of Gibraltar Island, now known as " Perry's Look-out," he had pointed his glass anxiously in the direction of ^lakleii.' On the evening of the 9th he called around him the offi- cers of his squadron, ami gave instructions to each in writing, for he was determ- ined to attack the enemy at his anchorage the next dav if he did not come out. His plan was to bring on a close action at once, so as not to lose the advantage of his short carronades. To cadi vessel its antagonist on thi' British side was assigned, the size and character of PEHBY's J.00K-ODT, QiBBALTAtt IS-.AND, I'UT-iN-iiAY." thcm haviug bccn commuiii- ' Perry also kept two of thr- smaller vessels as look-outs in the vicinity of the Sister* Islands. » This little picture is ftom ■» painting made on the spot by Miss C. L. Ransom, who kindly permitted me to copy it (sec pace B06). "Perry's Look-out" is on t.ie left, and is composed of limestone piled about fifty feet above tbe wa- ter. In front is a natural arch. On the uumrait is a representation of a monument jjroposcd to be creeled then', of which the comer-etone was laid several years ago with imposing ceremonies. On the left nre seen the griivcs of wrnic sailors who died of choiera. In the middle is seen Rattlesnake Islard. On the right, in the extreme distnncc, ia N'nnh BasK Island, and between tlie two ir, lie pissoge toward Detroit The Middle Bass is also seen on the rlpht. Tliisis a faithful copy of Miss RaDdom's picture, with the exception of tt ue. It has been made a moonlight eccuc, forcfTcci, instead of a day'ight one. Near the site of the propcseJ monument. Jay Cooke, an eml.ient banker, ha" a fine dwelling, oisd on the fonndatloi! OF THE WAR OF 1812, 519 Perry's Battle-flag. Ilia final Instracttona. The British Fleet in Sight. I on the foondJtlons cated to him by Captain Brevoort,' whose family lived in Detroit. The Lawrence was assigned to the Detroit ; the Niagara to the <^ueen Charlotte, and so on ; and to each officer he said, in substance, Engage your an+ajronist in close action, keeping on the line at half-cable length from the vessel of our squadron ahead of you. It was about ten o'clock when the conference ended. Tue moon was at its full, and it was a splendid autumn night. Just before they parted. Perry brought out a large square battle-flag, which, at his request, Mr. Hambleton,^ the purser, had caused to be privately prepared at Erie. It was blue, and bore, in lai-ge letters, made of white muslin, the alleged dying words of the gallant commander of the Chesapeake, " don't give vp THE SHIP !" "When this flag shall be hoisted to the main-royal mast-head," said the commodore, " it shall be your signal for going into action." As the officers Avere leaving, he said, " Gentlemen, re- member your instructions. Nel- son has expressed my idea in the words, ' If you lay your cncray (lose alongside, you can not be out of your place.' Good-night." The cry of " Sail ho !" was soon followed by signals to the fleet of "Enemy in sight;" "Get underweigb ;" and the voices of the boatswains sounding through the squadron and echoing from the shores the command, " All hands up ;, I'hor, ahoy !" At sunrise the British vessels were all seen upon the northwestern horizon — i DO NT GIVE UP THE SHIP PEHBY'S BATTLE-FI.AG.' " Six barques trnined for buttle, the red flag displaying, By Bniclny commanded, their wings wide outspread, Forsake tlieir strong-hold, on broad Erie essaying To meet with that foe they so lately did dread."— Old Ballad. A light wind was blowing from the southAvest. Clouds came upon it from over the Uhio wilderness, and in p-issing dropped a light shower of rain. Soon the sky be- cime serene, and before ten o'clock, when, by the aid of the gentle breeze in beat- jircpared for that monument he caused to be erected, II ISOfl, a small one, composed of yellowish limestone. It is abont ten feet in height, and sormounted by a bronze vase for flowers. On its sides arc naval devices of the same metal. ' Henry Brevoort, of New York, was commissioned Second Lieutenant in Third Infantry In ISOl. He commanded transports on Lake Erie, and in May, 1811, was promoted to caiitain. He distinguished himself In the battle of Ma^jua- ;a (sec page 279), and also as commander of marines lu the Niagara In the battle of Lake Erie. He received a silver meiliil for his gallantry there. He was promoted to major in 1814, and was disbaided in 1816. In 1822 he was made Inited Klnlcs Indian Agent at Green 'Bay .—QauXnar's Dictiotutry nf tlf. Army. 'Samuel llamblcton was a native of Talbot County, Marylai " where he was bom .n IT"",. He was first a merchant, then a clerk In the Navy Department, and in 180« was appointed purser in the navy. After the battle of Lake Kri j, the officers and crews of the American eqpadron appointed him prhe agent, and more than $200,000 passed throu/,'h his hanils. lie left the lake in 1814, and performed good service afloat and ashore tor many years. He died at h's reei- denre In Maryland, near St. Michael's, called " Perry's Cabin," Jannary IT, 1861. = This Is a picture of the flag as seen In the Trophy Room of the Saiiltary Fair In the City of New York in the month of .\pr;i, 19(!4. It is between eight and nine feet sqnare. The form of the letters is preserved in the engraving. They are about a foot in length, anO might be seen at a considerable distance. The ftjllowlng lines, in allusion to this flag, are from a fine poem on Tht Hero nfhake ErU, by Henry T. Tnckerman, Esq.: "Behold the chieftain's glad, prophetic smile, As a new banner he unrolls the while ; Hear the gf; y shout of his elated crew When the dear watchword hovers to their view, And Lawrence, silent in the arms of death. Bequeathe deflauce with his latest breath I" Ml m ^ ill ii 620 PICTORIAL FIELD-BOOK Perry's Detormination to flght. NnmcB and Character of the opposing Vessels. Signal for Bntilc. ing and strong arms with oars, the squadron had passed out from the labyrinth of islands into the open lake, within five or six miles of the enemy, not a cloud was hanging in the firmament, nor a fleck of mist was upon the waters. It was a spkn. did September day. Perry was yet weak from illness when the cry of" Sail hoi" was repeated to him by Lieutenant Dulaney Forrest. That announcement gave him strength, and the ex- citement of the hour was a tonic of rare virtue. The wind was variable, and lie tried in vain to gain the weather - gage of the enemy by beating around to the wind- ward of some of the islands. He was too impatient to fight to long brook tlie wasto of precious time in securing an advantage so small with a wind so light. "Run to the leeward of the islands," he said to Taylor, his sailing-master.' "Then you will have to engage the enemy to leeward," said that ofiicer, in a slightly remonstrant manner. "I don't care," quickly responded PeiTy; "to windward or to leeward they shall fight to-day." The signal to Avear ship followed immediately, Avhcn the wuid shifted suddenly to the southeast, and enabled the squadron to clear the isl- ands, and to keep tlie weather - gage. Perceiving this, Barclay hove to, in close or- der, and awaited Perry's attack. His vessels, newly pauited and with colors flying, made an imposing appearance. They were six in number,^ and bore sixty-three car- riage-guns, one on a pivot, two swivels, and four howitzer.-?. Perry's squadron num- bered nine vessels, and bore fifty-tour carriage-guns and two swivels.^ Barclay had thirty-five long guns to Perry's yf/'/ccw, and possessed greatly the advantage in action at a distance. In close action, tlie weight of metal was Avith the Americans, and for that reason Perry had resolved to close upon the enemy at once. The British com- mander had one hundred and fifty men from the royal navy, eighty Canadian sailors, tAvo hundred and forty soldiiMs, mostly regul.ars, and some Indiii.-.s. His Avhole force, oflicers and men, Avas a little more than five hundred. The American commander had upon his muster-roll four hundred and ninety names. Of these the bearers of one hundred and sixtitu Avere sick, and most of them too Aveak to go upon deck. About one fourth of Perry's crew were from Rhode Island ; one fourth were regular seamen, American and foreign ; about one fourth were raw volunteers, chiefly from Kentucky ; and about another fourth Avere negroes. At a little past ten o'clock Perry's line Avas formed accordhig to the plan arranged the previous evening, the Niagara in the van. The Lawrence Avas cleared for ac- tion, and the battle-flag, bearing the Avords" don't give up the ship," in letters large enough, as Ave have observed, to be seen by the Avhole squadron, Avas brought out and displayed. Tlie commodore then addressed his officers and crew a fcAV stirring wo'"ds, and concluded by saying, " My brave lads ! this flag contains the last Avoids of Captain Lawrence. Shall I hoist it?" "Ay, ay, sir!" they all sl">uted, as Avith one voice, and in a moment it Avas run up to the main-royal mast-head of the flag- ship, amid cheer after cheer, not only from the Laicrence, but the Avhole squadron. It Avas till' signal for battle. ' William Vlgcron Taylor was of French descent, lie was n captain in the merchant service, and entered that of tbe navy under Perry as sailing-master. Perry esteemed him highly, and made him Bailing-master ofhls flag-ship on Liko Eric. He rendered efficient service in the fitting out of the squadron. In the battle on the 10th of Septemher he re- ceived a wound In the thigh, but kept the deck until the closi;. On the return of the Lawrence to Erie, Mr. Taylor wa< Hcnt with dispatches to Chaunccy. In 1S14 he was commissioned a lieutenant in the navy. lie was promoted to com- mander in 1S31, and to post captain in 1841. He commai'-'ed the sloops Warren and Erie In the Gulf of Mexico. After his promotion to post captain he was placed in command of the ship-of-thc-line Ohio, and took her around Cape Horn to the Pacific. He was then sixty-eight years of age. On the 11th of February, 1S61, he died of apoplexy, in tbe sevent.v- eighth year of his age. It is proper here to mention that most of the biographical sketches of the oflScers of Perry's squadron contained In tills chapter arc compiled from a paper on the subject from the pen of Dr. Usher Parsons, published In the Sew England Hixtnriml and Oenealortieal Refiinter for Janriarij, 188,1. ' These were as follows: Ship Detroit, 10 gun?, 1 in pivot, and 2 howitzers; ship Queen Charlotte, 17, and 1 howitzer; schooner Ladtj Prevont, 13, and 1 howitzer ; brig Hunter, 10 ; sloop Litlte Belt, 3 ; and schooner Chippewa, 1, and 2 swivel*. ' These were as follows: Brig TAiu)renee,W guns; brig Niagara, iO : brig Caledonia, S ; schooner Ariel, 4; schooner iSanrpion, 2, and 2 swivels ; sloo]) Trippe, 1 ; schooner Tigrem, 1 j and schooner Poraipint, 1. The Ohio, Captain Dob- bins, had gone to Erie for supplies, and was not in the action. ■555 OF THE WAR OF 1812. 521 Perry's Care for his Men. Change In the Order of Battle. Blofiraphlcnl Sketch of Perry. OUVliB U. I'iiUUV.' .As the dinner-hour would occur at the probable time of acti<)n, the thought- ful Perry ordered refresliments to be dis- tributed, Tiie decks were then wetted and sprinkled with sand so that feet should not slip when blood should begin to tlow. Then every man was placed in proper position. As the squadron moved slowly and silently toward the enemy, with a gentle breeze, at the rate of less than three knots, the Niagara, Captain Elliott, leading the van, it was discovered that Barclay had made a dis- position of his force that required a change in Perry's prescribed order of battle. It was instantly made, and the American squadron moved to the at- tack in the order best calculated to cope with the enemy. Barclay's vessels were The flag-ship Detroit, near together. 1 Oliver Hazard Perry was born in South Kinf;sli>u, Rhode Island, on the 23d of Angnst, 1785. His father was then 1 the naval service of the United States, lie entered the navy as midshipman at the age of rtfteen years, on board the «loop-of-warffim«-al Oreene, when war with France seemed inevitable. Ha 6rsl saw active service before Tripoli, m the squadron of Commodore Preble. He was coinraiesioned a lieutenant In KIO, and placed in command of the •chooner Hecenffe, attached to Com- modore Eodgcrs's squadron In Long Island Sound. She was wrecked, but liis conduct in saving public property was highly applauded. Early in 1812 he was placed in command of a flotil- la of gnn-boats In Newport Harbor. .\lter his victorious battle on Lnlie Erie in 1813, he was promoted to post- captain, and at the close of the war be was placed in command of the Java, 41, a flrst-class frigate, and sailed with Decatur for the Mediterranean Sea, VIEW Of 11., On his return, while his vessel was lying in Newport Harbor, In mid-wlu- ter, a fearful storm arose. He heard of the wreck of a merchant vessel upon n reef six miles distant. He Immedi- ately manned his barge and said to his crew, " Come, my boys, we arc going to the relief of shipwrecked seamen ; pull away !" He rescued eleven almost exhausted seamen h'om death. On account of piracies in the West Indies, the United States government delcri. iued to send a little squadron til lor the protection of American comnicrce. Perry was assigned to the command of It, and In 1810 he sailed m the John Adams, accomp 'ed by itii' yonmich. In Aiil'u ( .;is at- tacked by the yellow fi , ai on his birthday (August 23d) he expired, .r 'ho agi- of thirly-foiir year.-^. He was bur- led at Port Spain, Triuldad, witl itary honors. Uti (u ah prodncp'l a most profound sensation throughout the Uni! 1 Stales, tor it » regarded i- a great public calamity. Tributes of national grief were dis- played, and the Congress of the United States made a liberal provision for his fam- ily, and his mother, who was dependent on him for support. In 1820 his remains were conveyed from Trini- dad to Newport In the sloop- of-war Ijexington, and land- ed on the 2Tth of Novem- ber. On Monday (December 4th) following he was Inter- red with funeral honors due to his rank. Hin coflln rest- ed in a sort ot eatafnla}, the lower part being in the form OATAyAi.00. of a boat. The canopy was decorated with stars and jrimmed with black curtains, and at each corner were black plumes. The State of Rhode Island afterward caused to w erected a sttbstantial granite monument to his memory. It stands upon a grassy mound on the west side of the Isl- md remelery, and at the base rest the remains of the commodore and the deceosed of his family. The monument beam tue following Inscriptions. ii' Pkbbv. At the age of 27 years he achieved the victory of Lake pkbhy'h monument. '^ I, i warn 522 PICTORIAL FIELD-BOOK Relative Position of the two SquadroDi<. Opening of the Battle. Choice of Autagonlji*. 19, was in the van supported by the schooner Chippewa, with one long 18 on a pivot and two swivels. Next was the brig Hunter, 10 ; then the Queen Charlotte, 11 com- manded by Finnis. The latter was flanked by the schooner Zadt/ Prevost, 13 and the Xittle Bdt, 3, Perry, in the brig Lawrence, 20, moved forward, flanked on tlie left by the schooner Scorpion, under Champlin, bearing two long guns (32 and 12), am! the schooner ylrisW, Lieutenant Packet, which carried four short 12'8. On the riirht ^4^ ^M 4^ J\ of the Lawrence was the brier Caledonia, Captain Turner with three long 24*8. Those were intended to encounter tlie Chippewa, Detroit, and Hunt- er. Captain Elliott, in the fine brig Niagara, 20, followed, with instructions to fight the Queen Charlotte; while Ahnv, in the Somers, with two lonr; tus two Bqn&DBOKB jcbt bifob^ tug battle. 32'8 and two swivels, Senat, in the Porcupine, with one lon^ 32, Conklin, in thj Tl- gress, with one long 24, and Holdup, in the Trippe, one long 32, were left in tlic rear to engage the Lady Prevost and Little Pelt.^ The sun was within fifteen minutes of meridian when a bugle "bounded on board the Detroit as a signal for action, and the bands of the British squadron struck up " Rule Britannia." A shout went up from that little squadron, and a 24-jjomKl shot from the enemy's flag-ship was sent booming over the water toward tlie Xaw- rence, then a mile and a half distant. It was evident that Barclay appreciated the advantage of his long guns, and Avished to fight at a distance, Avhile Perry resolved to press to close quarters before opening his fire. That first shot from the enemy fell short. Another, five minutes later, went crash- ing through the bulwarks of the Lawrence. It stirred the blood of her gallant men, but, at the command of Perry, she remained silent. " Steady, boys ! steady !" he said, while his dark eye flashed with the excitement of the moment — an excitement which was half smothered by his judgment. Slowly the American line, with tin' light wind abeam, moved toward that of the cnjmy, the two forming ?.n acute angh' of about fifteen degrees. " Snblltnc the panse, when dowr the gleaming tide The virgin galleys to the conflict glide; The very wind, as if in awe o/ grief, Scarce makes a ripple or dicturbs a leaf."— H. T. Tuckebman. Signals were given for each vessel to engage its prescribed antagonist. At five min- utes before twelve the Lawrence had reached only the third one in the enemy's line, and was almost as near the Queen Charlotte is the Detroit,\{\\ki tlie CWet?o««a hall- cable length behind, and the Nianara abaft ti:e beam of the Charlotte and opposite the Lady Prevost. The battle now began on the part of the Americans. The gallant young Champlin, Erie, September 10, 1813." North Mile : "Bom in Sonth Kingston, R. I., Au^nist 28, 1786. Died at Port Spain, Trinidad, AnguBt 23, 1819, aged 34 years." Went side: " lllb rPTialns were conveyed to i.is native land In a ship-of-wnr, accordln! to a resolution of Congress, and were here interred December 4, 1S20." .SotrtA siV.'.,. Erected by the State of Rhode Island." In person Commodore Perry was tall and well-proportioned, of exquisite symmetry, and graceful in every morfr ment. He was every Inch a man. He possessed splendid talents ; was prudent and brave in the highest degree. In private life he was gentle, and his con.|ngal love and faithnUncss were perfect. Ills respect for his wife araonnted lo reverence, and he was ever ready to acknowledge her salutary influence. Doctor Parsons relates that his Srst reranrk on regaining the iMwnnce, after the battle, was addressed to his friend Hambleton, the purser. He said, " The prajers of my wife have prevailed in saving me." ' The above diagram shows the position of the fwo squndrons when the American was approaching that of tlie Bril- ish In battle order. A is the British squadron, a' its v«»»ol8 are designated by Roman numerals. I., Ckippnea; II, Detroit; III., Hunter; IV., Qiieen Charlotte; V., / ./ Prevost; VI., Utile Belt. B Is the AmerlCiin squadron, nnrt the vessels are designated by Arabic numerals. 1, ."-.v.jjn'mi; i,Ariei; 3, Lawrence ; 4,CaMonia; 6,Xiamra; B, SomOT; I, Poreupine; 8, Ti(rre»ii; 9. Trippe. I have been I . nishcd wltl\ these diagrams by Commodore Stephen Champlin,"! the U. B. Navy, the commander of the Seorpion ii. the battle. OF THE WAK OF 1812. 523 ijT'fl^ Shot fired by the Americans. Salling-maater ChnDpUn. First Poeltlon of the Vegsels In the Fight. then less than twenty-four years of age, who still (1867) lives to enjoy a well-earned reputa- tion * had already fired the firet (as he did the last) Bhot of the battle from the guns of the Scorpioti. " But see that sliver wreath of cnrllng smoke— 'TIs Barclay's gnu ! The silence now Is broke. Cbamplin, with rapid move and steady eye, Sends back in thunder-tones a bold reply." Tilts was followed by a cannonade from Pack- et ^ of the Ariel; and then the Lawrence, which had begun to suffer considerably from the enemy's missiles, opened fire upon the De- troit with hor long bow-gun, a twelve-pounder. Tlie action soon became general. The small- er slow-sailing vessels had fallen in the rear, and when the battle began the Tri2ype was more l''^ two miles from the enemy. The ficorpion and Ariel, both without bul- warks, fought bravely, and kepi their places with the Lawrence throughout thv^ entire ac- tion. They did not suffer much, for the en- emy concentrated his destructive energies upon the Lawrence and neglected the others. From the Detroit, the Hunter, the Queen Charlotte, and even from the Lady Prevoat, shots were hurled upon the Amer- ican flag-ship, with the determin- ation to destroy her and her gal- lant commander, and then to cut up the squadron in detail. No ^ less than thirty-four heavy guns /\a were brought to bear upon her. g The Caledonia, with her long guns, was enabled to do good ex- AyZc^^^K-^n-cty^ Cyn-ofyyt^^.^^iA^ ^■A A -u 4 -4^ 7 FIB8T POSmOH IN THE ACTION.' 1 Stephen Champlln was bom In South Kingston, Rhode Island, on the 17th of Novenib*, 1789. His father was a TOlnntecr soldier In the Kevolntlon. His mother was a sister of Commodore Perry's father, making the two command- ers first cousins. He went to sea as a sailor at the age of sixteen years, and at the age of twenty-two, having passed through all grades, he was captain of a ship that sailed from Norwich, Connecticnt. On the 22d of May, 1812, he was appoiuted saillug-mastcr in the navy, and commanded a gun-boat, under Perry, f>t Newport. As we have seen, he was wnl to Lake Erie. On bis arrival he was appointed to the command of the Scorjiion, which he gallantly managed ihronghout the battle. Subsequently to the battle he was placed in command of the Queen Charlotte and Detroit, two prize-sliips taken from the enemy. In the spring of 1814 he was placed in command of the Tinreaa, under Commander Sinclair, and, with Captain Turner, he blockaded the port ofMackinaw. His serilccs on the Upper Lake will he noticed In tlie future text. Snfllce it to say here that he was severely wounded in the thigh while in that service by canister- ekot, and taken prisoner. That wound has been troublesome to him until this hour. In ISIO he was appointed to the tommand uf the Poretipine, and conveyed a party of topographical engineers to the Upper Lakes, who were to consider the boundary-line between the United States and Great Britain. His wound prevented his doing much active service. He was ordered to the steam-ship Fulton at New York, and had left her but a short time when she blew up. In 1R42 he wm placed in command of the naval rendezvous at BufTalo, and was successfnl in shipping apprei^lces for the service. In 1$45 ho was ordered to the command of the Michigan at Eric, and continued there abont four years and a half. A lew years ago he was placed on the reserve list, with full pay, and remains so. He now bears the title of commodore. He resides at Buffalo, and, with the exception of tbe sufTerings caused by his wound, he is in the enjoyment of fair health, ittbe age of seventy-eight year3. He Is a stout, thick-set man, of middle size. He is tbe last survivor of the nine com- numlers in Perry's squadron in the great battle In 1813. '• John II. Packet was a native of Virginia. He received his warrant as midshipman In 1809, and was commissioned a lieutenant a few days before this battle. Ho was with Bainbridge when the Constitution captured the Java. He ttnei at Erie some years after the battle, and died there of fever. The acting sailing-master of the Ariel in the battle, Thomas Brownoll, was fl-om Rhode Island, and went to Erie as raajter's-mate, where he was promoted. Ho was commissioned a lieutenant in 1&13, when he was placed on the retired Iltt. He now (1807) resides at Newport, Rhode Island. He was always an active and esteemed ofllcer. ' TiU diagram shows the position of the vessels at the beginning of the action. The British vessels. A, are indicated b;ltomaii nmnerals, and the American vessels, B, by Arabic. I., CMppttea; 11., Detroit; III., Hunter; IV., Qtier.n r^-^ik- I- ■n 'ill ,! ^j:|t :;j||y ^^ I'if'i'f ' 524 PICTOUIAL FIKLD-BOOK Perry clones upon Barclay. Prof^resg of the Fl);ht. Sceues oil board the Laicrentt, ccution from the beginning, but the shot of the carronades from the Nicujara fell short of her antagonist. Of her twenty guns, only a long 12 was serviceable for a while. Shifting another, Elliott brought two to bear with eflect, and these were served so vigorously that nearly all of thi' hhot of that calibre were exhausted. The smaller vessels meanwhile were too far astern to be of much service. Perry soon perceived that he was yet too far distant to damage the encniv mate- rially, so he ordered word to be sent from vessel to vessel by trumpet for all to make sail, bear down upon Barclay, and engage in close combat. The order was transmitted by Captain Elliott, who Avas the second in command, but he failed to obey it himself His vessel was a fast sailer, and his men were the best in the squad. ron, but he kept at a distance from the enemy, and continued firing his lonii guns, Perry meanwhile pressed on with tlie Latorence, accompanied by the Scorpion, Arid and Caledonia, and at meridian exactly, Avhen he supposed he Avas near enoiifjli for execution Avith his carronades, he opened the first division of his battery on the star- board side on the Detroit. His balls fell short, while liis antagonist and her consorts poured upon the Xatrrence a heavy storm of round shot from their long gmis still leaving tha Scorpion and Ariel almost unnoticed. The Caledonia meanwliile en- gaged with the Hunter, but the Niagara kept a respectful distance fi'om the Qmm Charlotte, and gave that vessel an opportunity to go to the assistance of the Detroit. She passed the Hunter, and, placing herself astern of the Detroit, opened heavily upon the Lawrence, now, at a quarter past tAvelve, only musket-shot distance from her chief antagonist. For two hours the gallant Perry and liis devoted ship bore the brunt of the battle M'ith twice his force, aided only by the schooners on his Aveather- boAV and some feeble shots from the distant Caledonia Avhen she could spare tlieni from her adversary the Hunter. During that tempest of Avar his vessel Avas terribly shattered. Her rigging was nearly all shot aAvay ; her sails were torn into slneds; her spars Avere battered into splinters ; her guns were dismounted ; and, like the Gwr- riere Avhen disabled by the Constitution, she lay upon the Avaters almost a helpless wreck. The carnage on her deck had been terrible. Out of one hundred and three sound men that composed her oflicers and creAV Avhen slie Avent into action, twenty- two Avere slain and sixty-one were Avounded. Perry's little brother had been struck doAvn by a splinter at his side, but soon recovered.^ Yarnall,^ his first lieutenant, had come to him bleeding, his nose swelled to an enormoue size, it having been perforated by a splinter, and his Avhole appearance the impersonation of carnage and ill luck, and said, "All the'officers in my division are cut doAvn; can I have others?" They Avere sent ; but Yarnall soon returned, again AVOunded and bleeding profusely, \\\\\\ the same sad story. " I have no more officers to furnish you," replied Perry ; " you must endeavor to make out by yourself." The brave lieutenant did so. Tliriee Avoundtd, he kept the deck, and directed every shot from his battery in pei'son. Forest, the second lieutenant, fell stunned at Perry's feet ;* and the gallant Brooks, Charlotte; V., t Two muslcet-baVs had already passed through his hat, and his clothes had been torn by splinters. ' John J. A'amall was a native of Pennsylvania, and was commissioned a lieutenant in July, 1813, having been lu tht service as midshipman since 1809. Ten days after the battle on Lake Erie he was sent to Erie with the Laiorencr, and soon afterward was ordered to the John AdanM. Ho was appointed commander of the Epernier In 1816. She was the dedication of the statne of Perry in that city in September, 1800. I copied the followirg inscription trom thcWaile: "In testimony of the undaunted /.illantry of Lieutenant Jolin J. Yarnall, of the United States ship tatiwuiv, under Commodore Perry, in the captnre of the whole English fleet on Lake Eric, September lo, 1818, the State of VIrglnli '.«■ stows this cword." It was brought from Wheeling to Cleveland by Mr. Fleming, of the former place, * He was struck in the breast by a spent grape-shot. Perry raised him op, assured him that he was not hurt, as tbert cii'W^ C^>t- inving been in the i-llh nil on board. I'lrglnln prescntfil Tiinllwithn nvoril e battle of Lake cxliibileil at Ihf oftheOia Soldier* on the occislou ot on from theWailf: Ip Laurfnt*,wi(t ate of Virginia '.t- s not hurt, as ttert Death of lilenlenant Brookg. Terrible Scenes on board the Lamrmce. Strange Conduct of Captain Klllott. 80 remarkable for his personal beauty,' a son of an honored soldier of the old Avar for independence, and once governor of Massiachusetts, was carried in a dying state to the cockpit, where balls were crashing through, liis mind more exercised about his be- loved commander and the fortunes of the day tlian himself. When the good surgeon, Parsons, who liad hastened to the deck on hearing a shout of victory, returned to cheer the youth with the glorious tidings, the young hero's ears were closed — the doors of the earthly dwelling of his spirit were shut forever. ^^ While the Lawrence Avas being thus terribly smitten, officers and crew were anx- iously wondering why the Niagara — the swift, stanch, well-manned Niagara — kept aloof not only from Iter prescribed antagonist the Queen Charlotte, now battling the Lawrence, but the other assailants of the flag-ship. Her commander himself had passed the order for close conflict, yet he kept far away ; and when afterward cen- sured he pleaded in justification of his course his perfect obedience to the original order to keep at " half-cable length behind the Caledonia on the line." It may be said that his orders to fight the Queen Charlotte, who liad left her line and gone into the thickest of the fight Avith the Lawrence and her supporting schooners, Averc quite 83 imperative, and that it Avas his duty to folloAV. This he did not do until the guns of the Lawrence became silent, and no signals Avere displayed by, nor special orders came from Perry. These significant tokens of dissolution doubiless made Elliott be- lieve that the commodore Avas slain, and himself had become the cliief commander of the squadron. He then hailed the Caledonia, and ordered Lieutenant Turner^ to mre no signs of a woand, and, thns enconrngcd, he soon recovered ft-om the shock. The ball had lodged in his clothes. "1 am not hurt, sir," he said to the commander, "but this is my shot," and coolly put it in his pocket. I John Brooks was a native of Massachusetts. He studied medicine with his father. Haviug a military taste, he ob- tained the appointment of lieutenant of marines, and was stationed at Washington when the war broke out. He was sent to Lake Erie under Perry; and at Eric, while tno r-^uadrcn was a-buildiug, he was engaged hi recruiting for the (er\icc. There he raised a company of marines for the squadron. He was an excellent drill officer, and gave great promise of fiiture distinction. So intense was his agony when he fell, his hip haviug been shattered by a cannon-ball, Ihathebegged Perry to shoot him. He uied In the course of an hour. " Mr. Brooks," says Doctor Pnrions, "was prob- ably surpassed by no officer In the navy for manly beauty, polished manners, and elegant personal appearance." > The scenes in board the Lawrence, as described to me by Doctor Parsons, must have been extremely terrible. The vcwel was shallow, and the ward-room, used as a cockpit, to which the wounded were taken, was mostly above water, and eipoeed to the shots of the enemy ; white nothing I)ut the deck-planks separated it from the terrible tumult above, cansed by the groans and shrieks of the wounded ntfd dying, the deep rumbling of the gun-carriages, the awful explo- jions of the cannon, the crash of round-shot as they splintered spars, stove the bulwarks, dismounted the' heavy ord- nance, and cut the rigging, while through the seams ot the deck blood streamed into the surgeon's room in many a. crimson rill. When the battle had raged half an hoar, and the crew of the Latorence were falling one by one, the com- modore called from the small skylight for the doctor to send up one of his six assistants. In Ave minutes the call was rc|ieited and obeyed, and again repeated and obeyed, until Parsons was left alone. " Can any of the wounded pull a n\KV' inquired Perry. The question was answered by two or three crawling upon deck to lend a feeble hand in pull- inc at the Inst guns in position. Midshipman Lamb had his arm badly shattered. While moving forward to lie down, after the doctor had dressed the wonnd, a round-shot came crashing through the side of the vessel, stnick the young man in the side, dashed him across the room, and killed him instantly. Pohig, o Narraganset Indian, badly wounded, was released iVom his sufferings in the same way by another ball that passed through the cockpit. No less than six round-shot entered the surgeon's room during the action. Some of the incidents witnessed by the doctor were not so painfal. A cannon-ball passed through a closet contain- ing all the brig's crockery, dashing a greater portion of it in pieces. It was an iliustratlon— that ball from John Bull— ofabnll in a china-shop." The commodore's dog had secreted himself in that closet when the war of battle com- menced, and when the destructive intruder came ho set up a fiirious barking— "a protest," said the doctor, "against the right of such an invasion of his chosen retirement." Wc have observed that Lieutenant Yamall was wounded, yet kept the deck. He hod his scalp badly torn, and " came below," said the doctor, "with the blood streaming over his face." Some lint was applied to the wound and conflncd by a handkerchief, and the lieutenant was then directed to come for better dressing after the battle, as he insisted upon returning to the deck. It was not long before he again made his appearance, having received a second wound. On the deck were stowed some hammocks stuffed with reed-tops, or "cat-tails," as they are popularly called. These filled the-- air like down, and had settled like snow upon the blood-wet head and face of Yamall. When he made his appearance below, his visage was ludicrons beyond description ; his head appeared like that of a huge owl. The wounded roared with laughter, and cried out, "The de\ 11 has come among ne !" ' Daniel Turner was a native of New York. He was appointed a midshipman in 1808, and in 1813 was commissioned a lieutenant. He was efBcient in getting the little lake squadron ready for service. In its first cniisc across the lake, young Turner, less than twenty-one years of oge, commanded the Xiagara, On the arrival of Captain Elliott, he was ordered to the third ship, the Caledonia, and managed her gallantly during the action. He continued in the lake ser\'ice the followlDg year, and was made a prisoner and sent to Montreal. He was exchanged, and accompanied Perry In the Jam to the Mediterranean. For his services in the battlp of Lake Erie his native stAte presented him with an elegant sword. He was at one time commander of the naval station at Portsmouth ; at another of the Pacific squadron, and always performed his duties with the greatest promptness. He was temperate, brave, generous, and genial. He was H "f^^vmKfi : 1 .; S20 PICTORIAL FIELD-BOOK The Niagara'i Treatment of the Lawrence, Condition of the Lawrenee. Perry abanaons tier. leave the line and bear down upon the Ilmiter for close conflict, giving the Niagara a chance to pass for the relief of the Lmcrence. The gallant Turner inntantly oheyed and the Caledonia fought her adversary nobly. The Niagara spread her canvas be-' fore a freshening breeze that hadjufe* sprung up, but, instead of going to the relief of the Lawrence, thus silently pleading for protection, she bore away toward the lipnd \9. of the enemy's s(iu!uli-oii,i)ass- ing the American flag-ship to the windward, and leaving h^ exposed to the still galling _:cnl9 Perry standing, with the banner floating like a huge jcarf ffom his shoulders. ' Among the survivors of the Battle of Lake Erie whom I Mvemet was John Chapman, a resident of iludson, Ohio, a ^mall, energetic man, who related his past experience in an attractive, dramatic style, lie was in the British fleet as •.tinner, maintop-man, and boarder In the Quern Charlotte, lud claimed the distinction of having flred the first shot at the Umreme from a 24-ponndcr. He also said that he aim- ed a eliot at Commodore Perry when making his perilous passage from the Lawrence to the Xiagara. Mr. Chapman was I native of England. He came from there in the transport todrici early in 1812, and landed at Quebec. From that I ily lie went up the St. Lawrence in May, and took post in Fori George, o« the Niagara River. He afterward went np 10 atsist la the erection of Fort Brie. Ho was present at the >nrrender of Hull, and participated in the battle of Queens- ton Heights. In the summer of 181.3 he was placed on board the schooner Lady Prevost, at Long Point, and arrived at .Maiden about three weeks before the battle of Lake Erie. He was with Proctor at the attack on Fort Stephenson. He vas one of the survivors in the fatal ditch (sec page 603), and escaped to the woods under cover of the darkness. On the retarn of Proctor to Maiden he went on board the Queen CkrtoHt', and was with her in the battle. He was sent to Ohio \yith other prisoners, and was one if those who were held as hostages for the safety of the Irishmen imder Scott who were sent to England, as mentioned on page 408. He was released on the 20th of Octo- ber, at Cleveland. He went Immediately to Hudson, a few miles distant, where he resided until his death In 1S6S. I nm indebted to the Rev. T. B. Fairchlld, of Hudson, for the substance of the above brief sketch of the pub- lic career of Mr. Chapman, and to the soldier himself for his likeness, taken in the spring of 1862. *i •' !■, ■'"■^^pup 528 PICTORIAL FIELD-BOOK Meettn); uf Perry and Elliott. Surrender of the belpleii /yaiermM. Perry rtrilwttlwBt ltlih tint. with breathless anxiety. Perry was met at tlie paiigway by the astonished Elliott There stood the hero of the fifjht, blackened with the smoke of battle, but unharmed in person and unflinching in his determination to win victory — he whom the com raander of the Niagara thought to be dead. There were hurried questions and an- swers. " How goes the day ?" asked Elliott. " Bad enough," responded Perry ; " why are the gun-boats so far astern ?" " I'll bring them up," said Elliott. " Do so," lospomi. ed Perry. Such is the rej)orted substance of the brief conversation of the two conimaiid- crs,' at the close of which Elliott pushed off in a small boat to hurry up the lafcinir vessels. Having given his orders to each to use sails and oars with the greatest vigor he went on board the Somer8,a\\{\ behaved gallantly until the close of the action. At a glance Perry comprehended the condition and capabilities of tlie Niagara There had been few casualties on board of her, and she was in perfect order for con- flict. He immediately ran up his pennant, displayed the blue banner, hoisted tla signal for close action, and received quick responses and cheers from the whole Hcniad- ron ; hove to, altered the course of the vessel, set the proper sails, and bore down tn m the British line, which lay Iialf a mile distant. Meanwhile the gallant Yaniall, at'toi consulting Lieutenant Forrest and Sailing-master Taylor, had struck the flag of the Lawrence, for she was utterly helpless, and humanity required that firing upon hcv should cease. As the starry flag trailed to the deck a triumphant shout went nii from the British. It was heard by the wounded on the iMtcretice. When informod of the cause, their hearts grew almost still, and in the anguish of chagrin they refused to be attended by the surgeon, and cried out, " Sink the ship ! sink the ship ! Let us all sink together I"^ Noble fellows ! they were worthy of their commander. In les> than thirty minutes after they had offered themselves a Avilling sacrifice for the honor or their country's flag, they wore made joyful by hearing the step and voice oftlieii beloved commander again upon the deck of the Laicrence. Perry's movement against the British line was successful. He broke it ; passed at half pistol-shot distance between the Lady Prevosfi ancT Chippeioa on his larboard, and the Detroit, Queen Charlotte, and Hunter on his starboard, and poured in tremendous broadsides right and left from double-shotted guns. Ranging ahead of the vessels on his starboard, he rounded to and raked the Detroit and Queen Charlotte, M'liich had got foul of each other.* Close and deadly was his fire upon them with groat guns and musketry. Meanwhile, the Laicrence having drifted out of her place in the line, her position against the Detroit was taken by the Caledonia, Captain Turner; the lattcr's place in Hue, as opposed to the Hunter, was occupied by the Trippe, com- manded by Lieutenant Holdup.* These gallant young officers had exchanged signals ' Mr. Hnmbleton, the purser of the LatDrenee, hns left on record an ncconnt of this interview between Perry and El- liott. " Ab Perry reuched the dock of the Siagara" he says, " he was met at the gangway by Captain Elliott, who in- qnlred how the day was going. Captain Perry replied, Badly ; thot ho had lost almost all of his men, and that his ship was a wreck, and asked what tlie gim-boata were doing so far astern. Captain Elliott olfcrcd to go and bring them up; and, Captain Perry consenting, he sprang into the boat and went olT on that duty.— Uambieton'g Journat, died by M'Kenzie. » Oration by George H. Calvert, at Newport, Rhode Island, on the 10th of September, 1808, on the occnsion of the cel- ebration of the fortieth anniversary of the Battle of Lake Erie. 3 Lieutenant Buchan, the commander of the Ladij Prevost, was shot through the face by a musket-ball from Pcrry'i marines. Perry saw him stn'iding alone, leaning on the companion-way, his face resting on his hand, andlonldiisimih fixed goze toward the Siagara. His companions, unable to endure the terrible Are, had all fled below. Perry immedi- ately silenced the marines en the quarter-deck. He afterward learned that the strange conduct of Buchan was omt to sudden derangement caused by liis wound. Poor fellow ! he was a brave ofHcer, and had distinguished blmeeir un- der Nelson. * The position of the Detroit and Qtieen CharUitte at this time may bo seen by reference to II. and IV. in the dingram on page 020. In the same diagram the course of the Siagara in breaking the British line may be seen along the dolKd line from tn 0. » Thomas Holdup wasanntivcofSomli Carolina, and was an inmate and pupil of the Orphan Asylnm in Charleston. He became a protegi of General Stevens, of that city, who obtained a midshipman'' warrant for him in 1^09. He was on board the John Adam*, at Brooklyn, in ISli, OF THE WAU OF 1812. 52» Perry brcnlw the B rltlfh Line. Brltiah VoimIi attempt to escape. Perry's Victory complete. to board the Detroit, when tlioy saw the Niayara with the commodore's pennant k'urlnj; down to break tlie Uritiwlt line. Turner followed her closely with the Col- edonia; and the i'reshened breeze having brought nj) the iSotuers, Mr. Aliny,' the Tigreis, Lieutenant Coneklin,'' and the Porcupine, Acting Master Senat,^ the whole \mcrican scjuadron except the JMicrence was, for tlie first time, engaged in the eon- Hict. The fight was terrible for a few minutes, and the combatants were comjdetely fiiveloped in smoke. Eight minutes after Perry daslied through tlie IJritish line the colors of the De- troit were struck, and her example was speedily followed by all the other vessels of . Barclay's scpiadron, excepting the I 1 4 4 ^Mk'^^A^ Little licit and Chippewa (I, and IV. in tlie annexed diagram), which attempted to escape to leeward. Cliami)lin with tlie t^eorpion, and lloldiij) with the Trij)j}e, made chase afler the fugitives, ami both fosmoH or tiik squapbons at tub closk ok thk batti.]!.* were Overtaken and brouglit back to crace the triumph of the victor, the Little Belt by the former, and the Chippewa 1)V tiic latter. It was in this chase that Champlin fired the last gun in that memo- rable battle. " So near were they to making their escape," says Champlin in a letter to the author, "that it was 10 o'clock in the evening before I came to an anchor un- ilcr the stern of the Lawrence with tlie Little Belt in tow." It was three o'clock in the aflernoon Avhen the flag of the Detroit was lowered. Till' roar of cannon ceased; and as the blue vapor of battle was borne away by the liK oze, it was discovered that the two squadrons were intermingled.* The victory \i:is complete. The flag of the lAiwrence had indeed been struck to the enemy, but '111 had not been taken possession of. She was yet free, and, with a feeble shout = -Tk ^1 I loccBsionofthecel- .md.wltli others, volunteeretl for the lake service vear.aiul was comniiBsloncd a lieutenant. In fqnudron there. lie fought his vessel brave- ly in the action of the 10th of September, and lie and Champlin pursued the two fiigi- lives of the British eqnadron. He was lu Mrvicc on the npper lakes the following ieir,and tliere was Invited to the Java by Perry. He had married, and declined the oJer ot a good post on that vessel. He sub- '■ leqnently commanded several different vcs- I Mlj,aDdwa8 promoted to master coramand- \ anllnlSM. lie was commisslpned post-ca])- ulninl836. He died suddenly while in com- raand of the Washington Navy Yard, in Jan- ; isrr,154t. His widow, who was a Miss Sage, I died soun aftcnvard. By act of the Legisla- 1 terc of South Carolina ho assumed the name I ot his bencfnctor, with a promise that he I ihould inhci it his fortune. From that time I [1815] he is known as Thomas Holdup Ste- He was possessed of a high order of I literary ability, and was beloved by all. His I M, Thomas Holdup Stevens, behaved gal- y In the naval action off Hilton Head In |tbe hlc civil war. 'Tliomas C. Almy was a native of Rhode lUlmd, of Quaker parentage. lie became a lailorin early life, and at the age of twenty- |oBf years he was commander of a ship. He « in the flotilla at Newport, went to Lake ■ perfbrmed gallant service near BnlTalo toward the close of the 13, he went to Erie with men, and assisted in fitting out the Erie, and was cftlclent, useful, and brave there. He died at Eric In December, 1813, only three mouths after the battle that has made his name immortal. His disease was pneumonia. The annexed engraving Is a picture of the hilt of the sword awarded to Almy, and which was given to his next of kin. On one side of the blade are the words "Tiio.\ias C. Aijkiv, Sailing-master commandinur. Lake Erie, 10th September, 1813." On the other side the words "AtTirs iupnt am ad bum- ma NiTCNTKii," with a little view of shipa-of- war. ' Augustus H. M. Concklln was a native of Virginia. Ho was appointed midshipmaU in 1S0«, and lieuteuautln 1813. He followed El- liott to Erie. On a dark night in 1814 bis vessel was captured by a party In boats ofif Port Erie. He left the service In 1S20, while stationed at Portsmouth, New Hampshire. ' George Senat was a native of New Or- leans, of French extraction. He commenced active life as a sailor, but of his career pre- vious to his joining the squadron at Erie nothing appears on record. He served on the upper lakes In 1814. On his return to Erie ho bk.came involved lu a quarrel with Sailing-master M'Donald. A duel ensued, AI.UV 8 BWCRn, Bdyonng Senat was killed. They fought at what Is now the corner of Third and Sassafras Streets, Erie. [ ' In this, as in the preceding diagrams, furnished by Commodoro. Champlin, the British vessels are design-ited by Ho- un numerals, and the American vessels by Arabic numerals. This diagram shows the relative position of the vessels ^tihe two squadrons at the close of the battle. The respective iiumbers indicate the same vessels as In the other dia- mi. ' See the above diagram and note of explanation. Ll ^ 4* 08d PICTORIAL FIELD-BOOK Perry'a Triumph a roniarkable ono. IIli ramniiii DIapntch to llurrliion. IIli Dlipatch to hU Ooverninr that floated not far over (lie watern, her exhausted crow flung out the flag of thoir country from lier maHt-liead. ' This triumph was a remarkable one in AnMsrican and British history. Never he fore hud an Ameriean fleet or Hijuadron encountered an enemy in regular Hue of Imt. tie, and never before, since England created a navy, and boasted that " Britannia nilcn tho wave," had a whole British fleet or squadron been captured. It was a proud moment for Perry and his companions. "An IlftR thn «mnlie, what tongne can fltty toll The tranHportn which thotio manly boBoina hwoII, When Ilritniirn cnHi^n ilown tho reeling; niaat Sinks to proclaim the dospcrnto atrnei;lo pait I Electric cheers along tho Bhatterod fleet, With raptnrous hail, her youthful hero greet j Meek in his triumph, as in danger calm. With reverent hands ho takes the victor's palm ; Ills wreath of conqnest on Faltli'H altar lays,' To his bravo comrades yields the meed of praise."— II. T. Tdokxbman, When Perry's eye perceived at a glance that victory was secure, he wrote, in pen- cil, on tho back of an old letter, resting it upon his navy cap, that remarkable dis- patch to General Harrison whoso first clause has been so often quoted — " We have met the enemy, and they are ours : two ships, two brigs, one schooner, and one sloop. Yours, with great respect and esteem, O. II. Peurv.' FA0-8IMII.E OF TERBy'S DISPATCH. A few minutes afterward, when, as Bancroft says, " a religious awe seemed to como over him at his wonderfid preservation in the midst of great and long-contiiuictl dan ger,"^ he wrote to the Secretary of the Navy as follows : " U. 8. Brig Niatjara, off tho Western Sister,* Head of Lake Erie, September 10, 1813, 4 P.M. " Sir, — It has pleased the Almighty to give to the arms of the United States a si? nal victory over their enemies on this lake. The British squadron, consisting of two I ships, two brigs, one schooner, and one sloop, have this moment surrendered to tk force under my command after a sharp conflict, " I have the honor to be, sir, very respectfully, your obedient servant, "O. II. Perrt. " Honorable William Jones, Secretary of the Navy." J "The shattered Lmorenet," soys Dr. Parsons, "lying to the windward, was once more able to hoist her flag, \tliMi I was cheered by a few feeble voices on board, making a melancholy sound compared with the boisterous cheering tin J preceded the battle."— iMdcourse, page 18. » See Perry's Dispatch to the Secretary of the Novy, printed above. ' Xew Yorl Mm. * This is the most southwardly of three Islands near the western end of Lake Erie, named respectively Eustera Sislir, I Middle Sister, and Western Sister, lying in a line from the southwest to the northeast. It was a little westward oftt(| island named in the dispatch that ttie battle occurred. ¥i OF THE WAR OF 18 12. A31 to aovcrniMm. Hurrander uf tba British OBeun. Burial at the Dead la the Lake. p,^ rtlani * to th« Uur mce. These hiirriod but iiiliuirably-wordcd diapatohes were Hcnt by the same express to loth Harrison uikI the 8ecrctury of the Navy.' Then the eeremony of taking jwm- PMnion of tli«' coiMiiu'rccl voshi'Ih, ami receiving the formal KubniinMion of llio vancjuinh- 1 ^.^g pcrforn>e t''''"'' '^^ ^'"' <">ptnred vessels. I'erry stood on the afVcr-])art of the deck, iinil hin sad visitors were compelled to pick their way to liim among the slain. He received them with solemn dignity and unaft'ected kindness. As they presented llii'ir swords, with the hilts toward the victor, he spoke in a low but firm tone, with- out the betrayal of the least exultation, and recpiested them to "etaiii their weapons. lit! iiKiuired, with real concern, about Commodore Harclay and \.\h fellow-suft'erers from i CalveH's Oration, page 21. wma m fi ■ ' friiiiiiffii V 032 PICTORIAL FIELD-BOOK Burial of Offlceri on the i there. Sad Effects of the Battle. "Illlnck"o ftheBritlii|i. TBK BDBIAI.-PI.AOK. • September n, The inoon soon spread her silver slieen over their common grave and ^*^^' all but the sufterinp; wounded slumbered until the dawn,» The. two squadrons weighed anchor at nine o'clock and sailed into Put-in-Bay Har- bor, and thp'v, twenty-four hours afterward, on the mn.gin of South Bass IhIs'iiI from whi^-h, on the right, may be Roen tiio channel leading out toward ('aiiada and on the left the open way toward Detroit where now wil ow, hickory, and maplu- trees cast a pleasant shade in summer three American and throe British officers' were buried^ with the same solemn fuTicral rites, in the "^'^^"^^'^'■ presence of their respective conntryraen.= The lialit of the morning of the lltli revea'od sad sights to the eyes of the bel- ligerents. Vessels of both squadroii.s were dreadfully shattered, especially the two flag-ships. Sixty-eiglit persons had bee- killed and one hundred and ninety wound- ed during the three hours that the battle lasted. Of these, the Americans lost one hundred and twenty-three, twenty-seven of xvhom were killed ; the Briiisli lost one hundred and thirty-f ve, forty-one of wliom wen killed.^ Barclay, of the Detroit (the British commander), who had lost an arin at Trafalgar., was first wounded in the thigh, and then so severely injured in tin shoulder as to deprive liini of tlie use of the other arm. Finnis, of the Queen Char- lotte, the fpiond in comniand, was mortally wounded, and died that evening, Uoth w^re jallant men ; and justice to all demands the acknowledgment that the Ameri- cans and Briiish carried ')n that lerrible conflict with the greatest courage, fortitude, and skill. It is also just to say that the British <>Xj)erienced what is called "ill luck" from the beginning. First, the wind suddenly turned in favor of the Americans a; the commencem'?. t of the action, giving them the weather- gage ; then the two prin cipal British commanders were struck down early in the action; then Iho niddordl the Lady Freoost was disabled, which caused her to drift out of the line ; the ontan glement of the Detroit and Queen Charlotte gave the Niagara, under Perry, an oppoi tunity to rake them severely ; and, lastly, the men of the British squadron had not. with the exception of those from the Koyal Navy, received the training Avith sjuns ' These worr Lieutenant Brooka and Midshipmen Lunt and Clarke, rf the American service, and Captain Finnis and Lienteuant« Stokoe and fSarland, of the British wrvice. The view here given of the burial-place of these officere 1 cop- ied, by pcrmii'slon, from one of the paintiugK of Miss 0. L. Kansom, already mentioned. » Samuel U. Brown, \,ho arrived at Put-in-Bay I»laud on the evening of the Otli, and from the head of it w.is a Mil ncsR of the battle at about ten miles distant, was present at the burial. " An oiKinlnti; f>i! and Seorpioti, 2 each. Besides the officers mentioned in Note 1, above, the British lost In wounded Midshiii- man Foster, of the (^uemCliarlutU; Lieutenant Commanding Bnchau and First Lieutenant Roulette, of the UnlttPf^ rmt; Lieutenant Commandant Briirnall and Master's Mate Oateshill, of the Hunter; Master's Mate Campbell, com- riiandlng the Chijtpnoa: and PiirsiT Hoffmeistet, of the Detrnit. Doctor Honw^ley, the siirgeo-i of the squadron, being ill, the duties devolved wholly upon Ms yonng assistant, Dnd'r ''sher Parsons, then only twonty-flve years of iigc. During the action he removed six legs, which were nearly divii' i by canuon-bnlls. On the morning of the 1 1th he went on board the SUujixrn to attend to her wounded, nn;l tln'ii tlioci of the other vessels requiring surgical attention were sent to the iMwreruv. The skill of Doctor Parsons Is atleeleil In ihe fact th.1t oi' the Thole nlTiety-«ix wounded only three died. He modestly altribnted the result to ft^sh nir, p>d spiriba ckused by the victory, and the "devoted attention of the commodore." %■■ w OF THE WAR OP 18 12. 533 rtbeBriUih. rave, and ■Bay Har- fiS Island, e ficen the mada, and ■d Detroit, nd niajiki- I suinnipr, all officers' ' September 12, nntrymen/ )f the lltli > of the hel- idrons were ly the tWii IS had k'(" lety wound- it the battle ans lost one wenty-scven )ne of whom I lost an arm jured in ttie Queen Char- :'iiing. Both ,t tlie Aniori- g IraportWice of Porry's Victory. Its KffectH. Uow hie Cauuon were anemrard naed. that most of the Americans had just experienced, for they came out of port the mom- inif of the battle.' Perry's victory proved to be one of the most important events of the war. At that moment two arm'os, one on the north and the other on the south of the wamng sciiiadrons, were waiting for the result most anxiously. Should the victory remain with the Ihitisli, Proctor and Tecnmtha were ready at Maiden, with their motley arniv ^'ve thousand strong, to rush forward and lay waste the entire frontier. Should the victory rest with the Americans, Harrison, with his army in the vicinity of San- dusky Hay, was prepared to press forward by land or Avater for the seizure of IVFalden and Detroit, the recovery of Michigan, and the invasion of Canada. All along the borders of the lake witliin soimd of the cannon in the battle (and they were heard I'roin Cleveland to Maiden-), women with terrified children, and decrepit old men, sat listenim? with the deepest anxiety; for they knew not but with the setting sun they would he compelled to flee to the interior, to escape the fangs of the red blood-hounds ffho were ready to bo let loose u])on helpless uiaocency by the approved servants of a [Toveniment that boasted of its civilization and Christianity. Happily for Ameri- ca—happily for the fair fume of Great Britain — happily for the cause of humanity — the victory was left with the Americans, and the savage allies of the British were net allowed to repeat the tragedies in which they had already been permitted to en- mae. Joy spread over the northwestern frontier as the glad tidings went from lip itoiip. That whole region was instantly relieved of the most gloomy forebodingn of comiiij; evil. That victory led to the destruction of the Indian confederacy, and wi]>ed out the stigma of the surrender at Detroit thirteen months before. It opened the way for Harrison's army to repossess the territory then surrendered, and to penetrate Can- .ida. It was speedily followed by the overthrow of British power in tlie Canadian ncninsula and the country bordering on the upper Lakes, and the absolute security forever of the whole '■orthwestern frontier from British invasion and Indian de]>rcda- tions. From that moment no one doubted the ability of the Americans to maintain llie mastery of our great inland seas, and the faith of the people in this ability was well expressed by a poet of the time, who concluded an epic with the following lines: " And though Brltone may brag of their ruling the ocean, And that sort of thing— by the Lord I've a notion— I'll brt all I'm worth— who takes it f— who takes f— Though they're lords of the oot, we'll be lords of the Utke»."^ The effect of this victory upon the whole country was electric and amazingly in- 1 The great g"iis used by Perry, and those captured by hira from the British, remained In the United States Naval Dipot at Krie \intil the autumn of 1826, when they were transferred to the Naval Station at Brooklyn. They were .ilxral to he removed throngh the ugt'ucy of Dows, Cary, and Meecb, wlio had prepared a line of boats for the just com- fletcil Erie Canal. The happy thought occurred to some one that these rannon might be used for telegraphic iinvposes in connection with the celebration of the tlrst opening of the canal. Thoy were accordingly placed at lutervals of about !cii miles along the whole line of the canal. When the first fleet of boats left Buffalo (m thai occaxion, the fact was an- nnnncod to the citizens of New York in (mo hour and twenty minutes by the serial discharges of these cannon. This ;nn(jnneemcnt, literally conveyed in " thuuder-tones" from the lake to the sea-board, was responded to in like manner .i:(l In the same space of time.— Statement of Orlando Allen to the Buffalo Historical S.xlety, April, 18fi3. The authorities consulted lu the preparation of the foregoing account of the Battle of Lake Erie are the official dis- l«(hes of Perry and Barclay : Niles's Register ; The War ; Port Folio : Analectic Magazine ; Political Register : M'Kan- lios Life of Perry ; Life of Elliott, by a citizen of New York ; Cooper's Naval History ; Discourses by Parsons, Bur- '.■««!, and Calvert; oral and written statements communicated to the anthor by the sarviivors; Brown's Kifw« on toic ft-if, «nd Ix)g-book of the Laui-m/v, kept by Sailing-master Taylor. ' 1 was Informed by Captain Levi Johnson, whom 1 met at Cleveland In the autumn of IRBO, that he and others were ramL'cd in the last work upon the new court-honsc, which stood in front of the present First Presbyterian Church, on llie day of the battle. They thought they heard thunder, but, seeing no clouds, ('(included that the two squadrons had mel. He and several others went down to the lake bank, near the present residence of Mr. Whittnkcr, on Water Street. N'urly all the villagers assembled there, numbering about thirty. They waited until tt»e firing ceased. Although the dijunoe In a straight Hue was full seventy miles, they could easily distinguish the sounds of the heavier and lighter ?aD.». The last Ave reports were from the heavy guns. Knuwing that the Americans had the heaviest ordnance, they (Moclnded that victory remained with them, and wi,h that conviction they gave three cheers for Perry. Miss Reynolds, tisler of the venerable Robert Reynolds, of the British army, whom I also visited in the autumn of ISflO, told me Uiat the listened to the flring during the whole battle. The distance was less than forty miles. A letter dated at Erie, September 24. IStit, says that a gentleman from the New York state line heard at his house the ctiiao<:i>dliig on the lake one hundred ami MiUy viilen dittant I It was heard at Erie, and at first was supposed to be iltUuit thimder. ' AnaUctie Magiuitu, lii., 84. i'i'f:- ;'' POB^PilB^ ?mmmB I liifiit 694 PICTORIAL FIKLD-BOOK Bxaltation of the Americans. FabUc ColebratlunB. Songs and Carlcatoroi. spiriting. There had been a prevailing apprehension that the failures of 1812 were to be repeated in 1813. This victory dissipated those forebodings, and kindled hope and joy all over the land. " O'er the monntains the snn of our fame was decUning, And on Tbctis' billowy breast The cold orb had reposed, all his splendor resigning, Bedinuncd by tlie mists of the West. The prospect that rose to the patriot's sight Was cheerless, and hopeless, and dreary ; But a bolt burst the cloud, and ilhwnincd the night That enveloped' the waters of Eric."— Olu Sono. It is diiBcult at this time to iiuag'iie the exultation then felt and exhibitecl evorv where. Illuminations,' bonfires, salvos of artillery, public dinners, orations, and mim were the vi>*ible indications of the popular satisfaction in almost every city, viliatru and hamlet within the bounds of the republic. The newspapers teemed Avith eulo- gies of the victor and las companions, and the jiulpit and rostrum were resonant with words of thanksgiving and praise. The lyre^ and the peiiciP made many con- ' The City Hall and other buildings in New York were splendidly illuminated on the evening of Saturday, October 23, 1813. There was a band of music in the gallery of the portico, and transparencies were exhibited showing uaval battles; also the words of Lawrence, " don't uivf up tuk suit," and those of Perry's dispatch, " we have jiki m, KNEMY, AND TUKv ARK OCRS." The last-uamed transparency was exhibited at the theatre, with a picture of the tlgbi between the Hornet and I'eamek. ' Many songs were written and sung in commemoration of Perry's victory. One of the most popular of these wjs Avurican Perry, which commences thus : " Bold Barclay ona day to Proctor did say, I'm tired of Jamaica and Cherry ; So let us go down to that new floating town, And get some Araericau Perry.* Oh, cheap American Perry ! Most pleasant American I'erry I We need only all bear down, knock, and call. And we'll have the American Perry." ' Among t|ie caricatures of the day was one by Charles, of Philadelphia, representing John Bull, In the person of iht king, seated, with hie baud pressed upon his stomach, indicatlug pain, which tlie fresli juice of the pear, called perry, iXJimj/, mtllMutalie iome more Way? Oh! 'hny !!! Cunt tuhnyl >-p£r~ —Oiie c/isntlerc^r amHier - J/iaw "^ ^ham mt Inlf mmrred offfieBhedij iKH J golal iV'iJ^ tioxiagntulcli.' 2uwn diarltJk anJ Sohuuj VuUjBt thir dote tf &hru. will produce. Qiwmi Chariotte, the king's wife Thf War, page 127. » Sec note 1, page HU. 'On one side of Perry's medal ia a bnst of the commodore, surrounded by the followlui; words: "oi.ivtBL's ii. riBBv. rBiNoKi-s BTAONo EBiKNBK. oi.ABBAM ToTAM ooNTiiiiiT." Ou thc rcverflc ft squadrou of vessels closely cngBKed, nud the legend "viAM invbnit virtcb act kaoit." ExcrKue: "intkb oi.ars. amrbi. et iibit. ihb x. bep. Hnoooxm," Ononesidoof Elliott's medal is a bust of the commander, and the words ".lEBSK i>. ri.i.iott. nil aotiim bepdtanb hi inn. budbebskt auendum." On the reverse a squadron engaged, and the legend "viam lmvenit virtcb axtt i-aoit." The exergue the eame as on Perry's. 51 V,\l ■ i 1? 536 PICTORIAL FIELD-BOOK " November. Effect of the Victory on the Britlab. A Pleii for a BrltlBh-Indian Alliance. Waehlngtou Irvine's PredlctionT each of the midshipmen and sailing-masters " who so nobly distinguished themselves on that memorable occasion."' In after years, when the dead body of Perry was buried in the soil of his native state, her Legislature caused a monument to be erect- ed to his memory,^ for she claimed, with much justice, a large share of the glory of the battle of Lake Erie for her sons.^ The effect of this victory was deeply impressive on the British mind, and the news- papcni in the provinces and the mother country indulged in lamentations over tlip want of vigor in the prosecution of the war manifested by the ministry. " We have • October, been conquered on Lake Erie," said a Halifax paper,* " and so we shall be **^' on every other lake, if wo take as little care to protect them. Their success is less owing to their prowess tlian to our neglect." A London paper consoled the people by saying,** " It may, however, serve to diminish our vexation at the occurrence to learn that the flotilla in question was not any branch of the British Navy It wfls not the Royal Navy, but a local force — a kimi of mercantile military." Others, conscious of the inability of the British force in Can- ada to cope Avitli the Americans, urged the necessity of extending the alliance with the Indians. "We dare assert," said a writer in one of the leading British Beviews' " and recent events have gone far in establishing the truth of the proposition that the Canadas can not be effectually and durably defended without the frieiulship ot' the Indians, and command of the lakes and the River St. Lawrence." Ho ur<>-e(l his countrymen to consider the interests of the Indians as their own ; " for men," he said, " whose very name is so very formidable to an American, and whose frieiulsliij) lias recently been sliown to be of such great importance to its, we can not do too mudi,'' The name of Perry is cherished with increasing reverence by successive genera- tions ; and the vast population that now swarm along the southern borders of Lake Erie regard the battle that has made its name immortal in history as a classical nos- session of rare value. Only a few weeks after the victory, Washington Irving, in a cha: ,,3 biographical sketch of Commodore Perry,* said: "The last roar of cannon that died along her shores was the expiring note of British domination. Those vast in- ternal seas will perhaps never again be the separating space between contendirg na- tions, but will be embosomed within a mighty empire f and this victory, which de- cided thcii" fate, will stand imrivaled and alone, deriving lustre and i)erpctuity from its singleness. In future times, when the shores of Erie shall hum with busy popu- lation ; when towns and cities shall brighten where now extend the dark and tangled forests; v\ hen ports shall spread their arms, and lofty barks shall ride where now the canoe is fastened to the stake ; when the present age shall have grown into venera- ble antiquity, and the mists of fable begin to gather round its history, then will tin inhabitants look back to this battle we record as one of the romantic achievements of the days of yore. It will stand first on the page of their local legends and iu the marvelous tales of the borders." This prophecy of the beloved Irving has been fulfilled. The archipelago that em- braces Put-in-Bay has become a classic region. At Erie, and Cleveland, and San- dusky, and Toleclo, where the Indian then " fastened his canoe to a stake," " ports ' We have cbeerved In Note 2, pnge BIO, that Mr. Hamblcton, purser of the fMvtreitee, was chosen prize ogcnt. .\ board of officers from Lake Ontario, assisted by Henry Eckford, naval constrnctor, prized the captured sqnadrou al $225,000. Commodore ("hauncey, the commander-in-chief on the lakes, received one twentieth of the whole eum, or 1(12,750. Perry and Elliott each drew $7140. The Congress voted Perry $6000 in addition. Each commniuler of a sjun-boflf sallinK-master, lieutenant, and captain of marines, received $22115 ; each midshipman, $811 ; each petty officer, $447; and each marine and sailor, $20!).— Miss I.anra O. Sanford's Ilintory nf Erie, page 273. » See pn:,'e K.\. ' Perry took with him from Rhode Island, as we have seen (page 509), a large number of men and officers. It wash; them chiefly that the vessels built at Erie were constnicted. The commodore and three of his commanders — Chaniijliii, Almy, and Turner, and Ave other officers— Taylor, Hrownell, Breese, Dnnham, and Alexander Perry, were ftoin Uliwlc Island. In the flght forty-seven of the flfty-llvo guns i.f the squadron wore commanded by Rhode Islandc.s. ♦ -Veic Quarterlii Rtvieii- and Britii* Cobmml HegMef, No. 4; 8. M. Richardson, Comhill, London. » Annlfrtir Mafiazinf, rem her, 1818. • He had .Inst heard of iarrlson's victorious Invasion of Canada, and It was believed at that time that the upper prov- ince would assuredly bect>mc a portion of thi- L'uitcd States. OF THE WAR OF 1812. 537 Predictions. smselves 3rry -was lie erect- glory of the news- over the We have shall be ir success isoled tlu' Dxation at ny branch -a kind of 'ce in Can- "mnee witli 1 Reviews,' sition, that cndship of 3 urged his in," he said, Midsliip has too much." dvc genera- [ers of Lalvc lassical pos- Irving, in a icannon that loso vast in- itendirg na- vvhich do- )etuity from )usy popu- aiul tangled re now the into vencra- ipn will the chievements 8 and in the igo that em- id, and Sau- ike," "ports prize agent. .\ jrcd squadron s! le whole mm, or commander ot a encli petty officer, See page 521. ,, leers. Itwa.'l'y idcns— Cliampliu, ,vcro from llhodc It the upper proT- Jonrney to Cloveliuid. HlUorlc Places at Brie. Night Travel. spread their arms ;" and every year the anniversary of the battle is somewhere cel- ebrated with appropriate ceremonies. Already tlie corner-stone of a monumental shaft in commemoration of the battle has been laid upon Perry's Look-out on Gibral- tar Island ;' and in the beautiful city of Cleveland — an insignificant hamlet on the bleak lake shore in 1813, now [1867] a nuxrt of commerce with about fifty thousand iiihfibitants — a noble statue of Perry, wrought of the purest Parian marble by a resi- dont artist, has been erected by the city authorities.^ I was present, as an invited guest, at the inauguration of that statue of Perry on the 10th of September, 1860. Never will the impressive spectacles of that day, and the inflixcnce of the associations connected with them, be effaced from memory, llie journey thither, the mementoes of history seen on the way, and the meeting of scores of veterans of the War of 1812 at the great gathering, made a deep impression on the mind. I lefl my home on the Hudson, with my family, on the morning of the Cth," Avith the intention of stopping at Erie (where a portion of Perry's . September, squadron was built) on my way to Cleveland. It was a day like one in ^**'^"* midsummer — sultry and showery ; yet in the railway carriage, whose steeds never (Trow w'cary, and wherein shelter from sun and rain are ever afforded, we traversed during the day, with very little fatigue or inconvenience, more than the entire length of the State of New York, through the Hudson and Mohawk valleys and the great levels westward, to Buffalo, a distance of three hundred and seventy miles. There I left my family in charge of the veteran Captain Champlin, one of the heroes of the fight, to accompany him by water to Cleveland ; and early the next morn- inc'' I pushed on by railway to Erie, where I had the good fortune to meet Captain W. W. Dobbins, son of the gallant officer of that name al- ready mentioned. Ho kindly accompanied me to the places of interest about Erie — tlie site of Fort Prestju' Isle^ — of Wiiyne's block-house — of Fort Wayne, on Garrison Hill, by the light-house* — of the navy yard at the mouth of C'ascade Creek,* and the old tavern where Perry made his head-quarters before and after the battle. When, at the close of the day, we returned to the village, heavy black clouds were brooding over the lake in the direction of the great conflict, and the deep bellowing of the dis- tant thunder gave a vivid idea of the tumult of the battle lieard from that very spot ■almost half a century before. I had completed my sketches and observations, and I spent the evening pleasantly and profitably with Captain Dobbins and his venerable mother, to whom I am indebted for kind courtesies and valuable information.^ At almost two o'clock in the morning'^ I left Erie in the railway cars for Cleveland, just after a heavy thunder-shower had passed over that re- gion, making the night intensely dark, and drenching the country. We arrived at Cleveland at six o'clock in the morning. Heavy mists were scurry- ing over the lake upon the wings of fitful gusts, and dashes of rain came down fre- quently like sudden shower-baths. For almost three liours I waited at the wharf where the passengers on the boat from Buffalo were to land. She was The Western Mdropolis — a magnificent vessel — one of th j finest ever built on the lakes. All night " September T. = September 8. ' See pictnrc on page 61R On the 4th of July, 1862, the national anniversary was celebrated on Put-in-Bay Island by Jte companies of Ohio vijiimtccr militia. Their encampment was the first ever seen there since Harrison loft it wltji Ml troops in the autumn of tSlS. At that time it was agreed to talie measures for erecting a monument iu coramemo- mlon of the victory, and The Ilattlc of Lake Krie Monument Aimoeiatvm was formed. A Constitotion was adopted, and (Jmcral Lewis Cass, of "Detroit, was appointed president of the association. J. G. Camp, E. Cooke, E. Bili, A. P. Ed- turd!, and J. A. Harris, were appointed a provisional executive committee. ' Tlie project of erecting a statue of Perry at Cleveland originated with the Hon. Harvey Rice, of that elty, who, as umber of llie Common Council, brought the subject before that body in June, 1S57, in a series of resolutions. A eom- mittce was appointed to take the matter in hand, composed of Harvey Kice, p. M. Ovialt, J. M. Coflinlicrry, J. Kirkpnt- tick, and C. D. Williams. They contracted with T. .Tones and Sons, of Cleveland, to erect a monument surmounted liy a itunc of Perry, for the sum of eight thousand dollars. The designs of monument and statue were made by William Wslcntt, the sculptor, of Cleveland, and the figures were executed by him. ' See page 511. « See note 1, page 510. 'See page 511. 'Mm. Dobbins is of English and Irish extraction, and was married to Mr. Dobbins at Canuonsbnrg, Pennsylvunia, iiily in the year 1800, by whom she had ten children. v-\ i |-.;ilH jljfl !iifj|(':-'j 638 PICTORIAL FIELD-BOOK The Pilot of the Ariel. Croivdi fill Cleveland. "Camp P erry" on Sundaj. long she liad battled with the storm, yet she was so staneli that her passoiicers had slept securely ami soundly. A line state-room liad been assigned to Captain Cliamp- lin. Among the survivors of the war who accompanied him was Captain Asel Wjl. kinson, of Golden, Erie County, New York, who was the pilot of the Ariel — a tall slender man, seventy-two years of age. He stood at the helm of his vessel all tlnoiu'li ^ ^^ ' the battle of the 10th of Soj). rifonf) yf//^/-? ' n tember. His cartridge-box ^J^ll^ ^y/Ci^CynyO'r^S.'V^yi/' ^vas shot from his side by a cannon-ball, and tlie tliunder of the great guns brought the blood from his ears and nose, and permanently ini|i;iir ed his hearing. I received many remiaiscences of the fight from his lips diii.ni^^ ^ brief hour that I spent with him. His vigor of mind and body gave promise \ years of future usefulness, but his days were nearly numbered. On the 4th of Julv, 1861 he was in Buffalo with liis wife to part'cipate in the celebration of the day. When they were passing tlie corner of Pearl and Mohawk Streets he suddenly fell to the pavement and expired. In the midst of a furious thunder-storm wo rode to the residence of a gentleman on Euclid Street, to the hospitalities of which we had been invited, and there we found a pleasant home during our brief sojourn in Clevelaiid. It was the last day of the week. On Monday the appointed ceremonies were to be performed, and visitors were pouring into the " Forest City" by tliousands from every direction. Tiiat evcnina the hotels and large numbers of private houses were filled with guests. Mr. Bancioit (the historian), who was one of tlie chosen orators for the occasion, liad arrived ; alsd a large delegation from Rhode Island, including Governor Sprague, Mr. Bartlett, the Secretary of State, Dr. Parsons, Bishop Clarke, and Captain Thomas Brownell, who was the acting sailing-master of the Ariel in the battle. Members of the Perry fam ily and scores of tlie survivors of the war were also there, and the bright and beau tiful Sabbath found Cleveland full of strangers. It was indeed a bright and beautiful Sabbath. The storm-clouds were gone, and the first cool breath of autumn came from the lake and gave warning of the ap- proaching season of hoar-fi-ost. At an early hour Euclid Street — magnificent Euclid Street — was full of animation, Crowds were making their way to "Camp Perry," on the county fair-grounds, the head-quarters of the military, who were under the command of Brigadier General J. W. Fitch. In the spacious marquee of that officer we met, just before tlie horn' for morning religious services (in which Bishop Clarke led), most of tlie Rhode Island delegation. Governor Dennison,of Oliio, and his staff, and Benjamin Fleming, of Erie, a lively little man, then seventy- eight years of age, who was a maintop- man in the Niagara during the battle, He was yet living in 1863, and was one uENJAMiN FLMiiNo. gf t^fpe gurvlvors of the battle who arc residents of Erie.' Fleming was a native of Delaware.'^ He was dressed in full sail- ' The other two Were John Murray, a mnrinc from Peniioylvanla, aged abont sevcuty-three, mid Jesse Wall, a colored man, nged about eeventy-four years, who was a flfer on board the Niagara. • ficujamiu Flemiot; was bom in LewlBtou, Delaware, on the 20th of July, 1T82. He entered the naval service on OF THE WAB OF 1812. fi39 Son IvldH Soldiers of the War of 1812. Tnaugnratloa of the Statne of Perry. PreUininai7 Proceedings. or's costume, and on liis right breast, in the form of a shield, on which was inscribed his name and the occasion, was the silver medal presented by the State of Pennsylvania.' pebby'b lantern. for some soldiers were on those vessels and upon Put-in-Bay Island. There was also Ilosea Sargent, of Cambridge, Mas- sachusetts, a survivor of the Lawrence, who handed Perry his flag as he was leaving his vessel for the Niagara. A mute relic of the battle was also on the ground. It was Perry's signal lantern, and be- longed to Lieutenant Selden, It was made of tin, with win- There wc also met Dr. Nathan Eastman, of Medina, Ohio, who, as volunteer surgeon, as- sisted in dressing the wounds of those injured hi tlu' battle who were taken to the marine liospital at Erie. He was after- ward appointed assistant sur- ijeon, and spent the dreary winter of 1813-14 in that ca- pjicit y on board the prize-ships Detroit and Queen Charlotte, of the " Wayne Guards" of Erie, who were present, (lows of scraped horn, and had a venerable appearance. Monday dawned gloomily. Tlie sky was lowering with heavy clouds, the tem- perature- was chilling, and as the time approached for the commencement of the pub- lic ceremonies there were indications of early rain. But these hindered nothing. At an oarly hour I went to the City Hall, the head-quarters of the " soldiers of 1812," anil assisted in the interesting task of making a register of the names and ages of tliose who were present, about three hundred in numb'.r.^ The air was full of mar- tial music, the streets and buildings were gay with b.anners, and as the appointed time for uncovering the statue drew near, the public square of ten acres, in the cen- tre of which it stoo;!, began to fill with people. I had made my way with difficulty through the crowd from the old soldiers' head-quarters to the stage erected for the ooiuluctors of the pageant and invited guests. Mr. Bancroft soon arrived, alone, but was followed almost immediately by the mayor of the city, the committee of arrange- ments, Dr. Parsons (the associate orator), the Perry family, and other invited guests. Very soon the immense military and civic procession came filing into the square in 2ay and sombre costumes, accompanied by a miniature brig Laiorence, on wheels, drawn by four horses. The inclosure was filled with the living sea, and broad On- tario ami Superior Streets were crowded with people as far as the eye could reach. " All Cleveland is out !" exclaimed a gentleman at my elbow. " All creation, you hiul hotter say," responded another. It was estimated that fifty thousand strangers wore present. The ceremonies before the statue were opened by prayer from the lips of the Rev- ireiid Dr. Perry, of Natchez, Mi88is8i])pi. Then Mr. Waloutt, the sculptor, unveiled the statue. There it stood, upon a green mound, surrounded by an iron railing, im- posing, beautiful, and remarkable because of its extreme whiteness.^ Tens of thou- •iinils of voices sent up loud cheers as that chaste work of art was clearly revealed, I'lirjust as the covering was removed, rays of sunlight, that had struggled thi^ugh board the fflgnte Eimx in 1811, and at New York volunteered for the Inke service. He \vi<>wUh Elliott at the captnre iif the Caltiionia and Adam». See list uf nnmcs In Note S, page 3S5. He had lived In Brie ( er since this war. Two of bis sons were in a Pennsylvania regiment during the late Civil War, and both were wonnded in the b.ittJeB befon^ Richmond. > See page BS5. > .\monf; these were Benjamin Le Reanx, a^d seventy-«even years. He was f^om La Salle City, Illinois. He ivas a imall, lively, spnrkliug-fnced man, and was dressed in the same military suit of gray in which, as orderly serc^uant, he tonghi under General Scott in the battle of Niagara, or Lundy's Lane. lie was in Jesnp's command. A liistory of that gray uniform will he given liereaftcr. Mr. Lc lieaiix's father was a Frenchman, and Kprved as captain nnder LafuyiUte. ' The monument and statue, represented ou the following page, present to the eye one of the most chaste memorials of sreatness to l>e found in the country. Indeed, it is believed that nothing equals it. The pedestal is of Khnde Island liraiiite, twelve feet in height, on one side of which Is sculptured. In low relief, the scene of Perry's passage from the Imrrma to the Maijara. On one side of It is a small statue of a Sailor-boji, bareheaded, and on the other one of a Mid- iki|)m(in, with his cap on, in the attitude of listening. The statue is of Parian marble, and remarkable for its purity. Il It i^l^lit fejt in height, but at the altitude of the top of the pedestal or monument it appears lilfa-slze. The entire litii;ht of the monument, including the base, is twenty-live feet. . i-M MO PrCTOBIAL FIELn-BOOK The Statnc unveiled. Orations by Bancroft and Pari>ona. A remarlcnblu Dinner ' li i |i 7f1 1 the clouds, fell full upon it. Mr. WuJPutt made a brief address, which was resiiondci^ to by Mayor Scnter. Then followed Mr Ban'^roft's oration,' and an historical dis^ course by Dr. Parsons.'* Oliver Hazard IVr- ry, the only surviving son of the ((.iiiiiio. dore, addressed the people briefly, when the masonic ceremonies of dedication were m- formed. The proceedings closed with a soncj, written by E. (4. Knowlton, of Cleveland and sung by Ossian E. Dodge. I had been invited to dine with the vof- crans of 1812, and when the eerenKniies he- fore the statue were ended,! hasi ened from the crowded city to the old soldiers' han- quet-hall in the railway buildings on the margin of the lake. The scene was a most interesting and remarkable one. Almost three hundred survivors of the war, who iiad been participants in its military events, wort- seated at the table, with their commander for the day (General J. M. Hughes), and Deacon Benjamin Rouse, the president of the Old Soldiers' Association, at their head. There were very few among them of foclih step. Upon every head not disfigured liy a wig lay the snows that never melt. It was ;i dinner-party,! venture to say, that has no |iarallel in history. The ages of the guests (excepting a few younger men, like niystlf, who were permitted by courtesy to be jires- ent) ranged from fftysev en to ninety years.' The average was about seventy years; and the aggregate age of the company Avas about twenty thousand years t When I left the banquet-liall a spectacle of rare beauty met the eye. Tlic high banks of the lake in front of the city were covered with men, women, and oliikhvn, thousands in numbei-, who had come out to be witnesses of a promised sham-fight on the lake, in nearly exact imitation of the real one forty-seven years before. Iciiuilnd the steep bank, up a long flight of stairs at the foot of Warren Street, to a good po- sition for observation, and found myself by the side of Mr. Fleming, the jolly little maintop-man of the Niagara, with his sailor's dress and silver medal. The clouds had dispersed, and the afternoon was almost as bright and serene as when the old battle was waged. One by one the vessels representing the belligerent squadrons of Perry and Barclay went out from the mouth of the Cuyahoga, not " with a light breeze" alone, but by the more certain power of steam-tugs. Captain Champlin com- manded the mock-American squadron, and Mr. Chapman* that of the mock-lJritisli. • Imtnedtately after the noncluBlon of Mr. Bancroft's addrcee, he wns presented with i\ cane, made of the ttrabcr of (he Lmcreiux, by the "Wayne Guards," of Erie. The head is of i»old, and tho fernle a spike fi-om the Lawrenoe. ' During the delivery of Dr. Parsons's disconrse, an intellii;ent old man. named Quiun, ttom Pittsburg, Poiinsylvania, came upon the stand, and reported himself as the man who made the corda^ nsed in rigging the vessels of Perrv'i eqnadron. He had with him, in a box, the identical tools that were nsed in that service. 3 The oldest man among them was a colored soldier named Abraham Chase. He was ninety. Two of them (8. F. Whitney and Bichard M'Cready) were only flfty-seven. They were boys in the service. « See page B2T, PERBV'S STATUE. the timber of thr OF THE WAR OF 1812. 541 Sbam BattU' on Lake Erie. VUit to early Reaidents of Cleveland. Captain Stanton Sboles. lUdO. . gingnlar coincidence occurred. Ab in the real battle, so in this, there waH a light Vn-e/t' ar Hrnt, which freshened before the close. It was lui excitinfj scene, and little Fli-niuB iUirly danced with exhilaration as he observed the flashes — the booming of groat guns — the fleet rnveloped in smokt; — Champlin, like Perry, leaving the Law- rence and going to the Niagara, and the latter sweeping down, breaking the Chap- inan-Harclay's line and winning victory. With this extraordinary pa^^eant closed the public ceremonies of the day.' On the following Jay, accompanied by the Rev. T. B. Fairchild, of Hudson, Ohio, 1 viiiited several jjcrsons and places in Cleveland connected with its history. Among the former were Judge liarr, to whose kind courtesy, through the medium of letters, I was under many obligations, and the widow of Dr. David J^ong, a daughter of John Wadsworth, one of the earliest settlers in that region. She was a resident of Cleve- land at the time of the battle. =* When I visited her* she and Levi John- .September, nor. and his wife were the only survivors of the inhabitants of that place in 1813. At the time of Hull's surrender there was great alarm at Clevelaiul, and Mrs. Long was the only woman who re- mained. Her husband would not desert the sick there, and she would not desert her husband. At that time they had no military ])rotection, but in the spring of 1813 Major Jesup was stationed there with two companies of Ohio militia. These were joined in May by Captain Stanton Sholes, now [l ^67] a resident of Columbus, Ohio,^ with a company of United States Artillery from Pennsylva- nia. He was cordially welcomed by Governor Meigs, and made his quarters at Major Carter's tavern. Tie immedi- iitcly set about felling the timber on the -iite of the present city of Cleveland, with which to build a small stockade fort. This was erected near the present light- house, about fifty yards from the lake. JtmJiM,'fh.di^, ' At lilt close of the pnbltc proccedingB the members of the Mnsonlc Order who were present dined together ot the Weddell Flonse. H. L. HoHmer, Dnpnty Grand Master of Ohio, presided. The banqueters were enlivened by toasts and spctflien, and the festivities closed with a song written for ihe occasion by William Ross Wallace, and sung by Ossian E. Doilgc— a song of three stanzas, of which the Idlowing scirrlng one is the conclu<-'on: " Roll, roll, ye waves ! otemni roll I For ye are holy from his might: Oh, Banner, that his valor wreathed, Forever keep thy victor-light 1 And if npon this sacred lake Slionld ever come invading powers, Like him may we exulting cry, Wk'vK met TIIK 1.-OK, ANB THEY AKE 0ITE8 1" ■ Dr. Long's dwelling was on the site of the present light-house at Cleveland. It still exists, bnt at some distance frnm the place where it was built. It now stands on the north side of Frankfort Street, between Bank and Water Streets. It in a small building, one story, about 20 by '2fi feet square. ' Mr.Sholcs is a native of Connecticut, born before the breaking ont of the Revolntlonary War, and Is now CISC") nbout ninety-six years of age. His father was a British soldier at the capture of (Jnebec ftom the French, and served four yeiirs in our old war for Independence. In early life Captain Gholes engaged in tlie bnslness of a sailor, and visited many parts of the world. He qnit the ocean in 1803, and settled In the Slate of New York. After a few years he took 'ip bi« abode on the banks of the Ohio River, about twenty miles below Pittsburg. In May, ISl'.!, he received from Pres- ident Madison a captain's comn\l88ion in the second division LTnited States Artillery, with orders to recruit a company ofonp hmidred men tor five years. This he accomplished, and in May, 1813, arrived with them at Cleveland, as we have ibjcrv'ed. He served faithfully in the Northwest, during the hostilities In that region, under Harrison. I am indebted loCnptain Sholes (br much valuable information concerning operations there. He is an honored hero of two wars, fbr hefore the close of the Revolution be ran away from home, and entered the service of his country as a boy-aoldler. ■ -V ill OM PICTORIAL FIELD-BOOK Parrjr tnd hia Csptlvei. Terrible Storm on IjUie Brte. Fate of the chief Vemelg In the Bwtit I, .1 IIo also erected a comfortable hospital. During that summer he was on active dntv there, but two ilays before the battle on the laki' he received orders from Xf>veriiinont boats at Cleveland, movo on to the mouth of the Mauinee, preparatory to a Hpt^dy invasion (if Canada. • iMO ^ ^'''^^ Cleveland on the morning of the 1 2th of September" for Southern Ohio and the residence and ((tmb of lieneral Harrison. Of the incidents of tlmt jounioy I sh.iU hereafter write. Lot us occupy a few moments in consKU'ring tlic farther movements of the lake squadron so lately in battle. We left them in Put in- " September, l^ay on the morning of the t'ith,'' after the sad task of burying the slain •'A®'^- officers had been performed. In the course of the i' ly after the battle Perry visited the wounded Barclay oii board the battere as sliarp-shooters. The noise of great gnns and the dangers of the fight unnerved tliem, and they had lied to the hold in terror. Wlien brought before Perry they expected torture or scalping. Their astonishment was great when he gpokf kindly to them, directed them to be fed, and scut them on shore with assurances of protection from the Indiaus friendlj to the Americans. 2 The prisoners conveyed to Brie were sent to Pittsburg, In the Interior, for greater gecurlty. The wounded were well cared for. 3 In this dispatch Perry spoke In terms of praise of all his officers who were conspicuous in the battle. Captain El- liott received a bountlftil share, contrary to the judgment and wishes of many of Pc^r^'J^ officers. They expressed Iheir opinions fteeiy in disparagement of Elliott. A quarrel between the two commn«diis and their friends ensued. The controversy was revived in after years by Mr. Cooper, the historian of the United States Navy, and old animoslllcs wcrr awakened to unwonted vigor. They have ^^ t.'aptain George Miles, of Erie. Theymn now slept for many years, and I do not » |^M A converted into merchant ships, but In lb choose to disturb them by any remarks l^fl^HR course of five or six years they became Ufc here. The public verdict has determined ^^I^^H '^'^' "^'^ IMmit lay at Buffalo sonic time, the relative position of the two command- l^RBIA when she was purchased by the hotel-keep- ers in the history of the country. So let it wHPmI^&=:;^v. ers at Niagara Falls, with which to mskeii be. Ug^a^HMylft spectacle for the visitors there in the sum- * The liatrrmcf, Dftrmt, and Qtteen Char' fj|k_ I^RH^^^^a^ """''■ ''''"'y P'oeed a live bear and olhfr fo'te were afterward sunk in Little Bay (see j^^k I^^^B^BiifeB animals on board of her, and sent her map on page SU), on the northerly side of l|^^B ^^^^BSr^l adrift above the Fails, in the presence ofn the harbor of Erie. The .Vtar^m was kept '^^^K I^^^^^E^^ great crowd of |>eople, who expected to tee at Brie as a receiving ship for a long time. --M^K y^^^ B^^^^ J her plnnue over tlie great cataract. Bn; She was finally abandoned, and also sunk "y^^^^B^g^F^^^ T she lodged In the rapids above, and ther' In Little Bay. Here her bottom, partly ^^^^^HP^B?^?"^ went to pieces. Such was the end ofCom covered by sand, may still be seen. In ^^H^^^jT-**^!"' mander Barclay's flag-ship Ikrynii. Pieer* 1837 the Detroit and i^uen Charlotte were ^^^^^Ei'^^^vJ^ "f "i^ iMwrerwe have been sniinlit for »> pnrchasedofthe government, and raised by ■ >•-;- relics by the curious, and many caue« and m!> OF THE WAU OF 1813. Ai3 ,c wonndcd vrtre Pen, and tlii rrl«i)n at Brio. Their Horeptlon. Incident! at Biie. Biecutlon of BM. ri.UllV> gllAKTEBB. at Erie on the 'iail, and was grooted by a Kaliite of seventeen giiiiH on shore. A month .0.) later," wlien Canada liad been m;'- • siieeesstully uivaued by Harri- son, and Perry, as his vohmleer aid, had sliiircd in tlie lionors of victory, tlie Ariel sailed into K'"'« with these eonimaiiders, fllio were accoin])anied by Coniniodori' Barcliiy, then admitted to liis paroU^ and Colonel E. r. Gaines. Tiiese ottieers took locl'lniis ai Duncan's, Perry's old head- nuiirtd^, yet standinj,' (glorious because of its uHJtdciations, though in ruins), on the corner of Third and French Strei'ts. ' They were received -with the booming of can- non, the shouts of the people, and the kind- ly greeting of every loyal heart. The town wa» illiiuuiiated in the evening, and the streets were enlivened by a torch-liglit pro- cession, bearing transparencies, made at the suggestion and under the direction of the accomplished Lieutenant Thomas Holdup.^ On one of these were the words " Commodore I'erry, 1 0th of September, 1813;" on another, " (4eneral Harrison, 5th of October, 1813;" cm another, " Free Trade and Sailors' liights;" and on a fourth, " Erie." The Niagara arrived the same afternoon, and other vessels soon fol- lowed.^ The succeeding winter was passed in much anxiety by the inhabitants of Erie on acx'onnt of an expected attack by the British and Indians, who, it was reported, were preparing to cross the lake on the ice from the Canada shore. False alarms were frequent, and midnight 2)acking8 of valuables preparatory to an exodus were quite common. The summer brought guaranties of repose, and during the last half of the year 1814 only a company of volunteers were stationed there, most of them at the block-house at Cascade Creek.* ilifr artlclen have been made of the wood. Captain Chainplin and Dr. Parsons, snrvlvors of the battle, both hnvp lisira made from the oak wood of the flag-ship. Our little eniiraving on the opposite page shows the form '>f Chnni- liliii's chnlr. I saw the stern-post of the Lawretue In possession of Captain W. W. Dobbins, at Erie. 1 Tliis is known as the " Eric Hotel." The above picture shows its appearance when I sketched it in September, 1^C(|. Tlie most dii^tiuit window of the second story, seen in the gable of tho main building, and boarded up, was point- ed out to me as the one that lighted the room occupied by Perry. ' See Note S, page 528. ' Doctor Parsons's Diary. Mi.ss Laura O. Sanford's History of Erie. ' Tliree men wore executed at Erie for desertion in the autumn of 1S14. One of them was a young man of some standing, mimed Bird, who had fought gallantly on the Niagara in the battle on Lake Erie. Ills ofTenee could not be overlooked, and he was shot. It was thought by some that his pardon, under tho circumstances, might not have been detrimental to the public good. A doleful ballad, called The vmurnful Tragedn o,t James Bint, was written, and became very popular throughout the country, drawing te£ 's from nnrctlned and sensitive listeners. Older readers will doubt- less remember with what pathos the singers would chant tho following, which was the last of tho eleven verses of the ballad: "See, he kneels upon his cofHn 1 sure his death can do no good. Spare hini I Iliirk I Oh God 1 they've shot him ; his bosom streams with blood. Farewell, Bird ! farewell forever ! Friends and home he'll see no more I But his mangled corpse lies buried '^ Erie's distant shore." THOMAS nOLDUP STEVENB. 1 i »' Ml 044 I'ICTOHIAL FIELD-BOOK Arrapgemenu fur Invading Cansd«. narrlmn'a Dlilnt«fWt«dneM. Qowrnor Shelby and hia Full^liijr CITAPTEU XXVI. "'Twftd on LaTranche'H fcrtllo banka A KUlli'Xt l«>it iipiK'iircd ; But rmirtmn hundred fiirniivl their ranks— No chnnro of war they foiirt'd. Their counlry'B chuhc htid called them forth To Imttle'H Htormy Held ; They deemed the mnu of llltlo worth WhoHO rnind but tliou^'ht to yield. There onr Columhlit'K warrior bnnda The Htnr-Rtud enHli;n bear, And General llarrlHon commands The men to valor dear." g>ftPFjj|^;;-.2 ' ., 11 KN Perry's victory gave the sovereignty of Lake Eric ♦', tiio /Vlu AincricaiiH, General Harrison had conipleted liis arraiigoiiu'iits for invading Canachi. lie liad called on Governor SiuHiv of Kentuclvy, lor fifteen Inindred men, and, with the generosity of an nnselfish patriot as he was, invited that veteran to the field and to the chief command, Haying, "Wliy not, my dear Hit-, comp in i)erHon ? You would not object to a command tiiat would be nominal only. I have Huch confidence in your wisdom, that you, in fact, should ' be the guiding head and I the hand.' Tiie situation you would W placed in would not be without its parallel. Scipio, the concpieror of Cartliano, did not disdain to act as the lieutenant of his younger and less experienced brother Lucius." This invitation roused the martial spirit of Shelby, and he resolved to lea(l,nolto «cn(?lt H people against the foe. He called for mounted volunteers to assemble at •July 81, Newport, opposite Cincinnati, at the yiose of July." "I will meet you tlieiv *^'^- in person," lie said; "I will lead you to the field of battle, and share Avitli you the clangers and honors of the campaign." His words were electrical ; Kentucky instantly blazed with enthusiasm. " Come," said the young men and veterans, " let us rally round the eagle of our country, for Old KliHf''s Mountain^ will certainly lead us to victory and conquest." Twice the required number flocked to his standard; and with Major John Adair,'' and the late venerable United States senator .lolin J. Crittenden,^ as his aids, and wearing upon his thigh a sword just presented to 1 Oovernor Shelby wn» one of the lendcrB of the militia who defeated the bunded Tories nndcr Major Fcrgnfnn on Kiuij's Mountain, on the upper borders of South t'arolinu, on the 7th of Octobf r, 1781. Slielby'8 valor on that occusioo was conspicuous, and he was known in late* . cars by the familiar nairo of Old Kmg'n Mountuhi. ' John Adair was a North Carolinian, and emigrated to Kentucky in 1780, at the age of thirty-one years. lie wasnn active ofllcer in the Indian ware on the Northwestern frontier. He held the rommlBsiou of major In 1792. He was pop nlar in his adopted state until isn7, when his unfortunate connection with Burr obscured his rei)utatlon for a while, lie seems not to have been aware (like other of Burr's dupes) of the traitor's real desi^rns. In politics he was a Kcdorolist. His conduct during the campaign of 1813 was every way praiseworthy. lie was afterward apiiointcd adjutant geneml of the Kentucky troops, with the brevet rank of brigadier general. In that capacity he commanded the KcnIiicliUiis in the battle of New Orleans. In 1820 he was elected Governor of Kentucky, and was often a member of the Stale Ugls- lature. lie had been United States senator in ISO,"* ; in 1831 he was elected a member of the lower house of Confres!. He died on the l'.)th of May, 1S40, nt the age of eighty-three years. 3 John .T. Crittenden was born in Woodford County, Kentucky, in September, 17Sfi. His father was an early Mttler in that state. Young Crittenden studied law, and commenced Us practice in Russellville, Logan County. He was amonf the first voliuitcera raised by Oovernor Shelby for Harrison in 1S1S>. He accompanied General Hopkins in his cx|)Cili- tion on the Wabash (see page 330), and the next year was with Harrison on the Northwestern frontier. He performed gallant service In the battle on the Thames, after which ho resumed his profession at RnssellvlUe. He was several times a member of the State Legislature, and was elected United States senator in 1817. He afterward removed to Frankfort, where he practiced his professhm uutil IS36, Bcr\-ing bis constituents as legislator occasionally. That year OF THE WAU OF 1818. S40 li FuUi Eric t", iiio raiigcnu'iits p Slielby, of LMUTOsity (if to the iiflil iar sir, come i.at would 1)0 iin, lliiit yim, Oil would 1)1' !artlia;,'t', did ced brother, had, not to aKsonibli,' at set you tlii'i'c share witli Ki'iiluoky etcrans, " kt rtainly lead is Btandaiil; iiator Joliii ) resented to Injor ForRnson on ■ on that occasion years. Howium 7>.)2. Ilcwaspor )ii for a while. Hi' wns i> Federalist. ndjntnnt Kcnnal _ the Konlufklflns nftheStntoUiri?- lOUBC of Coiifrcss, ->■' as an early Mttlfr He was amon,; lis in his cxpcili- r. He iicrformcl He was several irwaril removed to onally. Thotyeu T^i^riart—ntei U> Ooternor Hhelbjr. Annr «' the Northwest In Mutlon. ItilabulMtion forC'iiniuU, him by Henry Clay, in tho iiamo of tho State of North CaroUnn, in testimony of ap- nreciittio" of liin HerviccH in t\w old war for independence,' lie led thirty-five hund- red mounted men, ineludinjx Colonel H. M. Johnsoii'H troop, in the direction of Lak<' Eric. At IJrhana he or<;anized Ium volnnteerH into eleven re^'imentH,'' and on the 12th (if September reached Upper Sandimky. From that poHt Shelby pnwiied forward with bin start", and at Fort l>.ill (Tittin) he heard of IVrryV victory. He dispatched a cour- ier to Major (leneral Henry, whom he had lell in command at Lower Sandusky, j^iv- iiiffhini the glorious news, and directing him to press forward with tho troops us fast as posnible. The intelligence of success nerved them to more vigorous action; and on the 15th am! 10th" the wliole army of the Northwest, excepting tho • seiiiombor, troops at Fort Meigs and minor posts, were on the bordera of Lake Eric, "'"• on the ])leasant peninsula between Sandusky Ihiy and the lake below llio nioutli of the Portatjc liiver, now i'ort CMinton.^ Shelby arrived there on llic 14th, a few inin- iit(» before a jtart of Perry's s(|uaost, and to march the icgulars there, with Clay's Keiituckians, to the Portage. Colonel Johnson was directed to remain at Fort Melius with his mounted regiment until the expedition sliould sail, and then nmrch toward Detroit, keeping abreast of the army on the trans))orts, as nearly as possible. The embarkation of the army commenced on the 20th.'' The Aveather was delightful. On tho 24th tho troops rendezvoused on Put-in-liay Isl- l;f was elected to the United .States Senate. lie was called to the cabinet of Picsldcnt Harrison, In 1S41, as attorney ; iicral. Ue was agahi elected to the Senate, and In 1S4.S was chosen Governor of Kentucky. President Fillmore called lira to his cnbinet In July, 1H60, as attorney general. Ho entered the United Slates Senate again as a nienilicr In ImM, :i!iil lield his seat there until IMl, when his term of ofllce expired. He took an active part, as u Union man, In leglsla- I .(' measures |H>rtalning to the Urcat Rebellion, and his proposition for conciliation will ever be known In history as ; . Critleiulen Cmnprnmiiie. In ISfil he was elected a representative of tho lower house of the Thirty -seventh Congress, uidili position he occupied until the close of the session on the 3d of March, 1S03, when he ." •> agam put In uomtna- i: 111 for the same offlce. But he did not live until the time for the election. His physical powers had been gradually L-ivinB way for some time, and at half past three o'clock on Sunday morning, July 26, lstl3, ho died at his residence at 1 ranlifort, without a struggle, at the age of almost seventy-seven years. 1 have before me Mr. Clay's autograph letter to Governor Shelby ou the subject. -The following Is a copy: " Lexinoto.v, 22d August, 1813. •Mr DEAB Sib,— I have seen by the public prints that yon Intend leading a detachment ft'om this state. As you will Hint a Bword, I have the pleasure to Inform you that 1 am charged by Governor Turner and Mr. Macon with delivering ; yiin that which the State of North Carolina voted yon In testimony of the sense It entertained of your conduct at Kiis's Moimliiin. I would take It will, me to Frankfort, In order that 1 might personally e-tecnte the commission, ar.* ■ Hie same time have the giatlflcatlon "f seeing you, If I were not excessively oppressed with fatigue. I shall not fr ' i rwcver, to avail myself of the first safe conveyance, and If any should offer to you I will thank you to Inform mo. t' ■ \\ aci|aire additional lustre in the patriotic and hazardous enterprise in which yon are embarking I "Your friend, H. Clav. Tlic Bword was placed in the hands of Mr. W. T. Barry, a mutual friend, on tho day when tho letter was written, who nveyed It to Ooveruor Shelby, at Frankfort. '■ The reglnu'iits were officered respectively as follows: I.lentenant Colonels Trotter, Donaldson, Poague, Mountjoy, Idinlck, Davfiijiort, Paul, Calloway, Simrall, Barbour, and Williams. They were formed Into Ave brigades, under Brig- !:fr« Calmes, Chiles, King, Allen, and Caldwell. The whole were formed Into two divisions, under Major Generals w illian Henry and Joseph Deaha. W. T. Barry was appointed the governor's secretary, Thomas T. Barr judge advo- , :ic scneral, and Doctor A. J. Mitchell hospital surgeon. • The Portage Is a deep, sluggish st'cam. It rises in the Black Swamp, and flows between thirty and forty mile*. litre is a nood harbor at Port Clinton. ' lllack Hoof was a famous Shnwnoese chief. He was born In Florida, and remembered his tribe moving from there ■ ' rcnnaylvanla and Ohio. He was promhient In tho fight against Braddock In I'M, and was In all the Indian wars uiili the Americans In the Northwest toward the close of the last century, until the treaty of Greenville in liflS. Up to : ilui lime he had been the bitter enemy of the white man ; afterward he remained falthftil to that treaty. Tecnmtha ■ tried to seduce him, bnt failed, and by his Influence he kept a greater portion of his tribe from joining tho British hi I the War of ISI'2. He became the ally of the United States, bnt bodily Infirmity kept him f^om active service. In the in- I lUnce of his fHeudsblp just mentioned, he simply brought his people to camp, and left younger chiefs to conduct them I in the campaign. Mm IV. ^>- ii 3. 640 PICTORIAL FIELD-BOOK The Army crosses Luke Erie. It lands wlihont Opposition. VeuKeniice of the Kcutncltiiuis iind Fenrs of I'roctor and, and on tho 25tli they were upon the Middle Sister, an island containintf six or seven acres. Upon that small space almost five thousand men were encamped. The Kentuckians had left tlieir horses on the peninsula, and were acting as infanti-y.' The elements were iavoring. There was a fresh hreeze from the south, and General Har- rison and Commodore Perry sailed in the Ariel to reconnoitre the enemy at llaidcn They acc<)ni|ilished their ohject fully and returned at sunset. Directions wore at once given for the embarkation of the troops the next morning, and in a general or- der issued that evening, the place and manner of landing, the arrangement of the order of march, the attack on the foe, and other particulars, Avere prescribed with gi'cat minuteness. It Avas believed that the (Mieniy would meet them at the laiuliiur. place. This order was signed by E. P. (iaines, the adjutant general, and contaiiud the following exhortation: "The genei'al entreats his bi-ave troops to remember tliat they are the sons of sires whose fame is immortal ; that they are to fight for (ho ri"lits of their insulted cotintry, while their opponents combat for the unjust pretension^ of a master. Kentuckians! remember the Kiver liaisin ! but remember it o?*/y wliile victory is suspended. The revenge of a soldier can not be gratified upon a fallen enemy,"^ •> September, The filial embarkation took place on the morning of the 2Vth.'' Xo lovo- 1813. jjpj. ..xntumnal day ever dawned upon the earth. The sky was eloiulles-;, the atmosphere balmy, and a gentle breeze from the southwest lightly rippled thi waters. In sixteen armed vessels and almost one luindred boats that little ainuMvas put aflo.at. All was in motion at nine o'clock, and as the great flotilla moved north- ward toward the hostile shore, Harrison's stirring address was j-ead to the nun on each vessel. From these Avent up a hearty shout of Ilamson and Victori/, and then all moved on silently into the Detroit River. The sjiectacle was lieaiitil'iil and sublime. Hartley's Point, three or four miles below Amherstburg (Maiden), and opposite the lower end of Bois lilanc Island, had been selected by Harrison and Perry ax the landing-place. The debarkation took place at about tour o'clock, on a low, sandy beach there, which stretched out in front of high sand-drifts, behind which it was be- lieved the enemy lay concealed. The army landed in perfect battle order, the Ken- tucky Volunteers on the right, the regulars on the U;ft, and Ball's Legion and th" friendly Indians in the centre. But no enemy was there. I'roctor, who Avas in com- mand at Maiden, taking counsel <»f Prudence and Fear,^ and contrary to the solemn advice, earnest entreatie, and indignant remonstrances of his more coura<>eous broth- er officer Tecumtha,"* had fled northward Avith his army, and all that he could take ' There were not vessels enough to transport tho horses with forage, and they were left behind. A .strong fence of brnsh and fallen timber was constructed across the iathmii from near Port Clinton, a dLstance of not more tlian twn miles, maliiug the whole peniiisnia an inclosnre for ilie horpet l-i pasture in. One of ever)- twenty Kcutuckinns wm draft'-'d to form a guard for the horse?, and these were placed iimliT the command of Colonel Christopher Rife. 3 The terrible niiissacre at the River Fai.'^iii, and tho circnnif "i ccs attending it, inspired the Kentucliiimn with dim"-' savage desires for -.cngcance. Quo "f their songs s'.ina; aiound camp-Hres recounted the cruellies of the Indians .hi. the inhumanity of Proctor on that ■ tcasiou. The following if one of the slanzati : Freemen 1 no lonaer bear snoh slaughters; Avenge v . r country's cruel woe ; ArnuBO, ami ■a\!^ yonr wives and dnughters ! • iv • Arouse, and smltr the faithless foe 1 • CuoBus.— Scalps ■ ro bought at stated prices, Ma'i'eu pays the price in gold." ' Proctor, like the Kentuckians, rmembered the Ihrer Raimn, ami was afraid of fnlUng into f^ie hands of th"M vrhwe eons and brothers had he 'n butchered a few months before by hii* iiermissloii. His scouts had peen tho Amcriiaii* mi the Sandusky Penliisula, ■ i.il had reported their number ntji/tcni thmuaiid, at le.:st ten tbunsand nf whom weioKfc- tuckiaiin buni'iig with revrnge. The fear of these cave tieetness to bis feet. * The defeat and r.ipttire of the British sipitidron h.tn foolishly irniucaled f'om Tecumtha f'/f fear of itsd'raorali!- Irg effect on his sa» il'c followers. The Iiidian leader waf thcrefoic gr»«tly astonislu li -.vhiin hii . Iisened Prnctor pre\i>T- ing to flee. Re hnd l^"en delighted when the British veBsels went out to fight. He crossed ever to Bois BUni WunJ to WBtcb the fln iiijH.irancf of them returning willi the vinqnishBd American siiuadron— an apparition which Pm- tor's boastirt' made him believe would certainly be rv v, .led. lie was disappointed, bewildered, and perpleicil: BUfi, with giiiii \i i.<>mcncc of manner, he addressed Proctor, saying, "Father, I Men! Our fleet has gone out , we know th^.y have fought ; w. iiavB heard the great guM; bat wc iiiii" BOU^ — OF THE WAR OF 1812. 5-JT ;ar8 of I'roctot. Tbe Americana |parK«n. gaiMi lint we taw* rilj^iha^ scornful Kebuke «f Proctor. The British and Indians fly toward tbe with hini) leaving Fort Maiden, the navy buildingK. and tbe store-housea smoking ruins. As the Americans approached the town, wita Goverwr Shelby in advance, 'hev met, not valiant Jiritissli regulars nor painted wavajjf^^but a ' roop of modest, well- hcssed women, who came to implore mercy and protet-.ion. Tbt- kind-hearted vet- eran soon calmed their fears. The army entered AmherstUurg with the bands play- iiiiY Yaiiliee Boodle. The loyal iidiabitants had fUA w't" ' army. The ruins of port Maiden, the dock-yard, and the public stores wer - ^ u]> iMfc^c volumes of smoke. _ * _ _ Proctor had impi'essed into his service all the horwK of the itihabitants to facilitate his fliffht, yet Harrison wrote courageou^i v to the S-cretary v*' War, on the evening after his arrival at Amherstburg," sayhig, • I will pursue the «»emy to- • September 27, morrow, although there is no probability '^4" overtakin)^ him, as he lias '*"*• upward of a thousand horses, and we lia\«' not one in the army. I shall think my- self fortunate to collect a sufficiency to nvmnt the general ofHcers." Only one, and tiiitt a Canadian pony, was procured, and «»« that the venerable Shelby was mounted. When Harrison's vanguard arrived at AuihrfTstburg, the rear-guard of the enemy had not been gone an hour. Colonel Ball immediately sent an officer and twenty of his cavalry after them, to prevent tli.m destroying the bridge over the Aux Canards, or Ta-ron-tee. They had just fin . it when the Americans appeared. A single vol- ley scattered the incendiaries, and the bridge was saved. The ne.\t morning Harri- son's army, excepting a regiment of riflemen under Colonel Smith left at Amlierst- burg, crossed it, and encanijx'd in tlie Petit Cote Settlement,' and at two o'clock on the 29th they entered Sandwich. At the same time the American flotilla reached Detroit; and on the, following day, Colonel Johnson and his mounted regim.'iit ar- rived tlure. M'Arlhur, wil'i seven hundred eftective men, had already crossed over, ihiven off a body of Indians who were hovering around the place, and retaken the town. General Ilarrison had also declared the martial law enforced by Proctor at an end, and the civil government of Michigan re-established, to the great joy of the inhabitants.^ On the arrival of Johnson the general-in-chief sent on one of his aids-de-camp. Captain 0. S. Todd,^ to order the colonel to cross immediately with his troops, for he nothing of what has happened to our father with one ami tCriptain Barclay]. Our ships have Koiie one way, and we aif much astonished to sec our lather tyiiiK up every thing, and jjreparing to run the other way, without letting his red tliililrcn know what his intentions arc. You always told us to remain here and take care nf our Innds. You always told ns you woalrt never draw your foot off British ground ; but now, father, wc see you arc drnxflng back, and we arc (orry to fee our father doing no without seeing the enemy. We must compare our father's conduct to a fat dog that curries its tail upon its back, bat when alTrighted It drops it between Its legs and runs oft. "Fatlier,li»tenl The Americans have not yet defeated us by land, neither arc we sure that thev have done so by iialer; itelher^are loi'nA to remain hfrc nrA Jieiht onr eiicm;/, Hhould tlieii nuike thrir appcarawe. If tliev defeat us we ' i\\ iki mreat v'ith our father. . . . Youhii.o got the arms and ammunition which our groat father, the king, sent .'ui his red fliildren. if yon have an Idea of going away, give tlicm to us, and you may go and w(>Iconie for us. Our lives are in ihc hauda of the Great Spirit. We are determined to defend our lands, and. If It be his will, we wish to leave our lune , upon them." This speech was addressed to Proctor at a ronncil held on the ISth of September in one of the store-houses at Am- hersthiirg. Its efle their feet, and brandished their tcunahawks In a men- .itini; manner. Proctor had resolved to flee to the Niagara frontier, hut this demonstration maiie him hesitate. He Snilly (luietcd Tecumtha and his followers by promising to fall back only to the Moravian Towns, on the Thames, and ihere malte a stand. These were about half way between Amher.slburg and the outposts of tlie centre division of the Wlish nrray, on the western borders of Lake Ontario. On the day of the conncll Prortor left Amherstburg with a large ftiti'dii (if his r.irce. Mnjor Wurburlon remained, charged wltli destroying the public property on the appearance of lie Aii:ericans. ■ See Maj) on jinge '.'«(). ' iitfoi ^ the Americans landed, the joyons Inhabitants ran nj) the United States flag. They had suffered dreadfiilly. Fornioiilhs thf insolent savagr-s had made tiicir dwellings (ice qu.utcrs. When they fled ; e Indians tired the fort. TbeH.imc.i wore "i on extinguished. ' ilarriaon'j gallant aid-de-eamp, Charles Scott Todd, is yet [ISeT] 'Iving in his n..tlve state, Kentucky, where he was l»ni oil the i'ia of January, 1701. I met him In W.ishington ('ity at near the close of ISdl, wher. he wa^ almost seven- ivoiie years of agi;. llii mcnif.l and physical vigor seemed equal to those of most men at fifty, ile was there lO offer Mfwnkc '« the field ted up the Thames.- Proctor seems not to have expected pursuit by land, and the Americans found all the bridges ov«'r the streams that fall into Lake St. Clair uninjiiieu. Harrison jiic's-tl the maturity of sge." In May, 1113, he was commlpsloned a captain In the Vnltcd States army, and IlnrrlBoii nppoliiK! him hie aid. His oonduct in llio campaign in the autnmn of that year was highly commendeil, cspecliiliy at llntanlt on the Thames. He sui cecilcd Major HukiU as deputy Inspector general of tlie Klgluli Military l)i8tri< ■., and was .1(1;: lant general of the district the followln'; year, when he served with General M'Arllmr with great accei)tnuce. Hi k- came iusiwctor general in March, isift, with the rank of colonel, Imt left the army in .lune following ; and after tlie n j Harrlsim said that "Colonel Toiiil was equal In bravery and superior in intelligence to any ofllrer of his raukio iht army." He resumed hie prn^ lire of the law r.t Krnnkfort, where he married a daughter of Governor Sliclliy. He sooi I became secretary of slate, tin n a meml)er of the Legislature, and was tlnally sent by President Monroe on a coniiiiemld ] mission to Colombia, South .'.inerlca- His services there were very important. In the spring of lR4fl he assisted, liy rt- iinesi, in the preparation o' a Mfe of General Harrison, and, as editor of a Cincinnati paper, he warnilv advocated fc general's election to the iiiesidency. In the summer of 1841 he was appointed United Stales minister to Rufsia.mt j served his eouiilry in that capacity to the perfect satisfaction of both governments. It was while he was there Ibatltt portrait from whi'h the above likeness was talcen was painted. In private, as In public life, Colonel Todd is a miit'. uf A Christian gentlvman. ' This consldornlile stream was called Im TVamhf by the French. It is sometimes called the Trait, but now Ukiic?! only by the name of Thames. In the poetic epigraph to this chapter it is called Im Tranrhf. ' M'Afee (page I'Xl) says that when the American armv arrived at the mouth of the Thames, an eagle was »fcu h"- ering over it. "Tliat," said Ilarri.wn, " is e presage of success." Perry, who had landed and was wtlli the goceral, remarked that an eagle hovered over his squadron on ilie morning of the inth of SJcplcmbei. OF THE WAU OF 1812. 649 * Octohfr, 1S13. an ia the Thamo in pursuit of possiljk'. Hi, iieral oSicers, iitentiou, uH mceniiiig the ly two bciii" in rear of tlic ,0 Long Toiiit, iiij^ht make a country, \m\ The luud vwiw itod mon cross- li on the evoii- 1 the })ur- M' Arthur and ) hohl Detroit; lall's regiment and ahont one ihirs, JolmsonV ich of Slii'Uiy's as ■wore tit for hes, the wliolc u toward Clia'- mped. GeiRMiil llness to remain lid. some small v )ing n|> Luke St. 1011 of his s(|uail' |, nndor ("ajitaiii the Caledonin : adron appoiireii , provihiims, anil aving much tlie h'lcans found all iLirrisoupros^i'il ! Ind HiirrlBou a;)piiiiiieJ i lcsi)ei'iiil!j' !it llii> iun't ll)istrif.,iiiul«f nil;-; Int (icceptancc. Hr K-- Iln(,'; aiidoftiTllicra leer of his rauklnltii j Irnor Sli<'ll>y. Ue » I li)nrnn on a oontUtntid I llR4nhens8i8'.cil,n,vrt- warmlv ndvocaleil Ik Inlnlstcr toRui-sia.ao'l lolic wiiiillien'lhalllif I iloncl Todd 1« a modt! hreiO, but now is km" j Ian eaijle wae m« li"'- 1 IwaBwUh lkgciier«l.| Pursuit up the Thames^ A Halt at DolHen's. The Amerlcau Truopu at Chatham, forward rapidly along the good road by the boi'ders of the lake for twenty miles, when seven British deserters informed him that Proctor, with seven hundred white men and twelve hnndred Indians, was encamped at Dolsen's farm, ahont fifteen miles from the mouth of the Thames, on its right or noi'thern bank, and fifty-six miles from Detroit by water. This information stimulated the Aniericaiis to greater exertions, I ^vlien they halted at night on the banks of the Kuscom, they had marched twen- tv-tivc miles from Sandwich. At dawn the next morning the ])ursnit was renewed, ind near the month of the Th.ime8 Johnson's regiment captured a lieutenant of dra- ,T(i(iiis and eleven privates, who had just commenced the destruction of a bridge over ■1 small tributary of the river. This was the first intimation to ILarrison that Proc- tiir was aware of the pursuit. Tlie capture of this little party was considered r, good , linen. The pursuit was continued, and that night the Americans encamped on Drake's farm, on the lefl bank of the Thames, about four miles below Dolsen's. The iScoi-jnon, commanded by the gallant Champlin, the Tigress, and the Porcupine., had followed the army up tlie river as convoys to the transports, and to cover the passage of the tiooiis over the mouths of the tributaries of the Thames, or of the river itself. At this tioini the character of the stream and its banks changed. Below, the channel «as hroad, the cur- rent sluggish, and the .-::^lr^^ siiores were extended ; ' Hat prairies ; here the country became hilly, the banks high and precipitous, the chan- icl narrow, and the c:rrent rapid. On these accounts, and hecausc of the expo- -ure of the decks to Iiiilian sharp-shooters from the lofty wooded hanks, it was conclud- eil not to take the ves- sels higher than Dol- sen's, Perry now left tl'.e vessels, ofl'ered his services us volunteer aid to General Harri- son, and Joined the army In the exciting pursuit of the fugitives. Harrison pressed forward on the morning of the 4th. Proctor fled up the Thames iiom Dolscu'.-i, cursed by Tecumtha for his cowardice, to Chatham, two and a half miles, where an impassable stream, called M'tiregor's Creek, flows into the Thames hetween steep banks. There Proctor j)romised Tecumtha he would make a final stand, " Here," he said on his arrival, " we will defeat Harrison or lay our bones." Tliese words pleased the wavv',or, and he regarded the position as a most favorable one. " When I look on these two streams," he said, "I shall think of the AV abash .md the Tippecanoe." A l)riOL8EN*8,I ' The above skotrh if a vlow of Dolsen's lioii-3e, made whpii I visited the spot in the nntninri of 18(10. Il is a hewn kif Mructnrc, and atands very near the rljjht or north haiiU nf ihc Thames. It Is aoout two miles and a half iiclow Chatham. The owner snd resident there In isia, Isaai' Dolsen, Ksq., was then living in Chatham, but was absint at Ihe llmc of my visit He was then about clRhty years of a^e. He and his brother .Tohn were natives of the Molinwi; V«llpy, of Dutch desec't. On their return, after the battle some miles above, tlic Amerlcon army eniiimpell on the farm iitJiihii,haira mi''' mcIow Isaac's. The Tlianies Is here sluggish, and about three hundred yard* wide. m 4 650 rici^lffjetiL flkirmiah 8t M'Onwor'a Mill. DeM^»ili)t» aT Tiii p uMi, Thy Brltl«fa nearly overtnk^ VUIW »1 JLUXIO.N op ,41: THAMES AKD H'OSEUOBB CREKK. > ^•'^?t£i« wwre at each, to dispute the pamugfc of the pursiKTs or tbttir attempts to make re- fairs. Two six-pound n\\. iiTidi I thcflimitioiiof ,r^' VVood, soon drovi tliOBii. /' 'omthf liridrr, at ('WAtimuu and a dash nt (V/lonel Jolinson and his liorsemen upon the dusky foe at M'Grejtor's also stu't tliem flying after Proctor, JohiiHon lost two men kill. ed and six or Bcvcn wound- ed, The Indians had thir- teen killed and a larf'c miinbor wounded. Botli bridges were speed- ily repaired, and the troops were abowt Vr pns'h forw^ird, when Walk-in-tlie-water, the Wyandot chief ahc.iK mentioned, who iw^ left tht- banner of I'l'iH'tric Willi NJufy warriors, c/Mt\^ to Har- rison anil i\\\'i'iit\ III loin )iis army condi- tionally. The general iiad no I'liiir Ut treat ^♦H)) the Bavage, so ho told him tiitii St iw \i'\\ '|'|i('limlliil he must 'vcepout oftlie way ol'llie American army, f (<• ^id so, and re- ttirned (ii the Detroit River. Tlie enemy sjyread destrnclion in theii flight. Near Cliatham 'ley Hred a hoiis' containing almost a thonsand muskets. The flames were (juenched and the arms were saved. Half a mile flirther np the river they burned one of their own ves- sels laden with ordnance and military stores; and o](posite Bowles's farm, where Harrison mcamped, two more vessels and a distillery, containing ordnance, naval and military stores, and other property ol';in;it value, were in flames. The Americans secured two 24-pounders and a cpiautityot shot and shell. Certain intelligence was received that the enemy were only a few miles distant, and tlial night Harrison intrenclied his camp and set a double guard. At midnight Proctcn- and Tecumtha reconnoitred the camp, but prudently refraineJ from attacking it. 1 Tills sketch Is a view of the junction of tlie Thames and M'Gregor's Creek, from the i)re8eut bridge nt Challiani, looking lip the river. The Thonies Is seen on the left, and M'are;{or's Creek on the right. The ujiper tern utidii of ihc l)rl 11 tllL' (liiskv ar's also sent ftcr Proctnr. ,wo iiicn kill- leven wouiul- aiis had tliir- iiid a lar!.'p ded. 's wore speed- lid the ti(Mi]i« chief alreiiK I quaiiliiy "f 've only a t'lvi d:)iihle !iu:iril. nilly n'fraiiicil biidfre (it Chalham, liper k'rr ' itii'U «f ic« Is BCC'ii lh« com!- ;ini-l>i)Bti', under lt( jtoii from Eliinliclh- LdDkliijibcjomltk' l)ullilinfr, meiili""'! arthpr up the fWm the oppodlwi''"' srvc. mtumnoflSW. The llip Rtream virymir liaded ravine, wUbi OF THE WAK OF 1812. HI 551 The fugitive BrltlBh and Indlniis discovered. The chusen Battle-^rouud. Tecumtba'a cbief Lleutenaut. The Americans were in motion at dawn, the mounted lortimeuts in front, led by reiH'Viil Harrison and his; staff. The Kentuckians, under Shelby, iV.Mowed. They soon eai)tured two of the enemy's gun-boats and several bateaux, with army supplies and iinmunition, and several prisoners. At nine o'clock they reached Arnold's Mill, at the foot of rapids, where the Thames Avas fordable by horses. There Harrison de- termined to cross the river and tbllow directly in the rear of Proctor. The mounted men each took one of the infantry behind him, and at meridian, by this means and the liatcaux the whole American army was on the north side of the Thames, and press- ,,, y„ viijrorously after the fugitives. Every where on the way evidences of the pre- uitation of the retreat were seen in property abandoned. \t two o'clock, when eight miles from the crossing place, the Americans discovered e smouldering embers of the recently-occupied camp of the enemy's rear-guard, un- ,.r Colonel Warburton. It was evident that the fugitives were nearly overtaken. (iilonol .Toiin«^*>n dasheil forward to gain intelligence. Within about three miles of the .Moravian Town' he captuied a British wagoner, and from him learned that Proc- lor had halted across the pathway of the pursuers, only three hundred yards farther (,ii. Johnson, with ]\[ajor James Suggett and his spies, immediately advanced cau- tiously, und found the enemy awaiting the arrival of the Americans in battle order, lie obtained sufficient information resjiecting their position to enable General ITarri- «\n and a council of officers, held on horseback, to determine the proper order for at- t;nk. His force was now little more than three thousand in number, consisting of one hundred and twenty regulars of the 27th Regiment, five brigades of Kentucky mhinteers under Governor Shelby, and Colonel Johnson's regiment of mounted iii- .iitry. The ground chosen by the enemy to make a stand was M^ell selected. On his left IS ('u ilivcr Thames, with a high and precipitous bank, and on his right a marsh iintiiii(( ii\uiii:*l paralh I with the river for about two miles. Between these, and two iml (hree iiiin;k1 liiy, and liidt'cd Mn *vhole spiu'c between river and the great swamp, was iivered with beech, sugar-maple, and oak trees, with very little undergrowth. The llrilisli regulais (a piirt of the Forty-tirst Kegiinent) were formed in two lines, be- tween till' sm-dl swamp and the river, their artil' ly behig planted in the road near iiebank of the stream. The Indians were postetl between the two swamps, where lie undergrowth was thicker, their right, commanded by the brave Oshawahnah,'* ,; Chippewa ciiief, extending sciue distance along and just within the borders of the larger niarsli, and so disposed as to easily flank Harrison's left. Their left, command- ' This village is in tiio townsliip of Oxford, Caiiiida West, on the right bank of the Thames. The settlers were In- dians converted to Chrlstlnulty by the Moravians, who fled to Canada from the Muskingum, in Ohio, in 17'Jli. By an order of the Provincial Council In IT'.tlt, a large tract of land, comprisin)» about ttfty thousand acres, was granted for Itieir II6C, on which they proceeded to build a church and villace. The Rev. John Scott, of Bethlehem, ministered there for some lime. At the period we are consldcrinjj; this Christian-Indian vllliijrc had nearly one hundred houses, mostly well built. liiW.y of the Indians spoke Kn^jllsh. They had a scliool-houso and a chapol, and very rtne gardens. Village aud crops were destroyed by the American troops. It havlni' '.,een allegod that eonic of the Indians iCsldIng there had beoi' .'icmost In the massacre on the Raisin. In isao the Indians surrendered a large i)i)rtlon of their lands to tnc Ca- ladian government, for an annuity of one hundred and tifty pounds Btcrlliig. The present Moravian Tov.u Is back from ilic Thames, about a mile and a half from the original site. ' The likeness on the next page of this chief, Tccumtha's lleutenaut, or fecond in command, in the battle on the Thames, is from a daguerreotype taken from life at Brantford, in Canada, in Seplcmher, ISTiS, and pre.«entcd lo mo by G. 11. M. .Iiihnson, chief of the Six Nations on the Orand River (see page i-n), in the summer of tSCO. Tlie old chief at- tended a grand council of all the Indians in Canada, at Brantford, and was the guest of Mr. .lohnson. In tli" council ho appeared with all .i s testimonials of bravery— his " stars and gartiMs"-ns scon in the picture. Arou -d his hat was a filler l)au('. He also displayed a sliver go' .-et, medals, etc., a sash of bead-work, strings of wam|)uia, and an orna- menteil tomahawk pipe, like the one on iiage -t'.'l. He was then about ninety years of age. He had been a famous war- rior—the hero of tlfteeu battles. He was a mild-spoken, pleasant man, very vigorous in mind and body. lie was yet 'Iviiig in ISdl, the principal of seven or eight chiefs, on Walpole Island, In Lake St. Clair, opposite the town of Algomac, Michigan, llfty miles above Detroit. Walpolp Island Is about ten miles in length. The Indians are Chippewas, I'otta- ■(atomies, and Oltawae. They were settled hero by the Indian Agent of lh« British government at the close of the War "flite. They were placed in charge of a superintendent In is.ii). The number now (1S<)7) Is about one thousand. ■''VlrprluclpBl business Is huulirig In the country around the Canadian borders of Lake St. Clair. 552 PICTORIAL FIELD-BOOK Ilarrlson'ii Arrangcmciita fur Battle. The British Llue of Battle. OHUAWAU.NAll. ed in person by Tecumtha, occupied the isthmus, or narrowest point be- tween the two swamps. In the disposition of his army for battle, General Harrison made arianrr,,. raents for the horsemen to full bmi; allow the infantry to make tlie attaik and then charge upon the British lines. For this puiijose General Cainus's brigade, five hnndred strong, undir Colonel Trotter,* was placed in the front line, which extended from the road on the right toward the greater marsh. Parallel with these, one Imnd- red and fifty yards hi the rear, was (4eneral John E. King's brigade, and in the rear of this was General David (^hile's brigade, posted as a reserve. These three brigades were under the command of Major General Ileniv. Two others (James Allen's and Cald- well's^) and Simrall's regiment, form. ing General Desha's^ division, vm formed uj)on the left of the front line, so as to hold the Indians in check ami prevent a serious flank movement by them. At the crotchet ft)rmed by Desha's corps and tlie front line of Henry's division (sec map on page 554), the venerable Gover- nor Shelby, then sixty-six years of age, took his position. In front of all these was Johnson's mounted regiment in two columns (one under the colonel, and the other commanded by his brother James, the lieutenant colonel''), its riglit extendiiif; to witliiirfifEy^yaitls of the road, and its left resting on the smaller swamp. A small corps of regulars, under Colonel Paul, about one hundred and twenty in numl)or, were posted between the road and the river for the purpose of advancing in concert with some Indians imder the wooded bank, to attempt the capture of the enemy's cannon, Tliese Indians, forty in number, were to stealthily gain the British rear, fire upmi them, and give them the fearful impression that their own savage allies had turned upon them. Tlie defection of Walk-in-the-water would be instantly remembered. When every preparaticm for attack was completed. Major Wood, who had just been reconnoitring the enemy's position, informed General Harrison that the British lines were drawn up in open order. This information induced the general, contrary 1 George Trotter wns then licntenniit colonel. He was a captain In Simrall's regiment, and was lUstlngnlshcil nn! womided in the action of Colonel Campbell at the Mississinlwa Towns in December, ISI'2. He was acting brlgailior general in the battle on the Thames. lie was a native of Kentucky, and died at Lexington, in that state, on tlic 13th of October, 1315. ' Samuel Caldwell was a distinguished Kentuckian. He was a major of Kentucky levies in 1T91, and diBtingiilfhed himseli' with Wilkinson In the Wabash country in August of that year. lie was lieutemiut colonel commaudlii); vdlnn- tecrs in the autumn of 1S12, and was in General Green Clay's brigade the following year. He was made brigadier geu- erril of volunteers in August, ISl,'!, and r-> such comn-anded in the battle on the Thames. ' Jotepli ncsha was a descendant Mt'i Huguenot family. He was born In Western Pennsylvania in December, Ki'\ and emigrated to Kentucky, with his laaier, in 17S1. In 171)0 he settled permanently in Mason County, Kentuck.v. H performed military service under Wayne in 17M and 'M, having, at the early age of fifteen, been engaged in coiillii; with the Indians. He represented Mason County in the State Legislature, and In ISIO was "lioseu a member of Con- gress, his only military service in the sVar of 1812 was under Harrison in the campaign in Canada. In lS241ie»a< elected governor of Kentucky, and held the office four years. He then retired to private llfb. He died at OeorgcloMi, Scott County, on the Uth of October, 1S42. * The spirit of the Keutnckians who formed thot corps may bo Inferred by the fact that Lie itenant ColonelJamM Johnson had with lilm his two sons, Kdwnrd P. and Willlnm, the one feventecn and the other only flftcsn yci.."8 of age. James Johnson was a representative In Congress In 1S25 and '20. Ho died In August, 1820. OF THE WAR OF 18 12. 553 ChMgeofBattleOrder^ Battlo of the Thames. Flight of Proctor. to all precedent, to incur the peril of changing the prescribed mode of attack at 1 hst moment. Instead of having Henry'a division fall upon the British front, he the hst momeiii. insiuitu ui nuving nvmy a uiviBiuii liiii mjiMi iiiu uriiiHii jiuiii, iio Or- dered Johnson to charge their line with his mounted riflemen.' That gallant oflicer made immediate preparations for the bold movement, but found the space between the river and the small swamp too limited for his men to act efliciently. In the ex- ercise of discretion given him, he led his second battalion across the little swamp to attack the Indian left, leaving the first battalion, under his brother James and Major Payne, to fall upon the British regulars. The latter were immediately formed in four columns of double files, with Major Suggett and his two hundred spies in front. Col- onel Johnson formed the second battalion in t wo columns, in front of Shelby, with a company of footmen before him, the right column being headed by himself, and the l(>ft by Major David Thompson. Harrison, accompanied by Acting Adjutant Gen- oral Butler,^ Commodore Perry, and General Cass, took position on the extreme right, near the bank of the river, where he could observe and direct all movements. A bii"'lc sounded, and the Americans immediately moved forward with coolness and precision in the prescribed order, amoni? huge trees, some undergrowth, and over fallen timber. They were compelled to move slowly. When at some distance i'rom the front line of the British regulais, the latter opened a severe fire. The horses ut'the mounted Keiituckians were frighten- ed recoiled, and produced some confusion at the head of the columns. Before order was restored, anotlicr volley came from the enemy. With a tremendous shout the American cavalry now boldly dashed upon the British line, broke it, and scattered it in all directions. The second line, thirty |i;ices in the roar, was broken and confused in tlic same way. The horsemen now wlieeled right and left, and poured a de- stnictive fire upon the rear of the broken coinmns. The terrified foe surrendered as fast as they could throw down their arms, and in less than five minutes after the first shot of the battle Avas fired, the whole British force, more than eight hundn d strong, were totally vanquished, and most of thiin made prisoners. Only about fifty men and a single officer (Lieutenant Bullock), nt'thc Forty-first Regiment, escaped. Proctor fled in his carriage, with his personal ^lafl; a few dragoons, and some mounted Indians, hotly pursued by a part of John- son's corps under Major Payne. " When Proctor anw lost wns the day, He fled La Tranche's plain ; A carriage bore the chief away, Who ne'er rctunied again."— Old Sono. Tlie battle on the right was over before the advancing, columns of General Henry were fairly mi sight of the combatants. When the bugle sounded for attack on the right, the notes of another on the left rang out on the clear autumn air. Colonel Johnson and the second battalion of his VIEW O.N THE TUA.ME8-' 1 The measure," said General Harrison, in his report to the Secretary of War on the «th of October, " was not sanc- tlonodby any thing that I had seen or heard of, but 1 was fully convinced that it would succeed. The American back- woodsmen ride better in the woods than any other people. A mnsket or rifle is no impediment, they being accustomed tocirryliip; Ihoni on horseback from their earliest youth. I was ijersuaded, too, that the enemy would be qiUte unpre- pirort for the shock, and that they conld not resist it." 'Weehall meet Adjutant Robert Butler hereafter in the battle of Now Orleang. 'Thl8Ylo-.v ia from the road-side, on the hieh rive- l)ank, at the point where the British left rested on the Tliames, ana a few rods from the residence occupied by Mr. Wa ts. ! » ill '1 1 1 ■ i! j i; • \; ill !f 11 !'■ ■' li||' i 'Wi :iiil 554 nCTORIAL FIELD-BOOK The Contest with tho Iiidiiius. The Fight n flerco one. The 8Bv»){e» Attuiti. troops moved against the Indians almost simultaneously with the attack on the Brit- ish line. The savages, under the immediate command of Tecumtha, reserved tlieir fire until the Americans were Avitliin a few paces of them, when tliey hurled a ninsf deadly shower of bullets upon tiiem, prostrating a greater i)ortiou of the vanifuard or forlorn hope, and wounding Colonel Johnson very severely. "Sudden, from tree and tliickct srecn, From trunk, nud mound, nnd 'junhy screen, Hharp llghtiiin<{ flashed with in>>tunt sbeeu, A tbousiuid death-bolts sung 1 Like ripcu'd fruit before the blast. Rider and horse to earth were cast, Its miry roots among ; Then wild, as If that earth were riven. And, poured beneath the cope of heaven, All bell to upper air was given, One fearful whoop was rung ; And, bounding each from covert forth. Burst ou their front the demon birth." The branches of the trees and the undergrowth in this part of the field were too thick to allow the mounted riflemen to do much service on horseback. PeiceiviiKr this, Johnson ordered them to dismount, and carry on the conflict on foot at close \ rtOMPSCv""' ''■'■'• - ■ '/ .. Cs J-' -' S) PIS llj ItBRITISHAtia * ^. -5^ .' Jl ^ Us II II WDIANS 1UTT1.E OV THE THAMES. quarters. For seven or eight minutes the battle raged furiously, and there were many hand-to-hand fights between the Rentuckians and savages, Avhile the foniifv raised the fearful cry, at times, " Kemember the River liaisin !" Victory was poiseil for a while. Perceiving this, Shelby ordered Lieutenant Colonel John Donaldson's regiment to the support of Johnson, and directed General King to press forward to the front with his brigade. The Indians had already recoiled from the shock ot'tlu Kentucky rifles, and only a part of Donaldson's regiment participated in tl-e fiirlit. Tlie savrges fled, and a scattering, running fire was kept up for some time aloMg tin swamp in front of Desha's division, and by the fugitives pursued by Major Tiiomp^ra and his men. Other movements were ordered by Governor Shelby, but the Iiuliaiis had given up the contest, and the battle was over before they could be efi'ected. Tlie «v OF THE WAR OF 181: 655 IlKjpe of Proctor. Death ofTecumttaa. Who killed Tecnmthar amp, and paf an allies of the British scattered througli the forest in rear of the greater sw: wliilt' Proctor and his few followers were tlyinj; like hunted doer before Payne Ills horsciiieii, who imrsncd hiiu fur beyond tlie Moravian Town, killing sonic Indians, (•■ii)tiiiiii'4 some ])risoners, and securing valuable s))()ils. Among the latter were six brass cinnion, three of wiiieii were taken from the Jiritisli in tlie War of the Uevolu- ijon and were retaken from Hull at Detroit. Majors John Payne, E. D.Wood, ('. S Todil John Chambers, and A. L. Langham, and Lieutenants Seroggin and Hell, with three )irivatC8, continued the pursuit of the fugitive general until dark, bub could not overtake him. lie abandoned his carriage, left the road, and escajied by some liv-nath. Within twenty-four hours he was sixty-tive miles from the battii uround ! liis carriage, sword, and valuable papers were captured by Major Wood.' and the party returned to i\[oravian Town, taking with them sixty-three prisonei -. They t'ouiid the little village deserted. So panic-stricken were some of the women that, when they left, being unable to carry tlieir children in their flight, they threw tliem into the Thames to prevent their being butcheri'd by the Americans I^ The loss in this short, sharp, and decisive battle was not large. The exact nundicr was not ascertained. That of the Americans was ])robably about fifteen killed and thirty wounded. The British lost about eighteen killed, twenty-six wounded, and six hnnilred made prisoners; of these, twenty-five were officers. Harrison estimated the ;,uml>er of small-arms taken from the enemy during the pursuit and the battle, with those destroyed by them, at more than five tliousand, nearly all of Avhich had been captnred from the Americans at Detroit, Frenchtown, and Dudley's defeat on the Mauince. The Indians left thirty-three of tlieir dead on the field. How many they lost by death and wounds in the contest was never ascertained. Tecumtha, their irroat leader, and really great and noble man, all things considered, was among the slain. He Avas much superior to Proctor in manhood, military genius, and courage, nml is wortliy to be remembered witli jirofoiind respect. He was killed early in the action, while ins})iriting his men by words and deeds. Tradition and History relate that he had just wounded Colonel Jolinson with a rifle-bullet, and was springing for- ward to dispatcli him \a ith his tomahawk, wlicn that oflicer drew a pistol from his licit and shot the Indian through the head. " The moment was feiuful ; n mij,'litier foe Ilml ne'er swung his battle-nxc o'er him ; But hope nerved his urm for ii ilciipernte blow, And Tcciimthn fell prostrnle before him. Ifc fought In defense of his kindred and king, With a spirit most loving and loyal, And long shall the Indian warrior "ijig The deeds of Tecumtlia the roj-al." The statement of tradition and history has been made in enduring marble by the sculptor on Johnson's monument in the cemetery at Frankfort, Kentucky.^ It has hoen questioned, and positively denied , and during the political campaign when Johnson was a candidate for the chair of Vice-President of the United States, the (|ucstion caustid much warm discussion. Johnson, it is said, never affirmed or denied the story. He killed an Indian under the circumstances and in the manner just re- lated, on the spot where two red warriors, stripped naked, were found after the bat- ik, one of whom it was believed was Tecumtha.'' ' In « letter to the author, Captain Stanton Sholes (see page 641), who was in the battle of the Thames, says, " I had « very pleasant ride back to Detroit in Proctor's beautiful carriage. I found in it a hat, a sword, and a trunk. The l.ittcr contained many letters, mostly written in the handsomest writing I ever saw, by Proctor's wife to her 'dear Henry.'" ' "I had this fact," says Samuel R. Brown, in his Vieica on Lake Erie, page 63, " from an American gentleman who was It C^ford when Proctor and vhe Indians passed through there. The squaws were lamenting the loss of their children." ' Sec page 4!>«. • Tlio solution of the question, "Who killed Tecumtha V" is of no historic Importance, yet. It having been the subject otmiich discussion, a few facts bearing upon It may be appropriately Introduced here. Thi se facts liavc been drawn fhleliy from a very i;,fere8ting written communication made to me in January, 1S(11, by Dr. Samuel Theobald, who was Johusou'a judge advocate, and with him in the battle. When Dr. Theobald (see a sketch of him in note 2, page 560) :f •il i ; : !;(, iiMI 650 PICTORIAL FIELD-BOOK Tho (ittllaulry urciohiuci Jiilinaoii In the BiUtlc. Ills WonndB. Hamuei ThK,* JuhuHon bcliiivod most t;alluiitly in tli, action. He was niouiitcd on a wliito nony that his Horvant had riihh-ii, liis own hor/f having bei-ii disabloil. Tills maik' hini a conspicuotis mark for the enemy. At the sound of the bugle ciiargc he (hislicd for. ward at the head of Jiis Forlorn Hone, and nt. tacked the Indian left, where Tecunitlia \v;i< stationed.' The first volley of bullets fmin the foe wounded lilni in the hip and tlii,rl| He almost innnediately received anoilu'iliiil. let in his hand from the Indian that he shot which traversed his arm for some distance Ho was disabled, and said to Dr. Tlicoliald -• one of his start", who was dismounted anil fighting near him, " I am severely woundiil' where shall I go ?" " Follow me," answcml Theobald. lie did not know where to find the surgeon of the regiment, so he led him across the smaller swamp to the road, aiil about three Imndred rods in the roar, to llic stand of Dr. j\Iit(dudl, (4overnor Shelby's sur- geon g''neral. The colonel, fahit with the loss of blood, was taken from his horse, when the little animal, having performed its duty to the last, fell dead, having Iteen wound- ed in seven places. Theobald ran to the Thames for water, which revived the colo- nel. His woimds were dressed, and he was conveyed to a vessel a few miles below, WTote to mo lie wns residing near Grecnvlllp, WashltiKton Connty, Mleslsslppl. lie snys that, early in the cnmpilL'n. Johnson organized a small corps, composed of the Btaff of his regiment, which he denominated the Forlorn Ilnpc. |; was designed to accompany him immediately in the event of a hattlc. One of these was the venerahle Colonel William Whitely, who had been dIstinfinlBhed In conflicts with the Indians In the early years of scttloments In Kenlucky.aml then over seventy years of age. lie had volunteered as n j)rivate In Captain Davidson's company. The others who composed the Forloni Hope, and charged upon the enemy at the o))cnlng of the battle, were Benjamin S, C'linmlh ■■ Robert Payne (a nephew of t^olonel Johnson), Joseph Taylor, William Webb, Garrett Wall, Ell Sliort, and Dr. S. Tli. bald. Whitely was lillled, and was found lying near the two Indians mentioned In the text by Theobald and Wall, after th(' battle. They found th« Iwdies of the two Indians lying a little way apart. On the following moriilnsthf news spread that the body of Tecnmtha had been found. One of the Indians alluded to was designated as the fiilloi chief. Theobald felt a desire to identify the 1)ody of the chief, and took Anthony Shnnc', a half-breed Shnwnoese, who knew Tecuintlia well, to view it. The body was entirely naked, and several strips of skin had been taken frum Iho thighs l)y some of the Kentucklans, who had reason to renuvilier the River Itdwin, and, as I was informed by a soliliw who was In the battle, these strips were used for making razor-strops I Shane did not recognize the body as thnt of Te- cnmtha. The late Colonel John Johnston, of Dayton, Ohio, who, as Indian agent, often employed Shane, informcil mf that he told him that Tecnmtha once had his thigh-bone broken, and that a sort of ridge had been formed around the fracture that might he easily felt. No such ridge was observed in the thigh of the Indian claimed to lie Tecnmiha, found on the ground where the charge of the Forlorn Hope was made and Johnson was wounded. Dr. Theobnld far- ther infoi-ms me that his friend, ( aptaln Benjamin Wartleld, commander of a company in Johnson's regiment, tdid hiia that he was directed to search the l)attle-fleld for wounded soldiers. He found a British soldier, named Clarke, lyii; there mortally wounded. He was the Indian interpreter for I'roctor, and asserted positively thatTecutntha vimi kiileil, and his body was carried off by the Indians. I have since been Informed by Colonel C. H. Todd, one of Hnrripon's iiid< at that time iv sippi. His ancestors, paternal and maternal, were Kentucky pioneers. His younger brotlier, James, was with him in the battle of the Tliames, and another brother, Thomas 8., was in tho military service on the frontier for twelve months as a lieutenant of rangers. -^fii^lllNFH' m OP THE WAlt OF 18ia, 507 muel ThaolMlii. itly ill the ivlliU' jioiiy own horse iiile liini !i ly. At tlic (luHhed for- loiii',iui(lat- I'llllltllll \VIIS l)iilli'ts tVum ) iiml llii^li. jviidtlu'vlnil- lial lie slint, ni' (listancc. r. Tlu'oliald,- lountcd, and ly Wdiindfil; e," aiiswcrfil ■lu'iv to find ) he led him he road, and I' roar, to tin- SliplliyV sur- hit with the s horse, when been wound- ivcd the colo- • miles hclow, r in till! cnmiialini. FdrWirn Uiipi'. It lie I'oloiiclWillijra n in Ki'iiliiiky, oiiil . The others who nmiii S, (.'hnraher?, rt, mid Dr. S. Tliw- heolwlil ami Wall, iwiiiK moriiliis till' iiateil as the fall™ ;il Shii\vnncsi\\vli.i en tiiliPii from thf irnu'il by a folilifr body as that (if Ti- iluiiie, iiiformcii nv formed around Ite 1(1 to lie TecnralliJ, Dr. Theobald far- ■('•.:impnt, t(ddW'n iiiiodrlarkp, lyiiii- cmiilba waskilM, f Harrison's aiils I at that battle, anil lonel JoliuBon may d Kentuckians, was US took his posllioii ctwccn hini>elf anil it Uiid told him Ibat jiht here, or feel Ht of his white troop! I. Hewa?"?rBdn- ,iC for twenty years. • Greenville, Miffif- iCB, was with hlni in ir for twelve months johiuoii cMVcyad Honi«wanl. Rejolclnsi bacauie of the Victory. Ilnrrlnou nuil I'nictur propwly rcnrudad. under charge of Captain CImnipliii, of the Scorpion, whieh that gallant ofHcer ha«l eaptiiied from the Mritinh. In that vesHcl lie wsis conveyed to the Sroipiou, at Dol- peiiV and in her to Detroit. There he reinaiiied a short time, and then, with iiiiuh Mitterinii, li" made his way honn waril.' lie reaehed Frankfort early in N^ Photographic Sciences Coipordtion 33 WeST MAIN STRiPT WeBSTIR.N.Y. I4SS0 (n6)«72-4S03 ^^■^ ^\. ^ ^47 i mmmms III I I 668 PICTORIAL FIELD-BOOK Proctor's PuulBbment considered too mild by the Prince Regent. The Remnant of Proctor's Arniy TUK BARBI80N MEnAI,, time of the battle. He was sentenced lo be " publicly reprimanded, and suspended from rank and pay for six months." So notorious was the fact of his cowardly aban- donment of his army at the very beginning of the battle that the Prince liegent se- TIfF. BlIELnV UEnAI.. verely reprimanded the court for its " mistaken leniency," expressed his " regret that any officer of the length of service and the exalted rank" attained by General Proc- tor " should be so extremely wanting in professional knowledge, and deficient in those active, energetic qualities which must be required of every officer," and that the charges and finding of the court should "l)e entered in the general order-book, and x-ead at the head of every regiment in his majesty's service." General Proctor is represented as a stout, thick-set, fine-looking man. He died in Liverpool in 1858 or 1859. The few British regulars and militia who escaped after the battle of the 5th of October fled in confusion through an almost unbroken wilderness toward Lake On- tario. They rendezvoused at Ancaster, seven miles westward of Hamilton and tin' head of the lake, on the 17th, when their numbers, inclusive of seventeen officers, amounted to two hundred and fifty-six. Their flight spread consternation ove- all that region. The victory in itself and its subsequent effects was raoat complete. It broke u]> the Indian confcdci'acy of the Northwest, and caused the disheartened warriore to OF THE WAB OF 1812. 559 Effects of the Victories of Perry and Harrison. Disposition of thn Troops. A Jonrney to the Thame:<. forsake their wliite allies, and sue Immbly for peace and pardon at the feet of the Americans. Their very personal existence compelled them to endure this humilia- tion. The winter was approaching, and ihey and their families were destitute of provisions and clothing, without tlie means of procuring either. Their prayers were heard and heeded ^ and those whom they had fought against at the instigation of a professed Christian government, became tlieir saviors from the deadly fongs of hun- ave3 of the slain. From a corn-field between the smaller and larger swamps, near the spot where Johnson and Tecumtha met, I made a sketch of the battle-field. )i • ''^'mw- THAMES UATTI.E-fiUOU.Nll.' Around us were golden pumpkins and wealthy shocks of Indian com, and in the re- tiiitly-cleared field, where the small swamp loy, cattle were quietly grazing on the frost-nipped grass. It is an attractive spot for the historical student, and our visit was an item in the fulfillment of the poet's prophecy, that "Oft to La Tranche's battle-fleM In future times ehnll traveler come, To mute reflection's power to yield, And gaze on lowly warriors' tomb. 'Here,' shall he eaj-, 'our soldiers stood ; There were the Indians' unraerons host; Here flowed the gallant Johnson's blood ; There died the Shawnoean boast.' " We intended to visit the Moravian town,^ but, after sketching the battlc-grormd, and the little view of the Thames printed on page 553, the day was so fiir spent that w ft'lt compelled to turn back toward Tecumseh, where we partook of refreshments, ami at twilight started on our return to Chatham. We arrived at the " Royal Ex- change" at nine in the evening, cold and weary, but full of satisfaction. Before sunrise on the following morning I sketched the view at the mouth of M'Gregor's Creek, printed on page 550, and after an early breakfa-st, again accompa- ■ In this sketch the spectator Is looking southward, toward the Thames. Its line is marked by the distant trees. The leoM Men along the edge of those trees Indicates the position of the road hat leads to Detroit, across which stood Proctor's regulars, and on which were his cannon. The line of Proctor's aim ' was north and south, across the upper tkt ofihe Fmaller swamp, near where the cattle are seen. ' 1 WM Informetl that the Sloraviaus there were all Indians except their mini iter, the Rev. Mr. Vogler. There were I'lOUt Wty families, mostly Delawares, and descendants of the e.irly settlers. E ich family had a plank house and forty icrw of land, famished by the government. The houses appeared very mnrn like those of the pensioners at Am- kffftbmg, mentioned on page 290. They had a neat church. Some of the ' .a honses of the orieinal town, a mile and a hi'f from the present village, not destroyed in !>!.'!, were yet standing. The chief or military leader of the Indians itu Philip Jacobs, who lived ou the site of the old town. He was abou sixty years of age at the time of my visit. ria ■nit .llifjjii 1^ m i It* iJMfM : a fit . TTfl 562 riCTOllIAL FIELD-BOOK Dolsen'a. Journey eastward. Harrison on the Northern Frontier nied by the courteous Mr. Miller, crossed the river, and rode down to Dolscn's to pro- cure a drawing of his residence, made famous by the ave.its of the campaign of Har- rison against Proctor, We returned in time for myself and party to take the cars for the East at half past nine o'clock. We passed through London (a flouri8hin<» town of about seven thousand inhabitants, pleasantly situated at the confluence of the north and east branches of the Thames) at noon, and arrived at Paris, forty-seven miles far- ther eastward, in time for dinner. There we left the railway, and traveled in a pri- vate carriage to Norwichville, twenty-five miles southward, where we were received at twilight by relati.es — descendants of tie first settlers of that region, who built log huts, and felled the primeval forest there only a little more than fifty years a M'Arlhur was then In attendance as n witness npon the court-martial for the trial of Brigadier General Hull. See page 234. ■ OF THE WAR OF 1812. 663 rthern Frontier. Treatment of Harrison by the Secretary of War. Harrison leaves *be Army. A Journey In Ohio. fl-i ' Harrison's prerogatives as commander-in-cliiof of the Eighth Militaiy District, This coilin is quite shallow, nudmoro like the hollowed platform of a scaffolding. It bears evidence of lmvlii"licoi liollowcd by the processes employed by The coffin, when found, was in a cui' the aborigines when liuropeans first vis- >^--7>> MBife>t cavity of earth lined with clay mn(l» m Ited America, namely, by lire and stone ^. \l,l .^^HkI pcrvlonn to water. It lay In water twelve axes. With these they felled trees and l^s^ ^^^^^^ Inches in depth, resting npou seven niece, hollowed out logs for canoes. They first K|^S .^HH^^V "f ^^all timber, these resting npoii tm bnrnt the timber, and then removed the ^ pg Wfc ^^^^^^fc\ larger p'eccs, as seen in the above >ketcli charred part with the blunt stone axe, for ^gej ^HIHi^to^ These, like the coffin, wore coninleteiv these could not be made sharp euongh to JPK^ g-: - ^^T " water-sogged." The coffin was lined ci't.andondnrc. These processes were re- ^^^^^^§^^S| with a faliric resembling old carne-in' pcated until the requisite depth was ob- 9-^^- JM. ^^^SS^^ go fragile that it ernmblcd at the fliOu- taiued. Kvery part of the Iiollowed por- S,^_^ ^^^^^^ est touch. On this the body of thc'de- tiouH of the ancient coffin tliat I saw bore btone axes. ceased had been laid ; and thereon wa. clear marks of these operations. found the skeleton 'n fragments, lock- ol beautiful black hair, and ten copper rings lying near where the hands might have been folded over the breast. The whole were Imbedded in clay, over which was an arch of small and large stones. Over this was a mound ofclav, mak- mg the whole structure inclosing the coffin about seven feet in height. The remainder of the pyramid was cnmpnwd of stone. These the State of Ohio purchased for constructing the " Licking Summit Reservoir" for the use of the Oliin Canal, and removed about fifty thousand wagon-loads. The sepuichrc was found when these stones were removed, acd was explored by Mr. Wyrick. The clay was brought ft-om u distance, for there is none like it in the vicinity. The annexed diagram, kindly drawn for tne by Mr, Wyrick, shows a sectional view of the clay mounds, ite email stone arch, and the position of the coffin. A the I'p- per part of tho clay mound, and B the lower portion. In these the open dots indicate the places where it was evi- dent timbers had been placed, and had rotted away. C the arch of stone, 1111 Indicating two layers of small stones from six to ten inches in diameter, and 2 a layer of broad flat stones. D the coffin and skeleton, and E the conc.ivlty filled with water, in which they rested. The clay had evidently been formed into a kind of mort.-r, and ffa< as hard as sun-dried brick. The pyramid was on an en- Inence seven miles south of Newark, and five hundred feet above the level of any stream of water near. a The cavity in which Mr. Wyrick found this stone was about twenty feet in circumference, and nbont two feet in depth at the centre. When he had excavated through dark and rich alluvium about fourteen inches, he came to alighl- er soil of a clayey nature, in which were pebbles. One of these, of oblong form, composed of reddish quartz, tirst at- tracted his attention. Soon afterward he found the inscribed stone Imbedded in the "ilay. Gentlemen of learning ei- nmined it, and proved the letters to be obsolete Hebrnic. The Reverend J. W. M'Carty, of Newark, a Hebrew ffholar, translated the words on three of the four sides as follows : "Hnli/ of HhHok ;" " 7'he \y'ord u/ tlie Imw ;" and " The Wh) cf the Lnrd." At a meeting of some of the leading citizens of Newark, held at the Court-house about two months afte: my visit there, to consider tho character and the circumstances of tho finding of the " Boly Stone," General Dllle pre- elded, and Mr. M'Carty gave au interesting account of the whole matter. It was stated that only four or five of itc SECTIONAL VIEW OK THE PVnAMII). OF THE WAK OF 1812. 665 Bcrlbed Stonei. ortkm of a lo;^, t'omiil yramid tor- ue Imiiilnd r,evi(k'utly .lit of metal- t envious of llclji-ow lot- cd. The let- \v) arc neatly or what prac- }, may forever Mice ofhavinslicfii iiind, was in a cm;- with clay inail^ iiii- t lay in water twoU\ pg upon eevcn piece- resting upon two the aliove fkcick, were coraplelciy coffin was liueil Jinij old carpciin:, ;nl)lo(l at the fli:lit- the body of the ic- and thereon «i- fraiimcnts, locks "1 . . . the breast. Ttt monnd of clay, mak- ■amid was compnH-fl the use ot the Ohio were removed, aul vicinity. ■n for mc by Mr. jC clay moumls, Ibe he coffin. A the cp- lower portion. In _'8 where it was cvi- lad rotted away. C two layers otsmali nc^cr, and 2 a layer skeleton, and E the jey rested. The clay dofmorfr.onilffa' imid was on an ck- near, nd nhont two feet in s, hecametoallghi- Jdish quartz, tirst at. emeu of learning «• ■k, a Hebrew Bcholar, '10 ;" and'Tftf"*' out two months o(te: General Dille !«■ ly four or five of ttc An ancient stone Box and Its Contcntn. An Immense niicieut Enrth-work neur Newark visited and described. Early the following momiiiEf, ftccompanicd by my young friend, I visited the " Old Fort " i'** t''*^ i)eoi)le there call one of the most nia^nificunt of the ancient earth-works that abound in that section of Ohio. It is a mile and a half from Newark, in the miilst f * ''' pi'i'iicval forest, and forms a pleasant resort in fiummer. It is composed of a continuous mound, that sweeps in a perfect circle a mile in circumference, broken only )iy the entrance to it, wliero the banks, higher than any where else, turn outward foi'tifty feet or more, and form a magnificent gateway. The embankment averages QUKAT EABTll-HdKK NKAU MKU'ABK. from fifteen to twenty feet in height, and is covered with maple, beech, and hickory trees of every size, from the huge Anak of the forest to the lithe sapling — the formei* indicating the origin of the strncturc to be far more remote than the atlvent of Euro- iicaas in the New World. These also cover the area inclosed by the mound. The ditch from which the earth was thrown is within the embankment, and is visible around the entire line of the work, proving it not to have been a fortification. Li the centre of the area (which is perfectly level) is a slight elevation, in the form of a sprcau eagle, covering many yards, and is called the Eagle Mound.' char.ictcrs correspond to those now In use In the Hebrew books, but these furnished a key to the translation. It had al- ready been stated by a gentleman familiar Mth the history and practice of the Freemasons, and who was a member of the fraternity, that the stone was of the kind used by masons of a certain grade in the East soon after the b-iilding of the lirit temple by Solomon. It has in their system, he said, a well-known meaning, its principal use In ancient times be- ins for deposit beneath whatever structure the master mason might superintend. This symbol, he said, was uot nec- osrarily furnished with inscripticms, but masons entitled to use It might put buch sentences upon i* as that one has. It would be placed In the northeastern part of the foundation, and if it stood on Its point would Indicate that something more was deposited beneath. If it lay on Its broadest face, the point ir small end would indicate the direction where clhor deposits would be found. These, If found, would disclose facts connected with the building. Was uot the cavity in which the stone was found the foundation of a structure never erected f A few weeks subsequent to my visit, Mr. Wyrick found, in one of the mounds in that vicinity, a stone box, nearly eis'-shaped, the two halves fitting together by a joint whi"'. runs around the stone lengthwise. Within this box was a stone seven inches long and three wide, ou a smooth surface of which Is a figure, in dan relief, well cut, and surrounded by characters thus described by the Rev. Mr. M'Carty : "The words over the head of the human figure contain three letters. Two of them are Hebrew, Sheir and He (or Heth). The third I Inferred to be 3fpm— a conjecture most readily suggested by its form, It being exactly that of the old Gaelic Muin (M), and afterward fully borne ont by Its always an- swering thereto. This gave tlie word Mosheh (Moses) or MesMach (Messiah)." Of the characters Mr. M'Carty said " some looked like the Hebrew coin character, some like the Phffiulcian alphabet, a few bore resemblance to those on the Grave Creek stone,* and some I could not Identify with any known alphabet." He at last found that the language was really Hebrew, much like that found In the Bibles of the Gennan Jews, and, after great and patient labor, he discovered that tlie whole constituted an abridged form of the Ten Commandments. This is uot the place, nor has the writer the knowledge requisite for a discussion of the matter. I have simply stated the curious facts— facts well worthy of the earnest Investigation of archieologists, for they raise the ethnological and historical question whether the mound-bui'ders of this continent were of Asiatic origin, c .• were related to the Indian tribes whose remnants still exist. ' Other mounds In this vicinity are In the shape of animals. One of the most curious and extensive of these is about four miles from Newark, on the road to Granville. It Is in the shape of a lizard, and covers the whole summit of a hill. Its dimensions, in feet, are aa follows : Length of the head and neck, 32 ; of the body, 73 ; of the tall, 105 : width from the ends of the fore feet over the shoulders, 100 ; l^om the ends of the hliid feet over the hips, !)2 ; between tlie legs, across the body, 82 ; across the tall, close to the body, IS ; height at the highest point, 7 ; whole length, 210. It appears lobe mainly composed of clay, and Is overgrown with grass. Visitors have made a path from the nose, along the back, to wliere the tall begins to curl, at which point stands a large black walnut-tree.— See Howe's Historical ColUxtions of Ohio, page 298. ' A small stone tablet, fonnd in a large mound near Grave Creek, In the vicinity of Winchester, Virginia, having an inscription in cuneiform characters like the anclcut Phoenician. f,- 1 , ' wm\ 1 ) !■! I \ ■iw' 1 1 1 1 iH' A ' \ st'- -i^j oiid I'ICTOUIAL ilELU-BOOK TbuoKbti coucuruluK the Muund-biiilden. City of CiilumbUH. Jourui'y down the Hcl.ito Vulley. The ground covered by this ancient work is owned by the Licking County Agri- cultural Society, and witliln the earth-walled inclosure their annual lairs arc held lor the acconiniodaiion of which some buildingn have been erected. These, with the ijcn. oral aj)j)earance of the work, and the trees upon the banks, as seen from the ciitruini' may be observed in the picture on page 505. After finishing that sketch, and ex- j)loring every part of this strange old structure by an unknown people in an unknown age, I rettirned to Newark, the quickened imagination tilling the mind with Wdiidious visions of the earlier ages of our continent, while jNIemory recalled those suggestive lines of Bryant in his ' Prairie," in which, turning to the Past, he Boliloquizes concern. ing the mound-builders, saying, as introductory, " And did the dust or these fair BolitndcH once stir with Ufa And bum with passion t Lrt the mighty mounds Thnt overl HTATK-IIOCSK. * -t 1 'fff IV li' if 'ii 668 PICTORIAL FIELD-BOOK Vide tu "r.iilt IIIU" Md "Adeua." (Icvernor WurthiujftDii. yUlIT IIILI., UKNEHAI. U'AUIUI'U'S UlblllUNUC. inand a tints view ol'tlie town and tlie Hurroiuuliui? ckuii- try. It was rcacluMl iVoni tlic valley by a windinj; road amoiiortnlt. ▲ VMi to CiMlasMl Mid It! VIctoity. AIIKMA, OUVIcaNUH wubtuinotom's buidkmok. Ader.a waH then owned by (tnveriior Worth- iiiBton's H«". Cieneml Jiinu'H Worthington. Tlio court in fron* of the ninnHion whh Kllei(in and from varionw points in the vieinity most (harming views of tlio Seioto Valley may ho obtained. The proprietor was not at Imnic at the time of my viwit, but I liave very iili-awnl rccollcctionR of t!ic kind courtesy 1 received from his family in showing me works of art and curiosities, and imparting information. Among the relies of tlie j>ast which I saw there was a hatchet-pipe, almost precisely like the one shown me at llrantfoi-d, in Canada, and delineated on page 421. It was presented to Governor Woi'thington by Tecnmtha, and is higlily valued by the family. Leaving "Adena," I passed down the winding road through the hills to the plain, liy a beautif.d little lake at the foot of tho wooded acclivity, and, on reaching Cliilli- nithc, called at the residence of the Honorable C. A. Trimble, member of Congress, unci son in-law of M'Arthnr, who owns the fine portrait of the general from which tht- e'i<»raving on page 267 was copied. He, too, was absent, but, tlirongh the kind oftices of his brother, I was permitted to have a daguerreotype of the i)ainting made. This was completed just in time to allow me to take the cars on the Marietta a;id Cincin- nati Railway for tho latter i)lace at about three o'clock in the afternoon. We reach- n\ the "Queen City" at seven in tho evening, having journeyed ninety-six miles tiiroiigh an interesting country from the Valley of the Scioto to that of the Little Miami. During the three succeeding days I visited men and places of interest in and about Cincinnati. I crossed the Ohio to Covington and Newport, cities, on the Kent .^y i.horc, flanking the mouth of the Licking River. I also rode out to Batavia, the cap- ital of Clermont County, about twenty miles distant, one hot afternoon, fortunately occupying a portion of the driver's seat on a stage-coach. Our route lay along tho Ohio through Columbia, a suburban vilhige (settled before the seed of Cincinnati Avas jilanted), to the mouth of the Little Miami, the eye every where delighted Avith the li'.cturcsque beauty of the shores of the great river, covered with vineyards then wealthy with immense stores of grapes, on tl Ohio side. "There prows no vlii By the hnunted Rhi.ie, By Diuuibe or Guadalquivir, Nor on Ivlnnd or cape, That benrB such grape As grows by the Beautiful River."' We crossed the Miami, and made our Avay along the level country on its oastern side a few miles, when our course bent more eastward among lofty cultivated hills. Toward sunset we looked down from a rugged eminence into the fertile vale of the east branch of the Little Miami, then flooded with the evening sunlight, which i S«iif!e of the United States, and was an active pnpporter In Congress of Jefferson's administration. He was clccttd meraorof the state In 1814, and held tho office four years. After his retirement from the chief magistracy he was ap- pointed a member of the first board of Canal Commissioners, and held that office until his deatb la the year 1827, hav- I ii?b«en in public station abont thirty years. ' Olio U the Shawnocse word for Beautiful River. The French called it La Belle Riviere, • 1. i! 570 PICTORIAL FIELD-BOOK Veterans of the War of 1S12 at Bntavia. An Evening with h IMnghter of General llarrlsca hrotight out, in luminous relief, against the grc en verdure back of it, the quiet villaTo of IJatavia, that lay nestled in the lap of the hills at the head of the valley. There at the houses of relatives and friends, I passed the Sabbath, and met three survivinir soldiers of the War of 1812, namely, John Jamieson, Abraham Miley, and James C'ln" t^r. Mr. Jamieson was fr«m Kentucky, and belonged to a comjKi.ny of spies in Pop ter's regiment. He was active on the frontier in the vicinity of Detroit durini; a greater portion of the war. In 1814 he saw the infamous Simon Girty on the rack of severe rheumatism at his house a few miles below Maiden. The villain's eabin was decorated with scalps. Mr. Miley was a rifleman in Fort Meigs at the time of the siege in May, 1813. Mr. Jamieson and Mr. Carter confirmed the horrid story of the conversion of some of the skin of Tt'iumtha into razor-sti ops. One of them had seen pieces of the skin in the hands of a Kentuckian who took it from Tecumtha's thigh ! • September IS, On tho evening after ray return to Cincinnati from Batavia" I de. 1800. parted for North Bend, fourteen miles westward, on the Ohio and Mis- sissippi Railway, where General Harrison was wedded while yet a subaltern in the army of the tTnited States, where he lived when he bore the honorc of a gallant Gen- eral of that arm}', and where he was buned while the laurels which composed the most precious civic crown in the power of a people to bestow were yet fresh unoa his blow. The atinual fair of the United States Agricultural Society was about to close in Cin- cinnati, an(l thousands of visitors were making their wa,y homeward. The cars were densely y .eked, and, because of oomc detentioi: in tho lower part of the city, we did not reacn North Bend until after dark. The nearest public h^use was at the little village of Cloves, a mile distant over the hills, and thitherward I made my way on foot, accompanied by a grandson of General Harrison, son of W. W. H. Taylor, Esq., at whose house I supped and spent the evening. Their dwelling is pleasantly situ- ated on a slope overlooking tlie village of Cleves and the Great Miami Valley at that point, and is only half a mile from the tomb of Harrison. 3Irs. Taylor is a daughter of the general She kindly invited me to pass the night under their roof, but cir- cumstances made it proper for me to take lodgings at the tavern in Cleves. In the possession of Mrs. Taylor were poilr-aits of her father and mother, the former painted in the winter of 1840-41 by J. G. H. Beard, of Cincinnati, and pronounced a faitliful likeness by the family. The latter, an equally faithful likeness, was painted in 1828 by a young artist named Corvin, who died in New York when about to embark lor Italy. It is the portrait of a small and beautiful woman at the age of fifty-three years. Mrs. Taylor khidly furnished me with photographic copies of the portraits. When I visited North Bend, Mrs. Harrison, who had'jusl. passed the eighty-fifth year '>f Iter age, was residing with her son, Scott Harrison, Esq.,' at Lawrcncoburi/<*a, CC ou/i/i-^<^ £ry<^ nOSEEIl H0U8K, NOBTII UESD. BLOOK-HOrSE AT MOBTII OKKD.* 'Ve have obsen-ed in Note 4, pnge 40, that Ensign Lnce, of the United States Army, In the Exercli>e of his discre- I im.cbose thj site of Cincinnati for the block-honse In opposition to the powerful influence of Judge Symmc.". Ac- I Miiiijto cummon tradition, It was passion, not judgment, that fashioned the ensign's decision. He had formed an I K'luintancL with the bennttful young wife of one of the settlers at the Bend. When the husband discovered the gnl- I liii officer's too great attention to his blaclt-eyed pponec, he removed to Cincinnati, th.it she might l)e beyond the power j rfihe tempter. This movement suddenly changed the mind of the ensign. He had resolved to build the block-house I iiiheBemt ; now he discovered that Cincinnati was a much more ellgltile site. He accordingly marched his troops to 1 ikjt Ikile settlement. Judge Symmes warmly remonstrated, but in vain. The ensign was fairly captivated by the I fpukling eyes, and they decided the question. " Thus we see," says Judge Burnet, from whose " Notes" these facts pvfbeen gleaned, "the incompHrable beauty of a Spartan dame produced a ten ye.'-s' war which terminated in the iKtiMilon of Troy, and the irresistible charms of another female transferred the commei 'al emporium of Ohio from |*plifc where it had been commenced to the place where it now Is. If this captivating ^kraerlcan Heiim had rcmaln- l«iit ihe Bend the block-house would have been erected there, population, capital, and business would have centred |«im. md there would have been the Queen City of the West." a Sec page 40. ' 8co page 67. 'Tliif It copied, by permltelon, from a sketch In Howe's Bistorical Collectiotu of OAio,pago 288. %\% ■ I , I , i^ •■ «• mm 672 PICTORIAL FIELD-BOOK Captain Harrison nud Anna Symmes as Lovers. Their Marriage oppceed. Its Consummation and RiTT the river, Jtulge Syinmes had erected quite a commodiou,. house for himself, the ruins of whose cliimney and fire-place might yet be seen in 1860. To that dweliiiifr cj«,,, his family in January, 1795, one of whom was the beautiful Anna, tlien a girl twemv years of age. The block-house was a dependency of the post at Cincinnati, and it received the early personal attention of Captain Harrison, then a young man twenty. two yeai's of age. He was the son of a leading citizen of Virginia, and bcarinf tlf highest praises of his commander. General Wayne, as a gallant soldie;-. Ih; ^as i welcome guest in the hospitable house of Judge Symmes ; and his visits, whicli W- came more and more frequent, were especially ])lcasing to the gentle Anna, who hac] first met him at the house of her sister, Mrs. Major Short, near Lexington, Kentuckv The young friends soon became lovers, and tne judge gave his consent to tlieii niai- riage. Hearing some slanderous stories concerning Captain Harrison, he witli(li(.,v that consent, but the loving Anna, like a true M'oman, had implicit confidence in jifr affianced. She resolved to marry him, and her faithfulness verified the sayino' that " Love will llnd its way Throngh paths where wolves would fear to prey." On the morning of the day fixed for the marriage, Judge Symmes, without anv sii<. picion of such an event then, mounted his horse and rode to Cincinnati. The lovirs • November 22, were united at his house," in the presence of Anna's stcp-motber ami "^- many friends, by Dr. Stephen Wood, then a magistrate. The judge did not see his son-in-law until a few weeks afterward, when he met him at a duiner-par- ty given by General Wilkinson, then in command of Fort Washington, to General Wayne. " Well, sir," the judge said, somewhat sternlj^, " I understand you have mar- ried Anna." " Yes, sir," responded Captain Harrison. " How do you expect to sup- port her ?" the father inquired. '" By my sword and my oaVu right arm," quickly an- swered the young officer. Judge Symmes was pleased with the reply, and, like a sensible man, Avas reconciled, and gave them his blessing. He lived to be proud (f th.at son-in-law as governor of the Indiana Territory, and the hero of Tippecanoe, Fuii Meigs, and the Thames ; and the devoted wife, after sharing his joys and sorro\vs for five-and-forty years, laid him in the grave witliiu sight of tlie place of their nuptial*, while the nation mingled its tears with hers, for he was crowned witii the unsuipasj- able honor of being the chief magistrate of this republic' ' William Henry Harrison, the youngest of fifteen children, was born at Berkeley, on the James Eiver, in Virginia, a the 9th of February, 1773. He was descended from a celebrated leader of the same name in Crom^ieil's army. Ho\f;,i educated at Harapdeu-Sydney College, in Virginia. On the death of his father, Robert Morris, of Phlladelnhia, became l:< guardian. Contrary to the advice of that gentleman, he entered the army. He hastened to the Northwest, but tuols:? to share in the horrors of St. Clair's defeat. His services with Wayne have already (page 53) b-ien noticed. Soon if : his marriage he resigned his commiseiou, and entered npon the duties of civil life, at the age of twenty-fonr, as Seen; of the Northwestern Territory. In 1790 he was elected the first delegate in Congress for that extensive region. .^ aftenvard, when Indiana was erected into a separate Territory, he v. as appointed governor, and clothed witli exirs r dinary powers. He entered upon the duties of his ofBce at the old military post of V'ncennes in ISOl, and disoliarjci hit duties for several years with great wisdom end fidelity. His troubles with the Indians, and his military piovcmenii In the Wabash Valley, are recorded in Chapter X. of this work. In subsequent chapters may be found a deiaileJ .t- count of his conduct as a military commander. His services in the field ended with the battle on the Thames, tn Otto j ber, 1813, and in the following spring he retired to his farm at North Bend. He was frequently called to serve hie adof: od state in public capacities. De was a member of the Ohio Legislature and of the United States House of ReprtifM. j ntives. In IS"* he was elected to a reat lu the United States Senate, and In 1829 was appointed minister to rnlmf'ciJ Differing wi'h President Jackson In some \iews respecting Panama, he was recalled. In 1S40, after living iu retircnie!;! j many years, he was nominated by the party then called Whig for the chief magistracy of the United States, and wa.« eleci-l cd by an o- erwhelniingvotc. He was luangurated on the 4th of March, 1841, being then a little past si-cly-eightvcars of j B^e. Precisely a mouth afterward he died, leaving behind him a clean record of almost fifty years of public eerri% " Calm was the life he led, till, near and far, The breath of millions bore his name along, Throii;;h praise, and censure, nud continnons jar—" I'ot long at on Ohio's conrslng wave is borne one freeman toward the glowing West, HI" eye and tongne above the chieftain's grave Shall hail the marble honors of his rest ! And, long as Dian lifts her waning crest Where Liberty yet holds what she hath won, A pensive thought shall haunt the patriot's breast ■K*WW- ', the ruhb liing came ;irl twenty lati, and it lan twenty- scaring tlio He was ;i i, -whicli lie- la, who Iwil , Kentucky. then \m\- \c withdrew deuce in Iut saying th:\t OF TJIE WAR OF 1812. 573 An evly Settler In Ohio. A Visit to the Tomb of General lliirrlsou. C'nptuiu Syramca and his Theory. I passed the night, as I have intimated, at the tavern in Cleves, and in the niorn- inf had the good fortune to meet tlie venerable Daniel G. Howell, who was the first man-child bora on " Symmes's Purchase." That event occurred at North Bend, on the ^Sd of August, 1790. A child of the opposite sex, the first in the settlement, was l)oni nine days earlier. Mr. Ilowell's family were from New Jersey, and came West with Judge Symmes. He gave me some interesting particulars concerning the hai-d- ;hip8 of the early settlers, and his adventures as one of the volunteers for the relief of Fort Meigs. At first the settlers could not spare land enough for raising flax, but they fortunately found a useful substitute in a species of nettle that grew on the open (rlades in the Miami Valley to the height of about three feet. The autumn winds \\oukl prostrate it, beneath the winl v snows it would rot, and in the spring all the bovs of the settlement would be engaged in carrying the crop to North Bend, where it was treated like flax, spun by the women, and woven into cloth for summer wear. This was all the Unefi in use there for some time. It was very dark at first, but was sus- •cntible of bleaching. They used dressed deer-skin for external clothing, and wild tur- keys came over from Kentucky in abundance, like the quails to the Hebrews, ar d sup- plied them with mucli food. After breakfast I called at Mr. Taylor's, and his son ac- companied me to the tomb of Harrison. On an adjacent hill, about thirty rods west- ward from it, is a family bu- rial-ground, in Avhic'h is the crave of Judge Symmes, cov- ered by a marble slab, rest- ing a little above the ground, on brick- work.' From this little cemetery we crossed a srassy hollow and ascended to the tomb of Harrison, or. a beautiful knoll about two hundred foet above the Ohio River. It was built of brick, iuekison-s oravk. Of him, whose reign in her brief year was done, And fro.^ his heart shall rise the name of IlAnEiBON."— ' Ieohqe II. Coi.ton. 1 The followinfr Is the Inscriptiou on the slab : " Here rest the rcraaiua of John Cleves Symmes, who, at the foot of thtw hills, made the Jlrst settlement between the Miami Rivers. Born on Long Island, New York, July 21, A.D. 1T42. Died at Cinciunati, February iC, *..D. ISU." John Cleves Symmes was bom i\l Riverhead, Long Isl.ind, and in early life was a surveyor and school-teacher. lie carried a daughter of Governor William Livingston, o' New Jersey, and sister of the wife of John Jny. He was active during the Revolution, and in 1777 was made an associate jndpe of the Supreme Court of the State of New Jersey. On his removal to the Northwestern Territory he was appointed one of the United States district judpcs. Near the present village of Cleves he built a flne house, at a cost of $12,(iOO, the brick for which was burned on the spot. A political enemy, named Hart, sot it on Arc on the Ist of March, 1811, and it was entiraly consumed. Judge Symmes died, as his monument says, In 1S14, at the ape of about seventy-four years. A nephew and namesake of Judge Symmos attracted much public attention and consid- erable ridicule, abont forty years ago, by the promulgation of his belief that the earth was o])en at the poles, and that its interior was accessible and habitable. He had held the of- fice of captain In the army In the War of 1812, and performed gallant service at Fort Erie. He petitioned Congress in 1822 for aid In performing a voyage of discovery to the Inner earth, setting fo.fi the honor and wealth that would accrue to his country from a discov- ery which ho deemed certain. His memorial was presented by Colonel Richard M. John- son, of Kentucky, b.it was laid on the table. He fo;ind very little enconragcment or sup- Dort from any quarter. His nrgnmiMits were ingenious, and he had a few believers. He died at Ilamlltcf., Butler Conni>, Ohio (the site of old Fort Hamilton), on the 2Sth of May, 182S, and some admirer of his caused a monument to his memory, havii.n; as a part of it a globe open at both ends, to be constructed. The picture of It here given Is from Howe's Hintoricat CoUeaioiu (\f Ohio, page 77. STXIIE8B MOMUHEMT. i! Il 'til ^ ' '§ m M 574 PICTORIAL FIELD-BOOK Bite of General Ilairlsou's Hesldeucc. DeBtruction of h\f Huuee by Fire. Meincntocj, was ten by twelve feet in size, and was surrounded by trees, shrubbery, and greo, sward. At its foot was a noble mulberry-tree, and at its head was the entrance witl doors slightly inclined. The only tenants when I was there were the remains of Gpu eral Harrison and his second daughter, Mrs. Doctor Thornton. The engravini; show* the appearance of the spot, and a view of the great North Bend of the Ohio as we look eastward from the grave. On the right, near the bank of the river, is seen oii" of the stone chimneys already mentioned, a few rods from the North Bend Station Descending from Harrison's tomb, we crossed the Whit.- water Canal, and after sketching the old house seen on page 671, visited the site of General Harrison's resi- dence, on ti level spot at the foot of gentle hills, about three hundred yards from the UABBISUN H BESIDEMUli AT NUUTU IIKMI. Ohio, and in full view of the North Bend Railway Station. Nothing of it remained but the ruins of cellar and fire-places, and these were cove-red with bramb'cs. The house Avas set on fire by a dismicsed servant-girl, it was believed, a few years ago, and entirely consumed. All of General Harrison's military and other valuable papers were burned ; also many presents that were sent to him by political frieads duiinir the presidential canvass in 1 840, The family portraits and a few other things were saved.' I sketc?:'?d ♦he locality from the railway station. Placing a drawing of the mansion, from one in Howe's Ilistorical Collections of Ohio, in the proper position, I give to the reader a correct view of the residence and its surroundings before the iiio. The tvater seen in the foreground is that of the Whitewater Canal. I returned tn Cincinnati toward noon, and left the same evening for Dayton and the shores of Lake Erie. > Among these wa8 a beautiful black cane with a silver head, on which was engraved a log cabin, a cider-barrfl,,i sheaf of wheat, a steam-boat, and other devices ; also his name, and presentation " by o gentleman of Louisiana." The log cabin and cider-barrel refer to a peculiarity in the features of that campaign. The oastem end of Harrison's man- sion was one of '.he original log houses built by the settlers at North Bend, and clap-boarded over. His partiean(, wlifu he was nominated, started the story that he lived in a log cabin, whose latch-strlng was always on the outside, so that the traveler might enter, and that a mug of cider was alwayd ready there for the wayfarer. The story was popularirith the masses. Log caliins were erected all over the country, in which Harrison meetings were held, and n barrel of cidfr was always ready for li-ee distribution at these meetings. The canvass was known as " the Hard Cider CampalgD," aoJ the demoralization produced by it was very great. Many a song was composed in bis praise and eung at these mce:- ings, in one of the most popular of which occurs the following verse, that may be appropriately quoted iu this con- nection: " Hurrah for the log cabin chief of onr choice ! For the old Indian fighter, hurrah 1 Hurrah ! and from mountain to valley the voice Of the people re-echoes hurrah I Tlien come to the ballot-box— boys, come along, He never lost battle for you : Let us down with oppression and tyranny's tbrongi And up with Old Tippecanoe 1" ^ii-iH P!'.;-•' Ah ! never shall the land forget How gash'd the life-blood of her brave— Gnsh'd, warm with hope and courage yet, Upon the soil they fought to suve."— Williaii Ccllen Butakt. IIILE the army of the Northwest, under Harrison, was slowly recovering what Hull had lost, and more, stirring and important events were occurring on the frontiers of Niagara, Lake Ontario, and the St. Lawrence River. England was then putting forth her mightiest efforts to crush Napoleon, and her display of energy and resources was marvel- ous. It required the most vigilant exercise of these on the Con- tinent, yet she withheld nothing that- seemed necessary to secure gnccess in America. The naval victories of the Americans during 1812 were very mortifying to the " Mistress of the Seas," and it was resolved by the British cabinet to prosecute the war on the ocean with the greatest vigor. A most profound and wholesome respect for the skill and valor of American seamen had been suddenly ci-e* ated in the British mind, and, to prevent farther disasters on that theatre of action, it was determined that no more conflicts with American ships should be hazarded but with such superior force as would seem to insure success. The American coast was to be practically blockaded, and Avith so much rigor as to prevent the egress of privateers and the return of them with prizes ; and the fiat went forth from the Brit- ish court that ever'^ thing American found afloat should be captured or destroyed, while all of her maritime towns should be menaced and annoyed by the presence and movements of British cruisers. Tlie success of the allied powers against Napoleon during 1812 greatly relieved England for the moment, and enabled her to give more force to her conflict in the Western world. During the winter of 1812-13 a body of troops were sent to Hali- fax, to re-enforce those in Canada in the spring, the ])rincipal object to be accom- plished in that quarter being the defense of the provinces against invasion, while the war should be carried on vigorously along the coast and on the ocean. i The Americans wore disheartened by the results of their campaigns on land during 1812, and it was diflicult to increase the army either by volunteers or militia. The I joveniment had determined to renew the efforts for the conquest of Canada, in which service nearly all of the regulars were to be employed. The remainder, to consist of militia and volunteers, were to compose, witii the regulav,*, an army of fifty thou- sand men. By an arrangement for an exchange of prisoners, many valuable oflicers were restored to command. Tlie states were divided into nine military districts,^ to each of which a general officer of the United States army was assigned, whose 'The districts were composed as follows : 1. Massachnsetts and New Hampshire. 2. Rhode Island and Connecticut. llSew York from the sea to the Highlands, and the State of New Jersey. 4. Pennsylvania from Its eastern limit to jtlK ille^hany Mountains, and Delaware. 5. Maryland and Virginia. 0. The two Carolinas. T. The States of Tenneg- Iw.Loaislana, and the Mississippi Territory. 8. Kentucky, Ohio, and the Territorial governments of Michigan. In- I liuis, nilnnls, and Missouri. ». Pennsylvania from the Alleghany Monntalne westward, Now York north of the Hlgh- liiadf, and Vermont. NfHlP^ \ HI 1 1 m 576 PICTORIAL FIELD-BOOK The Amerlcang prepare for vigorous War. Opcrattong in the St. Lawrence Region. Brockville and ita yiciiilT duty it was to superintend and direct all the means of defense witliin liis niilitarv district. Detachments of troops were stationed ot the most exposed places on the sea-board to form rallying points for the militia in the event of invasion ; and tlic commandant of each district was authorized to call upon the governors of tlio re- spcctive states for such portion of the militia most convenient to the menaced ixjint as he should deem necessary, the operations of such troops to be combined with tliosi of the regular force, and the whole to be under the direction of the commandant ut' the district, and while in service to be paid and supported by the United States. By this arrangement, designed to prevent any serious interference on the part of UK- governors of states who were opposed to the Avai-, there was in each district a mru- lar officer of rank equal with any militia officer who might be ordered out, and un- der the Articles of War, entitled to chief command. Strict orders were also issued to receive no militia major general into the service of the United States except at tlic head of four thousand men, or a brigadier general without half as many. Eight new brigadiers were commissioned ;' and each district, besides its commissary genera! was to have an adjutant, a quartei--master, and an inspector of its own. Meanwhile' vigorous preparations bad been making by the Northern Army on the St. Lawrence and its vicinity, and the Army of the Centre on the Niagara frontier, for an invasion of Canada. Early in February, 1813, some important movements were made on the St. Law- rence at Ogdensburg and its vicinity. In a former chapter we have observed some interesting occurrences between the hostile pai'ties in that region during the preced- ing autumn and early winter. Both were vigilant, and both had committed " inva- sions" and made i>risoners. British deserters had fled to the American linos and parties of troops from Canada had crossed the river, captured some of these, and «M PICTORIAL FIELD-BOOK fabisu'b stobi-uodbk. Preparations to receive the Brltleb. AUJutuut Church nnd hU Auoclatei. The British advance on U|{denibiir yet (1867) standing, near the International Ferry, wan i rude wooden breawtworii, on which was niountcd (m ., Hled-carriage, an iron twelve-pounder, also taken tVdiii Burgoyiie. This battery was commanded by Vapim, Joshua Conkey. On the point where the liglit-houst now stands, near the site of old Fort Presenta- tion, was a brass nine -pounder on a sled-carriage, in charge of one of Captain Kellogg's sergeants. Back of the old fort, and mounted on sleds, were two old-fashioned iron six-pounders, one of them commanded by Ad- jutant Daniel W . Church,^ and tlie other by Lieutenant Baird, of Major Forsyth's compa- ny. In front of the huge gateway between tlie two buildings then remaining of the old fort- was another brass six-pounder on a sled, and about twenty feet to the left of this was a six-pounder iron cannon on a sled. Several others were lying on the edge of the Oswegat- chie fast bound in ice. Below the town, on the square bounded by Washington and Wa- ter, Elizabeth and Franklin Streets, was an un- finished redoubt, wliich was commenced the previous autumn by M. Kaniee, a Frencli engineer, by order of General Brown, and named Fort Oswegatchie. All the troops then available for the defense of the placo were Forsyth's riflemen, a few volunteeiii, and iibont a dozen raw recruits. On the morning of the 22d of February, about eight hundred men, under Licuten ant Colonel M'Donell, appeared on the ice, and approached Ogdensburg in two col umiis. It was a singular spectacle, for only once or twice before had the river Imii closed between Prcscott aii Daniel W. Church was born at Brattleboro', Vermont, In 1TT2, and emigrated to Northern New York in 1801,irtH* at Canton, St. Lawrence County, he commenced the business of millwrlglit by erecting the first saw-mill built thcti He was one of the pioneer settlers in that county, and acted a conspicuous part in its early history. He assisted in or<:; Izing the first court in that county, and was sitting on the bench as associate Justice, with Judge liaymond presiding,^ the court-house at Ogdensburg when the shot from Prescott passed through the building, as mentioned in uotel.i 680. He volunteered In the military service at the beginning of the War of 1812, and was appointed adjntant ofColonj Benedict's regiment. His particular services at Ogdensburg and vicinity are mentioned In the text. Twice during ll^ ■war he received the special thonks of General Brown. He was a man of fine personal appearance, fond ofhlsto^u science, and charming in society. He died at Morristown, on the St. Lawrence, on the Tth of January, 1867, in tbc ^ year of his age, universally esteemed and deeply regretted by the whole community. " See picture on pagf v ' These were Scotch Roman Catholics, of the families of refugee Loyalists from the domain of the Johnsons in i Mohawk Valley, the most of whom inhabit the County of Olengary. * Father Francis Picqnet was a priest of the Sulpician order, and was active, after his arrival In Canada in 173.1 In 4 ostabllshmeut uf the Catholic religion and French political dominion In the New World. For the purpose of atlaf >-)>t««9B?* 1 Ugdentbarg >rry, was ii lllttMl, (111 W Liiki'U from l>y Va\)\\w\ lighl-liousi' lanicc, a Frencli All tlie troops few voluntet'i's, 1, nnder Lieutcn- \\\\% in two col- li the vivev Iw" ' [luuulred stroiii!, j l)\os^ and a body I .ft column, five and the Koyalj idi.vns, was com-! idily toward tki ■re at hreaklast.l the old fort,ofj the stone buildl Wrence County, andl^ Lv York in 1801, itW Itsaw-mmOniUtbd I He assisted in oipj |Rttymondprc»l«iif.J lntionodin"»'«l'f'3 |tcdBdj«taiit';f':*3 Ipit Twice (lutincu Wrondoflil«.d lee picture on pagf* |oni»oJolm80Mta« aCanadftinimH f the purpose 01 1""! OF THE WAU OF 18 12. 071) Tbe Brlllsli driven back upo n the Ice. Surrender of a Part of the AmerlcsuH. Hiitorlcal Localttle*. iniru tt'"l directed them to reserve their lire until lie Hhoukl give the word of com- mand. IJiiiid, with the brass six-pounder, was on the rii^lit of liis line, and Church, witli tlic iron six-pouniler, was near the centre. Just as the enemy reached the flat, siiow-drifted shore, they tired, but without ett'ect. Forsyth then gave the wonl, and ■I full volley of musketry and a disclfarge of artillery swept down eight of the foe, iiul threw their line into utter confusion. They attempted to rally and charge upon tlie Americans, but the frightened militia failing to HU|)port the light infantry, the luovenieiit was not executed, and the assailing party, after losing, besides the killed and wounded, a number of prisoners, fled out u[)on the frozen river, seriously an- noyed by the nine-pounder on the point where the light-house now stands. While these events were in progress on the ujjper side of the village beyond the Oswcgatchiej Lieutenant Colonel M'Donell had nmrched up into the town, from a poiut below the battery, near the barracks, without resistance.' Captain Conkcy kept his twelve-poui: er silent, when he might have 8 we the enemy's ranks feart'ul'y, and perhajis ut- terly checked their advance ; and, without the least resistance, ho surrendered himself, his gun, and his mer, to the invaders. When this was accomplished they expected an easy conquest of the town, but they were soon confronted by the cannon undicr Captain Kellogg and Sherift" York. The gun of the foi-mer was soon disabled by the breaking of its elevator screw, and he and his men fled across the Oswegatchie BtTB OF FOBT l>BE8ENTATION. Iigas many of the Iroqnois confederac; of Indiana to the French and the Church as possible, he founded a mission nt j ihe mouth of the Oswegatchie in 1.748, and recommended the erection of a fort there. The river was called L:i Presentn- lion by the French. There he erected a substantial stone building, on the comer-stone of which, found among tlMt I rains many years ago, was the following inscription : "in nominr t bki omnipotentis nmo uaiiitatione initia nEnn- I rass. PicqnBT, 1T49." Translation : " Francis Picquet laid the foundations of this habitation. In the name of the Al- ■ilthty God, ill 1749." Another stone building of the same size was erected about sixteen feet from the first one \ and then a stockade fort was built there soon afterword, covering nbont an acre of ground, these edifices, standing on the ItokoftheOswegatc'ule, formed part of the fort, which was called Presvntation. Between the two buildings masslvo j jiies of oak, fifteen feet in height, were erected. " The remainder of the eastern or southeastern portions," says Mr. I tiesi, in his "Recollections of Ogdensburg and Its Vicinity," " was heavy stone wall ; indeed, this may be said to hove i inclosed the whole. Here was held the first court in St. Lawrence County, and here, iho, they had preaching when I lliey were fortunote enough to obtain a clergyman." Nothing now remains of these old works but a few traces of the jlmiilation. The Inscribed comer-stone occupies a conspicuous position In the State Armory, erected in Ogdensburg linlsM. I saw It in 1866 in a wall of the Hasbfonck estate on Ford Street. In the above sketch of the site of Fort iPitscntatlon, taken from In front of Judge Ford's mansion, the position of the stone buildings above mentioned is in- Ifalcdby Ihe two little figures seen between the low one-story building toward the right of the picture and the more Ifcunt landing-place at Ogdensburg. Toward the left of the picture, on the point projecting into the St. Lawrence, is Im Ihe light-house, and across the river a glimpse of Prcscott and Fort Wellington. Toward the extreme right, on the l&lant shore, are seen the ruined buildings on Windmill Point, desolated dnrtng the " Rebellion" of 18,17. The land- |li?pljce of the British, on the marshy shore, to attack Forsyth, was directly beyond the clump of trees on the extrcmo |Ul of the picture. ' The British stnick the shore nt the foot of Caroline (now Franklin) Street, and marched up that street to Wachinu |li«,ilong Washington, past Parl.-li's liouso, to siHto sirci'l, and halted : thou to the Arfcual in Ford Street, between '< ami Isabella Streets. , i! if; :| i .1 610 PICTORIAL FIELD-BOOK of 8h«rlffYork. Sketch ufh la Ufe, Vllght ofCUlMDS. PatrlotlRin, CnnruKo. ouil Fldollty of Mrr/v^ MAI* UF UI'UUATIUNH A'i tlUIIKiNblll.'lUi. and joined Forsyth, leaving the indomitable York to maintain the light alone.' Tin Hheriff continued to fire until two of his men were mortally wounded, and liimsill' and the remainder of ins party were made prisoners. The village was now in full possession of the enemy, and the citizens fled, mostly in the direction of Remington's, now Ilouvelton. M'Donell proceeded at once to • Joseph York was born In Claremont, New llampslilvo, on the SIh of Jan- nary, 1781, and when qnlto young settled with his father In Hanil(il;ph, Vot- mont. At the age of seventeen years (17»8) he Joined the Provisional Amiy under Lieutenant Nathaniel Leonard, ind served until the army wan ili<. banded In 1800. He emigrated to Ogdensburg In 1806. .He was do|iul,v fkr- Iff three years, and sheriff four years. When made prisoner on the orcifion above noted, ho was taken to Prescott, and thence to the Johii«tn»ii j i where, through the active exertions of his wife, he was paroled, auil :i :■ i weeks afterward exchanged. Mr. York's residence at that time was in tlie conrt-hoose, a frame bond- ing that stood on the corner of Knox and Euphoinia (now State) Streets. His widow was living when I visited Og- densbnrg In tht) snramer of 18(10. She was a small, delicate, and highly-Intel- ligent woman, and I remember my In- terview with her with great pleasure. She gave me a graphic account of the events of the invasion, and kindly al- lowed me to make a copy of the silhou- ette likeness of her hnsband. She said she did not leave her home In the court- hoffso until the British had tired several shots into it, and almost reached it, when she took some money and table- spoons, and ran as fast as she could into the country, with a number of other women. They retreated about fiflfenl miles. The next day she returned, and fbnnd the honse plundered, the fuJ ntture broken, and her husband a prisoner. The heroic little woman (wliol had made many cartridges for the soldiers) Immediately resolved to go overf into Canada In search of her hnsband. She crossed tbc riveil in a skiff, went to the honse of a fHend (Mrs. Yates) at Joliu!^ town, having a British ofllcer as escort, made personal applici tion to Lieutenant Colonel M'Donell, procured the release o her hnsband on parole, and took him back with her. Sherilfl York was very highly esteemed In St. Lawrence County, successive years he represented that county in the Leglalatareol New York. The town of York, in Livingston County, was namtj 8th of May, 1827, at the age of forty-six years. Mrs. York died in July, 1862, OOVRT-UOCSli, OUIIKNHIII'IUI. i/i honor of him. He died on the MWaML" ! r or Mm, York. it alone.' The id, and himself ens flod, mostly ded at once to ,;e, on the Rlh oMai!- icr 111 Kaniloliih.yt'- Iho rrovlsluiiai Amy l\ the iirmy wai" ilis- .;ie was ilciraly A"- floncr 1)11 the occafiou I) tlic Johiutowu jail, as paroled, and a (e» linui'c, a frame MM- Iretrcated about «tlfeii| InBepliiii'lered.tlicto-l lolc little woman («1»>| lely reBolved to go ontl fshe crossed the meil l(Mrs.Vntc9) atJotiui^ made personal apjlw -•ocnrcd the relea« « lack with her. Simla Iwrence County. ItyintheLeplsW""^ ItonConnty.waBnsraej |dlnJtlly,1862. OF THE WAR OF 181S. 081 Hrtrwit of the Amerlcani ffora OKdensburg. Plunder of the VIIMKe. Priioaeni carried to C«nwl*. coiiiplt'te tlio conqiU'Ht by tlinlod^ing KcrHytli and liin J>arty. lie jiaiiiiU'd IiIh troopH ,^ j|,y iiortliorn nIioh! of the OMWc^atchic, and Hciit a Hau; to FttrHytli Niiiniiioiiiiig him to mirrcndi'i- iimtantly. " If yon Mnrrcndcr, it shall ho. widl ; if not, I'vcry man nhali ho put to the bayonet," was a nu'HHai^e sent witli the HnininoiiH. "Tell Colonel M'Doncll," replied Forsyth, "there must be more tightinn done first." The bearers ,it'tlie rtai,' had just reached tlieir line on Ford Street, near llusbrouck's, when Church mill Hi>'''*l ^'■'"' *''^' ^^'" six-pounders that stood before tin; j^ate of the iort, both cliariji'd with j^rape and canister. The eft'ect was severe, but less frightful tiian it ininlit liave been had not Forsyth peremptorily ordered Chundi to elevate his jdece II little lii,c;her. The discharge frightened the enemy, and they took sheltt^r behind I'liiinh's store-house and other buildings, and began picking oft" the Americans in de- mil while another i^arty, overwhelming in numbers, were preparing to storm the ohl fort. Forsyth's quitik eye and judgment e'tmprehended the impending j)eril. It was heiu'liteiiL'd by the wounding of Church and Haird, and he gave orders for a retreat 10 Thurber's Tavern, on Black Lake, eight o;- nine miles distant, where, on the same day, ho wrote a dispatch to the Secretary of War, in which he gave a brief account ,(i the attairs of the morning, and said, "It you can send me three hundred men, all shall he retaken, and Prescott too, or I will lose my life in the atteini)t." Lieutenant Haird was too severely wounded to be taken away, and he was left at the mansion of Judge Ford,' where he was made a prisoner. The town now being in full pos-session of the enemy, the work of plunder commenced. Indians and camp-fol- lowerH of both sexes came over from Canada, and these, with resident miscreants, defying the earnest eft«)rts of the British ofticers to prevent plunder, carried oft* or de- jtroyed a great amount of private property. Flvery house in the village except three was entered. The public projierty was carried over to Canada. Two armed schoon- ers and two gun-boats fast in the ice were burned, the barracks near the river were laid in ashes, and an attempt was made to fire the bridge over the Oswegatchie.^ Fifty-two ])risoners were taken to Prescott, where those who were not Ibund in arms were paroled and sent back.^ Some of the prisoners were confined in the jail at Joans- town, three miles below Prescott,* and othei-s were sent to Montreal. Fourteen '^f the latter escaped from prison at Montreal, and the remainder were sent to Halifax. The Americans lost in this aftair, besides the prisoners, five killed and fifteen wound- od. The British lost six killed and forty-eight wounded. As the enemy immediately evacuated the place, the citizens soon returned. From that time until the close of the war Ogdensburg remained in an entirely defenseless state, whioh exposed the in- liabitants to occasional insults from their belligerent neighbors over the river.* A little east of Prescott, on the bank of the St. Lawrence, the British erected a small fortification during the war, which commanded Ogdensburg. It was called Fort Wellington. The present fort of that name was built upon an eminence back of the other, in 1838, at the time of the " Rebellion" in Canada." ' This mansion stood on a pleasant spot not far from the left bank of the Oswegatchle River. Nathan Ford, Its own- I eT,««8 among the earliest settlers of Ogdensburg. He was born in Morrlstown, New Jersey, on the 8th of Decemoer, I li(3. He served In the Continental army, and In JTfl4 and 1796 he was employed by Ogden and others, who had pur- I ctod lands In Northeni New York, to loofc after their affairs In that quarter. He was ft man of indomitable energy, lull early foresaw prosperity for the little settlement at the mouth of the Oswegatchlc. He died in April, 1S29, at the I ige of sixty-six years. ' The plunder of public property consisted of 1400 stand of arms, with accoutrements, 12 pieces of artillery, 2 standii |«(ti)lore, 300 tents, a large quantity of ammunition and camp equipage, with some beef, )>ork, flour, and other stores. ' The prisoners li^the jail at Ogdensburg represented to the liritish that tbey were only political offenders, and then Iwre all released. Most of them accompanied the invaders back to Prescott, when It was ascertained that they had de- iMivcd the British officers. Some were given up at once, and Sheriff York Anally recovered the most of Inem. •Thin jail was used as a place of public worship for a long time, to which the inhabitants of Ogdensburg ftcquently |ifcirted before the year 1812. Previous to that time there was no regular place of worship in Ogdensburg. in May, 1813, an officer came over from Prescott for deserters, and Insolently threatened to bum Ogdensbnrg If they Ixte not given up. "Ton will do no snch thing," said Judge Ford. " No sooner will I see the incendiaries landing IttiD I will set fire to my own house with my own hands, rally my neighbors, cross the river with torches, and bum ev- Ii7hnn8e from Prescott to Brockville." The British officer, perceiving the consequences that might ensue, afterward lipclojized for hie conduct.— Hough's History qfSt. Latcrence CourUij, page 685. ! I - ;r PICTORIAL FIELD-BOOK A Villi to Ogilriinlmr); unci I'rMCOtt. Th«"lUbtllloti"lB C.nin. T vi»itPfl thfl tliofttro of m'om'n jnut deflcrilx-d, mid placoH of IntoroHt in tlicir ii(i(F||. horliood, in July, IHOO, iUUt HjM'iidiiijj; ft day or two niiionjj thi' 'nioiisaiid Islaiidx j,, •.inivM, *'"' vicinity oC{'a|M' Viiicoiit. At dawn on a liraiitifiil inorninir" I cinluriicil on tlui Htoam boat Xcw York at tliat point lor Ogdcimburj;, and liad the plt'aouro of nu'iitiiij; an old a('(|iiaintanco (Captain Van ('lev*'), a votoran (ttimiiaiKlcr of ntcam-l)oatH on halic Kric and tiu' St. Luwivnco, and wlio wiih an invoiiinl'iry lutdr in till! Htiniiijj hci'Iics in the m-i^liltoiliood of tlit- OHWcgatchii' in 1H:)h, which wiljl),. noted ])reHentiy. Familiar with every iwlaiid, roek, and hush on t!ie route, I t'iiii,|,| him a nioHt iimtnietivo companion diiriiisx that delii^htlul voyajj^e ainoiii^ thcTliuii. sand IslandH. Another paHwenger waH Mr. Tierpont, of IMerpont Manor, .Icfl'iisun County, New York, who was one of the United Htate« commiHwionerH that tixcd tlic Itoiindary-liiie between the former and Canada Koon after the ehme of the War „f lsr.'-'15. With these two gentlemen as companions willing to impart iiifuriiiatinn. I lacked nothinu;. Just above Hrockville, as we emerj.'ed from the Tlionwand Islands, a settleiiicnt nf Tories of the Uevoliition was pointed out to me, and the house in which a f^raiidsdn of lJenc I vlnitpd tho fine mansion and benutihil grounds of Mr. PHrii)h, son or the early proprietor ofvaet landed estates inl 1h»t reijion. There for many years was the residence of Elena Vespucci, a lineal descendant of the Florentine Amerl-I PHi Vcspnrcl, in whose honor onr continent was named. She visited this country with the expectation of receiving il irrftnt of lanil or money f^om Congress. She was a brilliant, fascinating woman. She left for Europe in 1S59. Mauri «r <>l' her t:\ste were seen al)ont the raaneion. OF THE WAH OF 1818. 66a tlu'ir lU'igl). id Isluiids in ' I ('inf the Hrit- workH; tliear- e Oswogiitcliie, "rcscott, mitl, in „> below, to visit At Amrlcan Niramnr prciMd Into tb* IwrviM oftliv " I'litrluU." Hinge <>r II Knriiiniiril Wliiil-nilll. r^l^Tiftnded estates Ini f the Florentine AmfH-l lectatlonofreceWngij lEuropclnlSM. Mstjl (Mil fifty " I'iitriotH" from Siickctt'H Hurhor. On tlu' w:iy down the St. Lawrcnco, Van ( livi' diHCovtTi'd two HfliooncrH hiciilnu'd. Oni' of his pasHfiigcrs, a Htranjfcr of jjjon- ;,il jiiiiH'aianci', askoil him to taku them in tow, aH tlicy won' hidon with j^ooiIh for OifiU'iiHlmrg, and Ik> should he jrlad to liav them reach j)ort tlie next morninij. The ilfckft were covered witii boxes and barrels, iind only men »'nonj;h to navijjate tlie ves- s"\* were visible. 'I'lie sehooners were taken in tow, when Van Cleve was speedily umlceeived. Full two hundrnl arme(l inen <'anie from them on boiird of his vessel. Till' H('li f British pen- al colony in Van Dienien';' Laud. Eleven years later they were all released by a declaration of amnesty by tl'.e crown. The British burned the wood-work of the wind-mill and stone houses. In tliai desolated condition they yet remained wlien I visited the spot in lb60, and made tlu' sketch from which our little en7, and designed to be, what It has since become, a large and floHri»liiiij city. In front of it is a beautiful bay, nearly circular, a mile and a half In diameter, formed by the main and a curioii?' OF THE WAR OF 1812 687 ritleh Dcfensei. e ice in th" er to recon- rce at Sack- ilve months' Bvations. A tlien to cross to cross the >\va, join the Every thi' ; 1 Chauncey's !row(lo(l with 'ore the litilc It gradually he ^v estwani, lie deserting it wooed the once a famous stream, that a broad hav iree miles -wesi tito. In that 1 stood the re- f old Fort To- rected by the and now (1 86 1) o s t shapeless On the shove d of it, between isent new har- d the city, were the most cast- ig in the form A little far- the borders of rfrffl, Lieutenant Com- i ; tlic Governor Tomp- [f, Lieutenant Adams; I the Lady of the Lakt, l-WRters of the MIffif- ling Pike entered tht thnse of Louisiana, in Lewis iind Clnil>' I" til) wns comnilPhiiiiK'il lerilouB but succeffrii! |er of ISO", be rccciveil ■ wns commisfioiicil a Ithantblvty-fourycarf Ir of ten counties, awl Lrk to-morro-v in the Rhould I be the happy tpltlous, and smile "O Ithe anne ofvlctori." |tant»,»ttnatedonlbt I by Oovenior Simcot. I large and llourlsliiiij ! main and o curiouf- Seglect of Defenses. General Pike's Instructions. His Troops conn-onted at their Landing-place. YORK IN Itilii, rSOM TUB 1ILOOK-UO(7BI! EAST OP TUP. DON. deep ravine and small stream, was a picketed block -house, some intrenchments ^ith cannon, and a garrison of about eight hundred men, under Major General Slieaffe. On Gibraltar Point, the cxti. no western end of the peninsula, that embraced the Harbor with its pro- tecting arm, was a small block - house ; and another, seen in the engraving, stood on the high east bank of the Don, just be- vond the present iiridge at the eastern termination of King and Queen Streets. These drfonses had been strangely neglect- ed. Some of the cannon were without trunnions , others, destined for the war vessel then on the stocks, were in frozen mud arid half covered with snow. Fortunately for the garrison, the Duke of Gloucester was then in port undergoing some repairs, and her guns furnislied some armament for the batteries. These, however, amounted lo only a few si.x-pounders. The Avhole country around, excepting a few spots on tlio lake shore, was covered with a dense forest. On the day when the expedition sailed from Sackett's Harbor General Pike issued minute instructions concerning the manner of landing and attack. " It h expected," lie said, " that every corps will be mindful of the honor of the American arms, and the disgraces which have recently tarnished our arms, and endeavor, by a cool and ilctcrmined discharge of their duty, to support the one and wipe off the other." "The unoffending citizens of Canada," he continued, " are many of them our own country- men, and the poor Canadians have been forced into this war. Their property, there- fore, must be held sacred ; and any soldier who shall so far neglect the lionor of his profession as to be guilty of plundering the inhabitants, shall, if convicted, be pun- ished with death. But the commanding general assures the troops that, should they capture a large quantity of public stores, he will use his best endeavors to procure them a reward from his government." With such instructions t^c Americans pi'o- ceeded to invade the British soil at about eight o'clock on the morning of the 27th of April, 1813. It was intended to land at a clearing near old Fort Toronto. An easterly wind, blowing with violence, drove the small boats in which the troops left the fleet full half a mile farther westward, and beyond an effectual covering by the guns of the navy. Major Foi^syth and his riflemen, in two bateaux, led the van, and when with- in rifle-shot of the shore they were assailed by a deadly volley of bullets by a com- pany of Glengary Fencibles and a party of Indians under Major Givens, who were concealed in the woods that fringe the shore. " Rest on your oars ! prime !" said Forsyth, in a low tone. Pike, standing on the deck of the Madison, saw this halting, and impatiently exclaimed, with an expletive, " I can not stay here any longer ! Come," he said, addressing his staff, "jump into the boat." He was instantly obeyed, (haped peninsula, which, within n few years, has become an island. It was only a few rodd wide, where, in IS-W, a siorm cut a channel and made most of the pe ilnsultt an island, while at its western extremity It was very broad, and tmbraced several ponds. See map on page BOrt. It is low and sandy— so low that, from the moderate elevation of the uimi (fifteen or twenty feet above the water), the dark line of the lake maybe seen over it. Upon it were, and still are, Mme trees, which, at first glance, seem to be standing on the water. This gave the name of Tarnntah, an Iitdian word lifiiifylng " trees on the water," to the place. When the French bnilt a fort there, westward of the extreme western fnii of the peninsula (which was called "Oibraltar Point"), they named It Fort Tarontah, or Toronto. In pursuance of liit plan of Anglicizing the tipper Province, SImcoe named it York. The people, at a later day, with singular good taste, resumed the Indian name of Tarontah, or Toronto. "• — n ■"#.. msm 588 PICTORIAL FIELD-BOOK Battle in the Wuode. Cowardly Flight of the IndianB. The Biltiah driven to Toronto. and voiy soon they and their gallant commander were in the midst of a fight for Forsyth's men had opened tire, and the enemy on the shore were retnniing it hntiV. ly. Tiic vanguard soon landed, and were immediately followed, in support, by Ma- jor King and a battalion of infantry. Pike and the main body soon followed miii the whole column, consisting of the Sixth, Fifteenth, Sixteenth, and Twenty-first Hcfr. imcnts of Infantry, and detachments of light and heavy artillery, with Major For- syth's rifllemen and Lieutenant Colonel M'Clurc's volunteers as flankers, pressed for- ward into the woods. The British skirmishers meanwhile had been re-enfoi-ced hy two companies of the Eighth, or King's Regiment of Regulars, two hundred strong, a company of the Royal Newfoundland Regiment, a large body of militia, and sonic Indians. They took position in the woods, and were soon encountered by the ad- vancing Americans, whose artillery it was difficult to move. Perceiving tliis, the British, led by General Sheafle in person, attacked the American flanks with a m- pounder and howitzer. A very sharp conflict ensued, and botli parties suffered much. Captain M'Neil, of the King's Regiment, was killed. The British were overpowered and fell back, when General Pike, at the head of the American column, ordered his bugler to sound, and at the same time dashed gallantly forward. That bugle blast thrilled like electric fire along the nerves of the Indians, They gave one horrid yell then fled like frightened deer to cover, deep into the forest. That bugle blast was heard in tlie fleet, in the face of the wind, and high above the voices of the gale, and evoked long and loud responsive cheers. At the same time Chauncey was send i hi; to the shore, under the direction of Commander Elliott, something more effective than huzzas, for he Avas hurling deadly grape-shot upon the foe, which added to the con- sternation of the savages, and gave fleetness to their feet. They also hastened tlie retreat of Sheaffe's white troops to their defenses in the direction of the village, Avhilc the dnim and fife of the pui"suers were briskly playing Ya)ikee Doodle. The Americans now pressed forward as rapidly as possible along the lake shore in j)latoons by sections. They were not allowed to load their muskets, and were com- pelled to rely upon the baj onet. Because of many ravines and little streams, tlie ar- tillery was moved with difiicHlty, for the enemy had uc'stroyed the bridges. It was a strong right arm, and essential in the service at hand ; and by great exertions a tield-piece and a howitzer, under Lieutenant Fanning" of the Third Artillery, was moved steadily with the column. As that column emerged from thick woods, flank- ed by M'Clure's volunteers, divided equally as light troops, under Colonel Rij)ley,h was confronted by twenty-four pounders on the Western Battery, the remains of UKMAIMB OP TUB WESTERll IIATTKBY.' which are now (ISGT) plainly visible between the present New Barracks and the city on the lake shore. Upon that battery the guns of some of Chauncey's vessels, > In this sketch the appearance of the mounds in ISOO is given. On the left, in the distance, is seen a glimpse of a wharf and part of Toronto. On the right a portion of the peninsula, now an island. In the centre of the picture Is Ihc opening between the island and the remainder of the peninsula, looking out npon the lake. The steam-boat indicatct the present channel, which is narrow and not very deep. Iven to Toronto. OF THE WAR OF 1812. 689 B»ttle »t York. Explueiun of the British Powder-magaslne. Death of Ocueral Pike and uthen. which had beat up against the wind in range of the enemy's works, were pouring heavy shot. Captain Walworth was ordered to storm it with his grenadiers, of the Sixteenth. They immediately trailed their arms, quickened their pace, and Avere ibout to charge, when the wooden magazine of the battery, that had been carelessly left open, blew up, killing some of the men, and seriously damaging the defenses. Tlie dismayed enemy spiked their cannon, and fled to the next, or Half moon Battery. Walworth pressed forward, when that, too, was abandoned, and he found nothing within but spiked cannon. Sheaffe and his little army, deserted by the Indians, tied to the garrison near the governor's house, and tiiere opened a fire of round and grape allot upon the Americans. Pike ordered his troops to halt, and lie flat upon the grass, while Mijor Eustis, with his artillery battery, moved to the front, and soon silenced the great guns of the enemy. The firing from the garrison ceased, and the Americans expected every moment to see a white flag displayed from the block-house in token of surrender. Lieutenant Riddle, whose corps had brought up the prisoners taken in the woods, was sent for- ward with a small party to reconnoitre. General Pike, who had just assisted, with his own hands, in removing a wounded soldier to a comfortable place, was sitting upon a stump conversing with a huge British sergeant who liad been taken prisoner, his staff standing around him. At that moment was felt a sudden tremor of the (fround, followed by a tremendous explosion near the British garrison. The enemy, despairing of holding the place, had blown up their powder-mag- azine, situated upon the I'dge of the water, at the mouth of a ravine, near whore the build- ma of the Great West- ern Railway stand. The effect was terrible. Fragnients of timber, and huge stones of '^- , . 1 ,1 _ • POWDEK-MAOAZINK AT TOBO.NTO. which the magazine walls were built, were scattered in every direction over a space of several hundred vards.^ When the smoke floated away the scene was appalling. Fifty-two Ameri- cans lay dead, and one hundred and eighty others were wounded.^ So badly had the affair been managed that forty of the British also lost their lives by the explo- sion. General Pike, two of his aids, and the British sergeant were mortally hurt,^ while Riddle and his party were unhurt, the missiles passing entirely over them. The terrified. Americans scattered in dismay, but they were soon rallied by Brigade Major Hunt and Lieutenant Colonel Mitchell. The column was reformed, and the !;eneral command was assumed by the gallant Pennsylvanian, Colonel Cromwell ' The maKMino was abont twenty feet sqiinre. It contained live hnndrcd barrels of gnnpow-der, and on Imineniso Tjaiitity of shot and shells. It was bnilt of heavy stone, close by the lake shore, with a heavy stone wall on Its water [fimt. Its roof was nearly level with the surface of the ground. The descent to its vaults was by stone steps inside of ihc wall. It was so situated that the Americans did not suspect its existence there. The picture of it above given, as il .i|ipcared before the explosion, is f^om a pencil sketch by an English ofHcer. It is paid that some of the fragments otihe magazine were thrown by the explosion as far as the decks of Chauncey's vessels, and, says IngersoU, " the water vn! ehocked as with an earthquake." ' A late provincial writer, whose pages exhibit the most bitter spirit, says, in speaking of this destruction of life, "We hfurlllj: agree with James [the most malignant and mcndacioua of the British writers on the WarJ ' that, even had the whole column been destroyed, the Americans would hut have met their deserts ;' and if disposed to commiserate the poor soldiers, at least, wo wish, with him, 'that their places had been filled by the American President and the ninety- fight members of the Leg! .ur<) who voted for the war.' " — A History of tht Late War between Oreat Britain mirf the UaM S/atot ^ ^^ y^^/ n^^^fl'^ ^'' *' ^^'^ made the seat of the ])iovin(ial ///^^J'^ly ^^^—^ ^/y /) government, and for sixty-two years lie Imd <^ watdied its growtli from a few scattered huts to a stately city. lie was born at "Butler's Barracks," just back of Newark. now Niagara. Some of Butler's Rangers, those bitter Tory marauders in Ceiitnd New York during the Revolution, who hi cruelty often shamed Brant and his braves, settled in Toronto, and were mostly men of savage character, who met death by vio- lence.' In the War of 1812 Mr. Ross belonged to a company of York Volunteers. He w^as with Brock at Hull's surrender, and in the battle of Queenstown,tAVO months later, where his loved commander fell. He assisted in the burial of the hero in Fort George, and he gave me many interesting incidents connected with the event. Mr. Ross gave me such minuto and clear directions concerning the intcrestinj places in and around Toronto that I experienced no difliculty in finding tlictn, I hired a horse and light wagon, and a young man for driver, aud spent a greater por- tion of the day in the hot sun. We first rode out to the plain AvestAvard of tlic eity, to visit the landing-place of the Americans and the remains of old Fort Toronto, Tlic latter, delineated on the next page, were on the margin of the lake, where tlic bank is only about eight feet above the water. The spot is about sixty rods west- ward of the present military post called the New Barracks. The princijial remains of the fort (in Avliich may be seen some timber-work placed there when the fort was parti.ally repaired in the winter of 1812-13) are seen ih the foreground. Thcj ;iu sented abrupt heaps covered with sod. On the right, in the distance, is seen Gibraltar Point, with the trees springing from its low, sandy surface. On the left are the Xew Barracks. A ic^ rods Avestward of the fort were the remains of a battery, the ■ Mr. Ross knew a Hr. O , one of these Bangers, who, when intoxicated, once told him that " the sweetest «faiibc \ ever ate was the breast of a woman, which he ait off and broiled 1" Ntffljii maaaamamer. iftbeWikrariMt OF TIIK WAU OF 18 12. 508 ^I]jjj|in7i)roi(l Fort Toronto, An Adtouture among the Portlflcatloni iit Toronto I)iii|i1eR8iii« of* Brittib Offlclai. KKUAlMt OF Ol.ll KdllT TOUONTO. mounds of which were four or five feet in liei^lit. I'asHliiff on toward the city, near tlic lake Hhore, Ave came to the remains of the Western I Jattery (see map on page 590), ililincatud on page 5H8, ten or fifteen rods eastward of the New Barracks; and, still nciUTr to tlic town, the moiuids of tlie Ilalf-moon Hattery. hiding into tlie city, we j)as8ed tlu'ougli the old garrison, where a few of tlie One IIiiii(lrc'(lth Hcgiment occupied a portion of the barracks. The gates were away, and tliu pul)lic road passed directly through the fort. For tlie purpose of obtaining a sketch of the old block-house of 1813,1 mounted the half-ruined parapet on the north side, when I was accosted by the fort adjutant just as I had set my pencil at work. With great discourtesy of manner he informed me that it was a violation of law to OLB FOBT AT TOBONTO IS ISOO. mnke sketches of British fouJifications, and that I ought to think myself fortunate in being allowed to escape without a penitential day in the guard-house, I assured him that had I for a moment dreamed that a few old mounds of earth, two deserted block- lioascs, and some tumble-down barracks, with a public road crossing the very centre ; of the group, constituted a fortification in the sense of British military law, I should not have been a trespasser. This intimation that a man with his eyes open could not, in the chaos around him, discover a British fort, did not increase the amiability of the j adjutant, and, with the supercilious hauteur of offended dignity, he gave me to under- I stand that he wished no farther conversation with me. This was tlie only instance Pp i . i ' I 1 1 1 li-fff ■ 594 I'ICTOUIAL FIELI'.BOOK A courteous Sergeant. Viilt to the Don. Chief JuiMce Roblnaon und William Lyon M'Kcnile of incivility that I received during all my travels in Canada. I cloned my jjorttblid passed out at tlie eastern gateway, and from the causeway that crosses the iiivincit the foot of Hathurst Street, a short distance from the site of the powder iiiai,'a;;iin that exploded, I obtained a much more interesting sketch than I should have (Kmc from the parapet.' This was full compensation for the fort adjutant's iiuivility When I had finished my sketch I started into and through tlie fort, and fell in will. Sergeant Barlow, a most courteous young man, who invited me to his quarters to st, his bride. There he showed me a number of relics of the War of 1812, lately thrown up by the excavators in the employ of the railway company. Among them was a military button marked "P. R." — Pennsylvania Rangers — some silver and copper coins found with a skeleton, and the remains of an epaulette. There I also met Sir- geant Robertson, a veteran Scotch soldier, who Avas one of the Glengary l{ei;inipiit during the War of 1812. He had served in the British army twenty years pii'vioih to that war. He was tall and vigorous, but somewhat lame, and about ninety years of age. He gave me some curious details of the operations of the famous Gleiifarv men during tlic strife. From tlie old fort Ave rode out to the River Don, at the eastern extremity of the city. It is there about seventy feet wide, and was spanned by a bridge at the jiiiRtidn of King and Queen Streets, made of heavy open timber-work. There (4eneral Slicaffo crossed in his flight, burning the bridge behind him. Looking up the Don from it about three fourths of a mile, where its Avooded banks are high, may be seen Si, James's Cemetery, in the northeast corner of Avhicli is the site of the first palaco or dwelling of the governor, which was built of logs and called Castle Frank. TIk spot still retains that name. I intended to visit it, but Avhen Ave were at the hiiili,'i the day Avas Avaning, and a thunder-shower Avas gathering in the Avest ; so avc turucil our faces cityAvard, and arrived at the hotel in time for a late dinner and a stioll around the city to view its very beautiful public buildings before dark. On^the folloAving morning I called upon Sir John Beverly Robinson, chief justice of Upper Canada, at his pleasant residence on the southeast corner of John and Qiictn Streets. He Avas an aged man, small in stature, and elegant and aifable in manners. His father was a member of Simcoe's corps of Queen's Rangers during our old War for Independence, and, Avith other Loyalists, fled to Nova Scotia at its close. He aft- erward settled in Upper Canada, where the chief justice Avas born. The son Avas des- tined for the legal profession, and finished his education in England, Avhere he was admitted to the bar. When the War of 1812 broke out he abandoned his profession temporarily, joined the army in Canada, and was Avith Brock, in gallant service, at Detroit and Queenston. He Avas rcAvarded Avith the office of solicitor general, and was afterward made attorney general and chief justice of the province. He died at Toronto early in 1863, at the age of seventy-one years. In the course of the morning I met the famous leader of the revolt in Upper Canada in 1837, William Lyon M'Kenzie, with whom I had been acquainted several jears, He Avas still engaged in his favorite profession of editing and publishing a newspaper, and, though at near the end of the allotted age of man, he seemed as vigorous as ever, and was conducting his paper with that boldness that ever characterized his career, He, too, has since been laid in the grave. Mr. M'Kenzi* accompanied me to the res- idence of the governor general, the Parliament-house, and the wharf, Avhere great preparations were making for the reception of the Prince of Wales, who Avas then at Montreal on his Avay to the Upper Province. Workmen were engaged in the con- struction of an immense amphitheatre and triumphal arch, not far from the Parlia- 1 In this view is seen the causeway and bridge over the ravine, and the general appearance of the fort in ISCO. lu the embankment Is seen a/raise, or pickets placed horizontally. On the left is the old block-house of 1813. In the cen- tre, to the right of the open gateway, is another block-house with a flag on it, built after the Americans left Yorlf. On the right is the governor's house, built after the war, with a poplar-tree near It. In the ravine, a little to the left of ihe cannon and horses, was situated the magazine that exploded. OF THE WAU OF 1818. 0OS m Lyon M'Kenile. my |)<)rtt(ili(i, tlic raviiicat tier inaiiiii'.iiii lid liavi' (lom It's incivility. ul foil in wiili lunrters to sci , lately thrown ig them WHS a er and coiiiicr 1 also met Sir- ;ary Rejiiniciit years i»revi(iih ut ninety yiiiis nious Gleiigary xtrcmity of tlic at the j\inctiun General Slieaffe ;he Don from it nay be seen St. B first palace ov .le Frank. Tin re at the bridi.'i ;t ; 80 we turned ner and a stroll rk. json, chief justice John and Quceii able in manners. ing our old War 8 close. lie aft- 'he son Avas des- Id, where he was |ed his profession Uant service, at itor general, ami ,ce. He died at fin Upper Canada td several years. |ng a newspaper, srigorous as ever, Irized his career. Id me to the res- krf, where great tvho was then at laged in the con- ■from the Pavlia- lofthe fort In ISM. lu lpeofl813. In the MB- jiericona left York. On I little to the left of Ibe ; ftante wroi« Uke Ontario. The Railway to Lewliton. Arrival at MiaKara i'allt. nient-howse, at the foot of wide IJrock Street, I think. Tlie veteran agitator wan to leave for Montreal that afternoon for tlio purpose of meeting the i)rln('e, and so we soon i)arted, he to (hish off some spicy editorials — to hurl a shot at some political or social evil — and I to dine and prepare for a voyage across tlie lake to the Niagara Klver. We left, Toronto towavd evening,* lioping to reach Lewiston in time to •AnKn»t28, take the train that would connect with one leaving Niagara Falls early *'*""• for the East, but in this we were disappointed. The voyage was a delightful one in a stanch steamer. We passed out of the harbor through the channel across the for- mer neck of the peninsula,' and in a short time Ave were out of sight of land. All alon" the western and northern liorizoiis heavy clouds were drift,ing, and the watery e.vi)aiise back of us was as black as the Styx. Before us, as Ave approached the mouth of the Niagara River, the white mist, which is eternally rising from the Great Cataract, was seen above Queenston Heights, at least twenty miles distant. When we entered the river a heavy thunder-shower was rapidly rising in the direction of Hiirlington Bay. It burst upon us at Lewiston, where Ave entered tlio railway cars. It Avas short and se- vere. As Ave moved along the fear- ful shelf in the rocks forming the perpendicular banks of the Niagara River — rocks a hundred feet above and a hundred feet below the rail- way that overlooks the rushing wa- ters—the setting sun beamed out in splendor, and revealed clearly the whole country fror.i (iueenston Heights to Lake Ontario. Just as we had passed a small rocky tunnel, we were detained for a few minutes liy some obstruction, Avhcn, from the back Avindow of the last car in the train at Avhich I was standing, I made the accompanying sketch. It will convey to the reader an idea of the nature of the road. BeloAV is seen the waters of the Niagara, span- ned by the suspension bridge at Lewiston, and, by a somewhat wind- ing way, floAving into Lake Ontario in the far distance. W^e ran into Niagara Falls village at dark in the midst of another heavy thunder- shower, and late in the evening de- parted in the cars for the East. I rested at Rochester that night, and on the following day reached my home on the Hudson, after a weari- some but most interesting tour of a fortnight in Canada and along the Niagara frontier. We have observed on page 591 that the victors at York abandoned that post pre- paratory to an attack upon Fort Geo rge, at the mouth of the Niagara River. On ac- > See note 8, page S86. VIEW ON TUB NIAOABA, KEAB LEWISTON. II « 11^ It - i:, ■ I I A IN PICTORIAL l-IELD-BOOK Kxpedltloa agalnit FortOMTgl. Prapkratlooi fur an Attack. The rflupcctlve t\ irrvK i||o„, count of aclvorto windH, the expedition did not leave York Harbor until the Htli i,r May, when the whole fleet crosHed the In!:: and anchored off the mouth of Foiir-miK. Creek, four niileH eastwurd of Fort Niiijifarii. Dearborn and Chaun(;ey, ami dtlur army and naval connuanilerM, had preeeded the fleet in the pilot Hehooner JauIi/ of the Lake, and selceted the place for an encampment near the mouth of tliu ciKk There the troopw were deborki-il, and (Jhauncey Hailed for Sackett's Harbor with iu,„i of his fleet, to obtain Hupjdies and re-enfbreementH for the army. lie arrived tlicii' . n •Miiy, the llth.» The Hmaller veHseJH wore continually employed in convcyiiifr Ktons isia. ^,„j troojm to Dearborn's eamj»; and on the 22d the il/rt(//so;j, with tlic cum- modore's pemiant flyinj? in her, sailed for the same point with three hundred ainl Hl'tv troops, including Macomb's artillery corps. She arrived at Four-mile Creek on tlio 25th, aiul on the evening of the same d&y Commander Perry, who had come (li,\v,| hastily from Erie,johied Chauncey, to the great delight of that oflicer. At the mo. ment of his arrival, all the officers of the squadron were assembled on board tlie ilai;. ship to receive orders. "No person on earth," Chauncey said to Perry, as lie cor- dially grasped his hand, " could be more welcome at this time than yourselt'." ()|, the following morning the commodore and Perry, in the Lady of the Lake, recon- noitred the enemy's batteries with care, i)lanted buoys for the government of tli( smaller vessels which it was intended to send close in shore, and arranged other pre- liminaries for the attack. They then called upon General Dearborn, who .vas quite ill at his quarters, when Chauncey urged the importance of making the attack tlu next morning. The general assented, and issued an order to that effect, which was signed by Winfield Scott, adjutant general and chief of staff. Tiie last clause of the order placed the landing of the troops in charge of Commodore Chauncey, and that Bj)ecitic duty was intrusted to Commander Perry. Information of this arraiifremeiit was communicated to the commanding general, Avho, it appears, had no definite plan of attack.' Fort Niagara and the troops there were under the command of Major General Morgan Lewis, of New York. During the occupancy of the camp at Four-mile Creek re-enforcements had come in from various points, and on the return of Chauncey, pre- pared for attackiii"- the British post. The American land force fit for duty was over four thousand in number, under the general command of Dearborn. He was too ill to take the field, and issued his orders part of the time from his bed. He was siip ported by Generals Lewis, Bbyd, Winder, and Chandler, and eminently so by Colonel Scott, whose skill and industry in disciplining the troops during their detention in camp was of the greatest service. The British force in the vicinity was composed of about eighteen hundred regular?, consisting of the Forty-ninth Regiment, and detachments from the Eighth, Forty-first, Glengary, and Newfoundland Corps, under the command of Brigadier General John Vinoent. Eight companies of the Forty-ninth, five companies of the Eighth or King's, thrt a companies of the Glengary, and two of the Newtbundland Regiment, and a por- no;! of the artillery, were stationed at Fort George and its immediate vicuiity, with i iiree hundred and fifty militia and fifty Indians. The right, from Fort Georie to Brown's Point (the first below Vrooman's, near Qneenston), was commanded hy Colonel Harvey ; the left, from the fort to Four-mile Creek, on the Canada side of the Niagara River, was commanded by Colonel Myers, the deputy quarter-master (gen- eral ; and the centre, at the fort, by General Vincent. In the rear of Fort George, in the several ravines, companies were stationed so as to support each other when re- quired.'' Besides Fort George, the British had several smaller works along the shores of the Niagara River and Lake Ontario, in the vicinity. Five of the twenty-four-pounders j » Letter of Commodore Perry, sappoBed to be to bis parents, cited by M'Eenzie In his Li/e of Feny, 11., 138, > Merritt's MS. Narrative. ;il the 8lh of of Ftmr-milo ey, ami otlur jiicr JauIij 0/ of tlif cicik. i»or with iii(i>i rived tliciv ( n iivoyiiifi Htdns with th(! com- ulri'd aii'l til'iy ! Cr(.'C'l{ on tl\o ul come down r. At tlie inn- boanl the tliv,'- rry, as lie cor- yourself." On he Lake, recon- LTiiment of the nged other j)re- who .vas qiiitf tho attack the BFcct, wliieh was i8t clause of tk' lunccy, ami that Ills arranjiement no definite jilan f Major General <'our-mile Crecli Chauncey,prc- duty wan over He was too ill , lie was snp- y so hy Colonel loir detention in undred regulars, rhth, Forty-first, er General Jolui <:ighth or King's, mcnt, and a por- te vicuiity, with Fort Gcorie to comraandcil Itv Hinada side of tbe rter-master gen- Fort George, in other when re- Ithe shores of the Ity-four-pounders OF THE WAK OF 1813. 697 CiPDoaada batwMn Fort* Otorg* and Nlagar*. Tho Americnn Sqoadron off tba Nlagar* River. taken fio'n il"ll had been brouj^ht to that frontier, four of which had bci •:. .uounicu in Fort (Jeorgo, and tlio Hflli had been placed <;« f/arbette,* about half a mile from New- ark on or near tho Hitc of tlie prcHcnt Fort Alississagua. They liad another buttery at ihe month of the Two-mile Creek. Tho Americans had (juite a jiowerful work, caUcd ilic Salt Battery, in tho lower part of Voungstown, opposite Fort (ieorgc. There wire two other batteries above it, and two between it and Fort Niagara. Arrangements were made for the attack on Fort (ieorgc on the morning of the •.•7th of May. A large number of boats had been built at Five-mile Meadow, on the Niagara River, and orders were sent for them to be brought round to F'our-mile Creek. When they were launched, towc-''. evening on the 20th, a small buttery ojtpoHito the Meadows opened upon the workmen. This brought on a general caimonading be- tween the two forts and their dependent batteries, during wliich the Salt Hattery at Y'oungstown inflicted severe injury upon every wooden building in and near Fort Georce, while the return fire from the fort was slow and feeble, owing, it is said, to a scarcity of powder. Meanwhile night came on, and under its cover the boats went down the river and reached the American encamj)tnent in safety. During the night, ,ill tho heavy artillery, and as many troops as possible, were placed on the Madinon, Oneida, and Lady of the Lake, and instructions given for the remainder to follow in the smaller war vessels and boats, according to a prescribed plan. Generals Dearborn and Lewis went on board tho Madison, and between three and four o'clock in the morning the squadron weighed anchor. The troops were all era- harked at a little past four, and the wliole flotilla moved toward the Niagara with a very gentle breeze. The wind soon failed, and the smaller vessels were comi)elled to employ their sweeps. A heavy fog hovered over land and water from early dawn nntil tho sim broke forth in splendor, when a magnificent sight was opened to view on the lake. The large vessels, tilled with troops, were all under way, and the bosom of the water was covered with scores of boats, tilled with soldiers, light artillery, and horses, grandly advancing upon the enemy, wIjo had been greatly perplexed by the fog. The breeze had now freshened a little, and all tho vessels took their designated positions without difliculty. The Julia, Sailing-master Trant, and the Growler, Sailing-master Mix, took a posi- tion at tho mouth of the Niagara River, to keep in check or silence a battery near the light-house (on or near the site of Fort INIississagua), in the vicinity of which it was lUITBANCE TO TIIS HUOARA BIVBB.> intended to land some of the troops, The Ontario, commanded by Mr. Stevens, took a position north from the light-house, so as to entilade the same battery and cross the > That Is, on tlie top of an embankment, withont embrasures or openings in tbe banks by wliich the cannon is shel- tered and concenled. ' This view is from n drawing made In 1S19, previous to the attack on Fort George, and published in the Port Polio in July, 181T. On the extreme left Is seen Fort Niagara, and at a greater distance, across the river. Fort George and the vilage of Newark. To the right of the light-houee, over which is a flag, is seen the battery which the Julia and Oroickr < controlled. illHii til 598 PICTORIAL FIELD-EOOK Opeuing of the Battorieo. T.andtng of the American Troops. Gallantry of Commodore Perry, fire of the other two. The Governor Tompkins, Lieutenant Brown, and the Conquea commanded by another lieutenant of the same name, took position near Two-mile Creek, so as tc command a battery which the enemy liad erected tliere. Near tLis was tlie designated place for the debarkation of most of the troops. For the purpose of covering them in that movement, the Hamilton, Lieutenant M'Pherson, the Asn Lieutenant Smith, and the Scourge, Sailing-master Osgood, took stations near the otL- or two, but closer to the shore. While the vessels were taking their positions, and the troops were preparing to land, the batteries upon both sides were playing briskly. Colonel Scott, on accept- ing the position of adjutant general, had stipulated that he shovld be allowed to com- mand his regiment (Second Artillery) on extraordinary occasions. This he considered an extraordinary occasion, and he was placed in the command of the vanguard or for- lorn hope of five hundred men destined to make the first attack. The troops were tu land in three brigades, from six divisions of boats. Scott's advance was composed of his own corps acting as infantry, Forsyth's riflemen, and detachments from infontrv regiments. These were to be followed by General Lewis's division and Colonel Moses Porter with hio light artillery, and these, in turn, by the commands of Generals Bovd (who had succeeded General Pike), Winder, and Chandler. The reserve consisted of Colonel Alexander Macomb's regiment of artillery, in which the marines of the squad- ron, under Captain Smith, had been incorporated. Four Imndred seamen were also held in reserve, to land, if necessary, under the immediate command of Commodore whauncey. Before the expedition reached the place of intended debarkation the wind had in- creased, and a rather heavy sea rolling shoreward made the landing difficult. The Tompkins swept gracefully into her designated position. Lieutenant Brown coollv prepared for action, and then opened a fire upon the British battery with so much precision that it was silenced, and its people driven away in less than ten minutes. The boats now dashed in under the skillful management of Perry; and so eager were the troops of the van, under Scott, to meet the foe, that the ^ leaped into the water and waded to the shore. Captain Hindman, of the Second Artillery, being the first man who touched the beach. They had already been under fire ; for, as the first bri- gade, under Boyd, with Scott in the van, approached the shore, they were unexpect- edly assailed by volleys of musketry from more than two hundred of the Glengarv and Newfoundland regiments under Captain Winter, and about forty Indians under Norton, who was conspicuous at Queenston the year before. These had been con- cealed in a ravine and wood not far from the battery tliat had been silenced. The shot passed over the heads of the Americans; and, a few minutes afterward, Scott and his party were on the beach, sheltered by an irregular bank, varying from six to twelve feet in height, where they formed for immediate action. The enemy, from apprehension of the fife from the schooners, did not ai)proach the shore again innne- diately, but kept bnnk, with the intention of assailing the invaders when they shouhl ascend tlie bank to the plain above. The conduct of Perry on this occasion was remarkable. Unmindful of personal danger, he went from vessel to vessel in an open boat, giving directions personally concerning the landing. With S^ott he leaped into the water, and rushed ashore through the surf, and soon had the satisfaction of seeing the whole first brigade, un- der Boyd, landed in perfect order on the beach, flanked by M'Clure's Baltimore and Albany Volunteers. Meanwhile the schooners were not firing briskly enough to suit the young hero. He pushed oft' to the Hamilton, of nine guns, and while Seott and his party were attempting to ascend to the plain, ho opened a tremendous discharge of grape and canister shot on the Brit'sh, who were now advancing to repel the Americans, full one thousand strong, infantry and artillery, under Colonel Myers. The struggle of the Americans in ascending the bank was most severe, Tliroe Sa^t-awiiWAi-'. OF THE WAR OF 1812. 600 lommodore Perry. ;he Conquest, ear Two-raile 2. Near this r the purpose son, the Asp, near the otli- preparing to >tt, on accept- lowed to coin- he conskk'red nguard or for- troops Avere to s composed of from infantry Colonel Moses Generals Boyd fG consisted of s of the squad- men ■were also of Commodore le wind had in- difficult. The t Brown coolly ' with so mueli in ten minutes. Id' so eager were into the water jeing the first as the first Ijri- were inicxpeet- the Glenfjary Indians under lad heen eon- silenced. The fterward, Seott ing from six to 10 enemy, from )re again imme- len they should Iful of personal .ions personally rushed ashore rst brigade, uii- Baltimore and enough to suit vhile Scott and idous discharge ig to repel the oncl flyers. severe. Three A i«vere Contest on the Shore. Retreat of the British. Capture of Fort Qeorge. limes they were compelled to fall back, hard pushed by the bayonets of the foe. In the first attempt, Scott, at the head of his men, was hurled backward to the beach. Dearborn, who was anxiously watcliing the movement with his glass from the Madi- fon and who placed more reliance on Scott than any other man, seehig him fall, ex- claimed in agony, "He is lost ! he is killed !" Scott soon recovered himself, rallied liis men, rushed up the bank, knocked up the bayonets of the enemy, and took and lield a position at a ravine near by. He a, as supported by Porter's field train and a i)art of Boyd's brigade, in which service the Sixth Regiment, three hundred strong, under Colonel James Miller, performed a conspicuous part. A severe and gallant ac- tion ensued — gallant on both sides — Avhioh Avas chiefly sustained by Scott's corps, and the Eio'hth (King's) British regiment, under Major Ogilvie. The contest lasted only about twenty minutes, when the severe cannonade from the Jlamilton and the Avell- applied fire of the American troops caused the Britisli to break and flee in much con- fusion. The whole body of the enemy, including the Forty-ninth Regiment, which had been brought forward by Colonel Harvey as a re-enforcement, fled toAvard Queens- ton, closely pursued by Colonel Scott. Colonel Myers, their commander, Avas Avound- ed and taken from the field ; and the Avbolc corps, officers and men, Avho fought brave- ly, suffered severely. General Vincent Avas satisfied that the victory of the Americans was complete, and that Fort George was untenable, so he ordered its guns to be spiked, the ammunition to be destroyed, the fort to be abandoned, and the Avliole force under his command to retreat Avestward, by tlie Avay of Vrooman's and St. David's, to a strong position among the hills, at a place called the Beaver Dams, about eighteen miles dist"nt, and rendezvous tliere. Information of the im- pending destruction of the fort Avas comUiUnica- ted to Scott Avhile pass- ino; it with his pursuing eolumn by some prison- ers M'ho came running out. He immediately de- tached two companies, under Captains Hind- man and Suockton,' and, wheeling to the left, dashed on at their Jiead toward the fort to save the guns and ammuni- tion, if possible. When lie was about eighty paces from the works one of the magazines ex- ploded, and a piece of tlying timber thrcAV the impetuous leader from liis horse, and hurt him severciy. He soon recovered from the shock, and pressed forward. The gate Avas forced, the light- ed trains for firing tAvo smaller magazines were extingnished, and, Avith his uwn liands, Scott hauled doAvn the .British flag. Tlie Avhole manoeuvre occupied but a few minutes, and Scott AA'as soon again at the head of his column, in hot pursuit of the n.AN OF ©"-..BATIONB AT TUK .MOITU JF THE NIAGARA KIVEB. ' Tbomas Stockton was a native of Delaware, and wns appointed captain of artillery in 1S12. In If M he became ma- jor of the Forty-eecond Infantry, and at the close of the war was retained as captain, with the brevet ranit of miv)or. lie afterward served In the artillery. Uc resigned In 1828. In 1S44 he was governor of Delaware, and died at Now- c.i*llc In March, ISIC. m 'Ifi 600 PICTORIAL FIELD-BOOK PurBuit of the British chocked. Their Flight to the Beaver Dams and Burllugton Heights flying enemy, satisfied that he would overtake and capture them. Twice he disre- garded an order from General Lewis to give up the pursuit, saying to Lieuti'iiants Worth and Vandeventer, the messengers, " Your general does not know that I liavc the enemy within my poAver; in seventy minutes I shall capture his whole Ibrce' Just then Colonel Burn,' his senior, Avas crossing the Niagara Itiver from the Five- mile Meadows with precisely the troops which Scott deemed necessary to make hU successful pursuit of the enemy secure. While waiting for these he was overtaken by General Boyd, who gave him peremptory orders to relinquish the chase and re- turn to Fort George. He obeyed with regret. He had followed the' enemy five miles, and was then so near them that he was in the midst of the British stragrrl^rs Lieutenant Riddle, who was not aware of the order, pursued the fugiiives almost to \ Queenston, and captured and brought back several prisoners. At meridian, Fort George and its, dependencies, with the village of Newark, wore in*' the quiet possession of the Americans, the att.ack and conquest having occupied only three hours. The Americans had been eleven hours on duty since embarking at Four- mile Creek. Only a small portion of them had been actually engaged in the eouflict,- Their loss was about forty killed and one hundred wounded. The only officer slain was Lieutenant Henry A. Hobart, of the Light Artillery. The loss of the British rcir- ulars was fifty-one killed, and three hundred and five wounded, missing, and prison- ers. The number of British militia made prisoners was five hundred and seven making the entire loss of the enemy eight hundred and sixty-three, with quite a large quantity of munitions and stores saved from destruction at Fort George and the batteries. General Vincent and most of his troops reached the ' t- ;>j,ms toward suiiiJct, and during the evening he was joined by a " battalion company" of the Eightii, and a " detachment of the royal navy" under Captain Barclay, who had been escorted bv the gallant Cf^»tain Merritt, of the mounted militia, from the Twenty-mile Creek,' Between midnight and dawn, the troops from Fort Erie, under Lieutenant Colonel Bisshopp, and from Fort Chippewa, under Major Ormsby, reached the camp, orders having been sent to those commanders to abandon the entire Niagara frontier. Early in the morning Vincent resumed his march toward the head of Lake Ontario, lii> whole force being about sixteen hundred men. From Forty-mile Creek (now Grims- by) he wrote an official dispatch to Sir George Prevost that evening, giving an ac- count of his disasters, and suggesting the propriety of establishing a communieatioii with the army on Burlington Heights (whither he was marching) " through the me- dium of the fleet." On the 29th he took post on the heights, and was soon joined bv troops from Kingston. •May, ^11 tbe morning of the 28111," when it was known that Vinc^^^l I'ad fallen 1813. back to his deposit of provisions and stores at the Beaver Dam^ ^ t • \,il Lewi- was sent in pursuit of him with the brigades of Chandler and Winder, ' -^ accom- plished nothing. Ascertaining that Vincent had fled westward, tin. y : y Ircuit ' James Bum w;s a native of South Carolina. Ho was a captain of cavalry In 1799. He settled in Pennsyk. ^.u, and in the spring of 1812 was appointed colonel of the Second Light Dragoons. Ue left the service on the disbaudlng of Uf army In 1815. He died at Frankfort, near Philadelphia, in 18-.i!i. = General Deorborn, in a second dispatch to the Secretary of War, written on the 8th of June, spoke in the liisnoa terms of aH the officers and men engaged in the affair, especially of the "animating examples" of Scott and Boyd, ami the sen-Ices of Colonel Porter, Major Armistead, and Lieutenant Totlen, in their "judicious and skillful execution in demolishing the enemy's butteries." Lieutenant Totteu Anally became a brigadier genera', and was the Chief Eogi- neer of the United States Army fur feveral years before his death. ' " Wc formed again at the Coiiiicil-honse" [see plan on page 5!l«], snys Captain Merritt, "when I was sent np to or- der down the light company of the King's, who, we understood, were at the Eight-mile Creek. I rode throngli Ite woods, around tlie American regiments', followed up the lake to the Twenty-mile Creek (was two hours on the ro,ii!;, where I met Commodore Barclay with his sailors, and the King's. We hurried on to Shipt, . 's, where I Icanieu lh( army had retreated to De Con's [the Beaver Dams]. I took the party through the wool's, l. arrived there nt nine o'clock In the evening. Next morning the mllllla were allowed to remain or follow the ar ny This was a had day for many as well as myself. I went home, prepared my 'kit,' and with a heavy heart bid adieu, . bought, to the place of my nativity for a long time. I was determined to share the fate of the army."— MS. Narru.. ,v OF THE WAK OF 1812. 601 llugton IleighU. ice he (lisro- Lieutoiiants thai I havo rliok' force," 31U the Five- ■ to make liis as overtaken chase and re- e enemy five sh stragglers. ves ahnost to \ jwark, wercin*' occuijied only .rkiiig at Four- n the conflict.- ily officer slain ihe British rei;- ng, and prison- red and seven, th quite a lart^c ieorge and tlic toward sunset, the Eighth, and •een escorted liy ity-mile Creek,- utenant Colonel he camp, orders frontier. Early akc Ontario, liib lek (now Grims- ig, giving an ac- communicatiou through the me- 8 800U joined liy British Property destroyed by themeelvcs. In.'arions Delay. Expedition scut toward Burlington Heights. ■nc' It I'.id fallen .-■; dLewi" ' -'^ accom- ti ircuit i in Penni-yl' . '(...an'l ithediebaudiugotthf L epokc in the hlgiiMi Jof Scott and Boyd, anil Id skillful cxecntlon io Td was the Chief Engi- len 1 was sent np toot- k T rode through tte X'o lionrB on the roail\ I'e, where I Icnrneu the 1 arrived there at nine rhie was a Imil ilny t« bought, to the via" of many miles to assure themselves of tuu Eiitish evacuation of the frontier, and then returned to camp. Forts Erie and Chippewa, and all public property from the former down to Niagara Falls were doomed to destruction by an order received from General Vincent on the iftornoon of the 27th. In pursuance of that order, Major Warren, in command of the b.itteries opposite Black Rock, was ordered to open fire upon that place, and keep it up all night, until the troops should move oif. He did so ; and in the morning the magazine at Fort Erie was blown up, and magazines, barracks, and store-houses all alon" the frontier were fired. In the evening of Friday the 28th, Lieutenant Colo- nel James P. Preston, the commandant at Black Rock (who was Governor of Virginia iu 1810), crossed ovef with the Twelfth Regiment and took possession of Fort Erie. He at once issued an admirable proclamation to the people of Canada, by which he allayed their apprehensions and disarmed all resentment.' Two or three days were now consumed iu apathy at Newark, Dearborn and Chaun- cey not having been able to agree respecting future movements. The latter, who had anchored his fleet in Niagara River, sailed for Sackett's Harbor on the 31st. jMean- wliile a rumor came that Proctor was marching from the Detroit frontier to assist Vincent in recovering that of the Nir.gara. This determined the American com- mander to send troops in pursuit of Vincent immediately, for the purpose of attack- inij him among the hills or arresting his flight westward. For this purpose he de- tached General Wuider, at his own request, on the 1st of Juno, with about eight hund- red men, including Burn's dragoons, and Archer's and Towson's artillery. He took tlie Lake Road, and marched rapidly to Twenty-mile Creek, Avherc ho was informed of Vincent's position at Burlington Heights and his re-enforcements from Kingston. Winder prudently halted, sent to Dearborn for re-enforcements, and waited for their lurival. He was joined on the 5th by General Chantiler and about five lumdred men. Chandler, being the senior oflicer, took the chief command, and the whole body moved 1 "The Albany steara-boat which arrived yesterday (Snndny) brings intc'ligcncc that Fort Erie had surrendered to the troops of the United States, under Generals Dearborn and Lewis, with little or no resistance on the part of the en- emy," This announcement appeared In a New York paper on Monday morning, the Tth of Jnnc, ISl.'i. This form of (Uinonucemeut of war news ftom the North and West at that time was very common. Expresses from tne army at dif- ferent points were sent to Governor Tompkins, the chief magistrate of the State of New York, living at A 'any, and tic steam-boat was the most rapid method for conveying inteliigeuce then known. Every few days the New York pa- pers would say, " The Albany steam-boat brings intelligence," et cetera. It must be remembered that steam navigation nas theu iu its in'ancy. It was not six years since Fulton's first successful experiment had bean made. There were only three steam-boats on the Hudson at that time, whose owners had, by legislative grant, the monopoly of that kind of navigation. These were the I'aragon, Car of Xeptune, and yorthliiver. The average length of the passage from New Vorlc to Albany was then about thirty-six hours.* 'The following advertisement, taken from the New York ^'oiiii'' /'o"' of the date under consideration, with a fac- simile of a cut of " the steam-boat" at its head, will seem very curious to th», traveler now, at the distance of sixty years: HUDSON RIVER STEAM-BOATS. For the Informatinn of the l^iblic. The Parafion, Captain Wiswall, will leave New York ! every Saturday afternoon, at 5 o'clock. The Car of S'c])- ! (line, Captain Roorback, do., every Tuesday afternoon, I itJo'ciock. The Xorth Rir^er, Captain Bartholomew, do., I every Thursday aftemoi.n, at B o'clock. The Parmion will leave Albany every Thursday mom- \K, at o'clock. The Car of \ej>tune, do., every Satnr- t lijy morning, at o'clock. Tho .Vorfft Hiver, do., every I Tuesday morning, at o'clock. PBICKR OF PASBAOB. Frm .Vew York to Verplauck's Point, $9 ; W"8t Point, |$i.50;Ncwburg,.'(i8; Wnpplnger's Creek, $ii.2s ; Poughkeepsic, if-l.tlO ; nydcPark,$4; Ksopns, $4.28 ; Red Hook, $4.50 -. [Ciil!kill,$,'>; Hudson, $5; Coxsackie, $.VtiO ; Kluderhook, $6.75 ; Albauy,"$7. fVom.l/fiaMij toKindcrhook, $1.50; Coxsackie, $2 ; Hudson, $2; Catsklll, $2.25 : Red Hook, $2. i«: Esopup.$.T: Hyde |Pari[,$3.'.>5; Poughkeepslc, $3.50 ; Wappiuger's Creek, $4; Newbnrg, $4.26 ; West Point, $4.76; Verplauck's Point, |(S,!!5; New York, $T. .Mli'thcr way passengers to pay at the rate of one dollar for every twenty miles. No one can be taken on board and put on shore, however shct tho distance, for less than one dollar. Tonng persons from two to ten years of age to pay half price. Children under two years, one fourth price. Servants I'honse a berth, two thirds' price ; half price of none. t ■ i H! 602 PICTORIAL FIELD-BOOK BucouDter lit Furty-mlle Creek. Ameiljans at Stony Creek. Prepnrntlons to Biirprii-c their Camp forward briskly to Forty -mile Crook, where thoy rosted, after driving off a patrol of mount. ed militia und"r Captain Merritt. Thoy then moved forward to Stony Creek, ten miles fii ••. tlier westward and within about seven inijes of Vincent's camp, where they encountered a British picket-guard. These were dispersed and hotly pursued by the American advanee- guard, consisting of light infantry under Caii- tains Hindman, Biddle, and Nicholas, part of a rifle corps under Captain Lyttle, and a dotatli- ment of dragoons under Captain Selden. Near the present toll-gate, a little eastward of Ham- ilton, they encountered another picket. These, too, were driven in, and the victors pushed on in pursuit until they saw Vincent's camp on tlic groat gravelly liill at the head of Burliiiatmi Bay. Then thoy Avheeled, and made their aviu leisurely back to camp at Stony Creek. The main body of the army encamped upon ground rishig slightly above a meadow, throu!;h which flows a branch of Stony Creek, and occu- pied the space from the main stream north of the village to the house ofMr. Gasc, at the foot of the hills, on the site of which, when I visited the spot in 1 800, stood the residence of Nelson jMiller. The Thirteenth and Fourteenth Regiments, and a com- pany of artillery under Captain Archer,' took post on the lake shore, near the moutli of the ereck, about three miles fi-om the main body. The troops in both camps, ex- pecting a night attack, slept on their arms, and every precaution was taken by Cliaml- ler in the posting of pickets, throwing out patrols, etc., to prevent a surprise. Ex- plicit directions Avere given by him where and how to form the line of battle in tli( event of an attack. The cannon Avere properly planted, and the horses that drew them Avere unharnessed. There Avas equal vigilance in the British camp. The audacity of the American vanguard in pursuing the pickets amazed and alarmed Vincent. lie Avas anxious to obtain immediate knoAvledge of the numerical strength and the disposition of his foe, and sent out Lieutenant Colonel Harvey, Avith the light companies of the Ei^litli and Forty-ninth Regiments, to reconnoitre the American camp. The duty was Avell performed, notAvithstanding the night was very dark, and Ilarvey reported, he- fore midnight, that " the enemy's camp -guards Avere fcAV and negligent; that hi- line of encampment Avas long and broken ; that his artillery Avas feebly supported. and that several of the corps Avere placed too far in the rear to aid in rcpellin!; a blow Avhich might be rapidly and vigorously struck at the front." He advised a night attack, and Vincent, heeding it, made immediate preparations to execute tlie movement. At midnight the British commander left; his camp with about six hundred men. composed of five companies of the King's (Eighth) Regiment and the Avliole of tin Forty-ninth, and marched for Stony Creek. Harvey's scout joined them, and at abow two o'clock in the morning they all halted Avithin a mile of the American cai Harvey had discovered the centre to be the Aveakest point in Chandler's line, liy one of the inhabitants of the neighborhood, Avho had treacherously joined the Amir- ' Lemuel B.Archer was a native of Virginia. He was a captain In Scott's Second Regiment of artillery, and ™| breveted major for his gallant conduct at F'.rt George on the 27th of May, ISl.S. He was retained in the service 1d1"- I seven miles ncountcred si re iVis])erseil, ican advance- •y \inder Caji- olas, pavt of a and a detach- Sclden. Near twavd ofllam- pickct. These, tors pushed on t's camp on tlio i of BuiTnicttdii made their way ^ Creek. encamped npon iicadow,throui;li Creek, and ooch- use ofMr. Ga;;e, 11 18G0, stood tlic Lcnts, and a com- > near tlie nioiUli both canipi', ex- taken l)y Chanil- a sur\irise. Ex- le of battle in tk iiorses that drew 1 of the American Jc was anxious to [disposition ot'liis liies of the Eiiihtli The duty ^v;l> Irvey reported, V To;lia;ent ; that In- ^ocd)lv supported; [aid (n repellin? a I" lie adviseth Ins to execute tk j jriix bnndred raoii, the whole of tk I [hem,andatahout| American car landler's lino. IM . joined the Am«- ,„entof.>rtlllery,aud«| Inert In the eenlceinl*! nber,1823. j^tftalt on the Americnn Cnmp. UdufuHlon and Dlsaxter In the Dtirknesa. .■r ■ - -? ^^ ^ ^^T^-«^- ■ rm^g ■HiiliMiM'J//^4i!o^ B^.'iUJ.. ' -^^'w!^' ^^rr-::^rf^'' i'M''^' ''MJi,: BATTLE-OBOD-ND Or BTONY UUBEK.' > icans and deserted, Vincent had obtained the countersign for that night, and through it he was enabled to secure the sentinels without giving alarm. It was now two o'clock in the morning" — a warm Sabbath morning — and ■ jnne e, the little army of Americans Avere sleeping soundly, unconscious of impend- ^'"'• ill!! danger. Clouds covering a moonless sky made the gloom deep, but not impen- etrable. Five hundred iJritish regulars loaded their muskets, fixed their bayonets, and, led by General Vincent in person, rushed upon the Ainerican centre at double- quick, with the appalling Indian war-whoop, and plied the bayonet so fearfully that the line was cut, and that portion of it scattered to the Avinds. This furious charge was immediately followed by M.-ijor Plenderleath at the head of forty men of the Forty-ninth, Avho fell upon the artillery, bayoneted the men at the guns, captured two six-])ounders, and turned them with fearful eft'oct upon the camp. The greatest con- fusion prevailed, Chandler's centre and the assailants becomhig ahnost inextricably mixed in the dark, and each was unable to distinguish friends from foes. In the mean time Major Ogilvie, with a part of the King's Regiment, had fallen upon the American left, composed of the Fiflh, Sixteenth, and Twenty-third Regn- 1 IK, and some riflemen under General Winder, to which was attached Burn's dra- L'liis, who wore too far in the rear to render immediate assistance. Tiiis attack was at first gallantly resisted, the Twenty-fifth, of the centre, lending their aid ; but a fire ill tlie rear, from a detachment of the assailing party that broke througli the line, j threw them into great confusion. While Chandler^ was making preparations to meet this unexpected assault, a heavy ' Tills view, pketched In the morning snnllght, is from the residence of Daniel Lewis, Esq., llcntenant colonel of the I Wentworth Militin, who was in the battle. In the forcgronnd is eeen the meadow through which flows a branch of I Sinny Creek. Beyond it, on the left, is a gentle elevation, the estate of Mr. Thomas Wudr of Hamilton, and near the J village, ou which lay the encampment. Miller's (Gage's) honse is seen on the extreme i „ Ith a veranda and grove lollrees in front. In the distance is the range of hills which extend westwai'd from Qneenoton, and are called "the lllonntain" by the Canadians. iJoliii Chiiudler was born within thcbonndf of the present State of Maine (Kennebec County), then a part of Massa- Ithnsctts, ill the year 1700. His parents were very humble, and ho became an Itinerant blacksmith. Ills residence was lia General Dearborn's settlement of Monmouth, about fifteen miles west from Augusta. It Is recorded. In a late Hin- Y"j and OemipHon of Aeie Krutlaiui, by Coolidge and Mansfleld, that " h"- was the poorest man in the settlement." By lliKlujlry and |)cr.«cveranco he became wealthy. Ills talents were of a high order. lie was a representative In Congress llrom 1S05 to ISfis, and when the war broke out and he was commissioned a brigadier general, he was major general of iBilllln. His military career ended at Stony Creek, and he was disbanded in 1S15. He represented Maine In the Senate Icllhe United States from IS'.'O to 1S29. Uc died at Augasta, Maine, September 25, 18*1, at the ago of clghty-one years. m id 604 PICTORIAL FIELD-BOOK Csptare of Qenernls Chnndler and Winder. Narrow Escape of Oeueral Viucent. Hctreat of the Araerlcani fire was opened on the right flank of the Americans. Perceiving this, he hastened in that direction to prevent its being turned, when, in the darkness, his horse stum- bled and fell, and the general was severely hurt. He soon recovered his feet suc- ceeded in providing for the safety of his right, and wae returning to the centre mov- ing with difficulty on foot, when he was attracted to the artillery, where there was much confusion. He was not aware that the two cannon were in possession of the enemy ; and, under the impression that those in confusion around the pieces were some of his own command, he gave orders for them to rally. To his utter astonish- ment he found himself among the enemy, and in a moment he was disarmed and made a prisoner of war. At about the same time General Winder and Major Van De Ven- ter' fell into the same trap and were made prisoners.* At this moment there was the wildest confusion every where. Towson's artillcn- had poured a destructive fire upon the assailants and had broken their ranks. Coi- onel Burn, with his cavalry, had cut his way through the British Forty-ninth ami was performing the samp feat with the American Sixteenth, when he discovered that he was fighting his own friends. They had combated severely for several minutes he- fore the fatal mistake Avas discovered. Meanwhile General Vincent, the British com- mander, had been thrown from his horse in the darkness, and being unable to find either his animal or his troops, had wandered oiTin the woods. His friends supposed him to be killed or a prisoner. The command devolved upon Colonel Harvey, who. finding it impossible to drive the Americans from their position, collected his scat- tered forces as quickly as possible, and while it was yet dark hastened back toward Burlington Heights with his notable prisoners. He sent Captain Merritt back tn look for General Vincent. He was unsuccessful, but captured two Americans, and •Jniiec, took them into camp as trophies.^ During the ensuing day* Vincent wa^ 1813. found by his friends in the woods, four miles from the place of conflict, with- out hat or sword, and almost famished. His horse and accoutrements had fallen into the hands of the Americans. In this confused and terrible night-battle the Americans lost seventeen men killed. thirty-eight wounded, and ninety-nine missing. The British lost twenty-three killed. one hundred wounded, and fifty-five missing. Notwithstanding the Americans held the ground, it was a substantial victory for the British, and the loss of the two gen- erals a severe one for the former. Through the gallantry of Lieutenant M'Chesnev one piece of artillery was immediately recovered, and the other the enemy was not able to take away for the want of horses.* They were endeavoring to do so when they were overtaken by Lieutenant Macdonough, and the piece was seized by him, The Americans, fearing a renewal of the attack, retreated so precipitately that thev left their dead unburied. Under the command of Colonel Burn they fleet to Fortv- mile Creek, near which they Avere met by Colonel James Miller and four hundred men sent to re-enforce them. " I can assure you," Colonel Miller wrote to his wife, " I can scarce believe that you would have been more glad to see me than that array Avas.^ On the follow'".g day,^ in the afternoon, they were joined by Generals Lewis and Boyd, with their staffs, and the little army encamped there, on a 1 Christopher Van De Venter was a native of New York. He was appointed lieutenant in Scott's regiment of artil- lery in 1809. In 1812 he was assistant military agent at Fort Columbus, In New York Harbor. He was afterward dtp- j nty quarter-master, with the rank of major, and in that capacity served on the Niagara frontier. He was token a pris- oner to Quebec. At the close of the war he was retained In the service, and In 1810 was ald-de-camp to Bri(.M(lier General j Joseph G. Swift. He resigned In August that year, and from 1817 until 182V he was chief clerk In the War Dcpartmect. j He died at Georgetown, D. C, on the 22d of April, 1838. ' Colonel William Fraser (then n sergeant), who was living at Perth, back of Brockvllle, In Canada, in ISOfl, took boii j the generals prisoners. He advanced upon the artillery, he said, with forty-six men, but when they drew near it ifcfT had only twenty-flve men. The American cannon In their front was loaded with all sorts of missiles. The primiiij j flashed, and the ptin was not discharged. They then nished forward, shouting " Come on. Brant !" The cannon «m j taken. Plenderleath was wounded. Fraser was binding up his wounds, when Chandler and Winder fell into thi" fnue j and were captured. ' Merritt's MS. Narrative. ♦ The satue » Antograph letter to his wife, dated Fort George, June 13, 1813. I the Americani. lie hastened horse stum- lis feet, snc- centre, mov- re there was ession of the piccca wore tter astonish- led and made Van De Ven- son's artillery r ranks. Col- irty-ninth, ami iscovered tliat ral minutes ho- le British com- unahle to fiml icnds supposed ■l Harvey, who. lected his seat- ed back toward Merritt hack to Americans, and ly* Vincent was of conflict, with- ,8 had fallen into iteen men killed. snty-three killed, Americans held of the two geu- mant IirChesney enemy was not to do 80 when seized hy him, litately that they .y fled to Forty- tid four liumlred ■rote to his wife, , than that anny lined by Generals Imped there, on a Icott'B regiment of anil- He waBaftc"™^''*f 1 J. Hcwastokcuavn*- Imp to Brigadier Genml IntheWarDcpartmeBi.! Lnda,lnimtook*o4! Ithevdrewneaiitttf?! jmlflsUes, Thcpriinix? Int t" Tbe camion «w ] Imder tell into the sum I 4 The same ■ OF THE WAR OF 1812. 605 A BriUsh Fleet 'n Bli?ht. Pursuit of tbe Americans. The Britlab at Sodua Buy. plain, its right flank on tlie lake, and its left on a creek which skirts the base of a very steep but not lofty mountain. At six o'clock that evening a British squadron under Sir James L. Yeo appeared in the distance. The Americans lay on their arms all night, and in the inoruing the hostile vessels ' ere near. There was a dead calm. At six in the morning an armed schooner was tt wed in, and opened a fire upon the American boats m which most of tlieir baggage and camp equipage was transported, which lay on the shore. Mean- while the artillery companies under Archer and Towson had placed four cannon in dit'ensivc position, and Lieutenant Totten had constructed a temporary furnace for lieatin<» shot. The hostile vessel was soon driven ofl". At about the same time some savasje allies of the British appeared on the bald brow of the mountain, and fired in- effectually into the camp, and intelligence came that the British were moving cast- ward from Burlington Heights, Sir James sent an officer, with a flag, to demand from General Lewis an immediate surrender of his force, reminding him that a Brit- ish fleet was on his front, a savage foe in his rear, and an approaching British aiTny on his flank. Lewis answered that the summons was too ridiculous to merit a serious icnlv. He had not lost a man in the whole aflair of the morning. The schooner had beeii driven away, and he was prepared to send oflF the boats with baggage and camp o(inipa!?e, accompanied by a guard of two hundred men under Colonel Miller. The bo-its started prematurely — before the troops were ready. They were chased by an armed schooner. A dozen of them Avere captured, and the remainder were run ashore and abandoned by the crews. At ten o'clock in the morning the whole army com- menced a retrograde movement, the savages and local militia constantly hovering on their flank and rear. They reached Fort George after losing several prisoners cap- tured by pursuers, and General Vincent came forward and occupied their camp at Forty-mile Creek. Lieutenant Colonel Bisshopp, who was placed in command of the riffht division of the British force, pushed forward with detachments, and took posi- tions which commanded the cross-roads from a little west of the present Port Dalhou- sie,on the lake shore, to the mountain passes at the Beaver Dams.' The British squadron in the mean time hovered along the lake coast, and interfered ireatly with the supplies for the American camp. On the evening of the 1 2th* . ju„e, tliey captured two vessels laden with valuable hospital stores in the mouth *^'^- of Eighteen-mile Creek, eastward of the Niagara River; and on Tuesday evening, the 15th, they made a descent upon the village of Charlotte, at the head of the naviga- tion of the Genesee River, and carried oft" a large quantity of stores. Sailing east- ward, they appeared off" Sodus Bay on Friday, the 1 8th, and on the following even- in? a party of about one hundred, fidly armed, landed at Sodus Point (now in Wayne I Comity) for the purpose of destroying the American stores known to be deposited I there. These had been removed to a place of concealment a little back of the village. The enemy were exasperated on finding the store-houses erajity, and threatened to [tetroy the village if the place of the concealment of their contents should not be re- Irealed. The women and children fled in alarm. A negro, compelled by threats, [save the enemy the desired information, and they were marching in the direction of [the stores, when they were confronted at a bridge over a ravine by forty men under ICaptaiii Turner, of Lyons. A sharp skirmish ensued, in which each party lost two I moil,' Both parties fell back, and the foiled British, as they returnea to their vessels, 1 The chief anthoritieB consulted are the official dispatches of commanders on both sides, and the several histories of IHewar already mentioned ; Mansfield's Life of General Scott ; antoijraph letters of Colonel James Miller: MS. state- lanit of Captain Willinm H. Merritt ; Armstrong's Notices of the War of 1812 ; Niles's Weekly Register ; The War, and Itnl «lat8raent8 of survivors. i An accoimt of my visit to tbe battle-Kronnds of Stony Creek and the Beaver Dams will be given in the next chapter. j ' Sutemcnt of Captain Luther Rcdfield, of Clyde, Wayne County, New York, in a letter to tbe author in Pebmary, p*wheii the old soldier was about elshty-six years of age. He says that in a log house a few rods north of the pres- BiPrcsbTterian chnrch, in the village of Junius, public worship was held. The attack of the British at Sodus was on Bitordaj: ercniug. Tbe next day. Just as the ofleruoou service was about to commence at the bunee above mentioned. H I ■■ C06 PICTORIAL FIELD-BOOK DeatructiuD of Property at 8odus. Brltlnh Flee t (iff OBWeyo. Tliev burned the public store-liouBcs, five dwellings, and the old Williamson Hotel, laid waste by fire property valued at about twenty-five thousand dollars. • Jnne20, From Sodus the British stjuadron sailed eastward, and appeared offO.. 1813. wego," with a wish to enter the harbor and seize or destroy stores there ■ but Sir James, who was a cautious commander, did not venture in, and on tlie morn- ing of the 21 St his squadron turned westward, and for several days lay oft' the Xi- agara River, a horseman came dasblnf; np at full speed with the news of the British invasion. Redflcld was a captain in the rem. inent of Colonel Philetns Swift. There were several non-commissioned oiBcers in the chnrch. These were fent t.i arouse the military of the neighborhood, and by Ave o'clock Captain Redfleld-was on the march with about one hnni- red men. They halted most of the night a few miles north of Lynns, and resumed their march by moonll).'lit tuwjri morning. They arrived at Sodus at a little after sunrise on Monday morning, when they met a funeral procc''«loii wih the body of Turner's slain soldier. The British bud gone, but the fleet waa in eight. "The company remained abuut s week at Sodus, and were then discharged. ^^^Si~ OF THE WAU OF 1812. 007 f'lcet oft Oswejp). ^«h De»lgiiii against Sackett'g Harbor. The Defences there. Oeiier^l Jacob Brown. [old 'Dicy i. cared off Os- stores thiTc; on the mom- iy oti' the Ni- captain in tbc nt- rhesc wutc Feul i.i Ith abonl one hnnj- y moonlichl lowanl crnl procpfflon wi'.h 3y remained about » CILVPTER XXVm. "To Sackett'B IlarborYeo steered, with PrevoBt's chosen blood-honnda, iiut Brown his duga of valor cheered, mUitin blood, but good lionud*. He chased them from the bloody tracic, and Yeo's bull-dog8 slighting, Though Chauucey was not there, he show'd Sir James the art of dghting. Bow, wow, wow 1 Fresh-water dogs can tntor them with bow, wow, wow !" Olii Soko — A NEW Bow Wow. ^IIEX the military and naval authorities at Kingston were in- formed of tlie weakening of the important post at Sackett's Har- bor by the withdrawal of troops and vessels for the expedition against York, they resolved to attempt the capture of the place, or to destroy the new ship-of-war then on the stocks,' and other public property there. The capture of York made them circum- spect, for the flushed victors might turn their faces toward King- ston ; but when it was known that Dearborn and Chauncey were about to attack Fort George and its dependencies, it was resolved to assail Sackett's Harbor immediately. Tlie prize was more attractive now than ovtr before. Besides being the principal place of deposit on the lake for military and naval stores, and a fine vessel was there nearly completed, all the property captured at York^ was de- iiosited there. The possespion or destruction of these by the British would have jiveu them the command of Lake Ontario, and a decided advantage during the whole (ampaign. With singular remissness of duty on the part of the commanding gen- eral, tliese had been left exposed. The guard detailed for their protection, under Col- onel Barker, was utterly inadequate for the task. It consisted of parts of the First and Second Regiments of Dragoons, numbering about two hundred and fifty men, fifty or sixty artillerists, and from eighty to one hundred infantry, composed chiefly of invalids, recruits, and fragments of companies left behind when the expedition sailed for York. The dragoons, dismounted, manned Fort Tompkins, a considerable work on the blufl", on the west side of the Hai'bor,^ and covering the site of the present i Ksidence and garden of the naval commandant of the station. The artillerists, un- der Lieutenant Ketchum, were albo there. A little north of the village, on the east I side of the Harbor, opposite Fort Tompkhis, was a small work, erected principally by [ the labor of a company of exempts, called Fort Volunteer. General Jacob Brown,* ' Aftpr the death of the gallant leader in the attack on York, this vessel was named General Pike. ■ Seepage 691. ' This cousistcd of a strong block-honee and surronn ling intrenchments, and occupied the place of the battery on likich the iron thirty-two-pounder that drove off the British In 1812 was mounted. See page 368. The single cannon |ti!h which it was armed at the time we are now considering was the same iron thirty-two-pounder,' The fort was liimni Tompkins in honor of Daniel D. Tompkins, then governor of the State of New York. The bluff on which it Ic'od ovcrlcoki Navy Point, within which is the Harbor, where the ship-yard was. The place was named in honor Iri.injnstns Sackett, the first settler. Its Indian name was a long one, and signified " fort at the mouth of Great River." 'Jacob Briiwn was born of Quaker parents, in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, on the 9th of May, 1776. He was well [lijeaied early. Wnen he was sixteen years of age his father lost his property, and the right-minded youth resolved to iro Ilia own livelihood. He taught scliooi in the Quaker settlement of Crosswicks, in New Jersey, from his eighteenth • twenty-flrst birth-day. For a while he was a surveyor in the vicinity of Cincinnati, and in 1T98 was a school- ttfher in the city of New York. Ue commenced the study of law, but it was distasteful to him, and he abandoned it. I« then pnrchased some land on the Black River, in .Tefferson County, and adopted the puniuit of a farmer. In 1809 he fu 8pp icred to the memory of Major General .Iaoou Brown, by Birth, by Kducation, h\ Principle, devoted to Pom i'. In defense of his country, and In vindication of lu-r rights, a Warrior. To her ho dedicated his life— wounds re- ceived in her cnnsc abridged his days." .SmiM Wrfc— " lie was born in Bncks County, Pennsylvania, on tho 9th of May, 1775, and died at the City of Washington, commanding general of tho army, on the 24th of February, 1S28. " Let him whoe'er in after days Shall view this monument of praise, For Honor heave the Patriot sigh, And for his country learn to die." West .Sfefc— "In both by the thanks of the Nation and n golden medal from the hands of their chief magistrate— and by this marble erected to honor him, at the command of tho Congress of tho United States." North Side.— "In War his services are attested by the fields of Chippewa, Ni- agara, Erie ; In Peace by the improved organization and discipline of the army." Tho monument stands very near that of General Macomb, bis successor iu the chief command of tho armies of the United States. QENEB.VL UBOWk's MONDXEST, BRckett't llMbur. iviiij; fiiUHliod li 111' was call. H of the war, It liis lidmc in r, ii lew inilo WIl VlMlllcstcil I'd by ('i)l(iii(l iiniiiid in tliut iiitcrlfrc with liiickus, ami III tlic cvi'iit (if i hciitl-(|\iartir> kuw CDiiccrniii'.' it was uiidir- I' ciu'iny sluMiM ocall tli('iici>.'li- and lake chid' til of ^Iiiy, tlio d l)oc'ii ('nii>iii:; 1 to watcli till of the (Micniy, lacki'tt's llailmr artliiiit intormii- it l?ntish s(|u;iil- irJaiiioH L. Yen, own willi tlic ill- 's to the militia I possible, to tlic awn of the intli i^Aa »M 3j^' eown'b MOSCHCT. OV THE WAU OF 18 12. U09 A.i«mbllnsofth«MllUla^ The Brltlib Force upprnachei Berkett's Harbor. An Alarm. Colonel Tuttlo, who was ndvanciiif; with rej?ular». Diirinjj the day the people of the surrounding country continually arrived at head-<|uarlcrs. Some were armed, ,1,(1 HOine were not, and all were entirely without disei|iline, and alnumt without or- jiiziition. As fast an they appeared they were armed and nent to Horse Island, a mil,, distant, wliere C!olonel Mill.s and about two hundred and fifty Albany Volun- leers had been Btationed for a week. The island (on whi(!h the light-house stands') I.I0UT-UODHK ON UOKSE ISLAND. lommands the entrance to the Harbor, and there it was believed the enemy would attiiiipt to land. Then, as now, it was separated from the main by only a shallow strait, always fordable, and sometimes almost dry. Between it and the village was atliin wood that had been partly cut over, and was encumbered with logs, stumps, ami brush. The main shore is a ridge of gravel, about live feet in lieight, and at that time formed a natural breast-work. At midday on the 2!-th," the Uritish squadron, which left Kingston on the •«»>, oveiiiiig of the 27th, appeared off Sackctt's Harbor. It consisted of the Wolfe, ^*''"' •Jljust finished; Royal Georr/e, 24; EarlofMoira, 18; schooners Prince Regent, Simcoe, and Seneca, mounting from ten to twelve guns eadi, and ;;''out forty bateaux. The land troops, ten or twelve hundred strong, consisted of the grenadier company of the One Hundredth Kegiment, two companies of the Eighth or King's, a section of the Koyal Scots, four companies of the One Hundred and Fourtli, one comi)any of the Glengary Kegiment, two of the Canadian Voltigeurs, a detaehment of the New- foundland Kegiment, and another of the Koyal Artillery, with two G-pounders. There was also a considerable body of Indians attaelied to the expedition, and who accompa- nied it in canoes. Sir James Lucas Yeo commanded the squadron, and the whole expe- dition was under the direction of Sir George Prevost, the Governor General of Canada, who accompanied it as leader of the land forces. He was with Yeo ovi the Wolfe. The British squadron lay to about six miles from the Harbo'-, and u large number of troops were embarked in boats for the purpose of landing. While anxiously wait- ing for the signal to pull for shore, the soldiers were perplexed by an order to return to the squadron. They were still more perplexed when that squadron, without appa- rent cause, spread its sails to the light breeze and turned toward Kingston. Tlie se- ; cret was soon known, A flotilla of nineteen American gun-boats had been seen off ' This is a view of ttie liglit-tionee as It appeared when I visited the Islond In 1S.VI. It stands upon the spot where the I nem; landed, and the keeper at the time of my visit was Captain Samuel H'Nitt, of whom I shall hereafter speak. I The island contains about twenty-seven acres. Qq 1 ! i Wf^f 010 PICTORIAL FIELD-BOOK Cbua and Capture of American Veiieli. PoittlonortheV A Panic and nig^, Six-towiiH Point, njjprouching from tlio wi-stward, and Sir (Joorgo Provost did „„. doubt tlifir lu-ing fillrd with arnu'd mon dcHtined to rt'-cnforco Suckett'H Ilarlior. It WUH even so. They were conveying part of a regiment under Lieutenant ('ol(jn(.| Thomas Aspinwnll from Oswego to the Harbor, The apparition had made .Sir (Jcorc,. nervous. Tlie Indians were not ho easily frightened as their pale-faced ally. Tlin darted in their eanoes toward the American Hotilla. This movement sliatnid Sir George. IIo listened to the advice of Sir James, turned the prows of his vesHcJH onoc more in the direction of Haokett's Harbor, and sent several boats with armed hkh t„ join the canoes. Aspinwall and his party, closely chased, made for the shore. Twdv,. of his boats and seventy of his men were captured. The other seven boats, niorc fleet than their companions or pursuers, reached the haven in safety. Tlie escaiKd i/artv on shore made their way thither by land. They arrived at nine o'clock in tiie even- ing, and added one hundred men to the effective force at Sackett's Harbor. • May, The niglit of the 28th'' was spent by the Americans in active i)r(])arations 1813. fy,. ^]^^, expected attack. Toward midnight, about forty Indians, \u\dvr J.ien. tenant Anderson, were landed on the shore of Henderson Bay, for the ])uijMjse of at- tacking the American militia in the rear. They were discovered, and Colonel Mills and hip force, about li>ur hundred strong, were withdrawn from Horse Island an] placed behind the gravel ridge, at a clearing of five or six acres on the main, witli ;i 6-pounder field-i)iece. The remainder of the militia, under Colonel Gershoni Tutth , were posted on the edge of the -voods, a little farther back ; and Colonel Backus wiih his dismounted dragoons, was stationed on the skirt of the same woods, nearer tin village. Lieutenant Colonel Aspinwall was posted on the left of Backus, and the ar- tillerists, under Lieutenant Ketchum, were stationed in Fort Tompkins, whose only armament was a 32-pounder mounted on a pivot. Not a zephyr rippled t'lj waters of the Harbor on the morning of the 29tli, and not a cloud flecked the sky. Calmness, serenity, and beauty were visible on every side, Tlie sails of the enemy's squadron coul " ^ot catch the slightest breeze, and it was im- possible for the large vessels to appro oar enough to join in the attack. At dawn, thirty-three boats, filled with armed r \ the British squadron and made for Unrso Island, where they landed under cover of two gun-boats directed by Captain Muicas- ter, of the royal navy. As the flotilla rounded the island, the huge pivot gun in Fort Tomj)kin8 hurled murder- ous enfilading shots in their ^A ^X I, ^^/plt'^^C^ t^/^^^ "'''^'*' '^^'i ^^'^^ t^'^^y «'^f^ near the shore they re- ceived a scattering fire from the muskets of the militia. This was promptly respond- ed to by Mulcaster's great guns, loaded with grape and canister, and by his first fire Colonel Mills, who was standing near bis men, was shot dead. The British formed in good order on the island, and with the grenadiers of the One Hundredth at their head, pommanded by Colonel Bayncs, they pressed rapidly across the shallow strait. The rank and file of the American militia had suffered no mat^ rial injury, but the Bonnd of bullets among the bushes, and the din of the oncoming ; foe, struck the whole line with an extraordinary panic, and before th»._, had time to j give a second fire they rose from their cover behind the gravel bank and fled with \ precipitation, leaving their 6-pounder behind. The efforts of the gallant Major Her- kimer to arrest their flight were vain.' This disgraceful retreat astonished and perplexed General Brown, who was on the j < It Is said that one of the militia commandere, who had talked very valiantly and hopefully, became mnch diuour-j aged ae soon as he saw the enemy's boata approaching the shore. As they came forward In a swarm he became lev : and less hopeful, until nt length he told bis men that he doubted the ability of the American force to cope with tlie ec-j cmy. " I fear we shall be compelled to retreat," he eald. After a pouee ho continued, " I know we shall, and as I ami a little lame I'll start now," and away he went npon the road leading to Adams, as fast as his legs could carry bin. josl J as Mulcaster's guns opened their fire. He was among the "missing" at the close of the battle. t\i OF TIIU WAIi UF 18 13. on Panic »nd miiht. Cow»rdly Flight of Mlllll«. OtIlMtry of Captain M'NItt. D««tnictiuii of Pnbllc StorM. Icftof lii« little army. lie expected the inilitin wouM Imvo reiimiiied firm until tlio cminy were finally on the niuin. IJut their movement wiiH so Hiidfleii, general, and raiiiil, that he found himself completely alone, not a man Htandiiijj; within ncvcral rodn of him. Stung l»y this nhameful conduct, lie ran idler the fugitivcH and endeavored to arrest their flight, lliw effortH were unavailing. Forgetful of their proiniMert of coiiniije, and unmindful of the orders tliey had received to rally in tlio woods in the (•vciil (»f^ their being driven hack, they continued their flight until they were sure of beinn out. of harm's way. Some of them were not lieard of again during the fa- tigued Americans could not overtake them. They readied the squadron in safety, leaving a large portion of their dead and wounded behind.^ At about ten o'clock in the morning, Sir George, with cool imj)udence, sent a flag to demand the surrender of the posi which he had failed to capture. The summons was treated with deserved contempt. lie then asked permission to send surgeons to take care of his wounded. This was dei.i<'d ; but an assurance was given by General Brown that Americans were " distinguished for humanity as well as bravery." It was believed that the enemy intended to renew the attack. His squadron con- tinued at anchor, and his boats remained filled with soldiers for some time not t'n from Horse Island. At noon they returned to the squadron, and the whole flotill; sailed for Kingst m. It entered that port on the morning of the 30th, to the great mortification of the inhabita'its, who had expected to see the expedition return witli ' Captain Grey was a son of General Grey, tlie commander of tho corps In tlie massacre of a part of Wayne's delacb- inent at Paoll, In Penr«.lvania, In September, 177T. « Oral statement of E, 'ilam,/, Esq., of Sackett's Hnrtar 5 The British lost 60 killed ana -ill wounded. The Ameri os lost 4T killed, 84 wounded, and a* missing. Most of ihe latter were the cowardly militia, who were ashamed to sbovt ibelr faces t'gatu. OF THE WAK OF 1812. 613 Dgraccful Uctreai o, he was in- IVoin it, and ted drasiiooib isenco oi'tlan- t three huud- dc of llic vil- a Htill ru<,'iiiir. Jieui with re- jvery man nl' stuii'^ \>y {\\v id ahnost two iirhur \)utcli(r, iiig-l)hu'e, tln'j uliiiit goncKil, it soldier, lit e oil, hoys; rt- riiUied militia expired.' How public Property wan unved. Conceit and Inefflclency of Sir George Prevost. A Sort of "Greek Fire." ats deciJotltk' eepiiiji; tlio lio- auk and roar, •s, imniediatoly conuneiicoil in \te that tlu' la- idron in saiitv, ,t ten o'eloclv in the snrreiulov with deservotl f his wouiicli'il ,hat Ameriean^ squadron cim- le time not far whole flotilli' th, to the great Ion return witli L of Wayne's (letacb- 1, ofSacketl'sHiirhw Inlsslng. Mostofihe ■ill the garrison at Sackctt's ITarhor and the puhlic property tlu-re.' The whole af- fair on the part of tlie Britisli, was pronouiieed at the time, and lias heen hy tlieir own writers since, " in a high degree disgraceful."^ The skill, courage, and energy of (ien- cmI Brown, under the most appalling difti(uilties, seconded by the like Imir American and Pert had cnt their cables and retreated up the Jilack Uiv- or Several of the guns on Navy Point were spiked. The value of the property de- stroyed by the fire was about half a million of dollars. The loss was severely felt, liccause tiie distance from Albany, from which most of these stores w-ere drawn, was such tlip.t they could not be seasonably replaced.* No further attempts were made by the enemy to capture Sackctt's Harbor, and it remained, as it had been from the beginning, the most important place of de|)osit for the army and navy stores of the Americans on the Northern frontier. During the HAUKKTt'h IIARIIOB I.N tS14.'^ 1 James's MiUtarij Ofrurrmcen, I., 17.1. : Thctfoiidiat of Sir Ocorjjc Prcvost In this and nthor occnrrcncee where lie became military commander was severely triliclsed. WilkliiHoii, in his Mminim, i., B'fn, dccli.res that Sir James Yeo was av-rsc to the retreat. He says he was iDtDrmeil that Major Drnmmond (afterward Liculcnant Colonel Drummond, kilW;d at Fort Krio), when Sir Cmrffe cave iho nrder to retn'nt, stepped up to him mid said, " Allow me a few inlnulc", sir, and I will put you in possession of the |.lifc." To this the hanRhty haronet replied, "Obey yonr orders, sir, and learn the first duty of a soldier." The oon- impt for Sir Georijc on the jinrt of the army, which his conduct on this occasion engenderetl, was mnch intensified by his iiijlorions retreat from Plattsburg the following year. ■ Tlie nuthoritles consulted In the preparation of this narrative are the official i 'port- ..f the respective commanders ; Uie wveral American histories of the war ; Auchlnlcck, Christie, and .lames on the British side ; Wilkinson's Memoirs : i.«)|ier'3 Naval History or the United States ; manuscript statement found among General Brown's papers, and narra- liiM of survivors. ' Id a letter to the author In October, 18«a, the late venerable Robert Carr, who was a lieutenant colonel on the North- (ra frontier, gave the following account of a sort of" Grjek fire" that wan exhibited at Sackctt's Harbor at about the meofthcovents recorded in the text. "AtSacketfs Ilarlmr," says Colonel Carr, "In September, WIS, a person from :(e«r England called on General Brown *o exhibit some preparation which he called (iijtii'f/ /frc, or some such name. lienml Cnvlniiton called at my tent and invited mo to go «lth him t<. witness the trial to be mndr that morning; bnt tflwaaamemher of a court-martial then sitting, I could not en with him. On his return he informed me that the af- fiirwaaniost astonishing The Hqnld resembled ink, and he had it in two small porter-bottles, one of which ho threw Wlnitasmall hemlock-tree, which was Instantly in a blaze from top to bottom. The other bottle ho also broke against ii'iihvr Iroe w'th a similar result. He asserted that water would not extinguish it. General Covington remarked that ^imijlitberalleu 'helljire.'" This view la from a print firom a drawing by BIrcb, pabllshcd In the Port Folio 'a ISIO. On the left Is scon Pike's i ' m 614 PICTORIAL WIELD-BOOK Sackett'B Uarbur, and Occurrences there. Description of Its Derciiscs. Map of the Some. summer and autumn of 1813 several expeditions were fitted out there, which we shal' hereafter consider, and labor was vigorously applied by the troops stationed there in the autumn, and by the sailors in the winter, in strongly fortifying the jtost. Kow I'l.AN or »iOKEl • S lIAItllliK A.M> ITS Dtl t.NM ■■, 1>, i-.J. Tompkins was strengthened, and several other works. were constructed, and Ix'foiv tlie midsummer of 1814 the post sceiuid to be secured agamst any force the enemy might bring to bear upon it.* cantonment, where were bnrrnckH erected bj' MnJor Darby Noon.-- Sec pace 2(i2. On the rocky binff nt the ri};lit is geen Fort T()mi)kiu8. Near Pike's cantonment is seen a block-hon»e, on the site of Fort Volunteer, and tmmedintcly l)aik of it, a circular building with battlementcd toj) represents Fort Chuuncey. The little figures near the Buiall boat, toward the centre of the picture, are on Navy Point, where the ship-house now stands. • Jopeph Bouchette, one of the most eminent writers on the statistics of the Canadas, gave the following dcsoripiinn of the place at the close of 1S14 : " A low point of laud rnns out from the northwest, upon which is tlie dock-yard, «iH largo storc-housos and all the requisite buildings bcUniging to such an establiKhmeut. Upon this point is a verjpow. crful work, called Fort Tompkins, having within it a strong Ijlock-liouse two stories high ; on the laud side it is covortil by a strong picketing, in which there arc embrasures ; twenty guns are mounted, besides two or three mortars, witlii ftirnace for heating shot. At the bottom of the harbor is the villr.ge, that contains from sixty to seventy housof, ami to the southward of it a barrack capable of accommodatii. • two thousand men, and gcunally used for the marines lielunp- iug to the licet. On a point eastward of the liarbor 'il.iids Fi-.rtPikc, a regular work surrounded by a ditch, in advance of which there is a strong line of picketing. In the centre of the principal work there is a block-house two stories lii:li. This fort is armed with twenty guns. About one hundred yards from the village, and a little to the westward of Fori Tompkins, is Smith's cantonment or barrack, strongly bnilt of logs, forming n squa.o, with a block-house at carli ror- lier. It Is loop-holed on every side, and capable of rnakinir a powerful resistance. Twenty-five hundred men liavp liic: accommodated in it. A little" farther westward another fort presents itself [Fort Kentucky], built of earth and stniiiLit palisaiied, having in the centre of it a block-house one story high. It mounts twenty-eight guns. Midway knvon these two works [a little farther iniandl is a powdc- magazine, inclosed within a very stong picketing. "l!y the side of the road that leads to Henderson Harbor stands Fort Virginia, a sipiaro work with bastions atHf angles, covered with a strong line of palisades, 1)U', no ditch. It is armed with sixteen guns, and has a l)lock-lio».«( is the middle of it. [See sketch on p.lilV.] Fort fhauncey is n small circular tower, covered with piank, and IcKjp-lioki for tlie nse of musketry, Intended for a small-arm defense only. It is sitnated a small distance from the villiij;c, aid commands the road that leads to Sandy Creek. In addition to these works of strength, there are several Ijlodi-hiis* In difl'erent situations, that altogether render the i)lace very secure, and capable of resisting a powerful attack ; iiulml, j ttmn recent events, the Americans have attached much importance to It, ann, with their accustomed celerity, have spared no exertions to render it formidable."— Bouchctte's CanaJn, page 620. To this account may be added the slaliiiiiiii thi.t, after the battle in May, lS1!t, a breastwork of logs was thrown up around the village from Ilorso Island to the «li 1 of Madison Barracks. The above map, showing a plan of Sackett's Harbor and its defenses in 1^14, as dcscril)ed by Bouchette, in from s | tnanuBcript drawing by Patrick May, a soldier who was staliouod there for two years. The topograi)hy may not be \ix- i OF THE WAll 01 1812. 615 Map of the Same. Iiicli we shall jned there in ) jiost. Fort A VUlt to Snckett's Unrbor. C'omtnuduro Tattnall. Illetoricul LuculitlcH, Henry Kekford. tV"":,,/ /^ ■, r.RAMDCAnAoc r.CHdUNCCY fe-^^jj TB 1)KIKNH1:S liN llU. iccl, and several ictecl,au(lbuf()iv le post seeintd it' luff at the rlijht is FPcn \A immediiilely hatk tlie Binall boat, toward ,; foUowiiic ilcsfript'aa J ibthcdock-jnril.wiih ii« poliil 1b a very \im- 1 laud side It in covcml ■ three mortars, Willi 1 seventy hoUBCf, ami tu for the niariiics Iwliiiii;- 1 by n ditch, in ailvaiicc liinisi! two stories liish. o the wcetwardoflorl lock-liouse at cacl> f» luudred men have Imis it oV earth and slron;i.t U118. Midway helwctB licting. •k with bastions at Ik' id has a lilock-lirai'o it J piank, and l"»l)-li"''i ;e from the villn.;' . re BGVcral l)lotli-li' »■ iwcrful attack; iiuK'l, led celerity, have fiawi le added the ftalcmriii j lorfio Island to liw' «k | r Bnnchette, 1« fn™ > j tgrnpliy may not \k ]i:(- ' I visited Sackett'8 Harbor in the summer of 1800. I roiln up from Sandy Creek diirin" a sultry moniinjjf, tlirough the wealthy agrieultural tinvns of Eilishiirg and lltiiderson, after a heavy rain. Before noon the sky was almost cloudless, and I spoilt the afternoon in visiting places of interest around Sackett's Harbor. Coinino- (loreJosiah Tattnall, one of the most accomplished men in the navy, and then in com- mand of the naval station at the Harbor, accompanied me. I found him an cxceed- iii'ly courteous man, of medium size in stature, and in tlie sixty-fourth year of his jiirc. He had been commander of the East India stpiadron for some time, having the i'oichatati for his Hag-shij), in which he brouglit over the seas tlic Japanese embassa- ilors in the spring of 18G0. Having be(;n for several years in arduous service, the ('overnnient had kindly orJ'ored him to the Sackett's Harbor station to enjoy a season lit" rest. There he deserted the flag of his country, under which he had been cherished for almost half a century. He rec;igned his commissic/ii, joined the traitors in the >lave-labor states Avho were then in open rebellion against his government, and be- came commander-in-chief of the " Confederate Navy."' Yet I can not forget the commodore's kindness. He accompanied mc to the ship- lioiise on Navy Point, in which is the JVeio Orleans, juiit as she was left in her untin- islicd state at the end of the war in 1815, He also went with mc to the site of Fort Pike, to Madison Barracks and the burial-ground, and to visit the Avidow of Ca|)tain William Vaughan, whose exploits have alrt ady been mentioned in these pages.^ Mm. Vaiiglian (a small, delicate woman) occupied the Sackett mansion, which was her resi- dence in 1 81 2. At the time now under consideration, Colonels JJuckus and Mills l)oard- (•(1 with her there. The house was near the site of Fort Tomi)kins. It was a substan- tial lianio building, with a fine portico, and was embowered in shrubbery and trees. The JV^eio Orleans was to have been a huge vessel, made to cope with the iSt.Zaw- rcnce,a, three-det'k man-of-war of 120 guns, which the British launched at Kingston in the autumn of 1 813. Henry Eckford^ Avas the constructor, and Henry Eagle, late uf Oswego, Avas foreman of the navy yard. Time was precious, and Eckford applied cisoly correct, bnt it gives n general idea of the pains taken, and the method adopted for making the post as secure from capture as possible. It Hhows the localities of the forllHcations, and of the vessels In the harbor in the nutumn of IS 14. 1 .losinh Tattnall was liorn at Hcniaveuture, four miles from Suvanunh, (leorgln, in November, ITflB. lie is a grandson 111 Clovernor Tattnall, lie entered the navy as a midshipn n in 1S12, and was commissioned a lieutenant in HIS. lie wan promoted to commander in February, lS;ts, and to cap; i in February, ]K60. lie tirst served In tlie frigate CuniiM- li/ii>ii,and was in the afl'air al Craney Island in June, 1813. He was in tlie Alpirii i war under Decatur, was with Perry niithccoaPt of Africa, and wiili Porter in his expedition nemnst the pirates In i im (inlf of Mexico. He was in command iiftlie Spitfire in the bombardment of Vera Cm/ ^ 'he war with Mexico, and in the attacks on Tuspan, Tampico, and .Mariidi). lie was In command of the Knst In(' uulwu during the trunblo with the Chinese in the minmcr of 18,W, andin the spring of ISfiO brought the Japanese Hudois to thU count ly. lie resigned his eomml^r . in ISfll, and acfcptcd one from the "government" of the so-calleil Confei! latoRtat^ of America." Hewa- in ■ mni indofthe ves- rtlsofllie rebels nt Norfolk when the Merrimack wa desti ^vfd, ni'd in l»«i:( was In command of "niusqnito fleet" at Savannah, (Jeorgia. His services were soon afterward dispensed th, and lie sunk Inin '■hseuril.v. = See pagctftS. : Ilcnry Eckford was born in Scotland on the 12th of March, U.:>, iiud at the ago of lixi. > ii became an apprentice to liis uncle, John Hlack, an eminent naval cinistnictor at Quebec. In 1700 be com- menced the business of Bhi|>-bnllding in tlie city of New York, and soon rose to /y^ / j^ L^^ /' -'"N liiclicadofhisprofession, and New York- .^'^ / ^^^^^''7'TL--/ /^"y- ..r^^ y J liailt (hips were most sought after. Eck- ^ ^"^ ^ X^, ^'^'^■-^A^^ i»E, HAiKKTi'H HAiimiu. of sjieiiding a p.'irt of the forenoon at the ele- U.int mansion of the widow of General Hrown. There many mementos of that gal- lant officer wore j)resorved. Among them was the' portrait painted by John Wesley .larvis, from which the engraving on ])age 008 was copied; also a monochrome drawn by Sully, of Philadelphia (now [1867] the oldest painter in the United States), for the medal voted to General Brown by the American Congress for his meritorious con- duct on the Niagara frontier. That medal was also there. There too was his sword ; also the elegantly written and well ornamented diploma Avhich by vote of the Com- mon Council of New York conferred njion him the "freedom of the city," and the 2old box in which it was presented to him. Of the latter mementos of the gallant soldier I shall have occasion to write hereafter. The mansion of General Brown, which he built in 1814-'1.5,i8 spacious and elegant. It is of blue limestone, and stands on the borders of the village of six or seven hund- it'd inhabitants, in the midst of a lawn of about eight acres, ornamented with shrub- ' The following were the Inscriptions on the montiniont: ll'«( /Vint/.-" In memory of Hrigndler Gcnernl Z. Af . Pike, killed at York, IT. c, 2Tth April, 1818. Captain Joseph Nicliolsoii, 14th Infantry, iiirt-de-cnmp to General Pike, killed at York, U. C, 27th April, isia." Smth IMnel.—" In memory of Brigadier Oenernl L. Covinijtoii, killed at Chryfiler'g Field, U. C, Nov. 11, 1813. Lleu- :oiiaiil Colonel E. Hackns, lf>t nragoons, killed at SacV-'tt's Harbor, "nth May, 1S13." Katl AiiiW.— " In memory of Colonel Tuttle, Lientennnt Colonel T)lx, Major iTohnson, Llentenant Vandeventer."' ''Mlh I'anfl.—"lu memory of r.ieiitenant Colonel .Tohn Mills, Volunteer, killed at Sackett'fl Harbor, 20th May, 1818. Captain A. Spencer, 29th Infantry, killed at I.nndy's Lane, 2mh .I.ily, ISU." Ocncrnl Pike was first bnried near Fort Tompkins, not far from the ship-honse. The remains of all were deposited in the rcmotcry of the barracks lu ISIO, when the monnraent was erected. Those of Colonel Mills were token to Albany Immediately after the battle. !l ill ^Iffi: iJiJII ii 618 PICTORIAL FIELD-BOOK Ueueral Browu'ii I{e! bed him of several thousaTid dollars; W1IITTLE8KV BOCK, wATKBTowN. rj^j Jig -^y^s iuduccd by tlio inacliiiiii- tious of his Avife — a Avoman of education, but thorouglily dejjraved, who AA-orked ujwn liis fears — to report himself robbed of all, in order to secure the money for tliem selves. This was done on an occasion Avhen he Avent out on a tour to pay off the drafted militia. He oftered two thousand dollars reward for the robber, and made OF THE WAK OF 1812. 610 A Conresaion extorted. Suicide of the gnllty Party. Captaiu Uollina. Hovoments uu the Niagara Froutier, other demonstrations of honesty. But ho was not believed by many ; and his securi- ties Fairbanks and Keyos, of Watertown, were so well convinced of foul play, that they decoyed him into a lonely place* not far from the village, and extorted -July it, from him a confession, and the assertion that a larger portion of the money ***'"■ mifht be found with his wife. One of the sureties and two or three others proceed- ed to the residence of Whittlesey, which stood near the bank of the river, forcibly entered the house, and there, between beds and quilted in a garment, most of the money was found. Whittlesey was taken to his home, and husband and wife, bitter- ly criminating each other, were placed under a guard. Unperceived by these, in a moment of confusion IMrs. Whittlesey glided from the house, crossed the present cem- etery of Trinity Church to the river, and plunged in. Her body was found floating near tlic lower bridge. Public opinion fastened all the guilt upon the wretched wife, Wliittlesey went into a Western state, where he led a correct life, and held the offices of justice of the peace and county judge. Mr. Fairbanks, one of the actore in the af- fair is yet (1867) living at Watertown, and from his lips, on our return to the village, I received an account of the tragedy. > At the Woodruff House, in Watertown, I met Captain HoUins, of the navy, a stout, thick-set man, sixty-one years of age. He was a midshipman in our navy toward the close of the War of 1812, and in the course of long years rose to the rank of captain. He too, deserted his flag in the hour of his country's peril, went South, and, during the Great Rebellion, played traitor with all the vigor his abilities would allow.^ His accomplished wife, who was with him in Watertown, was a daughter of the pa- triotic Colonel Sterett, of Baltimore, and, true to her family instincts, tried, it is said, to persuade her husband to stand by his flag. She was in Poughkeepsie, New York, when he arrived at Boston from a cruise in the Massachusetts in IMay or June, 1861, and hastened to him to prevent his apprehended purpose. She failed, and he fell. I left Watertown on Monday evening for Cape Vincent, for the purpose of visiting places of historic interest on the St. Lawrence. Concerning my visit to Carleton Isl- and, French Creek, and other places near the Thousand Islands, I shall hereafter write. Let iis now return to the Niagara frontier, and consider the hostile movements there soon after the battles at Sackett's Harbor, Fort George, and Stony Creek. We left the Americans, under General Dearborn, at Foit George, and the enemy's advance, at the same time, occupied a strong position at the Beaver Dams, among the hills, and at Ten-mile Creek (now Homer village, three miles eastward of St. Catha- rine's), nearer the lake shore. At the former place, De Cou's house, a strong stone huilding, was made a sort of citadel by the enemy, where supplies were collected from the surrounding country, especially from those of the inhabitants who favored the American cause. The character and position of the place had been ascertained by a scout of mounted riflemen under Major Cyrcnius Chapin, of the New York Vol- unteers, who was under Tov»'son in the capture of the Caledonia at Fort Erie the preceding autumn.^ It was an important post, and General Dearborn determined to Attempt its capture. For that purpose he detached five hundred and seventy men, in- eluding Chapin's corps, some artillerymen, and two field-pieces, under Lieutenant Col- ; • , . 1 A mlnnte ncconnt of this affair, with a portrait of Mr. Fairbanks, may be found in Hough's Histanj qf Jefferson ''ountji, page 203. i Gcoijc N. Hollins was born in Baltimore, Maryland, on the 20th of September, ITOW. lie entered the navy a8 mid- fhlpmnn in Fcbrnary, 1S14, on the sloop-of-wur ISnlh'mnre, Captain Rldjiely. He was a volunteer, under Barney, in the battle ofllladcnsburg. He was also an aid of Commodore Rodgcrs during the attack on Baltimore, and carried mes- sages to Fort M'llenry. Up was in the battle between the Prem'dent and Enitirmwn, off Sandy Hook, in January, ISIB, nhen he was taken prisoner and carried to Bermuda. He is supposed to be the last survivor of the men of the Prm- itnl. lie was with Decatur in the Mediterranean. His exploit in the attack on Grcytown, Nicaragua, is fresh in mem- ory, »nd not productive of pleasant reflections on the part of American citizens. Hollins scorns not to have been highly prized by the leaders in the Rebellion, and is almost unknown to honorable fame among them. ' See pat,o 380. He was very efflclcnt as lieutenant colonel commanding in skirmishes near Fort George in October following. He died in Buffalo in February, 1838. ■I * 620 riCTOUIAL FIELD-BOOK Expedition against the British at the Beaver I)am«. Enconnter with Indians. An old Ocrmnn Chnrcb, <:J^ onel Charles G. Bo-rst. ^e^'t-^--'2>^l-^'''^f—^ Infantry.' Tluy !,,(■, Fort CJooi-rrc! oil the evening of the 2.'!(l of June, marched up the Niagara River to Queenstoii, niid tlan lialted for the night. Early the next morning they proceeded toward St. Da\ idV ibur miles west of Queenston, and Avhen near it several British ofticers were koch to leave houses, mount their horses, and ride off westward in haste. They fiied alann guns and sounded a bugle, by which means the several cantonments of the eiieim were aroused. The Americans moved steadily forward until they reached the " Ten Road," a lit- tle eastward of the present village of Thorold, and at an old German church^ commenced the ascent of the " Mountain" (as the Canadians call the gentle emi- nences that extend from the Niagara to Hamilton and beyond), through a forest of pine and beech trees, to the more level country on the summit, where they halted for some time. On resuming their march and proceeding about a mile, they saw In- dians in a cleared field (Hoover's) and open woods running toward a more dense forest of beech-trees that skirted each side of the read, near the p-esent toll-gate, close by the residence of the Rev. Dr. R. II. Ful- ler, rural dean. Cliapin was immediate- ly ordered forward with his mounted men, Avho Avere kept considerably in advance of the main body. These had passed the beech woods, and a greater portion of tlio otli- ers had also gone by, when a body of MohaAvk and CaughnaAvaga Indians, four Imnd- red and fifty in number, under Captain John Brant and Captain William John Kerr- (Avho afterward became his brother-in-law), AA'ho had been lying in ambush, foil upon BtErstler's rear, Avhere about tAventy light dragoons were posted. Bocrstler imme- diately recalled Chapin, formed his troops, charged upon the half-concealed foo, and drove them almost a mile. The Indians might have been entirely routed had B(crst- ler followed up the advantage gained. He hesitated. The Indians rallied, and hung upon his flank and rear, keeping up a most galling fire at every exposed situation. The Americans pressed onAvard, over the Beaver Dam Creek, fighting the wily foe to immense disadvantage, and made conscious that they were almost, if not altogether surrounded by them. For about three hours this annoying contest Avas kept up. Boerstler's cannon liad been posted on a rise of ground at the turn in the road near the residence of Mr. Schriner at the time of my visit, and the Indians fell slowly back before the American bayonets. At Icngtii Bccrstler defennined to retire and abandon the object of the expedition. ' Charles Q. Boerstler was n native of Maryland, and was commissioned lieutenant colonel of the Fonrtecnth lufaiilr; In March, 1812. Ho was active, as wc have seen (page 428), In affairs at Black Rock toward the close of that je.ir. Three days hefore his unfortunate expedition to the Beaver Dams he was promoted to colonel of the Fourteenth. Ai the close of the war he was disbanded. » This is a view of the oldest building erected for the worship of God In that section of Canada remaining »1 tlit time of my visit. It was a little more than half a mile from the vlllogs of Thorold. The German refugees from lh( Mohawk Valley at the close of the Revolution built it. It was formed of logs, and was abont twenty-five feet sonare. It stood In the midst of a bnrlal-gronnd. ' Captain Kerr was a (rrandson of Sir Wlllinra Johnson, b., Molly Brant, sister of the great Mohawk chief, ond \rt! one qnartcr Mohawk. He married Elizabeth, the beantifDl and accomplished youngest child of Brant. GKBMAN CUUBCH. Wk^ 11 ii!l ,>: OF THE WAU OF 18 12, 921 Id Ocrmnn Charch. rlcs (i. HciTM- Kourtcciitli ' Tlu^y l,.f, orgo on the stoii, and then i-(l St. David's, i were Kt'i'ii tn oy tiivd alarm of tlie oueiiiv n Road," a lit- ion of tlio otli- ians, four luind- lam Jolui Kerr nbush, fell upon Boerstler immc- nccalcd foe, ami ited had B(crst- lied, and imng loscd situation. the wily foe to not altogether t was kept \\\). a the road near ans fell slowly tlie expedition. B ronrtccnth lufaiiiry le close of that year. f the Fourteenth. .M nclB remaining at ikf an refui!ec8 from Ihi ■enty-five feet snuiire. ihnwk chief, and \w tront. Rritlib Troopi Mved by a Uerolne. Hni. Secord's Services and Reward. Bontler and bis Command captnred. W'hile moving off he encountered a (unall body of militia, under Lieutenant Cohmel Thomas Clark, in tlie IJeech Woods. They had hastened to tlie field from all (iiiarters. Iterstler lialted, and sent a courier to Dearborn for re-enforcements. Very Boon after- ward Lieutenant James Fitzgibbon, ,vho was in coinniand at De (Jou's, iippeared with forty or fifty men of ihe IJritish Forty -ninth,' lie had lieeii warned of tlic expedition of Birrstler, and the danger to his post iind coinniand, by Mrs. Laura Hecord, then a resident of Queenston, and now (1S07) dwelling at Chi})pcwa, who liud been privately informed of the plans of General Dearborn, Ke- solviiig to reveal them to her endan- (rercd friends, she made a circuit of nineteen miles on foot, and gave tlie int'ormation which led to the Indian anibush and the check of IJaTstler's maich.^ Fitzgibbon displayed his men, and, perceiving much confusion in the American ranks, conceived the plan of boldly demanding their sur- render in the name of Major De Ha- ven, the commandant of the district. Fitz- ;!il)bon himself approached with a flag. He falsely assured Ba'rstler that his ])arty was the advance of fifteen hundred Jiritisli troops and seven hundred Indians, then approaching under Lieutenant Colonel Bissh- > A blacksmith in Smoky Uollow, two miles north from St. Catharine's, named Yocum, piloted Fitzgibbon from De Cou's to the Beaver Dams. I Mrs. Secord was then, as now, n woman of light and delicate frame, and her patriotic jonrney was performed on a very hot enmnier's day. She is now (1807) living at the Canadian village of Chippewa, on the Niagara River, at the age of ninety-two years, her mental faculties in full play, and her eyesight sufficiently retained to see to read without spcc- uclei. She is the widow of James Secord, Esq., who commanded a company of militia in the battle at (Jneenston In ni2,an(l was severely wounded there. In a letter to me, written on the 18th of February, ISOl, Mrs. Secord has given i!ic fiillowlni,' interesting acconnt of her exploit here mentioned : " After going to St. David's, and the recovery of Mr. Sicord, we returned again to Queenston, where my courage again was much tried. It was then I gained the secret |)lan :.iid to capture Captain Fitzgibbon and his party. I was determined. If possible, to save them. I had much difflcutly in .'itini; through the American guards. They were ten miles out in the country. When I came to a field belonging to . Mr. De Cou,'in the neighborhood of the Beaver Dams, I then had walked nineteen miles. By that time daylight had i-fi me. I yet had a swift stream of water to cross over an old fallen tree (Twelve-mile Creek), and to climb a high hill, which fatigued me very ranch. "Before I arrived at the encampment of the Indians, as I approached they all arose with one of their war-yells, which iiiiieed awed me. You may imagine what my feelings were to behold so many savages. With forced courage I went Done of the chlef:^, told him I had great news for his commander, and that he must take me to him, or they would be .11 loet. He did not understand me, but said, ' Woman 1 what does woman want here V The scene by moonlight to some :;iijhthave been grand, but to a weak woman certainly terrifying. With difflcnity I got one of the chiefs to go with me ' Ihdr commander. With the Intelligence I gave him he formed his plans and saved his country. I have ever found iif brave and noble Colonel Fitzgibbon a friend to me ; may he prosper in the world to come as he has done in this. "Laoba Seooud. "Chippewa, U. C, February 18, 1801." Lieutenant Fitzgibbon was promoted to the rank of captain in the British army, and is now (I86T) a Poor Knight of Hindmr Castle. Ue gave Mrs. Secord a certificate setting forth the facts above recorded. It is signed "James Fltzglb. iwn.rormerly lieutenant in the Forty-ninth Regiment." That certificate is printed In the Angto-Ameriean Magazine, mdon page 178 of Anchinicck's HUtonj qfthe War ()/1812, published in Toronto in 1(566. When the Prince of Wales was making a tour in Canada In 1S60, the veteran soldiers of 1812 on the Niagara fi'ontler went In Niagara to sign an address to his royal highness. Mrs. Secord apiilied for permission to place her name on the IM. "Wher,-!f()re?" was the natural question. She told her story, and it was agreed that she was one of the most em- inently deserving of honor among the patriots of thut war. The story was repeated to the prince on his arrival at ijuccniton, and it made such an impression on his memory and kind heart, especially when it was said that I ho. brave : ad patriotic woman was not " rich in this World's goods," that, soon after his return home, tie caused the sum of one linndred pounds sterling to be presented to her. The likeness above given la from a daguerreotype kind'y eonl Ui me !:m Mrs. Secord by the liand of Mr. J. P. Merrttt, of St. Catharine's. ^^t-f-tisi^ ■ r » ■ i imi i. i ' 1 Hi^ \ < 1 M \r ■K i fMi 5 ' ;' ' ': vlifflWi |i: rIBp i . i If IMilll 622 PICTORIAL FIELD-BOOK The Terms of Surrender violated by the ludlans. A bold Stroke for Lll)erty. Fort Qeorge inveated by the Brltlik opp, ftml that the savages were bccominj? ho cxaHpemted that it would bo (Htruult to keep them from massacring the Americans. Hcerstler believed, and was alarnicd lie agreed to surrender on the eonditions that the officers should retain their arms liorses, and baggage, and that the militia and volunteers, with Colonel liocrstler (wlio Avas slightly wounded), should be permitted to return to the United States on parole i By tlie time the capitulation was agreed to in final form, Do Haven, who had liccn sent for by Fitzgibbon, came up with two hundred men and received the sulmiissiou of the captives. The number of prisoners 8urren This capltnlation, In four brief articles, the substance of which Is given In the text, was signed on the port of Colo- nel Boerstler by Captain Andrew M'Dowcll, and on that of Lieutenant Colonel Bieshopp by Major P. V. De Havon, Captain Merrltt, in his MS. Narrative, says that Captain Norton, of the Indian force, bnmorouely declared that ik( Caughnawagas fought the battle, the Mohawks got the plunder, and Fitzgibbon got the credit. "The greater part ot the Caughnawagas," says Merrltt, " were displeased, and returned home in a few days afterward, which at this time iti- a very great loss." ' Major Chnpin, in his Revieio o/ Armatromj's Notices of the War o/1812, page 10, says that he was placed in oiieboii with a principal part of the guard, and Captain Sackrlder and a greater portion of the prisoners iu the other bunt, (ir- ders had been given for the boats to keep some rods apart, one ahead of the other. After they had passed out of Bur- lington Bay upon the open lake, Chapln made a signal to Sackrider in the hinder boat, which the Ameriians were rnw- ing, to come up closer. lie gave the word in whispers to the men, and while the major was amusing the Britisli caplaio with a story, tlie hinder boat came up under the stern of the forward one. It was ordered back, when Chnpin, witli loa I voice, ordered his men not to fall back an Inch. Captain Showers attempted to draw his sword, and sonic of his rani thrust at Chapln with bayonets. The latter prostrated the captsin with a blow. He fell in the bottom of (he boat, ami two of his men who were thrusting at Chapln fell upon him. The latter Immediately stepped upon them. The mianl iu both boats were speedily overcome and secured. "I succeeded to the command of oar fleet of two biiteaus," mts Chapln, " with no little alacrity. We shifted our course, crossed Lake Ontario, and with the boats and prisoners arrived the next morning safe at Fort Niagara." » Congress was in session when this "climax of continual tidings of mismanagement and misfortune" renchedWa* ington. The late Charles J. Tngersoll, one of the historians of the war, was then a member of the House of Ifi-iircsenla- tives. The intelligence produced great irritation. " On the Cth of July, 1813, therefore," says lugersoll, " afier a fhon accidental communion of regret and impatience In the lobby of the House of Representatives with the Spealcer and General Ringgold, of Maryland, I was deputed n volunteer to wait on the President, and request General Ue.irlmni- removal fl-om a command which, so far, had been so unfortnnate." The recall of General Dearborn immediately fol- lowed this request, and on the 16th of July that officer, who had performed noble service in the Continental army, tool; leave of that on the Niagara fnmtier, at Fort George, puranant to an order from the Secretary of War that he (houlJ "retire from command until his health should be re-established." "The Northern army," says Ingersoll, "relieved of | a veteran leader whose age and health disqnalifled him for active and enterprising services. In his successor, General ; Wilkinson, did not get a younger, healthier, or more competent commander."— Hi'storica! Sketch of the Second War,iV.. 1., 28R. « The authorities consulted in the preparation of the foregoing narrative are the official dispatches; statements ot officers! the Histories of Thompson, Perkins, Conner, Brackenridge, Ingersoll, James, Christie, Auchluleck; Stone'.' j Life of Brant ; Chapin's Review of Armstrong ; MerrittJe MS. narrative ; personal narratives of sun-Ivors, etc. OF THE WAR OF 18 12. 688 ited l)jf tbe Briilih, id bo dilViciilt wiiH alarmwl, in thoir arniii, liojrfitU'r (wild tes on purolc,! who had hww the suhmisMiMi red ami forty- nd a stand of )itulation wen ioners of tlit'ir jas'od on parole, ^^llnc• of them )on sent, with a rs and a ijuard, ?8 of York tiny irrivcd safoly at Colonel Christii' lidly to Qiu'cih lastcnc'd hack t'l pcedily jutitifiM that place aii'l Mo force. Gen- icral Do Kottin- irn, whose career r a more iueom- iits on the North- led on tliepartotCokv Mnjor P. V. De Hnveii. jiiHly declared that tb The grentcr pan of which at thiB limo n ■ was placed in one bi .u in the other boat. Or- hud passed out ut Bur- Americans were rm- Bing the BritlBh captain i-hen Chapin, with loud and some of his men iottomof theiiiiai,,,!.: ,p<)n them. The -i; . oftwo l)ateaus,"si;( 18 and prleoncrs arrivtl fortnne" reai-hodWash- le House ofllcirMenti- upersoll/'afiei' »''""' I with the Sjieaker acd est General Boarboni'! rborn immedlntel!: W- Continental army, tocli of War that he shoalJ InRersoll," relieved ot ^ ^1 his successor, General ' io/theSecondVat,tU' Ipatches: statement! ol ! \e, Anchliileclt; Stone's TsurN'ivorB, clc. A Vltlt to St. Catbartoe'i and tbe lleaver Unmi' Battle-gronnd. De Cou's and De Con'* Pallf . It was in sultry August, 1 860, that I visited the scenes of Bcoi-stler's march and dis- iifitcr and places in the vicinity. I have already mentioned my trip from Qnoenston to St. Catharine's, and so on to Hamilton, Paris, Brantfonl, and the Indian settlements on the (trand River in Canada.' It was at that time that I Hto]»i)ed at St. Catharine's for the purpose of seeing the Honorable William Hamilton i\Ierritt,tho brave British cavalry officer already mentioned, and of visiting places of interest near. I arrived there on Saturday evening, and at a boarding-iiouso wlicro I procured lodgings I had the iileasiiro of meeting the family of a once valued actpiaintance in Virginia, who were seeking health from tlie use of the powerful mineral waters that flow up copi- ously there from the deep recesses of the eartli.'* Little did I think that within a few montlis tlie accomplislied head of that family, Avhom I had learned to esteem most hi'dily, would bc.sedueed from his allegiance to the flag of his country, under which he liad served with fidelity and distinction for five-aiid-tliirty years, and become the .'eiieral-in-chief of armies in rebellion against the government of tlie Republic! Ho held tlie narrow view of American citizenship, engendered by the doctrine of supreme state sovereignty, expressed in the words "I go witli my state," and followed the terrible fortunes of his native Virginia when iier political charh.tans — her selfish trading politicians — declared her secession from tlie Union, and brought ruin on her licople. I was unfortunate in not finding Mr. Morritt at home. As a member of the Cana- dian Pai'liament, he had gone to (Quebec to receive the Prince of Wales. To his son, Mr. J. P. Merritt, I am indebted for many kind courtesies while there. He gave me free access to.his father's military papers, and kindly lent me the MS. Narrative of Events in the campaigns on the Canadian Peninsula already referred to. Early on Monday morning,* Jvfter a night made memorable by a f( rful •AuRnstso, tiiunder-storm, I started for the Beaver Dams, accompanied by Mr. Mer- ^*'''- ritt. On the way I sketched the ancient German church delineated on page 620 ; and early in the forenoon wo reached the house of the Reverend Dr. Fuller by the famous IJeech Woods where Boerstler was first attacked. From the roof of his dwelling we obtained a fine view of the Beaver Dams' battle-ground and the thea- tre of Bocrstler's misfortunes, and from that elevation made the sketch seen at the top of the pictn ■ the following page. On the right is seen the Beech Wooc'i, snd through tl , re Beaver Dams' Creek. On the left is seen the turn of the road where Bui filer's cannon were planted, and a little to the right of it is the stone house of Mr. Shrincr, whose orchard, adjouiing it, was the place where Bojrst- ier surrendered to De Haven. The two-story house on the right of the picture is De Cou's, and the cascade on the left is a view of Dc Cou's Falls, in Twelve-mile Creek. From Dr. Fuller's we rode on through Beaver Dam village to De Cou's, passing on the way the smoking ruins of a barn which had been fired by lightning during the night. The famous house Avas of stone, two stories in height, spacious, Avith or- namental shrubbery around it. It was in an elevated, fertile, and beautiful region. After sketching the building we passed on to the lake slopes of the hills, and, follow- ing a farm-road a little distance, came to De Cou's Falls, where the Twelve-mile Crc'k pours over a ledge of rocks, semicircular in form, hito a Avild ravine, in a per- pendicular cascade of sixty feet. The sides of the ravine are very precipitous, and covered chiefly with evergreens. With much difliculty and some danger, I made my 1 See page 420. ' The city of St. Catharine's, on tho Twclve-milo Creek, the Welland Canal, and the Great Western Railway, was known a8"Chipman's" during the war. It is between twelve and thirteen miles west from the Niagara River. It is a port of entry (Port Dalhonsie is at the month of the creek), is heantifuliy situated, and threatens to rival Hamilton. Its mineral springs are very noted for their belling properties, and St. Catharine's has become a place of great -esort for invalldB and fashionable people. It is a very desirable place for those who love a quiet watering-place for a few weeks in summer. The population is about seven thousand. 624 PICTORIAL VIELD.BQOK Skatch of Da Cun'i Falln. A Veteran of the War uf \HU. Meturn to 81. (.'uthirtiwi, A fourth of a mile licl IHV It'll, Biiaut'ii Dy cc dars and hemlocks, were tlie remains of an ohl mill. was another fall of thirty feet, wliere tlie ravine (Icciuns and darkens, for tlie whole declivity down which the stream pours toward the plain is covered with a tleuse forest. Wo made our way along a most picturesque road among tlie hills to tlio I'ertilc rolling plain below, and stopped at the little log cottage of Captain James Dit trick, a bachelor of seventy -five, and a veteran of ^//C^y^t^ the War of 181 2. ^-^ He was commandi r ot the Fourth Lincoln company, and was in the battles at Queenston, Fort George, and M. agara, or Lundy's Lane, and was active on the froiilin and over the peninsula during tlie whole of the Avar. Ik arrived at the Beaver Dams a few minutes after the sur- render of Ba'rstler, and participated in the joy of the oc- casion. C.'iptaui Dittrick was a bald-headed, heavy man, very pleasant and communicative — ready to " fight his battles o'er again" by his hearthstone. Our visit was made too short for our pleasure and profit by the mm. bling of thunder. We rode on to St. Catharine's, wlicrc we arrived in time to escape a drenching shower. I dined Avith Mr. Merritt and his fathei-'s family, and bad the pleasure of meeting at the table the widow of the eminent Jesse Hawlcy, who was a distinguished citizen of Western New York, to whom Governor De Witt Clin- ton (autograph letter now before me) gave the credit of being the chief projector of that great work of internal improvement, the Erie Canal. He published a series of UK UOU^ FALLS. > St. Cuthitlnt'i. OF TlIK VVAK OF 1812. 625 TWtWilMnlltoD Md Stony Creek. A Renjgee hrom the Wyomlnn Valtay. Departure Ibr Brsntford. ablp It'ttcrH ovpr the sipnnturo of "Hercules," whoso wise »upfjj[eHtionH led to tlie eon- striictioii *>' t'"^^ iiii^lity work wiiic.ii itnmortulizi'tl tin; nuiiKt of Clinton, und uddod millions to tho wimlth of New York.' I left St. Ciitharine'M toward ovcninj? for tho heantiful city of Hamilton, at the head ,,| ihc livke. The railway piisHeH throiiirh a most cliarininj; country lying between I lif "Mountain" or uneient shore of Ontario and the lake. This mountain approaches the liiko within three fourths of a mile at Humilton, and then, turning more soutli- «iir(l assists in forming the deep valley in which iJundas lies nestled. I passed the iiiifjit at the Royal Hotel in Ilamiltoit, and at six o'clock the ne.\t morning started in i liclit wagon for Stony tireek, seven miles eastward, over a tine stone road. I was iliriftt'tl to Colonel Daniel Lewis for information concerning tho battle and its local- jij,,^. His residence was a little northward of the village, but he was absent. From jif jlcuh's, residing there, I obtained all needful knowledge respecting tho place of ihc eiu'iunpment and the combat. After making the sketch on page t(0:3, 1 returned M till! village, made my way half a mile southward of it, and took a hasty glance at the pouring down of Stony Creek from the "Mountain" in a perpendicular fall of one liuiidred mid thirty feet into a deep, narrow gorge. Wishing to depart from Hamil- ton for I'jvris at twelve o'clock, I did not linger long at the falls. On my way back I stoppcil lit the house of Mr. Michael Aikman to obtain sonic information concerning ilie pliu'c of tho liritish encamjiment on Jiurlington Heights. He too was absent, but I -pout a most interesting half hour with his mother, Mrs. Hannah Aiknnin, a small, ililicate woman, then ninety-one years of age. She was the daughter of Michael Showers, a Tory refugee from the Wyoming Valley. She and her family were in Wiiiterino'^t's Fort, and her father was one of IJutler's liiingers. After the battle ilure they were comjielled to fly. They went up the Susijuehivnna, and across the (Oiintry by way of the Genesee, intending to go to Niagara by the lake in a small li(i;it whicli they took with them. It Avas so injured that it could not be tised. The liither walked to Fort Niagara for relief, and for a week his family subsisted on roots wlmli they dug from tho soil. They were timely relieved by some Mississagua In- ,li;iiis. Her father was one of the settlers with Butler's Hangers on tlie Canadian iHiiiiisula, and for almost seventy years she had lived at her then place of abode.-' \Vhcii I told her of my visil to Wifttermoot's house, and described it as she remem- liorid it, and sjioke of the Wintermoots, the Burnets, the Hallenbecks, the Dorrances, mil others whom she knew, her eyes brightened, and she said it seemed as if one of kr old neighbors had come to see her. 1 reached Hamilton^ just in time to take the cars for the West, and, as I have al- ready mentioned, arrived at Brantford, on the Grand River, that evening. Of my visit to the Indian settlements in that vicinity I have elsewhere written.* : It is proper to sny here that the project of a cnnal to connect the waters of Lake Krle with those of the Hudson Kivrr wi\8 contemplated by General Philip Schuyler, Elkanah Watson, and Christopher Colles, many years before Mr. llswley wrote his con"incing letters. ' I have liefore mentioned in this work that, after the Revolntion, Butler's Rangers and other refugees fVom the limed States settled on the Canadian peninsula. Each one of Butler's Rangers, almost tic hundred in number, was iri'H'nted with a thousand acres of land in this then wilderness, and that district, of which there were four in the prov- I intf.wns called Nassau. Governor Uuldlmand, a German, named tho four districts respectively, beginning at the De- I troll, Hesse, Nnssan, Mecklenburg, and Lunenburg. Haldimand was a great friend of the Canadians ; but Simcoe, de- I iltoo! of making the province as English as possible, and denoting native nationality, gave British names to almost I mrj place. In this spirit he changed the name of Toronto to York, in honor of a victory by the Duke of York on the I Continent. ' Hamilton was laid ont in 1813, and Is sitnated on the southwestern extremity of Burlington Bay. It is the chief city I ofWcst Canada, having a population of about 24,000. Burlington Heights are composed of an immense deposit of I invel, sand, aud loam. The village of Turlington was the germ of tho city of Hamilton, and stood on its site. The I Gtftt Western Railway passes along the shore of the bay, at the foot of the heights, aud crosses the Des Jardins Canal, I rtlch Is cut directly through the great hill north of the cemetery and the residence of the late Sir Allan M'Nab. The I present railway bridge over the canal is of iron, and seventy feet above the water. The first one was of wood. It gave I my, (rilh a train of cars uj)on It, in March, 1867, when flfty-six persons were killed. In the cemetery may be seen the I tenutas of General Vincent's fortitied camp. They form a ridge across the grounds (which comprise about twenty-seven I ims), mnning east and west. The palatial residence of the late Sir Allan M'Nab is called Dundum Castle. It is built I ollimestoiie, ft-onts sontbeast, overlooking the bay and Ilnmllton, and is sarrounded by about forty acres of laud. • See pages from 420 to 426, tnclnsive. Rb II ilm ' . I : -■ li n \ wiS' 1 i" m ■ "? ; ^1 ' ' w\ 626 PICTORIAL FIELD-BOOK Raids on the Niagara Frontier. A Maesacn by Western Indians. Statement of Captain Merritt and othcrt Genera' BoyJ, liMng the senior officer on the Niagara frontier, became temporary commander-in-cliief there after the depurture of General Dearborn. He found liis .,0. sition an important and arduoas one. The success of the British at the Beaver Daiib made them bold, and they were gradually closing upon the Americans at Fort Geor<'( and Newark. Frequent picket skirmishing occumd, and bold raids into the Ameri- can territory were performed. One of these occurred on the night of the 4tli of July.* A party composed ot Canadian militia and Indians, and led hy Lieu- tenant Colonel Thomas Clark, crossed the Niagara from Chippewa to Schlosscr captured the (^""rd there, seized a large quantity '."provisions, one brass 6-pouiulci cannon, several .'^tands of arms, and some ammunition. With these spoils they re- turned in triumph to the Canada shore. Four days later a sad tragedy was performed near the residences of John and Peter Ball,' about a mile and a half from Fo'-t George. The gallant young leader, Merritt. then just twenty years of age, was sent with a, small party to recover some metlicini"- near Ball's wh'ch the British had concealed when they fled from Fort George in JIav. A body of one hundred and fifty savages, just arrived from the Western wilderiHw, under Captain M. Elliott, and led by the bloody Blackbird, of Chicago faino,^ wm employed as a covering party. Merritt was encamped, and while breakfastins; ai Bail's a skirmish vith an American picket-guanl took place not far off. Lieutciiam fi^ldridge (then adjutant), with *. irty-nine volunteers, went out to the relief of tin guard, and a larger force, undor M.ijor Malcolm, prepared to follow. Tiie irnjxtiious Eldridge dashed forward into the *.hick Avood. and fell into an ambush prepared for liim by Blackbird and hi.i followers. The foe was repulsed at first, but overwiulm- ing numbers crushad Eldridge and his little party.^ Only five escaped. The prison- ers and Avounded were butchered and scalped by the Western savages, whose con- duct on the occasion Avas marked by the most atrocious barbarity.^ This was su shocking and exasperatir..,' that General Boyd resolved to adopt Washington's ])lan of having " Indians fight Indians," and to accept the services of the Scnecas andTns- I The Ball family ftill occnpied ihls dwelling, I was 'uformed, when I visited Niagara In 1800. They have, as a cher- ished re'ic, the military f hapeau woni by the g;;llant Brock whc :. he fell at Qucemton. s Sec pr.L'c » ' Joseph C. Eldridge was a native ot New York. He entered the army as second lieutenant in the Thirteenth Wfii- lar Infantry in the spring of 1S12. A year afterward he was promoted to first lieutenant, and appointed adjutan; He was difitlnguislied for bravery at Stony Creek a month earlier, and was a yonng officer of great promise. ♦ Tlicrc are statements by American and British writers concerning this affair too widely differing to admit of rociu- • illation. Soiii 'if the American writei s say that the force which fell upon Eldridge was composed of liritith atiii In- dians, while Brit if U writers declare that un white man was present. The only statement that I have ever met from an oye-wiliicss Is that of the late Hon.AA'illiani Hamilton Merritt in his MS. narrative, now before me, and from thai 1 have drawn the facts up to the ambnsh. He says that he had no expectation of being in the tlglit, and that he and John fell were the only two white persons engaged ii, it except a boy thirteen years old, whose father was a jjrisoncr and d.in- geronely wounded, and whose eldest brother was killed at Fort George. "This little fellow," says Merrill, "was it- terminer to revenge the loss his family had sustained, and would not be pcrsm\ded to leave the field until his moiher ! Mrs. Law, whose house was on the ground] canic out and took him away in her arms by force." An American officer. writing from Fort George the nexi day, sold that two of the five survivors, and who were at first taken prisoners, Haini that there were British soldiers in the ambufii, i:airted as Indians, " with streaks of green and red around their eyet." — A'lJ. I's Heimter, iv., .S52. Mr. Merritt says that his \vho;c attention, after the fight, was given to the prisoners in the hands of Blackl)ird ie^ his followers, and that his own life was threatened because he made intercession for tliosc of the captives. "Tl ; ■ devils," he snys, "were crying nnd imploring me to save their lives, as I was the only white man they saw." II' ■ that the Indians, after getting an Interiireter, promised him that " the lives of the prisoners slnnild he spared-woui 1 only frighten thorn ft great deal, to prevent them coming again. I made a solemn vow," he continue.", "if a \mmn was killed, never to go out v 1th an Indian again." Tlie savages violated their pledge, and butchered their prisonvr; : witli a barbarity too revolting to bo repeated here. The American officer above allnded to says : " I break open ihi- j letter fo- the purpose of stating that the body (as is supposed) of Lieutenant Eldridge, the adjutant of the Thirlctnib. has been brought in this moment, naked, mangled in the manner mentioned of the other." The excuse made for ibf i murder of Eldridge was that, after he was made prisoner, he treiicherously drew a concealed pistol and shot one oflbe chiefs throutrl- the bead. This was Blackbird's reason for niuruering a/(. Mr. Merritt speaks of Eldridge as " the offl- rer who forfiiited his life by firing at an Indian while a prisoner." He does not speak from his own knowledge. At ] investigation proved th" assertion of the savage leader to be wholly untrue, and this crime (strange as it may appai; stands, unconrtcmned by British writers, one of pure barbarian cruelty. The following least revolting recital is from a letter from an American officer to his fUcnd In Baltimore, dated at Fun j George, July 12 : "A recital will make you shudder. I will merely mention the fate of a young officer who came nmln my UKiire, whose bod> was fcnind, the day after the action, cut and mangled in the most shocking manner Immlim I liirn fmii liM hmlii, and nis ueabt btukfeo in nis moctu 1 We are resolved to show no quarter to the ludiuus ato [ Uiis."— -Vi/i's's Weekli/ Itmjiiikr, iv., 362. OF THE WAli OF 1812. «27 11 Merritt and utheit. ame temporarv le found liif i)()- le Beaver Dams I at Fort Gcoi'iii' into the Amcri- it of the 4tli of ,nd led by Lieu- ;wa to Schlosscr, brass 6-poun(lcr ? spoils they n- f John and Peter r leader, Merritt, r some medicines t George in May. istern wildcrnet'S, cago fame,^ weve 3 Lreakfastinp; at • ofl". Lieutenant 1 the relief of tlie , The impetiimis l)ush prepared for t, but overwlielm- ,ped. Tlic prison- vages, whose eon- ty.* Tills was so rVashington's iil;i!i ! Senecas and Tus- iO. Thcyhave, asacher- '■ See \)t.i( >■ In the Thirteenth Uf.ii- nppolnted adjutaii! lit t promise. frei-iii? to ndmitotrf.uo- iipopcd of Ilrilitli nod In- I have ever met from sn nil-, iind from that 1 have ml that he and John Bell was a ))i-isoncr and iia- " i^ays Merritt, "was |^^ lie liold tiiitil his moihet '," An American oUccr, ■et taken priponcrp.ftaidi id red aroimd their ove.C hands of Blaclil)ird anJ Jthc captives. "Tl.eiiw Inan they saw." lie ^r^ Ishoiild he epnred-ivoiiH : 1 continues, "if a prisonei butchered their prisoners Lays : " I break op«n tbis Litant of the ThlrtccniK [The excuse made for the listol and shot one oftle ■ ,jofEldridgca8"thco(l- liis own kuowlcdRC. .At f trange as it rany appra -inaltlmore,datedatFoni Ig officer who came nnilfi Iking manner. /n>fii(rm» Irter to the Imliaus all« ' ;,Ti;i il:i ' u :i!,'HlnBt Black Roek. Qeueral Porter harrieii to its Detetae. Bepolse of the Britiiib. laroias, who had proffered them, under certain conditions which humanity would impfse. Clark's success at Schlosscr suggested another and more important expedition. It «as the surprise of the American naval station and deposit for stores and munitions of war at Black Hock- near BulValo. It was organized by the gallant Lieutenant Colonel (Veil liisshopp, of the British Forty-first, ile left his head-cjuarters at Lundy's Lane in the afternoon of the lOtli," with detachments from the lioyal Artillery, and • jaiy, The Eighth, Forty -first, and Forty -ninth Regiments, and at Chij)pewa was *^'^- joined by Lieutenant Colonel Clark, with a body of Lincoln militia and volunteers, iiiaking his whole force between three and four hundred in numlxT. They embarked it Chippewa early m the evening, and at half an hour before dawn^ landed iiiiperceived on the American shore, a short distance below Black Kock. Tiie block-house there, called Fort Tompkins, was in charge of less than a dozen ar- tillerists; and the only other available military force at the station was about two hundred militia, under ."Major Adams, with two or three pieces of artillery. At Buf- falo, two miles distant, were less than a hundred infantry and dragoon recruits from the South, on their way to Fort George, and a small body of hulians under Henry (VBail, the young tJorn-planter, who had been jiartially educated at Philadelphia, but who, Indian-like, could not brook the restraints of civilization, and had gone back to i IS blanket and feather head-dress. These forces were under the command of Gen- iral Peter B. Porter, who was then residing at his house near Black Rock.' Bicshopp was accompanied by Colonel Warren. They surprised Major Adam's tamp, and he and his alarmed militia fled precipitately to Buffalo, leaving the artil- li'iy unharmed on the ground. General Porter narrdw^ly escaped capture in his own hutise. lie made an unsuccessful attempt to reach Adam's camp when he learned iifthe flight of the militia and the garrison at the block-house. lie followed on foot t iward Buffalo, and on the way met Ctiptain Cummings, with one hundred regulars, who, having heard of the invasion, was advancing toward Black Rock. In the mean lime the enemy had fired the block-house and Itarracks, attacked the navy buildings and a schooner lying there, and the principal officers had gone to the house of(ten- I lal Porter, where they ordereil breakfast. Their followers, and the re-enforcenuuits luiitinually coming over from the Canada shore, were employed meanwhile in plun- <\emg the inhabitants and public stores not destroyed by fire. Oil meeting Captain Cummings, Porter ordered liim to lialt. Then, mounting the < of one of the dragoons, he hastened to buffalo, rallied about one half of Major .VilaniV militia, and, with these and about fifty volunteer citizens, he soon rejoined t'iiiiitnii:^'s. With the united force and about forty Indians, he attacked the invaders, at eiirht o'clock, from three different points. Tiu^ Indians, who were concealed in a nviiie, arose from cover, tmd gave the appallintj; war-whoop at the moment of the aSlaek, and added much to tiie surprise and ctnifusion of the British, who did not ex- ptet the return of the Amcricaus. After a short, spirited contest, the foe were beaten, jinl driven in confusion toward their botits, now nnxtred ne!>r the present ferry, where ility rnllic■ llu was wonnded by a rlflc-bnll passing throiij;h his chest and lungs, and another shattering bis wrint. Ua re- iH 1. ^^^H m i^HBJI s ,'^iplisii m H ■ m 628 PICTORIAL FIELD-BOOK Death of BUshopp. His Monnment. Expedition to Barliagton Heights. Descent on York. ish suffered a greater loss after they had reached their boats.' Among those mor- tally wounded was the commander of the expedition, a gallant .young man tliiitv years of age. He was conveyed in sadness to his head-quarters at Lundy's Lane where, after Ihigoring live days, he died. He Avas buried in the bosom of a ereen slope, in a small cemetery on the south side of Lundy's Lane, a short distance from the great cataract of the Niagara, by liis brother officers who erected over his grave a neat monument. In tlJ course of time it fell into decay, and thirty-three years afterward the sisters of the young soldier replaced it liy another and more elegant one. Upon the recumbent slaii that surmounts it is an appropriate inscription.^ During the remainder of the summer there Avoi-e fre. qucnt skirmishes in the ncigliborhood of P'ort Gi;or"c caused by attacks ttpon American foraging parties inu no enterprise of much importance was undertaken ex- ^^^<;>-^^v ->"— ' cepting an attempt to capture the British stores at Bur- uiBBHOPi-'H aoNUJfENT. llugtou Heights, knowii lo be in charge of a feeble (juaril under M.ijor Maule. This was attempted toward the end of July. Colonel Win- field Scott had just been promoted to the command of a double regiment (twenty companies), and had resigned the office of adjutant general. He was eager for dis- tinction and useful servitic, and he volunteered to lead any land force that mifrlit lie sent to the head of Ontario, Chaunccy was then making gallant cruises about iIk lake. He liad twelve vessels, and felt strong enough to cope with any force that might aj)pcar under Sir James Yeo. Tlie expedition to Burlington Heights was under the chief command of Chauncey, He appeared at the mouth of the Niagara River with his fleet on the 27th ofJnlv, and on the following day he sailed for the head of Ontario, with three hundred lan.l troops under Colonel Scott. Meanwhile Colonel Harvey had taken measures fertile security of the British stores at Burlington. Lieutenant Colonel Battersby was or dered fiom York with a part of the Glengary corps to re-enforce the guard umlw Major Maule. By forced marches Battersby joined Maule before Chauncey's arriyal. That officer and Scott soon perceived that their force was insufficient for the pro- scribed work. Convinced of thij, and informed of the defenseless state of York on account of the withdrawal of Battersby's detachment, Chauncey spread his sails, went across the lake, and entered that harbor on the 31st. Colonel Scott landed his troops without opposition, took possession of the place, burnt the barracks, public store- houses and stores, and eleven transports, destroyed five pieces of cannon, and boro maincd at Porter's, Itlndly treated nnd attended by Iiis wife, who wna sent for, for about three weelcs, when he waffif- ficientiy recovered to bo sent to the rende/.vous of prisoners at Willliimsvllie.— Stone's Life of lied Jacket, page 246. ' The entire loss of the British dnring this expcd'tion, in liiticd, wounded, and missinp;, must have been nlmont m- enty. Rome estimated it as hi-ih as one hundred. The loss of the Americans was three liilled and five wonndpd. T»ii of the latter were Indians. "The destruction of property was not so great as has been generally represented. The Americans did not lose, by destruction or plunder, more than one third of the valuable naval stores at Black HiK-k.rol. lected for Commodore Perry, nor did they reach a particle of the military stores for the use of the army, then doposiifJ at Buffalo. The enemy destroyed or captured 4 cannon, 17T English and French musljcts, 1 three-poiuuiertravcliiiL'car Hage, (! ammunition kegs, a small quantity of round and case shot, I'iil barrels of salt, 40 barrels of wiiisky, conBldoralli clothing and blankets, and a Bm.all quantity of other stores (lurk's Ofllcial Report. ' The following is a copy of the inscription : "Sacred to the memory of Lieutenant Colonel the ITonoraWc Cecil Bisshopp, 1st Foot QnnrdB, and tnspcciini; flel'- ofllcer in TTpper Canada, eldest and only surviving son of Sir Cecil BIsshop]), Bart., Baron de la Fouche, in Enj;liiiiil. After having served with distinction in the British army in Holland, Spain, and Portugal, he died on the ICth of.Iuly, 1.S13, aged .SO, in consequence of wounds received in action with the enemy at Black Rock on the llth of tlic same mouth, to the great grief of his family and friends, and is buried iicrc. "This tomb, erected at the time by his brother ofBrers, becoming much dilapidated, is now (184(1) renewed byhlsaf fectionate sisters, the Baroness de la Fouche and the Honorable Mrs. Rechcll, in memory of an excellent man and Ix- loved bro'iter." Lieutenant Colonel Bisshopp received n severe, but not mortal wourd while on shore, and four orflv-e other? after lif entered his boat. The gallant Fitzgibbon took charge of him, and conveyed him a» tenderly as possible from Cliip- pewa to Lundy's Lane. OF THE WAR OF 1812. 029 :ent on Totk. hose mor- an, tliiity iy's Laiu' )f a green ance from cr officers, t. Ill tin- hree years laced it In- inbent sluii 1.2 e were fre- irt George, |)artios,l)ut jrtaken ex- ires at Bur- icble guanl )lonel Win- (lit (twenty ,gcr for (lis- it might lie s about tli( ' force tliat f Chauncev. nh of July, uiulreil h]\'\ iurcs for the 'sby was or- Tuard uiulor cy's arrival. for the pro- of York on s sails, went (1 liis troops ubllc storu- n, and bore i-hen he was ful- ct, page 'M. Iheen almost wv- ! womulpd. If" bpvei-cntoil. Tkf J Black RiKk, col- ly, then (lf|iosili\l Voi'travcliiicta:- sky, coniiiiicrnblf J inspcctini! W- jclic, in Enslail. llth of tlif ^:i^!,■ Incweilbyhifst- lent man and bfr lo others after hi luible from Chip- (Jeneral Dcarboru Bucceeiled by Geuerul Wilkiuson. Arrival of the Latter at Wasbiugton. Indian eklrmlsbiug. away as spoilH one lioavy gun and a consitlorable quantity of provisions, cliierty of flour. The expedition returned to the Niagara on tlie 3d of August, carrying with tlieiu tlic sick and wounded of Boerstler's conunand found in York. No military movements of much importance occurred on that frontier after this until late iii the year.' Four days after the return to the Niagara, while Chauncey's fleet was lying at an- chor ill tlio nioutli of the river, a British squadron under Sir James Yeo made its ap- pearance. Chauncey went out to attack the bjironet. They manceuvred uU day, and after midnight, during a lieavy squall, two of the American vessels wore capsized and ]o8f witli all on board excepting sixteen. Tliis movement we sliall consider here- after ill giving a connected account of the naval o2)eratious ou Luke Outario dur- ing the year 1813. ' ,.s »,>;<•.■ , ' We have noticed the retirement of General Dearborn from the command of the Xortheiu Army. That measure had been decided upon by General Armstrong, tlie Secretary of War, full six months before it occurred. He considered the command of that army "a burden too heavy for General Dearborn to carry with advantage to the nation or credit to himself," and two remedies were suggested to the Secretary's ,pi„j — "the one a prompt and peremptory recall, the other such an augmentation of Ills staff as would secure to the army better instruction, and to himself the chance of wiser councils."^ The former remedy Avas chosen, and General James Wilkinson, tlien in command in the Gulf region, and General Wade Hampton, stationed at Norfolk, in Virginia, were ordered to the Northern frontier. These men had been active oflicers in the old War for Independence, the first on the staff of General Gates, and the sec- ond as a partisan ranger in South Carolina in connection with Marion. Unfortunate- ly for the good of the public service, they were now bitter enemies, and so jealous of each other that they would not co-operate, as we shall observe, at a critical moment. It was early in March when the Secretary's orders were sent to Wilkinson, and with them was a private letter from the same hand, breathing the most friendly spirit, and saying, " Why should you remain in your land of vyjyi-ess when patriotism and ambition equally invite you to one where grows the laurdf .... Lf our cards be well played we may renew the scenes of Saratoga."^ Wilkinson Avas flattered, and as soon as he could make his arrangements he left the " land of the cypress," jour- neyed through the Creek country by way of Fort Mims to the cajdtal of Georgia, and thence northward to Washington City, where ho arrived, Aveary and Avorn Avith several liuiidieds of miles of travel, and Aveak Avith sickness, on the Slst of July. He was cordially received l»y Armstrong and the President, and, after being alloAved to rest a few days, and becoming formally invested Avitli the power of commander-iii- ehiefoftlie Army of the North in place of Dearborn, a plan of the proposed opera- tions of that army during the remainder of the campaign, Avhich the Secretary had laid before the Cabinet on the 23d of July,'' Avas presented to him for con- « isia. sideratioii,'' Avith an expressed desire that if he should perceive any thing " -August 6. ohjeetioiiable in the plan he Avould freely suggest modifications. At the beginning of the campaign Armstrong Avas anxious to secure tbe control ' There were frequent picket Hklrmishes. Among the most oonoplcnons of these -n-ns one that occurred near Fort OeDrge on the Itlth of Angust while the belligerents were near each other. It wiis the first, of any accotmt, in which ihe Indians of Western New York engaged after their alliance with the Americans, which had been made with the ex- plicit understanding that they were not to kill the enemy who were wonndcd or prisoners, or take scalps. The occa- ►ion referred to was an effort to capture a strong British picket. About three hundred volunteers and Indians under Major Chapin and General Peter B. Porter, and two hundred regulars under Major C'nmmings, were sent out by General Ikiyd for the purpose. The primary ol)Jcct was defeated by a heavy rain, but a severe skirmish ensued, In which the ratmy was routed, and twelve British Indians and four white soldiers were captured. The principal chiefs who led thoAmorican Indians were Farmer's Brother, Red Jacket, Little Billy, Pollard, Blncksnake, Johnson, Silver Heels, Cap- lain Half-town, Major Henry O'Bail (Complantcr's son), and Captain Cold, chief of the Onondagas.— Boj/rf'.< Ih'upakh. ' SWm aS the War of 1812, 11., 28. ' .trmclronj; to AVilkinsoii, March 12, 1S13. Armstrong and Wilkinson were both members of General Oates'g mill- IMj (taff during the campaign which resulted in the aipturc of Burgoyne at Saratoga in the autumn of 177T. i Tssmmmmmm ir'i « 4 I'l B1 630 PICTORIAL FIELD-BOOK Secretary ArmstroiiK aud Oeueral WilkinsoD. Generals Wilkinson and Hampton. IlanglitiuesB of Uarapton Oil' of the St. Lawrence by the capture of Kingston, but circumstances, as we have s prevented an attempt to do so. That project was now revived, and liad received the approval of the Cabinet. It did not strike Wilkinson favorably, and on the Ctli nf August, in a written communication to tlie Secretary, the general freely sutffrostcil modifications, saying, " Will it not be better to strengthen our force already at Fort George, cut up the IJritish in that quarter, destroy Indian estal>lishments, and (simiiM General Harrison fail in his object) march a detachment and capture IMaldeii? After which, closing our operations on the peninsula, razing all works there, and Icavinfr our settlements on the strait in tranquillity, descend like lightning^ with our w) ,1. force on Kingston, and, having reduced that place, and captured both garrison an,] shipping, go down the St. Lawrence and form a junction with Hampton's column'- it the lateness of the season should permit."-' The object of that junction was to mak, a combined attack on Montreal. The Secretary of War, always impatient when lii- opinions were disputed, at once conceived a dislike of his old comj)aiiion in ariih whom he had invited so kindly to come North and win laurels, and from that tinun widening estrangement existed. Long years afterward the Secretary wrote, "Tlii< strategic labor of the general had no tendency to increase the executive contiilwn, in either his professional knowledge or judgment. Still the President hoped tliatii the opinions it contained were mildly rebuked, the general would abandon tlioni, ami, after joining the army, would hasten to execute the plan already communicated tu him."'* Armstrong replied courteously to Wilkinson. He adhered to his own plan,bnt al- lowed that the fall of Kingston and the attahiment of the control of the St. Lawreiii.i might be as etfectually accomplished indirectly by a quick movement down tiie rivtr against Montreal, masked by a feigned at tack on the former place. But he decidedlv objected to any fixrther movements against the enemy on the Canadian peninsula, a« they would but " wound the tail of the lion ;"^ and Wilkinson departed for Sackott's • AiiKustii. Harbor* without any definite plan of operations determined upon, wliili 1S13. Armstrong sent instructions to General Boyd to keep within his lines at Fort George, and 8im])ly hold the enemy at bay, notwithstanding the American IW was much larger than that of the British. On his way to Sackett's Harbor Wilkinson sent from Albany his first orders i Hampton, as commander-in-chief of the Northern Army. This aroused the ire of tlif old aristocrat, whose landed possessions in South Carolina and Louisiana were almost princely, and whose slaves were numbered by thousands. His anger was intensifiod by his hatred of Wilkinson, and he immediately Avrote to the Secretary of War,'' insisting that his was a separate command, and tendering his resif nation in the event of his being compelled to act under Wilkinson. Wilkinson at tin same time was distrustful of Armstrong, and evidently quite as jealous of his own rights, for on the 24th of August he wrote to the Secretary of War, saying, "I trust you will not interfere with my arrangements, or give orders within the district of my command, but to myself, because it would impair my authority and distract the piiV lie service. Two heads on the same shoulders make a monster." "Unhappily for the country," says Ingersoll, " that deplorable campaign was a monster with tlin* heads, biting and barking at each other with a madness which destroyed them allaul disgusted the country."^ This calamity we shall have occasion to consider hereatlor, Wilkinson arrived at Sackett's Harbor late in August,'' and found liiiii self nomintilly in command of between twelve and fourteen tlioiisaml troops, four thousand of them, under Hampton, at liurlington, composing the riglii wing, and the remainder equally divided between Sackett's Harbor, the centre, ami I See pa^f 58B. » Hampton was on Lake Champlain, with his head-quarters at Burlingtci ' Noticfn 'fa! War i<1812, li , 31. « The same. » Amistri iig'8 letter to Wilkinson, Angust 8, 1313. « Hintorieal Sketch of the Setond War, etc., I., !9 | >• August 23. OF THE WAR OF 18 12. 631 ,'htiiic«B of Uamplon. 1 we have -> tn,' lad received the i on the 6th of recly suggftitcil already at Fort iiits, anil (should INlaklen? After ere, and lcaviii',r with our w)' I )lh garrison und ton's columii,2 if ;ion was to make patient when liis iipanion in ariii-, from that tinn- u ary wrote, "Tlii« Mitivc coniiilwiic ent hoped that if landon them, and, communicated Id 1 own plan, hut al- i" the St. Lawrinct nt down the river But he decidedly idian peninsula, as arted for Saekett"s lined upon, vliile thin his lines at le American I'orw tiis first orders to scd the ire of tk isiana Avere almost er Avas intensififd o the Secretary of ndcring his rcsi2- Wilkinson at tlir alous of his own , saying," I triM tlie district of my distract the ])\^y "Unhappily fii: onstcr witl> tlun •oyed them all and consider hereaftor, it,<^ and found him- fourteen thousand I mposing the riglu lor, the centre, and Wllklnso" at Sackett's llnrbor. Afiuirs ou the Niagara Frontier. Scutt marcliea fur Sacliett's Harbor. Fort George, the loft wing.' But his real effective force did not exceed nine thousand men. It had been a sickly summer on the frontier, especially on the Canadian penin- sula and the hospitals were full. The British force opposed to him amounted to about eight thousand. Their right was ou Burlington Heights, their centre at Kings- ton, and their left at Montreal. Wilkinson called a council of officers on the 28th.* It was attended by n. August, Generals Lewis, Brown, and Swartwout, and Commodore Chauncey. It was ^**^' determined to concentrate at Sackett's Harbor all the troops of tliat department ex- cent those on Lake Champlain, preparatory to striking " a deadly blow somewhere."^ Wilkinson accordingly hastened to Fort George, leaving Lewis in command at the Harbor, and arrived there on tlie 4th of September, extremely ill, after a fatiguing voyage tlie whole distance in an open boat. As soon as his strength would allow he assumed active command there, and on the 20th held a council of officers, at which Generals Boyd, Miller, and Williams, eleven colonels and lieutenant colonels, and ten majors, attended. It was resolved to abandon and destroy Fort George, and transfer the trooj)S to the east end of Lake Ontario. But orders came from Washington to "put Fort George in a condition to resist assault; to leave there an efficient garrist)ii of at least six hundred regular troops; to remove Captain Nathaniel Leonard, of the First Regiment of Artillery, from the command of Fort Niagara, and give it to Cap- tain George Armistead, of the same regiment ; to accept the services of a volunteei' corps offered by (Tcneral P. B. Porter and others, and to commit the command of Fort George and the Niagara frontier to Brigadier General Moses Porter."^ These histruc- tions were but partially obeyed. Leonard was left in command of Fort Niag.'ra ; no arrangements were made for the acceptance of the volunteers ; and Colonel Scott, in- stead of General Moses Porter, was placed in command of Fort George, with a garri- son of about eight hundred regular troops, and a part of Colonel Philetus Swift's reg- iment of militia, instructed, in the anticipated event of the British abandoning that frontier, to leave the fort in command of Brigadier General JM'Clure, of the New York Militia, and with his regulars join the expedition on the St. Lawrence. Having com- l)leted his arrangements, Wilkinson embarked with the Niagara army on Chauntey's fleet, and sailed eastward on the 2d of October. Colonel Scott immediately set Captain Tottcn, of the Engineers, at work to strength- en the post over which, a few months before, he had unfurled the American flag for tlie first time. Much had been accomplished at the end of a week, when, suddeidy, to the surprise of all, the British broke camp and hastened toward Burlington Heights, (iencral Vincent had received intelligence of the defeat of Proctor on the Thames,* and he instantly directed the concentration of all. his forces at the head of the lake, to either meet Harrison, should he push in from the field of victory, or to renew the attempt to repossess themselves of the Niagara frontier. Proctor, with the small remnant of his vanquished army, joined Vincent on the 10th. This retrograde move- ment of the British was the contingency which Scott longed for, because he preferred ;i( tive service down the St. Lawrence to garrison duty. He accordingly placed Fort (ieorge in command of General M'Clure, and crossed the river to the American shorts with all the regulars on the 13th of October. '' He marched to the mouth of the Genesee River, where he expected to find lake transportati(Ui for his troops. He was disappointed; and in drenching rain, and through deep mud, he pressed on with his little army by way of the sites of Rochester* and Syracuse^ to Utica,'' where " 1813. ad-quarters at Burllngloi | lie Seamd War, etc, i., » j ' Report of tlie adjutant pcneral, August 2, 1818. ' Minutes of the council. ' Armstrong's Notices of the H'ar of ISli. * Sec page 664. ' The only dwelling then at the Palls of the Genesee, where the city of Rochester now stands, was the log house of Knos Stone, hnilt in ISilT. Now (18«7) the population of Rochester is about 66,000. ' Syracuse was then in embryo, in the form of a few huts of salt-boilers, and called by the village name. South Salina. It uow (1S«7) contains a population of about 34,000. ' Utica is on the site of old Fort Schuyler, a few miles eastward of the later Fort Schuyler, originally called Fort 9t«n- wii, uow Rome. It was then an incorporated post vlllngo, and considered the commercial capital of the great Western ^^ ', Mi H ^. .—• j.r]mn»CTiy.-,«.i~ 1,1 1 1 . It ■ I 'i 1 iii^^m mm '^ MmKm s IIP ';■' ' ( a^^ e; t u i !a " ; .B! wj5« S! S IHP!HWWI 632 ■I ^ ■ ' i PICTORIAL FIELD-BOOK AmiRtroDg on the Frontier. The British threaten Fort George. It la abandoned. Newark buret. ^ November 10. he struck tlie road that from there penetrated the Black River country. • There he met General Armstrong, who luid left liis post at Washinajton for the double purpose of rec- onciling the differences between Wilkinson and Hampton, and to superintend in per- son the movements of the St. Lawrence expedition. The Secretary permitted Scott to leave tiis troops in command of Major Ilindman, and to push forward to Ogdeiishurc where he joined Wilkinson, and took part in subsequent events of the expedition. • October 13, When Scott left Fort George" it was believed that tlie British troops 1813. jiad been called from the west end of Lake Ontario to re-enforce the "ar- rison at Kingston. Such order had been sent to Vincent by the timid Sir George Prevost when he heard of Proctor's disaster. On the receipt of it Vincent called a council of officers, when it was resolved to disobey it, and not only hold the penin- sula, but endeavor to repossess every British post on the Niagara frontier. Mean- while M'Clure was sending out foraging parties, Avho greatly alarmt >| and distressed the inhabitants. They appealed for protection to General Vinccn . and he sint a de- tachment of about four hundred British troops under Colonel Murray, and about one hundred Indians under Captain M. EUictt, to drive the foragers back. The work was accomplished, and the Americans were very soon hemmed within their own lines Lv the foe, who took position at Twelve-mile Creek, now St. Catharine's. While affaii-s were in this condition at Fort George General Harrison arrived there as we have seen,^ Avith the expectation of leading an expedition against Burlington Heights. But he was speedily ordered to embark, with all his troops, on Chauncey's squadron, for Sackett's Harbor. M'Clure was again alone'' with his vol- unteers and militia. The time of service of the latter was about to ex- pire, and none could be induced to remain.^ Gloomy intelligence came from the St. Lawrence — Wilkinson's expedition had failed. Startling intelligence came from the westward — Lieutenant General Drummond, accompanied by Major General Kiall. had lately arrived on the Peninsula, with re-enforcements from Kingston, and as- sumed chief command ; and Murray, with his regulars and Lidians, was moving to- ward Fort George. Its garrison was reduced to sixty effective regulars of the Twen- ty-fourth United States Infantry. These were in great peril, and M'Clure determ- ined to abandon the post, and place his little garrison in Fort Niagara. The weather was extremely cold. Temperature had been faithful to the calendar, and winter hail commenced in earnest on the Ist of December. Deep snow was upon the ground. and biting north winds came over the lake. " Shall I leave the foe comfortable quar- ters, and thus increase the danger to Fort Niagara ?" he asked of the Spirit and Usage of War. They answered No, and with this decision, and under the sanction of an or- der from the itinerant War Department,* he attempted to blow up the fort while iiis men were crossing'' the icy flood.^ Then he applied the brand to the beautiful' village of Newark. One hundred and fifty houses were speed- ily laid in ashes.* The inhabitants had been given only a f^w hours' waruiiig ; and, District of New York. 1 ( was first called Old Fort Schuyler Village. At the time wc arc considering it had .ibont KOO Inhabitants, and was a central point for all the principal avenues of communication. Its population now is nboiil 'i5,(«M'. 1 Tlic present Jefferson County was then known as the Black River country. ' Sec piigo »!', 3 " I offered a bounty of two dollars a month," says M'Clure, in the Huffalu GazetW, " for one or two monthn, butwiti- out effect. Some few of Colonel Bloom's regiment took the bounty, and immediately disappeared." * From Sackett's Harbor the Secretary of War wrote as follows : "War Department, October 4, 1S13. " Sib,— Understanding that the defense of the post committed to your charge may render it proper to dextrmj the Ima of Newark, yon are hereby directed to apprise the inhabitants of this circumstance, and Ipvite them to remove ttiem- selves and their effects to some place of greater safety. John Ar.iibtkoso. " Brigadier General M'Clure, or officer commanding at Fort George." Behind this order General M'Clure took shelter when assailed by the public indignation. ' Mr. E. Giddings, a printer, kept the ferry between the fort and Youngstown opposite at that time, and for many years succeeding the war he had charge of Fort Niagara. He narrowly escaped capture when the British took the fort in De- cember, 1818. « Only one house was left standing. Mr. Merritt, in his Narrative, says : • Nothing but heaps of boats, and streets taW of furniture that the Inhabitants were fortunate enough to get ont of their houses, met our eyes. Hy old quarter;, Gordon's house, was the only one standing." « December 10. OF THE WAIi OF 18 12. 683 Newark buret. Fhcre he met Lirpose of rec- iitend in per- itted Scott to Ogdensburg, expedition. British troops force the gar- id Sir George icent called ii old the penin- )ntier. Mean- and distres-sed i he st'iii a de- aud about one The work was r own lines by 1 arrived there, inst Burlington , on Chauncey's e'' with his vol- ^as about to ex- me from the St. ( came from the ■ General Kiall. ingston, and as- Iwas moving to- vrs of the Twen- I'CUire dcterm- . The weather and winter had pen the ground, imfortable quar- pirit and Usage .notion of an or- iie fort while his le brand to the [1809 were speed- ' warning -, and, leringithadabontW Ton now is about '&,(**>■ r a See imj;e 8W. ItwomonlhB.butwitti- led." Jient, October 4, 1913. [oper to deatroy the Imn Ithem to remove ttteni- Jomi Abmbtboso. Ime, and for many years l8h took the fort in De- of boats, and streets tyes. Myoldqnnne"! SufferiDKB of the luhabitants. Jnst Indignation of the Brltieb. Furt Niatsora Burrendered. with little food and clothing, a large number of helpless women and children were driven from their homes into the wintry air houselesu wanderers.* Oh ! it was a cruel act. War is always cruel, but this was more cruel than necessity demanded. It excited hot indignation and the spirit of vengeance, which soon cau.sed the hand of retaliation to work fearfully. It provoked the commission of great injury to Amer- ican property, and leflb a stain upon the American cliaracter. Murray was at Twelve-mile Creek when he heard of the conflagration of Newark. He pressed on eagerly, hoping to surprise the garrison. lie was a little too late, yet his swift a])proach had caused M'Clure to fly so precipitately that he failed to blow up the fort or destroy the barracks on the bank of the river ; and he lefl behind tents sufficient to shelter fifteen hundred men. These, with several cannon, a large quan- tity of shot, and ten soldiers, fell into the hands of the British. That night the red cross of St. George floated over the fortress, and Murray's troops slumbered within its walls. "Let us retaliate by fire and sword," said Murray to Druramond, as they gazed, with eyes flashiiig with indignation, upon the ruins of Newark. " Do so," said the commander, " swntly and thoroughly ;" and on the night of the 1 8th of December — a cold, black night — Murray crossed the river at Five-mile JMeadows, three miles above Fort Niagara, with about a thousand men, British and Indians. With five hundred and fifty regulars he pressed on toward the fort, carrying axes, scaling-lad- ders and other implements for assault, and shielded from observation by the thick cover of darkness. They captured the advanced pickets, secured silence, and, while the garrison were soundly sleeping, hovered around the fort in proper order for a sys- tematic and simultaneous att.ack at different points. Five companies of the One Hundredth Regiment, under Lieutenant Colonel Hamilton, Avere to assail the main gate and escalade the adjacent works ; three companies of the same regiment, under Captain Martin, were to storm the eastern demi-bastion ; the Royal Scots Grena- diers, Captain Bailey, were to assault the salient angle of the fortification; and the tiauk companies of the Forty-first Regiment were ordered to support the principal attack.^ These preparations were unnecessary. Gross negligence or positive treachery had exposed the fort to easy capture. M'Clure had established his head-quarters at Buf- falo, and when he left Niagara on the 12th,* he charged Captain Leonard, > December, commander of the garrison, to be vigilant and active, for invasion might ^^^^■ lie expected. This vigilance and activity the invaders had prepared for; but when, :it about three o'clock in the morning, Hamilton went forward to assail the main gate, lie found it standing wide open and unguarded ! Leonard had left the fort the even- m before at eleven o'clock, and spent the night with his family at his house three miles in the rear. He gave no hint to the garrison of expected assault, and his de- parture was without their knowledge.^ They were between three and four hundred ^trong in fairly effective men, and, with a competent and faithful commander, might have kept the invaders at bay. They had neither, and when the foe came there was no one to lead. The sentinels were seized, and in fear gave up the countersign to the i"i,aiid the fort was entered without much resistance. The occupants of the south- lastera block-house, and the invalids of the Red Barracks, made such determined op- Kisitiou for a few minutes that Lieutenant Nowlan and fivo men were killed, and Col- ' The nnfcrnpulons James commanded by the gallant Lieutenant John S'-e'y. The batteries on the Canada shore and the cannon of the Americans opened tin simultaneously and vigorously, while Rlakeslee's men, cool as veterans, disputed tlu ground with the foe inch by inch. But the Indians and Canadians, lacking iiiornl Btrengfl ve way almost before a struggle was begun, and M'Mahon and liis re- serves w .)rdered to the breach. They, too, gave way and fled, and could not In rallied by their officers. ILall's power was thus completely broken, and he was placed in great peril. Deserted by a large portion of his troojis, oj»posed by veter- ans, vastly outnumbered, and almost surrounded, he was compelled, for tlie safety of the remnant of his little army, to sound a retreat, after he had maintained the un- equal conflict for half an hour. He tried to rally his troops, but in vain. The gal- lant Chapin, with a few of the bolder men, retired slowly along the jiresent Niagara Street toward Buffalo, keeping the enemy partially in check,^ while Hall, with the remainder, who were alarmed and scattered, retired to Eleven-mile Creek, where ho rallied about three hundred men, who remained true to the old flag. With these he was enabled to cover the flight of the inhabitants, and to check the advance of the invaders into the interior. The British and their Lidian allies took possession of Buffalo,^ and proceeded ti plunder, destroy, and slaughter. Only four buildings were left standing in the town, These were the jail (built of stone), the frame of a barn, Reese's blacksmith-Kin ip, and the dwelling of Mrs. St. John, a resolute woman, who, more fortunate than her neigh- > This battery, of three Rtino, was on the elto of William Bird's house, and Fort Tompkins was on gruinid now ocrn pied by the stables of the Niagara Street Railway Company. It had six pretty heavy guns, and was the largest work there. a " Among these was Lieutenant John Scely, a carpenter and joiner, who lived on the comer of Auburn ami Nlaeara Streets, and was lieutenant of a company of artillery at Black Rock- lie had fought his pieces t Hackctt'i llartHir. Colonel J u |^^f^ CHAPTER XXIX . " For a nnutlral knight, ■ lady -bi'iKh-bo I - Fell her lioiirt and her heart-iitrln(t» to arhcj To vIkw hU ileiir iKtrmiii hIih liH>ku(l to iiinl fro. Tbr name of the knight wiin HIr Juinca I.iicai Yco, And the //odj/'-'twu iih« <^tlu- iMkr" Old H<>nd--Tiiii CoiRTKom Kniiibt, ok Tna Fi-viita (Ui.n.ii KNKllAL WILKINSON, aH w« hav«» wm, arrivotl nt Satictt'. Harbor on ihc. 20tli of August, 1813, whtTO lio I'oinially UNHiitmi (•oimnniid of tlio Nortlufii Aniiy, ami, with tho co-oporation , i loiuicil of oftitHirs, formt'il u gfiu-ial j)liin of o|)«rat ioim iii'inn. tho enemy at Kingston and down the St. Lawrence. IIin fj^ care waH to concentrate the forces ofliis conintand, which wn. scattered over an extensive and spar^cIy-settled counlry, sciin on the Niagara frontier, some at liie eastern end of Lake Ontan. and on tlu- Si. Lawrence, and some on Lake Champhtin. lie accordingly diivci, - tliose on the Niagara and at Sackett's Harbor to rendezvous on (irenadicr Islami, ii. the St. LaMrence, about eigliteen miles from the Harbor, and at French Creek (aovr Clayton), about the same distance further down the river. Tliose compoHim,' tin right wing, on Lake Chatnjthiin, were directed to move at the same time to the (an ada border, at " tlie mouth of the t'lmtcan gay, or other point which would favni tl. junction of the forces and hold ilic cin my in check." For t!ie purpose of promoting hamiom of action between Wilkinson ainl llaMi|, ton, as we have observed, and to add ifii cioncy to projected movements, the Sen tary of War, accoiii])anieil by the adjiitai, •general. Colonel Walbach, established th seat of his department at Sackett's llai bor." He, and Wilkinson, .8qm.rai,.r' and the late venerable (Jen- '''" eral Joseph (rardner Swill (then chief en gineer of the Northern Anny, and l)i:ir ing the commission of colonel') hold eon saltations with (Jovernor Tonipkins ni Albany, who, from the beginning, had em- jdoyed his best energies for the pninietinn of the general good, and especially furiiH defense of his commonwealth against ii; vasion. Before considering Wilkinson's expcli tiori, let lis turn back a little, and taki a ^^^^1 ' JnR«pb Oardnfr Swift wan horn In Nantnrket on the last day of the year 1TSS. He entered the army as « cuilftM Newport, Rhode Island, lu isfto, and was the tlrst cradiiate of the MHiljiry Academy at West Point. He beoBiiie ttl'.» 11 to a corps of United States Knirinceri", and in ISOT, having attained the rank of captain, he was «ii)>olnl puditioii. WIk'II Wiir was (ii-chinMl in Juin', IHI2, zciiltnis Hiipportt'is of tlu- iiiitional adininiH- tnitii'ii were govt-riiorH of New York and Vermont,' hi'tween wliicli lay important |,!iki' Cliamplain. Tlicsi' majjistratcN, HiiHtained by tlit'ir re»pt'C'tivo Le^iHlaturcs, si'C- (iiiili'd till' administration in all its nu-aHnri's. Tiu! Lci^islatiiri' of V^-rmont proliibitcd ;ill iiitcrcoiirHi! with Canada except with tlie permiHuion of the governor, and they ;i(l(ii)t(d ineasureH for eallinfj out the militia of the state when needed. New York was not a wliit behind her sister of the (ireen IVIonntains in zeal and ettieieney. Dmini' the summer of 1H12 J}ri<.;adier tieiieral Hloomiicld was sent to the Cham* ^ -^VWfX^r,. plain frontier with several regiments, and on the Ist of September had collceted about eight thousand men at I'hittsburg— regulars, volunteers, and militia — besides some small advanced parties at Chazy and Cliamplain. General Dearborn arrived tiiero soon afterward, and assumed direct connnand ; and on the lOth of November lie moved toward the Canada line Avith three thousand regulars and two thousand. militia, and encamj)ed upon the level ground near the jiresent village of Ko'tise's I'oint. There he advanced across the line towa'-d Odell Town, for what ultimaic ob- ject no one knew, ;vnd on the banks of the La Colle, a tributary of the Sorel, he was confronted by a considerable force of volti- (;cur8, chasseurs, militia, and Indians, under Lieutenant Colonel De .Salttberry, an active IJritisii commander. On the morning of the 20th, just at dawn, Colonel Zebulon JM. Pike, with about six < liiuulred men, crossed tl!e La Colle, and sur- rounded a block-house which had been occupied by a strong picket-guard of Cana- dians and Indians. These had tied during the previous evenirg. At about the same time a body of New York militia, who had been detached by an ■-} ;er road, approached for the same purpose, and in the dim light of the early m' iio; were mistaken by those at the block-house for enemies. Pike's men openc' liVe upon them, and for ] U-cflinp to Major General ( ■. {". PInckney, of South Carolina, with tlie rank of lieutenant colonel. lie succeeded ' nitlian Wmii'- ;« ns commander of the United States corps of En;;ineerfl, with the rank of colonel. For his valuable ■ rviira on tlie St. Lawrence frontier in IRIS and 1814, and in defense of the city of New York, he was breveted as brlf;n- : TL'onornl. He was connected with the Military Academy at West Point for several years after the war, and in 1S18 he, >::li >fvfrnl officers of the corps, left the service because of the appointment of Oencrnl Bernard, a French ofllcer of dls- " linn, t(i the control of itnpdi tant eucineering services on the coast. For nine years General Swift was Surveyor of !, port of New York, and from 1S20 to imti he was snporintendent of the harbor Improvements on the Lakes. lie was 1 1 liiirte of several important works as civil engineer, nnionc; which may be named the Baltimore and Snsquchanna I!ailro.'.d, the New Orleans and Lake Pontchartrain Railroad, and the Harlem Railroad, lie went on a mission of peace, by imlpr of President Harrison, to the British American Provinces in 1S41, and in 1852 he made a tonr in Europe. Ocn- ml Swift contritmted many valuable papers to publications on scientific subjects. After ls;tO he resided in Geneva, Nfw York, spendinR his winters in Brooklyn, Lone Island. I am Indebted to him for many valuable letters relating to ihp fiilijcct of this work. He retained his mental faculties in great perfection until near the time of hia death, which vnrrrd at Geneva on the i.ld of .luly, ISWi. ■ Daniel D.Tompkins was Governor of New York, and Jonas Gnlnsha of Vermont. » mmmmmmmmm 040 PICTORIAL FIELD-BOOK Repulse ot the Britleh at La Culje. They rally uud defeat the Amrricnns. Llcnt.Ward atid Lioiit. Col. Carr nearly half an hour a sharp contest was sustained. When they discovered their mistake, they found De Salaberry ap- proaching in force with a strong ad- vance guard, when Lieutenant Ward,* of the Twenty-ninth New York Militia, with his company of fifty men, moved slowly upon the enemy, and, after re- ceiving three discharges from them without returning a shot, gave the or- der to fire and charge. This was promptly obeyed, and the appalled foe, taken completely by surprise, were driven back to the main body. This gallant performance of the lieutenant elicited the highest praise from his su- l)eriors. But De Salaberry's force was too overwhelming to be successfully withstood. To the Americans a re- treat was sounded, and they fled so precipitately that they left five of their number dead and five wounded on the field.^ It was a fruitless expedition, and the army returned to , November 23, Plattsburg^ out of luuuor and de- pressed in spirits. Three of the regiments of regulars went into winter isia. ' Lieutenant Aaron Ward received hie commission on the 30th ><' April, 1813. He was i)roninted to captain ii yc jr later. At the close of the war he was charged with the conducting oi the first dotachnicnt of Dritlsh prisoners from the States to Canada. Law was his chosen iirofession, and in IS'JS he became a lawmaker by being elected a i f|irestnta- tive of his district in the State of New York in the National Congress. He was an actlvf and efHcicut worker, aiici his constituents were so well satislied with hi i services that he kept his seat twelve out of eighteen consecutive yenrs. Ui assisted in fiaming the new Constitution of the State of New York in lS4fc, and after that he declined 'r, cnc,age in pub. lie life. He traveled extensively abroad in 1859, and afterward jjublished a very Interesting volume, entitled ylroiind* Pyramids. For many years he was niiijor g(!tieral of the militia of Westchester County. He died early in ISiiT. Ills res- idence was at a beautiful spot overlooking the village of Sing Sing, and the Hudson and its scenery from the Ilighiand; to Hoboken. 'MS. Journal of Colonel Robert Carr. Chrinttc's HiHtori/ «/ tlte War in the Canadaii, page 90. Robert Carr, whose jour- nal Is here cited, was born in Ircl.iud on the '.".tth of January, H";*. He came to America at the age of six ye:^r^!, and m- tled, with his father, in Philadelphi", They lived next door to Dr. Frank'ln, and he was often employed by that jrest man as an errand-boy. Helearnnl the art of printing wit' Benjamin Franklin Bachc, a grondson of Dr. Franklin, viih whom he commenced his appreniicoship in 1792, He r .-o to the liead of Ills profession, and in ISW received n ilrM premium as the best ijrmter iu Philadelnhia. He printc . Wilmn's (>rnilholnl utke ;rAo Wiu; t^t^r, asapriiiter,viith Pruide>\tWathi>igU>n >0.itia>rr(!rliiighi»(iv>neonip(i»itiQ>i*. OF THE WAR OF 1812. Lieut. Col. Carr. :^^^ i/cnt into winter intcd to cnptn\n n jcar llsli prisotRT^^ fi'im llic g elected a vcprcpcma- Bcleut worker, and ais conBCUlivo year». he liiiea •■■•. eiii,age in put)- mc, eutitlcilvlroiind* early linSCiT. IHsrf^- cry from the Uigtilonii^ oljcrt Carr, whose jour- >e of ?ix year!", and ►•'i- "mlilovcdliy lliii' ■' L,i „fl)r. Krauliliii.' jiii IBW receiveil n i. ■. • nlao Ree»'» r.i/clnjxilM. ml in August, lxlH,vrj( 1 He was disbanded in ylvani«,New.Ierfey,ot ' on the occasion o!ili« JoardpnBiiearPhil««tl- liod of mo.-o than hiitr Ter of the Leiris'.atnrcta aUlcrman ami ■ jnslin , Deprived oflii" prop- l8ylvBni,i-1";(l"'".'»'* ficmooii late in Kovf* J and assured met!* be |ihotM.rct. laiidcont-.insmncliv* In. oivi !«•«"'"' "*''"' Rsd of Deirborn'a Canada Bzpedltion. Praparatlons for War on I«ka CkampMB. Bwly If i 041 ther*. niiartors at Plattsburg, and three others at Btirlingto*, the former under the com- mand of Ooloiiel I'iko, and the latter under Jingadier liencral Chandler. The liylit artillery and dragoons returned to (Trcen1)u*H (opptjsit*' Albany), tW head-quartern ot'lTt'neral IVarborn, and the militia were disbanded. Tlicrc were no further military movements os Lake C'hamplain of special import- unco until July, 181.'}. Naval preparations ha. On the fidlowing morning they went down the Sorel with a stiti favoring hivczc from the soutli, and at Arch Island gavi chase to three British gun-boats. Ww ]pui'siiit continued to a point within sight of the fortifications on Isle aux I^oia-, win rt^ prudence caused Smitl; to tack and beat up the Sorel against the wind. When tills iiiovenient was discovered by the British, thn'c armed row-galleys were sent out lioiii the shelter of the lialteries on the island, and gave chase. They soon opened iiiidii the Hying sloops with long twenty-four pounders. At the same time a land ; force was sent out on each side of the river, who poured severe volleys of musketry ii)H)n the decks of the Groicler and Eagle. Tliese were answered by grape and can- ister. This running fight had been kept up for about four hours, when a heavy can- [ii'iii-shot lore planking from the Eagle below Avater, and she M'cnt down almost im- mediately. At about the same time the Growler became disabled and ran ashore, [jiiiithe people of both vessels were made prisoners. The Americans lost in the en- jaacment one killed and nineteen wounded. Tlu loss of the British was much great- i— probably at least one hundred. But they gained a victory, and with it secured, [tor the time, the full control of the lake. The captured sloops were refitted by them, tiiamcd respectively Finch and Vhuhb^&wA placed in the British naval service. Mac- donough recaptured them at Plattsburg in September the follow ing year. I Vacdonough wis not dislieartcned by his loss. It stimulated him to greater ex- jenions, and bj tlie 6th of August he had fitted out and armed three h1oo})S and six jun-hoats. Meanwhile a British force of soldiers, sailors, and marines, fourteen hund- riil strong, under Colonel J. Murray, conveyed in two sloops of war, three gun-boats, pi forty-seven long boats, had fallen upon Plattsburg." That place was en- ^ ^ taly uncovered, tliere being no regular troops on the west side of the lake. fhi'eiu'my landed on Saturday afternoon without opposition, and began a Avork of WKtruction which lasted until ten o'clock the next day. Major General Ihimpton pw at Burlington, only twenty mil«>8 distant, with almost four thcmsand men, yet he 1 not attempt to en ss the lake, or in aiiy way oppose the inroad of x.Iurray. The 'rotlicur shamefully violated the promises made to the civil authorities of I'latts- 1 Sidney S.nHh T?a« flflh lionteriaii*, nndi>r C'nmmftdore Burron In the Chetapeakr at the time of her nfliilr with the In IKiii hp wi^a ordered tti Lnk« Champlain, and remained In command there nntil the arrival of'H&cdonougb jiOTfeir in rank. He diet! n. eommardcr in the .ctvico In ISSil . I' Hi'in Harbor '« eoBsldeicd the best on I^ake Chumplaln. It is near the sonthwest comer of Ferrlaburg, Addison p.y, Turnout, nud nearlv yppofite Wcslpml on the New York .>!dc of tlic lak?. I 042 nCTORIAL FIELD-BOOK Colonel Hurray's Knid. Movements ofUamptou in Northern New York. Operatlous on LakeOntaHo. ftifi#i bijrg when he entered the villaso, that private property should bo respected, and tliai non-i'oinbataiits should remain uiiniolestod. After destroyiiij^ the bloek-liuusc arw.. iiul, armory, and hospital in the town, and the military eantoninent (known as Pike's) near Fredenburg Falls, on the Saranac, two miles above the villaj^e, he waiitonlv burned three private store-houses, and plundered and destroyed private iner(liaii(lis(' furniture, etc., to the amount of several thousand dollars. The value of public pMi). erty destroyed was estimated at twenty-Hve thousand dollars. ^ Having accomplished the object of his raid, Colonel Murray retired so hastily tlim he left a picket of twenty men, who were eaj)tured. He went uj> the lake Rcvcnil miles above JJurlington on a marauding expedition, destroying transjiortation l)oiitk and on his way back to Canada he jilundered private property on Cumberland Ilra.| on the Vermont shore, and at ('hai.y Landing. Such w;is the condition of afl'aiis m. Lake Champlain at the close of the summer of 181 ;t, when Wilkinson took conuniiiKl of the Army of the North, and prepared for his expedition down the St. Lawrence. The right wing of the army, imder (Jeneral Hampton, was first put in motion, whin it was thought that Kingston would be the first point of attack. He was ordered k. penetrate Canada toward Montreal by way of the Richelieu or Sorcl,to divert the at tention of the enemy in that direction. For this purj)ose his forces were asseinMi,! on Cumberland Head at the middle of September, consisting of four thousand etl'eit. ive infantry, a squadron of horse, and a well-appointed train of artillery. On ili, "September, lOth* he inovcd forward to the Great Chazy Uiver, the infantry in |ji,;ii< isi.s. convoyed by 3racdi)nough's flotilla, and the squadron of horse and anil- '■ September. ^^^^ |^y jj^jj^j rjij^py formed a junction at Cham])lain on the 20tli,'' and im the same day the advance, under ALijors Wool, Snelling, and M'Neil, marched as far jis Ovlell Town, just within the Canada borders, westward of House's Point. A seven drought was jirevailing over all that region. Hami)ton was convinced that lie weiilii not be .able to procure water on the route northward over that flat country fur hi- ' September 21. horses and draught-cattle, and he at uiicc returned to Chanqdain' ami took the road westward, which led to the Chateaugay River. At the "FomCer ners," not far from the present village of Chateaugay, he cncamnei'- " September 'J4. ' • , i • • i • i ' and nunamed there awaiting orders twenty-six days. In the mean time preparations for the expedition were going or- at the easteni end I of Lake Ontario, over whose waters (.'ommodore Cliauncey and Sir Ji.ines Yen ' lieeii for some time pl.iying a sort of hide-and-seek game. As Chauncey's fleet w:;-, co-operative force in the expedition of Wilkinson, wc may here appropriately consider ! the naval movements on Lake Ontario not already described, up to the departure uf J the expedition down the St. Lawrence. We have already observed the active co-operation of the naval with the landforowj in the capture of York^ and Fort Oeorge,^ and the atteiiqit of Sir Janu^s Yeo tosiw I or destroy the post at Sackett's Harbor.^ Intelligence of the fact that the Hriiiskj Kqiiadron was out upon the lake reached Chauncey on the 30th of May, while iyinjl in the mouth of I lie Xiagara ?^>ver. He immediately v,'eighevirj the lake and looked into York, and then ran for Kingston. Nt> foe was to be seen,} and he sailed for Sackett's Harbor, where the embers of the recent conflagration nm I smouldering. Chauncey felt some dcuibts of his ability to cope with the heavy v(*j sels of the enemy, and he used every exertion to have the new shiji, the General Pikl put afloat. She was a corvette, pierced for twenty-six long twenty-fours. Slie i vuj ' HUt':r;i nf iMKf Chaniptaiii frmn IBflft to I'iU, by PetiT S. I'nlmcr. pn^e t s] : I'elcr.Siillloy, ifSST iT, heslilc* l«v honnes >'Blned at Jlimi ; .I-idfte Palmer. $3sn W: Pnctor Miller, *1«00: Hoi«twick Hiirk,$1«HP0; ,T:ii;ub l''iirlf,iiTi* lesser amounts by other citizens. A stor«-boajriately omsiiltt \ [> I lie departure IviththclanAfoTO Ijjinies Yco tosoiif I let that the IiriiiAJ If May, wlulelyin;! Inehov, crossed vvii I Ifoe was to be sow. I eouflafijratioiiwmj Lith the heavy v»l |), the General Pk\ i^iy-dnir^. She f.»j tysT" 9"W'e™ would btt4| r British officer?, wti".''*^ LndUinnl betas I'-l Ju)cUmc,andimWW,rfH ♦ the pig? »* Commodore Cbauncey tries to engage Sir James Yeo. Serious DUaster. The British Commander avoids a Conflict launched on the 12t}i of June, and on the day before, Captain Arthur Sinclair had ar- rived and was placed in command of her. But it was late in the summer before she was fully equipped and manned, for niucli valuable material intended for her had liecn consumed, and men came from the sea-board tardily, a part of wliom were sent to the importunate Perry, then an.xiously preparing liis squailron on Lake Erie to co- uperate with (ieneral Harrison. Meanwhile the keel of a fast-sailing schooner, after- ward nainetl the Si/fp/i^v/as laid by Eckford at the Harbor; and a small vessel was kept constantly cruising as a scout between the Ducks (a group of islands) and Kings- ton, to observe the movements of Sir James. On the 10th of June the Lcufi/ of the 7;rtic, Lieutenant W. Chauncey, engaged in that serviiie, captured the Britisli schooner /;«(/(/ Murray, loaded with ]irovisions, shot, and fixed ammunition, and took lier into ll)e Ilarbor. At about this time the British squadron made a cruise .vestward, and, lis we have seen, interfered seriously with vessels hearing supplies for the Americans at Fort George, and destroyed stores at Sodus.' Sir James, as we have observed, had looked into Oswego, but thought it prudent not to land.^ We have alluded to the a])pearance of Sir James and his squadron off Niagara on the 7th of July, just after Chauncey, with the troops under Colonel Scott, had re- turned from the second expedition to York.' The lirilish squadron was first seen about six miles to the northwest. Chauncey immediately weighed anchor, and en- deavored to obtain the w'cather-gage of his enemy. He had thirteen vessels, but only tlirce of them had been originally built for war purposes.* The enemy's 8(iuadron oonsisted of two shi])s, two biigs, and two large schooners. These had all been con- structed for war, and Avere very etKcient in unnament and defensive shields. All day the belligerents manrouvred, with a good breeze, without coming into con- tliot. At sunset there fell a dead calm, and sweejis were used. When night came nn the American fleet was collected by signal. During the evening the wind came trom the westward, freshened, and at midnight was a fitful gale. Suddeidy a rushing -ainid was heard astern of most of the fie 't, and it was soon ascertained that the Umdlton, Lieutenant Winter, and Samrge, Mr. Osgood, had disappeared. They were lapsizedby a terrific squall, and all the officers and men, excepting sixteen of the lat- ter, were drowned. This was a cvere blow to the lake service, for these two ves- sels, carrying nineteen guns between them, were the best in it. Soon after dawn* the British squadron was seen bearing down, as if for ac- . jniy s, tion, but when within a league of the Americans it bore away. Again the *^^^- klligerents commenced mananivring for advantages. Alternate wind and calm made the service severe, and at length the considerate Chauncey, whose men had been at quarters full thirty-six hours, ran in and anchored at the mouth of the Niagara River. AU night the lake was swe[)t by squalls. When, in the morning,'' the enemy was seen at the northward, Chauncey weighed anchor and stood lout to meet him. Another day and night were consumed in fruill'ss manopuvres. : At length, at six o'clock on the morning of the 10th, having the weather-gage, Chaun- [oey, with a light wind, formed his fleet in battle order, and a conflict seemed immi- [iiont.' .But varying breezes, and an unwillingness on the part of the enemy to engage. ' July 9. 1 See pnpc «pB. » See pnpe OOfi. ' See psge 628. ' The I'ikf, ifnilimn, Ontida, Hamilton, Scourge, Ontnrin, Fair ArMriinn, Govtmot Trrmpktru, Conq^ifst, Growler, Julia, ji(«p, «nJ /V|■^ >Onthe iiiKht of the !>tti, t'hnnnccy, becoming convinced Hint lis, could not get tl;o wind of the British while the lat- llnirert (llpposed to avoid an nctlon, formed hin floi't in nn order of battle well culcul.dod to draw the enemy down. It Iwu consiilerert nn admirable movement, lllc vesBels were formed In two lines, one lo windward of the other. "The pesther line," pnys ('iii)per, in giving an ncrnunt of it, "connlslod altogether of tlie sninilest of the schooners, hnvlhg in 1,1b tlie order in which they nre named from the van to the rear, the .hiKa, Grnieler, /'.rf, Afp, Ontario, and Fair Amer^ Tl.e line to leeward eonlnlned, in the same ordiir, the Hkr, Onfirta, Mmlifnn, Gvvfrnnr Tompkins, and Oonquett."— i Hi«fm/ <\nhe Fnitrd .S7n/<'«, 11., 304. Commodore 1 'lintinrey, In his dispatch to the Secretary of the Navy on the Blh. Mid, " Tlie Mliooncrs, wiih long, heavy bnuH, ronm d nboiit six hundred ynrdj to wiriilward, with oidcrs to com- prace ,1 Are upon the enemy as soon as they could tiMith him with effect, and, an he approached, to edg • down the line nleeanni, Tue Jului, Grmeler, Pert, and .In;) in pass through the Intervals, and form to leeward, the Ontario anJ Fair fi u-an to tate their tlatlons in the line." The same dippositlou waa made ou the night of the '.Otb, when so action en- •B€)^K m :i ^ M Oaftant of American VmmhU. rtn^wrjr pmdant. A Battle at hut. Uni o'clock at nisjht the enfinv ••rnnioHl of the schooiicrH) op»;r»wi to draw uheacl, and a gi'iicrul ac- Im* - i / Hfie. Th**Y became separated from the rest aevere hut short stnij/glc, with funall loss, i and »t midni<5ht, the gale increasing, ('haun<^_, Genese*". He o.h<»»}fed his course, however, and w«»t to j^a/'|i«at'8 Harbor, wheiv, after encountering a cairn, he arrived with th(! reniainn <»f IiIh fleet on the 13th. On the same day he took in provi^iouH for five weeks and sailed on andher cruise, witli iiu|,( vessels. Off Niagara, on the J 6th, he fl'll in with the enemy, who had the samt number of vessels ; )iut, afler a cruise of three days nu)re, lie returned to the Flar •Juiyij, bor," where lie found the new vessel (the Sylph) launched, (^ireat siekiH» \m. prevailed in the fleet, and Chauncey lay uiaclive in the Harbor for some tiine.^ On the 2Hth of August ('hauncey put out again upon the lake, but it was not until the 7th of Septendx^r that he came in sight of the enemy. At dawn of that day the Jiritish 8ii CliuMdcey employed, very important. i)H 1I//I \\\h Hir 3mtui> lay becalmed off the Genesee. Catching a gentle bree,:i from tlie nor(hw<'M(, Channcey bore down upon him, and was within gun-shot di- lance of his enemy when i\ii Mf(/I«h sails took the wind, and their vessels, beiiii.{ tin (HtftPr sailer'' escaped, not, howevof, ^U)ii\\\i Hiistnining considerable damage durin^' a niiinllig Hgiil fo;- more than three houiM. 'f'h< I'lkii jnirl been hiilliMl several tiinen. lull not seriously hurt, while the Urititli vessels were a good i\tn\ I III up. Vco tinal ly escaped to Amherst Uay, whoso navigation was strange to the Ainerlciiii j)||nIi, and he was not followed, t hannccy lay off the Pucks until the 1 7th, when Sir.lnimt made his way into Kingston harbor. Chauncey jiow ran into .Sackctt's Ilarhort'or supplies. On the 18th the American squadron sailed for the Niagara for troops fo he con veyed to Sackett's Harbor, and was followed by the enemy. AH or remaining a th days, Chauncey crossed the lake with the JH/ir, Madison, and Sylph, eaili with a schooner in tow, having been informed that the enemy was in York harbor. Whwi he approached, Sir James fled, followed by Chauncey in battle order and with tk wcatlu!r-gaga The ])aronet was now compelled to tiglit, or to cease boasting of un- satisfied desires to measure strength with Americans. An action commenced ;ii ii little past noon, when the Pike for more than twenty minutes sustained the dosiKrv. assaults of tin- heaviest vessels of the enemy. She was managed admirably, and de- livered tremendous broadsides upon her antagonists. She was gallantly as.'»ist(il s part of the time by the Tompkins, Lieutenant W. C. I?. Finch, of the Madimn ; and when the smoke of battle passed away, the Wolfe (Sir James's flag-ship) was found to sued. "Notliiiifr conldlinTC beon Blmplpr or b<-ttcr devtnp(l," snye Cooper, "tliaii ttiis order i^ aUln; nor Is It pw.-iii'i J to say wliat wonid have been llie coiise<-aonccB had circnmBlanccn allo-.iod tlio plan to be rigidly observed." A AMI of tlie poBltloua of the Tesael.-i in this en);a«;e>r.ent »'aB »ent by Chauncey with h(« report of the affair to itic X«h lk-| partment. 1 ilamea Trant was a nat've of Ireland, and came to America in ITSl with Cnpiain Barry, in the AUiawc V i«allinuiiiagtcr in the Unilcil State? Navy from it."^ forniution. He was marke^i by eccentricities of (tmriuioi InnB, iind for the nioet iinfllnclii.' jj con-nee. ITc livi-d nntil he wa."! nbont aevenf y years of ape. Toward tli.- Ilfi> 111- was commlwloned a lieutennnl (May f>, ISl"), which gave him <{reat comfort. He died at Phiiudili llthofSeptemlwr, I-hSO. • It appears, b-' the offloialreportJ'nindc at almnt that lime, l.hatom fifth of the men were left on shore incd: of illneM. Of twer of persons found on the five vessels, and made piitioners, including the ofl?cers, was two iiundred and sixty-four. Among the latter was a lieutenant and two muster's males of the royal navy, four masters of the pro- vinciiil marine, and ten army ofticerH. During the remainder of the season Sir James Vio remained inactive in Kingston harbor, and Commodore Chauncey was employed ill wiitcliiMg tlie movements of the enemy there, and in aiding the army in its descent „llliC HllMM/MfVti. .Mler much (lineKHdhx) (i( Hackett's Harbor between the Secretary of War, (ieneral WilMilHon, find other oflheis, it was det ined to pass Kingston and make a descent ii|i(iii Modlniil (''or weeks the busti i" preparation had been great, and many ;irmed boats and transports had been built at the Harbor. Everything was in readi- msi< by tlie 4th ofOctober.^ Yet final f>rdcr8 were not issued until the 12th, when apian of encampment and order of battle a as given to each general oflficer and corps comiiiaiider, to be olmerved when circumstances would permit. Four days more wcic consumed without any apparent necessity, when, on the 17th, orders were given for the embarkation of all the troops at the Harbor destined for the expedition. At tlie same lime, (teneral Hampton, who, as we have seen, bad been halting on 1 1 banks of the C'liateaugay, was ordered to move down to the mouth of that river. 1 Chuincey was indignant and loud in his complaints of a want of support on thin occasion. Bpeaklni; of this, the Eon. Alviii Broniidn, of Oswego, New York, in a letter to nic, dated Augimt 28, ISOO, iiii,v» : " While on board the British i Stft as » prisoner in May, 1S14, and asBoclntlnK familiarly with its mibordinate ofliccrB, I received ample conHrmntion of ifporU tliiit hn.i been cHrrciit in the army and navy of tlie bad conduct of sonic of the officcrH under Comnioiiorc < baun- I nylnatlien late naval cnKagemeut at the head ofthc lalie. It was a runnlnt; fight, and the British sailors facetiously iilMIt the IhirHngtan liofta, as it was fought partly off Hurllngtoii Heights. Chauncey was the assailant, and would j lire destroyed the British fleet, or have driven it on shore, bad he been properly sustained by his best and heaviest I tewli, pnrtlcularly the Madimn, tlommandcr Crane, and the lieavily-arnicd and fast-sailing brig Si/lpk, Captain Wool- I Ry. Tliesc vessels never gol into close action." The only excnso was that tliey had gnn-boats in tow ; but (liiiuncey'g Jiipul for close action, which he ktpt flying, implied that the vessels must cist ofl' every e- 'umbrance. "The British I titen," continues Mr. Bronson, " awarded Cliaunccy all credit for skill and bravery, and «d;nit jd that their fleet must I bjichpcn destroyed If ho had licen properly sustained by his subordinates " 'loiircr of a flag of truce whr went into Sackctt's Harbor on the \'Hh of October admit^.ed that Sir James Yeo wa« ' V hc;itf n on this occasion that he had made preparations to burn ;:N vessels, and would have done so had Choun- — : •nm twenty minutes longer. )'v. •yfjun f>!i tho ITot*'* starboard side was dlsmniintod.—I..etter to the Kdltor Mi(ic /VcM, dateil atSackett's B^ rbor.Octolier 13, 1818, and copied InTAs (Tar, ii., 80. ' ..Hiiiiiia' and llamilum were the (Irmeltr and Jttlii, captured fl'om the Americans on thb night of tb« 10th of An- I'lieir names had been changed by the captors. :.;icral Morgan Lewis's testimony on the trial of Wilkinson. it . tl !.! m 646 riCTOIlIAL FIELD-BOOK Wilkluaim'a Bxpaditlou leaves Sackett's Harbor. A disaatrouB Voyui;e. Oallantry of Capulii Mjet,'. With a reckleHS diHregard of life and property, tin- ti()(>]i,s under Major (n-neral Lewis were embarked at the beginning of a dark night, wlieii portentn of a Htorm wore liovering over tlie lake, at ;i aeasoti when sudden and vioh'iit gulen were likdv to arise. They weri' j)acked in seows, bateaux, Durham boats, and common hike suii- boats, with ordiuince, ammunition, hospital stores, baggage^, camp e()uipiige, and two months' ))roviHion8. The voyage was among islands and j)ast nunutrous j)oiiits u{ land where soundings and currents were known to few. Tliere was a scarcity uf pilots, and the whole flotilla seemed to have been sent out with very little of mjin's wisdom to direct it. The wind was favorable at the beginning, but towanl mid. night, as the clouds thickened and the darkness dee|)ened, it freshened, and latorc morning became a gale, with rain and sleet. The flotilla was scattered in every di- •October 17, rcctioii, and the gloomy dawn* revealed a sad spectacle. The shores ot '*'•'• the islands and the main were strewn willi wrecks of vessels and proi). erty. Fifteen large boats were totally lost, and many more too seriously daiuasici] to be safe. For thirty-six hours the wind blew fiercely, but on tlie 20th, there lim- ing been a comparative calm for more than a day, a large pro|)ortion xjf the troniis, with the sound boats, arrived at Grenadier Island.' These were chiefly the bilgaclis of Generals l?oyd, Hrown, ('ovington, Swartwout, and Porter^ (the three former liai| encamped at Henderson Harbor), which had arrived. General Wilkinson in the mean time was j)a8sing to ami fro between the Harbor and Grenadier Island, looking after the smitten expedition. A return made to him on the 2'Jd showed that a large number of troops were still behind, in vessels " wrecked or stranded." The weather continued boister- ous, and on the '24tii he was com])elled to write to the Secretary of War, " The ex- tent of the injury to our craft, clothing, arms, and provisions greatly exceed our ap- prehensions, and has subjected us to the necessity of furnishing clothing, and of making repairs and ecpiipments to the flo- tilla generally. In fact, all our hopes have been nearly blasted; but, thanks to the same Providence that placed us hi jeopardy, we are sur- mounting our diffi'nilties, and, God willing,! shall pass Prescott on the night of the Ist or 2d proximo." The troops remained encamped on Grenadier Island until the 1st of NovemWr, except General Brown's brigade, some light troops, and heavy artillery, which went ' The now venerable Ms^or Mordecal Myers, of Schenectady, New York, to whom I am Indebted for an iiilrwlin; narrative of the events of this campaitrn, was very active in savlnp: lives and property diirlnj; this boiateroiin woathft It was resolved to send back to Sackctfs Harbor all who could not endure acMve service in the campaien. Nearly rw.i hundred of these were put on board two srhooncrs, with hospital stores. The vessels were wrecked, and Captain Mmt on his own solicitation, was sent by General Jloyd with two liirtje boats for the rescue of the passenpers a..d crew, li found the schooners lylnu' on their sides, the sails napping, and the sea breaking over them. Many had pcrishcisDi! the most of those alive, '.uvlng drank freely of the llqnors among the hospital stores, were nearly all Intoxlrntnil. Tit hatches were open, and the vessels were half-illled with water. By great exertions and personal risk Captain .Mk> succeeded in taking to the shore nearly all of the two hundred persons v\\o had embarked on the schooners. For, or fifty of them were dead. ' t'olone! Parr's MS,,Ionmal. "October 10, first brigade, under Boyd— fith, 12th, and 18th Heglmenta; secomlbji gade, under Hrown— Gth, l.Mh. and 22d Regiments, already arrived and encamped. October 20, the third bripade. niwie Covington— »th, 10th, and 5Mh Regiments i and fourth brigade, nnder Swartwout— 11th, 21sl, and 14th, hnvo arrin-i The flflh, under Porter— light troops and artillery -arriving hourly. The weather sill! stormv, and continual ruii,* I the laat two days." V.tSk'.i ^u OF THK WAIi OF 1812. Ut otCip\.\\nU]»n. klivjor Ui'iKTal ts of ii storm 08 wiTi' likely imon laki' sail- |)ii<4(', mill t\\(i rous points uf ^ a scarcity dt little of iiunv ,t toward niiil- led, iintl bcldfc c>«''> "" led, andCnptninMym, IsHcnpers ii..d crew. 11 Mnny hurt perished, «<' lly all intoxlonli^il- Thi linnl risk Captain M«rs the schooners. Font InenlmentB : sworn! W- Ithc third bricsdf, I'M'' land I4th, linv.^ sf'i'*' 1 and coutinnal niics [o: • October, down the St. Lawrence on the 29th,* and took post at French Creek. In the mean time Hampton, pursuant to Wilkinson's orders, moved'' down Wie- the ("hateaugay toward the St. Lawrence for the purpose of forming a ''" *' ' innction with Wilkinson from above. He found a forest ten or twelve miles in ex- ti'iit along the river in the line of his march, in whicii the vigilant and active De Siilaherry had felled trees across the obscure road, and placeil Indians and light troops to (li.spiite the passage of the Ameritans. (Jeneral (leorge Izard was at once sent out with light troops to gain the rear of these woods, and seize the Canadian settle- ments on the Chateaugay in the open country beyond, while the remainder of the aiiiiv ma open comtry, seven miles along the river, to Johnson's,^ where another extensive forest lay in the way. These woods had hecn formed into abatis, covering log breastworks and a log block-house. On tlie latter were some pieces of ordnance. In front of ihese defenses were Indians and iiliuiht corps of Beauharnais inilitia, and behind th"m, under the immediate command of Lieutenant Colonel De Salaberry, was the remainder of the disposable force of the enemy, charged with the duty of guarding a ford at a small rapid in the river, and keeping open communication with the St. Lawrence. De Salaberry's force was almost a tliousand strong, and Sir George Prtvost and General De Waitville were within liiigle call with more troops. Ilanipton determined to dislodge De Salaberry, take possession of his really strong- hold, and keej) it until he should hear from Wilkinson, from whom no tidings had heen received for several days. lie was informed of the ford oi>])osite the lower flank iif the enemy, and on the evening of the 25th he detached Colonel Robert Purdy, ot tlie Fourth Infantry, and the light troops of Boyd's l)rigade, to force the ford, and fall upon the British rear at dawn. The crack of Purdy's musketry was to be the signal tor the main body of the Americans to attack the enemy's front. But the whole movement was foiled by the ignorance of the guides and the darkness of the night. I'lirdy crossed the river near the camp, lost his way in a hemlock swamp, and could mutlior find the ford nor the place from which he started. His troops wandered about all night, and diiFerent corps would sometimes meet, and excite mutual alann by the supposition that they Iiad encountered an enemy.^ In the morning Purdy ex- tricated his command from the swamp labyrinth, and, within half a mile of the ford, halted and gave them permission to rest, for they were excessively fatigued. In tiie iman time Hampton put three thousand five hundred of his "rmy in motion, under (li'tieral Izard, expecting every moment to hear Purdy's guns; but they were silent. The forenoon wore away ; meridian was past ; and at two o'clock Izard was ovdered 1 1 move for\\ ard to the attack. Firing immediately commenced, and the enemy's i j keta were driven in. The gallant De Salaberry came out with about three hund- ^~•^ Canadian fcncibles and voltigeurs, and a few Abenake Indians, but Izard's over- whelming numbers pressed him back to liis intrenchraents. Kiting was now heard on the other side of the river. Purdy, who seems to have neglected to post pickets or sentinels, had been surprised by a small detachment of 'This point Is seen at the junction of " Hamptou'H ronte" and "Smith's road" on the map on page 881. The stream *en along " Smith's road" is the Oiitard. • Sec Map on page SSI. '"Incredible as it may apjiear," said Pnrdy, in his ofBclal report to Wilkinson, "Oenernl Ilamptou intrusted nearly «M half of his army, and those his best troops, ti> the guidance of men foch n/ vhmn repeatfdlfi asmtred him that fA«y vri ml nn/iiaintf-d with the euuntrii, and were not compctciit to direct such an expedition." "Never, to my knowledge," Kill Pnrdy, in another part of his report, "during our march into Canada, and while wc remained at the Four Comers, alenn oftwenly-six days, did General Hampton ever send off a scouting or reconnoitring party, except in one or two cues at Speur's, lu Canada." m ;;, |:! 1 1 it if m 648 PICTORIAL FIELD-BOOK Dlagraceftil Events. Hamptun't inglorioni Retreat Wllklu8ou'« Expedition on the Hi. Lawrence ^^ chasseurs and Canadian militia, who gained his rear. His troops, utterly dis<";ii(ertoi] fled to the river. Several oflicers and men swam across, bearing to (ienonil llaiiijiton alarming accounts of the gieat number of the enemy on the other side of the HtiCiim That enemy, instead of being formidable, had Hc^d atler his first tii-e, and the Uulicnju^ scene was presented of frightened belligereius running away from each other. All was confusion; and detachments of Purdy's scattered men, mistaking each otlicv tor enemies in the dark swamp, had a spirited engagement. The only sad fruit of tin. blunder was the death of one man. De Salaborry liad perceived that superior numbers might easily outflank him, am] he resorted to stratagem. He posted buglers at some distance from eadi ollur, and when some concealed provincial militia opened fire almost upon Hampton's Hank. these buglers simultaneously sounded a charge. Hampton was alarmed. Krdni tin seeming extent of the Britisli line as indicated by the buglers, ho sup- I)Osed a heavy force was about ii, fall upon his front and flank. He immediately sounded a retreat, and withdrew from the Held. The enemy in a body did not venture to follow, but the Canadian militia' harassed the army as it IMl slowly back to its old cpiarters at Cljateaugay Four Corners, where its inglorious campaign ended. The whole affair was a disgrace to the American arms, and, as om of the surviving actors in the scenes (now a distinguished mnjor gcnenil in tlic I'nitiil States Army) lias said, "no officer who had any regard for his reputation would vn] untarily acknowledge himself as having been engaged in it."'^ In this attair, wliiil has been uns.arrantabiy dignifled with the character of a battle, the Ameiiiiiiis lo>i about fifteen killed and twenty-three wounded. The British lost live killed, si-xtim wounded, and four missing.^ Storm followed storm on Lake Ontario and the St. Lawrence. Snow fell to tk- deptii of ten inches, and the troops collected by Wilkinson on Grenadier Island siit'- fen'(l much. The season was too far advanced — a Canadian winter was too near— to allow delays on account of weather, and (ieneral Brown and his division moved for- ward, in the face of the tempest and of great ])eril, on the '20th of October. Tlicv landed at French Creek, and took post in a thick wood about half a mile up from tln' present village of Clayton. Chauncey in the mean time attempted tc blockade tlir enemy in Kingston Harbor, or at least to prevent his going down the river either to pursue the Americans or to take possession of and fortify the important old military post at the head of Carletoti Island, just below Cape Vincent, lint Chuuncey's l>lo(k- ade was ineffectual. British marine scouts were out among the Thousand Tslaml*: and when, on the afternoon of the 1 st of Xovember, they discovered Brown at Fremli Creek, two brigs, two schooners, and eight gun-boats, filled Avith infantry, were m\\ and ready to bear down upon hii»i. They did so at about sunset of the same (iuy. Fortunately Brown had planted a battery of three IB-pounders on Bart'.ett's Point,;! high wooded bluft' on the western shore of French Creek, at its mouth, under the cmii- mand of Captain M'Pherson, of the light artillery. This battery, from its elevation, was very effective, and it was served so skillfully that the enemy were driven away after some cannonading. Ai, dawn the next morning the conflict was renewed wiiL ' In Ills offlclal diBpntch Sir George Provost nnltcd /ron> t'le Prince Regent a stand of colora for each of the live >jl- talions of Canadian mllllin as ii mar); of opprohation. Tliey were granted. a Major Generjljohn E. Wool, who then held the commlsRlon of major In the Twenty-nluth HegimentUniieil Stain Infantry. I am Indebted to written and OTal statements of (Jcneral Wool for many of the facts given concemine ili( affair near Johnston's, on the Chateangay. Hon. Nathaniel S. Bentop, of Little Falls, New York, late Auditor of it. State of New York, and anth r of a Hintori/ of Herkimer Onivti/ and Ur <'pper Muliawk yallfij, wis captain of a iniliia company engaged in ihis affair. He informed me that his company n.imSered loa men, and oH of them his o 3 beigfc — eix feet. , ' American and British OfHclal Keporte ; General Orders ; Christie's, Auchinlcck's, Thompiion's, Perkins's, and lew toll's Histories ; Armstrong's Notices, etc. i I OF THE WAB OK 1912. hii \ the St. Lawrence. discoiioertcj, (Till llaniiiton oi" iho Hticiim. I the lu(^K•l•()ll^ ch otlu'v. All each otlii'v fur ttd fruit of till' Lflank him, and L'lK'h olhc'i', iiiiil imptoirH Hunk. It'll. From tin the British line bugU'Vs, 111! siiji- e was ahinii tn and flank. \h neniy ui a hoily army as it loll •e its iniiloriiiii- irnis, and, us urn ral in tho United ation Avoulil vhI- this afl'air, wliicli e Americans lost ve killed, sixteen Snow fell to the ladier Island snl- was too near— 1» ■ision moved for- ' October. Tliiy mile u]» from iIk- tc blockutlc tile he river ehlii'v to jtant. old military laimcey'shlock- 'housaml TslamU; Brown at Fremli iifantry, were out of the sanie d;iy. «artlett'sPoint,;i h, under the com- •om its elevation, ere driven away ■as renewed , witli I for each of the Ave M- jHeslmentUnileilSHW Its Riven coiiccraini; lk» fork, late Auditor of tt« I WAS captain of a railiw II of them hl» a beigb li's, Perkins'*, an^I^'?'^ Amerlctn Camp at French Creek. The attacktu^ Brttlih repulaed. Wllklnaon pursued down the 8t. Lawrence. the same result, the enemy in the two enpaffemi'nts having- snffered irinih loss. That of the Americans was two killed and four wounded. It was with much difficulty that tlie British saved one of their brigs from capture. Troops were coming down from Grenadier Island in the 'iieau time, and lamling upon llie point on which Clayton' now stands, and along the shoni of French Creek as far as tlic lumber and rafting yard on what is still known as Wilkinson's Point. Wilkinson arrived there on the ;ul, and on the 4th'' he issued a general or- . Novemtwr, dcr preparatory to final embarkation, in which he exhorted liis troops to ***"*• sustain well the character of American citizens, ami abstain from r ipine and plunder. "Tlie u'eiieral is determined," he said,*' to have the first person who sliall be detected in plundering an inhabitant of Canada of the smallest amount of property made an example of."* MODTU ur VKENOII UKKKK.* On the morning of the 5tli, a clear, bright, crisp morning, just at dawn, the whole flotilla, comprising al- most three hundred boats, moved down the river from Fri'iu'li Creek witli banners furled and music silent, for they wished to elude dis- covery by the British, wlio, until now, Avere uncertain whether the expedition was intended for Kingston, Pres- cott, or Montreal' The vig- ilant foe had immediately discovered their course, and, with a heavy armed galley and gun -boats filled with troops, started in pursuit. The flotilla arrived at Morristown early in the evening. It had been annoyed by the enemy all the way. Several times Wilkinson was dis- posed to turn upon them ; and at one time, near Bald Island, about two miles below Alexandria Bay, he was compelled to engage, for the enemy's gun-boats shot out of the British channel on the north, and attacked his rear. They were beaten ofl", and Wilkinson determined to run by the formidable batteries at Prescott during the night. It was found to be impracticable, and his boats lay moored at Morristown until morn- ini;. A corps of land troops from Kingston had also followed Wilkinson along the hoithern shore of the river, and arrived at Prescott before the American flotilla reached Ogdenshurg. For the purpose of avoiding Fort Wellington and the other fortifications at Pres- cott, Wilkinson halted throe miles above Ogdensburg, where he debarked his ara- iMUuition and all of his troops,^ except a suflicient number to man the ' November e. ' This wne formerly called Cornelia, and Is yet called by the name of French Creek. It was named In honor of Senator ' ilm M. Clayton, of Delaware, iu ISai!. French Creek was called by the Indians Fallrn Fort, from the circumstance that, : A\i bi'fcire a white man was ever seen there, a fort had been captured on its banks by the Oneidas. : IJeiiiTal Order, French e:rpek, November 4, 1813. ' The loat that conveyed Wilkinson and his military family was commanded by the now venerable William John- 't.iii, who was an active spy on that frontier during the war. lie is better known as " Bill Johnston, "by some called the llfro." and by others the " Pirate," of the Thousand Islands. Of Mr. Johnston and his remarkable career I shall write |)re«ently. ' Thifl is from a sketch made In the .inmnier of l.sflfl, fi-om the place of Brown's encampment, at the Inmber and raft- II:; yard on Wilkinson's Point. In the water, in the fire^round, ia seen a raft partly prepared for a voyage down the ^' Ijiwrencc. The bluff in the distance, beyond the little aail-vnssel, is Bartlett's Point, on which M'Pherson's battery • IS pinced, The vessel without sails Indlc tea the i)lacc where the British stjuadron lay when It was repulsed. Tiie ;:\ seen lioyond Is Grindstone Island, from behind which the British vessels came. The point In the middle dlstsnce, II ihe extreme right, la the head of Shot-bag Island. 600 PICTORIAL FIELD-BOOK 1 i ■ ■ - , ' ' Pll Mmi^4 DlfflcuUlei lu Wllkinaun'i W»y. A Council of Offlcem. Nomber and Poiltlon of tbo Hiiclib Porcr. U;ll,l> IHI.A.1II AM> UII.K1MIU.n'S tl.UTlLLA.> boats. These were to be conveyed by land to the "Red Mill," four miles IhIdwOo densbiirg, on the American shore, and the boats were to run by the batteries ihiu night. At the place of debarkation he issued a proclamation to the Canadians, in tended to n.ake them passive;-' and there, at noon, lu; was visited by ('oloml Kiuij Hampton's adjutant general. By him he sent orders to Hampton to press forward to the St. Lawrence, to form a junction with the descending army at St. liegis. By the skillful management of General Brown, the whole flotilla passed Prtscoti safely on the night of the Gth, Avith the exception of two large boats heavily laden with provisions, artillery, and ordnance stores,'' which ran aground at Ogdt tisbmi;. They were taken off under a severe cannonading from Fort Wellington, and soon •NovemberT, joined the Others* at the " Red JNIill." Wilkinson was now informed that ^*'^- the Canada shore of the river was lined with posts of musketry and anil lery at every eligible point, to dispute the passage of the flotilla. To meet and n move these impediments. Colonel Alexander Macomb was detached, with t\vilv( hundred of the Uitf of the army, and on Sunday, the 7th, landed on the Canada shore. He was soon followed by Lieutenant Colonel Forsyth and his riflemen, who did ex- cellent service in the rear of Macomb. The flotilla arrived at the " White House," opposite Matilda,* about eighteen milc> below Ogdensburg, on the 8th, and there Wilkinson called a council of his oftiecis, consisting of (ienerals Lewis, Boyd, Brown, Porter, Covington, and Swart wout. Alt- er hearing a report from the active chief engineer. Colonel Swift, concerning the re- ported strength of the enemy,* the question. Shall the army ])roceed with all |)ossil)li' rapidity to the attack of Montreal? was considered, and auswered.in the attinuative. ' This Is from ft sketch by Captnin Vnn Cleve (see note 1, page BIT), who kiudly allowed me the use of It. Bnld Island Is one of the Thousand Islands, and lies on the left of the American or steam-ljoat cbnuucl of the river. It ib mostli bare, and rises to the height of about thirty or forty feet above the water hi the centre. At some distance beyomlii. nortliward, Is the British channel. The gun-bouts that attacked Wilkinson's flotilla came out at the lower end ufBtld Island, through a lateral channel in which the sall-vesscl lies. » He assured them that he came to Invade, and not to destroy the province— "to subdue the forces of his Brltanni Majesty, not to war against unoffending subjects. Those, therefore," he said, " who remain qniet at home, should vic- tory incline to the American standard, shall be protected In their persons and property ; but tho.«e who are founii in arms must necessa'ily be treated as avowed enemies. To menace is unmanly ; to seduce, dishonorable ; yet it is juft and humane to place these alternatives before you."— ^Proclamation, November 7, 1813. ' Thi- tlolllla moved at eight o'clock in the evening, under cover of a heavy fog, General Brown, in his gig, leading the way. There waA a sudden change In the atmosphere, when the generaVs boat was di«c.->vered at Prescott, and aliiws! fifty 24-pound shot were fired at tier, vithout effect. The gleaming of bayonets on slmre. In the light of llic iuodh in the west, caused a heavy cannonade In the direction of the American troops on the march, also without effect. Browa baited the flotilla until the moon went down, but its general movement was perceived by the enemy. For three hniii- they poured a destructive Are upon it, aiul yet, out of about three hundred boats, not one was touched, and oulyom man was killed and two wounded.— General Wilkinson's Journal, November 6, 1S13. According to the statement of Captain Mordecal Myers, already referred to (note 1, page M6), there were traltoreic Ogdensburg. He says that the British at Prescott were apprised of the approach of the flotilla by the burning ofWof lights lu one or more honscs in Ogdensburg. * Matilda Is a post vlUa'^e In Dundas County, Canada West, on the Point Iroquois Canal. The " White House " hi.l disappeared when I visited the spot in 185B, when the place belonged to James Parlor. ' Colonel Swift employed a secret agent, who reported to him that the enemy's forces were as follows in number Mil position : aOO under Colonel Murray, at Coteau du Ijic, strongly fortified with artillery . about 300 men of tiie Briliih line of artillery, but without ammunition, at the Cedars; 300 sailors, 400 marines, and an unknown number uf militia (.; Montreal, with no fortifications; 2600 regular troops expected dally from Quebec; and the mllilla between Kinetlon and Quebec, 20,000. Wilkinson reported his own force to be 7000 men, and that he expected to meet 40ne thousand wtronj^, had been sent down from Kingston to Preseott, under the ,.,,iiiin;ind of Lieutenant Colonel Moi rison. They had come in the armed Hcliooners Ikn^/i'rd .md Sidney Sinit/ . txjul several gun-boats anil bateaux uiuler Captain Mul- eiiHter, whieh had eluded Chaiuieey's inetticient bloekading s(juadron. They were jciiiu'tl at Prcscott by provincial infantry and dragoons under Lieutenant Colonel irsoii, an This conHlct is usually called the battle of Chrysler's Field. It is sometimes called the battle of Wllllanidrarp, Ihit Village beinf; almost within cniinon-shot rauge of the battle-fleld. Chrysler's na-ne Is fl-fiucntly Hpelled with r t. ♦ Ttio British army, on this occasion, was slightly superior in numbers, countlnii; its Indian allies, to the Aracrlcum and had the double advanta^'u of stronc position behind ravines and of frcxhncss, for the Americans hnd nndcri;"n^ great fatigue. They were formed in what Wellington called m ichehtii, or the flgnre of steps, with one corps niorf ii- Tjaiced than another, as follows : Three companies of the Eighty-ninth Regiment were posted on the extreme right OF THE WAR OF 1812. ess the BrItlLh Vanguard. BatUe on Cbrjrsler'B Farm. locidenta of the Cuntoat. The Aniericanh repntaed. d the greatest iii- 8 command to re- imanding gen('r;il eir gun-boats was d lo form hi? do- or to outflank him I to lie moored o'l off Cook's Point. brave Boyd, anx- battle, instantly S wart woul was ed with tlie fourth to assail the van- of the enemy, ■was composed of ■oops, and Gov- im -with the third woods of second onelE.W.Kiplcy, main liae in open ted, its right rest- md the left on a r Colonel Thomas itorsccted the ox- Imost impossible, apot In AiiRMt,!*''''' II the oxen nml carl art Irown'B MS. Utter-l.ii"k tleofWinianiKlrarp.tbsi ly spelled with a I- allies, to the AracricMt icrlcana had nndcre"« flth one corpe more "a 1 on the extreme right, .1 ^ Swartwout's sudden and successful dash was qni( kly follo\,'('d by an attack on the enemy's ielt by the whole of the fourth brigade, and a part of the first, under Colonel Coles, who advanced across plowed fields, knee-deep in mud, in the face of a heavy shower of bullets and shrapnel-shells.' At the same time General Covington, mount- ed on a fine white horse, gallantly led the third brigade against the enemy's left, near the river, and the battle became general. By charge after charge, in the midst of diffieulties, the British were pushed back almost a mile, and the American cannon, placed in fair pontion by General Boyd, under the direction of Colonel Swift, did excellent execution for a few minutes. Tlu- squadron of the Second Regiment of Dragoons Avas early on tlie field, and much exposed to the enemy's fire, but, owing to tiie nature of the ground, was unable to accomplish much. At length Covuigton fell, severely wounded,^ and the ammunition of the Americans began to fail. It was soon exhausted, and the fourth brigade, hard pushed, fell back, followed by Colonel J. A Coles. This retrograde movement affected the third brigade, and it too fell back, in considerable disorder. The British perceived this, and followed up the advantage gained with great vigor, and were endeavoring by a flank movement to capture Boyd's cannon, when a gallant charge of cavalry, led by Adjutant General Walbach, who had obtauied A'-m- strong's permission to accompany the expeditioi,, drove them back and saved the pieces. The effort was re- newed. Lieutenant Smith, who commanded one of the cannon, was mortally wounded, and it fell into the ene- my's hauds.^ The conflict had lasted about five hours, in the midst of cold, and snow, anil sleet, when the Americans were compelled to fall back. During that time victory had swayed, like a pendulum, between the combatants, and would doubtless have rested with tlie Americans had their ammunition held out. Their retreat was ])romising to be a rout, when the flying troops were met by six hundred men under Lieutenant Colonel Timothy Upham,* of the Twenty-first Regiment of Infantry, and Major Mal- colm, whom Wilkinson had sent up to the support of Boyd. These checked the dis- orderly flight, and, taking position on the ground from which Boyd's force had been driven, they gallantly attacked the enemy, seized the principal ravine, and, with a se- vere fire at short ransket range, drove ^he British back and saved the day.* Mean- while Boyd ha! reformed his line in battle order on the edge cf the wood from which Swartwout dro ■ the foe at the beginning, and there awaited another attack. It was notmafle. Both parties seeired willing to make the excuse of oncomuig darkness a warrant for suspending farther fighting. The Americans, under cover of night, re- tired unmolested to their boats, and the British remained upon the field. Neither ^-/ c^.^fi!^t>tA^ ^ party had gained a victory, but the advantage was with the British.^ resting on the river, with a 6-,)onnrter, and commanded by Captain Bamea On their left, and a little In the rear, were llankinf; companies of the Forty-ninth and a detachment of fepclbles, with a fl-pounder, under Lieutenant Colonel I'ear- . gis, on the opposite shore of tlie St. Lawrence. But he was disappointed. General lirown had written to Hampton the day before informing him of rumors of a liattit above, and saying, "My own opinion is, you can not be with us too soon," and beg- ging him to inform ihe writer by the bearer when he might bo expected at St. Rcijis.' Soon aller Wilkinson's arrival, Colonel Atkinson, Hampton's inspector general, ap- peared as the bearer of a letter from his chief, dated the 11th, in which the command- er of the left of the grand army of the North, who had fallen back to Chateaugay Four Corners, declari;d his intention not to join Wilkinson at all, but to co-operate in the attack on Montreal by returning to Champlain and making a descent from that place.2 Wilkinson was enraged, and declared that he would " arrest Hampton, ami direct Izard to bring forward the division." He was too feeble in mind aiul body to execute his threat, or do any thing that required energy ; and, after uttering a few varions pnbllshed Histories of the War; oral statementg to the author In 1866 by Peter Bronse, a survlvlDg flrltish sol- dier In the Dattle, living near the ground ; Dr. Amaea Trowbridge's narrative, quoted by Hough. The loss of the British In this engagement was 22 killed, 160 wounded, and 16 missing. The Americans lo?tl(l! hilled and 23T wounded. Among the killed and mortally wounded were General Covington, and Lieutenants Smith, Hunter, and Olmstead ; and their wounded olBcers were Colonel Preston, Majors Chambers, Cummings, and Nooii, df- tains Foster, Campbell, Myers, Murdoch, and Townsend, and Lleutenantsi Heaton, Pelham, Lynch, Williams, Browt. and Crary. Among the offlcers specially mentioned with praise were General Covington, Colonel Pearce, wlio took command of his corps when he fell. Colonels E. P. Gaines, E. W. Blpley, and Walbach, Lieutenant Colonel AKpinwa;;, Majors Cummlogs, Morgan, Grafton, and Gardner, and Lieutenants Whiting (his aid) and (late Mi^r General) W.J. Worth. The wounded In the battle were pitced In barns and log houses, and the mansion of Chrysler was made a hnspltai. \ bnllet passed through Cbptaln Myers's arm, near his shoulder, while at the head of his men In assailing the Hritisli if- hind the stone wall. The dcsperateness of the encounter may be conceived when the fact Is stated that of S9 men he lost 23. He shared General Boyd's qu.irter8 at French Mills. Dr. Man, a noted phypician, took him to his house. ini miles distant, where he remained four months. He there became acquainted with the daughter of Judge Wiiiiam B»i- li-y, of Plattsbnrg. and In March following they were married in that town. Mordecai Myers was born at Newport, Khodc Island, on the Ist of May, 17T6, and Is now <1867) In the nlnety-Mconj year of his age. He was educated In New York City, and became a mcrcliant in Richmond, Virginia. There he served In a military company under Colonel («(!■ erwnrd Chief Justice) Marshall. He soon returned to New York, engaged in bo! Ines3 there, and ser\-cd In an artillery company nnder the command of Cfliitir. .Tohn Swartwont. He was afterward commissioned an officer of infantry, aiiiKnr two years studied military tactics assidnonsly. When w.ir was threatenoii hew active in raising volunteer companies, and In March, 1812, he was commis-sioiinl » captain In the Thirteenth bntted States Infantry, and ordered to report to Colonel Peter B. Schuyler. Dnrinf; the m- he performed laborious and gallant services under several commanders In the Northern Departnent, and in ISIS Ihf disability produced by his wound caused him to be disbanded and placed on the pension roll fjr the half pay of « tip tain. Then ended his military career. He has resided n'any years iii Schenectady. He has been mayor r f that cily.iiii represented Now York city In the Legislature of the Statt for six years. ' Brown's MS. Letter-book » Letter of General J. G. Swift to the author of this work, dated "Geneva, N. Y., February l.t, 1S6fl." %^^^ OF THE WAR OF 1812. 066 of Oeneral Hampton. the tnoniing the battle the la and gun-boats ;d safely down Long II a ]) ids out discovering signs of an ene- and at the same ! the land troopg ohed in the same ction unmolest- At Barnharl's, • ee miles above ■nwall, they form- a junction witli forces under Gen- 1 Brown, and Wil- son expected t(] irofthe arrival of irnpton at St. lit- pointed. General munors of a hattli' 30 soon," and Vici;- .'Cted at St. Ueiris.i icotor general, iiji hich the commaiul- ick to Chatcaugay [but to co-operate lescent from thai rest Hampton, and mind and body td ler uttering a few se, a surviving SritlehBol- igh. The Americans lo?t 10! J and Lieutenants Smith, 'ammlng«,an(lNooii,(aiv Lynch, Williams, Brown, Colonel Pearce, who took tenant Colonel Afplii»a„, (lato Major General) W.J waemadeahoppitnl, A aMBiUugthcBritlelike- is stated that of S9 men h ■took him to his house, itn titer of Judge William B.! (IMT) in the nlnety-stconil jtid became a merchant i« mpany under Coloiirl|-« [ew York, enq«Kf " '" the command of Oa| i officer of Infantry, till f'" w-xrwaBthreatenenheirti 12 hewascommiwloiirt' Schuyler. DnrinRtbewK ep«rtnent,andinl815tb» ^11 fjr the half pay "'«'"; ecn ma vorrf that city, Mil 'Brown's MS. Utter-book 13, 1S60." j^ American Army at the French Mills. Character of tta chief Leaden. Hampton censured. 1H13. curses he called a council of war, and left Hampton to do as ho pleased. That coun- cil decided that the " conduct of Major General Hampton, in refusing to join his di- vision to the troops descending the St. Lawreme, rendered it expedient to remove the army to French Mills, on the Salmon River.'" " The opinion of the younger members of the council was," says General Swift, " that, with Brown as a loader, no character wou-d be lost in going on to Montreal ;"'^ but the majority said no, and on the folic winp day,* at noon, when information came that there was a . November i«, I'onsidcrable British force at Coteau du Lac, the foot soldiers and ar- tillerymen were all em- barked on the transports, under the direction of General Brown, and de- parted for the Salmon." Tlie horses of the dra- goons, excepting about forty, were made to swim across the cold and rap- idly-flowing river, there a thousand yards wide, and the squadron pro- ceeded to Utica. The flotilla passed up the Big Salmon liiver about six miles to its confluence with the Little Salmon, near the French Mills, when it was announced that the boats were scuttled, and the army Avas to go into winter quarters in huts.' Thus ended in disaster and disgrace an expedition which, in its inception, prom- ised great and salutary results. It was composed of brave and patriotic men; and justice to those men requires the humiliating confession from the historian that their failure to achieve complete success is justly chargeable to the incompetency of the chief commanders, and the criminal indulgence on the part of those commanders of personal jealousies and animosities. The appointment of Wilkinson to the command of the Northern Army was a criminal blunder on the part of the government. His antecedents were well known, and did not recommend him for a responsible position. Tlie weakness of his patriotism under temptation, and his too free indulgence in in- toxicating liquors, were notorious. Hampton was totally unfitted for the responsible station in which he was placed ;* and Armstrong, who was a fellow-soldier with them both in the old War for Independence, lacked some of the qualities most essential in the administration of the extraordinary functions of his office in time of war. His presence on the frontier during the progress of the expedition was doubtless detri- mei.tal to the service, and he left for. the seat of government at a moment when the poimsel and direction of a judicious Secretary of War was Uiost needed.' I-LM1E OK IIEUARKATIUN ON TUE SALMON UIVKU.* ' "The grounds ou which this decision was taken were— want of '.-road, want of meat, want of Hampton's division, •nil a belief that the enemy's force was equal, If not greater tl.an our own."— Oenernl J. G. Swift to General John Arm- nroiig, June 17, 1836. ' General Swift's Letter to Get eral Armstrong, June 17, 1886. ' In n general order Issued on the morning of the 13th, General Wilkinson said, " ' 'ho commander-in-chief In com- Vllfii to retire [from the Canada shore] by the extraordinary, nnexpecled, and, it iipp lars, unwarrantable conduct of M i.ii.r Oener.tl Hampton in refusing to join this army with a division of fonr thousand nen under ills command agree- I'llo to positive orders from the commauder-in-chlef, and, as he has been assured by the b jcretary of War, of explicit In- 'pn rions from the War Department." ' Tliln Id a view of the place where Wilkinson's flotilla was moored. The boats wer; soon frozen In the Ice, and in ''■'■■' i.iry, apprehensions being felt of their captnrr by the enemy, they were cut nni' i.'urnt do^vn even with the surface ' i!f kv, and sunk when It melted In the spring. ' Colonel Robert Carr's V.i. Illary. • See page 680. Uu Ibe Ulh of Noveml)er, General Brown, then in command of the army at I rench Mills, wrote, with coiwiderable P' t V i-.i ^"^"fll } ■ a * \\: ■fir f till ^ m J ■ - !- t m\ A '\ 056 PICTORIAL FIELD-BOOK ^a^a^jA- 1S13. D«ath f nd fln-lal of (ieneral CoYtngton. Head-qnaitere of General Offl cer*. Hampton's Disobedience of OrdT" On arrivii:L,' at Salmon River the army was immediately debarked on the frozen shores, r.nd set to work in the construction of huts for wint«r quarters. Their first la- bor was the sad task of digging a grave for the remains of General Covington. He was shot through the body on the 11th, and died at Barnhart's on tlie morning of the 13th, just before the flotilla departed for French Mills.' Wilkinson at once loft for Malone, after transferring the coram«.r d •November 16, of the army to General Lywis,* who, with General Boyd, made LKWIS'C ANP BOVD'b lIRAD-QtlABTEIlg. his head-quarters at a long, low building, yet standing in 1860, a dingy red in color, on the left bank of the Salmon, near the present lower bridge over the river at French Mills or Fort Covington.^ Lewi< and Boyd obtained leave of absence, and the command of the army devolved upon Brigadier General Brown, who made las head-quarters on the right bank of the riv- er, in a house built by SpafFord in 1811 (store of P. A. Mathews in 1 860, corner of Water and Chateaugay Streets), and tiioro he received his commission'' of " Febmary ii, major general of the United '*'*■ States Army. Hampton, in the mean time, had retired to Plattsburg with his four thousand men. By special orders, sent from Malone by the hand of Colonel Swift (when on his way to Washington with dispatches),' Wilkinson directed Hampton tn join the army at French Mills. This, like other orders, were utterly disregarded by feeling to the Secretary of War, saying, " fou have learned that the grand army of the United States, after marching and countermarching most Inglorlouely, arrived at this place on the 13th instant. I must not express to yon my IndiL-- nation and sorrow. I did not expect you would have left us." In the same letter he said, " Colonel Scott will hand von this, and can give yon all the information you wish relative to our movements since he joined us [see page Kl-.'l, and the present situation of oar army. The public Interest would be promoted by the advancement of snch men as Scotl." —MS. Letter-book. ' Leonard Covington was n brave soldier. H'. was a native of Maryland, and bom In October, 176S. In 179-2 he was a comet of cavalry, and was dlstinguishcu lOr braver> under Wayne in the defense of Fort Recovery (see page 62) in June, ITM. He was i a the battle at the Manmee Rapids in August following, where Wayne achieved a victory over th« Indians. At the time of the first engagement he held the commission of lieutenant ; in the last he was captain. ]]f resigned in 1T96. From 1806 to 180T he represented a district of his native state in the National Congress. In isonhf was commissioned colonel of light dragoons, and In August, 1813, was breveted brigadier general. He accompunitd Wilkinson in his unfortunate expedition that ended at the French Hills. At the time of bis death, on the 13tb of No- vember, 1813, he was about forty-five years of age. » There was a block-house at French Mills sltnoted on the property, owned, when I visited there in Isso.byMr. M'Crea. General Covington's body was buried jnst outside of the hlock-honse, In the present gardjii of Mr. M'Cra. There also was buried the remains of Msjor John Johnson, of the Twenty-first Infantry,* who died at the station on lli» 11th of December, 1813. The block-house was named Fort Covington in honor of the slain general, and the villazf that grew up around the French Mills na also called Port Covington. The place was first settled by a few Frencli Canadians, who built mills there, and from this circumstance It was called i^'rench Milli- until after the war. 3 " I found Mr. Madisoa mn ;h grieved by the failure of the campaign," General Swift wrote to the author in Fcbn- ary, 1860. " It was generally believed that, had younger oiilcers been placed In command of the armies of Wilkinsra and Hampton, Montreal world uave been taken without the Inconseqnenthtl conflict at Chrysler's Field, thonih ihii affair gave distinction to several ofBcers for meritorious BerN'ices." M^or Totten sacceedcd Colonel Swift as chief™- gineer after he left, of whom Brown spoke in the highest terms. * MnJor Johnson was from Pennsylvania. He entered the service as a marine in 1800, and woa first lieutenar * nodcr Prsble St Tripoli in 18M. In April, 1813, he waa aulBtont a4Jatant general with the rank of major. In June be wu commissioned major. BBOWN 8 UBAD-OCABTIBS. OF THE WAR OF 18 12. 657 ibedtctice of Ordert. hqdabtkm. g, low building, ajy red in color, Salmon, near the Br the river at nngton.'* Lewis of absence, an'! D- devolved upon I who made his t, bank of tlie riv- Spafford in 1811 1 1860, corner of trcets), and tLere n*" of FebniiTj U, nited urg with liis four of Colonel Swift ,cted Hampton to ly disregarded by Ld States, after maxchiog fcxpress to yoa rov innii:- flonel Scott win hand TOO due [6eepRge«l'>l,aDd at of Boch men asScoU. nerilTeS. InlTOvihPW! tec'ovcry (see page M> ia hleved a victory over ite last he was captain, llf lal Congress. InWto Incral. He accoinpawM \\eoth,onthel3thof:(o- ,veathereinlS6fl,l)yMr. ltgard::n"fMr.M'CK-s. Idied at the station on tli( 1 Boneral, and the villas J gettled by a few FrenA lafter the war. ■e to the author in Fcta- Ithe armies of Wilkin« Ller'g Field, thoash tlisl tolonel Swift OS chief ft- l»BBflrgtHeutenar'aii4tr f major. luJuncbcim nt Army relieved of Hampton's Presence. Sufferiugs of the Army at the French Hills. Departure of the Troops. Hampton. He had accomplished the defeat of eiForts to take Canada,' and, leaving General IzaT , of South Carolina, in command, he abandoned the service, and returned to his immense sugar plantations in Louisiana,'^ followed by the contempt of all vir- tuous and patriotic men. General Brown at once adopted measures for making the troops as comfortable as possible. Huts were constructed, but this was a work of much labor, and consumed several weeks. Meanwhile severe winter weather came. They were on tlie forty- lifth parallel, and at the beginning of December the cold became intense. Most of the soldiers had lost their blarkets and extra clothing in the disasters near Grenadier Island, or in the battle on Chrysler's Field. Even tlie sick had no shelter but tents. The country in the viciu ty was a wilderness, and provisions were not only scarce, but of inferior quality. A great quantity of medicines and hospital stores had been lost through mismanagement, and these could not bo procured short, of Albany, a dis- tance of two hundred and fifty miles. The mortality among the sick became fright- ful and disease prostrated nearly one half of the little army before they were fairly lioused in well-regulivted cantonments. ^ Taking advantage of this distress, British emissaries tried, by the circulation of written and printed placards, to seduce the suf- ferintj soldiers from their alL Ljlance. One of these written ])lacards (see a fac-sirailc on the next page), found one moniing upon a tree in one of the American camps, and presented to me by Colonel Carr, reads thus : "Notice. — All American Soldiers who may wish to quit the unnatural war in which they are at present engaged will receive the arrears due to them by the Amer- ican Government to th(! extent of five month's pay, on their arrival at the British out Posts. No man shall be required to serve against his own country." It is believed that not a single soldier of American birth was enticed away by such allurements. The enemy frequently menaced the cantonment at French Mills, as well as at Plattsburg, and toward the close of January Wilkinson received orders from the War Department to break up the post on Salmon River. Early in February the move- ment was made. The flotilla was destroye'l as fully as the ice in which it was frozen would permit, and the barracks wore consumed. The hospital at Malone was aban- doned ; and while Brown, with a larger portion of the troops, marched up the St. Law- rence and to Sackett's Harbor, the remainder accompanied the commander-in-chief to Plattsburg The enemy at Cornwall were apprised of this movement, and crossed the river on the ice on the day when the last American detachment left French Mills. Tacy were regulars, Canadian militia, and Indians, and plunder seemed to be their chief object. In tiiis they were indulged, and the abandoned frontier suflered much. No discrimination seemed to be made between public and private property, and it was estimated that at least two hundred barrels of provisions were carried away. Tims closed the events of the campaign of 1813 on the Northern frontier. I visited the theatre of the scenes described in this chapter partly in the year 1866, ' See note 8, page 2Se. ' lismpton tiad Immense sngar plantations in Louisiana, and was donhtless the most extensive planter and wealthiest man in tlie Sonthcrn States. He owned at one time five thousand negro slaves. He was a native of South Carolina, indwssbom in TTM. He was an active partisan soldier with Sumter and Marlon. In 1803 he was commissioned a ft rolosel of light dragoons, and a brigadier general in 1809. On the 2d ofMarch, 1S18, he was promoted to major general. Hi« inelllcient caroer is recorded '" i the text. In April, 1814, he resigned his com.nission, to the great Joy of the North- m .\rmy, with whom his deportment and habits had made him nnpopular. He died at Colambla, South Carolina, on ihe 4th of February, 1838, at the age of eighty-one years. ' The srmy was cantoned as ft)llows on the Ist of January, 1814: The artillery, under Colonel .^lexander Macomb, of the Engineers, at the block-honee on Mr. John H'Crea's property. Tlio woujded fi-om Chrysler's n ere taken Into the block-honse. This was called the Centre Camp. The Ecut Camp, un- il' r tlie charge of Colonel F.. W. Ripley, was on Selh Blanchard's properly. The North Camp, under Colonel James Mll- l»r. wan on Ihe property of Allen Lincoln. The Wett Crnnp, under Colonel Campbell, was on W. L. Manning's property. Tiiv Hmth Camp was on Hamlet Mear's property. The owners above mentioned were the proprietors of the land when Iv'itedForl Covington in tjie cummer of 1800. Tt a ' 'mm i ■ '■f tv m m wh 1:1 [M|i IttE "M« il mi: n '! n 658 PICTORIAL FIELD-BOOK Attempt to eedace the American Boldlen from their Allegiance. ancl partly in 1860. In the evening of Monday, the 23d of July, in the latter }wl journeyed with a friend, as already mentioned on page 619, from Watertowu toCf I v OF THE WAR OF 1812. Mt Remains of Portlflotioni there. Lin the latter )W.l lnWatefto\viitoCai«l Their Illitory, TUIt to C»rIeton liland. , ^ ^ ^ ^ Vincent' by railway, and lodged in an inn connected with the road station tliere, standing on tiie margin of tlu' St. Lawrence. It waH a. chilly night. The next morn- ing was clear and blustering, and tiic siirfaco of the river was dotted with the white caps of the wavcK. After an early bi-eakfast we started for Carleton Island, three miles down the St. Lawrence, in a skift' rowed by a son of the proprietor of the hotel. As we approached the rocky blutt" at the head of tho island we oljserved several chim- neys standing alone (built of stone, some perfect, some half hi ruins), which mark the remains of strong and somewhat extensive fortifications erected there by both the French and English during the last century, that post being a key to the internavi- (jation of the St. Lawrence River and Lake Ontario. We moored our boat in a small sheltered creek by which the head of the island is made a pleasant peninsula of eiglit or ten acres. On this stand the residences of Mr. Chai-les Pluche, an intelligent French Canadian (who owns five hundred acres of the western end of the island*), and of his brother. That creek separates the peninsula from the higher bluff on which the ruins of Fort Carleton are seen. Mr. Pluche kindly accompanied us to these ruins and other interesting places near, and, but for the increasing violence of the wind, which became almost a gale at noon, our visit would liavc been one of unmixed satisfaction. Tlie ruins of Fort Carleton are upon the most elevated portion of the island, and from 'he ramparts may be viewed some of the most picturesque scenery of the famous Thousand Islands and the New York shore. At what precise time fortificat%ns were first erected there is not positively known. The English found it quite a strongly fortified post at the time of the conquest of Canada, at a little past the middle of the last century, and, perceiving its value in a military point of view (for it commands the main channel of the St. Lawrence), they greatly strengthened it.^ They occupied it until 1812, On the declaration ot war that year most of the barracks to which the now standing chimneys belonged wei-c in good order, and before Cape Vincent was settled two or three families resided on the island. A garri- son, composed of a ser- geant ind three invalid soldiers, and two women, occupied the fort when the war broke out. As soon as intelligence of the declaration reached tlie frontier. Captain Ab- ncr Hubbard, of Hub- bard's (now Milieu's) Bay, a soldier of the Rev- I olution, started in a boat, with a man and boy, to SKMAIHS OF rOBT CABLETON.* I This was Ijnown ns Gravelly Point at the time of the War of 1S12. It was laid out as a village in ISIT. It is the northenimost town of Jefferson County, and Is the terminus of the Rome, Watertown, and Cape Vincent Railway. From ihiK imint is a ferry to Klnffston, passing through Wolf or Orand Island by a canal dug for the purpo»e a few years ago. The railway wharf Is 3000 feet In lengtli, with large store-houses and a grain-elevator. ' The island contains 1274 acres. The portion here alluded to was a military class-right, located tliere In 1786. The island forms a part of Cape Vincent Township, Jefferson County, New York. The Island received Its name from Gov- ernor Sir Gay Carleton. ' \Mg. In his Voiia/iet, printed in London, 179t. after speaking of Oswegatchie (Ogdensburg), says, " Carleton is higher op the river, and has greater conveniences to it than Oswegatchie, having an excellent harbor, with strong fortifications, tmi well garrisoned, excellent accommodations for shipping, a naval store-house for Niagara and other porta." ^ • This view is from the N. N. E. point of the fort, and shows eight of the nine chimneys yet standing. On the ex- Itteme right, beyond the lltti" vessel, is seen Cape Vincent. I . !.a 6eo PICTORIAL FIELD-BOOK IMUIAN AUHI.ET. FIniSetsDraor* MlMMyVoit lutcreitiDg Relica on Carlaton liUod. Perilous Vojrig* on the Ht. |..,u r „. capturo Fort Carleton. He sncceedcd, and thiH was the firut 8t>i/.urc of a military pOHt artiT the di'clarali"ii of Vf'ar. lie sent a boat on the lollowiiij; day to briiij^ away the HtoieH, and soon atlerward the l)arraek8 were burned. Niui^ bare cliinnieyM ha^ stood there ever ninee, gray and solitary tokeim of oliange. There were ai)out iweiity originally within the fort, Home of whieli are in rninB. There were also eliiinncys on the little peninsula near Mr. I'luehe's house, and ahnig the shore northwiinl, \vhiiv,oii a fine grassy point, vestiges of the gardens that were attached to the otVieers' (|u,'iiui> may yet be seen. The moot tliat surrounded the fort was dug in the rock, and so was the well in the norti»western portion of the works. A little northward of tlie fort was the garrison cemetery ; and beyond this, a fourth of a mile from the ramparts, is an ancient Indian burial-ground, in a grove of small trees on the verge of the river. In a grave that was opened there in the spiinij of 1H«0 was found the skeleton of a chief, bearing evidence that the body was Hm wiupped in the hide of a bufl'alo, then swathed in birch-bark, and next deposited in a board coffin. With the skeleton was found a sil- ver gorget, on which was engraved a runnini,' deer, also a line silver armlet (now in jiossession of tlio writer) bearing the royal arms of England,' silver ear-rings, and other trinkets. Near this burial- ground was found, tlie year before, a silver imdal giv(>n by the British government to Colonel .lolm IJutler. It is known that Hutler and Sir John .Johnson encamped, with the Iiidians from the Mo- liawk Valley, on Carleton Island in 1775, when on their M'ay to join the British at Montreal. The medal w.is doubtless lost there at that time, and the chief who bore the armlet ami gorget was probably one of the expedition, who perished there. After partaking of some refreshments from the hands of Mrs. PlucKe and daujjh'er, we re-embarked in our little boat at noon. The wind was blowing almost a gale from the direction of Lake Ontario, bringing down waves that made the voyage a dangerous one. At times, when in the trough, we could not see the land. Our oars- man, a stout, resolute young man, labored faithfully, with the boat's bow up sticain, but he could not make an inch of headway toward Cipe Vincent; so, alter heavy ex- ertions and some anxiety, we were driven to the southern shore of the river, at a point opposite our place of departure. There we abandoned the boat and stn.rted mi foot for Cape Vincent, when we met a farmer, with his wagon and rick, going to lii- field for hay. We hired him to take us to the Cape, and on soft, sweet dried "ii- we lay and rested in the cool air to the end of the wagon journey. The reniaimki of the afternoon was spent at the Capo in strolling about the little village, tor tin river .was too rough to make a wished-for voyage to Grenadier Island either safo er pleasant. There we met General W^illiam Estes, who was conspicuous in the " Patritt War" in Canada in 1 838, and visited the dwelling of Dr. Webb, the kitchen part oi which is the remnant of the house of Richard M. Esseltyne, which, with otherfs, wa- destroyed by the British. In it an American was shot. We lodged at Cape Vincent that night, and at five o'clock the next morning depnrti ' in a lake steamer for Clayton (French Creek), sixteen miles below, Avhere we lanli and breakfasted at the "Walton House," kept by a son of William Johnston, known among his British contemporaries in 1838 as "the Pirate of the Thousand Islands." 1 This armlet is little mare than ten Incbei In length and two and a half In width, and the ornamentntlon is emboswl work. In addition to the royal arms is a trophy group, composed of helmet and cnirase, cnnnon, 8pear!<, and bannen, the latter bearing the letters G. R., the monogram of the king ; and n group Inclosed within branches uf the olive ant palm, composed of a crown resting upon a sword and sceptre crossed. These armlets, gorgets, and other silver onu- ments were distributed freely among the Indian chiefs by the British government, as one of the means of secoringlW j loyalty. The gorget was always sospended tram the neck, and rested npon the upper part of the breast. OF THE WAK OF 1818. Ml on the HI. UwrcBcc. e of a miliuiry r to br'mi; awuy cir.mm'yn liavi re ubiiut iwi'uij Iso ohimm-yH im iwiiri ixt (Icpositcil ill a was founil a sil- (1 iiruuuinittlwr, ^)08«eHsioii of till' f England,' silver Near this Vmiial- ire, a silver iimlal t to Colonel .Tolin t,ler and Sir .Tuliii lians from the Mi I in 1775, wk'non at Montreal. Tii^ jre the aruilut ainl iche and daujjh'cr, .-ing almost a j;alo lUide the voyagi' a lie land. Our oars- .t's bow ui) strtam, BO, after heavy «• . of the river, at a joat and sto.rled mi [d rick, going to his 1 sweet dried siu- [V. Tlie remaiiui' I tie village, for the iland either Kafc it ions in the " Patri. t ■he kitchen part [h, with others, ws- [t morning deparu 1 ]-, Avhere we laiii'.oi. '.Johnston, known Irhousand Islamk" Jornamentatlon is emt« ■■ tnnon, speaw, and !!«■■«'■■• n branches of the olive .nd deeU, and other silver om- EhemeanBotBecunngito i)t the hteaat yUt to Rock bland, Ui« Home v/f Johniton of the ThoBMDd Iilands, Pc«l Itland ud Ito AModatloiif. Thew we were informed lliat tlie hero of many ft romantio legend of the frontier WM still living,'" the light-honHe < Thi) is in the midst of the Tbonsand Islands, five miles be'ow Clayton, on the sonth side of the steam-boat channel. At the tini of my visit there in 1808 1 asc-^nded to the lantern, and from that elevation coanted no less than seventy uludt, valuing f^om rods to miles in clrcomference. ■Wi^i^ir" 602 riCTOUIAL FIELD-BOOK JotiiMtoii'i Kxplnlti amonir the ThooMUid IaUn4i. Ht« ArratU uid ImprtmnmenU. HI* CommlMlon u Commodoic Ki])l(>y'B dock, on VVt'lls'H IhIuikI, tak*>ii into tho Btrcam, set on tiro, and floated down and lodged uguinHt a Htnall island near (i'o|)i-(>Hent(>d in the Hkutuh on tlio liic-cciliiiir page), which liutt uince been known aH I'eel Island.' ' From the llpd of Mr. Johnston I received a very nilimto nncl partlcninr noconnt of thl« tranroctton. He wa* living tt Ciiiytiiii when the " I'atilol" war broke out. lloiug a bold, advuiiliironH man, a;id rordinlly hnlliiK thi; llrlivh Km. erumeut and Itn employ^o, he was easily iM-muiidcrl liy t|,(. American sympalhlzers with tho " I'atrliits" to eiiKii^i; |„ the strife. Ills thoroMgh knowledge of tlie rit. I^wrniri' from Kingston to th« l..imK> 'ssel, built iil llrnrk. vUie In 1S8T. She was 110 feet wide ni d liio in li'n(;ili, miii was commanded by Captain John H. Armstrong, (in tij,. evening of tho KDth of Moy, IV,H, she was on lior way up from Proscott to Toronto, with nlnotef.n pnsBeiii!er», mul stopped at M'Donncll's Wharf, on Wells's Island, fiirwcm] Johnston and thirteen men In dlsjfulso were lyiun in wait at Uiplcy's wood wharf near by. Tlicy were nrmeil win, muskets and bayonets, and pnlntcd like ludlniin, Thry rushed onboard, crying out, " Ittnwmbrr Ihe (\:i .lUiu I" {m American vessel that the Drltish had destroyed at iin Amir lean wharf a lew months before), and conipoilcd the immen Jers, In terrible alarm, and In their nlKht-clothes, tti p, on shore. Their bttt!K«Ke was taken on shore llkowln', ami in this p'lght they remained, in a woodman's shanty, luuil morning, when they were conve cd to KiuRston l)y th,' Oneida. When the InsurRents hud taken pofischiou (ifihi Aw/, they hanled her out into the stream, exiu-otliii:, ii,< »v have observed In the text, to be Joined by u larj^e niiinlur of olbera from the main. They did not appear. JuhiiMoii jnd his men, who, he says, "looked liki- devils," could not mauiiL;o her, aiiw"Biitrl- rice nil Uinl fro\il- lilin iunii\f umIiI- ;l him. Thoy cm- tlio Crwit Hrilniw e\, b\ilU M Bri"-k- Kill ill li'n(!lli,ii"'i rmntniiiK. "" H"' m« on li"li"' •'"(«" Bdtroycd ttt lUi Amcr- onipellcrtllii'l""'*';''- ,.lit-clothc», til K" oil , lihorfl llkewl^^^ m\ ulniiui'" Kliaiity, «»lil to KliiR"""' >'y *'■ iheii poBKP.-blmi lit Itif eiiiii,«xiH-et'"l.'.«»«'' ed by a li'i;*' »"'"''" „ot appear. J;ili"»t"" maiiiiKe her, ami »he Oo\. iior MMiy '>'• n outl.iw, ami "(TerecU r hlH person, and mM- LfbiBcmifedcrnlcewho ■d (,f Ibe olT<-iii'e. Tlie lio"iiif aw"" ""'""'''■ iom " Fori WuH'icc" im .cii.WKltb.ilW"'"'* " 1 act ii»*'r ""^"'' with the commcfx ot ciicil to bo. •almoulbKhcwMttrct 'DcautlfulgW'^'t:'"''"; .!uaU!!htboai,.«u2 g iu tbeliileri'»'"'>'" Led ber to elude theni. Uc »ald. After the fc tOadeiiBburi,', where fe he resolved to give hi..^ L il« mad ) nn nrran* Ier('.838)helettOplo,«- aoatcdthereveiinefl.^ 'ie t-vo large rlfle-piet*' ,;ou He waa then con- Td8tate«,andacqi.Uod. ,ebiroHeU«patAltoi iB-....meiit,aiirtft«»Y' dldand.,"hfte.ml .f. ■lera,bewa8(bMil- L in ..patriot -ervice"' VhehadB.enenou«h| «tb«trOTj.ier^'i*Jf"- rutirmarginotlt,*;^^! t.„-,ottheanu»o(iM| johnitoD'i h- pit Oangbttr. III! BlrthpUc*. au SnrlMt tn tho War of Mil. We retunuMl to Clnytoii, ruul there Ibmul " C'ommotloro" Johnston, a hulo man, full of spirit, but Hutli'rinjj moiih' from recmt ilhioHH I Hjiont two hours pleasantly and iiroHtahly witii him ami his cuura^oouH daughter, liHtening to narratives .)f the Htir- rinj? BceneH in whieh they had l)een engaged twenty-two years before, a"d of wliieh I have given a meagre cutline in noie 1, page 002. 'Hie " Heroine of the Thousand Islands" was now Mrs. Ilawes, an intelligent and interesting woman, and mother of several children. Mr. Johnston is a man of nu'dium size, compactly built, and fidl of pluck. His life-liistory was a stirring oiu' previous to the "Patriot War." During the War of 1812 he was employed by Chauncey and Wilkinson in active servico on the frontier waters ; and he gave the British, whom he cordially disliked, n great deal of trouble. He was a n.itivo of Canada.' On the breaking out of the war lit^ was residing at Hath, above Kingston, and conveyed some Americans across the lake to Saekett's Harbor in a large bark canoe. Not being satisfied with the militia service, in wiiich he had been engaged, he remained on the Amorican side, and from that time until the close of the war was engaged in the secret service on Lake Ontavio and the St. Lawrence, with, a permit to capture all llritish public property that he might find afloat. His vessel was a gig, or light, swill boat, called the JiMffelci/, and his com- panions were a coqioral and live arnu'd sennieu. With tliese ho captured bateaux and stores; with these he conveyed Wilkinson down the St. Lawrence, beyond the Longue Hault f and with these lie bore the body of the gallant Covington from Harn- liart' i to the French Mills.^ On one occasion he captured the Canadian dispatch mail on its way from Governor Prevost at Montreal to tho lieutenant governor at Toronto, which, on delivery to Chauncey, was found t contain information of great value to the American commander. On another occasion he was out in Chauncey's boat, and nmch ccarcd, & petition for bla pardon was numerounly RJgned. He took It to Washington hlmnelf, and, Just at the close of Mr. Van Biircn's administration in March, IMl, presented It to the Fri's'ilent. "Mr. Van Hnren," ho said, "scolded me for presuming to come there with such a petition ; but I waltcil ten days, presented It to President Harrison, and he l>anioiied mo." Mr. .Johnston has lived at Clayton ever since. His ofTeuse was Anally overlooked, and for several years the govem- nifiit that offered a roivnrd of $500 for him as an "iitlaw Ihisbecn paying him $!160 a year for taking charge of one of its lighl-houscB, In sight of the spot (Peel Island) where the offense was oommitied ! Time makes groat changes. When Ihc late Kchclllon broke out in ISfll , Johnston, then about eighty years of age, v.'ent to Wa«hiugton City, called on Qen- iral Scott, and ofTered his services to his government. State of f'cw York, and below two others representing lui eagle on Its nest arrang- ing ears of wheat. The commission runs thus : " Utad-quarters, Windsor, U. C, September B, 1889. "William .ToHNBTOH, Esg. : " Sir By anthorlty of the Oranu Council, the Western Canadian Association, the v'roat Orand Eagle Chapter, and the Grand Kaglc Chapter of tapper Canada, on Patriot Executive duty— You are hereby CommiKiioncd to the Ranlc In Line of a Commodore of the Navy, Commander-in-Chief of all the Naval forces of the Ca- nadian Provinces, on Patriot service In Up'^ - Canada. " Yoani with respect, 11. S. ITanp, " Commander-in hief of the Northwestern Army on Patrlo, service iu Upper Canada, "E. J. KoHEBTB, Adjutant Oeneral, N.W. A. P. Si." This commission Is Indorsed by '.John Montgomery, of the Qrand Eagle Chap- ter of Upper Canada, on Patriot Executive duty. .' RoiiKiiT RonRBTsoN, Secretary." " Sworn to before me, at Windsor, TI. C, this 2Bth day of September. ISilH. "H, 8. IlANn." The seal attached to the commission appears to have been Impressed by a com- mon glass signet, on which are the words, "JUmfVtbfr me to aU/riendH." These "Chapters" refer to the secret leagues of sympathizers with the InHiirijents that were formed along the entire frontier, under the name of " Hunters' Lodges." These « < to suppressed by President Tyler, who issned a proclamation tor Ihe purpose on the Bth of September, 1841. ' He was bom at Three Rivers on the 1st of Febrnary, 1T82. Ills father was an Irishman, aud his mother was a Dutch firl ftom New Jersey. After the war he lived at Sackett's Harbor and Watcrtown, and kept a tavern for a while In the Ultcr village. He Anally settled ot French Creek (now Clayton), where he and niont of his family have since resided. ' S«e page (»1. Johnston was well acquainted with Chrysler, and tried to get the army below big residence, that It might not suffer during the engagement that seemed inevltoWe. During the battle of Chrysler's Field or Farm, John- itm carried powder n-om the boBt« to the dragoons, who delivered it to those in the Aght. It Is well known that Oen- ''iil Wilkiuson Indulged too fl-eely in spirituous liquors. Johnfcton assured me that, at the tirao of the battle of Chrys- M Field, the commauder-lu-chief was so intoxicated ("indisposed," as chaiity phrases it) that he could not leave his ^t. > See page 006. JObNSTON 8 OOUUIBHION. 664 PICTORIAL FIELD-BOOK Johnston's Ferilg in Canada. Jonrney trom Clayton to Halone. Vblt to French Mills or Fort Covingtoo. was wrecked on the Canada shore in a stonn. The boat was a ruin. They were dis- covered. Johnston was identified, and a body of militia and Indians A'eie nent out trom Kingston (where he had been hung in effigy) to arrest him. He directeil liin men not to a' ^id capture, but to affirm that they had been sent out for deserters, and wore returning home when struck by the storm. Their story was believed, and within a week they were sent home on parole. Johnston meanwhile concealed himself in a huge hollow stump, in a field of oats, for several days, and it was three weeks before he found a way to retuni to Sackett's Harbor. There was a crowd "f visitors at the " Walton Hoi'.sc," for it is a favorite place of summer resort for those who love good fishiukf, boating, and the luost picturesque scenery of the Thousand Islands. The St. Lawrence, filled with these islands, is there about nine miles wide. During an afternoon I visited the place of Brown's encamp- ment when attacked by the liritish,' and made the sketch on page 649. Toward sunset the diet of the little village was disturbed, and the faces of all the inhaliitants were turned skyward to observe the passage over them of a man in a balloon, a thousand feet in the air, who had ascended from Kingston, and, as we were iiif'oinu'd next day, descended far toward the Sorel, the outlet of Lake Champlain. On tlie fol- lowing morning I went down the St. Lawrence to Ogdcnsburg, and made the visits th>'re and in the vicinity recoided in Chapter XXVHL On Friday, the 27th, I break- fasted at Malone,^ and after a brief interview with Sidney W. Gillett,Esq., whose ele- gant nf^w manaio" stood fronting on Main Street in that village, on the site of the arsenal establish d there in 1812,1 rode out to Fort Covington (French Mills), about fourteen miles northward, in a light wagon drawn by a sj)an of fleet black ponies. FHK.NOU KILLS IN ISUO.^ Tlie Honorable James Campbell, who was an ensign, and was stationed at Freneii Mills and vicinity during a greater portion of the war, in the service of the Quarter- master's and Commissary Departments, was yet living, and residing with his daugh- ter at Fort Covington. I had been at his liouse, on the road between Massena Sitriiii.'!- and St. Regis, a few years before ; and I found him now, as th'jn, able to say that lie had never been sick iu his life, though almost fourscore years of age. His nientnl ' See page 048. ' MaloQc Is the capital of Franklin Connty, and Is pleasantly sitnated on the Salmon ilWer. It was the only Iiicotk'- rated village in the connty, and had a popnIat^,y^y^JL^ ^^^ militi-i, and partici- ^ 1/ L/ y'^ C^'^^^^^ pated in the fight. Mr. Brouse related AvitU mucli self-satisfaction the exploits of the British on that day, and, with much genuine pride, exhibited a small silver medal, suspended by a ribbon, which he had lately received. These had been presented to the surviving soldiers of that and otlier battles, from 1703 to 1814, by the British queen as a sort of "Legion of Honor." The picture here given is the exact size of the original, and exhibits both sides. On one side is the effigy of the queen and her name ; and on the other a repre- sentation of her majesty crowning a soldier with a civic wreath, and the words," To the BKITISn ARMY— 1814-1793." One of Chrysler's barns, pierced and battered by bullets, was 5'et standing, and appears the larger (tliough the most re- mote) i:i the group of outbuild- ings in the picture on page 662. In the orcliard, between the mansion and the river, may be seen the burial-places of the killed in the battle. We dined with Mr. Croile and his family in the Chrysler mansion, and at two o'clock started for Williamsburg, four and a half miles up the river. Our road lay along the margin of the stream, through one of the most fertile districts of Canada. We had not proceeded far before a small clpud, v.'hose gathering we had scarcely no- ticed, sent down a violent shower of rain. We sought shelter under a wide-spreaJ- ing tree in front of a plain dwelling, from which came the giggling of girls who wciv ftUH'sed at our plight. The ti-ee was no shelter, and we unceremoniously took ref- uge from the storm in the house, Avhere those who had innocently made merry over our di'enching kindly regaled us with strawberries and cream, and made the balance- sheet of courtesy in their favor. The storm was brief. The sun burst forth in sudden si)lendor, and its rays, wedded to the retirijig rain-drops, wove a gorgeous iridescent vail, marked, like the bow on the cloud, with specific curves, but lying prone upon tin bosom of the St. Lawrence, and bathing its surface and islands in prismatic beauty. It was a charming spectacle, and has left an inoftaceable picture on the memory. At fcnr o'clock we reached Williamsburg (whose name had just been changed to Morrisville, in honor of a distinguislied oflicer in the postal department of Canada), where we dismissed our carriage, ijitending to go by water to Prescott. We were directed to the " Grand Trunk Ilote^" as the best in the village, which is remarkable ni oui* recollection for swarms of flies, flocks of spiders, and an obliging host. Tiiere we supped and lodged, and before dawn took passage in » Montreal steamer for Prescott, where we breakfasted. Crossing to Ogdensburg, we spent the day and night then', and on the following day made a voyage through the Thousand Islaiuls to Cape Vincent, from whence I jounieyed by railway to ray home on the banks of the Hudson, VIOTOBIA MEDAL. OF THE WAR OF 1813. 667 the 8t. Lawrence. The Britlnh resolve on vigorous War. Blockade of Chesapeake and Delaware Bays. The Blockadlnt; Squadron, CHAPTER XXX " She comes I the proud Invader comei To waste onr country, spoil car homes i To lay our tovr and cities low, And bid our mothers' tears to flow ; Our wives lament, our orphans weep- To seize the empire of the deep 1"— A»arB tTuPHBAViu.E. ASTISE THE Americans into submission ! was the fiat of the British Cabinet at the close of 1812, and it was determined to send out a land and naval force sufficient to do it. It was evi- dc'it that efforts such as have been recorded in preceding chap- ters would be made by the Americans for the invasion and con- quest of Canada, and that the successes achieved by them on the ocean would stimulate them to the performance of more daring exploits on the waves which Britannia claimed to rule. These efforts must be met, and Great Britain put forth her strength for the purpose. It was determined to blockade and desolate the coasts of the United States, lay waste their sea-port towns, destroy their dock-yards, and thus not only endeavor to divert tiieir military strength from the Canada frontier, but destroy the centres of their co?n- incrcial and naval power, dispirit the people, intensify the domestic resistance to the tartlier prosecution of the war, and secure the absolute submission of the nation to British insolence and greed. Admiral Warren's fleet in American waters was re-en- forced, and Sir Georjre Cockburn, a rear admiral in the British navy, and willing in- strument in the accomplishment of work which honorable English commanders would not soil their hands with, was made his second in command. lie was specially com- missioned to wage a sort of amphibious and marauding warfare on the coasts, from the Delaware River southward. On 'he 2(5th of December, 1812, an order in Council declared the ports and harbors in t'lG Ciiceapeake and Delaware Bays to be in a state of rigorous blockade. Soon afterward additional ships of war and transports arrived at Be rmuda, bearing a con- siderable land force, and well furnished with bomb-shelis pnd Congreve rockets, to be used in the conflagration of sea-board towns.' A part of the land force consisted of Fieiich prisonera of war, who preferred to engage in the British marine service to risking indefinite confinement in Dartmoor Prison, in England. The first appearance of blockading vessels was on the 4th of February," when four 74-gun ships and several smaller armed veosels* entered the Virginia Capes and bora up toward Hampton Roads. The fleet was under the command of Admiral Cockburn (tvliose flag-ship was the Marlborovg/i), assisted by Commodore Beresford, whose 5)ennant was over the Poictiers.^ They bore a land force of about eighteen iiundred men, and were well >nipplied with small surf-boats for landing. Tb'ir ap- ]Karance alarmed all lower Virginia, and the militia of the Peninsula and the region about Norfolk were soon in motion. An order soon went out from the Secretary of ' Ttla rocket is a very destructive si^ecles .)f flrc-work. Invented by Sir William CongreTC, an English artillery officer, In 1804, and flrst used against Boulogne ip liOfi. The body of the machine Is cylindrical, and Ita hea>. conical. It is Itlled with very inflammable materials, ou the combustion of nhich, as in the common sky-rocket, the body is impelled I'llli continued accoleratlon. ^ Afni»«)ro«^A, Admiral Ooc.kbnm ! DrojTOfi, Captain Berry ; /\)fc. These were accompanied by the A rnula, 44, Kerr ; Jitwn, 38, Kerr ; fStatira, S8, 8t«chi«)le ; MaU- I'w, ,10, Bni iletl ; Kdviilera, 30, Byron : Sitrcimnts, 3i, Aylmer ; Laurittimus, 21, Gordon ; Tartartu, W, Pnt-to. Others foon juiced these, making a very formidable fleet. ' Bee page 461. • 1813. 688 PICTORIAL FIELD-BOOK MBFcb 10, 1813. Defeiuea ofNorfulk anJl Haroptca Konds. Discretion of the Blockaders. Patrlotlam on the Shores of Delaware But the Treasury' for the extinguishment of ali the beacon-lights on the Ches- apeake coast. It was supposed that Hampton and Norfolk would be attacked. The latter plucp was pretty well defended by fortifications which General Wade IIami)ton had caused to be thrown up on Craney iHlaiul, five miles below the city, under the superin- tendence of Colonel Arm'-^tead. The masters and mates of merchant vesstlR in Norfolk harbor joined themselves iiito volunteer military companies and jrarrj- soned old Fort. Norfolk. The frigate Constellation, 38, Captain Tarbelle, was lying near, supported by a flotilla of gun- boats. Old Point Comfort soon bristled with bayonets ; and the British com- manders thought it more prudent at that time to destroy the small merchant craft found in Chesapeake Bay than to enter Hampton Roads. They did little more than this for several weeks, when Com- modore Beresford was sent, with the iNTEmoB or OI.I. KOBT NOBFoi.K IN 1SB8. .PoictieTs, BclvicUra, and some smaller vessels, to blockade the Delaware Bay and River, and teach the inhabitants along their shores the duty of submission. He found his unwilling pupils very refractorv; for when, on the 16th of March, he pointed the guns of the Poictiera toward the vil- lage of Lewis, near Cape Henlopen, and said, in a note to " the first magistrate" of that little town, " You must send me twenty live bullocks, with a proportionate quan- tity of vegetables and hay, for the use of Lis Britannic majesty's squadron," oficring to pay for them, but threatenhig, in the event of refusal, to destroy the place, the " first magistrate" of Lewistown, and all the people, from Philadelphia to the sea, said in substance, as they every where prepared for resistance, " We solemnly refuse \(\ commit legal or moral treason at your command. Do your woist." They had hoard of his coming, and had already, on both sides of the bay and river, assembled in armed bodies at expected points of attack to repel the invaders. The spirit of the fatiier. Avas aroused, some of whom, full of the fire of the flint, were yet abiding among thorn. At Dover, on the Sabbath day, the drum beat to arms, and men of every denomina- tion in politics and religion, to the number of almost five hundred, responded to the call. Among the:n was Jonathan M'Nutt, an age-bent soldier of the Revolution, wlio exchanged his staff for a musket and engaged in the drill. Pious Methodist as he was, he did not regard the day as too holy for patriotic deeds, and he spent the whole afternoon in making ball-cartridges.' This was the spirit every where manifested. At Smyrna, New Castle, and Wilmington, the inhabitants turned out with spades or muskets, prepared to cast up the earth for bat> teries and trenches,^ or to be soldiers to meet the foe. At the latter place, the venerable soldier of the Revolution, Allan M'Lane, took the direction of military aflTairs.^ The specie of the banks of New Castle and Wilmington was sent to Philadelphia lor safety ; and in the latter city Captain William Mitchell and his Independent liltees, and Captain Jacob H. Fis- m > Niles'i WeeUj) Begitler, W., 08. • They erected a stronR work, to completely command the Chri«tiana Creek, at Wilmin^on, which was called Port Union. It waa believed that It conld wlthatand any force that might approach It by water.— See SIceteh qf Military Oiur oMoiM on tht Delaware during the lot* War. > Nilea'i Weekly BtgUUr, It., ^- 1^^ OF THE WAR OF 1812. 669 Tlie Britixh threaten and heiltate. Attack on MwUtown. Cockbnrn'B Operations. ler ami his Junior Artillerists, formed in three days for the occasion, volunteered to j/arrisou Fort Mifflin. Bercsford was astonished by the spirit of the people, and held the thundere of his threat at bay for almost three weeks. Governor Ilaslet, in Jie mean time, summoned the militia to the defense of the menaced town, and on his arrival at Lewis on the 23d he reiterated the positive refusal of the inhabitants to furnish the invaders with supplies, Bcresford continued to tlireaten and hesitate ; but at length, on the even- ing of the 6th of April, ho sent Captain Byroti, with the Belvidera and smaller ves- sels, to attack the village. They drew near, and the Belvidera sent several heavy louiicl-shot into the town. These were followed by a flag of truce, bearing from By- ioi> a renewal of the requisition. It was answered by Colonel S. B. Davis, who com- manded the militia. He repeated the refusal, when Byron sent a reply, in which he expressed regret for the misery he should inflict on the women and children by a horabardraent. " Colonel Davis is a gallant ofiicer, and has taken care of the ladies," was the verbal answer. This correspondence was followed by a cannonade and bom- liiuduient that was kept up for twenty-two hours. So spirited was the response of a battiTy on an eminence, worked by Colonel Davis's militia, that the most dangerous of the enemy's gun-boats was disabled, and its cannon silenced. Notwithstanding tilt" British hurled full eight hundred of these eighteen and thirty-two pound shot into tiie town, and many shells and Congreve rockets were sent, the damage inflicted was not severe. The shells did not reach the village ; the rockets passed over it ; l)ut the lieavy round shot injured several houses. No lives were lost. An ample supply of powder was sent down from Dupont's, at Wilmington, while the enemy supplied the balls. These fitted the American cannon, and a large numbtr oi" them \si^\\' sent back with effect. • On the afternoon of the 7 th the British attempted to land for the purpose of seiz- ing live-stock in *.he neighborhood, but they were met at the verge of the water by the spirited militia, and driven back to their ships. For a month the squadron lin- sioreil, and then, dropping down to Newbold's Ponds, seven miles below Lewistown, boats filled with armed men Averc sent on shoi-e to obtain a supply of water. Col- onel Davis immediate. y detached Major George II. Hunter with a few men, who drove them back to the ships. Failing to obtain any supplies on the sliorcs of the Delaware, the little blockading squadron sailed for Bermuda, where Admiral Warren was fitting out re-enforgements for his fleet in the American waters. The blockaders within the Capes of Virginia were very busy in the mean time. The fleet was under the command of Admiral Cockburn, and took chief position in Lynn Haven Bay.^ He continually sent out marauding expeditions along the shoces of the Chesapeake, who plundered and burnt fann-houses, carried off negroes and armed them against their masters, and seized live-stock wherever it could be found. The country exposed to these depredations was extensive and sparsely settled, and it was diflicult to concentrate a military force at one point in sufficient time to be effective against the marauders. In some instances they were severely punished, but these were rare. More felicitous and more honorable exploits were sometimes undertaken by the blopkaders under Cockburn. On the 3d of April a tlotilla of a dozen armed boats from the Brit- /^ /x y^ ^f i«h fleet, under Lieutenant Polkingthomo, of the L^ ,/r '^ ^^'t^'i/^ ^ at.Dominffo, 74, entered the month of the Rappa- hannock River, and attacked the Baltimore pri- vateer /)o/;)A?*m, 10, Captain Stafford, and three armed schooners prepared to sail for France. The assault was unexpected and fierce. The three smaller vessels were soon taken, but the struggle for the Dolphin was severe, i^he was finally boarded, > NUet'a WteOy BtgiUtr, iv., 118. > See page IIMI. i^ii ^^^Hlitl ; ^^^Hi ! , i nil 610 PICTORIAI< FIELD-BOOK Cockbarn's OealreH reitraiued by Fear. The Brltlih capture Frenchtown. Havre de Grace -hrcatened. and for fifteen minutes the contest raged fearfully on her deck. Overpowered by numbers, Captain Staftbrd was compelled to submit.' Li this affair the loss \vas much heavier on the British than on the American side. No official account of tlu- casualties were ever given by either party, but contemporary writers agree that the capture of the Dolphin cost the victors many lives. Emboldened by this success, Cockburn resolved to engage in still more ambitious adventures. He thought of attacking Annapolis and Baltimore, and even dreumi'd of the glory and renown of penetrating the country forty or fifty miles and destroy- ing the national capital. Prudence restrained obedience to his desires. His friends among the " Peace men" of Baltimore doubtless informed him that the vigilance of the people of that city, under the eye of the veteran General Smith, was sleepless; that look-out boats were far down the Patapsco ; that riflemen and horsemen were stationed along the shores of the river and bay ; that Fort M'llenry was beiiif; strengthened by the mounting of thirty-two-pounders ; that the City Brigade num- bered almost two thousand men; and that an equal number of volunteers for the de- fense of the place were within trumpet-call. He wisely concluded to pass by tlio po- litical and commercial capitals of Maryland, and fall upon weaker objects. Witli a large force he menaced Baltimore as a feint on the 16th of April, and on the 29th, with the brigs FmUome and Mohaick, and tenders Dolphin, Racer, and IRghflyer,\[Q entered Elk River, toward the head of Chesapeake Bay, and proceeded to destroy Fienchtown, on the Delaware shore. It was a village of about a dozen buildings, composed of dwellings, store-houses, and stables. The blockading vessels had driven the trade between Philadelphia and Baltimore from the ordinary line of water-travel, and this place had become an important entrepOt of traflic between the two cities. Admiral Cockburn made the Fantotne his flag-ship, and sent First Lieutenant West- phali, of the Marlborough, with about four hundred armed men in boats, to destrov the public and private property at Frenchtown. The only defenders were quite a large number of drivei-s of stages and transportation wagons who were assembled there, and a few militia who came down from Elkton. The former gan-isoned tiie re- doubt, which had just been erected, upon which lay three iron four-pounders, first used in the old War for Independence. They fought manfully, but were compelloil to retire before overwhelming numbers. The store-houses were plundered and burnt, but no dwelling was injured. The women and children were treated with respect. Property on land to the amount of twenty-five thousand dollars was consumed, and on the water five small trading-vessels.' This incendiary work accomplished, the in- vaders withdrew, and on the Fantonie, the following day. Sir George wrote an ac- count of the affair to Admiral Warren, taking care to assure that humane commander that he was following out his orders in giving a receipt for property taken from non- combatants. Havre de Grace, near the mouth of the Susquehanna River, was the marauding knight's next object for visitation. It was a small town, two miles up from the head of Chesapeake Bay, and contained about sixty houses, built mostly of wood. It was on the post-road between Philadelphia and Baltimore, as it now is upon the railway between the two cities. For some time the enemy had been expected there, not be- cause there were stores or any other seductions for him, but because the love of plun- der and wanton destruction appeared to be Cockbuni's animating spirit. Several companies of militia had been sent to the vicinity; and upon the hi^^h bank of tlie > NIles'B Weeldy Regitter, It., 119. » Nlles's Waikly RegUter, iv., 104. A letter In The. War (I., 196) enyg : " On their arrival at the Stage Tavern, which wu nearest their landing, the British otHcer told the cove by the present light- house, captured the small battery tliere, and pressed forward to seize the larger one. All but eight or ten of the militia had fled from the village ; and John O'Neil, a brave Irish- man, and Philip Albert, alone remained at the battery. Al- & '>■ r- 4 i*^ ":'^;«a<^ •0iL-'r*'mmm-' LAjmiNO-ptAOB nr thi UKinsn. bcrt was hurt, »nd O'Neil attempted to manage the heaviest gun alone. He loaded and discharged it, when, by its recoil, his thigh was injured, and he was disabled. 'Fliey both hurried toward the town, and used their muskets until compelled to fly ward the open common, near the Episcopal Church, pursued by a British horse- hJ liiiiifl W8 I'lCTOKIAL FlELD-l'OOK Luic .u-£ p' ;ti«> British at Havre de Qrace. Their cmel Couduct. Ueatnictluu of private Projiertj. mfvii. There O'Neil was captured, but Albert escaped. The brave Irishman was carried on board the frigate Maidstone, and in the course of a few days was set at liberty. The guns of the captured battery were turned upon the town, and added to tho destruction. A greater portion of the enemy (almost foi;r hundred in number) went up to the site of the present railway ferry lauding, and debarked there. They rn.slied up to the open common, separated into squads, and commenced plundering and de- sti'oying systematically, officers aud men entering into the business with equal alac rity.> Finally, when at least one half of the villaj;;(' had been destroyed, Cockliurn, the instigator of tlie erinie went on shore, and was met on the common by several ladies who had taken refucc in an elegant brick liouso, some distance from the vil- lage, known as the Piingle manhion. They entreated him to spare the remainder of the village, and especially the roof that sheltered thcra, He yielded with reluctance, and at length gave an order for a stay of the plundering.* Meanwhile a large detacii- ment of the enemy went up the Susquehanna about six miles, to the head of tide-water, and there destroyed tlie extensive iron-works and cannon foundery belonging to Colonel Hughes. A number of vessels that had escaped from the Bay and were anchored there were saved from the flames by being sunk. At a point be- low, Stump's large Warehouse was burnt. Finally, when all possible mischief had been achieved along the river bank — wlien farm-houses had been plundered and burnt a long distance on the Baltimore road — when, after the lapse of four houn?, forty of the sixty hovises in the village had been destroyed, and nearly all the remainder of the edifices, except the Episcopal Church,^ were more or less injured, the marauders assembled in their vessels in the stream. TUE PBIMULK UOC8E. SPISOOPAaitOIItrBOH. > The late Jared Spark?, LL.D., was on eye-witness of the conduct of the maranders, and has left on record, in tbr North American Hevieu) (July, ISIT), an account of real barbarities committed by them ; and William Clmrlcs, the car caturlst, perpetuated their cmeitles and robberies with bis pencil. A few of the British ofiicers, who did not eharsiu the spirit of Cockbiim, remonstrated, but In vain. » Among those who took shelter there were the wife of Commodore Rodgers, Mrs. William Plnkncy, and Mm. Golds- borough. The latter begged the ofBcer who lind been sent np with a detachment to bum Mr. Pringle's house to simr it, for nhe had an aged mother In It. He replied that his orders were from Admiral Cockbnm himself, and that she niii»i gee him. This was the occasion of the deputation of women meeting hira on the common. >^en they returned ito house was on flre,«nd mka were leaving it with .plunder. By great exertions the flames were extlnguiiihed. Sucb ms the statement of a lady living near to her brother In Baltimore, published in Niles'siZciTistn-, iv.,l()S. She mentionssef- ernl instances of vandalism. ' This building is of brick, and gtanda on the comer of Union Street and Congress Avenue. It was two stories i; 1 of private Propcrtj. he. It WM two stories Ip OF THE WAR OV 1813. 678 AVWt to Havre Ue Orace. Ulatortcal LocalitleB there. John O'Neill, hli 8word and Dwelliug, and at sunset sailed out into the Bay to pay a similar visit to villages on the Sassa- fras River.' Havre de Grace was at least sixty thousand doUarH poorer when they left than when they came twelve hours before. It was a sunny but blustery day" when I visited Havre de Grace and • November w, the scenes around it, made memorable by its woes. I arrived in the ^^'• cvt'iiiiig by railway from Baltimore, Avhere I hud spent three days in visiting the battle-ground at North Point and other interesting places hereafter to be described. The town was full of soldiers, many being stationed there to guard the ferry and public property from the violence of the sympathizers with the rebels in Maryland. The only hotel in the place was entirely filled with lodgers, and private houses were in like condition. The prospect for a night's repose was unpromising. For myself, f. settee or an easy-ohair might have sufficed ; but I had a traveling companion (a young woman and near relative) who required better accommodations. The obliging pro- prietor of the hotel, after much eftbrt, succeeded in placing ub in the unoccupied fur- nished house of his son-in-law, wh"ve we -^assed a dreary night, the windows of my room clattering continually at the oiddin^, of" the gusty wind. Early the next morn- ing I went out, in search of celebrities, and, after sketching the old resideuc e of Com- modore Kodgers, printed on page 182, 1 fortunately fell in with Mr. Ilowtell, already mentioned, who became my cicerone. Under his direction I was enabled to fiud every piace sought after. While sketching the landing-place of the British near the light-house (page 671), the keeper of the pharos came to know my business. He was an aged man, and I soon discovered that he was one of the oldest resi- dents of the place, having been a half-grown boy at the time of the Brit- ish visitation. " Did you know John O'Neil, who behaved so gallantly at the Potato Battery ?" I asked. " I ought to," he replied, " for he was my father." Caii you tell me any thing about the sword presented to him by the authorities of Philadelphia for his bravery on that occasion ?" I in- quired. " If you will go with me to the house," he replied, " it will speak for itself." When I had finished my sketch of the weather-beaten light- house (from which most of the stucco had been abraded) and the cove, with the distant Turkey Point, Spesutia Island, and the Maryland main on the right, I followed Mr. O'Neil to his little cottage near by, and there not only saw and sketched the honorary sword, but from the brave John O'Neil's own family Bible obtained a few ficts concerning his personal history. He was born In Ireland on the 23d of November, 1 768, and came to America at the age of eighteen years. He was in the military service under General Harry Lee in quelling the Whisky Insurrection in Western Pennsylvania, and in 1798 entered the naval service against the French. He became an extensive nail-maker at Havre de Grape, sometimes em- ploying as many as twenty men. The destruction oithe place ruined his business. When the present light-house was built on Concord Point in 1829 he became its keeper; and on the 26th of January, 1838, he died in the house where his son and successor resides. The sword had a hand- somely-ornamented gilt scabbard, on which was the following inscription : "Presented to the gallant John O'Neil fob hib valor at Havkb DE Grace, by Philadelphia — 1813." In Charles's caricature just men- tioned, a British officer, who has arrested the bold cannonier and con- JOHH O'nEIL'B aWOKD, hclsht at the time of the destmctlon of Havre de Grace. Between thirty and forty years ago It was fired by a lightning ftrtikt and partially consamed. The aqnare apaces in the walls over the windows show the lower portions of the old windawa In the aecond story. Althongh the British did not apply the torch to the chnrch, they amused themselves by hnrllnir atones throneh the windows. ' Tn the alTair at Havre de Grace the Americans lost one man (Mr, Webster), killed by a rocket. The British lost three kUled oud two wounded. Uu e74 PICTORIAL FIELD-BOOK ii 'Tjn.-:OTi "4f Villages b; Cuckbuni. certainly a hravc did not keep him end in Baltimore, eniained until re- ce, " No doubt W- r a brief narrutivi' of the Honorable jegislature by the English title, and icake Bay. When more merchant, 'n, lited it few rivaled srlooking Havre df ry large, and sub- defenders of Bait i- ,nd his army. ]h enty-seventh Recti- ich gallant service through the stock, ontinucd the fight. rty years in trade, had been enjoyin;; to the village, ami was then raising u de Grace, and were leparates Cecil and town and George- .es from its moutii. th of them at timt timore. These vil- town several small ICockbum, with si-x It visited Frederick- militiamen, under lannon to defend it. fled. With these marauders landed, tore humble d well- application of the w^ere set in flames len crossed over to ICockburn with his with characteristic d every building in despoiled them of lis pirates returned lovernment, created The blockadlDg Korcc itreuKtheued. Nurfulk meiuiced. Stirring Hcenet In Ukinptoii Koadi'. the most intense liatred of the enemy, and uroused a war spirit throughout the land that for a time appalled the cowardly " Peace Party," and nearly silenced the nows- papci-H in their interest. On the 20th of May a British order in Council extended the blockade to New York and all the Southern ports ; and on the Ist of June Admiral Warren entered the Ches- apeake with a considerable naval re-enforcement for Cockburn and Beresford, bearing a large number of land troops and marines under the command of Sir Sidney Beck- with. The British force now collected within the Capes of Virguiia consisted of eight ships of the line, twelve frigates, and a considerable number of smaller vessels, and it was evident that some more important point than defenseless villages would be the next object of attack. The citizens of Baltimore, Annapolis, and Norfolk were equally menaced, but when, ak the middle of June," three British frigates entered Hampton Itoads, and sent their boats up the James Kiver to destroy some small American vessels there and pluhd '^f the frigate that lay at anchor at the nearest distance from Norftlk. Toward midnight on Saturday, the 19th of June,*" Captain Tarbell, with fifteen gun-boats, descended the Elizabeth River in two divisions, one under Lieutenant J. M. Gardner, and the other under Lieutenant Robert G. Henley. Fifteen volunteer sharp-shooters from Craney Isl- ^^--^ and were added to the crews of the boats. -^-"^'^ Because of head winds the flotilla did not .^^^i/^ c/co^f^, approach the nearest vossel until half past three in the morning. She lay about three miles from the others, and under cover of the darkness just before daylight, and a heavy fog, the Americans approached within easy range of the vessel without being discovered. At four o'clock Tarbell opened fire upon her. She was taken by sui"prise, and her response was so feeble and irregular that a panic on board was indicated. The wind was too light to fill her sails, while the gun-boats, managed by sweeps, had every advantage. They were formed in crescent shape, and during a conflict of half an hour Tarbell was contin- ually cheered by sure promises of victory. It was snatched from his hand by a breeze that suddenly sprung up from the north-northeast, which enabled the two frigates anchored below to come up to the assistance of the assailed vessel, supposed to be > Daring the spring efforts had been made by officers of the British blockading sqaadron to capture the CenfteUation, then in command of the now (186T) renerable Admiral Stewart Some stirring events bad occnned in connection with these efforts. > Fort Tar was a small redoubt south of Armistead's Bridge. Fort Barbour was east of Church Street and south of the Princess Anne Road. These were to defend the land-side approaches of the enemy. H^^^^^^^^H h l« 670 I'ICTUUIAL FIKLD-UOOK Hklnnlih In Utmptua Road*. A Brltlvb FlMt eotan tb* Roada. Admiral Dhobrlek'i pobllc Lib. S^^m^ tho Junon, 3H, Captain SiuiderR. Thcftc opened a Hcvori) {'amionade on i\\v, Hotillu, and tho Aiiiofi- cans were obligi'd to Imiil of!'. jVh tliey retired in go()^J>V y^4>»i.^^^^^7->/^>4.^^^ eral Sir Sidney Beck- ^ Avith, asfiisted hy 1 In tbtfl affair Llentenaut (uuw Admiral) W. B. Shubrick performed a gallant part. I was Informed by Commodore Tattnall tliat after the engagement had conttn> ii. about an hour Captain Tarbell made general signal to withdraw frum the contest. The boat commanded by Sbubrick at that time happened to be nenreat the enemy, and that brave yuuiig ofBcer, then twenty-three years of nge, satisfied that a few more shots would damage the enemy, obeyed the order vcrj slowly, and continued to l)1aze away at the frigate. This caused the concentration of the enemy's Are upon his «iDglc boat. Still be moved off slowly, tiring on his retreat, until a signal made specially for him directed him to leave, and take In tow a disabled gun-boat. This he did without losing a man.— A'otes of Convtrmtion with Commodore Tattnall in Julij, IMO. William Branford Sbubrick was bom near Charleston, South Carolina, on the Blst of October, 1790. He was at tchool in New England about three years, from his twelfth to his fifteenth year, the latter part of the time In Harvard Univer- sity, from which he was called home, and In Charleston wan Instructed In the science of navigation. In June, ISOC, lie entered the navy as midshipman, but continued his studies until 180T, when he Joined the sloop of war Wasp at Norfolk. She left that port about three days before the attack of the Leopard on the Chemptake. He was actively engaged in service until the war broke out, when be made a cruise In the Hornet with Commander Lawrence, when he was traat fbrred to the ConsleUation, then under the command of the now venerable Admiral Stewart. He then bore the conimlB- elon of u lieutenant. He behaved gallantly In the attack on the Junon and In the defense of Craney Island. After thai he followed Stewart to the Conntitution, and In that vessel he served until the close of the war, always taking an nciive part li her brilliant conduct. Pursuant to a resolution of Congress (February 22, 1S16), he received a silver medal as one of Stewart's officers. In 1834 the Legislature of South Carolina presented him with an elegant sword In testimony of their appreciation of his gallant services In the ConaHtutimi when she captured the Cjiane and T^ant. He was acting first lieutenant during her remarkable escape ft'om the British squadron, hereafter to be recorded in these page). M the close of the war he was commissioned first lieutenant, and In the Wa»hinttton, 74, under Chauncey's flag, he crulred In the Mediterranean. He was promoted to master commandant In 1820 Eleven years later, after several wdl-con- dncted cruises, he was promoted to captain, and until 1838 was engaged In service on shore. He was afloat again in 1888 as commander of a squadron In the West Indies. In 1846, on the breaking out of the war with Mexico, he was «i- signed to the command of a squadron In the Pacific, and actively participated In events there. In 1863 be was In com- mand of a squadron on our Eastern coast for the protection of the fisheries, an Important and delicate duty. In 1888 he commanded a powerhil squadron sent to demand satisfaction for Injuries trom the government of Paraguay, and having dlacretionar; power to commence hostilities should that satisfaction not be made to the United States Commluiunert. OF THE WAU OF 18 12. 677 linbrlek'i pabltc LIfc. ^^ VliiloU Mllttta OMtf Nurfolk. Orutjr UlMd. American Kurcei than. Ganarkl Taylor. ^ u> ciitiro lo«» of n. timttprs to a cri- )ture of Norfolk, ,lu) armed vcsseU iml, were iinmc- IJritish lulmiriil. been distinetly ?ry next tide aft- it foggy Suiidiiy tlie cnemy'H vcs- s, iiHceiuled to tli" Uiver, and \mV point called Now- 'oint, at the mouth These veHselH 1 iid ndred and Sccaml [nfantry, the U.'y- id two companies prisoners, who, in r language, were ta.'niqucs. Tiicso lid troops wi'ie mmanded by Gen- ial Sir Sidney Beck- th, assisted by Informed by Commodore Ll s\gDa\ to withdraw from [ny, nnd that brave young Ly, obeyed the ordir verj Vmy's Are upon his single jllrected him to leave, and ith Commodore Tattnall in If, 1190. He was at Khool I time In nar>'ard Unlvcr. Igatlon. In Jiiiic,18«i,lic p of war Wtup at Norfolk. I was actively engaged in ence, when he was trans- lie then bore the commlB- praney Island. After thai i, always taking an active lived a silver medal as one IntBWordlntcBtlmonyot Id /-want. He was acting lirded In these pages. At Ihanncey'sflag.UecmW ler, after several wclkon- 1 He was afloat again in Ir with Mexico, he was u- \ In 1868 he was In com- J delicate dnty. inmit It of Paraguay, and having led Stales Commtalonen. Lieutenant Colonel Napier and other eminent leaden. The whole force of the one- iiiy, iiii'luding sailors, was about five thousand men. Jiiines Harbour was tlicn (Jovernor of Virginia. lie was patriotic and active, and by untiring energy ho had nssenibled several thousand militia. A large portion of tlii'Kt", with some United States regulars untler Captain I'olliird, were at old Fort Nor- folk mill vicinity. They had been '^'^''Z>nJLyl commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Beatty. 'J United states in 13'i4, and a grand reception wan given him at Yorktov.'n, In Virginia, the scene of his warfare nod tri- umph In youth, flenerai Taylor was the chosen orator for the assomhlcd mnltitnde. " In all my time I never heard smh eloquence," said a vcleran to me iu the spring of 18C3. " In all my time I never saw so many m«i In tears." General Taylor filled the position of judge and legislator with distinction. He was in the Convention in lSl-,iO, -charged with amending the Constitution of Virijinia. In that body he iutrodnced enlightened raeasnres In rcaanltn the elective franchise, i ■ the winter of lh31-'32 he was made Judge of the Oeneral Court of Virginia, and held the offict until his death on the 13th of April, 1S34. ' This sentinel was William Shutte. He wis stationed upon a small Island that once lay near the month of ffiK'f 'I'reelc. See map on page 679. Shutte made tho usual challenge, and, receiving no answer, fired, and continued tulire uiutil the camp was (\illy aroused. ^ James Faulkner was bom In Ireland in 1T70, and came to Atnerica when a boy under the charge of a dUtaiit reli- OF THE WAK OF 18 12. 679 paratlons fi>r Battle. l^ofhiBwarfmcamltri- Iny time I never heard siitti ly mm In tears." lie Convention !n 18i-30, led meaBuren In m»nj« hrgiuia, and held the offlct Advaoce of the British on Land. A sharp Conflict. Advance of the British on Water. A long pole was procured, the national flag was nailed to it, and then it was planted iirmiy in the redoubt. The gun-boats were anchored in the form of a segment of a "ircle extending from Craney Island to Lambert's Point, while the Constellation lay nearer the city. Thus prepared, the Americans calmly awaited the approach of the foe. The British landed about ^^- twenty-five hundred men, in fantry and marines, at Hof- fleur's Creek. The morning ,;ky was cloudless ; and for more than two hours tho flash- ing of their burnished arms micht be seen by the Ameri- cans as they manoeuvred on tlie beach and on the edge of an intervening Avood. Stealth- ily they crept through the thick undergrowth of the for- est, and appeared suddenly on the point at the confluence of Wise's Creek and the strait. They immediately opened a cannonade from a field-piece and a howitzer, and sent a bevy of Congreve rockets upon the island, to cover the move- ment of a detachment sent to cross Wise's Creel:, and gain tlie rear of the American left flank in position on the main. They were partially sheltered liytiie house ofCaptairi George Wise, known as Wise's Quar- tos, and a thick wood. Some of the heavy guns of the bat- tery on the island were opened upon them with great preci- sion and rapidity, and a show- er of grape and canister shot soon drove the enemy out of reach of the artillery. Almost simultaneously with this advance of the British land -force fifty large barges, filled with full fifteen hundred sailors and marines, were seen approaching t'lom the enemy's ships. They hugged the main shore to keep out of range of the gnn-boat artillov ?, and moved in column order, in two distinct lines, in the direction of the strait, led by Admii-al Warren's beautiful barge. This vessel was fifty feet in length, painted a rich green, and employed twenty-four oars. Because of her shape ami numerous oars she was called the Centipede. In her bow was a brass 3-pounder, live. He established himself in mercantile business in Martinshnrg, Berkeley Connty, Virginia, at the age of twenty- irae years, and that was tho place of his res'dence nntil his death, lie long tried in fain to obtain a commission in the reeiilar army of the United States. When \ '« brolie out he hastened to Norfolk with the volunteer troops of his ado|)t- fd state, and was there commissioned a major of artillery. In that capacity he served gallantly on Craney Island, and wss the cJMef actor in the repnlse of the Erltlsb. Major Fanlkner married the only daughter of Captain WlUlnm Mackey, iif the Bevc'ationBry Army. He died in 181T fi-om the effects of exposure and fatigue (n camp. His wife was then dead. They left but one child, who thus became an orphan In tender years. This was Charles J. Faulkner, who was an active imbllc man In Virginia, and who was sent to the French court as minister pltnipolentlary by President Buchanan. To him I am Indebted for the likeness of his father on the opposite page. When the Orcal Rebellion broke out he took •idee with the insnrgents, and dishonored the memory of hij gallant and patriotic father by ubaudouiug the flag which his ancestor had so nobly defended. Point NOnfOLH I'LAM OF Ol'KUATIONB AT DBANKV IBI..VM>. ^^' w^^^- ^^H^ ; ^P5^!T 1 \ 1 \ ' \ 1 i ■ 1 iPiPPIP^iH ^mk n\ l A iWiiii M 111; 680 riCTOKIAL FIELD-BOOK Tho nrltinb KlottllR driven buck. AttomMt to iolrc Norfolk and the Navy Yard abandoned. Hnmpton, ^.^ onger, M called a " grft88hop])er," and hIio was comniandod by Captain Hanchett, of the flag, ship Diadem, a natural Bon of Gcvorge the Tliird. Ah tho firRt division oi thp flopt of barges approached, tho eager Emerson onuM hardly be restrained by the more prudent F'aulkner. At length they reached the fair range of the gui-i. Faulkner gave a Hignal, when Emerson shouted, " Now, niy 'orovo boys, are you ready?" "All ready," was the quick respoiise. "Fire!" ox- tiaimea Faulkner. The whole battery, except two dismounted guns, inanft<];ed by Goodwin and Livingston, belched forth fire and smoke, and round, grape, and cnnistpr shot. The volley was fearful, yet in tlu^ face of it the barges moved steadily forward until the storm of metal was too terrible to be endured. The boats were thrown into the grerttest confusion. The Centipede was hulled by a heavy round shot that pa.s8i'(l through her diagonally, wounding several of the men in i.c, cutting ofl' tho Io<;8 of one of them, and severely hurting the thigh of Captain Hanchett. Orders for retreat were given. The (kntipede and four other barges were sunk in shoal water, and tlie remainder of the flotilla escaped to the ships. Lieutenant Neale was directed to send some of his bold seamen to seize the admiral's barge and all in it, and Inuil it on shore, This was gallantly performed under the direction of Lieutenants Tattnall' and (Jeis- onger, Midshipmiiii lila- Dulaney, and Act- ('^^ ^■''^Z^C'-Ol/^T^ r^//^i,,.^/«'7'7^,d It. ' Ingcrsoll's HiMoriral Skrtfh <\f thr Sfrond War, etc. He la mistAken as to the locality of Craney Island. It i( In (he Ellzaheth River, and not In Chesapeake Bay. « The Americans met with no loss. The British, according to their own account, loat 6 killed, M wounded, m^ lit missing. Of the latter 40 were prisoners and deserters. OF THE WAU OF 1812. 681 Id. Hnmptnn, Anwriuiu at UimpUiu. Landing of the Brttiih near Hampton. Armed Boats appear lu Front. lott. of thi' flag- Emerson ro\iltl hey reached the uteckwith listing on Craiuy vratus with tluni, I before sunset tin mstellation, and the British proceeded St side of Hampton capital of Elizabeth creek with the w;i- t four hundred and e adjutant general ng at Yorktown in w artillerymen and In her with l)oth leg* A»i ] .V„fM of a Cnnrfrmlim rf* IjWnBfrnTHnnPxactm™!'. lot near the stem ehoiraiM [craneyWand. It 1« lull* killed, M wonndcd, an'' H* cavalry. Tlicy were encamped on the " Little p]iigland" estate of five hundred acres, a short distance southwest from the town, where they had a heavy battery composed of four 6, two 12, and one IR pounder cannon, in charge of Sergeant William Uurke, to defen'i the water-front of the camp and the village.' On Friday night, the 24th of June, twenty-five hundred British land troops, includ- intr the rough French prisoners (Chasseurs Britanniques), were placed in boats and oniall sailing vessels, and between dawn iind sunrise of the 25111* were lan/'.ed ..nine, l)ehind a wood near the house of Daniel Murphy, a little more than two miles *•*'*• from Hampton, under cover of the guns of the Mohawk sloop of war. llu'se were designed to fall upon Il'impton and the little American camp in the rear, while Ad- miral Cockburn, with a flotilla of armed boats and barges, should make a feint in front. Tlie land troops, under the general command of Beckwith, assisted by Lieutenant Colonels Napier* and Williams, moved stealthily and rapidly forward toward the doomed town, while the armed boats appeared suddenly oft" Blackbeard's Point, at the mouth of Hampton Creek. The latter were first discovered by American patrols at Mill Creek, who gave the alarm. Tlic camp was aroused, and a line of battle was formed. At that moment a messenger came in haste with intelligence that the Brit- isii were moving in force on the rear of Hampton. The woods toward Mur])hy'8 were iTJowing with scarlet, and a grain-field near was verdant with the green uniforms of the French. Tlio inhabitants of the village, who yet remained, fled toward York- town, excepting a few who could not leave or who were willing to trust to British lionor and clemency. The brave Crutchfield resolved to stand firm and defend the town against the in- vaders on land and water. He sent Captain Servant and his rifle company, out to ambush on the road leading to Celey's plantation, beyond Murphy's, who were to at- ' ThlB picture, sketched In the sprlnpr of 18M from a window of Burcher'n Hotel, near the ^team-boat wharf In Hamp- ton, '8 a view of the portion of the " Little Rnglnnd" estate, lylnpr on Hampton Creek, mentioned In the text. A line drawn porpendlrtilsriy beneath each nnroeral on the cloads wonld touch the locality Intended to be Indicated by Huch namcral. Figure 4 shown the place of Cmtchflold'a encampment, and 1 the place where the fonr-RUn battery was plant- M. Flmre 2, the place of n smaller battery j 8, Bla ■;kl)enrd"s Toint, at the mimth of Hampton Creek, from behind which ilic Brltli'h flotilla came ; 5, the forest behind which Bcckwith's troops landed ; fl, Hampton Roads ; 7, n portion of the old maiKlnn of the Little Rnpland estate ; K, the month of the west branch of Hampton Creek ; and, 9, Bully's bouse, that ftopd there In 1818. The " Little England" estate was the ancestral possession of the family of Commodore Barron. In (hp foregnmnd of the picture Is seen the steam-boat wharf at Hampton, with the creek on the rliiht. ' Thin was Charles James Napier, afterward a dlstlnenlshed general In the British Army, who was kni|;hted for his «n1rp« In the East Indies, where he became commander-in-cbief of the British forces. He was bnm in 1782, and died \n .\nCTst, lS!i6, bearlns the honors of a worthy llentenant general. He was a sprightly writer, and his biographer tays ;:.iit "when he was not lighting he was writing." w •tm m t (llfll i : p iiili;' il\i :ii 682 PICTORIAL FIELD-BOOK Tbo British Invaders confronted. A severe Skirmish. Struggle for the Possession of Hampton. tack and check the enemy ; and when Cookburn ventured within Blackbeard's Point and opened fire on the American camp, Crutchfield's heavy battery responded with 80 much spirit and effect that the arch-marauder was glad to escape for shelter behind that point, and content himself with throwing a shot or rocket occasionally into the American camp. Crutchfield gave special attention to the movement in his rear, being convinced that Cockburn's was only a feint. From his camp was a plantation road, that crossed cultivated fields, and by the edge of the woods behind which the British had landed unobserved, to a highway known as Celey's Road, that connected with the public road to Yorktown a short distance from Hampton. Connected with this road was a plantation lane leading to Murphy's, on the banks of the James River. Along this lane or road the British moved from their landing-place, and had reached rising ground and halted for breakfast when they were discovered by the Americans. Captain Pryor of the artillery in camp, immediately detached Sergeant Parker and a few picked men, with a field-piece, to go up the Yorktown Road to Celey's Junction, to assist the ambushed riflemen. Parker had just reached his position and planted his cannon, when the British moved forward with celerity. They had just crossed the head of the west branch of Hampton Creek, at the Celey Road, when the advanced guard of Servant's corps (Lieutenant Thomas Hope and two others), who were concealed by a large cedar-tree (yet standing when I visited the spot in 1853), opened a deadly lire with sure aim upon the French column in front, led by the British sergeant major, a large and powerful man. That officer and several others were killed ; the invaders were checked, and great confusion in their ranks ensued. The main body of the rifle- men now delivered their fire, and the commander of the Marines, the brave Lieuten- ant Colonel Williams, of the British army, fell dead. The British soon recovered from their temporary panic, and pressed forward, com- pelling the riflemen to fall back. In the mean time, Crutchfield, hearing the fiiins, had moved forward from his c mp with nearly all of his force, leaving the position on the Little England estate to be defended by Pryor and his artillerymen from tlie at- tack of the barges. While he was marching in column by platoons along the lane from the Little England plantation toward Celey's Road and the great highway, ho was suddenly assailed by an enfilading fire on his left. He immediately ordered hu men to wheel and charge the enemy, who were on the edge of the M'oods. This was done with the coolness and precision of long-disciplined soldiers, and the foe fell back. The victors were pressing forward, when the British opened a storm of grape and canister shot upon them from two G-pounders, and some Congreve rockets, and ai> peared iu force directly in front of Crutchfield. Tlie Americans withstood the fire a few minutes, when they fell back, and a part of them broke and fled in confusion across the Yorktown Road and the Pembroke estate. Parker in the mean time had worked his piece with good effect. Now his ammu- nition failed. Lieutenant Jones, of the Hampton Artillery, hastened to his relief; but when they saw an overwhelming force of the enemy moving along the Celey Road, they fell back to the Yorktown Pike. Jones now found that his match was extin- guished, so he ran to a house near by, snatched a brand from the hearth, and con- cealed himself in a hollow near a spring. When the British drew near and almost filled the lane, supposing the cannon to be abandoned, he arose and discharged his piece with terrible effect. Many of the foe were prostrated by its missiles, and dur- ing the confusion that ensued in the British ranks he attached a horee to his cannon and bore it off toward the camp. When he drew near that camp he saw that it was occupied by the enemy, who had come in force from the barges and compelled Pryor to spike his guns and flee. This he did in safety. He and his command, after fight- ing their way through the surrounding enemy with their firelocks, swam the West Branch of Hampton Creek, .and, making a circuit in rear of the enemy, fled to what is oBsesBion of Hampton. .ckbeard's Point, responded with or shelter behind .sionally into the being convinced ■cad, that crossed ritish had landed with the public li this road was a . Along this lane rising ground and Captain Pryor, ind a few picked ction, to assist the anted his cannon, ossed the head of idvanced guard of ere concealed by a lened a deadly fire I sergeant major, a illed ; the invaders in body of the rifle- the brave Lieuten- jssed forward, corn- hearing the firing, j-ing the position on •ymen from the at- )on8 along the lane great highway, he lately ordered his woods. This was ,d the foe fell back ;torm of grape and ve rockets, and ai> ithstood the fire a fled in confusion t Now his ammu- jd to his relief; hut ng the Celey Road, match was extin- \e hearth, and eon- w near and almost and discharged his ts missiles, and dur- horee to his cannon . he saw that it was ,nd compelled Pryor jmmand, after fisiht- ^ks, swani the West icmy,flcdto vhatis OF THE WAR OF 18 12. 683 imericans driven from Hampton. The Vlllago t,'iven up to Rapine and Pillage. A Committee oflnveBtigatton. now known as Big Bethel, without losing a man or a musket. Seeing this Jones turned and fled, after spik- ing his gun. He followed Pryor's track to the same destination. Crutchtield, with the remainder of iiis troops, liad rallied on the flank of Servant's riflemen, and renewed the fight with vigor. He soon ob- served a powerful flank movement by the enemy, yhich threatened to cut off his line of retreat, when he with- drew in good order, pursued almost two miles across and beyond the Pem- hroke farm. Tlie pursuit was term- inated at what is now known as New- bridge Creek. Thus ended the bat- tle. The British had lost about fifty in killed, wounded, and missing, and the Americans about thirty. Of eleven missing Americans, ten at least liad fled to their homes. Tlie victorious British now entered Hampton by the Yorktown Road, bearing the body of the* brave Lieu- tenant Colonel Williams. Beckwith and Cockburn made their head-quar- PLAN OF OPEKATIONB AT IIAUPTUN 11E1I)-I41'ABTEBS or UEOKWITH AND COOKnrBN. ters at the fine brick mansion of Mrs. West- wood, which stood upon the street leading to the landing. In her garden the remains of Williams were buried with solemn funeral rites on the same day. Then the village was given up to pillage and rapine. The atroci- ties committtJ. at that time upon the defense- less inhabitants who remained in Hampton, particularly on the women, have consigned the name of Sir George Cockburn to merited infamy, for he was doubtless the chief author of tliem.^ The reports of them at the time were much exaggerated, but sufficient was proven by oflicial investigation to cause the cheeks of every lionest Briton to tingle with the deepest blush of shame. " We are sorry to say," said Commissioners Thomas Griffin and Robert Lively, appointed to investigate the matter, " that from all information we could procure, from sources too respectable to permit us to doubt, we are compelled to believe tliat acts of vio- lence have been perpetrated which have disgraced the age in which we live. The sex hitherto guarded by the soldier's honor escaped not the rude assaults of superior force."' A correspondence on the subject occurred between General Taylor and Sir ' There can be little donbt that Cuckbnra promised his men " Booty ar.d Beanty" to their hearts' content. It waB like him. But no one conld gnfiect the right-minded Admiral Warren, or even the more latitudinarian Sir Sidney, of nch a crime against civiliznti and Christianity. ' In his dispatch to Governor Barbonr on the iSth, Major Crntchflcld, the American commander at Hampton, said, after giving an account of the battle and the excesses of the soldiery, " The imfortunste females of Hampton who could not leave the town were abnsed in the most shameAil manner, not only hy the soldiers, bnt by the venal savage blacks, who were encouraged in their excesses. They pillaged, and encouraged every act of rapine and plunder, killing a poor man by the name of Klrby who had been lying on hlB bed at the point of death for more than six weeks, shooting bis i#|!> f : i : : • : i ; ' ' ' : ■ ( ll 1 ■ 1 ; 1M..| } .u ; 1 ^tt'{iif ' 1 ' ■■- W|^" - ■ 1 1 1 aMJC ' 1 Slfl 11 J aW iHi^ 684 PICTORIAL FIELD-BOOK Official Correspoudonce coiiccrulng Ontrages, A Visit to Norfolk and lt» Vicinity. Old Fort Norfolk. • March 13 and 14. Sidney Beckwith, in which the latter, while ho did not deny the charges, attempted to justify the atrocities by pleading the law of retaliation, falsely alleging, as was proven, that the Americans had waded out from Craney Island after the battle there and deliberately shot the crew of a barge which had sunk on the shoal.' And wliilc it was not denied that British officers and soldiers had engaged zealously in the bus- iness of plundering the private houses at Hampton of every thing valuable that might be easily carried away,* the more horrid crime of ravishing the persons of mar- ried women and young maidens, was charged by the British commanders upon tlie French soldiery. " The apology," said the commissioners just mentioned, " that these atrocities were committed by tlie French soldiers attached to the British forces now in our waters appeared to us no justification of those who employed them, bolievinff as we do, that an officer is, or should be, ever responsible for the conduct of the troops under his command." So shameful were these atrocities — too gross to be repeated liere — that the most violent of the British partisan writers were compelled to de- nounce them ; aiid Admiral Warren and General Beckwith, in obedience to tlie in- stincts of their better natures and the demands of public opinion, dismissed the C'/uts- aeitrs Britanniquis from the service. At the '"ides of March," in the year 1853,* I visited Norfolk, Craney Island, and Hampton, for tlse purpose of collecting materials for this work, and I had the good fortune to meet several persons who were well acquainted with places and events in that region pertaining to the War of 1812, I had spent the 4th of March at the national capital, " assisting," as the French say, at the inau- guration of President Pierce; a day or two with the late George Washington Parice Custis at his beautiful seat of " Arlington," opposite Washington City ; then a few days in Richmond; a little time in a trip and visit to '' Monticello," near Char- lottesville, the home of the living and the grave of the departed Thomas Jeifereon; and then part of a (iay on the James and Elizabeth Rivers on a voyage to Norfolk. I intended to go to Orkney Island the next morning, but the wind was so high that no boatman was willing to venture upon the water, so that day I visited the Navy Yard at Gosport, Old Fort Norfolk, and other places of interest in and around tiip city. At the former place wtre seen the skeleton of the famous Constellation ; tiie useless monster ship Pentisylvania ; the work-shops and yards where full eight hund- red men found employment, and .more than twenty-five hundred huge iron cannon, with a complement of balls. All of this property, valued at several millions of dol- lars, with other government vessi^ls, was destroyed or seized by the insurgents of Virginia in April, 1861, at the breaking out of the late Civil War, Old Fort Norfolk, a structure made during the old War for Independence, on the right bank of the Elizabeth River, was in a dilapidated state, and was occupied only by a keeper and his family. That custodian was a queer old man, seventy years of wife In the hip at the same time, and killing a falthfbl dog lying under his feet. The mardered KIrby was lying lait night weltering in his blood." Sir Charles Napier (see note 2, page 681), In his diary of these events, In which he bore a part, says, " Every horror wi; perpetrated with impunity— rape, murder, pillage— OTid not a man tpaa punished," Again : " Strong is my dislike to rtii is, perhaps, a necessary part of our job, viz., plundering and mining the peasantry. We drive all their cattle, imd o( course ruin them. My hands are clean ; but It is hateful to see the poor Yankees robbed, and to be the robber." ' General Taylor addressed Admiral Warren, and was answered by Sir Sidney Beckwith as the commander of Ihf land forces. In bis note to Admiral Warren General Taylor said: "The world will suppose these acts to have In approved. If not executed by the commanders, If suffered to pass by with Impunity. I am preptred for any species of warfare which yon are disposed to prosecute. It Is for the sake of humanity that I enter this protest." Oenernl Beck- with, as we have observed, charged cruelty on the part of the Americans as a palliation ; to which Taylor replied thit he was satisfled that no such act as charged ever took place, and if it had, It was no excuse for the crimes committed il Hampton against the helpless and innocent. A board of officers was convened to investigate the matter, when It wm ascertained that, during the engagement off Craney Island, two of the British boats were sunk by the American psw, nnd the crews were In danger of being drowned ■ that, beiii); In line of action, the firing necessarily continued, but Hut, In order to avoid Injuring those in the water and helpless, the firing of grape was discontinued. One man, who btd em- rendered, but endeavored to escape, was fired npon to bring him back. » Among other "property," according to the laws of Virginia, taken away by the British, were negroes. Cnderi promise of freedom, a large number of them flocked to the British standard. Most of those whom Cockbum enticed » board his vessels by these promises were afterward sold Into a worse slavery lu the British West Indies. wm OP THE WAll OF 18 13. 68S Old Fort Norfolk. irgcs, attempted alleging, as was the battle there, oal.' And while lously in the bus- ng valuable that c persons of mar- oanders upon the ioned, " that these iritish forces now i them, believing, duct of the troops )89 to be repeated compelled to de- ledience to the in- ismissed the C'/km- jd Norfolk, Craney ; materials for this re well acquainted 1812. I had spent sh say, at the inau- Washington Parke 1 City ; then a few ticello," near Char- . Thomas Jefferson; voyage to Norfolk. ,d was 80 high that ; visited the Navy in and around the Constellation; the lere full eight hund- lUge iron cannon, eral millions ofdol- the insurgents of dependence, on the was occupied only m, seventy years of rderedKirby was lying lad rtrt, says, "Every horror TO Strong iB my aiBlike to vrhJt Irivealltholr cattle, imd of «nd to be the robber." S BS the commnnrtcr otm .88 these acts to have ton prepired for any epeciw o( ilB protest." General Beck- o which Taylor replied that for the crimes committed It rate the matter, when it wM Innk by the American pln^ peBsarHy continued, but tlnl, ed. One man, who had m- teh, were negroes. Coder I 1863. liniTlSU UONHUl'h UOL'SK.' ( whom CockbumentlcedoB t West Indies. BritUi Consul at Norfolk and hU Hevldence. Thomas Muore and the Lake of the Utsmul Swamp. Craney lalaud. jjge, With boundless garrulity he gave me his domestic history, and insisted upon bringing out his last baby, the sixth child by his fourth wife. His third wife appears to have been " a thorn in his side." When speaking of her, he thrust his hands into his pockets, looked upon the grass, sighed, and, in a subdued voice, said, " The Lord was good to me, and took her away soon, I really believe she would have died happy could she have seen me die first. I didn't think it best to gratify her, and so she had to give it up." On leaving the fort I went to the residence of Robert E. Tay- lor Esq., son of General Taylor, the defender of 'Norfolk, to whom I am indebted for much information concerning events in that vicinity in 1813. On the folowing morn- ing' I breakfasted with the British consul, the late G. P. R. James, the cm- .March u, inent novelist. The circumstance is mentioned to introduce the fact that his residence was the same (118 Main Street) as that occupied by Mr. Hamilton, the British consul at Norfolk in 1807, at the time of the affair of the Chesapeake and Leopard, whose personal popular- ity alone saved his house from demolition by the exasperated people.* In that house Thomas Moore, the Irish poet, lodged in 1 804, and there he wrote his beautiful poetic paraphrase of a popular legend connected with the Lake of the Dismal Swamp. I passed the morning delightfully with Mr. James and his interesting family, and at ten o'clock started for Craney Island in a skiff manned by a negro seventy years of age, and a mulatto boy of sixteen, both slaves. The air was balmy. Scarcely a ripple ap- peared on the water, and the sun was pleasantly obscured by a slight haziness of the atmosphere. Just after passing Fort Norfolk we came abreast Lambert's Point, and, stretching far to the right, toward the Rip Raps, was seen Sewell's Point, made famous to this generation by the stirring events of the late Civil War with which it is associated. The waters in that vicinity were dotted with oyster- vessels at anchor, engaged in receiving cargoes from numerous small boats that were hovering over the oyster-beds in every direc- . tion, each bearing two men with fishing rakes. As we ncared the head of Craney Island,! hailed a brace of these fishermen in a boat, and asked them for a " fip's worth" of oysters for my watermen. To my astonishment, they dropped two rake's- fuU— at least a peck — into our boat, and on them the oarsmen feasted while I strolled over the island, viewing and sketching the remains of military works erected there during the War of 1812. These are seen rising above the common surface of the isl- and in the little sketch on page 676. These works were erected immediately after the repulse of the British from the island in June,'' and were quite formidable.^ „ They consisted of a fort on the southeast part of the island, and a magazine > See page 158. ' This is ft-om a aketrh made by the author on New Year's Day, 1800. ' The troops on the island at the time here mentioned were n-itho\ t any shelter excepting indifferent tentB, and suf- fered much for lack of water. They dug hollows on the island In which they caught rain, and then strained th« mnddy Baler for uee. OYBTEB FIBUIKQ. 'I M ! t ( •m PICTOUIAL FIELD-BOOK The Fortlflcations on Cranoy Uland. BKMAINH or ruHTiriUATlONB ON UIIANKY IgLAMD. and brcast-worka on the north wostorn nide/on tlie spot where Faulkner's dlicionl battery was planted. There was an intervening and connecting line of intrineli. mentH along the channel side of" the island, with emhraRures for camion. Tlicsi' liad almost disappeared, hut the eiiibank- ments of the fort wereten or twelve feet in lieight. They indoKcd a lu x- agonal block-liouse,huilt of hri(k,aii(l surrounded by an arcade below the jjorts. It was two stories in height, but the upper floor docs not aiiiRai to have been laid. Near tlic block house was a magazine, also built uf brick. Nothing remained of tiicdlil main gate, on the land side, but nii iron hinge, and of the gateway a broken arch. This block-house, or citadel, when I was there, was per- fectly preserved. The magazine on ihc opposite end of the island was also built of bricik, and was well preserved. Around it were Bome remains of breastworks, but many had perished from the encroachments of the sea, These and the whole island were almost wholly submerged during a very high tide 1II.OUK-UOIIBK ON OIIA^KY IHI.A.NU. HAQAZIME ON OBANEY I8LANII, a few weeks before my visit there. Much of the old em- bankments was washed away, but the solitary cedar, mentioned as being there in 1813, remained unbanned on the southern slope of the island.* From the maga- zine we had a fine view of the entire scene of action on the 22d of June. The schooner on the right, in the annexed picture, designates the place of the barges at the time of their repulse ; and the distant ) point between the vessel and the shore by the magazine shows the landing-place of the British, who moved through the woods up to Wise's Creek. Jiut ' This tree la seen in the Eketcb on page OTS. \.i [o Wise's Creek. hA OF THE VVAU OF 1812, 687 , g|)VD'» Krucilom |)ur('liui<«(l liy lilii Wife, A VIelt to IlnmiHon and VIcltiily. NiiiiilliiK-pluco of the UrltlHli. ill tlu( It'ft of the magiizino, across the strait, is soon a small lioiise, at the mouth of \Vi«''« t'rt'ck. It was near tlie site ofWise's (iuiirtor," which was demoliHhed many yi'in's nj?"- 1" *^l'*' more modern house we found an intelligent colo'-ed man, al)()ut eigiity yearw of age, rejoicing in tlu! fact that his freedom had just been pur- cliiistHl hy his wife, a wonuin almost as old as himself. She earned money by mid- witi'ry, iu wliich proft'ssiou she was very proficient. " IJress de Lord!" said the old man, " f<>'' age 0H.3), and were kindly shown the rooms occupied by them, and the grave of Williams in the garden, by Mrs. Savage, who then resided there. We • ._^.,'^' %' V then rode up to the latuling-plac(! of the liritish, where stood Captain Mur- phy's house in j)icturesque ruins upon a grassy point, from which we had a fine view of Hampton Roads. From Murphy's we followed the line of march of the 13ritish to the place whore they were attacked by the rifle- 1.AN1>1.VU-I'I.AI1K UF llIK UUITIBII AT MUUI'IIY'B men, and afterward by Jones with his field-piece, and then went to the mansion of the Pembroke farm, over which the Americans fled toward Little Bethel, In that mansion lived an aged couple at the time, named Kirby, whose treatment by the ])ur- suing British soldiers who entered tlie house was the cause of the invoking of many an imprecation throughout the land upon the head of the enemy. '^ Near it stood the mansion of the Bethel estate, the dwelling of another aged man, named Hope, under whose roof great atrocities were committed.' From these we returned to llampton ' See page 6S2. • Mr. Klrby was an aged man, very sick, and at the point to die when the soldiers entered the bonee. His wife was hyhle bedside, when they shot bim thmnjih the body and wonnded her In the hip. This was procluimcd as a wanton murder, aud excited the greatest Indignation. Colonel Jones know Mrs. Kirby well, and her version of the story was tliat, with vcngeftil feelings, the soldiers chased nn ngly dog into the hotise, which ran '.inder Mr. Kirby's chair. In which he wa8 Bitting, and, in their eagerness to shoot the dog, shot the aged invalid, the bnllct grazing the tilp of Mrs. Kirby. Mr«. Kirby always considered the shooting of her hnsband an accident. ' The conduct of the British at Mr. Hope's was barbarons In the extreme. He was sixty-flvc years of age. They 'tripped hini entirely naked, wounded him intentionally with a bayonet, and tort\ired him with menaces of death. They would doubtless have killed him had not their attention been directed to a woman who bad sought refnge la bis ! I , f m i'l ir: 1 Wm 688 PICTORIAL FIELD-BOOK Commodore Bu-ron'B DanKhter. ColoDal Jooci ud bU Family. D— trnetlon of Hampton, ^"^:'.vV KIBUY UOU8K.> by the Yorktown Hoad, still foUowiiiji; tint line of the invailor'a march, and viHitod Mrs. Jain' A. Hope, daughter of Commodore Jaiiu-H Bur- ron, who kindly furnished me with the por trait and autograph of her father, copies of which are printed on page 159. She Mpokc feelingly of the treatment her father received at the hands of the government, and exprcsHed a hope that History might yet be just to his memory. She was a somewhat aged lady delicate in form and feature, and excecdiiigly pleasing in convei-s'ation. When the blight of the Rebellion fell' upon Hampton, Mrs. Hope went to Warrenton, in North Carolina, where she died in January, 1862. I spent the evening with Colonel Jones and his excellent wife, and saw in their lit- tle parlor two original crayon drawings by the eminent Sharpless, the faithful delin- eator from life of the profiles of Washington and his wife. These were profilcH of Jefferson and Monroe. I made a careful copy of the former. Early the next morn- ing I drew the sketch from my window at the hotel presented on page 681, and at the appointed hour left Hampton for Richmond in the James River steamer. This was my second visit to Hampton, with an interval of five years, and both times I carried away with me pleasant remembrances of courteous inhabitants and a cliarm- ing village. All is now changed. Hampton has been made a desolation by the smit- ings of civil war. Very few of its inhabitants were faithful to the old flag, and that county of which Hampton was the capitrd furnished no less than six companies to the rebel army. Colonel Jones remained a stanch Union man — faithful among the faith- less — and was the last man to leave the doomed village when, at a few minutes past midnight on the 7th of August, 1861, the torch was applied by order of the rebel Gen- eral Magruder during the maudlin delirium of intoxication. He (the aged veteran of 1812) was not allowed to take any thing from his house — the house in which the family of Commodore Barron long resided — and he and his equally aged companion had scarcely left it when they saw it in flames. Within twelve hours, four churches and four hundred and seventy dwellings were laid in ashes. Among the churches was one of the most ancient in Virginia,^ which stood apai*t from the town. Iih de- struction was an act of purest barbarism, •June, The British remained in Hampton until the 27th,'' when they re-embarked, ^***- and on the morning of the 29th Major Crutchfield entered the plundered vil- lage and took possession. On the Ist of July the blockading '•.juadron, consisting at that time of seven ships of the line, seven frigates, and eleven smaller vessels, left Hampton Roads and entered the mouth of the Potomac River. A portion of the fleet went up that stream, exciting the most intense alarm at Alexandria, George- town, and the national capital. The only fortification on which those cities could rely at that time for the arrest of the invading squadron was old Fort Warhurton, then called Fort Washington,^ situated on the Maryland side of the Potomac, a few miles below Alexandria. This was strengthened and its garrison increased by call- house. They left him, seized her, and subjected her to Indignities of which savages would be ashamed. Becanse of these atrocities, M'Ijiws, of the Veteran Corps at Wilmington, need the word Hampton, in place ot Attention, when call- ing them to order. > This house was of brick, and beantiAilIysltnated. At the time of the British invasion It belonged to John SWeit- wood. MThen I visited it it was the property of his family. In trout of it were some tomb-stones, near the site of the old Pembroke church. > For a drawing and ftill historical description of this ancient chnrch, see Lossing's Pietorlal IHHd-book of the Radf^ tn monnted, that tore in- hi. unckburn Id the Potomac and on the Cooit of North Carolina. Alarm In Booth Uarollna. in({ in the militia from the surrounding country. Breastworks wore thrown up at Alexandria, Georgetown, and Washington, and vigorous measures were taken to meet the foe. The alarm soon subsided. The British did not approach nearer to Wnsli- iiiL'toii than seventy miles, and then withdrew, went around to the Chesapeake, and ereated equal alarm at Annapolis and lialtimore. Assured that those cities were amply defended, they withdrew, and a ])ortion of the fleet, under Admiral C'oekbum, went southward to plunder, destroy, and spread alarm along tho coasts of the Caro- linas and Georgia. His vessels wera tho Sceptre, 74 (flag-ship) ; Jiormilns, Fox, and On the 12th of July Cockbnrn anchored off" Ocracoko Inlet, and dispatched Lieu- tenant Westphall, M'ith about eight liundred men in barges, to the waters of Pamlico Somul. They found within the bar the Anaconda, of New York, and Atlas, of Phil- adelphia, both pi-ivatc armed vessels. Tliey fell upon the Anaconda, whose thirteen men after stout resistance, blew holes in her bottom with her own guns and esenped. The British plugged the holes and saved her. They captured the Atlas and some smaller craft, but a revenue cutter escaped, and gave timely warning at Newborn. Westphall proceeded to attack that place, but it was too well defended by the new- ly-rallied militia to warrant an attack, so ho proceeded to Portsmouth, not far ofl', took possession of the town, and for two o/ three days engaged in the pastime of plundering and desolating tho surrounding country. The rapid gathering of tho mi- litia caused them to decamp in haste on tho 16th, carrying with them cattlo and other property, and many slaves, to whom freedom was falsely promised. These Cockburn, it is said, sold in the West Indies. Leaving Pamlico Sound, the arch-marauder went down the coast, stopping at and idiindoring Dewoes's and Capers's Islands, and filling the whole region of the Lower Santee with terror. Several plantations on Dewees's were desolated, and from Ca- pers's a largo quantity of live-stock was taken away, with a few slaves. Other ex- ]ioscJ places along the coast expected a simi- lar visitation. Breastworks wore thrown up around Charleston ; Fort Moultrie and other fortifications wore strengthened, and a con- siderable body of militia were assembled on lladdrell's Point, or Point Pleasant, where might have been seen, before the late Civil War, a monument erected to the memory of some soldiers who perished there by.disoaso.^ No battle was fought on South Carolina soil during the war. Her politicians were among tiie most clamorous for hostilities, and some of her citizens made fortunes by privateer- ing; but few of her sons were found in the ranks of their country's defenders. She suf- fered most from the fear of losing property, especially slaves, which her state law de- clared to be property ; and during tho time eoiniKBe' jioncmen-, point pleasant. ■ This monnment was bniU of brick, having in shallow recesses in the base of the crowning pyramid marble tablets bearing the following inscriptions: fiMtSMe.— "On the 18th of June, 1812, the United States of America declared war against Great Britain. At the first sinnd of the trumpet the potriot soldiers who sleep beneath this monnment flew to the standard of Liberty. Here they fell beneath the scythe of Death. The sympathies of the brave, the tears of the stranger, and the alow dirge of the camp lUeaded them to the tomb. " ' How sleep the brave, who sinlt to rest With all their country's wishes blest The laurel wreath of shining preen Will still around their tomb be seen.' " Tet; SUt,—" Sacred to the memory of Sergeant Troman Goodrich and Adam C. Spencer. Also of Bnvld Aarantj Xx m i 'J i ' 11 j; • ' 'jet i tj t;in| llil 11 II 690 PICTORIAL PIKLD.BOOK ti«re> OrgaalMtlant MBoag lh« >I*t«*. A rtvolntlonarj Bjnnii. Tb«Oni»ei.r()iir*,l, when Cockbiirn wiim hovcriiiK aloii^ the comt l\w larfifc Kliivt!lii)lHt n torco of tint HriliHli mIioii!,! IiukI iukI dfcliirtt fVctMloiii to all ■orfH who should join their Htuudiini. Iliiil tlioy «lon(i ho, ih) doubt lui iirniy orniiiiiy thuuHnnd colort-d pcoplo wotdd hiivo flocked to that Htaudiird, Ibr tlui ncj^rocn liml h«'ard of tho liberiition of tlioir bri-tliren in Virj^inia by tlu) HriliHli, but not oftlu. \,f\\^. mo»i8 treachery of their Ht'ducer, who hoM tlu'ui iiito worHc Hcrvitu(U! in tlic West h|. dicH. All alonf? tho coaHt, and far into the interior, Heoret orf^ani/atiouH j'xiHtcd anions the lU'grocH for united efTortH to obtain their freedom ; aiul, in anticipation of tin. ,.„iii hig of a HritiHh army of liberation, they were prepared to riHe in large numbcrH, at ;i given Nignal, and Htrike for freedom.' Hut Co(!kbuni waH content to fill \m ])i by plundering, and a petty Hiave-trade on his own account ; ho, after kec^ping the Cur olinaH in a state like fever and ague for many weekH,* ho went down to the (Jeoriri,., ooaHt, and at " DungenncsH IIouhc," the neat of the fine CHtate of (Jcneral Natlmnicl Gi-eenc, of tho Itevolution, on Cumberland iHland, he nuide his head-cpiarterH for tji, winter. His marauderH went out in all diroctiouH upon the neighboring (iouHtjHpicad. ing desolation ond alarm. Among tlio estates visited was that of IJonaventurcjUiinv Wllllnm KntlaDd, John William*, WllllBm M'l^llnn, Ilonry KIlKoro, John Tnylur, Johu Bruce, and Ilarrla Uiicuicr, prlvntn Kolillom oflliti Tlilrd KcKlniniit orHliitv Triiopn." Whoii I vlnllBd tli« "pot u fow ycarii iMiforo llio IhIo wnr, tho tnhlota worn much rtcfnci-d l)y tho cffoctH orbiillctn whirli had bcoii flrvd at thorn fur Iho Mport of Homo youiiK mun ofCharloiitoii, It wan xnd to hco mich cvidviircH iif utter cart. lensnoB* uf Iho moniory of thoKa whom another and better Kcnoratlon had delighted to honor. And yet there won ira. tiuiony not flir off- Jnat ncrou a broad chaanol— that rcnpuct for.a really Krcat man, tliouKh rnnkod In hUtory aa aur- ago, was not wautln|{. I refer to Oiceola, tho celebrated Heniliinln warrior, wlio for a lon)( lime out|{oiioralcd Homo of tho boat commundorH nt tliti rriiul)- lie— Scott, Taylor, Ualnei<, and Jeiiup— In their attompta to expi.'l hla |)C(i|,;e IVom tho KverKladca of Florida, which had belonged to hlH fnlherii rnimtlmc Immemorial. A ntouo alab marka hla laat roatlnK-placn on CHrth.JuKtntlhe cntrance-|;ate to Fort Moultrie ; and when I waa thero not nvuu n pciicll.mark defaced tho aurface, ou which wna Inacribed, In lar^o Icttera, 0h oppreased, ye Aflrlc band ! (who t li and awcnt In slavery bound, And when your health and atrength are gone, Are left to hunger and to mourn. Lot indepmdenee bo your aim. Ever mindful what 'tis worth ; Pledge your bodies for tho prize, Pile them ever to the skies 1 CAoru*.— Firm, united lot us be, Besolved on death or liberty ! Aa a band of patriots joined, Peace and plenty we aball And. f Look to heaven with manly trust, Rrpeat. ■< And swear by Ulm that's always Jnat (That no white foe, with impious hand, Shall slave your wives ond daughters more, Or rob them of their virtue door I Bo armed with valor firm and true, Their hopes are flzed on Heaven nnd yon, That Truth and Justice will prevail. Chorus.— Tlrm, united, etc. I Arise! arise! shako off your chains! Bspeat. i Your cause la in",t, so Heaven ordains ; (To you shull freedom bo proclaimed I Raise your arms and bare your breasts, Almighty Ood will do the rest. Blow the clarion's warlike bloat; Call every negro ft-om his task ; Wrest the scourge Crom Buokra's hand. And drive each tyrant ttom the land 1 CAoru*.— Firm, united, etc. > Cockburn londed at Hilton Head and one or two other places, from which he carried off aome cattle and a nointo of slavea ; and Savannah waa much agitated for a time with the fear of hla grasp. OF TlIK WAIl OF 1813. UUI \\\ Thil «»r«v«of()w«()|i WiTt) Ilu'llllU'd liy irii rri'cdoni t(i nil nil iiniiy of many • tlu! in'^rofH liml imt not oft lie inl'ii. U' in tlif West. In oim I'x'mti'd iuiwiii;; l)ution ot'tlu^ ciiin ir^o nunibtTH, III ;i to till tiiH i»H'k('t!. ir koopiiifj; tin? I'm wn to tli«i (iiMirj^ia (Jcncnil Niilliaiiicl iiil-cjUftitcrH lor the Drill j^ c.oiiHt, t<|»r('i\il- IJoiiaventuif,ai'i'\v uce, and Ilnrrta LancMtn, the effof in of bnllctn wbkli icli ovUtoiircn (if utter care- or. And y«t thoro wm iw- 1 rnnkod In hlHtory a« a Mr- iloWrntod Sfniliioli! warrior, tcommandcrHiif tlinrrirali .tomiitn to exiii'l hid \Ki<\i,f HoA lo hl» fnthflrs trnm time H-plnci) on CHrtli.Juntntthi; llipro not ovon n pcurll-matk Inrgo letterc, Ohokh.a. Anil ithod ntnld llm rulim aroiiiiil 1. Oncoola wnn mnilc a iirl«- mp of (Icnornl .Icmip, whllh- I goncrnlly Hucreil protcctlm rcM liciirt wnn lirokeii. The 1 eloBO of January, ISSK. Nn ilHlilo of the Katoi'f «!><«"'■ illH near Bluiilflcant cmblfiw I tho native American on ih« ntod with tho hiatorynfthe of shamo for tho govemmenl igoB for an account of one ot In tho vicinity of Chnrleslon. id cloBod by ulnRhiK 't>c "'>■ BdaplanforthcrlBlngotjIl uestlon " What Bhall 1)0 doM laughter an the only aecnrlt; ame In and "Bid, "Brother!: edlcBS drop of blond mniilbo !adbody." ThefuUowbgii Us and daughters more, r virtue dear 1 _• firm and true, Id on Heaven and yon, Itlce will prevail. 1 united, etc. i oir your chains I |o Heaven ordains-, n be proclaimed 1 J bare your brcaste, jdo the rest. tarllke blast; Im his task ; Jiom Br.ckra's hand, Intftom the land! 3 nnlted, etc, lofTBOme cattle and a number ■nTIANOC TO IIONAVENTDBB. (-Mkhnrn on Um OomI of a«orgl«. DMatnr riiH Dm WMkada at N«w York. Ua U driven iino iim' rhninm. iiiiU'H '•■oni Hiiviuiniih, tho |tro|)i'rty of tlu' Tiilliiiill tUinily, on whicli, in 11 Ki-ovn «)f livtMmk (lnii)(!oHt |ii(!- liiromiui) oi!inoteri('» ill the world, tlio cn- iranctt to whi(!h Ih Hoon in tlio i)i(!tnro, iiittde from ft Hkt!t(di by tlid nrtiHt T. Ad- dlBon ItichnrdH. Wliilo Oo(5kl>urn, tiie murftuder, wftH on the Soutliem coftHt, Hiirdy, tho pontlc- iiian, was blockading 11 portion of tho N»!\v England coast. Tho hftrbors from tho IJolawarc to Nantucket wcro regularly watched, and ingrcHH and t'grt'88 were very difficult. We have given an account of tl»c arrival at New York of tho frigates UhiteAl States and Macedonian,^ tho former in tho American service, under Decatur, and tho latter a prize captured by him from tho IJritiwh in tho previous autumn. These had been repaired and fitted for sea, and tho gallant Captain Jones had been placed in com- mand of the Macedonian. At this time the Poic^ierfl, Captain Bcresford, and a num- Iter of other vessels, were carefully guarding the entrance to New York Harbor through tho Narrows, but Decatur, anxious to get out upon tho ocean, resolved to run the blockade. Ho found it unsafe to attempt it at tho Narrows ; so, with his two frigates, accompanied by the sloop of war //omef, Captain Biddle, which was anxious to join the Chesapeake at Bosto*\ he jjassed up the East lliver and Long Island Sound for the purpose of escaping between iVIontauk Point and Block Island.* For a month Sir Thomas Hardy, with his flag-ship the liamiUies, the Orpheus, Captain Sir Hugh y^ I^igot, the Valiant, Acasta, ^ and smaller vessels, had been keeping vigilant watch in that region. During that time Sir Thomas had won the good opinion of the inhabitants along the coast because of his honorable treatment oftliein. When Decatur approached tho mouth of tho Tliames," he was met by the • jnne i, Valiant and Acasta, and, knowing that tho Ramillies and Orpheus were **'^- near, he deemed it prudent to ri»n into New London Harbor. He was pursued by the enemy as far as Gull Island, at which point tho British anchored in position to command tho mouth of the Thames. Then commenced a regular blockade of New London, which continued full twenty months, and was raised only by tho proclama- tion of peace. The squadron in sight of Now London was soon strengthened, and when, at the latter part of June, Hardy assumed command of it, it consisted of two 74's, two frigates, and a number of smaller vessels. ■ See page 480. > This is ont at sea, sonth of Rhode Island, and forma a part of that State's Jurisdiction. The British had now raised their standard on this island. lim. ^oiA^^ I ' •flKJl ' ^^^^^^^1 wKf '■'^ m' ''" ' ' m -l,4Mi.^-- !- If 'i' ' .■ i ■■'■ i 9 693 PICTORIAL FIELD-BOOK Blockading Squadron off New London. Alarm of the InhabitantK. Decatar finds a Place of Safety, MKW LONDON IH ItJiU.' The presence of this fleet created much anxiety. The more aged inhabitants, who rem nbered Arnold's incursion in 1781, were filled with apwi'ehensions of a repetition of the tragedies of that terrible day. It was generally expected that the enemy would enter the river p.nd attack Decatur's squadron, and the neighboring militia were summoned to the town ; the specie of the banks was conveyed to Norwich, at the head of ti(^e-water; and women, and children, and portable property were sent into the interior. The character of Sir Thomas was a sufficient guaranty that neitlicr life nor private property would be wantonly destroyed ; but, in the event of the bom- bardment of the ships, the town could not well escape destructioiL by fire. Decatur, in anticipation of such bomba.dment of his vessels, after lightening them, took them five or six miles up the river, beyond the reach of the enemy, and upon an emiiience near Allyn's Point, from which he had a fine view of the Sound and New London Harbor, he cast up some intrenchments, and placed his cannon upon them. The spot was named Dragon Hill.^ At about this time an event occurred oiF New London which caused great exas- peration in the blockading squadron, and came near bringing most disastrous effects upon the New England coast. It was the use of a torpedo, or submarine mine, whose invention, construction, and character have already been given in these pagos.^ Tlie government of the United States, it will br remembered, refused to employ them. It was left for private enterprise to attempt the promotion of the public good by their use in weakening the power of the enemy. One of these enterprises was undertaken in New York city. In the hold of the schooner Eagle, John Scudder, junior, the orii;- inator of the plot, placed ten kegs of gunpowder, Avith a quantity of sulphur niixwl with it, in a strong cask, and surrounded it with huge stones and other missiles, whitli, in the event of explosion, might inflict ^reat injury. At the head of the cask, on the inside, were fixed two gun-locks, with cords fastened to their triggers at one end, and two barrels of flour at the other end, so that when the flour should be removed the ' In thie view, looking down the river, the old conrt-house, yet standing on State Street, is seen near the centre of Ihe picture. Upon the rocky peninsula ftirther to the right (erroneously made to appear like an Island) Is seen Port Tram- bull. Beyond it, in the distance, at the mouth of the river. Is seen the ilght-honse, and in the open sound the Brilifh blockading squadron. In the extreme distance is seen, as if In connecting line, Oull and Fisher's Island. Ou the ex- treme left are the Heights of Qroton, east of the Thames. a IlUUmj of New Lmulnn, by Miss Frances Manwaring Canlkins, author of a Bistnri/ of Norwich, Connecticut. Tlie'C volumes justly rank among the best arranged and most interesting of the local histories of our country. ' See pages from 238 to 240 inclusive. km OF THE WAR OF 1812. 093 inde a Fliicc of HaHy. A Torpedo Vessel off New London. Alarm and Precaatlons of the British. Other Torpedo Vessels. I inhabitants, who on8 of a repetition i that the enemy 3ighboring militia 'ed to Norwich, at roperty were sent iranty that neitlier [ event of the bom- by fire. Decatur, them, took them upon an emiiieiico and Now Loudon them. The spot sausod great oxas- , disastrous effects larine mine, whose hese pagcs.3 The (Mnploy them. It blic good by their !8 was undertaken T, junior, the oris- of sulphur mi.veil ler missiles, which, jf the cask, on the irs at one end, anil d bo removed the ten near the centre of ite ilanfl) is seen Fort Trmn- lo open sound the Brltith her's Island. Onthces- Hch, Connecticut. Thc-e Ir country. Q locks would bo sprung, the powder ignited, and the terrible mine exploded. Thus prepared, with a cargo of flour and naval stores over the concealed mine, the Eagle, Captain Riker, late in June, sailed for New London, where, as was expected and de- sired, she was captured by armed men sent out in boats from the Ramillies. The crew of the Eagle escaped to the shore at Millstone Point, and anxiously awaited the result. The wind had fallen, and for two hours unavailing etforts were made to get the Eagle alongside the Ramillies for the purpose of transferring her cargo to that vessel. Finally boats were sent out as lighters, the hatches of the Eagle were opened, and when the first barrel of flour was removed the explosion took place. A column of fire shot up into the air full nine hundred feet, and a shower of pitch and tar fell upon the deck of the Ramillies. The schooner, and the first lieutenant and ten men from the flag-ship on board of her, Avere blown into atoms, and most of those in the boats outside were seriously, and some fatally injured. The success which this experiment promised caused others to be tried. A citizen of Norwich, familiar with the machine used by Bushnell in attempts to blow up the Eagle, British ship-of-war, in the harbor of New York during the Revolution, invented a submarine boat in which he voyaged at the rate of three miles an hour. Li this he went under the Ramillies three times, and on the third occasion had nearly com- pleted the task of fixing a torpedo to her bottom, when a scrcAv bioke, and his effort was foiled. He was discovered, but escaped. A daring fisherman of Long Island, named Penny, made attempts on the Ramillies with a torpedo in a Avhale-boat, and Hardy was kept continually on the alert. So justly fearful was he of these mines, that he not only kept his ship in motion, but, according to Penny, who was a p'-:soner on the Ramillies for a while, he caused her bottom to be swept with a cable every two hours night and day. He finally issued a warning to the inhabitants of the coasts that if they did not cease that cruel and unheard-of warfare, he should proceed to destroy their tOAV'ns and desolate their country.^ An attempt of Mr. Mix, of the navy, in July, to blow up the Flantagenet, 74, lying off Cppe Henry, Virginia, was almost successful. The torpedo was carried out, under cover of intense darkness, in a heavy open boat called The Chesapeake Avenger, and dropped so as to float down under the ship's bow. It exploded a few seconds too' soon. The scene was awful. A column of water, twenty-five feet in diameter, and half luminous with lurid light, was thrown up at least forty feet, with an explosion as terrific as thunder, and producing a concussion like the shock of an earthquake. It burst at the crown. The water fell in profusion on the deck of the Plantagenet, and at the same moment she rolled into the chasm made by this sudden expulsion of water, and nearly upset. Torpedoes were also placed across the Narrows, below New York, and at the entrance to the harbor of Portland. This fact made the British commanders exceedingly cautious in approaching our harbors, and they and their American sympathizers expressed great horror at this mode of warfare. It was re- plied that the wanton outrages committed on the defenseless inhabitants of the coast, from Havre de Grace to Charleston, fully justified any mode of warfare against such marauders, and that stratagem in the horrid business of war was always justifiable.^ > Hardy had been in the habit of allowlnar trading vessels to pass, the blockade being chiefly against Decatur's little sqnadron ; but on the morning after the explosion of the EarjU he informed Qencral labam, the commander of tLe mi- lillo at New London, that no vessel would thereafter be allowed to pass the British squadron except flags of truce. And on ihe 28th of August, after an attempt npon the RamiUie» by Penny from the south side of Long Island, Hardy wrote to Justice Terry, of Southold, desiring him t > warn the Inhabitants along the coast that if they allowed a torpedo boot to remain another day among them, he would " order every house near the shore to be destroyed." The leniency and courtesy extended to the Inhabitants by Captain Kardy gave him claims to their respectful consideration. "The Philadelphia Anrnra said. In xpcaklng of the complaints of the mischievous " Peace party" of that day, "Wc would respecli^iUy solicit the pioiis men to explain to us the difference between waging war with mibmarine macMnes and with aerial doscructive weapons -fighting under water or fighting In the airr The British, too c wardly to meet U! on shore (except when they are certain of finding little or no opposition) like men and soldiers, send us Cungreve rwHji to burn oar towns and habitations ; wc, iu tarn, dispatch some of our torpedoes to rub the copper off the bottoms of their ships." m i f m 1 vUft^^^l W' M 694 PICTORIAL FIELD-BOOK VlgoroDS Blockade of tbe Coast of Connecticnt. The local Militia. Colonel Burbeck. Although Hardy did not execute his threats, he made the blockade more rigoroog than ever, and many trading vessels became prizes to the British cruisers. A tiny warfare was kept up along the Connecticut coast, for, whenever a chased vessel was driven ashore, the inhabitants would turn out to defend it. One of these encounters occurred a little west of the light-house late in the autumn.* The sloop Roxana was chased "November 28 ashore by three British barges, and grounded.. ^**^- Within half an hour a throng of people had assembled to rescue her, when the enemy set her on fire and retreated. The Amer- icans attempted to extinguish the flames, but a heavy cannonade from the ships drove them oif. Although many were exposed to the cannon-balls on that occasion, not one was hurt. " Dur- ing the whole war," says Miss Caulkins, " not a man was killed by the enemy in Connecticut, and only one in its waters on the coast."' i,iuur-uui;a£ at new lumiu2<. At near the close of June, the veteran colonel of artillery in the regular service, Henry Burbeck, who had been stationed at New- port, arrived at New London to take charge of that military de- partment.^ He f-^'.ind the militia, who were b' on 'mbued with the mischie\^ iS i/ (otrine of state supremacy, unwilling to be trans- ferred, according to late orders from the Secretary oi War, from the service of the state to the service of the United States. He accordingly, under instructions from Washington, dismissed them all. The people, misconstruing the movement, were alarmed and exasperated. They re- gai-ded themselves as unwarrantably deprived of their defenders, and betrayed to the enemy, who might come and plunder and destroy to his heart's content. At the same time, it was known that Hardy's fleet had been re-enforced by the arrival of the Emlymjon and Statira, vessels equal in strength to the United States and Mact- donian. A panic of mingled fear and indignation prevailed, and it was only allayed by the quick response of the Governor of Connecticut to the invitation of Colonel > History of Xew London, page 034. » Henry Burbeck was born in Boston on the 8th of June, 1764. He was a soldier of the Rcvolntlon, and in 1T87, ander the Confederation, he was commissioned a captain. He was appointed y^^4^ yt captoin of artillery In 1789, and promoted to major in 1791. He was raised — - — y/^TifJ^^ijP i i '^ to lieutenant colonel of artillery and engineers in 1708, and to colonel In ^ fCy C*^»-«-*'-^ *>^ 1802. During his service at New London, on the Iflth of September, 1813, . ^— — — "" x he was breveted a brigadier general, and held that commiseion until the x-- — ~2>^^^ ' '\ dose of the war, when, after thirty-eight years of military service, he re- ' '■" ^''^~^»,-— "' ' tired from the army, and took up his abode in New London. He died tl.^ ' the 2d of October, 1848, at the great age of uincty-lbnr years. He was bnii j in the Cedar Grove Cemetery at New London, and over his grave the Maeea- ch'isetts Society of the Cincinnati, of which, at the time of his death, he w«s president, and last survivor but ;: ti iw lis wu uobuxok's mumumknt. rightfully and universally respected. Erected MDCCCL." PVP OF THE WAR OF 1812. 695 Colonel Burbeck. [e more rigorous ruisers. A tiny lascd vessel was defend it. One light-house late 3ed • November 28, ed.. ''''■ emblcd to rescue ted. The Amer- heavy cannonade ny were exposed vas hurt. "Dur- a man was killed its waters on the lose of June, the )f artillery in the Henry Burbeck, tationcd at New- New London to that military dc- f-^und the militia, ty; ■ 'mhued with V lotrine of state illing to be trans- g to late orders •vice of the United ismissed theui all. perated. They re- I, and betrayed to content. At the jy the arrival of States and 3Iace- t was only allayed vitation of Colonel rolutlon, una in 1787, andet ) .ondon. He died tl.. anr years. He was bni. .; over his grave tbe Massa- time of his death, lie was members, erected a hand- lorable K.G.Shaw, of BoE- , and the Reverend AIM I'e society. Upon the troDt itlon: "Brlpadicr General iM. Died at New Loudon, ellsk stands the followinp Society of the Cliiclmnu te honorp'' President. He loncemer. ' the Revoln- patriotic - .1 faithW ^" i4. lallant ly dIstlUii X'CL." and m Ki- u*slis Vfil Decatur endeavors to get to Sea. The BIne-llghts and the " Peace Party." A Challenge. Tour In New England. Burbeck to call out the militia for the temporary defense of the menaced town. Brig- adier Gential Williams was appointed to the command of the militia, and the alarm subsided. Decatur watched continually during the summer and autumn for an opportunity to escape to sea with his three vessels ; and hoping, as the severely cold weather came on to find the enemy at times somewhat lax in vigilance, he slowly dropped down the river, and at the beginning of December was anchored in New London" Harbor, opposite Market Wharf. With great secrecy he prepared every thing for sailing. He fixed on Sunday evening, the 12th,'' for making the attempt to run the . December, blockade. Fortunately for his plan, the night was very dark, the wind ^*^^- was favorable, and the tide served at a convenient hour. When all things were in readiness, and he was about to weigh anchor, word came from the row-guard of the Macedonian and Hornet that signal-lights were burning on both sides of the river, near its mouth. They were ft^we-lights, and Decatur had no doubt of their being signals to warn the enemy of his movement, which was known in the village that evening. Thus exposed by " Peace Men," of whom there were a few in almost every community, he at once abandoned the project, and tried every means to discover the betrayers, but without effect. The Opposition, as a party, denied the fact, while oth- ers as strongly asserted it. In his letter to the Secretary of the Navy*" ^ on the subject, Decatur said, " Notwithstanding these signals have been repeated, and. have been seen by twenty persons at least in this squadron, there are men in New London who have the hardihood to affect to disbelieve it, and the ef- frontery to avow their disbelief." The whole Federal party, who were traditionally opposed to war with Great Britain, were often unfairly compelled to bear the odium of actions which justly pertained only to the " Peace" faction. They were compelled to do so in this case, and for more than a generation members of that party were stigmatized with the < pithet of "Blue-light Federalist." The United States and Macedonian were imprisoned in the Thames during the re- mainder of the war.^ In the spring of 1814 they were dismantled, and laid up about three and a half miles below Norwich, and their officers and men made their way by land to other ports and engaged actively in the service. The Hornet lay at New London almost a year longer, when she slipped out of the harbor and escaped to New York. Of the more stirring operations of the blockading fleet in this vicinity the follow- ing year I shall hereafter write, and it remains for me now only to make brief men- tion of the circumstances of my visit at New London and its vicinity late in the au- tumn of 1 860. I had been on a tour East as far as Castine, at the mouth of the Pe- nobscot, and up that river to Bangor, and was thus far on my way homeward, after spending Thanksgiving-day with the acting surgeon of Perry's fleet. Dr. Lusher Par- sons, at his house in Providence, Rhode Island. I had reached New London at an early hour, and, with a pleasant day before me, went out to visit places of historic in- terest in the town and its neigliborhood. Before doing so, I called on the accom- plished author of the History of New London (Miss Caulkins^), and, after the brief in- ' In January, 1814, Captain Moran, master of a sloop that had been captnred by the blockaders, reported that Hardy, in his presence, expressed a desire that the Micedunian and Statira should h.ive a ',on.hat, they being vessels of equal power, but that he would not permit a challenge to that effect to be sent DecF.mr at once Infoi-med Hardy (ITlh of January, 1,S14) that he was ready to have n meeting of the Maoedonian and Statira, and the United Statei and Kndymion, and invited him to the contest. This messagi was sent by Captain Blddle, of the Hornet, who was informed that an answer would be sent the next day. The crew « of the two American frigates were assembled, and when the proposi- lion was submitted to them they received It with hearty cheers. They were eager for release, and did not duubt their ability 10 secure a victory. On the following day an answer came. The challenge was accepted so far as the Maeedo- ilmian and Statira were concerned, but a meeting between the United Slates and Endymion was declined because of an olle^'ed disparity In strength, which would give great advantage to the American vessel. Decntnr, being under sailing orderii, and anxious to get his little squadron to sea, would not consent to its separation by detaching the Maeeidonian for a duel, so the matter druppcd. > Ml88 Caulkius Is also the author of an admirable History of Norwich, Connecticut. m > I i 4 : ■■HI 1 I iKI i .1 i ^ ...'iiiii 696 PICTORIAL FIELD-BOOK OOUUOUOBK KOUUBBHH UONCSIINT. Cemetery at New London and its OccnpantH. Commodore Rodgers. New London Harbor and Fort TrumbnII terview which limited time allowed, I was well prepared to find the places (and ap- preciate the interest attached to them) in and around that pleasant little city of ten thousand uihabitants. I shall ever remember that intervicv with pleasure. Near New London is the " Cedar Grove Cemetery," in which are the graves of many of the honored dead, Among these, over which affection has reared monii- ments, may be found those of General Burbeck and Commodore George W. Rodgeis. I made sketched of the monuments erected t(i the memory of each, and present them to the readers of these pages. Commodore Rodders was a gallant officer of the navy, and died in the service of his country at Buenos Ayrcs, in South America, on the 21st of May, 1832, at the age of forty-six years. He was then in com- mand of an American squadron on the coast of Brazil. He was a veteran officer, having been a midshipman in 1804, and a lieutenant in active service during the War of 1812.' By order of the Navy Department, his remains were brought home in the ship Lexington in 1850, and conveyed to New London in cliarje of Commodore Kearney. Their re-intcrmcnt in " Cedar Grove Cemetery"^ was the occasion of a great civic and military display, in which the Governor of Connecticut and his suite joined/ His monument is a plain obelisk of freestone, on which is a simple inscription. From the cemetery I rode back to the town by another way, which passed by the older part of the place, and the " Hempstead House," the last remaining of the three original houses built at New London. It was erected and occupied by Sir Robert Hempstead, whose descendants yet own it. It was fortified against the Indians at one time, and was the nearest neighbor to the mansion of Governor Winthrop, at the head of the Cove — that cove out of which, within twenty rods of the " Hempsteail House," sailed the first vessel that went from New London to the West Indies. From the "Hempstead House" I rode down to the light-house at the mouth of the Thames, sketched the view of it on page 694, and, returning, visited Fort Trumbull, so called in honor of the first Governor of Connecticut of that name. It is a most delightful drive along the river fro.n the light-house and Pequot House to the city, and it is much traveled for pleasure during the summer season. Outward is seen the broad expanse of the Sound, with Fisher's and Gull Islands in the distance ; while up the river is seen the fort and city on one side, and Fort Griswold, the Groton Jlomi- ment and village, and the green hills stretching away toward Norwich on the other. Fort Trumbull is a strong w^ork, built chiefly of granite from the quarry at I\Iillstonf Point. It is the third fortress erected on the spot. In 1775 a strong block-liouse was built upon that rocky point, some embankments were cast up around it, and the whole was named Fort Trumbull. In 1812 these embankments were only green mounds. These were cleared away, and a more formidable work Avas erected, leav- ing the old block-house within the lines. This fort, retaining the original name, fell into decay, and all but the ancient block-house was demolished preparatory to the commencement of the present structure. There the block - house still stands, a monument to the memory of the patriotism of our fathers of the Revolution. The I He was nade master commandant in 1810, and captain iu1R28. One of bis sons (Lieutenant Alexander P. Bodttn) was killed at cbe battle of Chapaltepec, in Mexico, In Septem1)e.', 184T. > This cemetery was laid ont by Dr. Horatio Stone for an association in 18S0, and consecrated In 1861. Tbe flretii- tennent of a person living when it was laid out was fnat of Joseph S. Sistare.— Hiss Caolklus. ' Cunllcins'a History of Conixtelimt, 002. or imd Fort Trumbull, places (and ap- little city often Icasure. e the graves of as reared n\onu- rge W. Hodgers, raents erected to 3cnt them to the imodore Kodgcrs :iavy, and died in Buenos Ayres, in •May, 1832, at the was then in com- an on the coast of fficcr, having been 1 a lieutenant in ^Tar of 1812.' By ment, his remains ship Lexington in London in charge [leir re-interment in ft' as the occasion of isplay, in which the nd his suite joined.' e inscription, sfhich passed hy the [laining of the three ipied by Sir Robert ainst the Indians at lor Winthrop, at the of the " Hempstead e West Indies, at the mouth of the ited Fort Trumbull, name. It is a most „ House to the city, Outward is seen the distance ; while up d, the Groton Monu- rwich on the other. quarry at ^Millstone . strong block-house ip around it, and the its were only green .-k was erected, leav- le original name, fell i preparatory to the ouae still stands, a ,e Revolution. The ^TAle^rP.Rodef") IcratedlnlSBl. Theflrttin- OF THE WAR OF 1812. eoT Block-houBe erected in 1812. The old Conrt-hoase and its ABsociations. Peace. new fort was built under the superintendence of (then) Captain George W. Cullum, of the United States Engi- neers, and was completed in 1849, at a cost of about two hundred and fifty thousand dollars. The views from its battlements are extensive; and from the grassy espla- nade sloping to the water AHOHKT BLOOK-nOCBK, FOBT TBCHOCLL, NEW LONDON HABBOB KBOM FOBT TBUUBDLL. southward may be obtained a very pleasant view of the harbor, the mouth of the riv- er, and Long Island Sound beyond. The last object of interest visited in New London was the old court-house built in 1784, three years after its predecessor was burnt at the time of Arnold's invasion.' It stands at the head of broad State Street, upon a rocky foundation. It had an ex- ternal gallery around it at the second story, but this was removed at the be- ginning of the present cimtury, and it now bears the appearance that it did at the close of the Second War for Inde- pendence, when it was the scene of joy- ous festivities immediately after the Pres- ident's proclamation of peace reached the town in February, 1815.2 Friendly greetings between the British blockading squadron and the citizens then took place. The latter soon went to sea, and the U^iit- ed States and Macedonian departed for Xew York after an imprisonment of about twenty months. Then " the last shadow of war departed from the town." I left New London for Stonington by railway at evening, whither I shall invite the reader before long. We have now considered the military events during the year 1813 in the North and West, on the Lakes, and along the Atlantic coast ; let us now look out upon the ocean, and observe the hostile movements of the belligerents there. In the mean time sounds of war with the Indians come up from the Gulf region. See Miss Caulklns's Histanj qf Xcw London, page 628. ' Admiral Hotham, wliose flag-ship was the Superb, then commanded the blockading sqnadron iff New London. On he 21.st of February the village was splendidly illnmlnated. Ilothaui determineJ to mingle in the festivities. An- iionnctng the parole on the Superb to be "America,' and the countersign "Amity," he and his offlcers went ashore and mingled freely and cordially with the inhabitants. The admiral was received with distinguished courtesy, for, like Hardy, he bad won the merited esteem of the citizens by his gentlemanly conduct. At about this time the Pactolu» and i'ordMii* came Into the harbor, bringing Commodore Decatur and Lieutenant (now Admiral) W. B. Shnbrick, who had been captured in the frtgate Pre»ident. A public reception, partaking of the character of a ball, was held at . the court-house, to which all the British offlcers on the coast were invited. Several were present, and the guests were received by Commodorce Decatur and Shaw, TUB OIJ> OOUBT-UOnSB. , : 1 H ' ■ ■ '« . ' I 1 I ■11*^ I' 'If _Ji_L ' '"' . .- J.I . J 'li 698 PICTORIAL FIELD-BOOK The Homtt on the Coaat uf 8uuth America. Her Contest with the I'tanirt, CHAPTER XXXI. "O, Johnny Ball, my Joe, John, year Peaeoek* keep at home, And ne'er let British seamen on a Frolic hither come, For we've Hornets and we've Waupa, John, who, as yon donbtless know, Carry stingers in their tails, O, Johnny Bull, my Joe." BnoTUXB Jonathan's Epistle to Johnny Bcll, 1814. " Then learn, ye comrades of the illustrious dead. Heroic faith and honor to revere ; For Lawrence slumbers in his lowly bed, Bmbolm'd by Albion's and Columbia's tear." HoNODT ON Tns Death of Lawberoe. FTER the destruction of the Java off the coast of Brazil in De- cember, 1812, Commodore Bainbridge, as we have observed, sailed for the United States,* leaving the Hornet, Cap- . jannanj tain James Lawrence, to blockade the Bon Citoyenne, '^'^ a vessel laden with treasure, in the harbor of San Salvador.' On the 24th of January, the British ship of war Montagu^ 74, made her appearance. She came up from Rio Janeiro to raise the blockade. The Jlornet was driven into the harbor, but es- caped during the very dark night that followed, and went cruising up the coast. She was thus employed for a month, and captured a few prizes. Finally, on the 24th of February, at half past three o'clock in the afternoon, while chasing an English brig off the mouth of the Demerara River, Lawrence suddenly discovered a vessel, evi- dently a man-of-war, with an English ensign set, just without the bar.^ He determ- ined to attack her. The Carobana bank lay between the Hornet and this newly-dis- covered enemy. While she was beating around this another sail was discovered, bearing down cautiously on her weather quarter. When she drew near she proved to be a man-of-war brig, displaying British colors. The men of the Hornet were called to quarters. The ship was cleared for action, and as the American ensign was flung out she tacked, contended for the weather-gage unsuccessfully, and then stood for her antagonist. The latter was on a like errand, and both vessels, with their heads different ways, and lying close to the wind, passed within half pistol-shot of each other at twenty-five minutes past five, delivering their broadsides from larboanl batteries as the guns bore. Immediately after passing, the stranger endeavored to wear short round, so as to get a raking fire at the Hornet. • Lawrence closely watclieil the movement, and promptly imitating it, and firing his starboard guns, compelled the stranger to right his helm. With a perfect blaze of fire the Hornet came down upon her, closed, and in this advantageous position poured in her shot with so raucli vigor for fifteen minutes that her antagonist not only struck her colors, but raised the union down in the fore rigging as a signal of distress. Very soon afterward tlif mainmast of the vanquished fell, and went over her side. Lieutenant J. T. Shubrick was sent to take possession of her, and ascertain her name and condition. She was the British man-of-war brig Peacock, 1 8, Captain William Peake. Her coramander was slain, a great portion of her crew had fallen, and she was in a sinking condition. She already had six feet of water in her hold. Lieutenant David Connor and Jliil shipman Benjamin Cooper were immediately dispatched with boats to bring offtk wounded, and endeavor to save the vessel. For this purpose both vessels were an- > See page 401. > She was the Knpiegle, muuuting sixteen 32-pound carrouades and two lung 9 wmmm OF THE WAR OF 1812. 690 uutOBt with the I'mnri. Conduct of Captain Lawrence. Prowess of the Americana respected. 1 Bull, 1814. OF Lawbkhce. ast of Brazil in De- we have observed, niet. Cap- • Jannarj 6, 'Uoyenne, jr of San Salvador.' of war Montagu, 74, Rio Janeiro to raise o the harbor, but es- ig up the coast. Sk nally, on the 24tli of sing an English Irig jovered a vessel, evi- le bar.'* He determ- it and this newly-dis- sail was discovered, [rew near she proved of the Hornet were [American ensign was jfuUy, and then stood [th vessels, with their lin half pistol-shot of adsides from larboard ranger endeavored to Irence closely watched loard guns, compelled lie Hornet came down ler shot with so mncli [her colors, but raised vy soon afterward tk itenantJ.T.Sluihrick condition. She was ike. Her commander In a sinking condition. [avid Connor and Mid- boats to bring off tit both vessels werejui; "cwTouSeTandtwotog !>''■ Xlie Deitrnction of the Ptaeock. chored. The guns of the Peacock were thrown overboard, the holes made by shot were plugged, and every exertion was made to keep the battered hulk afloat until the wounded could be removed. Their efforts were not wholly successful. The short twilight closed before the work of mercy was accomplished. The vessel filled rapidly ; and while thirteen of her crew and several men belonging to the Hornet were yet on board of her, she suddenly went down. Nine of the thirteen, and three of the ffomefs men,* perished. Connor and several other Americans, and four of the Peacock's crew, had a narrow escape from death. The latter saved themselves by running up the rigging to tlie foretop, which remained above water when she set- tled on the bottom, for she sunk in only about five fathoms. Four prisoners, in the confusion of the moment, had lowered the Peacock's stem boat and escaped to the shore. Those who were saved received every attention from the victors. The crew of the Hornet cheerfully divided their clothing with those of the Peacock; and so sensible were the officers of the latter of the generosity of the American commander and his men, that, on their arrival in New York, they expressed their gratitude in a public letter of thanks to Captain Lawrence.'' The loss of the British in this engagement, besides ship and property, is not ex- actly known. Captain Peake and four men were known to be killed, and four offi- cers and twenty-nine men were found wounded. Nine others Avere drowned.- The entire loss of life on the part of the enemy was probably not less than fifly. The Hornet was scarcely touched in her hull, but her sails and rigging were considerably cut, and her mainmast and bowsprit were wounded. Of her crew only one man was killed^ and two wounded in the fight, and three, as we have observed, went down with the Peacock.* Two others were injured by the explosion of a cartridge. The strength of the Hornet in men and metal was slightly greater than that of the Pea- cock She carried eighteen 32-pound carronades and two long ! 2's. The Peacock was aimed with sixteen 24-pound carronades, two long 9'8, one 12-pound carronade in the forecastle, one 6-pounder, and two swivels. Her men numbered one hundred and thirty, and those of the Hornet one hundred and thirty-five. Captain Lawrence found himself with two hundred and seventy-seven souls on board, and short of water. He determined to return immediately to the United States; and he did not cast anchor until he reached Ilalmes's Hole, Martha's Vine- yard, on the 19th of March. On that day he wrote an official letter to the Secretary ofthe Navy giving an account of his success, and on the 25th he arrived at the Brook- lyn Navy Yard. Intelligence of the exploits of the Hornet went over the land, and produced the liveliest joy, as well as the most profound sensation in both countries. The prowess and skill of American seamen were fully vindicated and acknowledged, and the " Mistress of the Seas" found it necessary to move with the humiliating cau- tion of a doubter conscious of danger. " If a vessel had been moored for the sole purpose of experiment," said a Halifax (British) newspaper, " it is not probable she , could have been sunk in so short a time. It will not do for our vessels to fight theirs single-handed. The Americans are a dead nip." The President ofthe United States, in his message to Congress at the special session in May, said, " In continuance of the [brilliant achievements of our infant navy, a signal triumph has been gained by Cap- ' John Hart, Joseph Williams, and IlaDnibal Boyd. : "So much," they said, " was done to alleviate the uncomfortable and distressing sitnation In which we were placed Nhen rmeived ou board the ship yon command, that we can not better express our feelings than by saying we cpiiscd ho consider ourselves prisoners \ and every thing that friendship could dictate was adopted by yon and the officers of rthcWwM to remedy the inconvenience we otherwise should have experienced from the unavoidable loss ofthe whole lofour property and dotheg by the sndden sinking of the Peaeoek." This was signed by the first and second lieuten- {IM», the mafter, the surgeon, and the purser of the Peacock. ' John Place, who was in the top. It Is a sln^lar fact that there was scarcely a mark of a ball seen below the main- top. The captain's pennant was shot tram the mainmast at the beginning of the action. ^ ' To Ibis fhct ft poet of the time. In an elegy on the death of Lawrence, wrote : " For 'twas the proud Peacock to the bottom did go ; He lost more in mvimj than conquering bU foe." M^ ^M PICTORIAL FIELD-BOOK Uonon to Captain Lawrence and bin Men. Pabllc Dinner in New York. The Lawrence Mednl. tain Lawrence and his companions, in the Hornet sloop-of-\var, Avith a celerity so un- exampled, and with a slaughter of the enemy so disproportionate to the loss m tln' Hornet, as to claim for the conqueror the highest praise."' The Common Council of New York resolved to present the "freedom of the city" with " a piece of plate with appropriate devices and inscriptions," to Captain Law- rence, and to give a public dinner to the officers and crew of the Hornet? Afterward • jannary 4, when Lttwrenco was slain, the Congress of the United States requL'sted* ^^^^- the President to present to his nearest male relative a gold medal com- memorative of his Bervices,^ and a silver medal to each of the commissioned officers UKllAl. AWABIIKD TO CAPTAIN LAWBENOE BT CONUKE88. who served under him in the Hornet. Every where throughout the land the namo of Lawrence was honored; and, as usual after a victory, Art and Song made contri- butions to the garland of praise with which the people delighted to crown the chief victor.* ' Message to Congress, Special Sesslpn, May 25, 1813. In tlie Memoirs of Sir Charles Napier inuy be found the fol- lowing paragraph : " When in Bermuda, in 1S13, with his regiment. Colonel Napier, writing to his mother, aays : 'Tm packets arc quite due, and we fear they have been taken, for the Yankees swarm here ; and when a frigate goes out to drive them off by force they take her 1 Yankees light well, and are gentlemen in their mode of warfare. Dccatnr re- fused Cardeu's sword, saying, "Sir, you have used it so well I should be ashamed to take it from you." These Yankees, though so much abused, are really line fellows.'" ' This dinner was given at Washington Hall, on Tuesday, the 4th of May. I have before me one of the origoal to- vitations Issued by Augustus H. Lawrence, Ellsha W. King, and Peter Mesier, Corporation Committee. It lias a »im;i wood-cut at the head representing a naval battle, which was drawn ana engraved by Dr. Alexander Anderson, whoi- yet PEAOOOK, 0-0-hOO I 1 I" OF THE WAR OF 1812. The Lawrence Mednl. li a celerity so un- to tho loss m till' odom of the city," " to Captain Law- ^met? Afterward, States reciuestcd" a gold medal com- mmissioncd officers Cruise of the Cht»apeake. Her Character. Lawrence in Comniuud of her. A Challenge. iut the land the namo Hid Song made contii- id to crown the chief , Napier mnyte found the tol- [iuctohls mother, says: 'Two Ld when a frigate goes out to Lode of warfare. Uecaturn- It from you." These \aiike«, iforemeoneoftheorignalfc Ion Committee. IthasMmil \t Alexander Anderson, Ab le'evcnlng the gallant tar. «re d the house by their jolty. ^ ^ of the visitors and gratify ihf L General Morton, au4 a Ml- Ih'huizas on their appemnc, Lin Lawrence, with the les-.d L FT I.EC0BUM EBT rBO PATW VJenavesselintheacto* lot away; a toat rowing town! Ship. i«?e»1-"MA«.rna Sxergne-" •""■"'"""'"" InOTaveT of New Haven, Com* teer, immediately »«H In and Concord, four ilW» [hat day. drawn on the .pot bj iHshed a caricature con«m« While the Hornet was making her way homeward, tlic Chesapeake, 38, Captuiu Evans, wliich luul been lying in Boston Harbor for some time, was out on an extensive cruise. She 'l^^Uy left Boston toward the close of February, passed the Canary and Capo Verd Islands, crossed the equator, and for si.v weeks cruised in that region. She tiien went to the coast of Soutii America, passed the spot where the went down, sailed througli the West Indies, and up the coasi of the United States to the point of departure. During all that long cruise she met only three ships of war, and accomplished nothing except the capture of four merchant vessels. As she en- tered Boston Harbor in a gale she lost a top-mast, and several men who were aloft went overboard with it and were drowned. Tlie Chesapeake had tho reputation of heing an " unlucky" ship before the war, and this unsuccessful cruise and melancholy termination confirmed the impression. A superstitious notion prevailed in the navy cdnccrning " lucky" and " unlucky" vessels, and officers and seamen wore averse to serving in the Chesapeake on account of her " unlucky" character.' Captain Evans Avas compelled to leave the service at the close of this cruise on account of the loss of the sight of one of his eyes, and danger that menaced tho oth- er. Lawrence, who had just been promoted from master commandant to captain, was assigned to the command of the C/iesapeake. He accepted it with reluctance, because the seamen would not sail in her with the spirit that promised success. British vessels were now blockading the harbors of Massachusetts. Hitherto that blockade had been very mild on the New England ccr.ot, for the British Cabinet be- lieved that the people of that section, being largely opposed to tho ".ar, would, it properly cajoled, prove recreant to patriotism, and either join the enemy outright, or separate from and thus materially weaken the remainder of the States. This delusion now began to yield to the stern arguments of events, and the blockade was made more rigorous every hour. Blockading ships hovered like hawks along the New England coast, and the Shamioti, 38, and Tenedos, 38, were closely watching Boston Harbor at the close of Maj'. Tlie Hornet was now commanded by Captain Biddle, and had been placed under the orders of Captain Lawrence. They were to cruise together if possible, going east- ward and northward from Boston for the twofold purpose of intercepting the British vissels boimd to the St. Lawrence, and ultimately to seek the Greenland whale-fish- tries. Every thing was in readiness at the close of May, Avhcn the Shannon, the com- plement in strength of the Chesapeake, appeared alone off Boston, in the attitude of a iliallenger. She was observed by Lawrence, and on Tuesday, the 1st day of June, that commander wrote as follows to the Secretary of the Navy : "Since I had the honor of addressing you last I have been detained for want of men. I am now getting under weigh, and shall endeavor to carry into e-vocution the instructions you have honored me with. An English frigate is now in sight from my ileek. I have sent a pilot boat out to reconnoitre, and should she be alone I am in hopes to give a good account of her before night. My crew appear to be in fine spir- its, and, I trust, will do their duty."^ (See fac-simile on page 702.) At a later hour Captain Philip Vere Broke, the commander of the Shannon, wrote • a challenge to Captain Lawrence, saying: "As the Chesapeake appears now ready f for sea, I request you will do me the favor to meet tho Shannon with her, ship to sliip, |to try the fortunes of our respective flags. To an officer of your character it requires |some apology for proceeding to farther particulars. Be assured, sir, it is not from "In the navy, at this particular Juncture, the Corwtitvtion, Conttellation, and Enterprise were the luchj vessels of the f lenice, and the "hempeake and Pretident the unUichj. The different vessels named went Into tho War of 1812 with [Ihi^se characters, and they were singularly confirmed hy clrcnmstances."— Cooper, 11., J4fl. ' Atitograph letter in tlie Navy Department, Washington City. This was the Inst letter written by Captain Lawrence. pi!i liiiiii!* ..ai a i ;iit ! r^ ll • i! :o2 PICTORIAL I'lEL -BOOK Captain Lawrence's lait Offloial Letter. any doubt I can entertain of your wishing to close with my proposal, but merely to i provide an answer to any objection which might be made, and very reasonably, upo« j the chance of our receiving any unfair support." Captain Broke then, in a long appendix to his challenge, explained his object, men- 1 tioned his own strength, the disposition of other British vessels in the neighbor^ tf ( H ■ (it OF THE WAR OF 1812. 103 jroposal, but merely to , very rea8onably,«p«M CipUin Broke's CballeDge. The Shannm. ilosignated the place of combat,' asked for a plan of mutual signals, offered arrange- ments concerning the presence of other vessels, and assured him that th(.' Chesapeake could not get to sea without " the risk of being crushed by the superior force of the Biitish squadron" then abroad.'' The Shannon ranked as a 38-gun ship, but mounted fifty-two gun?.'' According ' "I will send all other ships beyond the power of Interfering with ns, and meet yon wherever It Is most agreeable lo yon, within the limits of the under-mentioned rendezvous, viz., Prom six to ten leagues east of Capo Cod Llght- hoQic, from eight to ten leagues east of Cape Ann's Light, on Cashe's ledge, in lat. 48° N., at any bearing and distance you please to fix, off the sooth breakers of Nantucket, or the shoal on 8t. George's Bank."— J/S. Chal'enge. ' MS. Letter, with Captain Broke's signature, In theNavy Department, Washington City. This letter was sent by the iiandofOnptain Slocnm, of Salem. He was landed at Marblehead, and made his way to Boston as speedily as possible. The Chempeakc had gone to sea, and he placed the letter in the hands of Commodore Bainbrldge, the commandant of the station. ' The Shannon was bnllt at Chatham, in England, in 1806. She wag also known as " unlucky" by the British seamen liecaase two ships of the same name had been previously lost. One, a 32-gun frigate, was built in 1T96, and lost by iihipwrcck In 1800 ; the other, of thirty-six guns, was bnllt in 1803, and in the same year struck the ground in a gule, and was wrecked under the batteries of Cape la Ilogue.— James's .Vnval OcctiTTtnctt. Ilil m nmn 704 I'lCTOltlAL FIELD-BOOK Condition of the Chtmpeake. A mutluoai Foeliug dlicuvered. Lawroiics uccpti Broke'i Chdleacg, to Broke's challenge, she " mounted twenty-four guns on her broadside, and one liirlit boat-gun; IH-pounders on her main-deck, and 32-i)ound carronades on her fljfht. (Ircat Kxcllemeut In lluDtun, BeglnoliiK of the Battle. * June 1, 1N13. It was now noon — a pleasant day in early summer," after a chilling mist had hrooded for a week over Boston Harbor. The anchor of the Vhesapeake was lifted, and she rode gallantly out ii.to the bay in the direction of her menacing fi)C, followed by the eager eyes of thousands,' Ah her antagonist was in sight, her decks were immediately cleared for action, and both vessels, under easy sail, bore away to a position about thirty miles from Boston Light, between Capo Cod and Cape Ann.* At four o'clock the Chesapeake fired a gun, wliieh made the Shannon lieavo to. She was soon under single-reefed top-sails and jib, while the Chenapcake, under whole top- sails and jib, was bearing down upon her with considerable speed. The breeze was freshening, an fofi, a preamble and resolution were adopted by the Senate declaring that similar attentions already given to military and naval officers engaged In a like service had "given great discontent to many of the good people of the Common- wealth, it being considered by them as an encouragement and excitement to the continuance of the present unjust, nu- necessary, and Iniquitous war. The resolution was as follows : "Tto'IixW, asthe sense of the Senate of Massachusetts, that in awarlike the present, waged without justifiable cause, and prosecuted in a manner which indicates that conquest and ambition are its real motives, it is not becoming a moral and religious people to express any approbation of military or naval exploits which are not immediately connected with the defense of our sea-coast and soil." — June 15, 181S. > From the high grounds near Salem the inhabitants had a distant view of the engagement, and the booming of the cannon was heard far inland. ' Cooper's Wmal Hittnrn of the TTnited States, ii., 248. ' "Of one hundred and fifty men quartered on the upper deck," said Lieutenant Ludlow to an officer of the Shannon, "1 did not see fifty on their legs after the first fire." The Shannon's topmen reported " that the hammocks, splinters, and wreclig of all kinds driven across the deck formed a complete cloud."— Stati-ntfitt uf Captain R. U. King, qf the Bayal Xavij. Yy ^K i : 1 hh ' i 706 PICTORIAL FIELD-BOOK Battle of the Chesapeake and iVmnjioi*. Captain Lawrence mortally wounded. "Don't give up the Shin " 'lUK UUEHAPKAKE UIUAllI.KD UT TU£ SUAMNO^'h UBOADalDEB. > boatswain, were all mortally wounded. The latter was boatswain of the Constitutm in her action with the Guerriere. Whftii Captain Lawrence perceived the entanglement of the ships he ordered his boarders to be called up. Unfortunately, a negro bugler was employed to give the signal instead of the drummer, as usual. Dismayed by the aspect of the fight, the bugler skulked under the stern of the launch, and when called to duty he was so ter- rified that he could not give even a feeble blast.^ Oral orders were immediatclv sent to the boarders, but these Avere imperfectly understood amid the din of battle. At that moment, while Captain Lawrence was giving directions concerning the diiai- aged foiesails, that the ship might be rendered manageable, he was fatally wounded by a musket-bpU, and carried below by Lieutenant Cox, aided by some of the men/ Ilis last Avords when he left the deck Avere in substance, " Tell the men to fire faster and not give up the ship. Fight her till she sinks !" These words of the dying lieTi were remembered, and '^ Doii't give up the Shijy''' was the battle-cry of the Aiiiericaii Navy during the whole war. It was the motto upon the banner borne by Perry's flag-ship in battle thi-ee months later, and is still a proverbial word of encouragement to the struggling and faltering in life's various battles.* The keen and experienced eye of Captain Broke quickly comprehended the weak 1 Thin Is from a Bkeii.h hy Captain B. H. King, of the Royal Navy, who was with Captain Broke In the Shannon from ISOC nntil 1814, excepting a short time In the spring of 1813. Ho rose to the rank of commander in 1828, and to captaiD in 1839, when he withdrew from service afloat. ' His name was George Brown. He was exchanged. Afterward he was tried at New London, fonnd guilty of cow ardicc, and sentenced to the punishment of three hundred lashes on his bare hack. ' Lieutenant Cox commnndcd the middle division of the gun-dock. He heard the oral orders for the bourileii', ant ran up at the moment when Lawrence fell. * The following are the f.rst and last stanzas of a stirring poem by R. M. Charlton : " A hero on his vessel's deck " Oh, let these words your motto be, Lay weltering in his gore. Whatever Ills l)efall ; And tattered sail aun shattered wreck Though foes beset, and pleasures flee, . Told that the ilght was o'er ; And passion's w'les t. /tU.all. But e'en when d>,ath had .'lazed his eye, Though danger spreads her ready snnro nis feeble, quivering lip Your erring steps to trip, Still uttered, with life's latest sigh, Bemomber hat dead hero's prayer, • 1/oj't, don't give up the ship I' And ' dont yive vp the. ship V ' OF THE WAR OF 1812. 101 "Don't give up the Ship," A desperate Struggle. Treachery of a Portnguese. Capture of the Chcsapeate. tin of the Constitutm B Bliips he ordered his lemployed to give the ipect of the fight, \h [to duty he was so tor- ■rs were immediately jmid the din of battle, s concerning the dn.ai- was fatally wounded by some of the men.' the men to fire taster jrds of the dying he'-o ,e-cry of the Amerleaii pner borne by Perry's ord of encouragement iprehended the wcnk Jain Broke In the Shannon from lmnnderlnl828,andtocaptm • London, found gnllty of co« lal orders for the boarder?, am! Rg your motto \>e, Jefall ; It, and plcafinrca nee, Vies I itli.all. treads her ready Buaro Ipx to trip, lend hero's pmyer, \ip the ship r ' ness of the Chesajteake at this moment, she having no officer on the quarter-deck shove the rank of midshipman. He immediately ordered his boarders forward. Placing himself, with his first lieutenant, at the htad of twenty of them, and passing cautiously from his fore-channels, he readied the q>iarter-deck of the Chesapeake without opposition, for the gunners, finding all their officers fallen, and themselves exposed to a raking fire without the means of returning a shot, had left the guns and fli'd below. Meanwhile Lieutenant Budd had ordered the boarders to follow him up. Only fifteen or twenty obeyed, and with these he gallantly attacked the British at the gangways. He was almost instantly disabled by a severe wound, and thrown down on the gun-deck. His followers were driven toward the forecastle. These disasters aroused the severely-wounded young Ludlow, Having laid his commander in the guard-room, he hurried upon deck, where he almost instantly received a fatal sabre-wound, and was carried below. Broke now ordered about sixty marines of the Shannon to join him, Tliese kept down the Americans who were ascending the main hatchway, I'rovoked by a shot iiom below by a boy, they fired down the hatches, and killed and wounded a great many men. The victory was soon made easy by treachery. The boatswain's mate (the mutinous Portuguese already mentioned) removed the gratings of the berth- deck, and then, running below, followed by a large number of the malcontents of the morning, he shouted, maliciously, " So much for not paying men prize-money !" This act gave the British complete control of the vessel ; and while a few gallant marines, animated by the injunctiors of the bleeding Lawrence, were yet defending the ship, First Lieutenant Watts, of the Shannon, hauled down the colors of the Chesapeake and hoisted the Bi'itish flag. At that instant he was slain by a grape-shot from one of tlie foremast guns of his own ship, wliieh struck him on the head.* History has recorded but few naval battles more sanguinary than this. It lasted only fifteen minutes, and yet, as Cooper remarks, " both ships were char- nel-houses." They presented a most dis- mal sjjectacle. The Chesapeake had lost forty-eight men killed, and ninety-eight wounded. The Shannon had lost twen- ty-six killed, and fif^y- eight wounded. Among the killed were Lieutenant Watt, already mentioned, Mr. Aldham, the pur- ser, and Mr. Dunn, the captain's cK-rk.^ Both ».hips presented a most dismal ap- pearance. ]\Iarks of carnage and desola- tion every Avhere met the eye.^ Captain Broke, who luid ordered the slaughter to eease when the victory M^as gained, had become delirious, Lawrence, too severe- :%■'- I'llIMP U0WK8 VEBE UKOKK. 'Captain Broke behaved most KaUnntly in this coi.llict, lie received, according to hla report, "a eevcre eabre- mmA at tlin first onset while charging a part of the enemy who had rallied on the forecastle," yet he continued his 'irlpn until he was assured of victory, when ho partly fainted from loss of l)loo(l. While a soiiman was tying n hand- kcrciiicf nriiiind the captain's wounded bead, there was n en,-, " Thero, sir, there troes up the old cisign over the Yankee I olors !" Washington Irving, In an account of the engagement. In the A nalivtic. ifaijazine, says that Samuel Llvermore, "f Boston, who, from personal attachment to Lawrence, bad nccomi)anied him as chaplain, attempted to avenge his fall. He shot at Captain Broke, hut missed him. Broke made a stroke at Livcrmore's head with bis sword, which the latter warded off, bit In so doing received r. severe wound 1" the arm. " Captain BrArCBE ANI> SEAL OF AllMllUl .iaih>. tlirown upon it by an insidious • .iv, m\A had by their exer- tions added one of the brightest ■.mrels to the wioath which liail hitherto encircled the British aniiS." Tiie joy in England was intense. It was ,.ccd by publi( speeches in and out of Parliament,^ bonfires, and il'mninations Tlie Tower guns were fired as in the event of a victoi y like those of the Nile and Trafixlgar. The freedom of the city of London ami Nword of the value of one hundred guineas ($500) were voted to Captaii Brokc^ by the Corpora- lommand of the Hornet, having been made master commandant In November, 181 OfTDemerara he fought the Pea- mk and euuk her. He returned to New York, where he was soon ordered to Bostou to take command of the CAeao- ixakf. In her he died on the 5th of June, 1S13. ' Cooper's Xaml Ilinlarij of the United States; Thomson's SketcIieK of the War; Perkins' 'lirtory of the late War; .faracs's Xaval Occiirreneen ; Memoir of Captain Broke, in Xaral (London) Chrmuele; !rvi Memoir of Lawrence, AiiaUetk Magazine; Nlles's Iteijister; The War; Captain Brokc's Report of the BiittI' iliinlcck's lliKtori/ of the War; Lieutenant Budd's Beport to Secretary of the Navy; O'Byrne's \aval Blojira; The Essex Register, lloston Chrniiicle, and Xational Intelliqeneer. ' Mr. Croker, principal secretary to the Lords of the .\dmiralty, said In his place in the House of Commons, " It was not-nnd he knew It was a bold assertion which ho made— to be equaled by any engagement which graced the naval auniilj of Oreat Britain." ' Philip Bowes Vere Broke was bom In Snffolkshirp, England, on the 9th of September, ITTfl. He was educated at the Royal Academy in Portsmouth, and entered the navy In 1792. He served In the war between Prance and England, imd commanded the Shanntm in cruises for the protection of the British whale fisheries in the Greenland seas. Ho wan In that service when war between the United States and Great Britain was declared. He was then dispatched with a mnall fqiindron to blockade the New England ports. Because of his services in the capture of the Chesajteake he was rai'od to the dignity of baronet, and made Knight Commander of the Bath. Sir Philip married in early life Sarah Lou- is.!, daughter of Sir William Fowle Mlddleton. He was one of the most active and useful offlcers of the British Navy un- 710 PICTORIAL riELD-liOOK Honura to Captuin Broke. Silver Plate presented to him by bis Ncighborf tion of that city. He was knighted by the Prince Regent ; compliments were show- cred upon him from every quarter ; and the inhabitants of Suffolk, his native county presented him with a gorgeous piece of silver plate as a testimonial of their sense of his eminent services.* SILVER ri.ATK PKKf KNTEI> TO CAPTAIN HKOKE. til liis retirement, bearing the commission of Rear Admlr.M of the Red. He died in SuflTolk County on the .-(d of Janu- ary, 1841, at the nfre of pixty-flve years. 1 A picture of this plntc was published in London on the 2d of December, 1816, a copy of which, on a reduced realf, is Riven above. The piati' is describe'' us being made of silver, and forty-four inches in diameter. It was ciirlchtil with emblematical devices runimemovative of the acts of the ricipient on the occasion of his capture of the Chmimiii. These devices are described as follows: The centre, enriched wiih a wreath of palm and laurel leaves, with prniipsot Nereids and Tritons, presents llie spectacle of the battle between tLe Shannon and Chesapeake. A deep and hiL'lily-lin- ished border composes the exterior of the circle, in which are signiflca.it devices in four principal divisions. In the flr^i compartment, in the form of an escalop-shell, U seen Neptnne receivin - the warrior. The former is issuing from thf fCA with his attendants, and presenting to the hero (who is home in a triumpnal car, attended by Britannia and IJI- erty bearing the British flag) the naval coronet. In the compartment opposite Britannia Is seen on a sen-horso, liolJ- ing the trident of Neptnne in one hand, and with the otherhurls the thunder of her power at the American engic, which is expiring at her feet in the presence of ocean deities. In n third compartment the device represents the triumph of Victory. The winged goddess, bearing a coronal, approaches in her shell-car drawn by ocean steeds, and offers pfaco to the vanquished. In the fourth compartment Is represented the four quarters of the worid, in the form of fl mires, »«■ sembled under the protection of the British lion, commerce having been secured to the world by British prowess. Be- sides these are the figures of Fortitude, Justice, Wisdom, and Peace, Intended to represent the charactcrietics of tlie British nation. On the plate the following inscription was p Tared: "Struck with the gallantry, skill, and decision displayed by Sir Philip Bowes Vere Broke, Baronet, K.C.B., commander of his Majesty's frigate, the Shannnn, in the attack, boaiitin". and capture of the American frigate, the Chr-^'pmkr, of superior force in men and metal, and under the comn^aiid ofi dlBtinguiehed captain of light horse, on the 1 of June, 1813, achieved In the short space of fifteen minutes, the liilwbi:- >^!^aBMM OF THE WAR OF 1812. 711 to him by hlB Ncij'hborp. iments were show- , his native county, .al of their sense of l)lk County on the 3ii of Jatu- 1 of which, on a reduced rale, In diameter. It was eiirichcl 1 hlB capture of the ChcmiKai'. llniirel leaves, with eronpsol Irate. A deep and hi-tilyHn- Irlnclpal dlvl3ior.8. In the UN Ihc former Is Issuing from iht Itended by Britannia andli''- la la seen on a sea-hor*c. b* I- at the American cn?lp,wliK6 [ice represents the tnuinpli"! locean steeds, and offers pcaco brld,lntheformofflinire!,»- L.rld by British prowess. Be- tent the characteristics of lie J, and decision displnyert by Sir Imion, In the attack, boarfc T and under the comn.aiid ot J k)f fifteen minutes, the iiilwW- Respect for the Itemalns of Lawrence and Ludlow. Funeral Ceremonies. The Bodies of the Slain taken to Balem. The most gratifying respect was paid to the remains of Captain Lawrence on their arrival at Halifax, and also to those of Lieutenant Ludlow, who died there on tlie 13th of the month.' The garrison furnished a funeral party from the Sixty-fourth Kcgiment three hundred strong. The navy also furnished a funeral party, with pall- bearers, and at the appointed hour the body Was taken in a boat from the Chesa- peake to the King's Wharf, where it was received by the military under Sir John Wardlow. Six companies of the Sixty-fourth Regiment preceded the corpse. The officers of the Chesajjeake (headed by Lieu- tenant Budd,^ who became the command- ^.,/^j, / ^ y^P • er after the fall of his superiors) followed y^'-^^^^t-X^ <>b^-t^ cC^ ^(^ it as mourners. The officers of the Brit- ^ ish Navy were also in attendance. These were followed by Sir Thomas Saumerez, the staff, and officers of the. garrison. The procession Avas closed by a number of the in- liabitants of the town. The funeral services were performed by tlie rector of St. Paul's Church, and three volleys were discharged by the troops over the grave. Tlie feeling of depression in the American mind passed away as soon as reflection ■ n-ted its dignity. All the circumstances Avere so unfavorable to the Chesapeake • lat it was reasonable to suppose that such a misfortune would not occur again, 'flic deep mortificatioii that assumed the features of censure was momentary, and the irallant Lawrence and his companions were honored with every demonstration of re- spect. The most remarkable of these was exhibited in the patriotic and successful efforts of Captain George Crowninshield, Jr., of Salem, Massachusetts, to restore the bodies of Lawrence and Ludlow to their native land. He, with others, had seen the contest in the distance from the hoio^hta around Salem, and the feelings then excited were deepened by the intelligence of the fate of the gallant Lawrence and Ludlow, and some of their companions. ' He opened a correspondence with the United States irovernmcnt, asking permission to proceed to Halifax in the brig Henry, of Avhich he was master, with a flag of truce, to solicit from the authorities there the remains of the honored dead. Permission was granted. The President of the United States gave him a passport for the purpose," and on the Tth of August he and some • juiy 28, associates sailed in the Henry from Salem for Halifax.' He arrived there on ^^'^• the 10th. His errand was successful, and on the i:ith of the same month he sailed from Halifiix for Salem with the remains of Lawrence and Ludlow. The Henry reached Salem on the 18th of August, and on the following day Captain Crownin- shield wrote to the Secretary of the Navy informing him of the fact, and saying, "The relatives of Captain Lawrence have requested that his remains might ultimate- ly rest in New York, but that funeral honors might be paid here, and, accordingly, the ceremonies will take place on Monday next at Salem. Commodore Bainbridge has been consulted on the occasion." The funeral obsequies were performed at Salem on Monda^, the 23d of August. The morning was beautiful. The brig Henry lay at anchor in the harbor bearing her precious freight, and near her the brig Rattlesnake. Almost every vessel in the wa- mits of Suffolk, the victor's native county, anxious to evince their sense of his spirited, judicious, and determined con- duct in thus adding another brilliant trophy to the unrivaled triumphs of the British Navy, with a spoutaneons bnr^t of feeling voted him this tribute of their atfectlon, gniiitude, and admiration." ' Angnstus C. Lndlow was son of Robert Ludlow, Esq., ond was born at Newbuig, New Vork, in 1702. He entered llie navy as a midshipman in April, 1S04, and in the summer of that year sailed in the Premlent for the Mediterranean Sea. He relumed home In the ConnHtution, then commanded by Captain Campbell, in ISflT. lie remained in her, under Commodore Rodgers, until promoted to lientenant, in dnne, 1810, when he was placed in the Hornet. When Lawrence lieeamc her commander ho was charmed with Lndlow's character, and his knowledge of his young friend's worth made liim choerflilly continue him in his service on the Chemjieake as his first lleuteniint. " For Lieutenant Budd's dispatch to the Secretory of the Navy from Halifax, June 16, 1813, see Brannan's Official Letr 'iTii,Jfi(iyne third thu size of the original, designed and en- graved by A. Bowen, of Boston, and i)ri!itert at the head of an elegy, on satin, at the offlce of tlie Boston Chrnmde. I am indebted to the kind courtesy of Mi.»5 Caroline F. Ome, of Cambridgeport, for a copy of the original, and for other interesting papers made use of in this work. 1 In the arrangements made for the fnneral a substan- tial testimonial of regard was agreed to, in the form of an appropriation of one thousand dollars each for tl'(! two children of Captain Lawrenre, to be vested in the Com- njtssioners of the Sinking Fund of the Corporation, the Interest to be applied to the use of the recipients, and the principal to be given to the daughter when she should •rrive at the age of eighteen years, and to the son at the age of twenty-one years. i.ah kenoe me.\iokiai.. OF THE WAR OF 1812. TeatlmonialB of Regard. lit III il III Funeral Ceremonies In New York. MonumenU to the Memory of Lawrence and Ludluw. The luxcrlptiong on them. These were completed on the 1 4th, and on Tliursday, the IGth, the romauia of the gaUant dead were laid in their resting-place near the southwest corner of Trinity Churcli burying-gi'ound, far removed from public observation.' Soon after the war the Cor- poration of the City of New York erected ivn elegant marble monument over the re- mains of Lawrence, bearing approi)riate inscriptions.^ In the course of time it be- came dilapidated, and in 1847 the Corpo- ration of Trinity Church resolved to re- move the remains to a more conspicuous place. They were deposited near the southeast comer of the church, a few feet from Broadway, and over them the vestry erected a handsome mausoleum of brown freestone in commemoration of both Law- rence and his lieutenant.^ Eight trophy cannon were pliiced around the mauso- leum, which, with chains attached, form an appropriate inclosure.* LAWBENOE ANU LUDLOW 8 MOMMEM'. ■ This wnB the third time that funeral honors had been paid to the remains of the hero. On this occasion the procos- bioa, composed of members of both branches of the mllltar) service and civilians, was very large, and moved from the Pattcry through Greenwich Street to Chambers, up Chambers to Broad- way, and down the latter street to Trinity C'lmrch-yarJ. ' The design of the monument was simple and appropriate, for Lawrence was a young man at the time of his death. It was a broken column of '.vhlte marble, of the Ionic order, the capital broken off and lying on the base. The inscription, simple and dignified, was as follows : "In memory of Captain James Lawrence, of the (Tnlted States Navy, wlio fell on the lat day of June, ISIIt, In tlie thlrty-scc(nid year of his aire, in the action between the frigates Cliemjieake and Sliannnn. He dlftin- guished himself on various occasions, but particularly when he command- ed the sloop of war Ilorm-t, by capturing and sinking his Britannic Majes- ty's sloop of war/Vacocfc after a desperate action of fimrteen minutes. Ilia bravery in action was only equaled by his modesty in triumph and his mag- nanimity to the vanquished. In private life he was a gentleman of the most gei'.erons and endearing qualities; and so acknowledged was his public worth, that the whole nation mourned his loss, and the enemy con. tended with his countrymen who most should honor his remains." On the reverse v/cre the words: "The hero whoso remains are here de- posited, with his expiring l)reath expressed his devotion to his country. Neither the f\iry of battle, the anguish of a mortal wound, nor the horrors of approaclilng death could subdue his gallant spirit. His dying words were, ' Don't GIVE VV THE Snlf r " I saw fmcjinents of this old monument lying by the side of a small building in Trinity Chirrch-yard late In the autumn of 188H. The slabs bearing the above in- scriptions were afterward deposited in the Lll)rary of the New York Historical So- ciety, where thev may now bo seen carefully preserved. 3 It bears the following inscriptions : North Side.— " In memory of Captain James Lawrence, of the United States Navy, who fell on the Ist day of June, 1S1;(, in the thirty-second year of his age. In the action between the Chempeake and Shannon. He was distinguished on various occasions, but espe- cially when, commanding the sloop of war Jliirnet, he captured and sunk his Britannic Majesty's sloop of war reaeoek after a desperate 6"tion of fourteen minutes. His bravery in action was equaled only by his remarkable modesty In triumph and his magnanimity to the vanquished. In private life ho was n gentleman of the most generous and endearing qualities; the whole nation mourned his loss, and the enemy contended with his countrymen who should most honor his remains." KaM shie.-" The heroic commander of the frigate Chfmpmke, whose remains are here deiiosited, expressed with his cxplr- iiiL' breath his devotion to his country. Neither the fury of battle, the anguish of a mortal wound, nor the. horrors of aitpronchliig death could subdue his gallant spirit. His dying words were, ' Don't give vp the Ship I' " Hf't .Sirfc— A lon-.rcllef sculpture representing the hull of n douWe-deckcd slilp of war. Svulh Side.-" In memory of Lieutenant Au- L'ustiis C. Ludlow, of the Ignited States Navy. Born in Ni-wburg, 1702. Died at Halifax, isii). Scarcely was he twenty- unc years of ngc when, like the blooming Enryalus, he arcompaiiled his beloved commander to battle. Never could It liiive been more tnily said, ' Rir amor «n»M erat paritnrqvf in Mia r^irhnnt' The favorite of Lawrence, and second in lommand, he emulated the patriotic valor of his friend on the bloody decks of the Chesapeake, and when required, like him, vieldlng with courageous resignation his spirit to Him who gave it." ' These cannon were i-nrchased from the government by Oetieral Prosper M. Wctmore, then Navy ^g«nt at New York, and by him presented to the Corporation of Trinity Church for the use to which they are devoted. They were MUEKNCKS EAK' 1.V .MO.MMENT. PICTORIAL FIELD-BOOK Stirring Scene in ChesnpeRke Bay. Capture of the Aii}>. >l - Ij ■' i I The Argun beorH Minister Crawford to Fr«nc«. Tlie loss of the Chesapeake was followed by the capture of the little sch(,.)ner Asp and the sloop of war Argua^ the former in the waters of Virginia, and the latter off the British coast. The career of each was brilliant — the former in its death-stniiriri,. and the latter in its bold cruise just previous to its capture. Their misfortunes were 80 tempered, in the estimation of the American mind, with deeds of great prowcs^ that they did not seriously affect the hopeful feelings of the nation. The Asp was one of the small vessels fitted out by the United States government for the purpose of defending the harbors and tributary streams of the Chesa])eakc from the British marauders. She carried three small guns, and was commanded liv Midshipman Segauny. She and the Scorpion Avere in the Yeocomico Creek at tlio middle of June, and went out together on the morning of the 14th on a cruise of ob- servation. At ten o'clock they were discovered by a flotilla of British light vessels, which immediately gave chase. Their number was overpowering. The Scorpion fled up the Bay, and escaped ; but the Asp, being a slow sailer, ran back to the Yeocomico, hoping to find shelter in shallow Avaters beyond the reach of the enemy. She was fol- lowed by two hostile brigs. They anchored at the mouth of the stream, and sent armed boats after the little fugitive. She Avas overtaken by three of them, Avlien a sharp fight occurred. The assailants Avore repulsed, and retreated to the brigs. In the course of an hoar, five boats, filled Avith three times as many armed men as the oflicers and crcAV of the As}), attacked her. A desperate engagement folloAved, MidsJiijjnian Segauny and one half of his companions Avere disabled by death or Avounds. Fifty of the enemy boarded the little vessel, overpoAvcred her pcojde, and refused to give quarter to tliose Avho remained. The unhurt fled from her, Avhcn the enemy, in full possession, set her on fire and returned to the brigs. On their departure, Midsliij)m!ni M'Clintock, the second oflicer of the Asp, Avho had escaped to the shore, returned td her, and, after great exertion, extinguished the flames.' Her commander's body wa> consumed on the deck where he Avas barbarously murdered.^ The Argus sailed from Ncav York on the 18th of Juno," bearing William II. Crawford, of Georgia, Avho had recently been appointed resident minister at the French Court in place of Joel Barlow, deceased. She had lately returned from ;i cruise under the command of Lieutenant Conmianding Arthur St. Clair, and Avas now in charge of Lieutenant William Henry Allen, a brave Ithode Islander, Avho had re- cently served in the United States frigate as Decatur's second in command. She wa> a fine vessel of her class, and carried twenty 32-pound carronades and tAvo bow guns. She eluded the British cruisers, and, afler a voyage of tAventy-three days, laiuki Mr. CraAvford in safety at L'Orient.'' b July 11. , "^ , . , At that time the merchant marine in the waters around the British Island^ was under no apprehensions of danger from American cruisers, and there Avas no na- val force in the British or Irish Channels for the protection of commerce there. In- formed of this, Allen resolved to repeat the exploits of Paul Jones in the Bonhommt Jiichard. He tarried only three days at L'Orient, and then sailed on a cruise in Brit- selected by him from among the cannon at the navy yard which had been captured from the English during the war, as most appropriate for the purpose. The strict requirements of the law were complied with In the transaction. Ear. gnr bore its national insignia, with an inscription declaring the time and place of its capture. When the cinnou wef planted .'u the place they now occupy, the vestry of the church, with singular courtesy, put them so deep In th' ground thai the Insignia and trophy-marks are out of sight. The reason given was that, In a community like New Yuri: where there are so many English residents, it might seem like an unfriendly act to parade such evidences of triunip before the public eye. 1 Midshipman M'Clintock's Letter to the Secretary of the Navy, July 13, 181.1. » Thomson, in his Historical Sketches of the War, page 22B, says that Commander Segauny was shot through the bod,' with a mnsket-ball, and was sitting on the deck against the most when the British brought down bis colore. In tbi< attitude, and while suffering severely, he animated his men in the fight around him to repel the boarders. Seeing thi" a cowardly British marine stepped np and shot him through thi .lead, killing him iii.>«tantly. Observing this, and cot- eluding no quarter was to be given, M'Clintock ordered a retreat for shore. This was safely accomplished by aboa: half of the twenty-one defenders of the Anp. .1. B. Segauny was fVom Boston, and had served nnder Lawrence In the llornet. He waa only about twentynjne yfsR of age at the time of bis death, and had been tlve years In the service. OF THE WAR OF 1812. na lister Crnwford to Fr«ncf. little Hchooncr Asp and the liittcr off its (U'atli-str\i(,'<.'lc. ir misfortunes wfro s of great prowess, 11. States government I of the Chesapeake was commai\ile(l \i\ ■omico Creek at tlie th on a crniso of oli- Britisii light vessels, r. The Scorpion fleil Ik to the Yeocomico, enemy. She was fel- the stream, and sent irec of them, Avlien a 1 to the brigs. In the ed men as the officers Uowed. Midshijjman th or Avovinds. Fifty e, and refused to ji'ive lieu the enemy, in full leparture,Midsl\i])m!ii! the shore, returned tu oramauder's body wa^ [.,» bearing William 11. ] resilient minister at ately returned from n St. Clair, and was \m Islander, who had n- n command. She wa> los and two bow guns. ity-three days, landed und the British Islan(V I, and there was no na- 'commerce there. In- jues in the Iionhomm> iled on a cruise in Brit- ,m the EngUsU during the TO. Iwithinthotrnnsiiction. tau »pture. When the camion «er- tUy, put them bo deep in tl> InR community like New\.r, UdeBUcU evidences of triunip LnywM shot through the boJ! ■ought down his colors. In ti- fenel the boarders. Seetagtte Vntly GbservinRthlMnaco"- L safely occompliBhedhyato Las only about twentyoM yw nuAf'.nm In UrItlHh Waters. Her Uestrnctlon of Property thorn. Her t'omliat with the I'elioan. \Mi.Li.v.u nE.snv allk.n. ish waters. lie roamed the " cliops" of the Channel successfully. When satisfied with operations tliere, he sailed around Land's End, and by celerity of move- ment, audacity of action, and destructive energy, spread consternation throughout commercial England.' In the course of thirty days he captured and destroyed no less tliaii twenty valuable IJritish mer- chantmen, valued at two millions of dol- lars. Too far away from friendly ports into wliich he might send liis prizes, Allen burned them all. He was a generous foe, and elicited from the enemy vc'untary acknowledgments of_>ustice and courtesy. He allowed all non-combatant captives to remove their private property from the captureil vessels before he a])plied the torch. All prisoners Avere jiaroled, and sent on shore as speedily as possible. The Argus, after playing a winning game for a month, became the loser. On the 13th of August she captured a ship from Oporto Ijwlen with wine. Some of her cargo was taken secretly on board the Armies in the evening, and was so freely partaken of Ijy her exliausted crcAV that many of them were disabled for a time when tlieir best energies were required. She had set fire to her prize, and Avas moving away under easy sail, just before daAvn, Avhen a British brig, Avhich had discovered her by the light of the blazing vessel, Avas seen bearing doAvn upon her under a clone! of canvas. The British authorities had been aroused to vigorous action by the daring of the Art/us, and had fitted out several cruisers to attempt lier capture. The hostile vessel that noAV appeared Avas one of them, the Pelican, 18,^ Captain J. F. Maples. She came dashing gallantly on, and Commander Allen (then master commandant by a commis- sion dated July 24, 1813), finding it impossible to get the Avind of his enemy, short- ened the sail of the Argus to alloAV the brig to close. He flung out her colors, and at six o'clock wore and delivered a larboard broadside at grape-shot distance. The fire was immediately returned, and Commander Allen's left leg Avas carried aAvay by a round-shot. He bravely refused to be carried beloAV, but in a fcAV minutes, Avhen un- conscious from loss of blood, he Avas taken to the cock-pit. First Lieutenant Watson took command. He too Avas soon disabled and carried below% having been stunned by a grape-shot that struck his head. Only one lieutenant (William Howard Allen) now remained. He continued to fight the brig gallantly under the most discoura- f;ing circumstances. Her main-braces, main-spring-stay, gaft', and try-sail mast Avere shot aAA'ay, yet never Avas a vessel more admirably liandled. The enemy attempted to get under the stern of the Argus so as to give her a raking broadside, but young Al- len,' by a skillful manoeuvre, gave his antagonist a complete and damaging one. The • Her operations were so alarmin? that for a while very few vessels left British ports, and the rates of Insurance rose to niinoua prices. In several instances insurances could not be effected at all, so great was the rlslc considered. ' She carried one 12 and sixteen 32 pound carronades, and four long 6's. ' William Howard Allen was not nearly, If at all, related to Commander Allen. His career in the navy was an honor- alile one. He was in command of the United States schooner Alligator in 1822, and in the autumn of that year he lost Wi life in a contest with pirates. The main incidents of his life are given briefly In the following inscriptions on his monnment, a structure eighteen and a half feet In height, erected to his memory in the Hudson Cemetery, in the city of Ilndson, Colnmbia County, New York, his birth-place : We»t Side.—" To the memory of AVii.liam Howabu Allex, lieutenant in the United States Navy, who was killed in the act of boarding a piratical vessel on the coast of Cnba, near Matanzas, on the 9th of November, 1S22, M. 82."* * On her way home, after this encounter with the pirates, the Alligator was wrecked. This accident was the occasion of « poem by John Q. C. Bratnerd. (S't;. 718 PICTORIAL FIELD-BOOK itii II I "W i' !™" i At! BliiHfir — Harrander of the Argu». Her Luhh Iu Men. Monument to the Memory of Lientennnt Allen. Commander Allen. Arffus was nadly wouiuled, and began to rod. All her braces were sliot iiwiiy and she cDuld not bo kept in position. The J'elican now crossed her stern ami raked her (Ireadliilly, and at twenty-five niinuteB past six, her wheel-ropes and nearly nil \in running rigging being gone, the An/us itecame unmanageable. Five minutes later Lieutenant Watson came on deck, when the Pelican, lying under the Ari/us\'i sttrn was pouring in a terrific fire without resistance. Farther contest seemed useless, yet an effort was made to lay the crippled American alongside of the vigorous eiieiiiy for the j)urpose of boarding her. The effort failed, ami, after a most determined coinbat for about three fourths of an hour, Avhen the JSea J/orse, the J'elicati'a consort, hove in sight, the colors of the Argus were struck. At that moment the enemy boarded her at the bow and took possession. The loss of the Argus was six killed and seventeen wounded. Of the form, were Midshiimieu Delphy and Edwards, and of the latter Commander Allen, Lieutenani Watson, boatswain iM'Leod, and Carpenter White. The Pelicdu lost two killed ami five wounded. Conunander Allen survived until tlie next day, liaving in the mean time been taken into Plymouth, and ])laced in the Mill Sj)ring Priso. Hospital with the rest of the wounded of the yir//'^». On the 21st his remains were buried in a Plymouth church-yard Avith military honors.^ A month before the intelligence of the loss of the Argus reached the United States, a naval victory liad been gained by the Americans Avithin sight of the Now Eiiglainl coast, which compensated, in a measure, for the loss of the Chesapeake, Among tho smaller vessels of war, such as the Nautilus and Vixen, eacli 14, Avas tho J'Jnterpm, 14, Avhose reputation for being "lucky" has already been mentioned. Her sisters, with the Sire?i, 1 0, of the class of the Argus, had been unfortunate. The Nautilttn, a> Ave have observed, was captured by the enemy at the beginning of the Avar. Tin South Side.—" William IIowabd Ai.i.kn. His rcmnlno, flrst burled at Matao- zas, were removed to this city by tlio United States Bovcriiinciit, and liiterrod, under the direction of the Common Council of this city, beneath this marble erected to his honor by the citizens of his native place, 1833." Jiast Sitle.—" William Howard Allen was born In tho city of Ilndson, JnljS, 17110; appointed a midshipman In 1801 and a lieutenant In 1811, he tooli neon- Hplcuous part in the engagement between the Argun and Pelimii iu lS13,and was killed while In command of tho United States schooner Alligator." North iS)'i(/c.—" Pride of his country's banded chivalry, Ills fame their hope, his name their battle-cry; He lived as mothers wish their sons to live — He died as fathers wish their sons to die 1" A beautiful model of this monument may be seen in the navy yard at Cliarlc!- town, Massachusetts. William Leggett wrote a poem on the death of Allen, In which occurs ttae fol- lowing stanza : "Mother of Allen, weep not for your son ! Ills race was glorious, but too soon 'twas run. Yet weep not I Vengeance sleeps. She is not dead ; She yet will thunder on his murderer's head. Sisters of Allen, dry your tearful eyes ; The hero's soul hath down to yonder skies, And long his name, iu memory's holiest shrine, AVill wear the wreath which matchless virtues twine 1" > William Henry Allen was bom at Providence, Khode Island, on the ik[ «i October, 1784. His father was an olBcer in tho Hcvolution. He entered the natj in Ills eighteenth year (April, 1800), and made his first cruise with Dalnbridi'* in the Washington. In 1305 he was acting lieutenant in the ConMtiition, under Rodgers, and was the lientennnt ofik* Chesapeake when she was attacked by the Ijcopartl In 1807, who touched off, by means of a live coal, the r Allen, Lieiiteiianl lost two kilU'd ami hav'uis; in the iniim >n8o.- Ilospitul witli lis were buried in a ed the United States, of the New Ennlaiul mpeake. Ani(m<,' ih I, was the Enterprut itioned. Her sirters, ite. The Nautilus, a> ing of the war. Tlu rematnc, flrst burled at Matan- itcs government, and tnterrfj, [this city, bciictttU tills matblt place, 1833." I In thocity ofllndsmi.JnljN utcnautlnlSll.lictookacou- |u,„wnndAd>ni. lnlS13,and c9 schooner AlligaUir." liiviilry, Wir battle-cry ; [gons to live— ,„s to die '." niuthcnavyyardatCharlcf. r Allen, In wWch occurs the M- leonl 'twas run. She Is not dead ; ler'8 bead. lea ; Ir skies, fllcst fhrlne, lesB virtues Uvlncl leHbodcWaud,onthe2l!to! Solution. He entered the a»T; lis tirst cmisc with Bninlirulw I, and was the llcutcnaiil ottbf If a live coal, tlie (.Illy !:n..«red lc.Vnr«!mi'an,and!:aliie(lpMl Irln" the damage t.. the jm Ivcrv senile m his depcrtraeM. leading consternation thronr ■ 5 who were his enemies oBlyn (occasion of the funeral of » Lval Marine Band. Ei.l. c.^ iThe American vlce-comul« In was covered with the Amm L^-icc of the Anglican CUutd Cniltc of the Knttrprim. Her Combat with the Axxr. Death of th« two 1818. Vixen^ after cruising a while on the Southeni coast and among the islands, command- ed first hy Captain (Jadsden, of South Carolina, and Cajdain Washington Hoed, was captured hy the (S'oM'e at the same time. The wind was light, there little sea, and the cannonading was destructive. Ten min- utes later the Enter] iiged ahead of her antagonist, and, taking advantage of her position, she steered a ross the bows of the stranger, and delivered her fire Avith such precision and destructive energy that, at four o'clock, the British officer in command shouted through his trumpet that he had surrendered, but his flag, being nailed to the mast, could not be lowered until the Enterprise should cease firing. It was done. The brig was surrendered, and proved to be the Boxer, 14, Captain Samuel Blyth, who, in the engagement, had been nearly cut in two by an 18-pound ball. Almost at the moment when Blyth fell on the Boxer, Burrows, of the Enterprise, was mortally wounded. He was assisting the men in running out a carronade, and, in doing so, phccd one foot against the bulwark to give lever power to liis efforts. While in that position, a shot, supposed to be a canister ball, struck his thigh, and, glancing from the bone into his body, inflicted a painful and fatal wound. Both commanders were young men of great promise, and were highly esteemed in the service to which they respectively belonged. Blyth was killed instautly. Bur- rows lived eight honrs.^ He refused to be carried below until the sword of the com- ' .See Chapter VI. ' Portland Argxin, September R, 1813 ; Perkins, page 181. William Burrows was bom at Kenderton, near Philadelphia, on tbe 6th of October, 1TR6. His father was wealthy, and he was left mostly to the guidance of his own Inclinations concerning life pnrsnits. He gave early indications of a lute for the naval service. In November, IVOD, he entered the service as a midshipman, lie was in active service until ihc cloee of dlfllcnlties on the Barbary coast, and applied himself diligently to the study of his profession. He contin- ned in service until the breaking out of the war, when, on his way to the United States from the East, he was made a |irl8oner. Be reached home In .Tune, 1813, and went Immediately Into the service. His movements with the Enterprise are recorded in the text. His death was a cause for sincere grief throughout the Land. No portrait of the young hero ' was ever painted, and for that reason the medal struck In honor of the victory of the EnUrpriae does not contain hla tUSh as usual. * urn ' j IM 1 : ' ■< m igM rSS- ■ i|| «l ' Ifl iB ■ V ■ 1 m IS' ■ S(!' ^ 4 jH 718 PICTOUIAL FIELD-BOOK (Mllantry of Lleiitonnut M'Ciill. Funeral of Burrown and Blyth. Their Mnmiineni,. iiiatulor of the viiiKiuiMhed vessel slioiild 1h' pn'scntt'd to liitn. Ho prasp('w I am siitisti* d ; I diii coiitonttMl." IJolli rocoivod tlii'ir dfivtli-wimiKK at tlio hogimiiiii; of the action ; and tlio rominand of the JiJntcrjvine devolved npii,, the j^aiiant Lieutenant Kdward IJ. M'Oall, of South Carolina, wlio condueted iiis pari of the eiiLiai^enientr to the close with j^reat skill and couraixe.' lit; took hotli vessels into Portland Harbor on the inornini; of the 7tli, and on the followint? day the re- mains of both commanders were conveyed to the same cemetery, and buried sido Ijy side, with all the honors which their rank and powers couhl claim. The reiiiaiiiH df Midshipman Kervin Waters, of the J'Jiitcrjtn'.ie, the oidy one of her jjcopie nimtallv wounded except her commander, were laid by the side of those of his gallanl leaiKr ill less than twenty days afterward, and over the graves of ail commemoialive nioii- uinents have been erected.* ' Eilwiircl Itiitlcdgc M'CuIl was bom nt CliiirlpBtoii, South Cftrollnn, on the Btli of Angimt, ITW, nnd wan flvo yrm ihf Junior of hid comnmnilcr. Ilo cnterud the navy iih i» nildKhlpnmn at the ago of Hfteen yearx, and was Hrnt mi dulvln tha Hornet, (Japlain Dent. He Joined the Kiili-r-iiriiic, under Hhikcley, In isil, as n llenlenant, and waH Kervliiir ||, (lu, capaelly under Burrows nt the time of the battle above recorded. He wrote to I'oniniodore Hull a very Inlere; [ingu- count of that engagement. Ilo wan afterward trannfcrrcd, tlrxt to the (hitnrui, and then to the Jitfa, ('omniodorc IVrrv nnd with that oflUer cruised In the Mediterranean Hen until lsl7. On his return he took command of the olcjo), uf »,|J I'Menck, nlHo preparing to crulBO In the Mediterranean. In March, isan, ho was promoted to matter commnudum, and lu Mnrch, is;ift, he received the commission of captain. ' The funeral ceremonies on the occasion were s WATEES. OF THE WAK OF 1812. 710 Tbeir MDmimfntu rrnspoil it oiii^'crly, iii'ir (U'ivtli-W(iuiul> iae tlevolvcil ujwn ) took l)otli vtsscU owiiit? iliiy till' re- juul buried nidc by 1, Tho roiniiiiis nf iT j)i'o|)k! nutrtally if bis giillaiil Iciidir mmeiuorali\ e moii- ITOn, mill wn« live yiMirs thf irK, and wtt« flrxt mi iliily In nt, iiiul wn» »«nliiu' In thai (. Hull 11 viTy liitcros lliig u- llic ./cira, Ciimintiilnri' I'crry, ■omninml of tlio cluoiiof war I master commnndunt, and lu , the llonnriililp \Vll!;am\Vil. ,t bin BolkltntUiii, Mr, Charlen 1-9, Ulylh, axil Wii'ura lirlulcd I of tho two deceased nfflcfrs House at nine In llie indniliii; twelve marshiils. Tlic niffln* iilnutc HtrokcH of Btili)-mn»lor! •gen rommenced tu move, ami 8 to IllRh Street, tliciuc Aun l)y ilie artillery ci)inimiiU» ul l\\e mcetlni;-lioil«e to the Ea-i- Lieutenant BurrowH were llr, i,»c of Captain Blylli wore ihc the I' lilted States xorvlce.lho ■c concourse of cltlzeiiB. tap. [s before. Ivor tliolr Rravcfl stniul nWont liol"1>t. niytli'i'i seen neatftt .hliili'on which is the followinE ajesty'H brig Boxer, lie iiubly In life, honorable ; In death, it one of the bent of men! .£ in The Furvlvlnt! "fllccrs of liVs crew offer thl» feeble tritac ifadmiratlon and respect." Burrows's monument Is com- lOPed of red sandstone, form- iiiL' deep, broad pniicl« "D sidti liiid ends, and beariii}? a recum- bent marble slab. It is the mid- dle one In tho Hketcli. On the ilab Is the following inscriptioa _.i Beneath this stone nwiiM- icrs the body of Wii-i-ns Bn- C,„WB, late comiuiiiider of ih- United States brig K"'^"*. who was mortally wounded OB the 6th of Heptember,lS13,in L action which contrlhutcdw Lcrcasc ttio fame of Amen« valor,bycapt.irln.-hi»Br.!»- nic Majesty's brlp/;"W«to' Perecontestofforty.iive.»- utes ^.28- Apasshigi'tra- Cr has erected this n.e«.» Sf respect to the n>anca Ota p- trlotwho,lnthehonrofp«n obeyed the loud smnmon«o»^ Injured conntry, and who ^■■ lantly met, fought and c» queted the foeiuau. SUtUia awarded to Hurrowii and M't.'nII. Thit OnivH of Burrow*. Oil the 0th of January followintj^* tlio CongroHs of tlio United Stfttos, by , joint R'Holution, roquosted tlio CJIiicf MiigiHtrato of tlio Kt'puMio to j>ro8t'iit to tlic in'iUTHt niiilc! roiativt! ut" Lit'iitonunt lliirrows "ji ji;old medal, with stiitivhle em- liU'iii!* and devicoH, in testimony of the hi<;h Hensu entertained hy Coni^ress of the ,i;al- liiiitry and j^ood eondiiet of the ottieerw and erew in the confliet with the Ihitish hloop Ihrer on tho 4th of September, 18i;t."' Hy tho BUtno joint reHohition CongresH re- TIIK nCBBOWH MKTIAI.. quested the President to present to Lieutenant M'Call,"as second in command of the Enterprise iu tho conflict witli the lioxer, a gold medal, with suitable emblems and devices.* In this engagement tho Jiosrer was very much cut up both in hull and rigging, while the Enterprise suffered very little. The battle was a i'air test of the compara- tive nautical skill and good gunnery of tho combatants. Justice accords the palm tor both to the Americans. A London paper, speaking of the battle, said, " The fact seems to be but too clearly established that the Americans have some superior mode The "passing stranger" above mentioned was Silas M. Burrows, of New York, who, being In Portland, visited tho lemetery, saw tlic neglected condition of the youug hero's grave, and ordered n monument to be built. A poet uaknowu ',0 the author afterward wrote thus : " I saw tho green turf resting cold Ou Burrows's hallowed grave ; No stone the Inquiring patriot told Where slept the good and brave. Heaven's rains and dew conspired to blot The traces of the holy spot. At length a 'passing strnnger' came, Whose hand Its bounties shed ; He bade the sparkling marble claim A tribute for the dead ; And, sweetly blending, hence shall flow The tears of gratitude and woe." The tomb of Midshipman Waters Is a marble slab resting on four round sandstone pillars. On the slab is the following inscription ; " Beneath this marble, by the side of his gallant commander, rest the remains of Lieutenant Kcrvin Waters, anative of Georgetown, District of Columbia, who received a mortal woniul, September B, 1S13, while a midshipman on board the United States brig Enterprine, in an action with his Britannic Majesty's brig Dnxer, which terminated in the capture of the latter. He languished in severe pain, which he endured with fortitude, until September 25th, 1813, when he died with Christian calmness and resignation, aged eighteen. Tho youug men of Portland erect this stone as a tes- timony of their respect for his valor and virtues." ' The pictnre above given is the exact size of the medal. On one side Is seen an urn standing upon an altar, around which arc grouped military and other emblems, on one of which (a trident) hangs a victor's chaplet of lanrel leaves. Upon an elliptical panel on the side of the altar Is seen " W. Briinows," In prominent letters. Around the whole is the legend" VioToaiAM xim olaram. patri^. m*stam." On the reverse is Ecen the two brigs engaged in combat, the main- top mast of the Boxer shot away. Over them the legend " V-vrrr bat vinoerk." Kxergue, " Inter Kntebprizs mav. .\«Ksi. ET Boxer mav. Brit. i>ie it Sept. mdooooxiii." The date should be the 5th Instead of the 4th. ' On one side the bust of Lieutenant M'Call and the legend " Edwarp R. M'Call navis Enterpeisb rB.EPBCTUB." Ex- ergue, " 8io itdr An ASTRA." The reverse the same as on that of Burrows. |i 720 nCTOUIAL FIELD-BOOK Li/88 of Life (. the two ' jgsels. Last CruUe of the Enlfrprut, ' ; . if ' i m '1 1 ^^ INTEB ENTERFBIZE VAV. ^^ AMEBI. ET BOXER WAV. >^s. BHIT. DIE rVSEPT. ^^^ MDCCCXm. TnS M'OALL MEDAL. of firing, and we CVi,n not be too anxiously employed in discovering to what circum- stances that superiority is owing. The loss of the Boxer was a great mortification; and there can bo no doubt thar, Captain Blyth felt full assurance of victory when k Avent into the contest. Indioative of this was the nailing of the fl.ig to the mast, al- Avays a most foolish and perilous boast in advance.' The loss of the Boxer was sev- eral killed besides her commander, and seventeen wounded. The HJntcrprise lost only one killed besides her commander, and ten wounded. This was the Boxer's last "ruise as a war vessel. She was sold in Portland, and sailed from that port for scv- eri.l years as n, merchantman. The Eittcrjyrise made only one more cruise during tin war, under the command of Lieutenant lienshaw. She sailed southward as far as tlie Wc'i, indies in company w'th the fiist-sailing brig Rattlesnake, Lieutenant Crcigliton. While ott" the coast of Florida she captured a Pntish privateer, and both vessels were chased by an English seventy-four. The liattlesnake soon fled from the sight of Ixitli consort and pursuer, while the Enterprise Avas hard pressed by the Englisliinaii tor seventy liouvs. Kenshaw cast all her guns overboard in order to increase her sjiiiii. It was of littio avail. Nothing saved the " lucky" little brig from capture but a tii Torable sliifting of the wind. Not long afterward she sailed into Charleston Harbor. and was there made a guard-ship. She did not appear again at sea during the war. The melancholy tolling of the funeral bells over the slain Burrows and Blyth had scarcely died away when merry peals of joy were heard all over the land in attesta- tion of the delight of the people caused by Perry's victory on Lake Erie, already fullr recor'^ed in these pages. With that victory ceased rejoicings over the exploits of the vessels of the regular navy during the remahider of the year, because, with a sin- gle exception, they were rot remarkable ; but the privateers then swarming upon tin ocean were doing excellent service every where. The history of their doings may W found toward the clofe? of the volume. 1 Coopp"- relaiei (ii., 200, nolo) tlmt, whcu the Enterprim hailed to liiiow if the Roxcr had strucic, as nhe Iccpt herflaf flylujl. one <>f the oftlccrs of the British vc«sel leaped upon n pun, Bhoolc both flsta at tlic AmericaiiB, and shoiitod"X', U(t, no '." at the same time nsinpr some strong opprobrions epithets. The excited uentlemau's superiors were coiupclieJ to order him do'vn. His movcmcut created much merriment on board the Unterpriae. OF THE WAU OF 1812. 721 t CrulBC of the Entfrpritf. VTt kucsa of the American Navy. Beginning of the wondorfnl Crnise of the K»»ae. CHAPTER XXXII. ^^^ rins to what circnm- X great mortitii'ation; -e of victory Avlieii he 10 flag to the mast, al- ol' the lioxer was scv- lie -E>(r to increase her hymi Worn capture hut a fa- iito Cluirleston IIail)OT, vt fca during the war. lurrows and Blyth had ,.cr the land in attesta- .akc Eric, already fully k over the exploits of iar, because, with asm- Lcn swarming upon tk oftheir doings may l>e le Americans, and slw""''' ]\ Imau's superiors were compeliri " War-doom'd the wide expanse to plow Of ocean with a Bingle prow, Midst hosts of foes with lynx's eye And Hon fang close hovering by, You, Porte-, dared the dangerous course. Without a home, without resource. Save that which heroes always find In nantic skill and power of mind ; Save where your stars in conquest shone. And stripes made wealth of foes your own." Ode to Davih Pobteb, 1614. S we take a survey from a stand-point at mid-autuimi, 181.3, we observe with astonishment only three American frigates at sea, namely, the President, 44 ; the Congress, 38 ; and the Es- sex, 32. The Constitution, 44, was undergoing repairs ; the Constellation, 38, was blockaded at Norfolk ; and the United States, 44, and Macedonian, 38, were prisoners in the Thames above Ne\f London. The Adams, 28, was undergoing altera- tions and repairs, while the John Adams, 28, iVti/c York, 36, and Boston, 28, Avere virtually condemned. All tlie brigs, ex- cepting tlie Enterp'ise, had been cap- tured, and she was not to be trusted at sea much longer. The Essex, Commo- dore Porter, was tlie only government vessel of size which was then sustain- ing the rej)utation of the American Navy, and she was in far distant seas, with a track equal to more tlian a third of the circumference of the globe be- tween her and the home port from which she sailed. Slie was then making one of the most remarkable cruises on rec- ord. Let us liere consider it. We have observed the Essex starting from the Delaware in the autumn of 1812,* with orders to seek a junction with the Constitu- tion and Hornet, under Commodore Ihiinbridge, at designated places, but al- lowed, in the event of failure to do so, to folloAV the dictates of the judgment of her commander.' She did not fall in with her consorts of Bainbridge's little squadron, and she sailed on a Ions cruise in the South Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. In anticipation of such cruise Captain Porter took with him a larger I See piige 488. Zz ' Octoher 23. 722 nCTOBIAL FIELD-BOOK The Jfocton a Prize to the Jiimai. A Search for Batnbrldge. An EngltBh Governor deceived. 1 1 . m fit i lunnber of officers and crew than was common for a vessel of that size. Ilcr mus- ter-roll contained three hundred and nineteen names ; and her supplies were so am- ple! that she sank deep in the water, which greatly impaired her sailing quality. The Uasex took a southeast course for the purpose of crossing the tracks of vessels bound from England to liermuda, but met only a few Portuguese traders with whom she had no hostile business. On the 27th of November she sighted the bold mount- ains of St. . J ago, and ran into the harbor of Port Praya in search of the commodorp, There Porter received unbounded hospitalities from the Portuguese governor; ami when he had waited a proper time for the expected arrival of Bainbridge, he depart- ed with his ship loaded with pigs, sheep, fowls, and tropical fruits of every kind. Ih concealed his destination fro.a the governor, and, sailing eastward when he loft port gave the impression that he was bound for the coast of Africa. When beyond ttle- scopic range he changed his course, stood to the southwest, and crossed the equator on the 1 1 th of December in longitude 30° west. On the following day he captured his first liritish prize, the Nocton, 10, a government packet, with a crew of thirty-ono men, bound for J^almouth. She had fifty-five thousand dollars in specie on hoard. This treasure and her crew were transferred to the Essex, and Lieutenant Finch (aft- erward Captain William Compton Bolton), ^vith a crew of seventeen men, was diicct- ed to go to the United States with her. She was captured by a British frigate he- twcen Bermuda and the Capes of Virginia. Only the specie of the Nocton Avas se- cured by Porter, • Deccmi)er 14, Two days after this victoiy* the pyramidal mountain peak of tlio 1812. dreary penal island of Fernando de Noronha, whereon no woman was allowed to dwell, loomed up sullenly from the waste of waters. This was one of the specMfied places of rendezvous of Bainbridge's squadi'on. Disguising the Essex as a menthantnnm, and hoisting English colors, Porter sailed close to the island, anchored and sent Lieutenant Downes to the governor with a polite message, asking the piiv- ilege of procuring water and other refreshments. Downes soon returned with a pres- ent of fruit iVom tiu; governor, and intelligence that only the week before the Ihitiiili ships Acasta, 44, and Morgiana, 20, had sailed fi'om the island, and left with the mac- istrate a letter for Sir James Yeo, of Hi?; Majesty's ship Southamjyton. Porter \v;\s satisfied that the "British shi})s" s[)oken of were the Constitution nwA Hornet; that the writer of the letter was Commodore Bainbridge, and the Sir James Yeo addiesij- ed was himself With this conviction, he sent Downes back to the governor with tiie truly English present of porter and cheese, and the assurance that a gentleman on board his vessel, intimately acquainted with Sir James, and who intended to sail directly to England from Brazil, would be happy to carry the letter to the haroiiet, The governor sent the letter to I'orter, The latter broke the seal and read as follows: "My dear Mediterranean Friend, — "Probably you may stop here. Don't attempt to water; it is attended with twi ranch difficulty. I learned before I left England that you were bound to the Brazil coast ; if so, we may meet at St. Salvador or liio Janeiro. I should be happy to meet and converse on our old affiiirs of captivity. Ktcollect our secret in those times. " Your friend of His Majesty's ship Acasta, Kerk." f The last clanse in this letter gave Porter a needed hint. lie called for a liglitcl candle, and, holding the sheet of paper near the flame, the following note, written in .symi)athotic ink,' was revealed by tlie heat: " I am bound off St. Salvador, thence off Cape Frio, whore I intend to cruise until ' Sympathetic luk is coinposod of compounds which, when written with, wHl remain liivisllile until heated. Mo- tions of cobalt thus become blue or green, lemon-Juice turns brown, and a very dilute aniphuric acid btncken;. OF THE WAll OF 1812. 728 :ngUBh Oovernor deceived. at size. Her mus- ppUes were so am- lailing quality, lie tracks of vessels traders with whom ted the bold mount- I of the commodore. ;ue8C governor; and liiibridge, ho depart- 8 of every kind. He rd when he k-ft port, When beyond tele- i crossed the equator ring day he captured 1 a crew of thirty-one s in specie on l)oard. ;jicutenant Finch (aft- itcen men, was direct- ir a British frigate be- o{ the Nocton was se- mountain peak of the icreon no woman was This was one of the guising the ii'sw.? as ;i to the island, anchored, pssago, asking the priv- n returned with a jues- kvcek before the Uritisli and loft with the mas;- 'hampton. Porter \v;\s ition unA Hornet ; iU ir James Yen address- , to the governor with ■ance that a gentleman who intended to sail letter to the hnroiict. •al and read as follows: it is attended with tw jrc bound to the Brazil lould be happy to \m\ jcrct in those times, Kkkr." Tic called for a lishtf'l llowing note, written 111 It intend to cruise nntil in invlfllhlc nntil heated. Solf iBnlphurlc acid bl.ickcuf. Failure to find Bnlnbridge. The b'sHiiX sails Tor the Pacific Ocean. llcr Arrival at Valparaiso. tho Ist of January. Go off Cape Frio, to the northward of Rio Janeiro, and keep a look-out for me. Youk Friend."' With these instructions Porter sailed for Cape Frio. Ho came in sight of it three days before the Constitution captured tho Java^ and for some time cruised up and down the Brazilian coast between Cape Frio and St. Catharine. He met many Por- tucnese vessels, but could obtain no reliable informii,tion concerning the s(puidron. His situation was becoming more and more perplexing. English influence was pow- erful all along the coasts of the South American continent, while the power of his own government was little known or respected, lie was, in a degree, in an enemy's waters, with no friendly port into which he might run for shelter, carry prizes if ho should catch them, or procure necessary supplies. lie was compelled, as he says in his Journal, to choose between " capture, a blockade, or starvation." lie was letl to Ills own resources, for he could not find the commodore, and he resolved to sweep around Cape Horn, pounce upon the English whalers in the Pacific Ocean, and live upon tho enemy. The specie obtained from the Nocton would be a reliabU? resource in an hour of need, and he could not doubt his success. With this determination he spread the sails of the Essex to tho breeze in the harbor of St. Catharine on the '26th of January, 1813, and after a most tempestuous and jjeriloiis voyage made Cape Horn on the 14th of February. At the close of that month the pleasant southwest breezes came over the calmer ocean, and under their gentle influence the inhospitable coasts of Patagonia and Lower Chili were soon passed. Or. the 5th of March the glittering peaks of the Andes were seen hundreds of miles distant, and on the evening of that day the anchor of the Essex Avas cast at tho island of Mocha, oft' the coast of jVrauca- nia,for the first time after leaving St. Catharine. Its solitary mountain pe.ak towered more than a thousa.id feet in the clear blue firmament ; immense flocks of birds hov- ered over its unpeopled shores, and in its surrounding waters shoals of seals were sporting in the surf. A joyous hunt for a day by the delighted crew brought to the ship an ample supply of coveted fresh meat, for the island, inhabited by S])aniard8 before the reign of the buccaneers in that ix'gion, abounded with fat wild hogs and horses. The flesh of the latter proved more savory than that of the former, and was preferred by the people of tho Essex. Porter had now spent two months without falling in with a hostile vessel. His supplies of naval stoi-es were portentously diminishing, and he anxiously hoped for prey by which he might replenish his exhausted materials. With that hope he cruised northward, enveloped for several days in thick fogs, when suddenly, on the 14th of March, as the liksex 8we])t around the Point of Angels, the city of Valpa- raiso, the chief sea-port town of Chili, burst upon the vision like the creation of a ma- sjieian's wand. She liad been runnuig gallantly before a stiff breeze ; now she was suddenly becalmed under the guns of a battery, so unexpectedly and near had tiie turning of that point brought her to the town. Tho harbor and its shipping were in lull view. Several Spanish vesselsi were about departing ; and an armed American brig, heavily laden, seeing the English colors at the mast-head of the Eisex, had triced up her ports and prepared for action. Unwilling to have a knowledge of the arrival iif an American frigate in those waters spread by tlie Spanish vessels along the coast, and perceiving a British whaler preparing for sea, I'orter bore off to the northward, and in an hour or two lost sight of the town. He returned on the following day, ran into port and anchored, and soon learned two important facts, namely, that Chili had 'just become independent of Spain, and the people were prepared to give him a cor- dial reception ; and that the Viceroy of I'eru had sent out cruisers against the Amer- ican shipping in that quarter. Porter's appearance with a strong frigate was there- ' Jburnaf -a Cfuitie niailn to the Pae{fte Octan by Captain David Porter, in the United State* Frigate Ennex, in the Ymr» 1S12, 1813, and 1814, 1., .10. » Sec page JiiO. ) III liii I !,[: 1 724 PICTORIAL FIELD-BOOK FriendlioeaH of the Cbillang. The Essex in Search of British Whalers. Cruise amung the Oalapngos Uhu fore exceedingly opportune, for American commerce lay at the mercy of English pri- vateers among the whalers, and the Peruvian coi-sairs. The Essex was welcomed by the Chilian authorities by a salute of twenty-one guns at the forts, and of nine guns from the American brig, which proved to be the Colt 1 8 ; and Mr. Poinsett, the American Consul General, hastened from Santiago, the cai)- ital of Chili, to join in the festivities which had been arranged for giving Porter a formal reception. Dinners, balls, excursions on land and Avatcr followed, and the ofli- cers of the Essex never forgot the delightful hours which they spent with the Cliiljan beauties, by whom they were exceedingly petted. In this welcome, these entertain- ments, and the bright prospects of usefulness to their countrymen and a profitable ciuise for themselves, the people of the Essex found full compensation for all tlieir hardships during the teriible voyage from the stormy Atlantic around the dark cape into the Pacific Sea. As soon as she was tolerably victualed the Essex put to sea, and on the 25th fell in with an American whaler, from whom Porter learned that two other vessels, the Walker and Barclay, haA just been captured by a Peruvian corsair off Coquimbo, ac- companied by an English ship. Porter pressed on up the coast, and soon oveihauled the corsair. She was the Nereyda. He took from her all her captured Americans and, after casting her cannon, ammunition, and small-arms OA'erboard, sent her to Cal- lao with a letter to the Peruvian viceroy, in which he denounced the piratical con- duct of the commander of the cruiser, and asked for punishment due for his crime. Tiie Essex then looked into Coquimbo, but, seeing nothing discernible, sailed for Cal- lao. As she neared the harbor she recaptun 'I the Barclay, and, making her her con- sort, sailed for the Galapagos Islands, the alleged resort of English whalers. Fi-om the master and crew of tiie Barclay Vortcr ascertained that there were twenty-thid American and about twenty English whale-ships in that region. The latter were, in general, fine vessels of between three and four hundred tons burden, and would af- ford good prizes for the Essex. The most of them were armed, and bore letters of marque. On his way over the quiet Pacific toward the Galapagos, Porter made preparation? for fierce struggles with the armed English whalei-s. The ships were put in perfect order, and then seven small boats were arranged as a flotilla and placed under the command of Lieutenant Downes.^ They made Chatham Island on the 17th of April, but found no enemy there. Similar disappointment awaited them at Charles Island on the following day. Lieutenant Downes went ashore, and found a box nailed to a post, over Avhich was a black sign with the words Hatha way's Post-office painted on it in white letters. The contents of the post-office were conveyed on board tlic Essex, and gave, by a list of English whalers that had touched there a few month* before, positive evidence that those islands were a resort for British vessels in that service. With this assurance Porter ciiiised eagerly among the Galapagos, but al- most a fortnight was spent without seeing a single vessel. On the morning of the ■April, 29th* the welcome cry of "Sail, ho!" was heard, and a ship Avas seen to the 1813. westward. Soon afterward two others were observed a little farther to the south. Porter immediately gave chase to the first-seen vessel, and at nine o'clock in the morning she was his prize. She was the English whale-ship Montezuma, with fourteen hundred barrels of oil on board. Placing a prize-crew in her, he made sail alter the other two vessels. The wind fell, and there was a dead calm. The flotilla of small boats under Downes pushed forward. Tiiey pulled for the larger of the two 1 John Dowoes was born in Massnchusetts. He entered the naval service as midshipman in 1802, and was activtir: lii.> attaclt on the shipping in the h:irl)or of Tripoli. He accompanied Porter, as lieutenant, In the entire cruise ofilif &«»», and l)ecan. i-nmmaoder of lln^ Essex Junuir. In 1831 he was promoted to captain, and commanded the ftforaf in the piinishmeL, if the Qnallah Bui loo people for outrages on American commerce. Hin Inst sea service was In is3t He died in Boston on the Uth of August, 1884, and was burled with the honors due to his rank. Secretary Dobbin di- rected the officers at the Navy and Marine Con's to w .r crape on the left arm for thirty days. OF THE WAR OF 1812. 725 mg the QalapagoB Inlani.. ;rcy of English pri- of twenty-one guns (ved to be the Colt, 11 Santiago, the caj)- for giving Porter a llowecl, and the ofli- ent with the Chilian »me, these entertain- len and a profitahlo nsation for all tlitir round the dark cape and on the 25th fell wo other vessels, tlie lair off Coquimho, ac- and soon overhauled captured Americans, joard, sent her to Cal- led the piratical con- ■nt due for his crime, erniblo, sailed for Cal- I, making her her con- iglish wiialers. From ere were twenty-thm II. The latter were, ill burden, and would at- id and bore letters of •ter made preparation? ms were put in perfect and idaced under \h lion the iVthof Avril, Ihem at Charles Island jnnd a box nailed to a I's rosT-OFFu:E painted •onveyed on board tin >d there a few montlis [British vessels in tlwt (the Galapagos, hut al- >n the morning of tlie ship Avas seen to tlic a little farther to tk [ and at nine o'clock in ■ship Montezuma, will ?w in her, he made pail >adcalm. The flotilla Ir the larger of the two Itann In 1S02, and wnfactiveir ■nant.lnthecntirocrmfeoftl' ln,audcommandodtheM.(»^^ I lliHlni-t Ben service was Id 1»^ Ills rank. Secretary Dobbin ili- Ity days. t'lptnre of the Ocorijiana and other English armed Whaling-shlps. Porter in Command of a Squadron. ■May. vessels, which kept training her guns upon the flotilla as it approached ; but between two and three in the afternoon she surrendered without firing a shot. She was the KnuTish whale-ship Oeorgiana. Her companion was captured in like manner. She was the PoHcj/, also a whaler. These three prizes furnished Porter with many need- ed su])p!ies. Among these were beef, pork, cordage, water, and a large number of the huge Galapagos turtles, whose flesh is delightful to the appetite and healthful to the stomach. Captain Porter fitted up the Georgiana as a cruiser. She had been built for the service of the East India Company, and liad the reputation of being a fast sailer. She was pierced for eighteen guns, and had six mounted when taken. The Policy was also pierced for eighteen guns, and had ten mounted. These were added to the ar- mament of the Georgiana, and she became a fitting consort of the Essex, with sixteen lidit guns, under the command of the gallant Lieutenant Dovnes, Avith forty-one men. He raised the American jiennant over her on the 8th of May," and it was saluted by seventeen guns. Tlie crew of the Essex, officers and men, was now reduced to two hundred and sixty-four souls. Tlie reputation of the Georgiana for fleetness was unmerited, yet Porter expected to make her useful. She and the Essex parted company on the 12th of May, Avith a clear understanding concerning places for rendezvous at specified times. The Essex, accompanied by the Policy, Montezuma, and Barclay, did not cruise far from tl;c Gal- apagos, and it was sixteen days before a strange sail was seen by her. On the after- noon of the 28t]i'' one was seen ahead, and a general chase w.as made. At sun- set she was visible from the frigate's deck, and she was still in sight on the following morning. It was not long before tlie Essex got alongside of and captured her. She was the English whale-sliip Atlantic, mounting eight 1 8-pounder carron- adcs, and manned by twenty-three men, under the command of a renegade Nantucket captain. Slie was pierced for twenty guns. During this chase another vessel was seen. With characteristic energy. Porter placed Lieutenant M'Knight, of the Montezuma, in command of the Atlantic, and or- dered him to chase the newly-discovered stranger. The Essex also joined in the pur- suit, and the Greenicich, a vessel little lighter than the Atlantic, mounting ten guns, and manned by twenty-five men, was added to the list of prizes in Porter's liands. The Atlantic and Grecmoich had letters of marque, and, being fast sailers, were very danirorous to American commerce. AVith all his prizes but the Georgiana, now five in number, Porter sailed for the mouth of the Tumbez, in the Gulf of Guayaquil, on the South American Continent, where he anchored on the lOtli of June, off" the miserable village of Tumbez. There the little squadron was joined by the Georgiana^ bringing with her two prizes, the Hector, 1 1 , and Catharine, 8. Downes had captured a third, the Rose, 8, which he liad filled with tlie superabundant prisoners and sent to St. Helena. She was a dull sailer. Ho removed h jr oil, threw her guns overboard, and gave the prisoners the sliip on condition that they should sail for that rocky isle in the At- lantic. Porter now found himself, at the end of eight months after he sailed from the Del- aware, in command of a squadron of nine armed vessels ready for formidable war- fare. The Atlantic being every way superior to the Georgiana, Lieutenant Com- manding Pownes was transferred to her, with his crew. Twenty guns were mount- ed in her, and she was named Essex Junior. She was manned by sixty picked men. The Georgiana was also armed with twenty guns, and converted into a store-ship, under the command of" Parson" Adams, the cliaplain of the Essex. Tlic squadron left Tumbez on the 30th of June, the^.'?ea; and Essex Junior sailing in company until the flth of July,"^ when the latter was dispatched for Val- paraiso with the Catharine, Hector, Montezuma, Policy, and liarday in con- ' June 24. ' 1613. *f, !'' ^W• ■■■i ■■':{ '1 . .Jili ummak ill, l^^l IH k 1 'fVH^H nK lal ' 1 '" "^ 1 |i 1 ^ f H:i— ^1 pi: , s. Mm-' ' (i %" ^ ■ ^^^^ if 726 PICTORIAL FIELD-BOOK ^Jnly. Capture of the dreaded Seringapatam. Sncoesgfnl crnlsiiig among the Galapagos Islaude. Porter warned uf Danger. voy. Tlic £Jssex at the same time, accompanied hy the Oeorgiana and Greeincich ■July, sailed westward toward the Galapagos. On the ISth" she captured the En- 1B13. glish whale-ship Charlton, armed with ton guns, and manned by twenty-one men. Two other vessels had been seen in her company, the larger of which, the pris- oners from the Charlton said, was the Serimjapatam, mounting fourteen guns, and manned by forty men. She had been built in England for the Sultan Tippoo Saib for a cruiser, and was the most fonnidable enemy of American shipping in the Pacific Ocean. Porter longed for her capture, and was soon gratified. The Greenwich hoiv gallantly down upon her, and, after exchanging a few broadsides, the English vessel surrendered. She soon afterward made an unsuccessful effort to escajie. The small- er vessel, called the New Zealander, was captured without difficulty. Porter's prisoners were now so numerous that he was compelled o admit a large number to parole. These were placed in the Charlton, and sent to liio de Janeiro under a pledge of honor. The guns were taken out of the Neio Zealander and placed in the Seringapatam, giving her an armament of twenty-two heavy pieces, but with an insufficient crew. She Avas thus converted into a formidable cruiser. The Oeor- oiana, with a hundred thousand dollars worth of spermaceti oil, was sent to tlic United States, bearing in irons the captain of the Seringapatam, who was found with- out a commission as privateer, and liable to the penalties of piracy. The Essex, with the Greenwich,, Seringapatam, and Neio Zealander, now sailed for Albemarle Island, the largest of the Galapagos group. On the morning of the 28th'' they discovered a strange sail. Chase was given, and continued all day, but she eluded her pursuers during the ensuing night. This was the first time that the Essex had failed to place herself alongside of an antagonist since she entered the Pacific Ocean, and Porter and his people were much mortified. The cruise continued, and on the 4th of August the little squadron anchored off James's Island, a short distance from Albemarle. There they remained more than a fortiiisiht, and on the 22d anchored in Banks's Bay, between Narborough Island and the north head of Albemarle, where the prizes were moored, and from whence the Essex pro- ceeded" on a short cruise alone. After sailing for some time along the Galapagos without meeting any vessels. Porter was gratified by the ap parition of a strange sail on the 15th of September, apparently lying to, far to the southward and to the windward. The Essex, disguised, approached her, and discov- ered her to be an English Avhale-ship engaged in the process of" cutting in," or get- ting on board the ship the blubber of the great fish. When the Essex was within about four miles of the whaler, the latter became alarmed, cast off her fish, and made sail. The Essex threw off her disguise and pursued, and at four o'clock in the after- noon had the stranger within range of her guns. A few shots brought her to, and she became a prize She was the Sir Andrew Hammond, armed with twelve guns, and manned by thirty-one men. She was the vessel that escaped the Essex on the night of the 28th of July. She had on board a large supply of beef, pork, bread, wood, and water, of which the Essex was in need. With this prize she returned to Banks's Bay, where she was soon afterward joined by the Essex Junior from Val- paraiso. Downes had there moored three of the prizes, and sent the fourth, the Pol- icy, to the United States with a cargo of spermaceti oil. While at Valparaiso Downes learned two important facts, namely, that the exploits of the Essex had produced great excitement in the British Navy, and caused the gor- emment to send out the frigate Phoebe, with one or two consorts, to attempt her cap- ture ; and that the Chilian authorities were becoming more friendly to the English I than to the Americans. Surveying the situation in the light of this information, Por- ter resolved to go to the Marquesas Islands, refit his vessels, and return to the United States. His cruise had been remarkably successful. He had captured almost everj' English whale-ship known to be off the coasts of Peru and Chili, and had deprived = August 24. OF THE WAR OF 1812. 12t Sorter warned of Danger. la and Gi-eemcich, s captured the En- iied by twenty-one ■ of which, the pris- fourteen guns, and sultan Tippoo Sail) pping in the Pacific rhe Greenwich horu 1, the English vessel e8caiH>. I'lie small- Ity. ed ;o admit a large it to T'io de Janeiro lealander and placed avy pieces, but with cruiser. The Ocor- oil, was sent to the ■who -was found witli- icy. ander, now sailed for the morning of the jn, and continued all it. This was the first antagonist since she nuch mortified. The anchored off James's nore than a fortnight, Island and the north rhence the Essex pro- some time along the Is gratified by the ap- ly 'lying to, far to the ached her, and discov- If" cutting in," or get- the Essex was within off her fish, and made [ir o'clock in the after- ts brought her to, ami ,ed with twelve guns, iped the E^»ex on the J of beef, pork, bread, prize she returned to Lear Junior from Val- jnt the fourth, the Pol- nely, that the exploits ^, and caused the gov- Its, to attempt her cap- l-iendly to the EngUsli ■ this information, For- i return to the United i;apturcd almost ever)- [lili, and had deprived Porter, with his Squadron, sallH for the Marqnoi!a8 lelande. Arrival at Nooulieuvah. White Kesideuts ou the Island. the enemy of property to the amount of two and a half millions of dollars, and three hundred and sixty seamen. He had also released the American whalers from danger, and inspired the Peruvians and Chilians with the most profound respect for the American Navy. Accordingly, on the 2d of October, he spread the sails of the Es- sex to the breeze, and she sailed westward from Banks's Bay, followed by the Essex Junior, Serinyapatam, New Zealander, Sir Andrew Hammond, and Greenwich. Moat of these were slow sailers, and kept the Essex back. The impatient Porter, fearing the delay might cause him to miss an English vessel bound for India of which he had heard, sent the Essex Junior forward to the Marquesas with instructions to at- tempt to intercept and capture her. Meanwhile the squadron crept lazily over the calm sea, and on the 23d of October the group of the Marquesas was seen looming up from the western horizon. On the following day they neared the shores, and saw the natives thronging the beaches and swiftly navigating the waters in light canoes. After passing among the islands a few days, the Essex finally anchored in a fine bay of Nooaheevah with her prizes, except the Essex Junior, which came iu soon after- ward. "The situation of the Essex^'' says Cooper,' "was sufiiciently remarkable at this moment to merit a brief notice. She had been the first American to carry the pen- nant of a man-of-war around the Cape of Good Hope, and now she had been the first to bring it into this dietant ocean. More than ten thousand miles from home, Avith- out colonies, stations, or even a really friendly port to repair to, short of stores, Avith- out a consort, and otherwise in possession of none of the required means of subsist- ence and efficiency, she had boldly steered into this distant region, where she had found all that she had acquired through her own activity ; and having swept the seas of her enemies, she had now retired to these little-frequented islands to refit with the security of a ship at home. It is due to the officer who so promptly adopted and so successfully executed this plan, to add, that his enterprise, self-reliance, and skill indi- cated a man of bold and masculine conception, of great resources, and of a high de- gree of moral courage — qualities that are indispensable in forming a naval captain." The bay in which the squadron was moored, and its surroundings, presented very picturesque scenery to the navigators. A beautiful valley was seen extending back from it among the lofty hills, and here and there a native village dotted its margins. Rich vegetation crowned the eminences, and cultivated fields smiled along the slopes and beautiful intervales. The natives every where among the group of islands had appeared very friendly, and Captain Porter expected nothing but quiet and full suc- cess in fitting his vessels for his long homeward voyage. In this he was disappoint- ed, for during his stay he was compelled to engage in a military campaign, and take possession of Nooaheevah by force of arms. It happened in this wise : The anchor of the Essex had just been cast when a canoe shot out from the shore and came alongside the frigate. It contained three white men, one of whom was naked and tattooed like the natives. This man was an Englishman, named Wilson, and had been on the island twenty years. One of his companions was Midshipman John Maury, of the United States Navy, who had been lc*'t on the island to gather sandal-rt'ood while the merchant vessel that bore him to it should go to China and return. He was accompanied by a seaman. These were the only Avhite men on Nooaheevah. They informed Porter that war was raging on the island between the native tribes who inhabited the different valleys, and that it was quite fierce between the Taeehs, who dwelt in the one before them, and the Happahs over the mountains. He was farther informed that he would j)robably be compelled to take the part of the Taeehs against the Happahs in order to get from them such supplies as he de- siied and the island afforded. Wilson understood the native language well, and became Porter's interpreter. \h 1 SavaX BUtorg of the Unitti Statu, U., 222. :!^'~s'iiii^ llf Pi jJ ■ i . i 4 i ' .'?; ilp, "" -■ '■ fPi; . ; \ -^Mji^^ fc^ 1 1 C'tyll War In Nooahcevah. Porter tlireatcna to engn^o In It The "mighty Oattanewa." With him the captiiin landed, and was met on the beach by a throng of men, wniiii'n and children, who not only Avelconied him, bnt gave cordial greetings to the marines, who followed him with beating drums, and tired volleys of musketry in tlu' air, These unusual sounds brought swarms of the Haj)pah8 to the crest of the niountuin where they brandished their spears and clubs in the most threatening manner. Tliov had lately spread desolation through portions of the valley of the Taeehs, dcHtroyini; houses, plantations, and bread-fruit-trees. Porter immediately sent them word that he had come with force stilficient to take possession of the whole island, and tliat if they ventured into the Tienhoy Valley as enemies while he remained h.e would ))iin- ish them severely. He gave them permission to bring hogs and fruit to the shore, and promised them protection while trafficking. Tins bold message delighted the Taeehs, and filled the IIa|)i)ahs with awe, because of the powerful ally which good fortune had brought to their enemies. Porter had just returned to his ship when ho was informed that the great Gatta- newa, the mighty King of the Taeehs, a descendant of Oateia, or Daylight, tlirouijli eighty-eight generations, had returr jd from a tour of inspection to one or two ot'liis strong-holds among the mountains. A boat was sent to bring the monarch on boanl the J2ssex, and all hands waited in expectation of seeing a most digni- fied personage, for their eyes had already seen the really beantiful and stately granddaughter of the monarch. They were disappointed. Be- fore them appeared a tottering man leaning u{)on a rude stick, bent with the weight of years, naked, excepting tem- ples covered with with- ered palm - leaves and loins swathed in dirty tappa or native cloth, his skin black with tattoo- ing, and made almost leprous in appearance by the eficcts of excessive indulgence in the use of kava, a native intoxicat- ing drink. He was then stupefied by its effects, and it Avas not until aft- er he had slept long in the cabin of the Essex that he was able to talk of public affauu Porter agreed to assist Gattanewa against the Happahs and Typees, his chief enemies. He established a camp in a shady plain not far from the beach, and at the same time active labor wa> commenced in the service of preparing the Essex for her long voyage. Days passeii on, and so peaceful did the Americans appear that the Happahs were emboklemil, TUE MIUUTY OATTANEWA. OF TlIK WAU OF 18 12. i2i rho "mighty Oattiinewa." ing of men, wnu.cn, iijjs to the lUiuiiu's, .iKkctry in the air, st of the iii()ui\tiiiii, line; manner. Tluv s Tacchs, dcHtroyiii!; cat them word thai e island, and thiit it lined h.e woukl jiiin- id fruit to the shore, issage delitjhtoil the rful ally which good Aiat the great Gatta- or Daylight, thront;li I to one or two ofliis he monarch on hoard Battlea with the NotlvcB. Purter victurluua. Cbuu(;e lu tbo Name of tbo Island and Uarbor. ^ i .' t\ lA ^^^^B ^F ^^ '^'"^fM}. -'■■l^Sm: r,.srj^'Y '\/i ^km^Hj^.' K^'i^ I^P^^^^i. m^s^ ^ ^^^^^3 ■7?»^- gi3^i « ^■'j A^^jjr >>s _.^P: 1^^' ^/l q^fWi m • 1 1 ^m ^^m K«/ -^ rJK lies. He established a time active labor « 1 voyage. Days F^^fJ Lbs were eraboUeiuHl Tlii'v poured into tlio valley, menaced the camp, and sent a messenger to Porter to tell liiui that he was a coward. The old monarch and his chief warriors urged Por- ter to strike a withering blow. lie complied with their reipu'st. Ili' lauded a 0- pounder cannon, and the natives carried it to the summit of tiie mountain. He then sent Lieutenant Downes, with forty men with muskt'ts, to attack \\\v lliippahs. They were driven from hill to liill until they reached one of their forts on the brow of an eminence. There, four thousand strong, they made a stand, and hurled spears and stones at the assailants. The fort was stornu'd and cajiturelaced •niK i;hmi;x and iieu riu/.KH in masbachi skits uav, nooaukkvaii.' in command of Lieutenant John M. Gamble, of the Marines, and Messrs. Feltus and Clapp, midshipmen, with twenty-one men, were placed under liis orders, and remained there until the squadron was ready to sail. This was wise precaution to secure the speedy repairs of the Essex. The powerful Typees had rcmrvined hostile, and became more and more defiant, to the great discomfort of Gattanewa's people and the annoyance of the Americans. At length Porter resolved to make war upon them. An expedition, consisting of thirty-five Americans, including Captain Porter and five thousand Taeehs and TLip- pahs, moved against the incorrigibles. The Typees, armed with slings and spears, met them with such overwhelming numbers and fierce determination, that at the end of the first day they were compelled to falhback to the beach, and numbering among their casualties a shattered leg belonging to Lieutenant Downes, caused by a blow from a sling-man's stone. That night the valley of the Typees resounded with shouts of victory, and the sonorous reverberations of many beaten drums. Porter renewed the attempt the next day, and led his motley army boldly over the nigged hills into the Typee Valley, in the midst of great exposure to hostile mis- > From a drawing by Captain Porier. IJIi: (hi ? \m 130 PICTORIAL FIELD-BOOK Tba Typau Valley UeNolated. The Women of Nuouheevab. Porter arrive* at Vaiparalro. MAUOCEHAH J ..ut Biles irora concealed foc8, ami many privations. Village after village WiiH deHtroyod until they came to the principal town, in which were line l)uil(lingH, a large public wiuare, lempleB and gods, huge war-canoes, and other exhibitions of half-sav- age life. These M'crc all reduced to ashes, and by the broom of desolation that beautiful valley, four miles in Avidth and nine in length, was made a blackened desert. The Tyi't'es, utterly ruined and humbled, now submissively paid tribute, and Porter could say " I am monarch of nil I survoy ; My rljjlit there Ih iiouo to illsptlto." Porter i.ad allowed his crew full indulgence while at Nooahevah. The natives were lavish in that species of savage hospitality which gives concubines to straiiirurs in the persons of their wives and daughters. The women of that island were really bp^^ntiful in figure and feature, and not much darker in complexion thtu' most Spanish women. Warm attachments were formed between them and the seuiiieii, and when on the eve of departure. Porter forbade his men going on shore, they were greatly disc ntented. For three days during this restraint they became almost mutinous, "The girls," says Porter in his ./oMr«a^, " lined the beach from morniiii; imtil night and every moment importuned me to take the taboos off the men, and laughingly ex- pressed their grief by dipping their fingers into the sea and touching their e\ is, so as to let the salt water trickle doAvn their cheeks. Others would seize a chip, and, hold- ing it in the manner of a shark's tooth, declared they would cut themselves to pieces in their despair; some threatened to beat their brains out with a spear of grass, some to drown the'" ^Ives, and all were determined to inflict upon themselves some dread- ful punishni t'l did not jjcrmit their sweet-hearts to come on shore."' Porter's men did not tune the deprivation so good-naturedly. Their situation, they said, Avas worse than slavery ; and a man named Robert White declared, on board the IJusa Junior, that the crew of the Essex had come to a resolution not to weigh her anclior, or, if they should be compelled to git the ship under weigh, in three days' time aller leaving the port to seize the ship and hoist their own flag. Porter thought it neces- sary to notice the affair. He assembled his men and addressed them kindly. He spoke of the reported threat, expressed his belief that the rumor could not be true, but added, " should such an event take place, I will, without hesitation, put a match to the magazine and blow you all to eternity." He added that perhaps there might be some grounds for the report, and said, "Let me see who are and who are not dis- posed to obey my orders. You who ai-o inclined to get the ship under weigh, conn on the stai-board side ; and you wlio are otherwise disposed, renniin where you are.' All hastened to the starboard side. The men showed great willingness to be obe- dient. Then White, the ringleader of the mutineers, if there were any, was calleil out. After infonning the crew that this was the man who had slandered tlicni, I'di- ter sent him ashore in one of the numerous canoes in Avhich the natives were .swarm- ing around the ship, and left him behind. The Essex was thoroughly fltted for her long voyage and for encountering ene- mies early in December, and on the 12th'' slie sailed, with her prizes, from Nooaheevah, taking with her Mr. Maury and his companion. They stretcheii away eastward to tlie South American continent, and early in January the peaks of the Andes were visible. On the 3d of February'' Porter entered the harbor of Valparaiso, exchanged salutes with the fort, went on shore to ])ay liis re- spects to the governor, and on the following day received a visit from his Excellency and his wife, and some other officers. Meanwhile the Essex Junior cruised off the port as a scout to give warning of the approach of any man-of-war. Notwithstaud- 1 See Porter's Journal, U., 13T. • 1S13. » 1S14. OF TUE WAR OF 1813. 781 ter nrrivei at Val|iuralto. iDcldenM In the Horbor of Valparalio. Porter's Oenoroclty. He tries tu flt;bt,or run the Blockade. MAUtJlIKSAH I .CM. ovah. The natives cubim'rt to Htraugurs it island were really n thiin most Spanish e Heiuiii.'U, and wIumi, 0, they were prcatly ne almost nuiti\ious. morniuL; until night, n, and laughingly ex- •hing their eyi'S,8oa9 eize a chip, and, hold- , themselves to pieces a, spear of grass, some craselvcs some dvcail- on shore.'" Povtir's tuation,they said, was , on board the Ensu to weigh her andior, three days' time aller .•ter thought it neces- sed them khidly. He ^or could not be true, citation, jiut a miitcli perhaps there might and who are not (lis- ip under weigh, coiiu main where you are.' . illingness to be ohe- were any, was calW slandered thcni, I'uv- natives were swarm- for encountering ene- With her prizes, tVom liion. They stretched January the peaks of [r entered the harhor _ shore to pay his re- It from his Excellency \inior cruised off the Iwar. Notwithstaud- intf the friendly dcnionstnitions of the governor, it was evident to Captain the English were in higher favor than the Americans with the Cliilian gi Porter that the English were in higher favor than the Americans with the Cliilian government. J'orter had not been long in Viilj)araiNO when two Englisli men-of-war were report- ed in the offing. They saileil into the harbor all pre|)ared for action, and seemed ready to violate the hospitalities of a neutral port. These vessels were the Phoebe, 3C Captain Ilillyar, and the Cherub, 20, Captain Tucker. The former mounted thirty loD'^ IH-pounders, sl.vteen 32-p()und carionades, and mw howitzer, and si.v ;J-pounders in iter tops. Her crew consisted of three- hundred and twenty men and boys. The Cherub mounted eighteen .'J2-ji()iind earronades below, with eight 24-pound carron- iides and two long O's above, making a total of twenty-eiglit guns. Her crew mus- tered one hundred and eighty. Tho^sea; at this time could muster only two hund- red and twenty-live souls, and tlie -Essex Junior only si.xty. The Unsex had forty 32- iiound earronades, and six long ri-pounders; and the Essex Junior bore only ten 18- pound earronades, and ten short O's. The weight of men and metal was heavily in favor of the British vessels. As the Phii'he canu! sweeping into the harbor with her men all at quarters, and ran close alongside the Essex, Porter warned Hillyar that if his vessel touched the Amer- ii an frigate he should open upon her, and much blood would be shed, for he was fully prepared for action. " I do not intend to board you," exclaimed the Englishman, who perceived Porter's readiness to fight, but as he luffed up his ship was taken ahack, and his jib-boom was thrown across the forecastle of the Essex in a menacing manner. Porter summoned his men and bade them spring upon the Pho'he, cutlasses in hand, the moment when the two vessels should touch each other. She was com- pletely in the power of the Essex., and with the aid of the Essex Junior the American tVicate might liave sunk the Phoebe in fifteen minutes. Hillyar saw his helplessness, and, throwing up his hands in consternation, declared that his present position was an accident. The chivalrous Porter accepted the apology, and the frightened En- glishman was allowed to ])ass on. It was afterward generally believed that Hillyar had positive orders to attack the Ekscx, even in a neutral South American port, and that his intentions were hostile untii the moment when he discovered his imminent ptri! in the poAver of the gallant American. • Alter obtaining some supplies, the English vessels went out and cruised off Val- paraiso. During a period of more than six weeks Porter tried in vain to bring on an engagement Avith the Phcebc singly, or with the Essex Junior in company. On the 2Tth of February he felt sure of a tight, for the Phoebe stood close in for the harbor, displaying a banner on which were the words " God and our Country ; British Sailors' best Rights ; Traitors offend both." Porter accepted this as a challenge, quickly pre- pared his vessel, and hoisting a banner under his old motto, "Free Trade and Sailors' Kights," with the words " God, our Country, and Liberty ; Tyrants offend them," he eaiiedboldly out. Ilillyar, who liad doubtless been instructed not to light the Essex alone, quickly showed the stern of his ship, and ran down to the Cherub, to the great disgust of the Americans. Informed that other English cruisers might be expected soon, Porter determined lo run the blockade and put to sea. On the 28th of March he spread his sails to a stiti" southwest breeze, and made a bold dash for the open Pacific. A heavy squall struck the Essex as she rounded the Point of Angels, carrying away the maintop- mast, and over into the deep the men who were aloft reefing. They were lost. The British ships, lying in wait outside, immediately gave chase, while the crippled frig- ate crawled toward the friendly port to repair damages. She could not reach her old anchorage in time to escape the enemy, so she took shelter in a bay not far from a battery, and anchored within pistol-shot of the shore. Notwithstanding that was neutral ground, the enemy's vessels bore down upon the Essex, and Captain Hillyar, unmindful of the courtesy rter when the Phoebe was within his power, proceed' 732 PICTORIAL FIELD-BOOK m The Kmtx cripptvil. I'lirtur'a Ueneroalty not reclpmrated. Battle betweoa thn Kiuex and tw(> ilrltliih N|i|m •d to (ifta(!k her. Tho I'Jkhcx prcpftivd for coiitl'uit, ivikI cndi'iivonMl to place n sjirinir on her eiihlo. IJcforc thin could he lU'compliHlicd tlic Phivhe fi;ot, in an udvaiita"('oii» •Mnroh lis, position, and, at a li'w iiiiimlcs hi'forc live o'clock in t'lc allcrnoon," oiu'ikhI iHU. (j,.^, „|„,|, j^in, Htcrn of tlio American frij^ate witli liim ionjj muiH. The Vjhtr- nh at tlie same time assailed tlie starboard bow of the Kaatjc, while the Eaiex Junior was nnabic to render her consort any assistance. The Chcruh was soon driven ott'by the bow-e Cherub, and for two hours maintained the terrible combat with her principal antagonist. Porter now perceived no chance for boarding the Plwebe, and the raking of liir long guns was producing horrible carnage in his ship. lie resolved to attempt t" run her ashore, land her people, and set fier on fire. The wind was favoniliic; Imt when she was within musket-shot distance from the beach, it sliifted, payiiin; tlio shi[)'s head broad off, leaving her exposed to a raking fire from the Phcehe. At this moment of extreme peril, Lieutenant Downes came from the Essex Junior in an ojion boat to receive orders. He was directed to defend, or, if necessary, to destroy hi.« own vessel. He returned Avith some of 1;he wounded, and left three sound men who came with him. The slaughter .;n the Essex continued, the enemy's shot hulling her at almost every disdiarge. Still Porter held out, hoping to lay his ship alongside the cautious Ph'At He let go an anchor, by which the head of his vessel was brought round and cnableJ to give his enemy a broadside. It was efiectual. The Phoebe was crippled by it, and began drifting away with the tide. Porter was hopeful of success, wlioii his hawser parted, and the Essex, an almost he'pless wreck and on fire, floated toward her antagonist. The fiames came up both the main and forward hatchways. Tliero was no longer a chance for saving the ship. The magazine was threatened. Already an explosion of powder had added to the confusion. Porter was unhurt. He calN a council of officers. Only one man (Lieutenant Stephen D. M'Knight'^) came ! Tlif ' See pope 441. » Stephen Decatur M'Knight was a native of CoDDecticnt. After the capture of the Essex, he, with a companion OP TIIK WAll OF 18 12. 7a8 « mill two Brltlth Hblpo. I to pliu'o a h\ty\wji 1 an mlvunliii,'c(ms iilYcrnooii," oikikmI ; tjfunH. Tlic aiicr- J the J'jUSi'J'' >li>ni(ir 111(1 joiiiofl Avitli tlio ', livttor WHS mialilc lior Btcrn ports, iiml of half an lioiir iift- Hod to liiiiil otV ii'iil ct, and many of her battU'-flaf? had hcin ' UuiiiTH,"' wa-i still ved to defend her to ion jn the Btavhoaid iiicc, the distance be- I liy her carroiiudcs. itive of suriTiulcriiiir, il on the hvtter movt- hniiortant siiars ami lid he made availnbk' owly the J'JsKCX i'(li;wl ite's earronadcs, wlu'ii he rh(*'he (^han<,'wl her n her helpless autai.'u- ward-room tilli'il witli (runs were disiibk'il; ^^,g_fell dead or \m- hours niaintained tlic ;uid the raking ofkr (■solved to attempt tu d was favorable; but lit shifted, pay ilia; tk I the Pfuvbe. At tliis Lea; Junior in an o\m hessary, to destroy lii? [three sound men wlio Ins her at almost every lie the cautious P/mk iht round and enabled the was crippled by it, II of success, when Ins Ion fire, floated toward Ird hatchways. Tliere .threatened. Already fas unhurt. Ho ealW I'Knisiht*) came ! Tbe riurnuilnr of tha The Uoodnot of the Urltl^h ('(iiniiiiiinlcr. PorUr ntBTM 8a«M. rent were either slain or woiindi'd. llo then told his men tiiat thoHc who jircliricd Id tiikc the risk of wiiiii}^ liy jumping ovcrhoard and Mwiinmiim for llm shore, to tlie ccrtuinty of being Idown up, might ilo so. 3Iuiiy atreepted the otVer. Some reached llif beucli ; a large nuinher were drowned. JV>rler hauled down liis tiag. Tiie ves- gi>| was surrendered, and the flames were extinguished. Of tiie two hundred and t«iHlv-tive l)rave men who went into tlu^ light, only seventy-live* effective ones re- mained. Kilty-eigiit had been killeil, sixty-six wouinled, and thirty-one weri' missing, 'flic two vessels of tlie enemy lost, in the aggregate, only five killed and ten wounded. m AtniDN IIF.TWer.N TIIK 1.HHKX AMI TIIK I'luKDK A.SI> DIIKllUU. I Thus ended the wonderful and brilliant cruise of the E88ex. Her closing exploits were as gallant as her former career. "We have been unfortunate, but not dis- graced," wrote her noble commander. "The defense of the JiJunex has not been less lionorable to her ofticers and crew than the caj)ture of an equal force; audi now eonsider my situation less unpleasant than that of Commodore Ilillyar, who, in vio- lation of every princijile of honor and generosity, and regardless of the rights of na- tions, attacked the Esnex in lier crippled state within jiistol-sliot of a neutral shore, wiicn for six weeks I had daily oftered him fair and honorable combat."^ IJy an arrangement with the victorious Ilillyar the Essex Junior was made a car- tel, and in her Porter and his surviving companions sailed for the Un't-od States. Aft- er a voyage of seventy-three days they arrived on the coast off Lo'.'' ^ dand, and fell in with the Saturn, a British ship of war, whose commander (Nn questioned the papers of the Essex Junior, and detained her. The indignant I'c .'jv considered this treatment a violation of his arrangements with Ilillyar, and escaped in a whale-boat. After sailing and rov.ing about sixty miles, he landed near Babylon, on the south side of Long Island, where he was suspected of being a British officer. His commission settled the question, and he enjoyed unbounded hospitality. He made his way to New York, where he was received with demonstrations of most profound respect ; anil when intelligence Avent over the country of the exploits of the ^«ea;, every city. named Jnmes liytnnn, were sent to Rto de Jniiciro as prisoners of war, where they were shipped for England In a Swed- ish vcgsel. They were never heard of afterward. The vessel arrived In safety, but the captain of the ve»sel never gave auy account of them. ' From a drawhij^ by Captain Porter. ' Porter's DUpntch to the Secretary of the Navy, July ii, 1S13. Porter relates that when he was about to part with Ilillyar at Valparaiso, he alluded to his conduct in attacking the Essex under such circumstances, when the Brit Isb com- mander, with tears in his eyes, said, "My dear Porter, you know not the responsibility that hnni; over me with respect to your Bhip. Perhaps my life depended on tnklnjj her." "I asked no explanations at the time," says Porter, when witlni; of the alTalr several years afterward. " If ho can show that the responsibility rests on his government, I shall Jo liira Justice mth more pleasure than I now impeach his conduct."— Jour;iai, II., 15T. fHu village, and hanilot was vocal with his praises. Municipal honore were lavislie 1 upon him ; and several State Legislatures and the National Congress thanked him for hjs services. By universal acclamation he was called the Hero of the Pacific. Piiilip Freneau, the popular bard of the Revolution, wrote a dull ode on " The Capture of tin Essex;" and a livelier poet, in his "Battle of Valparaiso," thus sang: "From tho laurel's fiiircat bouffli Let the muse her garland twiue, ,^ . To adorn our Pi)rtcr's brow, Who, beyond the burning line, Led his caravan of tars o'er tho tide. To the pilgrims fill the bowl, Who, around the southern pole, Saw new constellations roll. For their guide." This cruise was Porter's most eminent service afloat. ITo aided in the defense of Baltimore a few weeks after his return home ; and at the close of the war he was aii- pointed one of the commissioners on naval affairs. In 1817 he commanded a small fleet sent to break up a nest of pirates and freebooters in the Gulf of Mexico. In 182i3 he resigned his commission in the navy, and afterward became the representa- tive of the United States in Turkey, as resident minister, at Constantinojilc, He died near that city in 1 84.'?, at tin age of sixty-three years. His remains were brought to the United State*; landed at Philadelphia; borne to 8t, Stephen's- Church, South Tenth Stieti. wherein religious services for the o(( i sion were performed ; and he was buiid on the north side of that cliurch. Tlicy were afterward removed to the grounds of the Naval Asylum on the banks of the Schuylkill, pikI buried at the foot of the flag-staff. Once more they Avcre re- moved, and now find a resting-place !«- leath a beautiful monument in Wood- lawn Cemetery, Phila(lelj)hin. Ills coim 1 rymen remember him with just pride, Wliile Commodore Porter was in \\.> Pacific with the Essex, Comraodcnv Rodgers was on a long cruise in tm North Atlantic in his favorite fngate. uAviu i-osTKK'B MOMUMENT. thc JF^csident, i'i. Hc lefl Boston uii > David Porter was born in Boston on 1*10 1st of Pcbrnnrj-, 17S0. Ills first cxpcriorce in tho navy was in tlie friolf r- > the American airog were exercised with romar.tic chivalry before the battloments of Tripoli. He wan on ull oc' .s- mm OF THE WAR OF 1812. yfP SiH Death and Munumcut were lavishelupon hanked him foi- his }ui Pacific, riiilip The Capture oi'ilie mg : Uojgern'B unBUCcossfiil Cnileo. Caplimv »r Merrtiant . . n^elg and the Bi^ftiMV. led in tbe defense of )fthe war he wasap- commanded a small Gulf of Mexico. In icame the representa- d States in Turkey, er, at Constantinopk'. t city in 1 843, at thf 1 years. His remains , the Unitfd States; Iclphia; home to St. ;, South Tenth Strci services for the oit i lod; andhe washuTinl of that ciiurch. Tiny imoved to the groim.U lum on the hanks of ,d buried at the foot of |nce more they were n- find a resting-place tu- 1 monument in Wood- I'hiladelphin. Iliscoun- ir him with just pvick- lore Porter was in il; Essex, Cominodui. a long cruise in • u his favorite fn.aiui'. He left Boston un IcinthenavywaBintlietriiiiw lciillKavc8!'el..uii;//"''i'r!l.'»"' Inotert to Ikmteuant. Hy«.»- ll was on board the ;•/..:<■<"¥■« It iulS0flhewauapt>«™»«'" Is'tcturn to the United wm.-JK I until war wa- .l--clare1 i» .. ■ His exploits -n her have 1« |;.Ur;ou'm.chur.oofbi.« irt.nnn..,>naer,butinexplon"! |„en>..«^emcnt«i:nl«>";"l>*«" ir!,.ftl>c United SUt.-l« frlpui.. Hewa^jooallo..:.':.*' the 27th of April, 1813, and President. Road rtune of i«-vas a tine vessel of her class; a fast sailer, and was eomni.mded by Lieutenant Hutchinson. Wlieii discovered shi> was six or seven miles distant. By a stratagem liodiTcrs decoyed her alongside the President, and captured her without firing a gut;. Hlip did not even discover that the President was her enemy until the stratagem Imd succeeded. It was done in this wise : Previous to his departure on this cruise Rodg- vn was placed in possession of some of the Britisli rignals. These h." had ordered to he made on board his ship, and li<^ now resolved to try their efficacy. He hoisted •M English ensign over the President. The Jlir/hflifer answered by displaying an- other, and lit the same lime a signal from a nuist-liead. To Rodgeis's delight, he dis- anirag the bravest of the brave ; zciIohh In the i)P''formanco of every duty ; ardent and resolute In the trying honr of i,.„iuity; composed and stcad.i' in the blR7.i> of victory." Kw'.SiVfc— No Inscvlption. On the upper piirt of the column the word " Pouter," In a wreath. On the lovper part K iriilfiit and anchor crossed. • The Cmmm conthined at 80;i until tlic 12th of Dccemher. havlnsj crnlscd In the fnr-dlf tnnt waters of the Sonth Amctlran const. She caplnied sevcrnl (Iritisl! vessetf. H.nonir them t'.vo nrred Ikikb often pins each. ' Letter of Commydora Rodgers to tlio Nocretarj- of the Navy, dated Nowpo;; September 2T, lalS. '- ^wmr im (B! 4' 730 PICTOKIAL FIELD-BOOK Bow Rodgers captnred the Bighfiyer. Antonishment of her Commander. Rodgere'* Service to hi« Countrj. covered that lie possessed its complement. He then signaled that his vessel was the Sea Horse, one of tlie largest of its class known to be then on the American coast The Ilu/hjlyer at once bore down, hove to under the stern of the President, and re- ceived one of Kndgers's lieutenants on board, who Avas dressed in Britisli unifoim He bore an order fi-om Rodgers for the commander of the Highflyer to send liis m. nal-books on board to be altered, as some of the Yankees, it was alleged, had obtainecl possession of some of them. The unsuspecting lieutenant obeyed, and Rodgers was put in j)osscssion of the key to the whole correspondence of the British Navy.' The commander of the Highflyer soon followed his signal-books. He was pleased with every tiling on board the snpposed Sea Horse, and admired even the scarlet uniform of Rodgers's marines, whom he mistook for British soldiers. When invited into the cabin, he jilaeed in the commodore's hands a bundle of dispatches for Ad- miral Warren, and informed his supposed friend that the main object of the Biitish naval eomniander-in-cliief on the American station at that time was tlie capture or destruction of the President, which had been greatly annoying British commerce and spreading alarm throughout British waters. The commodore inquired what kind of a man Rodgers was, when the lieutenant replied that he had never seen him, but liaj heard that he Avas " nn odd fish, and hard to catch." " Sir," said Rodgers, witii start- Ihig emphasis, " do you know what vessel you are on board of?" " Why, yes, sir" he replied, " on board His Majesty';^ sliip Sea Horse P " Then, sir, you labor uiuler a mistake," said Rodgers. " You are on board the United States frigate P'esidcnt,'Aw\ I am Commodore Rodgers, at your service !" At the same moment the band struck up Yankee Doodle on the President's (piarter-deck, and over it the American eiisimi was displayed, Avliile the uniforms of f that of commander in the autumn of 1S21. Uo wag commiasloned a lieutenant in HI •vnd in 1^11 he was assifrned tit a utalion on ttii- SI. f>nmin(iii, preparing for llie .\merican coaBt. lie first cninniuiiili'ililt Oolpliiii. a vpHiii'l captured l)y the Britisli from the Americans at the mouth of the Rappabannoclt early In .\|)ril, 1>13, and converted into n lender of the St. Dominrio, Sc' patre 1)09. lie was aflerM'ard commander ;)f 'lUDthiT tender oflln (lac-ship, (he Hiiihili/FT, and was captured In her, as we have observed in (lie (ext, on the 26th of September, 1S1,1. ,W- er his pnmiodon to commander in the British navy in 19-ii], he retired from active seri'ice, and was yet on the tinlf-pj; lUt In 1S4». 8co O'Byme's Naval flioffraphy. ' This was the only man-of-war eve.' captured by H(ii:ir: um- li OF THE WAR OF 1812. 787 b Service to bin Countrj. his vessel was the e American coast. > President, and re- in Britisli unii'ovm, ijer to semi liis sig- leged, had o])tainc(l \, and Rodgors was Iritish Navy.* .8. He was pleased ed even the scarlei iers. When invited f dispatches for Ad- abject of the Brltisli I was the capture or ii-itish commerce, and iqnired what kiml of fer seen him, hut had I Kodgors, with start- f f " Why, yes, sir," sir, you labor under a frisxate B-esldent,M\i ,m>.mt the band stvuek D the American ('iisign y changed from red to believe the teslimony If in the hands of Com- 9 when that mtiraudtr and it is affirmed tliiit Ih he carried away from ,n warned by Captaia Ijlhj/ifiyo', to take care 1," said Oliver, " not to rross you, he will hoist lodgers treated che sin- soon allowed to go at |u'd into Newport liar- otiier prisoners. His J lustre to the Amoncan Ling the enemy's com- 1 for several weeks. Ik seventv-onc prisoners. id seat home in ll>e QA\y lashlugton city. Letter otC«». ' 5 See pnpc «'^- live In tlic various omHul sraKr ImmiBBloued a lleuieuam '":;;; lnp,.l-m.nockearlylnA.rl, 1^ li.o onth of September, mi- ■■>« ^;:w;rcve/c«ptt>redbyK,%n. Another C'rulBC of tlie J'reitideiU. She ruus the Blockade at Mew York. Honors to Commander Kodgers. Cominodore Rodgers sailed from Newport on another cruise in tlie President on the 5th of December,* witli a stitt' breeze from the nortli-northwest, and got well to sea witliout falling in with a British squadron, as lie expected to. On tlie following day he captured the Cornet, whicli had been taken from the Americans by Britisli cruisers, and then sailed southward. In the vicinity of Barbadoes lie captured a British merchantman on the 5th of January,'' on the Tth anot}\- bi8i4. er, and on the 9th another. He remained to the windward of Barbadoes until the ICtli," when he ran down into the Caribbean Sea, and cruised ""^""""y- unsuccessfully in that region for a while. He finally captured and sunk a British merchantman, and then sailed for the coast of Florida. Proceeding .lorthward, he was otf Charleston Bar on the 11th of February,'' but did not enter. He con- ^ tinned his voyjige up the coast, chasing and being chased, and, dashing through a vigilant British blockading squadron off Sandy Hook, he sailed into New York liarhor on the evening of the 18th.' Ho was greeted with lienors by the citizens of New York ; and on the 7th of March a dinner was given in compliment to him at Tammany Hall. Most of the notables of the city were present ; and it was on that occasion that Rodgers gave the following toast, which was received with great en- thusiasm by the company present, and praised by the administration newspapers throughout the country : " Peace — if it can be obtained without the sacrifice of na- tional honor or the abandonment of maritime riglits ; otherwise war until peace shall bo secured without the sacrifice of either." More than three hundred gentlemen were at the dinner, among Vrhom were many ship-masters. A toast to the commodore elicited eighteen cheers, and a song hastily written that morning was sung by one iif the guests.^ The President being in need of a thorough overhauling, the Secretary of the Navy atlered to Commodore Rodgers the command of the Giw-rriere, which might mucli sooner he made ready for sea.^ The commodore accepted the ofter, and repaired to I'liiladcliiliia, where the Guemere, 44, was being fitted out. Finding her not so near- ly ready as he liad 8U])posed \wv \ > be,' the commodore informed the secretary that he preferred to retain command of the President. But the Secretary, in the interim, had offered the President to Decatur. Rodgers courteously allowed that command- or to take his choice of vessels, when h(^ chose that which had borne the broad pen- nant of Commodore Rodgers for several years.^ Here closes the story of the naval operations of the war for the year 1813. An- other field of observation now claims our consideration. 1 Letter of Commodore Rodgers to the Secretary of the Navy, February 19, ISI.B. » See Xilea'» Register, vi., M. ' "Commodore Rodgers," said a writer at this time, " is, we conjecture, between forty and forty-flve years of age ; a raan of few words, and not conspicuous for the love of parade or dress ; but his ship, for Interior order, neatness, ele- gance, and taste, may vie with any that floats on the ocean. It is said that his discipline is perfect ; and this, perliaps, mnj account for the opinion tliat he is distant and very reserved to those under him i but his reserve in company car- rip« tlie air of the reserve of the studions man, without the least trait of hanghtiiiess, for humanity and great atteiiliou to tlio care of the youth under his command is a pleasing trait in this brave man's character."— r/ie Vobjanlhxts, Boston. ' The Guerrirre, was launched ou the 20th of Jnly, and wa« the first two-decked ship that ever properly belonged to the .\mcrican Navy.— fnopfr. ' RiKlfiers's evasion of the tihickade Was n cause of deep mortification to the Britisti, for three of their large ships of war were on tlie alert, the nearest of which was the I'lantwjenet, 74, 1'aptaln Lloyd. Rodgers expected a brush with ihem, and cleared his ship for action. Uc even flred a pun to windward as u prool of his wllllngncos to fight, but he ws not molested. On returning to Enirlnnd, Lloyd excused himself by alleging a mutiny in ills ship, aud on that 'W},'e several of ib"" ^ailors were executed. 3 A I I I 4 ^m OOK IronlwIiiM md the Flurldax. Events at Baton Konpe. CHAPTER XX)(m. "M.dlm waned the moon through the flitlinj? clouds of uit^ht. With a dnbiouH inul Khndowy gli'nniintr, Where the ramparts of Mhn» rose stilly on the sight, And the star-spangled banner was streaming. • •#•«•« And fur i^lll that wild horde of savage birth thoy decm'd, And fur »"very fearful intnision, Till the war-hatchet swift o'er their fated fortress glnam'd, Midst despair, havot, death, and confusion." A SoL'VENIK OK Four MiMB, »V C. L. S. JoNE?. yU~t VVHFAiTO, in the course of our narrative, wo liave only observofl liiiitK of liostile operations in the more soutliern portion of tlic republic, beginning with the endeavors of Tecumtlia to iiKbue t}>f Creeks, Cherokees, ("hoctavvs, iiiul other tribes in tlio Gulf ■/i'lii' to become a part of his or(>nt Indian Confederacy against ^y the wliite people. We Iiave now reached a point in the storv ■whey*' a cx>nsideration of the events of the war in that region is necessary to the unity of the history. Let us first consider ()(/■ ^jfcographical and political aspect of the Gulf region. In u former chapter we have eo//^)/|/'/'7'd llio jturciiase by and cession to tlie riiilt,i HlulM III' III'' v!i ' Territory known as LolMimiiL* %mtwnrt\ of llial TerrittU'y, at the lime of the brciiki/ig i id of the war in 1812, and bordering nil MlP (liilf of lilii^im, was a region in possession of the S|)uiiiaras, known as East and WcmI Moriilii, Tin former extended from the Perdido iiiver (now the boundary-line between the Ht;itt> of Florida and Alabama) eastward to the yVtIantic Ocean, including the great penin- sula lying south of Georgia, and stretching over almost six degivis oriatitiidc. Tlic latter extended westward from the Perdido t(/ (as the Si)aiiiar(ls claimed) I lie islMud of Orleans, on the Mississij)pi. The northern boundary was partly on and jiartlya little below the thirty-first parallel. During the autumn of 1810, and Avinter of 1810 and 1811, movements were iiiimini- rated which finally led to the absolute jxissession of l)oth Floridas by the T'nitnl States. In October, that portion of the tilaimed Spanish territory lying on the Mi- sissippi became the tlieatre of insurrectionary operations. It Avas inhabited cliiilly by persons of British and American birth. These seized the old fort at I5,it(in Ivenuc; met in Convention ; deelared themselves independent of Spain ; and adopted a Aw: with a lone star iipdu if,ns the revolutionists in Texas did many years later.^ The ' These families came under the general name of Mohilinn tribes ; and their territory originally was next in crtwit lo that of Ihc Algonqiiins, stretching along the (iulf of Mcxiru fnini 111'' Ailanlic to the Mississippi River more lliiiii fix hundred miles, up the Mississippi to tlie mouth of tlic Ohio, unil uloiig llie Atlantic to the Cape Fr -. It oompriHi! n greater portion of the present State of Qeorgia, a part of South Carolina, the whole of Florida, Alabama, and Mis«is»ip- pi, and portions of Tennessee and Kentucky. The nathin was divided into tnroe grand confederacies, namely, .lf"«* invD or rrefks, Clinelnivn, and rhM:a»iii'H. The Creek confederacy included the Crei-ki pinpcr, the Nnninikg of Florlila, and the yamoDuen, ■ r Sit raniiahn, of Georgia. The Creeks occupied the ciuutry fi-om the Atlantic westward to the high lands which separato the waters oftlv >'' bama and Tombigbee Rivers. The (;hoctnws inhabited the beoutlful country bordering npop ibfl Oulf of Mexico, i.u.l extending west of tliu i lo the Mississippi. The Cherokces were the mountaineers of the South, nnd Inhabited the veiy benutlfiil land extending from the Car Ilua Broad River on the cast to the Alabama on the west, iiicluilinu the whole of the upper portion of Oeorgia from v head watei-s of the Alatamaha to those of the Tennessee. It is one of the most dcllghtftil regions in the United Sisi' » See page 131. 5 There was a family named Kemper In that region who hail snfl'ereri much at the hands of the 8p:>i \u.l\ T' « OF TlIK WA]l or 18 12. 739 Events at Baton Ronije. \Vc»t Florida claimed by the United Stales, Military Mo\ imonts therein. Intermeddling of a Brltlxh OfHclul. ' ISIO. „fthe8parcople of Bayon Kara, and others In the neighboihood, to Mkt up iirms. Tliey assembled at St. Franclsvlllc, marched upon Baton Uoiige, took it by suri)rise afcer a slight skirm- i-h, in which Governor firandpre was killed, and the town and fort became the possession of the Insurgents. The f-IJiiniards fled eastward, some to Mobile, nnd some to Pcnsacola. The revoliiticniists then assemlvled in Convention ; irepnrcd and Issued a declaration .if Independence, modeled after that omposed by Jcffert ju, and declared their rljjht ami intention to form treaties and establish commerce with other nations. ' His professhms were true. He was dispatched to the Tomblgbee by the Convention fo/ the purpose of enllstlnrred#^■e ;i!iir« in the diingeous of Moro Clsile.— See Plckett'B UlxUiry vf JfeV-iir !i., 235. lauuary S. ^ ■1' I. !'' Jfipj^ Y40 PICTOKIAL FIELD-BOOK Sveute near Mobile. Admlaition of Louisiana. IniinrrectioQ In KuHt Flurid^, stall Ruch action, Governor Claiborne had already asserted the jurisdiction of tlio United States over a considerable portion of Florida eastward of the jVIississippl, aft. er some opposition from Ful- war Skipwith, formerly a dii). ^;?-r? ^^ // yp lomatic agent of the Uiiittd ^ / yi l/i > ' Hyf — ' States in France, who had been I (jf-'l/W/hy elected governor of their do- main by the insurgents. Find- ing himself supported chiutiv by the dregs of society only, Skij)with yielded, and retired to private life. Soon uti- crward, a small detachment of American regulars, under Captain (afterward jMajnr General) Edmund P. Gaines, appeared before Mobile and demanded its snrreinlcr. Governor Folch refused. Presently Colonel Cushing arrived from New Orleans with gun-boats, artillery, and troops, and encamped three weeks at Orange (4rovc, wlien he marched up to Fort Stoddart, and formed a cantonment at Mount Vernon, He came professedly to defend the Spaniards against the insurgents, who made uo farther efforts to obtain possession of Mobile. Louisiana was admitted into the Union as a state on the 8th of April, 1812. By a separate act, that part of Florida, as far eastward of the Mississippi River as tlic •April 14, Pearl River, was annexed to that new state;* and by another act the ii>- ^®**' maining territory, as far as the Perdido River, eastward of Mobile Bay (with the exception of the post of Mobile, yet in the hands of the Sj)aiiiards), ^vas » M 14 ^"nexed to the Territory of Mississii»pi,'' then asking for admission as a state. An insurrection had broken out in East Florida in the mean time. Its chief llieatro was on the coast, near the Georgia border. Brigadier General George Mathews, of the Georgia militia (a soldier of the Revolution), who had been a])pointed commis- sioner under the secret act of the session in 1810-'ll,to secure the province should it be offered, was the chief instigator of the disturbance, for the Georgians were anx- ious to seize the adjoniing territory. Amelia Island, lying a little below the bound- ary-line, seemed to be a good as well as justifiable base of operations. The fine harl)or of its capital, Fernandina, was a place of great resort for smugglers during the days of the embargo ; and, as a neutral port, might be made a dangerous place. The pos- session of this island and harbor was therefore important to the Americans. A piv- tcxt for seizing it was not long wanting. The insurgents planted the standard of revolt on the blufli' opposite the town of St. Mary's, on the border-line, in March, I8I1;. Some United States gun- boats, under Commodore Campbell, were in the \ y (7V^, /^ y^y'<^—t:^ Oi^-* St. Mary's River, and Ma- thews had some United States troops at his command near. \u^..p^C^^-^^ '>?^^^^^ • 1812. On the 17th of^Lnrch'' the insurgents two hundred and twenty in nnmhor, sent a flag of truce to Fernandina demanding the surrender of the town ami island. The American gun-boats came down at about the same time. The author- ities bowed in submission, and General Mathews, assuming the character of a pro- tector, took possession of the place in the name of the United States. Commodoiv Campbell declared, in a letter to Don Justo Lopez, the commandant of Amelia Island, that the naval forces were not intended to act in the name of the United States, "l)ut to aid and sujjport," he said, "a large proportion of your countrymen in anus, wlm have thought proper to declare themselves independent."' A flag was raised over Fernandina on wliich %^Trc inscribed the words "T'oaj/w- ' MS. Letter In the Navy Department. OF THE WAR OF 1812. 741 rrccllon lu East Flurid;i. iristliction of the ic MissiHsippi, aft- josition tVom Ful- th, formerly :x i\\\\- >nt of the United ancc, who luiAbcon ernor of their do- ( insurgents. Fiiul- f 8npi)ortc(l chietly ■ate life, ^oon aft- 1 (.iftcrward Major idotl its MirrtMiilcr. from New Orleans 1 at Orange Grove, it at Mount Vernon, rents, who made uu f April,! SI 2. By a issippi River as the another act the re- vard of Mobile Bay the Spaniards), was for admission as a ne. Its chief theatre George Mathews, of n aiipointed commis- thc province should Georgians were anx- ,tlc below the bound- ons. The fine luivlior rlers during the days ous place. The pos- ■, Americans. A pro- ited the standard of •-line, in March, leii Seiiure of Kaat Florida by United Stutes Offlcinls. Expcditiun agaluKt Mobile. General Wilkinson. Id twenty in number, lider of the town and le time. The authoi- L character of a im- Istates. Connnodoiv lant of Amelia Ishuul, |e United States, "Init Itrymcn in arms, -ffhii the words "r<«_F- puli lex sahitia" and on the 19th the town was formally given up to the United States autliorities. A custoni-liouse was immediately establisiied ; the floating prop- erty in the harbor was considered under the protection of the United States flag, and smuggling ceased. Then the insurgents, made eight lumdred strong by re-en- forcements from Georgia, and accompanied by some troops furnished by General Ma- thews, besieged the Spanish governor in St. Augustine, for it was feared that the Hrit- ish might help the Spaniards in recovering what they had lost in the Territory. Tiiis was a kind of lilibusteriiig which the United States government would not counte- nance, and David B. Mitcliell,' govi-inor of Georgia, was appointed to supersede Ma- thews* as comni'ssioner. But the change of men did not eft'ect a change • April lo, of measures. Mitchell believed that Congress would sanction Mathews's ^^^'^' proceedings. The Lower House did actually pass a bill,^ in secret session, "Ji'neai. authorizing the President to take possession of East Florida. The Senate rejected it, for it was not desirable, at the moment when war had been declared against Great. Britain, to provoke hostilities with another power uiuiecessarily. There was incon- sistency in it, which the Opposition were not slow to perceive and make use of. "Say nothing now," they said, " about Sir James Craig, of Canada, and John Ilenry,^ or Copenhagen."^ They denounced the whole movement oi' the government in Flor- ida, East and West, as dastardly — a seizure of the possessions of a friendly power "by Madison's army and navy." We have observed that the United States claimed, under the act of the cession of Louisiana, all of West Florida, including Mobile ; and that a large portion of that territory had been annexed to that of Mississipj)i. When the Congress and the Cabinet had determined upon war with Great Britain in the winter and spring of 1S12., tiie importance of the post of Mobile to the United States was very apparent, and as early as March in that year. General Wilkinson, then in command of the United States troops in the Southwest, Avas ordered to take jjossession of it. At near the dose ofMarch'^ he sent Commodore Shaw, with a detachment of sjun-boats, to . r> ? c 1312 occupy the Bay of Mobile and cut oft" communications with Pensacola ; and Lieutenant Colonel Bowyer, then stationed with a respectable number of troops at Fort Stoddart, about forty miles above Mobile, was ordered to march on the latter post at a day's notice, for the purpose of investing Fort Charlotte. Wilkinson left New Orleais on the 29th of March, and embarked on board the sloop Alligator. The troops were ordered to rendezvous at Pass Christian. The weather was unfavorable for the schooner, and ihe general took a barge. He came near losing his life by the upsetting of this little vessel. He and his fellow-jiassen- i,'crs clung to its upturned keel a long time, when, exhausted and famishing, they were jjicked up by some Spanish fishermen, who towed their barge ashore and right- ed it, and allowed the rescued men to proceed. Tliey reached Petit Coquille at mid- 'litfht, and on the following morning an express was sent to Boyer with orders for lum to come dow^n the river, and take a position opposite the little village of Mobile. Tlie troops from New Orleans arrived in Mobile Bay on the 12tli of April,'' and at two o'clock the next morning landed oi)posite the site of the Pavilion, not far from the fort, then commanded by Captain Cayet.ano Perez.* The garrison was surprised. The first intimation given them of the presence of an enemy was the sounding of Wilkinson's bugles for an advance. Six hundred men, in column, ap- peared before Fort Charlotte at noou, and demanded its surrender. The negotia- •> 1812. ' Iliivirt B. Mitchell wns a native of Scotland, and at this time was forty-seven years of ape. He arrived at Savannah ill 1TS3, to take possession of property there which had been bequeathed to him, where he studied law. lie became bo- lirltor general of Georjria in 17(15, and for several years held various offices civil and military. He was elected governor orGoorRln In ISO!), and held that office until 1S13. lie was re-elected in ISIB. He was actl\o in public affairs until hie ilratli, which occurred In lialdwin County, Oeorgla. ' See pages 21fl to 221 Inclusive. ' Note 4, paijc 17T. ' On the 13th, General Wilkinson issued a proclamation and sent It into the town of Mobile, In which he assured the iiihabitnits that he came not to Injure, but to protect them, and to extend over them the rltjhtftil Jurisdiction and laws "ttUc United Slates. He gave permission to those who chose to leave the place, to go, with their goods, in safety. r 1 i I'l Hif 742 PICTORIAL FIELD-BOOK Surrender of Mobile by the Bpimiardn. Teiincssocnim iinrter Andrew JiickHon preparing for War. tiotis to tliat end were sliort, and on the 15tl» the Spaniards evacuated the fort and retired to I'ensacola. The Americans at once entered, took |)ossession, and procecilcd to strengthen tlic j)ost. Wilkinson sent nine ])ieees of artillery to Mobile I'ojnt which were ))lacelouiit for tif ** Octol)6r 21. teen hundred Tennesseeans to bo sent to New Orleans to re-enforce Gen- eral Wilkinson. Blount made a requisition upon Jackson for that purpose, and the general at once entered upon that military career wliich rendered his name inuiiortal. On the 10th of December, a day long romeml)ered in IMiddle Tennessee because i>( deep snow and intense cold, Jackson's troops, over two tliousand in number, assem- bled at Nashville, bearing clothing for both cold and warm weather. When organ- ized, they consisted of two regiments of infantry of seven hundred men each, com- manded respectively by Colonels William Ilall and Thomas II. Benton, and a cnrp< of cavalry six hundred and seventy in number, under Colonel John Coffee. William B. Lewis, Jackson's near neighbor and friend, M'as his quartermaster; and his briijado inspector was William C.-irroll, a young man from Pennsylvania. The troops won composed of tlic best })liysical and social materials of the st.'ite, many of the youiii; men being representatives of some of the first families in Tennessee in jwiiit of posi- tion; and on the 7th of January, 181;3, when every thing was in readiness, the little army went down the Cumberland liiver in a flotilla of small boats, excepting tlif mounted men, whom Coffee led across the country to join Jackson at Natchez, on tlie > Sco page ISO. » Partou's /i/,' o/Amlrew Jackson, l.,3fli5. k«»n preparing for War. iitctl tl\o fort and oil, aixl \ir(>(H'('(UMl to Mo^'ili' Voiiit, 0, lK>i^'^ souniUy sjiccch in the streets ily Bhown his ywivr- riir an " old granny." oieet any that niitrlit ith (gratitude, aiitl i\(- fWar wrote a eordiul icer publiely thanked te the State of Tenues- awaiting orders to jro s of the government subjugating Caiuidii. ^ disaster at Detroit, •oops on the Xortlicm s aT\d an invasion ot Avas also impressed pernor I>lount for fil- ms to re-cnforee Uen- that purpose, and tlie d his name inmiortiil Tennessee because ol ud in number, assem- ather. When orsraii- idrod men each, com- Ik'uton, and a corps „hn Coffee. William ister; and his brigade ia Tlie troops wero o','many of the yoniK ossee in pmnt of poJi- iu readiness, the littk' |l boats, exceptin;/ tk Ison at Natchez, on Ac ,/ ,1 mb-eto Jackson, 1., 305. »V OF THE WAIl OF 18 12. 743 The TcuncsBecaiiB on the MlHtisHlppI Ulvcr. Their Trcutmeut by the (luvernmcnt. Jackaou'n KludnoaR, Mississippi. With sly sarcasm, wlmso shaft was pointed at some New York and Pennsylvania militiamen on the Niagara frontier at that time, the energetic leader, ill !i letter to thc! Secretary of War, said : " I am now at the head of 2070 volunti-ers, the dioicest of our citizens, who go at the call of their country to execute the will of the government, who have no constitutional serii})les, and, if thc government orders, will rejoice at the opportunity of placing the American eagle on the ramparts of 3fo- hili\ I'ensacola, and Fort Auynstine, effectually banishing from the SoaUiern coasts all liritish inrtuence." Jackson Avas then in his prime of manhood, being forty-six yeare of age. After many stirring adventures among the ice in the Cumberland and the Oliio, and the Hoods and tempests of the Mississippi, for nine-and-thirty days, the little flo- tilla reaclieil Natchez," a thousand miles, by the rotite it liad taken, from •February is, its place of departure. Colonel Cotlee, with his mounted men, was al- ''*'■'• ready near tliere to welcome them. The troops were in glorious 8])irits. Tiie love (if adventure had been heightened by its gratification, and all were im|)aticnt to push forward to New Orleans, a land of warmth and beauty as it aj)j)eared to tiieir imag- inations. The officers, especiiilly, wished to go rapidly forward, for they dreamed of ;,'iory in the conquest of Mobile and Pensacola, and delicious resting-places among the orange groves of the Gulf shore. Tiu-y were il '^appointed. A messei ger had ar- rived at Natchez with orders from AVilkinson for them to remain where they were, as lie had no instructions concerning them or their employment in his department, nor liad lie any (piarters prepared for their accommodation. lie was evidently ll'arftil of being superseded by Jackson, who was a major general of volunteers in the United States service, for he said in his letter to that leader that caused him to halt, tiiat he slionld not think of yielding his command until regularly relieved by superior aii- tiiority. Jackson disembarked his troops, and encamped them in a jjleasant spot near \ateliez, to await farther orders. February passed by, and the -^arly flowers of March were budding and blooming, and yet the Tennessee army was at Natchez. On the first of that ntonth Jackson wrote an impatient letter to the Secretary of War. lie saw little chance for the em- liloynient ofliimself and his followers in the South, and suggested that they might be usefnl in the North. lie hud gone to the field as an tuiselfish patriot, and, as he said in his letter to Wilkinson, "had marched with the s])irit of a true soldier to serve his toiintry at any and "every point where service coidd be rendered." Day after day he waited anxiously for orders to move. At length he was cheered by the receipt of a letter from the War Department. His heart beat quickly with the thrill of delight- ful e.\pectations as lie broke the seal. Icy coldness fell upon his spirits for a moment when his eyes perused the contents. It read thus: "Sin, — The causes of embodying and inarching to New Orleans the corps under yonr coimnar.d having ceased to exist, you Avill, on the rec(}ipt of this letter, consider it as dismissed fro'ii public service, and take measures to have delivered over to Major General Wilkinson all the articles of jiublic property which may have been put into its possession." To this was appended a cold tender of the thanks of the President to Jackson and his conis, and the signature of John Armstrong, the new Secretary of War, who, on the date of the letter, had been only two days in office. That Avas practically a cruel letter, under thc circumstances. It j)lacod the little itnny in a sad plight, for it was dismissed from service without i)ay, sufficient clotl» Ing, means of transportation, provisions, or accommodations for the sick, more than five hundred miles from their homes by the nearest land route, which lay much of the way through a wilderness roamed by savages, Jackson instantly resolved on diso- bedieuce. lie determined not to dismiss the men until they were restored to their liL.iios; and with that decision and coura-Tfe in assuming responsibility which always marked his career, he made every necessary preparation possible for a return to Ten- Jackaon'a flery Lettent. Return ii htu Troupa to Noahvllle. His pecuniary Truoblm on tbeir Account. m nesHco, at large exi)oiiHi', ami without any money. Tie impressed wagons and teams, and gave orders for pay on the (luarter-muster ot'tiie Suuthorn Department. lu likt manner he incurred other exj)enae8. So confident were the merchants of Natchez in his integrity and tlie justice of their government, that they turned over to iiini l;iicr(. (luantities of shoes and clothing, telling him to pay for them at Mashville when tun. venient. * Meanwhile Jackson had written fiery letters to the President, the Secretary of War, Governor lilount, and General Wilkinson. ' He despised the latter, and suspiicted liim of sinister designs; and when, in due time, he received a reply from that officer, in which he suggcmted that great public service miglit be rendered by promoting enlist- ments into the regular army, Jackson's anger knew no bounds. lie watched for re- cruiting officers \y ladies of Knoxvilk' feelings of great dis- 1,1 in the War of 1812. hver his head for some litors looked to him for larger than his entire ly to appeal to the na- lias H. Benton was hie intimated to hun that . the President and his iicssee in the Avar, the fiwHied aronnd its tmnllrf Ines Iti^forthenKentsotthf l,r ana unusual conduct to to Ill-ton's U/e iifJaff!»"i'' '••*"■ Ips from NashvUle. Oncwivss l,Ulery, performed by the lute Iwere eighteen star, in orm'. Ithwart. Under the.c«ercOe Xttle-^oundofthelkpubh'- T- lbnrrylOtl.,lH13." Bclo«»ll. Ibcautlful fancy lutestring, to. fcaid- " While 1 admire tho * Ithat prompted the InrtK-H tot*- Vcommandhavonothadon, |,f a war tempest soon appeared in tho Southern tirinaniont, and .I.-ickson was not allowed to remain long in (luiet on his plantation. Ilritisii emissaries, ))ale ;iiiil dusky, were busy among the Indians of the (iiiU' region, endeavoring to stir them 111) to war against the Amerieans around them, hoping thereby to divide and weaken the military power of the United States, and lessen the danger that menaeed (Canada with invasion and con(|ue8t. Chief among these emissaries in zeal and intliience was 'IVcumlha, the great Shawnoesc warrior, who, as early as the spring of 1811, as we liave seen, had, with patriotic designs, visited the Southern tribes, and labored to se- luiv their alliance with Northern and Western savages in a grand confederation, whoso prime object was to stay the encroachments of the white man. lie went among the Seminoles in Florida, the Cherokees and Creeks in Westiin ( Jeorgia and in Alahama, and the DesIMoines in Missouri, but without accomplishing little more than sowing the seeds of discontent, which might in time germinate into open hostility. He ntiirnod to his homo on the Wabash just after the battle of Tippecanoe,* . Novemhor, which his unworthy brother had rashly brought on, and which destroyed ***"• his hopes of a purtdy Indian confederacy. Thereafter his ))atriotic efforts were put forth in alliance with the British, who gladly accepted the aid of the cruel savages of the Northwest. In the autumn of 1812, after the surrender of Detroit and the Michigan Territory iiromised long (piiet on that frontier, Tecumtha Avent again to the Ciilf region. lie took his brother, the Prophet, with him, partly to employ him as an instrument in managing the superstitions of the Indians, aiul ])artly to prevent his doing mistdiief at home. They were accompanied by about thirty warriors. The Clioctaws and Chiek- asaws, ainonrj whom they j. sed on their way, would not listen favorably to Teeum- tlia's seductive words ; but the Seminoles in Flf)rida and (Jeorgia, and the Creeks in Alabama, lent to hinr Avilling ears. He was among the latter in October, where he crossed the Alabama Kiver at Autauga, in the lower i)art of the present Aiit.'iuga County, and there addressed the assembled Creeks for the first tinu?. His elotinenco, Ills patriotic appeals, and his fame as a warrior Avon him many folloAvers, and Avith these and his OAvn retinue he Avent on to CoosaAvda on the vVlabania,' and at the Hick- ory Ground addressed a large concourse of Avarriors avIio had flocked to see and hear the mighty ShaAvnoesc, Avhose exploits in the buffalo-chase, on the Avar-path, and in tiie council had tilled their ears, even in boyhood, Avith wondrous tales of achieve- ments won. It Avas a successful daj^, and Tecumtha Avas greatly encouraged. He iTossed the Coosa, and Avent boldly forward in the direction of the great falls of the Tallapoosa (in the soutlnvest part of the present Tallapoosa County) to Toockabatcha, the ancient Creek capital, Avhere Colonel HaAvkins, the United States Indian Agent, had called a great council of the Creek.s. HaAvkins Avas liighly esteemed by them, :!iid at his call full five thousand Indians responded in person, besides many negroes ami white people mingled Avith them. Tecumtha approached this great gathering Avith Avell-feigned modesty. He kept at the outer circle of spectators until the conclusion of the agent's tirst day's address, when, at the head of his thirty followers from the Ohio region, he marched Avith dig- nity into the square, all of them entirely naked excepting tiieir flaps and orimnunts. Tiieir faces Avere intcd black, and their heads were adorned Avith eagles' feathers, while buffalo tails dragged behind, suspended by bands around their Avaists. Like appendages Avere attaclied to their arms, and their whole appearance Avas as hideous ' This Indian town was at the confluence of the Coosa and Tallapoosa RIvcrB, where they form the Alabama. It was on the western side of the Alabama, lu the sonthenslcrii part of Autauga Co\inty. ili IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) ^ /. :/. ^ ^ A. f/. «« 1.0 I.I 11.25 ui liii S us 120 U 11.6 p% <^ /i 7. c# Photographic Sciences Corporation 33 MEST MAM STREET WEBSTER, N.Y. 14580 (716) 872-4503 ^\% iV \ :\ ^%* 'F^^ tt. i 1 1 il ! Ill In I "746 PICTORIAL FIELD-BOOK Tecumtha at a great Council He traverses the Creek Country. Ills Threat and U« Fuimimcni, as possible, and their bearing uncommonly pompous and ceremonious. They marched round and round in the square, and then, approaching the Creek chiefs, they conlially gave them the Indian salutation of a shake at arm's length, and exchanged tobacco in token of friendsiiip. Only one chief (Captain Isaac, of Coosa wda) refused to irittt Tecumtha. On his head were a pair of buffalo horns, and these he shook at the Shaw- noose visitor with contempt, for he said Tecumtha was a bad man, and no greater than he.i Tecumtha appeared in state in the square each day, but kept silence until Hawkins had finished his business and departed for the agency on the Flint River. Tlien ho was silent no longer. That night a grand council w as held in the great round-house. It was packed with eager listeners. In a fiery and vengeful speech Tecumtha poured forth eloquent and incendiary words. He exhorted them to abandon the customs of the pale-faces and return to those of thair fathers. He begged them to cast away tlie ])low and the loom, and abandon the culture of the soil as unbecoming noble Indiuii warriors, as they were. He warned them that servitude or extinction at tlie hands of the white race would speedily be their doom, for they were grasping and cruel; and iie desired thtm to dress only in the skins of beasts which the Great Spirit had gixen them, and to use for weapons of war only the bow and arrow, the war-club arid the scalp'ng-knife. He concluded by informing them that their friends, tiie Brit- ish, had sent him from the Great Lakes to invite them out upon the war-path for the purpose of expelling all Americans from Indian soil, and that the powerful Kiiiij of Englanvl was ready to reward them handsomely if they would light under liis ban- ner. The wily Prophet at the same time, who had been informed by the British when a comet would appear, declared to the excited wa»'riors that they would see the arm of Tecumtha, like pale fire, stretched out on the vauli: of heaven at a certain time, and thus they would know by that sign when to begin the war. It was almost dawn be- fore this famous council adjourned, and then more than half o^ the braves present had resolved on war against the Americans. Tecumtha, full of encouragement, went forth, visiting all of the important Creek towns, and enlisting many recruits for the British cause. Among the most distin- guished of these was Weathersford, a powerful, handsome, sagacious, brave, and elo- quent half-blooded chief. But others equally eminent withstood the persuasions of the great ShaAvnoese. One of the most conspicuous of these was the Big Warrior of Toockabatcha, whose name was Tustinuggee-Thlucco. Tecumtha was extremely anx- ious to win liim, but the Big Warrior remained true to the United States. A length the angry Shawnoese said, with vehemence, as he pointed his finger in the liii; War- rior's face, " Tustinuggee-Thlucco, your blood is white. You have taken my red- sticks and my talk, but you do not mean to fight. I know the reason. You do not be- lieve the Great Spirit has sent me. You shall believe it. I will leave directly, and go straight to Detroit. When I get there I will stamp my foot upon the ground, ami shake down every house in Toockabatcha !" The Big Warrior said nothing, but Icrj pondered this remarkable speech.^ It was, indeed, a remarkable speech. Events soon proved it to be prophetic. Nat- ural phenomena — one that might be foretold by astronomers, and the other always beyond the knowledge of mortals — combined to give tremendous effect to Tecumthas words and mission. The comet, the blazing " arm of Tecumtha" in the sky, apripared; and at about the time when the common Indians, who believed in the great Shaw- noese and his mystical brother, knew, by calculation, that Tecumtha must have ar- rived m Detroit, there was heard a deep rumbling beneath the ground, and a heav- ing of the earth that made the houses of Toockabatcha reel and totter as if about to fall. The startled savages ran out of their huts, exclaiming, " Tecumtha is at Detroit I Tecumtha is at Detroit! We feel the stamp of his foot!" It was the shock of an > Pickett's History qf Alabama, 11., 342-3. « Pickett's Bittan/ qf Alabama,i\.M OF THE WAR OF 18 12. 747 eat and Its Fulflllinenl. , They marched ifs, thoy cordially changed tobacco I refused to greet lOok at the iSliaw- ,1, and no greater ice vantil Hawkins , Kiver. Then he freat round-house. Tecunitha poured on the customs of a to cast away the ming noble Indiiiu ction at the hands rasping and cruel; le Great Spirit had ri-ow, the war-cluh >ir friends, the Brit- lie war-path for the ! powerful King of iifht under his ban- by the British when would see the arm , a certain time, and ,'a8 almost dawn he- braves present had le important Creek ing the most distin- [ious, brave, and clo- the persuasions of the Big Warrior of was extremely anx- |l States. A length ^^er in the Bij: War- lave taken my red- ion. You do not be- .ave directly, and go )on the ground, and ,id nothing, but Icrj I bo prophetic. Nat- lid the other always JeffecttoTecumtha's lnthesky,ari^wed: I in the great Shaw- Imtha must have ar- Iground, and a heav- 1 totter as if about to lumthaisatDetrmt! Ivas the shocJ(J)f^an It.e Creek Natli)U and their Pimitliin. General James Rnbert8i)n. C'hoctawH and ChlckasawH. earthquake that was felt all over the Gulf region in December, 1812.' But it did not move the Big Warrior from liis allegiance. Tecumtha's visit proved to be a most sad one for the Creeks as a nation. It brought terrible calamities upon them — first in the form of civil war, and then in almost utter destruction at the hands of the exasperated Americans. lio left seeds of discontent to germinate and expand into violent agitations. Chief was arrayed against chief, iind family against family, on the question of peace or war with the Americans. They were strong as a nation, numbering about thirty thousand souls, of whom at least seven thousand were warriors ; yet iicace was the guarantee of their exist- ence. They Avcre hemmed in by pow- erful and rapidly-increasing communi- ties of white people, and between them and the Northern t ibes were the Choc- iaw8 and Chickasaws,^ over whom that i;rand old patriot. General James Rob- ertson, held a powerful sway, like that of a kind fT,ther over loving children.^ Tliese stood as a w^ll of separation bc- tuoen the actual followers of Tecumtha north of the Ohio, and those in the Gulf region whom he was endeavoring to reduce from the pursuits of peace into the war-path under tlie British banner. They were not only opposed to an alli- ance with the British, but Avere ready to fight for the Americans, " My heart is straight," said tlie brave Too-tuma- stnhblc, the " medal chief" of the Choc- taivs, " and I wisli our father, the Pres- ident, to know it. Our young warriors want to fight. Give us guns and plen- ' See Pickett'i Alabama, li., 240. Drake, in his Hook iifthe Indimm <\f Xorih Avierica, eleventh edition, page 024, men- lions ttint circnmstance as occinring in December, 1811, and cites Francis M'Henry as denying that if. ever took place. Dut Mr. Pickett, in his carefully-prepared work, .says this earthquake was remembered by all th3 old settlers, and places tlie (inte in December of 1812, which agrees with the incidents of Tecumtha's mission there. ' The Choctaws inhabited the country along the Mississippi from the northern borders of the Choctaw domain to the Oliio River, oud eastward beyond the TenuesKee to the lands of the Cherokees and Shawnoese. 'James Robertson, who has jnitly been called the Father of Tennessee, was a native of Virginia, lie emigrated to the rich regions l)eyond the mountains about the year 17B0, and on tht banks of the Watauga, a branch of the Tennci-- fee.t"! made a settlement, and lived there several years. He was often called upon to contest for life with the savages of llie forest. In 1770 he was chosen to command a fort built near the month of the Watauga, lii 1770 Captain Rob- ertson WHS at the head of a party emigrating to the still richer country of the Cumberland, and on Christmas eve of that ye,ir tliey arrived upon ihe spot where Nashville now stands. Others joined them, and in the following summer they numbered about two hundred. A settlement was established, and Robertson fmuided the city of Nashville. The Cher- okee UAb.Bs attempted to destroy the settlement, hut, through the skill and energy of Robertson aud a few compau- inostlint cnlnmity was averted. They bnilt a log fort on the high bank of the Cumlierland, and in that Ihe setlleis •xm defended against full seven hundred Indians in 1781. The settlement was erected into a county of North Carolina, m\ Roliertson was its first representative In the State Legislature. In 1700 the " Territory sonth of the Ohio River" n> formed, and Washington appointed Robertson brigadier gencriil and commander of the militia in it. In thr.t ca- pacity he wns very active In defense of the settlements against the savages. At the same time he practiced the most eia''t jiirtlce toward the Indians, aud when these children of the forest \i irc no longer hostile, his kindness toward the op- P'esfeil nmnng them made him very popular. At length, when the emissaries, white and red, from the British in the N'orth t>ej{nn to sow the seeds of discontent among them at the breaking out of the war in 1812, the government wisely inpnlnled General Robertson agent to the Chickasaw tribe. He was ever wntchfnl of the national interest. As enrly as March, 1S13, he wrote : " The Chickasaws are in u high strain for war against the enemies of the country. They have ilcclared war against nil passin;; Creeks who attempt to go through their nation. They have declared, If the United States "ill tnke n cnmpnign against the Creeks fbecaui i of some murders committed by them near the mouth of the Ohio], that ilicy are ready to give them aid." A little later he suggested the eraployr.-.ent of companies of Chickasnws and Choc- 1.1WS to defend the frontiers and to protect travelers, and he was seconded by Pitchlyn, an active and faithful Indian. Dnrinp; the war General Robertson rcm"lned at his post among the Indians, and invited his aged wife to "hare his pnv.itions 1)» quaintly saying to her by a messenger, "If you shall come this way, the very best chance for rest and tke\) which my bed affords shall be given you, 'irovlded aiwn;-i5 that I shall rij'ain a part of the same." He was theu fc- ii i ' M I 1 1 ' ■; 1 748 PICTORIAL FIELD-BOOK Oivll War In the Creek Nation. TliR white Inhabitants in Peril. The Mllitln called ont. ty of powder and lead, wc fight your enemies. We fight much ; Ave fight stroiij,', .... Our warriors good Americans — fight strong. You tell him so. You, General Robertson, know me ; my heart straight. Choctaw soldiers good soldiers. Give epaulettes, guns, and whisky — fight strong." Tecumtha had enjoined the leaders of the war-party to keep their intentions sec et and for many months, while civil war was kindling in the bosom of the Creek na- tion because of a powerful and zealously-opposing peace-party, and the land was filled with quarrels, fights, murders, and violence of every kind, it was difficult for the public authorities to determine with any certainty whether or no aiiy considera- ble number of the Creeks would join the British standard. Colonel Hawkins tlic agent, believed that nothing more serious than a war between native factious Avould ensue. It was well known that Peter M'Queen, a half-blood of Tallahassee, who was one of the leaders of the Avar-party, was doing every thing in his power to accomplish that result, while Big Warrior Avas equally active in eflbrts to avert so great a e.n- lamity. On one hand was seen the hideous " Avar-dance of the Lakes," taught them by Tecumtha, and on the other the peaceful, quiet, anxious, determined deportment of men resolved on peace. Tlie Avhole Creek nation became a seething caldron of l)assion — of angry words and threatenings, which were soon developed into sanguin- ary deeds. On account of the civil Avar raging here, and there, and every where in the Creek country, the white settlers were placed in great peril. In the spring of 1813 thev Avere made to expect an exterminating bloA\'. They knew that a British squadron Avas in the Gulf, and in friendly intercourse with the Spanish post at Pensacola. They knew that the fiery M'Queen and other leaders had gone to that post Avith about three hundred and fifty warriors, Avith many pack-horses, intended doubtless for the conveyance of arms and supplies from the British to the war-party iu the interior. Every day the cloud of danger palpably thickened, and the inhabitants of the most populous and more immediately threatened districts of the Tombigbee and Tensaw petitioned the governor of Mississippi for a military force sufficient for their protec- tion. The governor Avas willing, but General Flournoy, who succeeded General Wil- kinson in command of the Seventh Military District, persuaded by Colonel Hawkins, the Indian agent, of the civilization and fi'iendly disposition of the Creeks, would not grant their prayer.* Left to their own resources, the inhabitants of the menaced districts prepared to defend themselves as well as they might. They sent spies to Pensacola, who returned Avith the positive and startling intelligence that British agents, under the sanction of the Spanish governor, were distributing supplies freely to M'Queen and his follow- ers, that leader having exhibited to the chief magistrate of Florida a list of Creek toAvns ready to take up arms for the British, in which, in the aggregate, Avt re nearly five thousand warriors. On hearing this report, Colonel James Caller, of Washing- ton, called on the militia to go out and intercept M'Queen and his party on their r^ turn from Pensacola. There was a prompt response, and he set out with a few fol- feventy-one, and she sixty-three yeara of age. She wont to him, and was at his side when he died at his poet In the In- dian country the year following. His death occurred on the Ist of September, 1814, and on the 2d his remains were buried at the Agency. In 1S26 they were removed to Nashville, and, in the presence of a large conconrse of ciiizeiM. were reinterred In the cemetery there. A plain tomb covers the spot. The remains of his wife rest by his slde.ud the observer may there read the following inscripticms : " GENKBA.L James ^.obkbtbon, the founder of Nashville, was bom in Virginia, 28th June, 1T42. Died 1st September, 1914. " CuABLOTTE R., wiffe of James Robertson, was bom In North Carolina, 2d January, 1T61. Died 11th June, 1543." She was then ninety-two years of age. Tlieir son. Dr. Felix Robertson, who waa bom In the fort, and the llrst whit! child whose bi.-th was in West Tennessee, died at Nashville in 1804. ' Thomas Flo-'raoy was a native of Georgia, and a distinguished member of the bar at Augusta, his place ofr«i- dence. lie was In feeble health at this time, and his fhrce was Inadequate to perfbrm the arduous nervices required of tliem. He was commissioned a brlgr.dier general on the 18th of June, 1812, and resigned In September, 1S14. Whra AVilklnsou was summoned to the Northern fhintler, Flournoy wag made bis successor In the Gulf region. In ISIW' he was a commissioner to treat with the Creek Indians. OF THE WAR OF 1812. 749 The Militia called ont. ne,lT42. Died 1st Septemta. Tho Militia in the Field. MuiCb of M'Queen and Ills Followers fl-om Pensacola. Battle of Burnt Com Creek. lowers, crossed the Tombigbec into Clarke County, passed through Jackson, and biv- ouacked on the right bank of the Alabama Kiver, at Siseniore's Ferry, opposite the southern portion of the present Monroe County, Alabama. He crossed the river on the following morning," and marched in a southeasterly direction across .jniyzo, the Escambia Kiver into the present Conecuh County, Alabama, toward tiie **"*• Florida frontier. lie had been joined m Clarke County by the famous border- er, Captain Sam Dale, and fifty men, who were en- (Tflged in the con- struction of Fort Madison, toward the northeast part of Clarke, and was now re-enforced by others from Tcnsaw Lake and Little River, under various leaders, Olio of whom was Captain Dixon IJailey, a half-blood Creek, who had been educated a' " i'delphia. Caller's command now numbered about one hundred and eighty KxO, ilivided into small companies, wel' mounted on good frontier horses, and pro- vided with rifles and shot-guns. During ihat day they reached the Wolf Trail, cross- ed Burnt Corn Creek, and bivouacked. On the morning of the 27th Caller reorganized his command. Captains Phillips, M'Farlane, Wood, and Jourdan were appointed majors, and Captain W^illiam M'Grew was created lieutenant colonel.' They were now on the main route for Pensacola, and were moving cheerily forward, down the east side of Burnt Corn Creek, when a company of fifteen spies, under Captain Dale, who had been sent iii advance to recon- noitre, came galloping hurriedly back with the intelligence that M'Queen and his parly were only a few miles distant, encamped upon a peninsula of low pine barrens formed by the windings of Burnt Com Creek, engaged unsuspectingly in cooking and eating. A hurried council was held, and it was determined to attack them. For this purpose Caller arranged his men in three columns, the right led by Captain Smoot, the left by Captain Dale, and the centre by Captain Bailey. They were upon a gentle height overlooking M'Queen's camp, and down its slopes the white men moved rapidly, and fell upon the foe. M'Queen and his party Avere surprised. They fought desperately for a few minutes, when they gave way, and fled toward the creek, followed by a portion of tho assailants. Colonel Caller was brave but overcautious, and called back tho pursuers. The re- mainder of his command were engaged in capturing the well-laden pack-horses of the enemy, and Avhen those in advance came running back, the former, panic-stricken, turned ard fled in confusion, but carrying away their plunder. Now tlie tide turned. M'Queen's Indians rushed from their hiding-places in a cano-brako with horrid yells, and fell upon less than one hundred of Caller's men at the foot of the eminence. A severe battle ensued. Captain Dale was severely wounded by a ball that struck his breast-bone, followed the ribs around, and came out near the spine, yet he continued to fight as long as any body. Overwhelming numbers at length compelled him and his companions to retreat. They fled in disorder, many of them leaving their horses behind them. The flight continued all night in much con'iision. The victory in the Batik of Burnt Corn Creek — the irst in the Creek war — rested with the Indians. Only two of Caller's command wer \ killed, and fifteen wounded. Tho casualties of the enemy arc unknown. For some time it was supposed that Colonel Caller and Major Wood had been lost. They became bewildered in the forest, and wandered about there some time. When th.;y were found they Avere almost starved, and were I The principal enbordlnate ofBcers werf PhHlips, Wood, M'Parlaue, Jourdan, Smoot, Dixon, Be.ird, Cartwright, i Crejgl), May, Bradberry, Rjbprt Caller, and >ale. I ' i: -A ill 760 PICTOUIAL FIKLD-BOOK General Clalboruv in the Creek fimntry. RcfliKte Setcler*. Mlins'a lluune foriKfi), nearly senseless. Thoy had been missinjj fifteen days ! Caller's command never re- assembled. M'Queen's retraced their stejjs to Pensucola for more military 8U|)|ilit.s.i But for the fatal word " retreat" the Indians might have been scattered to the winds. While these events were transpiring in the Indian country above Mobile, (JiiuTal F. L. Claiborne/ who Inid been a gallant soldier in Wayne's army in the Indian coun- try north of the Oliio, was marching, by orders of General Flournoy, <'rom Haton Ilouge to Fort Stoddart, on the ]Mobilo liiver, with instructions to direct lii.s priim- jial attentions to the defeiise of iSIobile. He reached Mount Vernon, in the ndrtli- ern part of the present Mobile County, three days after tlie battle of Burnt Corn • July 30, Creek." lie found the whole population trembling with alarm and tcrribK' 1813. forebodings of evil. Already a chain of rude defenses, called forts, had been built in the country between the Tombigbec and Alabama liivers, a short distance from their confluence where they form the Mobile Kivcr,^ and were tilled witli al- frighted white people and negroes, who had sought shelter in thein from the iuijx'nj- ing storm of war. Claiborne's first care was to aftbrd protection to the menaced people. He was anx- ious to march his whole force into the heart of the Creek nation, in the region of tlic Coosa and Tallapoosa Rivers, but tliis P"'lournoy Avould not allow. " If Governor Holmes [of the Mississippi Territory] shoi'ld send his militia into the Indiiin coun- try," he wrote, "he mast, of course, act on his own responsibility; the army oftlic United States, and tlie ofticers commanding it, must have nothing to do w itli it. " Claiborne was compelled to do nothing better than to distribute his troojjs tlnongli- out the stockades for defensive opcations, lie sent Colonel Carson, with two hund- red men, to the confluence of the Tombigbee aiii] Alabama Rivers, and dispatduil Captain Scott with a company to St. Stephen's, in the northeast part of Wasiiinjjton County, where they occupied an old Sjianish block-house. M.-ijor Hinds, Avitli ilra- goons, was ordered to scour the country in various directions for information ami ns a check ; and some of the militia of Washington County were placed in the stock- ades in Clarke County, between the Tombigbee and Alabama. Captain Dent w;is sent to Okeatapa, within a short distance of the Choctaw frontier, and assumed the command of a fort there. Previous to Claiborne's arrival, wealthy half-blood families had gone down the Ala- bama in boats and canoes, and secreted themselves in the thick swamps around Ten- saw Lake. There they united with white refugees in constructing a strong stockiulc around the house of Samuel Minis, an old and wealthy inhabitant of that region, situ- ated a sliort distance from the Boat-yard on Tensaw Lake, a mile east from the Ala- bama iliver, ten miles above its junction with the Tombigbee, and about two rniles below the Cut-oiF.* The building was of wood, spacious in area, and one striy in height. Strong pickets were driven around it, and fence-rails placed between thm; and, at an average distance of three feet and a half from the ground, five hnndred port-holes for musketry were made. The pickets inclosed an acre of ground, and tlie stockade was entered by two ponderous gates, one on the east and tlie other on the west. Besides Mims's house there were several other buildings within the pickets: ' Pickett's Alabama, li., 26B. Life and Timex qfGen-r,tl Sam Vale, l)y J. F. H. Clalboruc, pnges 68 to 82 Inclusive. - Fcrdinnnd Leigh Claiborne, n brother of William C. C. Claiborne, at that time governor of the Orleans Torrltiin-, was born in Snesex County, Virginia, in 1773. Ills family was one of the oldest In that commonwealth. In Ills tmii- tieth year he wr.s appointed an ensign in Wayne's army, and became much attached to Major Ilumtrnmck. Ouc uf lis sons, now (ISlH) living, bears the major's name. lie was in the battle of the Fallen Timbers, ut the Kapids of the Mm- mec, in 1704. He was statiimcd atKichmond and Norfolk after the war, holuing llrst the rank of lieuteiiimtaudllicQ of adjutant. In 1799 he was promoted to captain, and was active as such, and adjutant gencnl In the Northwest, iu,iil 1802, when he was ordered to Natchez. He resigned, settled in the Mississippi Territory, presided over the deliberating of Its Legislature, and in 1811 was appointed brigadier general of the Misf ' jsippi militia. In March, 1813, he was coiniiiis- sloned a brigadier general of volunteers in the Ignited Stales Army, and ordered to the command of the post nt Bniiii Rouge. He was nctlvo, as the text avers, during the Creek War. He was a legislative councilor of the Mlsslssipiii Tw- ritory Immediately after the close of the Creek War In 1S14, and died the following year. ' These were Forts Cnrry, Madison, Kevler, Siuqueflcld, oud White, situated upon a curve sweeping eastward of Biis- Bctt'e Creek and across Us Lead waters. * Sec Map on the uppueile ]/»(<■ OF THE WAU OF 181;!. 751 Mima's HoUM fortlM. muiiuuil \w\vr ic- nilitary suinilii's,' •reel to the' \\m\f, e Mol)iU', (ifiicnil 11 th<' luiliiiii conn- ,rnoy, A-oiu Hauui ) ilireot his ])riiiii- iion, ill the imitli- tie of IJurut Corn ahirin :iiul torrilili> lied forts, hail lii'i'ii rs, r. short distaiicf ,-ere tilled with :if- u from the iuipuml- oplo. llo was aux- in the region of tlic ow. " If (iiovernor to the Indian couii- y ; the army of tlio in"- to do with it." Ilia troops througli- son, with two huml- i'crs, and dispatchiHl part of Washiivjton jor Hinds, with (h;i- r information ami a- placed in the stock- Captain Dent was |icr, and assumed tlio gone down the Ala- 5wamps aroiuul Tcii- jicr a streng stockiulo It'of that region, situ- le oast from the Ala- md about two miles •a, and one story in [aced between them; ;ro\ind, five hundrwl re of ground, and tlw land the other on the within the pickets; li^KCB C8 to SO Inclu'lvc. fiorofthcOrleftuaTOTitop. lommonweaUh. Iuhl«l«™- lijor lliimtrumck. One oil"* V«,ttt«>eU.>l>Ul8onheM». tnmk oflioulciiautaudilion irc-illu the Northwest, ni,i'J Iresldcd over the aeliberaliou. TMttrcli,18l3,h«w«»«:o'™* J>mmau(loftUeiH«t»tB«M |»uclloroftUcMlBite>PP'T^'- )lip<)rii I'lirt of the Creek Co- itry. Furt Mini* nnd iu OccupAuU. ,e Bweeplug eastward of B;^- EC Map on the opposite V''lf' also cahins and board shelters. At tlio southwest comer was a partially-finished block-house. The whole work, which Avas called Fort Minis, was upon a slight ele- vation, yet not eligibly situated ; but such confidence had the people of the surround- iiig country in its strength, that, as soon as it was finished, they poured into it in large mimhers with their effects. It soon became the scene of a terrible tragedy that dis- Jiclled the pleasant dream of Creek civilization and friendship, and inflamed the peo- jile westward of the /Moghanios, Avho had suffered much from savage cruelty and treacherj , with a thirst for vengeance. liii '^ — -w \ lii i ii!i •t 788 PICTORIAL FIELD-BOOK Clalbornr'H Anxiety alxiat the Hettlen. Knmun nf liii|>cnri7x>d to do so," hiH coiiiniitiul. or ropliod, "an yon will porcoivo if you turn to tlio lato roj-ulatiouH of tlio V'ar Di,. jiartmout." Ajjain foilod in liisgonorous ondoavorw l>y official intorforonco, Claiborne resolved to do wliat lie might in Htrongthouing Fort .Slims. Already Lieutonaiit Os- •Jnlysis, home, and xixtoon soldiers under him, had taken post there." He now dls- l»i:i. patehed Majttr Daniel IJeasley thither, with one hundred and seventy-Kve vol- untoors, who was accompanied hy C'aptains Jack, iJatcheldor, and Middleton. Thcv "Autpnto. found seventy citizens there on volunteer duty,'' under Captains Dunn ami ' AuKHKt T. I'lummer, who were inexperienced ottieers. On the following day'^ the HttK. garrison was cheered by the presence of General Claiborne, who had come to make a jiersonal inspection of the fort. lie saw its weakness, and issued orders for it to be strengthened by the addition of two block-liouses. "To respect an enemy," ho said. wisely, " and prepare in the best possible way to receive him, is the certain means of success." He also authorized Major Beasley to receive any citizens who would assist in the defense of the station, and to issue rations to them with the other soldiers un- der his command. Under this order the seventy citizens just mentioned were en- rolled, an," luH <'()miiiaiiil. m of tht' V'ar iK- •foreiice, Clailxirnc dy LiuiiU'iiiint Os- re." lie HOW ills- k1 Hcveuty-tivc vol- Ikliadleton. 'Diev 'aptains Dunn ami wins dfiy'' till! litllo [u\ conic to make a ordors for it to hv in enemy," lie said. le certain means of 18 who would assist c other soldiers un- nentioncd were cn- r captain — the half- ck. Claiborne also )08ed of that officer, irnc from the nortli- licctaws, and he per- r should bo ready to •ty their more i)eacf- mission to penetrate before. " I liave to r zeal for the imhlic trate into the liuliau itiy approbation, and jperations.'" Flour- in the (!reek countr)- incrican troops from and uncovered, at- Itask of securing the of their constantly- good reason, that a Ibable, and the whole Irms. The stockades August, and doubt, Claiborne went up Ishamataha, the \m\- [Uy pov/erful inclina- U to visit Claihornes ived him with much md other insignia of ., and he and a hand |e' war-path under the 1 remain neutral. r general Sam Vale,V»S at Mount Ver- uon in charge of Captain Kennedy, and, with twenty mounted dragoons, and sixty men from the companies of Captains Dent and Scott, he pushed on toward Kasley Station, or Fort Easley. Major licasley, in the mean time, finding Fort Minis too small for the swelling multitude that flocked into it, commenced its enlargement by driving a new row of pickets sixty feet beyond the eastward end. The work went oil slowly and carelessly. Every day, and sometimes several times a day, the inmates were alarmed by rumors of approaching savages, until they became iuditfereut, in the belief that they were all false. On the morning of the 29th of August, two slaves (one of them belonging to John Randon, and the other to a man named Fletcher), who had been sent out r. short dis- tance from the fort to attend to some beef-cattle, came rushing through one of the wide-open gates almost out of breath, and their eyes dilated with«mortal fear. They declared that they had counted four-and-twenty painted savages on the edge of a swamp. Captain Middleton was immediately sent out with two mounted men to re- connoitre, but returned at sunset without seeing any trace of hostile Indians. Beasley charged tl c negroes with lying, and ordered them to be severely flogged for raising a false i.h'rm. Ilandon's negro received the lashes, but Fletcher, who believed the story of his slave, refused to have him flogged. This so exasperated Beasley that he ordered Fletcher to leave the fort, with his large family, by ten o'clock the next day. At that time there Avere five hundred and fifty-three souls within the stockade, con- sisting of white people, Indiars, oflicers, soMiers, and negroes. Many of them were sick, for there arose around them continually the malaria of Alabama swamps swel- tering in the rays of an August sun. Most of them were non-combatants, for the iii- fatnatcd Beasley, who believed himself and charge to be perfectly secure, had greatly weakened the garrison by sending men *,o neighboring posts from which came pite- ous cries for aid and protection. The mornirig of the- ."JOth was clear and sultry. The alarm caused by the story of the negroes on the previous day had subsided, and Fletcher, tho owner of one of them, had consented to liavc his slave whipped rather than be driven from the fort with his family. Full of confidence, Beasley at ten o'clock had dispatched a messen- serAvith a letter to General Claiborne, in which he assured his commander of his per- fect safety, and his " ability to maintain the post against any number of Indians."' The women in the stockade were preparing dinner ; the soldiers were loitering list- lessly about, or were playing cards, or lying on the ground asleep ; and almost a liuiid- n d children were playing gleefully among the cabins ard tents. Young men and maidens were dancing, and every appearance gave promise of an evening of sweet re- pose. Nothing marred the happy aspect of tlie scene but the form of Flctcher'spoor negro, who was tied up and his back bared for the lash because he had told a terri- We truth, and it was believed to be a lie. But it was a moment of awful peril. In ;i siiallow ravine, overshadowed by trees and filled with luxuriant vegetation, lay al- most a thousand Creek warriors, not more than four hundred yards from the eastern gate, preparing, like fierce and famished tigers, to spring upon their prey at the first opportune moment. They were mostly naked excepting the usual " fl.^.p." Many of them were hideously painted, and all were well armed. The prophets, in whose care were the superstitions of the dusky horde, lay with the warriors, their heads covered 'i^if 1 Mivjor Beasley to Qenerul Claiborne, August SI, ISIS. 3B iiip Irl I •4 I!} 7«4 PICTORIAL FIELD-BOOK The Indian Leaden. Qatherini; of the hmitlle 8av«Kei. False Conlldeuce of the Commnnder at Furt Minn with feathers, their faces painted black, and their medicine-bags and mat^ic rodg by their sides. It was a host devilish in ajipearance, and on a demoniac errand. WIioir',. came they ? Let us see. We liave observed that iM'Queen and l»is followors, after the battle of Hiirnt Com Creek, went back to Pensacola, where they were ajjain well supplied with ])rovisi()iis and ammunition, and instructed by the British and Indian agents there to fiirlit tin Americans, and, in the event of their being defeated, to send their women and oliil- drcn to Pensaooia. " If you should bo comjjelled to tly yourselves," they said, "ami the mericans should prove too hard for both of us, there are vessels enough to carry us otr altogether to Havana."' M'Queen was associated with Josiah Francis and William Wcathersford, both half- bloods ; the former a son of a Creek woman by a Scotchman named Francis,^ and the latter a child of Charles Wcathersford, of Georgia, by the beautiful Schoya, a half-sister of General M'Gillivray, of the Creek nation.^ Wcathersford was an ex- traordinary man ; commanding in person, powerful in physical strength, honorable, and as humane as circumstances would allow. lie was the superior of M'Qucon ami ITrancis in ability ; and when, after the return of the well-supplied Indians from Pen- sacola, there was a great gathering of warriors at Toockabatcha, on the Tallapoosa, and preparations M^re made for opening the war by an incursion into the country on the Lower Alabama, he became the principal leader.* • An(m8t20, Late in August* Wcathersford conducted his followers to the planta- ^^"'- tion of Zachariah M'Girth, not far from the site of the present villajfe of Claiborne, in Monroe County, Alabama, ninety miles below Montgomery. There lu captured some negroes, and from them learned the condition of Fort Mims. One of his captives escaped, and bore to Major Beasley intelligcjnce of impending danger, while Wcathersford for several days deliberated and prepared for an exterminatiiif,' blow. As the Indians did not make their appearance, Beasley supposed the nesm fugitive's 8tory>to be a mere fabrication ; and, as Ave have observed, the commander and the inmates of the fort were resting in fancied security, whon, on the 2fltli, Wcathersford and his host approached the ravine in which they lay on the mornin!; of the 30th. There they were again seen by the slave, who had been whipped for supposed lying on the previous day. He might have warned Beasley, which warn- ing, if heeded, might have saved the fort ; but his back was yet smarting from the severe flogging, and, fearing a repetition of it, he fled to Fort Pierce, a stockade about two miles from Fort Mims. At noon the garrison drum at Fort Mims beat for dinner. Tlie eastern gate stoml wide open, with some drifted sand against it. The first tap was the signal for the savages to rise from their cover and rush to the fort ; and the first intimation of their presence was a horrid yell,^ that filled the p'r as they came streaming over a field to- ' Pickett's Alabama, it., 2(17, note. ' Francis assumed to be a prophet Inspired by the Shawnoe seer, Tecnmtha's one-eyed brother. He plnccd Franc!.' in a cabin by himself, aronnd which he danced and howled for ten days. Then, he said, Francis was blind, but thnt bf would again see, and then he would know all of things future. At the expiration of ten days the Prophet led him forth, and Francis walked like a blind man all day. Toward night his sight came to him suddenly, when he became the greatest prophet In the Creek nation, with the power to create lesser prophets. That power he used freely. ' Alexander M'Gillivray was the head chief of the Creek nation during Washington's ndminietration. He waa a m of a Creek woman by a Scotch Tory of Georgia, whose property was confiscated at the close of the old War for Indf- pendencc. This son took refiige among the Creeks, and became the "beloved man," or head chief. Ke was an do- rated man ; brave, Huent in speech, and personally popular. The Spanish authorities honored him with the coirmi!- sion of a colonel ; and he was received in New York In 1790 with great honors when he came, with a retinue of follnvr- ers, to negotiate a treaty between the Creeks and the United States— the very treaty whose spirit his countrymen wen- now about to violate. His mother's family were among the first in the Creek nation ; and his half sister, Sehoyj. Weathersford's mother, was celebrated for her beauty and mental excellence. Wcathersford was born at the Hickory Ground, near Coosa wde, on the Alabama. « Warriors fi-om thirteen Indian towns marched in a southward direction, while others from Tallahassee, Anlto», and Ockftiske formed a corps of observation in another direction, to conceal the movement. » There seem to have been no sentinels on duty, for the Indians were within thirty steps of the fort before they were discovered.— Letter of Fletcher Cox to General Claiborne, in Life itf General Sam Dah; page 100. OF THE WAR OF 18 12. 756 immnnder at Furt Mlmt. ml iims^ic rods liy ! crraiul, VVhunci ttle of Ruriit Com ed with provisions there to fisht tliv r woiiu'u iind cliil. s," thoy Hivid, " ami jls enough to carry ;hersforcl, both Imit- innod Francis,^ and beautiful Si'hoya, a lersford was an ox- strength, lionorable, •ior of M'CJuoon and d Indians from Pon- ,, on the Talhipoosa, into the country on iwers to the planta- ic present villai^c of tgomery. There lie Fort IVIims. One of if impending danger, for an exterminatim,' supposed the negro •ved, the commander whan, on the 2fltli, r lay on the morning ad been whipped for ieasley, whicli Avarn- it smarting from the rce, a stockade about lie eastern gate stood ras the signal for the [•st intimation of tlieir [lining over a field to- aodden AppMurance of the Indloui. B'nrlooi AaMUlt on tha Fort. A lerrllile Battle In Furt Himi. n brother. He placed Franci! trancis was blind, bm that ht Icii days the Prophet led him hi enddcnly, when he became jt power he tised freely, fdmlnlstration . He wns a m Tlose of the old War for Inde [head chief. Kewnsanedo- Imorcd him with the coiimi!- fame, with a retinne of tollni- Ise spirit his countrymen were 1. nnd his half sister, Schnyn. Iford was born at the Uiciiory ■rs from Tallahassee, Anitwf. i of the fort before they W« lixe 109. ward the open gate. Bcasley flew to close it, and his soldiers nishod with their arms to tilt' port-holes, wliiie the uiiarnied men, and tlie women and children, hiiddh'd, pale and trembling, and alinost paralyzed with sudden fear, in the liouses and cabins witli- in tlie main inclosure. Jieasley was too liiti-. Hefore he could remove tiie drilled sand and sliut the gate, the savages were upon him. He was felled by clubs and tomahawks ; and over his dying body the dusky torrent rushed into tlie new inclo- sure, where Captains Middleton and Jack were on duty. lie (irawled beliiiul the |. e and soon expired, using his latest breath in exhorting his men to fight valiantly. 'llie Indians soon tilled the outer inclosure, wliile the field beyond swarmed with a yelling muUitude of blood-thirsty men. Their propliets commenced incantations and dances. Tiiey had assured the warriors that the white men's bullets would s])lit harmlessly on the sacred bodies of the seers and the multitude behind them. The delusion was soon dispelled. Five of the invulnerable prophets were shot dead. The dismayed savages recoiled for a moment in doubt and fear. Many rushed wildly out of the gate, but others filled their places, and, with yells ''nd howls, they poured a deadly fire upon the inmates of the fort through the port-holes of the old pickets and the outside stockades. The poor bound negro, who was awaiting the lash, was shot dead on the spot where he was to have been punished for doing all in his power to avert the dreadful calamity then impending. Captain Middleton, wiio was in charge of the eastern section, was slain, with all of his commaml. Captain Jack, in the south wing, with a rifle company, maintained the conflict nobly. Lieutenant Kandon fought from the guard-house on the west ; and Captain Dixon Bailey, the gallant half-blood, on whom the command of the garrison devolved after the fall of beasley, was seen in every part of the fort, directing the military and encouraging the otlier inmates. The situation was terrible. Tlicre were two inclosnres, separated by a row of log pickets with port-holes, and an open gate. On one side were unarmed men, women, and children, thickly crowded, with few soldiers, for a larger portion of them wore in tne outer inclosure with Middleton and Jack. On the other side were lusty sav- iiges, maddened by the sight of blood and ravenous for plunder; and all around Avere human fiends filling the open field and eager for slaughter and spoils. Victory or deatii was the alternative offered to the inmates of the fort. After the first shock of surprise their conr.age returned, and, under the direction of the intrepid Bailey, those who had arms manned the dividing pickets, and through the port-holes poured vol- leys that made wide lanes in the thick ranks of the foe. These, however, were imme- diately filled, and the terrible conflict went on. Sometimes the guns of a Christian and pagan Avould cross in a port-hole, and both would fall. Old men, and even wom- en and boys, fought with desperation. Bailey's voice constantly encouraged them. "Hold on a little longer," he said, "and all will be w^ell. The Indians seldom fight long at a time." He endeavored to induce some of them to join him in a sortie and a dash through the enemy to Fort Fierce to procure re-enforcements, and, returning, attack the enemy in the rear and raise the siege. The movement seemed too peril- ous and hopeless, and none would follow him. He determined to go alone, and was actually climbing the picketing for the purpose when his friends pulled him back. The horrid battle raged for three hours, wiien, as Bailey expected, the Indians be- gan to tire. Their fire slackened, their bowlings were less savage, and they began to carry off plunder from the head-quarters of Major Beasley and the other buildings in the outer inclosure. The people in the main fort were thrilled with a hope that the savages were about to depart. That hope was soon extinguished, Weathersford was not a man to accept of half a victory when a complete one was within his grasp. He beheld with scorn the conduct of many of his warriors who were more intent on plunder than conquest. Seated upon a fine black horse, he rode after the departing hraves, addressed them vehemently with words of rebuke and persuasion, and soon ill "^^■^■1 i * |(|i' i^ 756 riCTOUIAL FIELD-IJOOK TO In Fort MImi. Scalping lb* Dead ud Dying. I'rirc for Hcsip* iittend bf ttf BlttMl AgMt led thoin l)ack to complete the buHinoss in hand. Willi demonine yolls the wivacis resnined tlic work ol' destruction. Tliey hooii filled the outer ineloMiire ui^iiiii lim were kept ut bay by brotherH of Captain Hailey antl other Kharp-shooterH, who limj nunle port-lioles in Miit.s'H houHe by iviiockin)^ oil' Home shini^les, and from thence sini deadly bullets into muiiy a lunty warrior who was endeavorintj to press throuirh the inner f?ate. J{ut very soon, under the direction of Weatherstbrd, iire was ..iciit td Miins's roof on the winj^s of arrows, and it burst into a flame Some of the scorcluij inmates of the house fled to othei buildings, and some were roasted in the hdriiil oven. The house was soon in cinders, with its extensive sheds and out-l)uil(liii.rs, The firo spread to other buildinrt'SH tlmnv^li III,. , tire was aent to no of the ficort'hcil iti'd in tlio hiiiriil iukI out-lniildiiiiis. tlic t'litiiv iircii of )inen and childivn )Ooplc rushcfl fiaii- 1 tlio norlli si(h' of tlie liawtion. Tli'w irs of his coinpiuiy ?sse(l frantically to- IS, while the weak, th. The vciicriililc ras shot, iuitl wliilf head, and liis 8i'ai|p, vas;o8 attacked tlip 10. The lovnier «as hitter. The Indians ^, and bntcliered tiic Tho children wciv :hoir brains knockoil ,do8. Women wen dr unborn children The British agent ■d live dollars apicn ijT tresses of wonun, itrs of men's heads, [andd of the savages iVitios in a Christian theperfcrnianoeof sathorsford rode up. noble and lumiano. (wers for their cruel- ;o spare tlie women His interference Many clubs were [v-er his head, and lie essed filled him with Lnj;ro woman, who had received a ball in her breast, had f.;'.lowed them out. She reached a canoo iiiTensaw Lake, paddled it into and down tho Alabama to P\»rt Stoddart, which she reached on Tuesday night," and was tho first to give information to (Jen- • AnKontai, eral Claibonie of tho horrible tragedy. Most of tho mj^roes were spared '^'•'• hy the Indians, and were nuido their slaves. Tho battle lasted from twelve o'clock until five, when the fort was a smokinfj; ruin. The savages then retired about a mile east of tho fort, where they slept that night, ;it\cr snioking their pipes and triiumiuti; their scalps. They had siitrered severely, for the garrison had sold their lives as dearly as ])ossible. Not les.s than four hundred Creek warriors were slain or wounded. On tho morning afler the confiict they com- meiieed burying their dead, but soon abandoned the labor. Putting their wounded into canoes, a part of the warriors wont iij) the river; some staid in the neighbor- hood to j)lundor and kill,^ and others went to Pensacola, with their tropby-sealps on poles, to receive their reward from tho Hritish agents there. Ten days afterward. Major Kennedy, who had been sent by General Claiborne to hiay tho dead at Fort Minis, arrived there.'' His eyes met a sad and horrid spectacle. Tho air was filled with glutt')nous buzzards who had loinc to feast on tlio dead bodies, and a largo number of dogs were disputing with the foul birds for the banquet. The mutilated remains of the dead were buried iu two pits.* " Indians, negroes, white men, women, and cldldren," Kennetly said in his report, " lay in one jn-omiscuous mass. All were scali)ed ; and tho females of every age were butchered in a manner which neither decency nor language 'ill permit me to describe. The main building was buriud to ashes, which were fided with bones. The plains and the woods around were covered with dead bodies. All tho Louses were consumed by fire except the block-house and a part of the pickets. The sol- diers ai:d officers, with one \ oice, called ou Divine Providence to revenge the death of our murdered friends."^ The massacre at Fort Miins created the most intense excitement and alarm through- out the Southwest. This was \r ' rased by the operations of the powerful prophet, Francis, who at the same time wu. spreading destruction and consternation over the country between the Alabama and rombigboe Rivers, from the forks northward, now Clarke County, in Alabama. The little stockades were filled with tho aftrighted in- > Claiborne's Life nf General Sam Dale, page 123. ' When the flames began to reach the people In the Bastion, Dr. Thomas Q. Holmes, an assistant snrgeon of the gar- rison, seized an axe, cut some piclcetB in two, but left them standing till an opportanity for escape oBered. Bailey now tiled out, "All is Imtl" and begged the people to e8cai)e. The piclvetH were thrown down, but, as we have observed, only twelve escaped. Bailey's little stclt son, only thirteen years of age, was carried safely to the woods by his negro nun Tom, who, half mud with fear and dire confusion, ran back with the boy to the Indians. The savages toolc the child by the legs, and wliile he cried " Father, save me i" they dashed out his brains. The following are the names of the persons who escaped from the fort and lived : Dr. Thomas O. Holmes ; Hester, a negro woman ; Socca, a friendly Indlui; Peter Randon.lientenant of citizens' company; Josiah Fletcher; Sergeant Mathews ; Martin Rigdon; Samuel Smith, a half-blood ; Mourrice and Joseph Perry, of the Mississippi Volunteers ; John Hoven ; Jones ; and Lientenant W. R. Chambliss, of the Mississippi Volunteers Pickett's A labama, ii., 276. Sec diagram on opposite page for the houses of the Steadhams and Randons, and the tent of Lieutenant Chambliss. ' The inmates of Port I'lerce, a small stockade two or three miles from Fort Mims, fled down the river and reached Mobile In safety. * Two hundred and forty .seven bodies were buried. > Kennedy's MS. Report to General Claiborne, quoted in Pickett's Alabama, ii., 2S.>. ' September 0. ■i ■ ; j U'\: lilii ; ■•■ tj ?58 PICTORIAL FIELD-BCOK DlstresB In the Creek Country, Response of the TennesseeanB to a Cry for Help. Jacksou'B Appeal, aud Its Effects. habitants, and aickness and death were their constant companions. The distress in tlie Creek country can scarcely be imagined. A fearful cry for help went northward, not, as it would now, on the wings of tho lightning, but by couriers on swift horses. Yet they were tardy messengers measured by travel-speed to-day. It took thiity- one days to carry the newc to the city of New York, wliere it produced very little sensation, for the heart of the whole country was then yet tremulous v/ith the joyous emotions created by the recent victory won by Ferry on Lake Erie, and excited by intense interest in the movements of General Harrison, who was then penetrating Canada, and nobly retrieving the national misfortunes at Detroit the previous year. These absorbed the public attention northward of the Ohio and eastward of the Alli"- ghany Mountains, while the fiercely-kindled Creek War equally absorbed the atten- tion and awakened the most fervid syirpathies and hottest indignation of the people of the Mississippi and Gulf regions. Tiie sons of Tennessee quickly and nobly responded to tho cry for help from below. Governor Blount promised to do what he might, but General Jackson was then too ill to take active measures in the same direction immediately, but he assured his fel- low-citizens that h3 would do so as speedily as possible. He was then lying at the Nashville Inn, prostrated by the effects of serious wounds received from the late Thomas 11. Benton in an affray in the streets of Nashville with deadly weapons, He was convalescing, and, full of the " fire of the flint," ho issued a stirring address to those volunteers who followed him a thousand miles tp Natchez a year before. He begged them to go forward in a cause " so worthy the arm of every bvavc soldier and true citizen ;" and expressed his regret that he was not able to go with them, at the same time assuring them of his belief that he might soon join them, which he did. Jackson's appeal touched the hearts of the Tcnnesseeans ; and the action of the Leg- islature, then in session, was consonant with the wishes and feelings of the people. On the 25 th of September* they authorized Governor Blount to call out three thousand five hundred volunteers, in addition to fifteen hundred already mus- tered into the service of the United States, the commonwealth of Tennessee guaran- teeing their pay and subsistence, and appropriating three hundred thousand dollars for the payment of expenses to be immediately incurred. On the same day General Jackson issued another spirited address, calling his division to the field. He ordered tliem to assemble on the 4th of October at Fayetteville, near the northern boundary of Alabama. Already his first address had set the military spirit of the state ablaze; now a Ictter-writor at Nashville declared'' that " in a few days there will be but few young men left in town. Nearly all h'ave volunteered — some have gone, and others are getting ready. . . . Colonel John Coffee has already start- ed with the cavalry. Infantry and mo»mted volunteer companies are flocking to the standard every da j . Had not reneral Jackson been confined by his wound, I think all would have been on the way bj tiiis time."' On the 26th General Jackson dispatcher the energetic Colonel Coffee, with his regiment of dragoons, five hundred strong, and as many mounted volunteers as could join him immediately, to take post at Huntsville,^ in Nort^jem Alabama, for the en- couragement and protection of the inhabitants there, and to cover a depot of supplies which he intended to establish on the Tennessee River south of Huntsville, at Ditto's Landing. Coffee pushed forward with celerity, and reached Huntsville on the 4th of October. His force had been augmented almost hourly on the way by volunteers who flocked to his standard, and he found himself on the borders' of the Creek coun- try with full thirteen hundred men. Jackson meanwhile, with his arm in a sling and suffering intensely, was making his way to the prescribed rendezvous of his troops ' 181S. 1 The War. II., T3. » HantBville Is the present capital of Madison County, Alahams, one of the finest regions of that state, at the foot of the monntaln slopes which there gradually melt into the level Gulf region. \m OF THE WAli OF 1812. 159 i'8 Appeal, and Its Effectt. 3. The distress in p went nortliward, rs on swift horses. y. It took tliiity- roduced very Uttle lus >vith the joyous ric, and excited by B then penetrating the previous year, istward of the Alk- ibsorbed the atten- lation of the peopk' or help from helow. [jkson was then too t he assured his fel- IS then lying at the lived from the late jadly weapons. He Btirting address to a year before. He ry brave soldier and ro with them, at the ;m, which he did. lie action of the Leg- dings of the people. int to call out three ^ndred already mus- if Tennessee guaran- ed thousand dollars same day General field. He ordered northern bouiidaiy of the state ablaze; few days there will volunteered— some ee has already start- are flocking to the his wound, I think lol Coffee, with his volunteerc as could \.labama, for the en- a depot of supplies :unt8ville, at Ditto's svillc on the 4th of way by volunteers fof the Creek coun- arm in a sling and !ZV0U8 of his troops Oeoeral Coffee in Northeiii Alboama. liackBon in the Field. Mobile threatened, but saved. !Ofthat(!tate,atthofootot at Fayettev ille, on the 4th of October, full eighty miles south from Nashvi-ie. He could not reach there at the pre- scribed time, but sent forward a spirit- ed address to the soldiers, to be read to them on that day. It was an appeal to their pride and patriotism ; and called upon them, in an especial manner, to be obedient to discipline, for it was essen- tial in preparing them for the noble task before them. While these movements were in prog- ress in West Tennesse,\ others of like character and importance were going on iu East Tennessee, where General John Cocke was in command. Under the direction of Governor Blount, he ordered his division to rendezvous at Knoxville ; and so promptly did thay respond, that he wrote to General Jack- eon on the 2d of October* that his men, twenty-five hundred in number, were ready to march, and that he could doubtless contract for a thousand barrels of flour to be sent to Ditto's Landing imme- diately. Jackson reached Fayetteville on the 7th of October, where he remained a week waiting for the arrival of troops, organizing them, and making arrangements for sup- plies. He was greeted by cheering news from Coffee. It was generally supposed that the Indians would hasten to the capture of Mobile, under the auspices and di- rection of the Spaniards, after the destruction of Fort Mims, It might have been an easy matter; but they lingered, as usual, after their 'ictory, and then pushed north- ward.' This good news came from Coffee, and Jackson, acting upon it, was making vigorous preparation to meet them, when, on Monday, the 11th of October,'' a courier came dashing into his tamp with intelligence from Coffee that the sav- ages were near. The general gave instant orders for his troops to march. Two houra later they were in motion ; and at eight o'clock the same evening they were in Hunts- ville, having marched thirty-two miles almost without halting. On the following morning Jackson was informed that the rumor of the near approach of the Inuians was false. He leisurely led his troops across the swift-flowing Tennessee at Ditto's Lauding, joined Coffee's command, and, on a high bluff overlooking the beautiful river, opposite a charming island, encamped. JUUM OOFFEE. > 1813. I The TndiauB, as uenal, stopped to enjoy their victory after it was achieved, instead of secnring Its solid advantages. Snch consitrnotion was produced by the massacres on Tcnsaw that Mobile might have becomb an easy prey to the ravages. But while they lingered, the Spanioh nccomplices at Pensacola appeared to have become alarmed lest the savages might destroy Mobile, which they hoped to recover uninjured. Governor Maniqne accordingly wrote to Weath- ereford and his associates on the subject. After congratulating them on their success at Port Mims, assuring them of Mendshlp and a desire to aid them, and thanking them for their offers of assistance in the recapture of Mobile, the governor dissuaded them from attacking it, or at least destroying it. " I hope," he wrote, "you will not put In execu- tion the Project you lell n.e of to bum the 'c-i, since these houses and properties do not belong to the Americans, but to true Spaniards."— I/etter dated Pensacola, September 29, 1813, quoted by Pickett in his HisUrry of Alabama. It is amoag the Claiborne papers alreaciy alluded to. It is positive proof of the complicity of the Spanish authorities at Pensacola with the British and Indians in waging an exterminating war against the people of the Mississippi Terri- tory, and jusUfled the seizure of Pensacola ly the Americans which occurred afterward. . li 1 i (M ' »t,j. I? rii|im|i|/'l mm I: I \ i 760 PICTORIAL FIELD-BOOK JactuoD'B impatient waiting for Snpplies. Cries for Help from the Coosn. Jnckson mnrclies In that Direction CHAPTER XXXIV. "Alas for them I their day is o'er ; Their fires are out from shore to shore ; ho more for then- the wild deer bounds— The plow is ou their hunting-gronnds. The pale man's axe rings through their woods— The pale man's sail skims o'er their floode." CUABLEB SPBAOm. '^^ACKSON'S little army, under his immediate commai d, was now about tAventy-five hundred strong, and the difficulties of the campaign, with all their gloomy suggestions, arose in colossal proportions before Lis judgment und experience. His supplies, promised by General Cocke, had not arrived, and before him was an untried wilderness filled Avith hostile savages. Twenty- five hundred' men and thirteen hundred horses must be fed. " Such a body," says a late writer, " will consume ten wagon- loads of provisions every day. For a week's subsistence they require a thousand bushels of grain, twenty tons of flesh, a thousand gallons of whisky, and many hund- red weight of iH^scellaneous provisions." Jackson was grievously disappointed, and stormed furiously at fate, the shallow Tennessee (on which the provision vessels would not yet float), the contractors, and even at General Cocke. Then he sent his quarter- master. Major W. B. Lewis, to Nashville for supplies, and Colonel Coflfee, with six or seven hundred mounted men, to scour for food the country watered by the Black Warrior River, an important tributary of the Tombigbee. He was cheered by infor- mation that General White, with the advance of General Cocke's division of East Tennesseeans, had already passed the site of Chattanooga and the now famous Look- out Mountain — made famous by the events of the great Civil War, which occurred there in the autumn of 1863 — and would jirobably join him in the course of a few- days. Jackson set about drilling his troops thoroughly, and while engaged in that duty a Creek chief of the peace-party informed him that a large number of his nation were preparing to attack a fort filled with friendly Indians at the Ten Islands of the Coosa • October 19, River. The general immediately broke camp upon the bluff',* and with 1813. immense labor and fatigue^ made his way twenty-two miles in that direc- tion along the course of the Tennessee to Thompson's Creek, one of its tributaries, all the while watching anxiously, through the eyes of scouts, for the appearance of the expected supply flotilla. But they did not come. He wrote to fi-iends and public authorities in every direction, and the burden of his letters were, " Give me food, and I will end this savage war in a month." And yet he did not wait for the expected supplies to begin it, for such piteous entreaties came from the Coosa that he resolved to press forward at all hazards. He established a depository for supplies at the mouth of Thompson's Creek, cast up fortifications to defend them which he named Fort Deposit, and on the evening of the 24th of October he started for the Ten Isl- ands of the Coosa, fifly miles distant, with only two days' supply of bread and six of meat, swearing that he would " neither sound a retreat nor suffer a defeat"^ before the ' The country In that region Is exceedingly rough and mountalnons, and the troops were compelled to endnre the most appalling labors. " We have cnt out way," wrote Hajor Held, Jackson's ald-de-camp, " over monntains more tre- mendous than Alps." ' Letter of Major John Keld to Qr.arter-master W. B. Lewis, October 24, 1818, quoted by Parton, 1., 4!12. OF THE WAR OP 1812. TBI relies In that Direction. immai d, was now difficulties of the I, arose in colossal ice. His snpplics, d, and before him savages. Twenty- jrses must be fed. )nsume ten wagon- require a thousaml cy, and many liund- y disappointed, and mion vessels would be sent his quarter- Coffee, with six or tered by the Black as cheered by infor- .'s division of East now famous Look- ar, whicli occmioO be course of a few [gaged in that duty Ir of his nation wore Islands of the Coosa [he bluff," and with 1 miles in that dircc- -)f its tributaries, all appearance of tlip friends and pul)lic [' Give me food, and dt for the expected La that he resolved [for supplies at the n which he named ted for the Ten Isl- |of bread and six of defeat"^ before the iTMmpenedVendnre ttie " over monntalne more tre- krtoii,l.,*8«- Tbe Army threatened with Famine. AyTairs in the lower Creek Cunntry. Courage and Honor of Captftln Dale. savages. Coffee, who in the space of twelve days had marched two hundred miles, burned Black Warrior's Town and another Indian village on the Black Warrior Riv- er and collected about three hundred bushels of corn, had Joined him, and the whole army went cheerily forward toward tlie Coosa. Ho cut his way over the rugged mountains with indomitable perseverance to Wells's Creek," where his .October 28, supply of bread failed, and he remained encamped for several days, that ****• his foraging parties might collect i)rovisioiis. His little army was there threatened witli actual starvation, for the contractors had entirely failed to meet their engage- ments. The foragtirs were usually successful. One party, under Colonel Dyer, two hundred stro' nj, fell upon the Indian village of Littefutchec, at the head of Canoe Creek, twenty miles from the camp, captured tAventy-nine prisoners and a good sup- ply of corn, and laid the town in ashes.'' Then the army marched on, and in less than a week afterward it was encamped on the right bank of the Coosa, not far from the Ten Islands and the mouth of the Canoe or Littefutchec Creek. Let us here leave the resolute invaders a few momeui s, and consider the condition of affairs in the Creek country. We have observed that the massacre at Fort Minis spread consternation over the whole regipn, and white people and friendly Indians sought shelter in ihe stockades or safety in flight toward the Gulf. Sickness prevailed in all the stockades, and there was distress every where. Murders, robberies, and conflagrations were seen on every hand. Claiborne was harassed with almost hourly messages bearing piteous impor- tunities for help, and from none more loudly than from St. Stephen's, one of the most important posts in the country. > Information had reached the general that the gar- rison and refugees in Fort Madison, in the eastern part of Clarke County, were likel}' to share the horrid fate of those in Minis from a combined attack of the savages. Umler the direction of General Flournoy, he ordered Colonel Carson, the commander, to abandon the fort and hasten to the relief of St. Stephen's, if his judgment should sanction such movement. Carson left Madison reluctantly, followed by about Ave hundred settlers of both sexes, and all ages and conditions, and marched westward. He had arrived on the banks of the Tombigbee, on his way to St. Stephen's, when an- other letter from Claiborne reached him, in which he was urged " not to abandon the fort [Madison] unless it was clear that he could not maintain it." It was too late. He crossed the river and entered St. Stephen's. Fort Madison was not wholly abandoned. There were bold men there who re- solved to remain and defend it, togeMier with Fort Glass, a small stockade only a fourth of a mile distant. The leader ^ras Captain Sam Dale.^ He was still suffering from the effects of his woiind received at Burnt Corn Creek. When Carson's drum beat for his troops to march, Dale beat his for volunteers to remain ; and when the last of the United States soldiers marched out of the fort. Dale marched in at the head of eighty brave citizens, among them Captain Evans Austill. Dale received a note from General Flournoy advising liim to repair to Mount Vernon, as he was sure to be attacked by an overwhelming force. Dale replied tiiat he had sworn to defend the women and childre^^ under his charge ; that he had a " gallant set of boys" under liim; and that when the general should hear "of the fall of Fort Madison, he would find a pile of yellow-hides to tan if he could get his regulars to come and skin them !"^ Dale maintained his position with boldness, and was not attacked.* ' 8»e page 760, and Map on page 761. a See page T49. ' Lift ami Ti'nts o/Ganeral Sam Dalf, pages 110 and 117. Dale says Flonnioy was opposed to the stockade system, »iidwas determined to concentrate his tr«)opg at Mobile, Mount Vo-ion, and St. Stephen's. Claiborne's order for the eTacas.ion of Port 1 adison, inspired by Flonmoy, \faa cursed by the settlers In the forks of the Alabama and Tomblg- bw, who coii8ldere " Yon know Tecumtha," said Pushamataha. " He is a bad man. He came through onr nation, but did not turn our heads. He went among the Mnscogees [CrcekB], and got many of them to join him. Yon know the Tcnsnw peo- ple. They were our friends. Th«y played ball with ns. They sheltered and fed ns whenever we went to Pciisacnls Where are they now? Their bones rot at Sam Mims's place. The people at St. Stephen's are also our flrtendi. The Muscogees intend to kill them too. They want soldiers to defend them. ^Here he drew his sword and flouriehed It.) Yoa can all do as you please. You are all freemen. I dictate to none of you. Bnt I shall Join the St. Stephen's peopl.. If you have a mind to follow me, I will lead yon to glory and Tictory."— Pickett's .A ioianui, il., 891. > Pickett's Alabama, ii., 292. « Not far ft-om the present village of Jacksonville, the capital of Benton Connty, Alabama, on the soutbeaet side u( TalUsfahatcbe Creek. OF THE WAR OF 18 12. 763 igainat Tallasehalcht. ^9 would remain by suddenly ap- ' hiB warriors to ted to Slobile by That strangely ha went back to [ citizens had be- • appeared riding , in the Choctaw iing the generous i country. They Chickasaws, with ent forward. The 3 nation.! He ha- lt was so effective ow me, 1 will lead his heart, and said, J did likewise, and M'Kee was equally jred to follow him, t Creek town there. Indian was visible. ■re his dusky follow- leir way to join the ^ma &nd Tombigbee sanguinary theatre lie now became Creeks were asscm- heen mi^es from the ng of the 2d of Ne- at brave officer had e was anxious to he gratified. The com- f d fall suddenly and were harbored, and lops accompanietlhy id Cherokecs, whose ly position. Asaprewutta ■ We diBplaycdoureelrts"! uon the spies that we knc« Kh cattle and liogs as mf llemnlttcdtlieownerB. -W' .district was ruled over b! I our nation, imt did not tnr. I You know the Tcn.»wp^> l„everwewenttoFoma»* ■•g are also onrWonds.W Ihls ?word and flourished il Ijoin the St. Stephen's peopl- 1, 11., 891. La, on the southeast Bide «( Battle of Tallascbutcbe. Aunihllatlou of the Town and the Warriors. Jackson's Army on the Coosa. heads were tastefully ornamented with white feathers and deer's tails. They forded the Coosa at tlie Fish Dam, four miles above the Ten Islands, and at dawn on the morning of the 3d halted within half a mile of the doomed town. There Coffee quickly divided his forces mto t wo columns, the right composed of cavalry, com- manded by Colonel Allcorn, and the left of mounted riflemen, under Colonel Cannon. With the latter the newly-made general marched. Allcorn was directed to encircle one half of the town with his cavalry, while Camion and his riflemen should encircle the other half. This was promptly accomplished at sunrise, when the foe sallied out with beat of drums a;;cl "'■vage yells, their prophets being in the advance. The battle that speedily began was brought on at about eight o'clock by the com- panies of Captain Hammond and Lieutenant Patterson, who had made a manoeuvre for the purpose of decoying the foe from the shelter of their liouses. It was success- ful. The Indians fell upon them furiously, when the two companies, according to in- structions, fell back, pursued by the enemy, until the latter encountered the right of Coffee's troops. These first gave the Indians a deadly volley of bullets, and then charged them violently, while the left division closed in upon the doomed foo. Never did men fight more gallantly than did the Creeks. Inch by inch they were pushed hack to their bouses by the ever-narrowing circle of a^jailants. They fought desper- ately and with savage fury. They were shot and bayoneted in and out of their houses. Not one Avould ask for quarter, but fought so long as lie had strength to wield a weapon. None survived. Every warrior was killed. In falling back to their dwellings they mingled with the women and children, and in the fury of the contest some of these were slain. The victory for the assailants was complete ; and at the close of this short, sharp battle, one hundred and eighty-six Indian warriors lay dead around the victors.' It was believed that full t^ > hundred perished. Eighty-four women and children wero made prisoners. The loss of the Americans was only five killed (no oflicers) and forty-one wounded, most of them slightly. Having destroyed the town and buried his dead, the victorious Coffee marched hack in triumph to the camp on the Coosa, followed by a train of sori'owful captives. It was a terrible sight for the eye of Pity. Retributive justice, evoked by the slain at Fort Mims, was satisfied. Tallasehatche was wiped from the face of the e.irth, and every survivor was sent a prisoner to Huntsville.'^ Thus commenced the fearful chastisement of the infatuated Creeks who had listened to the siren voice of Tecum- tlia, and the wicked' suggestions and false promises of the Spaniards and British at Pensacola. Jackson now made his way over the Coosa Mountains to the Ten Islands, and on the right bank of the Coosa commenced the construction of a second fortified deposit for supplies. Strjong pickets and block-houses soon began to rise, and the work was well advanced whon, just at sunset on the Tth of November, an Indian chief from the Hickory Ground, who, by stratagem, had made his way from the beleaguered fort, came with swift foot and informed the general-in-chief that one hundred and sixty ' General Coffee said in his report (November 4, 1813) : "They fongbt as long as one existed ; and when the last of Ihe devoted hand, still struggling for the mastery, had fallen beneath the hatchets and hunliug-knives of his cucmies, one hundred and eighty-six warriors wero stretched lifeless on the fine open woodland in which their village was sit- uated." > k tonching tale of trnth is told in connection with the battle of Tallasehatche. Among the slain was found an In- dian mother, and npon her bosom lay her infant boy, vainly endeavorli g to draw sustenance from the cold breast. The nrphan was carried into camp, and Jackson tried to indnco some of the mothers amon;; the captives to give it nonrish- ment. "No," they replied ; "all hU relatives are dead, kill him too." The little boy v.'as taken to the gcnernl's own tent, fed on brown Bni?ar and water until a nurse could be procured at Hnntsvillc, when it was sent to Mrs. Jackson. Tlie senersl was a childless man, and ho adopted the forest foundling as his son. Mrs. Jackson watched over him with a mother's care, and he grew to be a beautiful youth, fhll of promise. But consumption laid him in the grave among the thades of the " Hermitage" before he reached manhood, and his foster-parents monmed over him with a grief as sincere as that of consangnlnity. This boy was no exception to the nile of India.' instinct for wild and forest life. He delighted to roam in the woods, decorate his head with feathers, and start out from ambosb and frighten children with loud yells and horrid grimaces, ne was apprenticed to i harness-maker in Nashville. 1 11 1! Ill IP' Uc Bnrroondg the Bcsiegerii ut Talludcga. friendly Creek warriors, with their i'amilies, were hemmed in at Talladega, in Lash- ley's Fort,' thirty miles distant, with no hope of" escape. The besie-rers were a tliou- sand strong, and they so completely siu-rounded the little stockade that no man could leave it unobserved. The inmates had but little food and water, and must soon perish. TIio foe was well provided, and, feeling sure of their prey at the hands of Famine if by no quicker way, were dancing around the doomed people with demo- niac joy. This messenger, who was a prominent man, had made his escape by cov- ering himself with the skin of a hog, and in the darkness of night, while imitating its gait, and grunting, and apparent rooting, was allowed to pass slowly through tiie hostile camp until he was beyond the reac!i of their hearing and arrows. Then lie cast away his disguise, and with speed heightened by desperation, he fled to Jack- son's camp on the Coosa. The commander-in-chief resolved to give immediate relief to the people at Talin- doga. He had just heard of the near approach of General White with the van of General Cocke's division of East Tennessee troops, so he ordered his whole force, ex- cepting a small guard for the camp, the sick and the wounded, to make immediate preparations for marching. He wrote a hasty note to General White, informing that officer that he should expect him to protect Fort Strother and its inmates during • November 8, his absence, and at little past midnight" he commenced fording the Coosa 1S13. f^ jjjiie above the fort, with twelve hundred infantry and eight hundred mounted men, each of the latter taking a foot-soldier on his .lorse behind him. All were across at four o'clock in the morning, aKd then they commenced a very weary- ing march through a perfect wilderness. At sunset they were within six miles of Talladega, when the general commanded his followers to seek repose, for active work would be required of them in the morning. The chief slumbered not. All night long he was on the alert for the reports of spies whom he sent out on scouting expeditions. At midnight he received a note by an Indian runner from General White, telling him that General Cocke had recalled liim, and he would not be able to protect Fort Strother. Jackson was perplexed. Strother and Talladega both needed his presence. He resolved to rescue the latter, and then fly to the defense of the former. Silently his troops were put in motion in the dark, and before four o'clock in the morning'' they had made a wide Novcnioer 9. . circuit and surrounded the enemy, who, a thousand and eighty strong, were concealed in a thicket that covered the margins of two rivulets flowing out from springs.'* Jackson disposed his troops for action so as to inclose the foe in a circle of armed men. The infantry were in three lines, the militia on the left, and the volunteers on the right. The cavalry formed the two extreme wings, and were ordered to advance in a curve, keeping their rear connected with the advance of the infantry lines, so that there should be no break in the circle. In this position were the troops at sunrise, when Colonel William Carroll Avas sent forward with the advanced guard, composed of the companies of Captains Dederich, Caperton, and Bledsoe, to commence the a^ tack. He delivered a heavy fire, when the savages rushed forth, with liorrid yells and screams, in the direction of the militia under General Roberts, from whose brigade > This fort wa8 a little eastward of the Coosa River, In Talladega County, Alabama ; and a portion of Its site Ib row covered by the pleasant village of Talladega, the capital of 'he county, which had a population of about two thonsaiiii when the late Civil War broke out in 1801. It Is in a deiightfbl valley, with very attractive scenery in view ' The order of march is seen in the uppir part of the diagram on page 706. The cavalry were commanded by Colonel AUcom, and the monnted riflemen by Colonel Cameron. The infantry were commanded by Brigadier Generals Hall' and Roberts,! assisted by Colonels B-adley, Pillow, M'Crorsney, Carnill, and Dyer. The position of tlie trpops In the attack, when they had surrounded the enemy, is seen in the lower part of the diagram, commencing with the reservci under Colonel Dyer. This diagram is copied, by permission, from Pickett's Hutonj 0/ Alabama, II., 402. • WIlMam Hall had been a colonel in the Tennessee mllltia who followed Jackson from Nashville to Natchei uid back, and was made brigadier general of three-months' volunteers on the 2(lth of Soplcmher, ISIS. t Isaac Roberta. lie was commUcioned brigadier general of three-months' Tennessee Volanteers pn the 4tb of Oc- tober, 1813. OF THE WAR OF 1812. ^68 esiegere at Talladega. ladcga, in Lash- ers were a thou- at no man could and must soon at the hands of iople witli demo- 18 escape l)y cov- bile imitating its wly through the arrows. Then he I he fled to Jack- people at Talla- 3 with the van of lis whole force, ex- make immediate White, informing its inmates during 1 fording the Coosa and eight hundred e behind him. All need a very weary- vithin six miles of lose, for active work t for the reports of 3 received a note hy Cocke had recalled ■son was perplexed. I to rescue the latter, ere put in motion in ;y had made a wide , and eighty strong, icts flowing out from , in a circle of armed lid the volunteers on t ordered to advance Infantry lines, so that Ihe troops at Bunrise, Iced guard, composed Ito commence the at- with horrid yells and , from whose brigade LrmencinBwHhtT^ereBene. ^N^»»et°Natche.aBd 'voCteer»pntbe4thofOc. femporary Panic among the Mllltla. Battle at Talladega. Dealructlun of the Indiana. Carroll had been detached, and who, pursuant to or- ders, had fallen back, so as to bring tiie enemy ui)0ii the niiiin body. Their horrid noise and devilish uj) pearai 'C so terrified the militia that some of them (Tiive way. Seeing this, Jackson ordered Colonel Bradley to fill the chasm with liis regiment, wliich was lagging behind the line. Bradley failed to obey, and Lieutenant Colonel Dyer, in command of reserves composed of the companies of Captains Smith, Morton, Axune, Edwards, and Hammond, was ordered to that duty with his men. Tiiese were immediately dismounted, and met the yelling savages so resolutely that the fugitive militia took courage, resumed their station, and foug.t gallant- ly. Tlie battle now became general, and had lasted about fifteen minutes, when the Indians, who had fought well, suddenly broke, and fled in all direc- tions toward the surrounding mountains. But for tlie giving way of the militia, and the forming of a gap in the circle by the tardiness of Bradley, and a too wide circuit made by Allcorn and his cavalry, it is believed that not a warrior would have escaped. They were hotly pursued, and the woods for miles became a resting-place for tlic bodies of dead savages. Two hundred and nine- ty of the slain were counted. Many were, doubtless, not seen. The number of the wounded could not be iiacertained, but they wei-e numerous. The loss of the Americans amounted to fifteen killed and eighty-five wounded. Four were badly hurt, and only two of the latter died from the eftect of injuries received. Among the wounded were Colonels Wil- liam Pillow and James Lauderdale, Major Richard Boyd, and Lieutenant Samuel Bar- ton, the last mortally.^ These and other wounded men were placed on litters, and when the dead were all buried the victorious little army marched with the maimed to Fort Strother, followed by li'e grateful rescued Creeks.^ Among the few trophies of victory borne back to the Csjosa was a coarse bsnner on which were the Spanish arms. This evidence of the complicity of the Spaniards with the liostile Creeks was sent hy Jackson to the Irdies of East Tennessee, who, as we have observed, presented a stand of colors to the Tennessee Volunteers.' When Jackson and his troops reached Fort Strother, wearied and half famished, they found the place almost destitute of provisions. None had been brought in during the absence of the little army, and now starvation threatened all. Almost mutinous I General Jackson's Dispatch to Governor Blonnt, November 11, 1813. Report of Adjutant General Sitler, Novem- ber 15. ' These conBlsted of one hundred and sixty friendly Creek warriors, with their wives and children. The crushing blow was to have fallen upon them on that very day. They were almost ready to die of thirst. Their gratitude and Joy were commensurate with the distress from which they had been relieved. ' See pace T44. The following note art, and were intensely exasperated. They felt that their humble ])etition for peace had been cruelly responded to only by the sword and bullet, and thcncelbrth they carried on iiostilities with the most malignant feelings aiul fearful energy. Jackson's anger against General Cocke was eipially hot. In the absence of correct iufonnation, he regarded him as a rival, willfully withholding sujjplies, and seeking glory on his own account. This was unjust, and the irate commander was convinced of the fact in the course of two or three weeks, when, in a friendly letter, he invited the East Tennesseean to join him with his army at Fort Strother on the I'ith of De- eomher. Cocke cheerfully complied, and was there on the appointed day, having in the mean time scoured the Cherokee country for provisions, and caused a considera- ble quantity of supi)lies to be haided froni the Tennessee to the Coosa for the use of the combined army. He found that of Jackson greatly demoralized. Disajjpointed, starving, inactive, the troops at Fort Strother wore dreadfully himiesick, and filled with a mutinous spirit. This the courage and tact of the commander controlled, but with great difticulty. The militia, on one occasion, prepared to go back to the set- tlements. They started in a body, when the yet faithful volunteers, with Jackson at their head, stood in their path. Then the volunteers attempted to leave the camp and go home — the very men to whose fortunes their leader had so tenaci'^",Rly ad- hered at Natchez the year before — when the militia, with Jackson at their head, stood in the path of the new nuitineers. At length almost the entire army of West Ten- nessee, despairing of relief, determined to abandon the expedition and go home. Some of the militia actually started, and the volunteers were about to follow. The general had no suflicient force to restrain them, and he was compelled to rely upon himself alone. He mounted his horse, seized a musket with his right hand, while the disabled arm was yet in a sling, and, placing himself in front of the malcontents, with the weapon resting upon his horse's neck, he declared that he would shoot the first 1 1 .J.; (If, M h I, ■ ' ' 1 1 :? 9t ■J ...^ . fi'- '* 1 ■'' \ - 1 i K i. : i 768 PICTORIAL FIELD-BOOK Mutlnaen checked. The Creek CoDUtry Invaded from (lonrKla. Battle or Authat. man who should take a stt'|) in advance. Aniazt'd at his boldness, tlioy pazod nt liju, in sih'iiot'. Kortuiiatciy, at that inoniont, ('otl'eo and two coinpanios offaithriil iiuiiiiit cd men came uj), and the mutineers, afler consultation, agreed to return to duty. Vet discontent was not allayed, and Jackson finally allowed all volunteers ho disposed to return to their homes, and he orttanized a force out of other materials. Could he liave had sutHcient supplies atler the battle at Talladega, and been met by innncdiutc concert of action by the East Tennessee troops, he miufht have endeer 4, 1818 ; Pickett's UUtory of Alabama, 11., BOO. OF THE WAR OF 18 13. 1M Battle or AutloM. Clslbonie ordered into tho Creek Country. Expedition under Cuplnln Rale, Scene on the Altbama. thcv Rttwd at him I ot iiiithfiil luoiini turn to (hity. Yi-t iH'i'H R<> iliwi'O!*'''! to iterialK. (.\>iilil lie iiu't by iinmciliiiic led tht! war witliin ul woury wpi'ks be cations which },'ii\v r quarter. Tlic cry r, Hrigadier (Icncral ^tat(>,an are taken on board of steamers. Uere was the scene of the canoe fight recorded in the text. 3C * November 18, 1S13. ft : 1! ^^ J?. i 1 1 : ^ ^ - 5 fiffil 770 riCTOIilAL JTlIuLU-BOOK A terrible laeamitor In C«noM, Dalt'i luu>(l-to-h*D(t right. H« wins tb« Victor;. po«> ofnttiickin^ Uit« Iii<( aiul looked into f tlu'in Hcriiiimd, uliaiiH, l>y (iodi or, boyH ! hi»'k wa- il ihcy went Imck aco of cinbiirkiUiiiu 111 tliey ennu>. Dale .spcnvted by tliiir 10, and quickly or- CBftr to 1»rin^' a ca- ) jumped into it,f(il- y Jeremiuh Austill icH Smith. It would more safely. Ca>Kar it within forty yards raft of the savages, alo and his conii)aii- se to pour a volley > great canoe. Kacli ssed fire. Water had the priming. A mo- [Icrward and the twn were side by side, ho stalwart Dale, or- Cffipar to hold them jr, clubbed his ihuk- ;1, placing one foot in (1 canoe and the other , of the enemy, cora- ly with clubbed nuis- vas so strong. They hom lay wounded in he stood defiantly in feet. great canoe, the sav- i soldier parried skill- his assailant with bis ■t from Austin's rifle, heart, and he fell in tomahawk, when he [ior was Tar-cha-cliee, ^uaintances. As the ,e horrid war-whoop, in !" He then bounu- , furious blow at the upon and dislocated ;o the body of the In- an ! He is not afrai.l |en snapping his piece tour feet deep, and three f«i nnMurthe "CauM Sight." CuMlnictloii iif Kurt Cliiniciriii' itt Kniidon'i LiMidln(, Anitlll and Dale, m at him during the whole conflict, a'ld was now nri as possible, and 1 a blutf on the loft ^ndes County. The months before, and inflame the Creeks ugitives from their tie prophets asburod ittose, stood, was so [> savage priests per- 3wn the most dvead- d Creeks friendly to ministera of the Evil ng of the 23d of De- manner, and the in- Lisy with their incan- )f both sexes were in J ider Captains Lester a by Colonel Carson, mposed of a detaeh- nounted riflemen un- mc Choctaws under |most surrounded by as holy, and having They had, on the [to safe places in the ga County, and they Jipvement. Carson's Tted the assault with lly into the ught, the leaped, owing to the Istward of the town, I of the river, and by I joined their families Idesertcd by his war- n life. He was hotly Uwerful steed made th the water. They fh one hai.d, and his Unl to their conrnge." Most kere Gerard W.Brandon aw. Dettrnction of Econochaca. Dlaaolutlon of the Armiee In the Creek Country. Gathering )t new Voaiuteers. rifle with the other. He regained his saddle in a moment, and the noble animal bore him safely to the Autauga shore. ^ General Claiborne laid Econochaca in ashes after it was plundered by the Choc- taws. At least two hundred houses were destroyed and thirty Indians killed. The loss of the assailants amounted to only one killed and six wounded. After spending a day and two nights in the vicinity, completing the work of destruction ar d disper- sion, and suffering much from Avet and cold, the little array turned southward, and on the 29th'' reached Fort Clp.iborne. They had suffered much on the . December, way, the officers and men alike subsisting chiefly on boiled acorns until ^*^^" they reached Fort Deposit. The term of Carson's Mississippi Voluniters and cavalry had now expired, and they were mustered out of the service. By this process the little army of volunteers and militia melted away, and on the 23d of January General Claiborne was com- pelled, in writing to the Secretary of War from Mount Vernon, to say that he had only sixty men left, ard their time would soon expire. Colonel Russell and his reg- ulars garrisoned Fort Claiborne, and did what they could in furnishing supplies to the Tennessee troops above ; at the same time they made some unimportant raids in the Lidian country, but without accomplishiiig any great results. Let us now observe the movements of Jackson in the region of the Coosa and Tal- lapoosa Rivers. We lefl him at Fort Strother, comparatively inactive because of a lack of supplies and the discontents of his troops. Nor was this all. The terms of enlistment of most of his men were near expiration, and he saw before him, in the temper of bis troops, the inevitable disintegration of his army at the moment when their services were most needed. He was urged by his chief. General Pinckney, to hold all the posts in his possession, for it was of vital importance to deprive the Brit- ish of these new Indian allies, Tlie skies at that moment appeared lowering. Seven sail of British vessels, with troops and two bomb-ships, were off Pensacola. New Orleans was menaced, and Mobile was in imminent danger. St. Augustine would doubtless be soon occupied by a British force, with the consent of the treacherous Spaniards ; and in every direction clouds seemed gathering, portentous of dismal events in the southwest. Thus closed the year 1814, while Jackson, with his army substantially disbanded, was looking anxiously toward Tennessee for another. He had written most stirring appeals for men and food, and the patriotic Governor Blount was doing all in his power to provide both. General Cocke had gone back to East Tennessee with or- ders to raise fifleen hundred men and rejoin Jackson in the Creek country ; and a band of Cherokee Indians were garrisoning Fort Armstrong, on the upper waters of the Coosa. Jackson himself was continually in motion. Almost alone he traversed the wilderness between the Coosa and Tennessee, backward and forward, in endeav- ors to hasten onward supplies for the new army. At lengtli the advance of that army began to appear. First came two (mostly mounted) regiments to Fort Strother, comn)!i,nded by Colonels Perkins and Higgins, numbering about nine hundred men, who had been enlisted for only sixty days. Thor were raw recruits, yet Jackson de- termined to put them in motion toward the bRnded enemy immediately. That en- emy, recovered somewhat from the late disasters, was showing an aggressive disposi- tion which must be checked; and accordingly, on the 15th of January ,'' b isu. Jackson led his new troops across the Coosa to the late battle-field at Talladogt, where he was joined" by two hundred Cherokee and Creek In- ° "wnaryis. dians, and Chief Jim Fife. He had brought with him an artillery company who had remained at Fort Strother when the other troops left, and a six-pounder. His whole force, exclusive of the Indians, was nine hundred and thirty. With these he made a raid (" excursion" the general called it) toward the Tallapoosa, preceded by two cora- 1 Pickett's autory d/ AUOama, il., 8M. 774 PICTORIAL FIELD-BOOK JacluoD on the War-path again. Battle of Emncraa. Bravery of the Creeks. >> January 22. panieB of spies. Ho was accompanied by General Coffee, whose men had all deserted him but about forty, who now followed as volunteers. He reached the Ilillabce Creek, on the eastern line of the present Talladega County, on the 20th, and encampod that night at Enotochopco, in the southern part of Randolph County. On the follow- • January 21, iig moming* he pushed forward toward Emucfau, twelve miles distant **"• on the bend of the Tallapoosa, and toward evening, when near Emucfau Creek, fell upon a much-beaten trail, which indicated the proximity of a large force of Indians. Jackson thought it prudent to halt and reconnoitre. He disposed his troops in a hollow square, doubled his sentinels, sent out spies, and in every way took measures to meet an attack during the night. Toward midnif^xit the savages wore observed prowling about, and at the same time the general was informed that a lar^e body of Indians were encamped witbin three miles of him, some engaged in a war- dance, and others removing the women and children. An immediate attack seemed impending, and Jackson, fully prepared, calmly awaited it. The night wore away, and the dawn approached, when, at six o'clock,'' the Indians fell suddenly and with great fury upon the left flank of Jack- son's camp, occupied by the troops under Colonel Iliggins. General Coffee was witli them, and, under his direction, assisted by Colonel Sitler, the adjutant general, and Colonel Carroll, the inspector general, these new recruits fought gallantly, and kept the assailants in check. At dawn, w^en the whole field might le seen, they were re- enforced by Captain Ferrill's company of infantry, and the whole body were led to a vigorous charge upon the savages by General Coffee, supported by Colonels Iliggins and Carroll, and the friendly Indians. The savages were discomfited and dispersed, and fled, hotly pursued by the Tennesseeans, with much slaughter, for full two miles. Inspirited by this success, Jackson immediately detached General Coffee, with four hundred men and the whole body of the Indians, to destroy the encampment of the foe at Emucfau. It was found to be too strongly fortified to be taken without artil- lery, so Coffee marched back for the purpose of guarding the cannon on its way to a position to bear upon the town. This retrograde movement encouraged the In- dians, and a strong party of them fell upon the right of Jackson's encampment. Cof- fee at once asked and obtained leave to lead two hundred men to the support of tiiat wing, and to fall upon the left of the foe, while the friendly Indians should fall u])on their right flank at the same moment. By some mistake only fifty-four men followed Coffee. The gallant general fell upon the Indians with these, and Jackson ordered two hundred of the friendly Indians to co-opcrato with him by attacking the right flank of the savages. " This order was promptly obeyed," said Jackson in his report, " and on the moment of its execution what I expected was realized. The enemy iiad intended the attack on the right as a feint, and, expecting to direct my attention thither, meant to attack mo again, and with their main force, on the left flank, wliicii they had hoped to find weakened and in disorder. Tliey were disappointed." The general, with wise discretion, had not only ordered his left to remain firm, but Iiad repaired thither himself, and directed a part of the reserves, under Captain Ferrili, to hasten to its support. In this Avay the whole main body met the advancing enemy. They gave the foe two or three volleys, and then charged them vigorously with the bayonet. The Indians broke, and fled in confusion, hotly pursued some distance: and the friendly Indians, unable to withstand the lemptation, left their post on the right flank and joined in the chase, all the while pouring a harassing fire upon the fugitives. General Coffee in the mean time was straggling manfully against the assailants on the right of the encampment. The desertion of his Indian supporters placed him in a critical situation, for the odds were greatly against him. He was soon relieved by the return from the chase of Jim Fife and a hundred of his warriors, who were imme- diately summoned to his support. The aid w^as timely. Coffee aud his little party OF THE WAR OF 1812. 116 Bravery of the Creeks. 1 had all deserted led the llillabee th, and encamped . On the follow- ve miles distunt, en near Emucfau jr of a large force He disposed his in every way took the savages wore jrraed that a large engaged in a war- ate attack seemed len, at six o'clock,'' I left flank of Jack- ral Coffee was with utant general, and gallantly, and kept seen, they were re- body were led to a ,y Colonels lliggins fitcd and dispersed, r, for full two miles. ral Coffee, with four encampment of tlie taken without artil- annon on its way to encouraged the In- encampment. Cof- the support of that |ans should fall upon ■,y-four men followed [nd Jackson ordered attacking the right [ackson in his report, jd. The enemy had I direct my attention the left flank, which disappointed." The •cmain firm, hut had ,r Captain Ferrill, to 16 advancing enemy. vigorously with the (ued some distance; .ft their post on the •assing fire upon the [nst the assailants on Lrtcrs placed him i" Ivas soon relieved hv lors, who were inune- aud his little party Jackson's retrograde Movement. Battle on Snotochopco Creek. A severe ContMt. charged the savages vigorously, who, dispirited by the flight of their main body, gave way, and ran for their lives in every direction, many of them falling before the de- structive weapons of the pursuers. The victory, in the fonn of a repuls?, was com- plete, but it had been won at the cost of a severe wound in his body by General Cof- lee, and tlie loss of his aid-de-camp. Colonel A. Donolsou, and two or three others. Several of the privates were also wounded. Jackson was astonished at the courage and bravery of the Creeks, and thought it prudent to abandon any farther attempts to destroy the encampment at Emucfau. His movement was simply a raid, witjh the twofold object of striking a quick and de- structive blow at the enemy, and to make a diversion in favor of General Floyd, tiien in the vicinity of the Chattahoochee. He therefore determined to return to Fort Strother. At ten o'clock on the moming of the 23d the retrograde march commenced, and the little array reached Enotochopco Creek before sunset, and there planted a forti- fied camp for the night. Great vigilance Avas exercised, and no serious molestation was observed during the d.n ' lOSS. Well rested, the troops moved forward early the next morning. Tlie savages, who had interpreted this movement as a flight, had ibl- lowed stealthily, and, just as the advanced guard and part of the flank columns, with the wounded, had crossed the creek," they appeared suddenly in force on t ja„„nry24, their rear. The firing of an alarm-gun brought them to a hrit, when Jack- ^'*"- son immediately changed front, and prepared to meet the foe in good battle order. He placed Colonel Carroll at the liead of the centre column of the rear-guard, its right commanded by Colonel Perkins, and its left by Colonel Stump. He chose his own ground for battle, and expected to have entirely 'at oft' the enemy by wheeling the right and left columns on their pivots, recroesing the creek above and below, and fall- ing in upon their flanks and rear. To Jackson's great astonishment, his troops, who liad behaved so well at Emucfau, now foiled ; and when the word was given for Car- roll to halt and form, and a few guns had been fired, the right and left columns of the rear-guard precipitately gave way and made a disastrous retreat. They drew along with them a greater part of the centre column, leaving not more than twenty-five men to support Carroll. These maintained the ground gallantly, and order was soon restored. The battle was now sustained by only this handful of the rear-guard under Captain Quarles, the artillery company under Lieutenant Robert Armstrong, and Captain Russell's company of spies. The solitary 6-pcunder that composed the heavy ordnance of tlie expedition was dragged to the top of a hill in the midst of a galling lire from ten times the number of the Teiinesseeans engaged, when they poured upon the foe a storm of gra])e-8hot that sent them yelling with attVight in every direction.' They were pursued more than two miles by Colonels Carroll and Higgins, and Cap- tain? Elliott and Pipkin. The venerable Judge Cocke, then sixty-five years of age, was in the engagement, and joined in the pursuit witl' all the ardor of youth. The slaughter among the Indians was heavy, while that among the Tennesseeans Avas comparatively light. The exact number of casualties among the latter was not re- corded. Captain Hamilton, from East Tennessee, was killed, and Lieutenants Robert Armstrong, Bird Evans, Hiram Bradford, and Jacob M'Givock, and Captain Quarles, were wounded. Evans and Quarles soon afterward died. Li the two engagements, Kmucfau and Enotochopco, Jackson's entire loss was twenty killed and seventy-five ' The Rallnntry of two yonni; men In this cngnRcmcnt deserves a record. These were Constantino Perkine nnd Criivcn .laokson. The former was a graduate of Cumberland (Tennessee) Collepp, wa« with Jacksoii at the battle of Talladcf;a, nnd WHS one of the few who refused to desert him nt Fort Strother. In the linrry and confusion In eeparaling the can- imn from the limber, the rammer and picker of the piece were left behind. lu the midst of the shower of bullets from tlic Indians, Jackson coolly pulled out his Iron ramrod fl-om his musket nnd used it as a picker, primed with a cartridge from his side, and fired the cannon. Perklna then slipped off his bayonet, used his musket for a rammer, and drove down the cartridge for another discharge. These two brave young men kept the flcld-i>icce working, and drove the Mvnges to the deep forest Armstrong lay wounded near by, and called out to those ariniiid the piece, "My brave fel- lows, some of you may fall, but you mnst save the cannon 1" fll 770 PICTORIAL FIELD-BOOK Jackson at Fort Struther. Battle on the Calebee Rtver. The Georgians retire to their Frontier. wounded. The loss of the enemy was not accurately ascertained. One hundred and eighty-nine of their warriors were found dead.' • January 28, Jackson made his way back to Fort Strother'' after an absence of twelve 131'*. days, not perfectly satisfied with the results of his raid, yet he presented it to the public in the best aspect possible. His force was almost double that of the Indians, for at that time the larger proportion of them were below, watching the movements of Floyd and his Georgians, while a considerable force were strongly for- tifying the Horseshoe, and other places, preparatory to a desperate defensive war. His expedition, however, had been useful, and General Pinckney, in a letter to the ^ War Department,*" said, " Without the personal firmness, popularity, and exertions of that officer, the Indian War on the part of Tennessee woii'd have been abandoned, at least for a time." We will leave Jackson at Fort Strother a few moments while we consider the movements of Floyd below. We left that officer at Fort Mitchell, on the Chatta- hoochee. Floyd reposed more than six weeks awaiting supplies, and during that time recov- ered of his wound received at Auttose. Then he marched toward Toockabatcha, on the Tallapoosa, with over twelve hundred Georgia volunteers, a company of cavalry, and four hundred friendly Indians. He established communicating posts on the way, and at length, on the night of tho 26th of January, encamped on the Calebee or Chal- libee River, on the high land bordering the swamp of that name, in Macon County, Alabama, fifty miles west of Fort Mitchell, The camp was carefully watched, but hi the gloom, more than an hour before the dawn of the following morning, a band of Creeks, who had stealthily assembled in the swamp during the night, shot the sen- tinels, and pounced like fierce tigers on Floyd's front and fiank. The attack was snd- den, yet not unprepared for, and the savages were gallantly opposed, in the front, by the artillery under Captain Jett Thomas, riflemen commanded by Captain William E. Adams, and a picket-guard led by Captain John Broadnax. The fo rushed desperately up within thirty yards of the cannon, and smote the troops severely. Broadnax and his party were cut off from their companions for a while, but with the aid of the half-blood chief Timpoochy Barnard, leader of some Uchees, they cut their way through the encircling savages. Most of the other In- dians took shelter in the camp, and were scarcely felt in the battle, which was con- tested fiercely in the darkness, which was rendered more intense by the umbrageous branches of the heavy pine forest in which they were fighting. When daylight came, and Floyd was enabled to survey the field of action, the contest was soon end- ed. The general ordered the right wing of his little army, composed of the battalions comraanded by Majors Booth, Cleveland, Watson, and Freeman, and a troop of cav- alry under Captain Duke Hamiltn", to charge on the foe. The Indians were dismayed by the glittering bayonets, a,nd fled in great terror. The infantry pursued, and the cavalry joined in the exciting chase, followed by the friendly Indians and Meriweath- er's and Ford's riflemen. They were chased through the swamp, and many of the fu- gitives were slain. They left thirty-seven dead in the pathway of their flight. Tlie Georgians lost seventeen killed and one hundred and thirty-two wounded, and the friendly Indians had five men killed and fifleen wounded. Colonel Newman, a gal- lant officer, was wounded by three bullets and disabled, at the beginning of the action. Floyd's wounded were so many, and the hostile Indians in his vicinity were so nu- merous, and might be speedily re-enforced, that he prudently concluded not to pene- trate tlie country farther, but to fall back to the Chattahoochee. On the day of the battle he retired to Fort Hull, one of his newly-erected stockades, and on the following day the Indians occupied the late battle-field. Leaving a small garrison at Fort 1 Qeueral Jackson's official Letter to General Plnckiioy, January 89, 18U. OF THE WAR OF 1812. m retire to their Frontier. One hundred and absence of twelve , yet he presented iouble that of the ow, watching the were strongly for- ite defensive war. in a letter to the 89, popularity, and f Tennessee woiiUl e we consider the lell, on the Chatta- ng that time recov- d Toockabatcha, on ompany of cavalry, g posts on the way, he Calebee or Chal- >, in Macon County, ally watched, but in morning, a band of night, shot the ficn- The attack was sud- 3sed,in the front, by by Captain William mon, and smote the ;ir companions for a lard, leader of some tost of the other lu- [ttle, which was con- by the umbrageous ;. When daylight j'ntest was soon end- fsed of the battalions and a troop of cav- iians were dismayed try pursued, and tlie [ians and Meriweath- and many of the fu- |of their flight. The ) wounded, and the )ncl Newman, a gal- le beginning of the Ivicinity were so mi- ^cluded not to pene- On the day of the and on the following kll garrison at Fort 11814. KMt TenneBBeeans on their Way to the Creek Couiitry. The Choctaw Allies In Arms. Preparation of the Creeks. Hidl, the general continued his retrograde movement to Fort Mitchell, where his men were honorably discharged, their term of service having expired. No other ex- pedition against the Creeks was organized in Georgia. Let us now return to Jackson at Fort Strother. On his return from his twelve days' " excursion" or raid to the Tallapoosa, Jackson set his few militia that remained to constructing flat-boats in which to bring supplies dowTi the Coosa, and to transport them to regions below, where materials for his new array were rapidly approaching from Tennessee. He discharged the troops who had been with him on the late expedition, their tenn of service being about ready to ex- pire. Tliey left for homo full of admiration of and enthusiasm for their general, and their return gave a new impetus to volunteering. At the beginning of February two thousand troops from East Tennessee were in the shadows of Lookout Mountain, pressing on toward the Coosa, and at about the same time as many more West Ten- uesseeans arrived at Huntsville. Intelligence of these approaching troops filled Jackson's heart with gladness. His joy was increased by the arrival on the 6th, at Fort Strother, of Colonel Williams and the Thirty-ninth Regiment of the United States Army, six hundred strong, who had been induced to hasten to the relief of Jackson by the late Honorable Hugh L. White, of East Tennessee. Very soon afterward a part of Coffee's brigade of mounted men came into Fort Strother, and also a troop of East Tennessee dragoons. Tl e Choctaw Indians now openly espoused the cause of the United States ; and before the close of February Jackson found himself at the head of an 'army of five thousand men, lacking nothing to enable them to sweep the whole Creek country with tlie besom of destruction but adequate supplies of food. Great exe?tions were put forth suc- cessfully to that end, and at the middle of March every thing was in readiness for a forward movement. The hostile Creeks were aware of the formidable preparations for their subjugation, and were, at the same time, taking measures to avert, if possible, the impending blow. They had suffered severely at the hands of Jackson, Floyd, and Claiborne, and had already begun to have such premonitions of national disaster that they determined to concentrate their forces, and rest their fortunes upon the cast of the die of a single battle with the foe. For this purpose the warriors of the Hillabee, Ockfuske, Eufau- lahache, New Youka, Oakchoie, Hickory Ground, and Fish-pond towns had gathered hi the bend of the Tallapoosa, in the northeast part of Tallapoosa County, Alabama, called Tohopeka, or the Ilorseshoe, the river there assuming the shape of that object, forming a peninsula of about one hundred acres. By the aid of white men from Pen- sa.ola, and some hostile half-bloods, they built a very strong breastwork of logs across the neck of the peninsula, and pierced it wnth two rows of port-holes arranged in such manner as to expose the assailants to a cross-fire from within. Back of this breast- work was a mass of logs and brush ; and at the bottom of the peninsula, near the river, was a village of log huts, where hundreds of canoes were moored at the banks of the stream, so that the garrison might have the means of escape if hard pushed, A greater portion of the peninsula was covered with forest. The Indians had an ara- ble supply of food for a long siege. Their number was about twelve hundred, one fourth being women and children. There the Indians determined to defend them- selves to the last extremity. They regarded their breastwork as impregnable, and were inspirited by recent events at Emuckfau (about four miles distant) and Enoto- chopco. When Jackson was informed by some friendly Indians of the gathering of the •^reeks at the Horseshoe, he resolved to march thither immediately and strike an ex- terminating blow. He sent his stores down the Coosa in flat-boats, in charge of Col- onel Williams and his regiment of regulars, and leaving a garrison of four hundred and fifty men in Fort Strother, under Colonel Steele, he commenced his march with Wn the remainder of his army toward the Tallapoosa on the 16th of IMarch," tlic only musical instrument to cheer them on the way being a solitary drum. Tlie : OF THE WAK OF 1812, 779 Jickion marches upon the Siivnges at Ihe Iluneahoe. A (lenperatc Battle there. Bravery of both Partlea. jouniey was slowly performed, for much of the way a road had to be cut through the woods. On the 2l8t they were at the mouth of Cedar Creek, where they were joined by the supply-boats the next day, and there Fort Williams was built to keep open the communication with Fort Strother. Then Jackson pushed on eastward, and early on the morning of the 27th halted within a few miles of the breastworks at the Horseshoe, and sent out parties to reconnoitre. His army now numbered about two thousand effective men. Jackson's spies informed h' n of the position of the Indians, and he at once compre- hended the folly which had jjcrmitted them to assemble in a pen, as if offering facili- ties for him to carry out his threat of extermination. He sent General Coffee, with ull the mounted men and friendly Indians, to cross the river about two miles below the Bend, and take position on the bank o])po8ite the village and boats. When, by signal, he was certified of the execution of his order, he went forward Avith the main body of his army toward the peninsula, and planted two field-pieces upon a little hill within eighty yards of the nearest point of the fortifications on the neck. At a little past ten o'clock these opened fire on the works, under the direction of Captain Brad- ford, chief engineer, but without seriously affecting the wall. As the small balls were buried in the logs and earth, the Indians set up a shout of derision, and the general was fairly defied. Simultaneously with the attack on the Indians' breastworks, some of the Cherokees with Coffee SAvam across the river, seized the canoes, paddled back in them, and full two hundred men were jit once conveyed over the stream, and, under the direction ofColoncl Morgan and Captain Russell, set the little town on fire, and moved against the enemy in the rear of their works. The smoke from the burning huts assured Jackson that all was going on well in that quarter, but the slackening of the assail- ants' musketry gave evidence that they were too few to dislodge the savages, and were probably in peril. The general at once determined to storm the breastworks wliich he had been battering for full two hours with cannon-balls almost in vain. The lliirty-ninth United States Infantry, under Colonel Williams, formed the van of the storming party. They were well supported by General James Doherty's East Tennessee brigade under Colonel Bunch, and the whole assailing party beliaved most valiantly. They pressed steadily forward in the face of a deadly storm of bullets and arrows, and maintained for some time a hand-to-haiui fight at the port-holes. This (k'spcrate conflict lasted several minutes, when Major L. P. Montgomery leaped upon the breastwork, and called upon his men to follow. They did so, and at the same moment he fell dead with a bullet in his head. Ensign Sam Houston, a gallant youth at his side, was severely Avounded in the thigh at the same time by a barbed arrow, blithe leaped boldly down among the savages, and called upon his companions to fol- low. They did so, and fought like tigers. Very soon the dexterous use of the baj-- onct caused the Indians to break, and flee in wild confusion to the woods and thick- ets. They had fought bravely under great disadvantages, and believing that torture awaited the captive, not o'le would suffer himself to be taken, or asked for quarter. Some attempted to escape by swimming across the river, but were shot by the uner- ring bullets of the Tennes oceans. Others secreted themselves in thickets, and were driven out and slain ; and a considerable number took refuge under the river bluffs, wliere they Avere covered by a part of the breastworks and felled trees. To the lat- ter Jackson sent word that their lives should be spared if they would surrender. The snmmons was answered by a volley that sent the messenger (an interpreter) back bleeding from severe wounds. A cannon was then brought to bear upon the strong- hold, but it made little effect. Then the general called for volunteers to storm it, and the wounded Ensign Houston' was the first to step out. While reconnoitring ' This wag the afterward soldier and statesman, General Sam Ilonston, one of the bravest of the leaders In the Texas RcTolatlon, first President of the independent Republic of Texas, and for man; years n member of the National Legit- $ m§^ ^-;«l -I-! ■ ■ - 'If . ' j to?. ':i m m m riCTOUlAL FIELD-BOOK The Creeks defeated at the Battle of the Iloriieshne. Note.— The obove plan of the battle of Cholocco Lituhtxcc, or the Horseshoe, Is nrrangert from one In Pickett's H.i tory of Alabama. A shows the position of the hill f^om which Jackson's caunon played upon the breastworks, C C C represent the position of Coffee's command. the position above, he received from the concealed savages two bullets in his slioiil- dcr, and ho was borne helpless away. Others lost llicir lives in attempts to clislodsc the foe. It was conceded that the place was impregnable to missiles, so the torch was applied, and the savages, as they rushed wildly from the crackling furnace, were shot down without mercy by the exasperated riflemen. Tlie carnage continued until late in the evening, and when it was ended five hundred and fifty-seven Creek war- riors lay dead on the little peninsula. Of the thousand who went into the battle in the morning not more than two hundred were alive, and many of these were severely wounded.' Jackson's loss was thirty-two killed and ninety-nine wounded. Tlie Cher- okees lost eighteen killed and thirty-six wounded. Among the slain were Major Mont- gomery^ and Lieutenants Moulton and Somerville. The spoils of victory were over laturc of the United States. He was n remarkable man. He was born In Eockbrldji^ County, Virginia, on the 2(1 of March, 1703, and, while yet a child, he went with his widowed mother to Tennessee. He spent several years mth tbe Cherokee Indians, and became enamored with their roving, restless life. Ue eulUteil in the army iu 1$13, and at the close of the war bad reached the position of lieutenant. Then he studied law at Nashville, and there commenced bij long political life. In 1823 he was elected to Congress, and continued in that body until 1827, when he became Govercor of 'Tennessee, Before the expiration of his term he resigned, and took up hia abode among the Cherokecs in Arkan- sas, where he bcfrtcnded them much in *heir intercourse with dishonest agents of the Government. He became com- mander-in-chief of the little army of revolutionists in Texas, which achieved its independence in 183C. He was twice elected presi(l<'-.i of that republic, and when Texas was annexed to the United States he was sent as her rcprcsentatite to the Senate, where he remained until just before the breaking out of the great Civil War, • ' he was Governor o( Texas. He died in November, 1803, aged seventy years. ' Pickett relates (Uistory of Alabama, ii., 84.3) that many suffered long from grievons wounds. "Manowa," he sat!, "one of the bravest chiefs that ever lived, was literally shot to pieces. He fought as long as he could. Be saved fain- self by Jumping Into the river where the water was fonr feet deep. He held to a root, and thus kept himself bcneatli the waves, breathing through the long Joint of a cane, one end of which he held in his mouth, while the other end came above the surface of the water. When night set in, the brave Manowa rose from his watery bed, and made his way to the forest, bleeding from many wounds. Many years after the war we conversed with the chief, and learned from bim the particulars of his .-emarkable escape. His face, limbs, and body, at the time we conversed with him, were marlied with scars of many horrible wounds." » Lemuel Paruell Montgomery was bom In Wythe County, Virginia, In 1786, and was distantly related to the hero ot OF THE WAR OF 1812. 781 refl from one In PickcU's H* ipon Ihe breastworks. C C C bullets in liia shoul- attempts to dislodge missiles, so the torch ackling furnace, were .■nage continued xmtil fty-seven Creek par- ent into tlic battle ' (fthcse were severely •wounded. Tlie Cher- lain were Major Mont- of victory were over |!onnty,Vl7ginla,on the 2d o( . spent several years with He > the army In 1S13, and at tht lille, and there commenced bi! I27, when ho became Governor long the Cherokees in Arlian- tvernment. He became com- laencc m 1830. ncwastmcc Ivns sent as her representative L, • • ■ be was Governor 01 lounas. "Manowa/'heMJt, lasheconW. Heeavedhta. InathnskeptWmselfbenerti lith, while the other end came Terjl bed, and made h sway to le chief, and learned from hiffl Icrsed with him, were marked Ltantly related to the hero ot .lackunn retires from the Fields of Conflict. The snbdaed Indians sue fur Peace. Wcathersford In Jackson's Tent. three hundred widows and orphans who wcro made prisoners. Tlie blow was appall- inir, and fatal to the dignity and i)ower of the Creek nation. On the morning after the battle* at the Ilorseslioe Jackson commenced . March ss, a retrograde march toward Fort Williams, carrying his wounded witli liim '**'''• on litters, and leaving the bodies of most of liis dead beneath the watera of the Coosa, safe from desecration by siivage liands. They were five days on tlie way, and during as many more they rested there. They encountered some hostile Indians on the march, but tliey generally fled at their ajjproacL. The spirit of the proud Creeks was broken, and they had no heart to make a defensive stand any where. From Fort Williams Jackson pualicd on toward the Hickory Ground of tlic Creeks, at the confluence of the Coosa and Tallapoosa Rivers, over a country flooded by s])ring rains and swollen streams, and halted at the head of the peninsula, where tlie rivers approach each other within si.x hundred yards b-.fore uniting four miles below. There, on the sight of Fort Toulouse, erected by Governor Bienville a hundred years before, he built a stockade, cleaned out and deepened the old French entrance, and raised the national standard over a fortification named, in his honor. Fort Jackson. Thither dep- utation after deputation of humiliated Creek chiefs made their way to sue for pardon and peace in behalf of themselves and their people. They were received with court- esy, yet with sternness. " Give proof of your submission," said the general, " substan- tially by going and staying above Fort Williams, where you will be treated with, and the final demands of my Goveniment will be made known to you. But you must first bring in Wcathersford, the cruel leader of the attack on Fort Mims, wlio on no account can be forgiven." They cheerfully complied ; but little did Jackson know the true character of Wcathersford, or the plasticity of his own nature at that time. Wcathersford did not wait to be caught and dragged like a felon to the feet of the leader of the pale faces. He was a stranger to fear, and sagacious in plans. Ho WW clearly the flight of hope for his nation, at the Horseshoe, and resolved to sub- mit. Mounting his fine gray horse, with whom lie leaped from tlie bluff" at the Holy Ground,' he rode to Jackson's camp. He arrived just at sunset.'' The gen- ^ iral was alone in his tent when the chief entered it, drew himself up to Ids lull height, and, folding his arms, said, " I am Weathersford, the chief who command- ed at Fort Mims. I have nothing to request for myself You can kill me if you de- sire. I have come to beg you to send for the women and children of the war-party, who are now starving in the woods. Their fields antl cribs have been destroyed by your people, who have driven them to the woods without an ear of corn. I hope that you will send out parties who will conduct them safely here, in order that they may be fed. I exerted myself in vain to prevent the massacre of the women and thildien at Fort Mims.^ I have come now to ask peace for my people, but not for myself."' Jackson expressed astonishment that one so guilty should dare to appear ill his presence and ask for peace and protection. " I am in your power ; do with me as you please," the chief haughtily replied. " I am a soldier. I have done the white jieople all the harm I could. I have fought them, and fought them bravely; and if I had an army I would yet fight, and contend to the last. But I have none. My people arc all gone. I can now do no more than weep over the misfortunes of my nation." the same name who fell at Quebec at the close of 1TT6. His family settled originally in North Carolina, and were Scotch- Iriih. In early life the major became a resident of East Tennessee, near Knoxville. He studied law, and became a rival of the eminent Felix Grundy. He was a darini; horseman, and flill of soldierly qualities. _ President Madison ap- pointed him major of the Thirty-niuth Regiment, and he fell at their head when storming "the breastworks at the Horseshoe, as we have ob? ervod In the text. Jackson wept over his body like a child, and exclaimed, " I have lost the Bower of my army I" He was buried near where he fell, and in long after years the citizens of Tallapoosa County hon- ored his memory by exhuming his remains, and burying them with mllitaiy ceremonies at the capital of the county. The County of Montgomery and the political capital of the State of Alabama were named in honor of this brave sol- dier.— Pickett. ' See page 772. » See an account of his exertions on page 750. ' Weathersford's appeal for the women and children was kindly responded to, and not only to the women and chil- JreD.bnt to the remnant of the nation succor was given. For a cousldcrablc part of the ensuing summer, five thousand Creek Indians drew rations from the public stores. But for this aid a large number of them must have perished by ftarvatlon. m 5 ■ ■ ^ ! i i i : '']: t * i 1 1 1 '.>' I 1 ' i'i t ^ 1 iiliiii :!n!M|j,|| 9B2 PICTORIAL FIELD-BOOK WMtlMnAird'H mniily Tiilk. JacluoD admlrei and raleiaea him. The Creok Niillim ruined. Hero was a man after Jackson's own heart. A patriot who loved his peo|»l(., had foujifht to protect the liiiul of his birtli from the inviuler, and now feiirleHsly expressed his |)atrioti8m in the presence of one wlio had power over his life. Juekson imme- diately informed him that submission and the acceptance of a home beyond tlie iMis- sissippi for his nation was the only wise policy for him to pursue. He added," It; however, you desire to contimie the war, and feel i)repared to meet the conseiiueiues, you may depart in peace, and unite yourself with the war-party, if you clioose," Half scornfully, half sorrowfully, Wcathersford replied, "I may well be addressed in such language now. There was a time when I had a choice and could have an- swered you ; I have none now — even hope is ended. Once I could animate my war- riors to battle, but can not animate the dead. My warriors can no longer hear inv voice. Their bones are at Talladega, Tallaseliatche, Emucfan, Econochopco, and To- hopeka. I have not surrendered myself thoughtlessly. While there was a cdianw for success I never left my post nor supplicated peace. But my people are gone, and I now ask it for my nation, not for myself. On the miseries and misfortunes brouglit upon my country I look back with deepest sorrow, and wish to avert still greater calamities. If I liad been left to contend with the Georgia army, I would liavo raised my corn on one bank of the river and fought them on the other. But your peopii- have destroyed my nation. You are a brave man ; I rely upon your generosity, You will exact no terms of a conquered people but such as they should agree to. Whatever they may be, it would now be folly and madness to oppose. If they an opposed, yc i will iind mo among the sternest enforcers of obedience. Those wlm would still hold out can be influenced only by a mean spirit of revenge, and to this they must not and shall not sacrifice the last remnant of their country. You have told our nation where we might go and bo safe. This is good talk, and they oui^ht to listen to it. They shall listen to it."' Thus spoke the truly noble Wcathersford for his nation. Words of honor respond- ed to words of honor, and Wcathersford was allowed to go freely to the forest tn search for his scattered followers and counsel peace. But there was no safety for him in that region, for the relatives of those massacred at Fort Mims sought to kill him. He fled, and remained away until the cud of the war, when he returned, and became a respected citizen of Alabama.'* General Pinckney arrived at Fort Jackson on the 20th of April with troops from North and South Carolina. Informed of the general submission of the Creeks, ami considering the war virtually at an end, he directed the West Tennesseeans to march home, and four hundred of General Doherty's brigade to garrison Fort Williams. The order to the West Tennesseeans was so gladly and promptly obeyed that within • April 21, two hours after its utterance* they were in motion up the Coosa. They *^"' pushed forward with great celerity*, crossed the Tennessee River, and at Fayetteville were discharged. There Jackson bade them farewell in a stirring ad- dress, and then hastened to his own home at the " Hermitage," near Nashville, ami indulged a short time in needed repose. Here we will leave the consideration of the fearfully-smitten Creeks for the pres- ent, with the remark that they showed themselves to be a brave people, and, on many accounts, deserving of the respect of mankind. > Drake's Book of the Indians, eleventh edition, page 390. » Wenthersford ccttled upon a farm in Monroe County, Alabama, well supplied with negro slaves, where he maintain- ed the character of an honest man. Soon after his return he married, and General Sam Dale, frequently menlioneii in this chapter, was his groomsman. His birth-place was the Hickory Ground, but he could not live there. He said lint bis old comrades, the Uostile Creeks, ate his cattle from starvation , the peace-party ate them from revenge; ond the squatters because he was "a damned Red-skin :" so, he said, "I have come to live among gentlemen."— See W^o/Cffl- ercU Sam Dale, page 129. Weatbersford died from the effects of fatigue produced by a desperate bear-buut in 1S2I!, ■3 i \ OP THE WAU OF 18 12. 7P.'l rhe Creek Niillmi rulneO Civil Affair* In l»ia. Pdllllcnl Compoiltlon ofC'niigreM. CummlaKliiiipm tu trent tut Paac* appolnletl. rnd his peo\)U', hml I'urlcHHly t'xi)rcssi'(l L«. JiickwDU iiiimc- iie boyond the Mis- 10. lie addo.V'lt; t the consi'([in;iU'i's. ■ty» if y*'** chodw." iTcll be atldi'i'sscd in and could have an- Id animate my war- L no longer hear my conochopco, and 'IV there waa a cliamt' people arc gone, ami misfortunes hrouglit ,0 avert still greater r, I would have raistMl Jr. But your people pon your generosity. hey should agree to. . oppose. If they aro )edience. ^hose wlio .f revenge, and to thi* r country. You have 1 talk, and they oufjlit iords of honor rospoml- ■reely to the forest tu lere was no safety k •t Mims sought to kill hen he returned, ami Lpril with troops from fou of the Creeks, ami fennessecans to mavdi krrison Fort Williams. [ly obeyed that witlnu i up the Coosa. Tliey Innessec Kiver, and « lewell in a stirring ad- near Nashville, ami L Creeks for the pros- |e people, and, on many Lero slaves, vrhere he maintam- I m,e, frequently mcuuonc" L not live there, lle-a.dt L them from revenBC;«na^ LBenllemen."-SeeW;/(^ Icsperutebear-huutlnlSiC. CHAPTER XXXV. " Farewell Pence ! Another crl«l» Onlls un to ' the liiBt nppenl,' Miido when monnrchH and their vices Ix^nve no iir^iinivnt hnt ^lecl. Let not 111! the world united Hob u» of one siicrcd rlijht: Every patriot heart'ii dellt;htcd In hU country's caUHO tu flgbt,"— Oi.n Sono. here, before >f mill 18 proper Here, betore resuming a narrative or military events in the North, to take a brief survey of civil alfuirs in 1813. In conformity to a law passed in February* pre- • February ««, ceding the inauguration of Mr. Madison, the Thir- ^'''^■ teenth Congress assembled on the 24th of May, when Henry Clay was chosen Speaker of the House of Kepresentatives. In that body ardent young men like Cheves, Calhoun, Lowndes, Grundy, and Troup had become leaders. Quincy had declined a re-election, but the extreme Federalists were well represented by the venerable patriots of the Revolution, Timothy Pickering and Egbert Benson. There was a strong administration working party in both houses, and the President felt well supported, notwithstanding there had been decided gains for the ])eace- jiaity in New England at the spring elections. But in New York, where the Feder- alists were expecting a triumph, they had been defeated, and New Jersey, and Penn- sylvania, and all of the slave-labor states, and their children in tiie Mississippi Val- ley, were decided friends of the administration. With his message tlie President sent into Congress a letter from the Emperor of Russia offering his mediation. The President stated that it had been accepted by the government; that commissioners had been appointed to conclude a treaty of peace with persons clothed with like powers on the part of the British government, aiuUhat two of the American commissioners (Albert Gallatin and James A. Bayard) had already departed for St. Petersburg, there to meet John Quincy Adams, a third commissioner. While the President expressed a hope that a speedy peace might be the result, he conjured Congress to shape legislation as if the object might be ob- tained only by a vigorous prosecution of the war. He called attention, in a special manner, to the national finances, which Avere not in a promising condition, and laid before Congress an estimate of expenses for the year 181.3, to the amount of about thirty million dollars.' Tlie subject of an increase of internal revenue and of direct taxation had been agi- tated a little, but was deferred until after the Presidential election. Now the admin- istration party felt strong enough to try these measures. Bills for the imposition of taxes and excise were adopted, and a new loan Avas authorized. No effort was spared for providing adequate means for the vigorous prosecution of the war, and only in Xew England was a voice of serious opposition heard. Governor Strong, of Massa- chusetts, denounced the Avar as cruel and unjust, and urged the Legislature to adopt measures for bringing about a speedy peace. The tAvo houses being in political ac- cord with the governor, they agreed to a remonstrance, in which they, too, declared ' The civil list for the year, !$9nO,000 ; payment of principal and Interest on the national debt, $10,610,000 ; and for the War irnd Navy Departments, $lT,S20,OflO ; making a total of $29,230,000. i' lllll ( ; :l _. |l: 1 1 ■l 1 ■ ; i > Wm' i' ?" i 194 PICTORIAL FIELD-BOOK TiM War fMer tenminced. Illicit Trsfllc Cdiiiililareit. Hecent Krcnti autplctou*. The Hoiiir puf,,. the fkrther prosociition of tlio war to be impolitic niid unjuHt, ftiul implored Conifrtss to atlopt iiicnsurcH for nrresting it T!jcy doi-lari'd tiiat tlioy woro iiiHuonccd (tnly },y a HciiHo of duty to the Constitution and tiit^ country, and appealed to (lod as u y,\l neH8 of the rectitude of their intentiouH. Thiw renioiiHtranco wuh presented to the 'Juno 10, House of Kepresenttttives* by Timothy Pickering. It was courteous] v re- ceived on account of that venerable man, when it was laid on the tiilili, anil iMia. there remained during the rest of the sessiuu, but excited much remark and sevi'r« condemnation throughout the country.' During the session ctrectual ineasures were taken for stopping a traffic curried nn extensively by American merchant vessels, disguised as neutrals, with the lliitisli West India Islands and ports of Spain under licenses issued by the British govern- ment, by which they gave aid and comfort to the enemy, and injured their ctmiitrv. Congress also considered the charges of cruel and unusual conduct on the part dt'iln British in making war, and a committee was appointed, with the eminent Natlimml Macon, of North Caroliona, as chairman, to gather information on the subject. TIair <::^C€>e7Zu report, now on file at the national capital, is a melancholy picture of wrongs and nut- rages, especially in the Northwest where savages were employed, and on the Vir- ginia coast.* The special business of Congress at this early session was the providing of iiipans for prosecuting the war vigorously. This was accomplished before the close of July, ^ and that body adjourned on the 2d of August'' to reassemble on the Otii of December. Before that meeting very important events had occurred, wliidi liave already been recorded in these pages, such as Harrison's campaign for the recov- ery of Michigan; Perry's victory on Lake Erie; Chauncey's operations on Lake On- tario; victories on the ocean; Wilkinson's unfortunate campaign on the St. Lawrence border ; and Jackson's operations in the Creek country. England had refused to ac- cept the mediation of Russia on the terms proposed, and peace seemed more remote than ever; and the National Legislature perceived that the honor, prosperity, and per- liaps the very existence of the republic depended upon a vigorous prosecution oftlie war. This conviction was forcing itself upon every thoughtful mind even in New England, and the opposition of magistrates and law-makers was severely condcmneil as unpatriotic and shameful. The nation was involved in a war with a powerl'ul, tmculent, and haughty foe, and every right-minded man felt that it was the duty of every good citizen to lay aside his political prejudices, and to do all in his power to extricate his country from its serious trouble by first vanquishing the enemy with vigorous blows, and then treating with him as an equal for an honorable peace. Yet the peace-party was pow^erful and active in New England, and endeavored to con- vince the people of that section that the administration was a tyrant intent upon their injury. They pointed to the sad fact of the interference with their commerce, navigation, and fisheries ; and the people were reminded that for years the Govern- ment, under the guidance of Virginia politicians, had been controlled by the planting interest in the slave-labor states by whom the war had been kindled. They justly complained that the statesmen of the free-labor states, and especially of New En- gland, had been proscribed, and denied a share in the management of public aflfairs, > Compare ttiis action of the Masaachnaetts Legialatore with a statement of its doinga recorded In note 1, page iK. » See page 088. . OF THE WAR OP 1819. 78S I. Th* Ptif* Pwrty inil)lori'(l C"()iit;ri'!t« inrtuoncotl only )\\- .(1 to t»o»l ii'* 11 wit- 118 presentiMl to the ttiis courteously n- ful on the tiilili', mill remark ami siaiti; ^ ft traffic cdrricd on lis, with tht' Ihltisli tho liritish liovcrn- ijured thfir country. ,ct on tho piirt dftlii' lO oininciit Niitlmniil u tho subject. Thuir A T««olatloDU7 PropiMiltton, ConiUtion uf iha Country. A new Bmbiritu Act. f^ ire of wrongs and out- oyed, and on the Vir- hc provuVinj? of means efore the close of July, iSomWc on the Otli of .8 had occurred, which lampaign for the rccov- iperations on Lake On- rn on the St.Lawrenco ^uid had refused to ai- le seemed more remote lor, prosperity, and per- rons prosecution of the [ful mind oven in Kew 18 severely condcmne4 war with a powerful, liat it Avas the duty of do all in his power to shing the enemy with honorable peace. Yet |nd endeavored to con- a tyrant intent upon with their commerce, for years the Govern- trolled by the plantinj kindled. They justly ■specially of New En- (ment of publicjiffau^ -Trecordeclluiiotel, page TOO. and tliat tho nutioiial govenunont had left tlicni wholly unprotec*'-.! »itile w.ir was 111 their doors, their coasts blockaded, and their sea-port towns ex|)08ed to instant do- Htn.'tion. In view of these untleniable facts, some «)f the popidar leatU'is sujjgested tho propriety of tho New Kiij^laiid States taking care of themselves, irrespective of the national welfare, by concluding a separate peace with CJreat Hritain, atul allow- inn the states beyond and south of the Hudson lliver to light as long as they pleased. This revolutionary proposition did iu>t tind favor among patriotic men. Such was tho general aspect of public atVairs when Congress met in December. The tone of tho President's message to that body was hopeful ami even joyous, for the late achievements oft'".' natiomil power gave promises «)f great good. Financial mutters were quite as favorable as when Congress adjourned in Atigust. Abundant harvests had rewarded the labors of the husbandman. The j)eo[»le were becoming more and more a unit in opinion concerning tho righteousness of the war on the part of the Govenmient, and its beneficial effects in developing the internal resources of the country; also in demonstrating the ability of a free govennnent to protect itself iiiiainst a powerful foe. "The war," said the President in his message," is illustrating tlie capacity and tho destiny of tho United States to be a great, l flourishing, and a powerful nation, worthy of the friendship wliich it is disposed to cultivate with all others, and authorized by its own example to require from all an observance of the laws of justice and reciprocity." In a confidential message* the President recommended the passage of • Docomi)er », ail Embargo Act to prevent supplies being furnislied to the enemy from ***'"• American ports by unpatriotic men, and the introduction of British manufactures in professedly neutral vessels. Such traffic was extensively carried on, especially in New England, where the magistrates were often willingly lenient toward violators of restrictive laws already in operation. A bill, in accordance with the I'resident's (iusgestions, Avas j)as8ed by both houses of Congress on the iTth,*" the pro- visions of which were excessively stringent. It was provided that the act should remaui in force until the Ist of January, 1815, uidess hostilities sliould sooner cease, 1 It prohlblteil, nnder severe penalties, tho exportation, or an attempt at exportation, by land or water, of any Roods, ]iri ilure, upccle, or live-stock ; and, to Ruard as ftilly as possible against evasions, even the coast-trade was fu entirely liri)lilbltcd that It became necessary to pass an act afterward to prevent the crews of coasters, Intercept ;d li> the rm- itargo when away from home, to employ their empty vessels as vehicles for their return to port. This provision bore very severely on the towns of the New England sea-board, for many of them depended on the coasting vesaftis for fuel, and other necessary articles.. Their supply was suddenly stopped by It In tho heart of winter. No transportation was allowed even on inland waters eTceptlng by the special permission of tho President. Wide latitude was given to cus- tom-house officials and cruisers 1 1 the felziirc of suspected goods ; and fisher- men were not allowed to go out with- out giving bonds not to viol.ito the Em- hargo Act. "The effect of tho meas- ure," said the National Intelligencer of liecember 23, " will be to curtail onr en- emies of necessary supplies precisely to the amount of onr exports, except tho very small proportion of them which found their way to tho ports of France. It can essentially Injnre no honest man -no man who would disdain to afford M and comfort to the enemies of his country. . . . Speculators, knaves, and traitors shall no longer enrich them- selves at the expense of the commn- uily." A epiiited caricature of the effect of this Embargo Act was designed and en- pravcd by Dr. Alexander Anderson [see note 1, page 787] for David Longworth, « highly -esteemed publisher of New York. It will be recollected that a for- mer embargo, during Jefferson's administration [see page 162], was called by the Opposition, or Federalist party, " a ter- rapiu policy." That idea is embodied In the caricature before ns, In which the Embargo Act of 1813 is personified by a 3D iw? — >^*"^v IV ft I \\ m. 1 i W^ m m i ' J f 1 i mmi^ Mii^ 786 PICTORIAL FIELD-BOOK Napoleon humbled. Rumors of Peace. Re|)cnl of the Embargo Act. ' 1814. Very soon after the promulgation of the Embargo Act, intelligence came from Eu- rope which caused a change in the views of the administration concerning the neces- sity for the measure. An English flag of truce schooner arrived at Annapolis, Mary- land, at the close of December, with the news of great disasters to Napoleon in tin- field. His triumphant march toward the German Ocean and the lialtic had betn checked in a great battle at Leipsic, and he had been compelled to fall back across the Rhine with his magnificciit army sadly shattered. Thoughtful men supposed tiie hour of the conqueror's downfall to be near, and reasonably concluded that such an event would allow the British government to withdraw its soldiers from the Con- tinent and send them hither. The schooner also brought oflicial assurance to our government that the British Cabinet was willing to treat for peace, and accept the mediation of Russia upon certain conditions. In his letter to Secretary Monroe com- municating this fact. Lord Castlereagh was careful to say that his government was willing to treat with that of the United States" upon principles of perfect reciprocity not inconsistent with the established maxims of public law^ and with the maritiiiie rights of the British empire.''^ The Pi-ince Regent, in his speech at the openiiif of Parliament, had used similar language on the subject."^ He was willing to treat di- rectly with the United States government through commissioners, but was unwillini; to "accept the interposition of any friendly power in the question which formed thf principal object of dispute between tJie two states." Notwithstanding it was evident that the British government did net mean to recede a line from its assumptions con- cerning the right of search and impressment, and proposed the opening of negotia- tions at London, or at some point vjU the Continent near Great Britain, the Presi- dent, sincerely desiring peace on honorable terms, acceded to the proposition of the prince, and nominated Henry Clay and Jonathan Russell as additional commission- ers ; and the five,^ by the concurrent rction of the Senate in January," weru duly commissioned to treat for peace, at Gottenburg, with Bi'itish represent- atives.* This movement toward peace, and the pro-^pect of a general pacification of Europe, made the Opposition clamorous for a repeal of the Embargo Act. These considera- tions, and a desire to increase the revenue by impost duties so as to fully sustain tlif public credit, caused the President to recommend'' such repeal. That rec- JaDuary 19. ... ommendation was hailed with great delight throughout the country, ami an act of Congress for the repeal of the measure became a law ou the 14 th of April huge terrapin, who pelzca n violator of the law by the ecnt of his breeches. It was aimed at the New Englniul peoplp, who, it was alleged, were contlniinlly supplying the British cruisers with provisions, and thereby saving their coast from that devastatlou to which those of the Delaware and Chesapeake Bays iiad been subjected, and also putting money in their pockets by the infamous traffic. A British vessel of war is seen in the distance, with a boat, on the arrival of the knave with a barrel of flour, marked "sitperflnc." The Embargo terrapin seizes him, and the fellow cries out, "Oh: this cursed O-grub-me :'' th.^ ii-ord embargo spelled backward, making these words. The government official, wlio ha^ charge of the arrestiug terra|)iu, calls out in high glee, " Damn It, how ho nicks 'cm." One claw of the terrapin is upon a " license," such as the British authorities gave to professed neutrals. The designer and engraver of this caricaturo is . I (close of 1807) engaged in the practice of the art of engraving on wood at the age of almost ninety-three jcars. The copy of the caricature, seen ou the preceding page on a reduced scale, was redrawn and engraved by liiin at the age of eighty-eight years. i See note 1, page S4. ' In this speech the Prince Begcnt said : " I am happy to inform yon that the measures adopted by the Unlletl State? for the conquest of Canada have been frustrated by the valor of his majesty's troops, and by the zeal and loyalty of his American subjects." It was a singular coincidence that in the London Courier, November 4, 1813, iu which tills spocch was printed, was an account of the signal victory of Perry, and the capture of the entire British fleet on Lfike Erie, which was immediately followed by the connucst of ail Canada west of the Grand River, an event that had already ha; • pencd when that paper was printed. In the same issue of the paper was Lord Castlereagh's letter to Monroe propo.'- ing negotiations for peace. ' Albert Gallatin, James A. Bayard, John Qnlncy Adams, Jonathan RusRcll, and Henry Clay. * Clay and RiiHsell sailed on their mission fnmi New York on the 2iid of February, iu the tiMp John Adams, which bail been fitted out as a cartel. They were instructed to in.iist upon a cessation, on the part vho were ever clamorous for war, put together. The " Death of the Embargo" was celebrated in verses published in the Federal RejmWcan newspaper of Georgetown, in the District of Columbia. These were reproduced in the New York ICvenini) Pout, witli an illustration designed by John Wesley Jarvis, the painter, and drawn and t ngraved on wood by Dr. Anderson. The picture was redrawn and engraved by Dr. Anderson, on a reduced scale, for this work, after a lapse of exactly fifty years. The lines which it Il- lustrates are as follows : Tebuafin's AnUBEBS. "Reflect, my frtend, as yon pass by, As you are now, so once was I : As /am now, so you nmy be- laid on your back to die like me 1 I was, Indeed, true sailor bom ; To quit my friend in death I scorn. Once Jemmy seemed to be my fl'iend. But basely brought me to my end ! Of head bereft, and light, and breath, 1 hold Fidelity in deatli : For'Sillors' Rights' I still will tug ; And Madison to death I'll hug, For his i)erfidlou8 zeal displayed For 'Sailors' Righte and for Free Trade.' This small atonement I will have— I'll lag down Jemmy to the grave. Tli^n trade and commerce shall be fVeo, And sailors have their lll)erty. Of head bereft, and light, and breath. The Terrapin, still tni,". in death, Will punish Jemmy's perfidy— Leave trade and brother sailors free 1" Fabsenokb's Rbplt. " Ye«, Terrapin, bereft of Ijre.ith, Hear him bnt oflf, and we shall see We see thee faithftil still in death. Comiiicriv! renti.fed and mihim fne ! Stick to 't— ' Free Trade and Sailors' Rights.' ling. Terrapin, wi.h all thy might- Hug Jemmy— press htm— hold him— bite. Now for ' Free Tra\kii of GooM Creek, City of Wa«hin;jtnn, \tith April, 1814." « A bill, authorizing a loan not exceeding twenty-five millions of dollars In amount, was offered in the House on the JIh of Fehraary. The delialcs on the Bu1>ject took a very wide range, anr' the cause, origin, conduct, and probable re- snlts of the war were freely .ind sometimes acrlmonionsly discussed. Much that was said, especially by the Opposition, ivns irrelevant. The bill finally passed both houses of Congress by n large majority, and becai le ". law by the approval of the President on Uie 'i6th of March. Then commenced among the leaders of the peace-party, or more ultra Fcdoral- KEATU or TUB TEBBAPIN, OB TUB IIUUAUUO. I . i 788 PICTOUIAL FIELD-BOOK Proceedings concerniug Prisoners of War. Retaliatory Measures. Prisoners held as Uostages. and that concerning the exchange of prisoners became a very interesting topic. Dif- ficulties, as we have observed, in regard to such cxcliange, appeared at the bcginnintf of hostilities, caused by the British refusing to consider the Irislimen captured at Queenston as prisoners of war, claiming them to be British subjects. These were sent to England to be tried for treason. Scott then told the British authorities at Quebec that he should lay the matter before his government, and that an equal num- ber of British prisoners should be held as hostages for their lives and freedom. Ho did BO, and Congress, early in 1813, vested the President with the power of retaliation.' Ists, a factions and at times treasonable efforts to destroy the public credit, and to so paralyze the sinews of war as to compel the government to make peace on any terms which the enemy might dictate. Of these efforts and their results I shall hereafter write. ' See page 409. Scott was faithful to his promise. As adjutant general and chief of Dearborn's staff, he seiectej from the prisoners captured by himself at Fort George [see page 599] twenty-three men as hostages for the nufortuuaie Irishmen sent over the sea. These were placed in close confluemtnt, to await the action of the British government and to be treated accordingly. Sir George Prevost immediately comnuinlcated this fact to the home government, and at the same time addressed a note to our government through General Dearboni. The latter was so negligent that it was three months before his letter reached Washington. Of this Sir George complained, and had even cominenc»(l Bending prisoners to Halifax because of his inability to keep the large number which had accumulated on his hands in Canada while waiting a reply from our government. This neglect caused distress and inconvenience to the prisoners In Canada. They complained of their long detention, and Prevost gave them proof that Dearborn alone was to blame. • A 1 19 Then General Winder, who was captured at 8t(my Creek [see page 6041, wrote to the Secretary of War> lsl3 ' "" "'" subject. After expressing a hope that Prevost would be promptly answered, he said, " But snch nnaccountable neglect or omission in answering the communications of Sir George has already taken place on the part of General Dearborn that I feel fearful that the same fatality may also attend that last commuuicn- tion." Winder's letter stirred the government to action, for already, as we have observed, prisoners bad been sent u t , . . Halifax from Canada,"" and Sir George Prevost threatened to send a large number to Knglaud. Tlu ° " ■ whole business concerning the exchange of prisoners was placed in charge of General J. Mason, commis- Bnry general of prisoners, under the direction of the Sec- retary of state. That officer at once dispatched the o'v [1S67] venerable Colonel Charles K. Gardner to Cpi.: i as agent for the prisoners, empowered by the proper ' thorities to negotiate their exchange. While these movements were in progress, an order for retaliation came to Sir George Prevost trom the Prince Regent, through Earl Bathurst, Secretary of State. It was •■ 181S promulgated at Montreal on the 2Ith of October' by a proclamation from the baronet, in which ho stated that he was commanded " forthwith to put in close confinement forty-six American officers and non-commissioned officers, to be held as hostages for the safe kco|i Ing of the twenty-three British soldiers stated to have been put in close confinement by order of the .\merican coven:- meut." He was also instructed to apprise General Dearborn that "if any of the said British soldiers shall suffer death by reason that the soldiers now under confinement in England have been found guilty, and that the known law, not only of Great Britain, but of every independent state under similar circumstances, has been in consequence execntcd, he has been instructed to select ont of the American officers and non-commissioned officers put into conflucinent a- many as double the number of British soldiers who shall have been so unwarrantably pnt to death, and cause sticlKitB cers and non-commissioned officers to snRer death immediately." He further stated that he was commanded to de- clare that instructions had been sent to the British commanders on land and sea " to prosecute the war with unniiii- gated severity against all cities, towns, and villages belonging to the United States," if, after a reasonable timi from thi- proclamatiim, the American government should " not be deterred from putting to death any of the soldiers who now ore, or who may hereafter be kept as hostages for the purpose stated." -^ jf 9l^uy^(U4^ f^Uy^ I 'mprisoned forty-six American olli - '■.)C. Among these was Major C.Vnii ' ■< in the War Department), who wai V. He and two room companions i«- X tt State of Maine, when they were I" November IT. Prevost obeyed orde cers in Beanport jail, • De Venter (afterwar' captured with Generr caped, and had alt. .mi captured and taken back. Under the humane caro of General Glasgow, these and the other prisoners were well treated, but chafed under the long detention while the two governments were menacing the prisoners of each with peril. Madison re- sponded to the order of the Prince Regent by directing"' the imprisonment of a like number of British officers. This fact was communicated to Prevost at Montreal by Colonel Macomb, who had been sent for thi' purpose by General Wilkinson under a flag of truce. Wilkini-i)n assured the boronet that the American government Intended to adhere strictly to the principles and purposes avowed in relation to the twenty-three Irishmen sent to Kr, gland; whereupon Prevost, by n pcncnil order by Adjutant General Bnynes, on thel'ith of December, directed n/iAmer lean officers, without distinctlnn of rank, then prisoners In his department, to be placed in close confinement. Ilillieri > Generals Winchester, Chandler, and Winder had been allowed a wi "• parole around Beauport ; now they were com manded not to go beyond the premises of their respective board'ng-.. ses In that village, which lies oJJ the St.La»- reuce, in full view of Quebec* Letter of General Winder to the ^' ■iry oi'War, OF THE WAR OF 1812. 789 sonera held ae Hostages. !8ting topic. Dif- l at tlic bcginr.iiig hmcu Oiiptured at ects. Those were tish authorities at Lhat an equal mini- 1 freedom. He did rer of retaliation.' ze the sinews of war a» to ige efforts aud tlieir resultg earborn'8 staff, ho selected ostages for the tiufortunatc of the British government, the home government, and ter was bo negligent ttial it , and had even commeiic»d !ccun)nlatcd on his hands in anvenienco to the prisoners jarborn alone was to lilarae. ote to the Secretary of War' nswered, he said, " But sucii ir George has already takcu attend lhat last coranninlcn- 1, prisoners had been sent to e number to England. Tlie it General J. Mason, commis- ns hostages for the safe VLeop. )rder of the .\nierican pivon:- tlsh soldierB shall suiTer deatli and that the known law, uoi vu in consequence cxecatf.l ..leers put into conllucmeiit i* |t to death, and cause sucliulB lat he was commanded to i./- rosccnte the war with nnmiii- er a reasonable tim* from ihi- Jient should " not be deterred [iers who now are, or who may Ipnrpose stated." lonod forty-six American ofB- [mong these was Major CWan lie War Department), who ii;v< land two room corapanioas t<- .ate of Maine, when they were ^^^^2^ JitT-thrce Irishmen sent |->E»- If December, dlrectcdnll.\mer I, close contliiement. llilli"i Ittuport ; now they were com Ige, which lies oil the St. U.- • 1814. Campaign on the Northern Frontier. Proposed Expedition to the Upper Lakes. Preparations on Lake Champlaln. Let US now coLoider the military events of 1814, which occurred more in accord- ance with the necessities of developing exigencies as the seasons passed on than with that of any Avell-digested plans excepting as to the Northern frontiers. It had been agreed in cabinet council that an expedition under Colonel Croghan, the hero of Fort Stephenson, with the co-operation of Commodore Sinclair, should proceed against the British on the upper lakes, and attempt the recovery of Mackinaw and St. Joseph's, ■nhich were lost at the beginning of the war.^ An army, under Major General Brown, was to be collected on the desolated Niagara frontier of sufficient strength to seize the Canadian peninsula between Lakes Ontario aud Erie, while General Izard, in com- mand in thti Lake Champlain region, should cut the connection on the St. Lawrence between Montreal and Kingston. It was at the close of March* when the campaign was opened on the North- em frontier by the incompetent General Wilkinson, who, we have observed, took post with a part of the Army of the North, at Plattsburg, when the cantonment at French Mills was broken up.^ There were indications that efforts would be made in the spring by the British in Canada to gain possession of Lake Champlain, penetrate the State of New York to the valley of the Hudson, and attempt, by a movement similar to the one unsuccess- fully put in operation by Burgoyne in 1777, to sep.arato the New England common- wealths (wl.orc, they foolishly supposed, an overwhelming majority of the people were their friends) from the rest of the Union. To meet and frustrate such efforts countervailing measures were adopted. Vessels of war were constructed at the mouth of the Onion River, in Vermont, under the superintendence of Captain Macdonough; and General Wilkinson sent Captain Totten, of the Engineers, to select a site for a strong battery at or near Rouse's Point for the purpose of keeping the little British squadron, then lying at St. John's, « n the Sorel, within the limits of Canada. Before tills work could be accomplished, the breaking up of the ice in the streams earlier than common changed the aspect of affairs materially. Intelligence reached Wilkin- son that a British force of twenty-five hundred men was about to be concentrated Thcfe retaliatory measures were relaxed toward spring."" At the middle of January Sir George Prevost al- , ..„.,. lowed General Winder to go home on parole, with a promise not to reveal any thing of obvious disadvantage to the British, and to return to Quebec by the 16th of March. The general too that occasion to communicnte fl-cely in person with his government on the subject of an exchange of prisoners. He deprecated the retaliatory measures, and tlirough his Influence the Senate, first on the 2d of Fcbrnary and then on the 9th of March, by resolution, requested the President to cause to be laid before them such information as he might possess concerning the subject of prisoners and retaliatory measures, and " of the cases, with their circumstances, in which any civilized nation had punished its n,iti\e subjects taken In arms against, and for which punishment retaliation had been Inflicted by the nation In whose service they had been taken." Also, " on what gronnds, and under what circumstances. Great Britain has refused to discharge native citizens of the United States Impressed Into her service ; and what has been her conduct toward Amer- ican seamen on board her ships of war at and since the commencement of the present war with the tJnltcd States." This was a task of no ordinary labor; and tl.e Secretary of State, to whom the resolutions were referred, remarked, in a report which he submitted on the 14th of April, that a f\ill onswcr ftom him on the subject of retaliation would require more extensive research into the history and jurisprudence of Europe than proper attention to his ofllcinl duties would allow before the close of the session— an event then just at hand. He gave reasons, however. In justiflcotlon of the course of the United States in the matter so satisfactory that a bill was Introduced similar to the one at the last session of the Twelfth Congress giving the President flill powers to retaliate. For reasons then presented, it did , auHI 18 not become a law. Four days after the presentation of this report Congcss adjourned." General Winder promptly returned to Quebec at the middle of March, bearing to Sir George Prevost fi-om Mr. Mon- roe, Secretary of State, a letter, dated the 9th of March, In which a mutual exchange of prisoners was solicited. Gen- crsi Winder was clothed with fiill powers to negotiate for snch exchange. Prevost met the proposition with a friend- ly spirit, nnd appointed Colonel Baynes, his adjutant general, a commissioner for the purpose. The negotiation was 'imraenccd, but temporarily suspended, when, In a Irtttr *o General Winder, dated the 22d of March, Mr. Monroe posl- livelv prohibited any consent to the release of tiK- .wenty-three British prisoners who were held as hostages for the Irishmen sent to England eighteen months before, unless it shou d be stipulated that they, too, should be released. The negotiation was resumed, oud on the 16th of April Winder ai.d Baynes signed articles of a convention for the mntnal release of all prisoners of war, hostages or others, except the twenty-three Queenston prisoners, the twenty- three Fort George prisoners held by the Americans In retaliation, nnd the forty-six American officers who were held for the last-named twenty-three. The mutual release took place on the 16th of May. Soon after that.M-. Beaslcy, airent for the American government in England, sent word that no proceedings had ever been Inslituted against the Q'leenston prisoners, and that they were restored to the condition of ordinary prisoners of war. The hostages on both fides were immediately released, and early In .Inly a cartel for the exchange of prisoners was ratified and executed. Thns ended n controversy unwarrantably begun by Great Britain, aud which had produced much suffering. The just position taken by our government was firmly maintained. > See page 270. * See page C8T. -iiir.'U f i: Y90 PICTORIAL FIELD-BOOK Wilkinson crosses the Canada Border. The British at La Colle Mill. Positions of the opposing Forces • 1S14. at La Colle Mill, on La Colle Creek, a small tributary of the Sorel, three or four miles below Rouse's Point. For the purpose of preparing for a ma-ch on Montreal, and to confront the expect- ed force at La Colle, Wilkinson advanced his little army to Ch'^uiplain, and on the 30th of March* crossed the Canada border, and pressed on toward La Colle, It was composed of about four thousand effective men. Five miles from Cham- plain, at a hamlet called Odelltown, the army stopped for refreshments ; and, on re- suming their march, they encountered the enemy's pickets, and drove them back. At about three o'clock in the afternoon they came in sight of La Colle jMill, a heavy stone structure, with walls eighteen inches in thickness, and its windows barricaded with heavy timbers, through which Avere loop-holes for muskets. It stood on the south- ern bank of La Colle Creek, at the end of a bridge. On the opposite bank was a block-house and a strong barn, and .around them were intrenchments. For two lumd- red yards southward from the mill, and half that distance nortliward from the block- house, was cleared land, surrounded by a thick primeval forest which covered the country in every direction. The flat ground was half inundated by melting snows, a.id the highway was so obstructed by the enemy with felled trees and other hirukr- ances that the Americans were compelled to diverge some distance to the right of it, The .advance of Wilkinson's army was commanded by Colonel Isaac Clark an.l Major (at that time lieutenant colonel by brevet) Benjamin Forsyth. These wore followed by Captain M'Pherson, with two pieces of artillery, covered by the brigades of Generals Smith and Bissell. General Alexander Macomb commanded the reserves under Colonels Melancthon Smith and George M'Feely. Clark and Forsyth, with portions of their commands, crossed La Colle Creek some distance above the mill, fol- lowed by Colonel Miller's regiment of six hundred men, and took post in the rear of the enemy to cut off' his retreat. At this time the British garrison at the mill consisted of only about two hundred men, chiefly regulars, under Major Hancock, of the British Thirteenth. Re-enforce- ments were on the way, and it was important for Wilkinson to dislodge the enemy at the mill before their arrival. Macomb endeavored to send forAvard an 18-poiind cannon to breach the walls, but failed on account of the softness of the grouiid. Hoping to perform the same service with M'Pherson's heavy guns, which consisted of a 12-pound cannon and a 5i^-inch mortar, these were placed in battery at the dis- trntrmr^^ OF THE WAR OF 1812. %91 ^liiii: 1 of the opposinj; Forces. lireo or four miles nfront the expect- iiplain, ami on the toward La Colle, ; miles from Clmm- mcnts ; ami, on re- )ve them back. At I^lill, a heavy stone iS'9 barricailed with stood on the soulh- »posite bank was a its. For twolmud- ard fro.n the hloek- which covered the [ by melting snows, es and other hinder- ce to the right of it. mel Isaac Clark and /orsvth. These were Irered by the hn^Aie^ limanded the reserves l-k and Forsyth, witli pe above the milljol- fk post in the rear of about t\vo hundred Irteenlh. Re-enforce- L dislodge the enemy kbrward an lB-po"nd tness of the gromul. inns, which consisted In battery at the dis- Wilkinson attacks the British Oarrison. The Latter re-enforced. The Americans repulsed. The Battle-ground. tance of two hundred and fifty yards from the mill. They opened fire upon that citadel, but their missiles were harmli'ss. They were responded to by Congrcvc rockets ; and the whole American line, being in open fields, was exposed to the gall- in" tire of the enemy. M'Pherson was wounded under the chin, but fought on until his thigh-bone was broken by a musket ball, when he was carried to the rear. Lieu- tenant Larrabce, his next in command, was shot through the lungs, and Lieutenant Sheldon kept up the fire with great gallantry. The conduct of these officers was so conspicuous as to attract the admiration and comment of their brethren in arms. While this contest was waging, two flank companies of the British Thirteenth, un- der Captains Ellard and Ilolgatc, arrived from Isle mix Noix, seven miles distant, and gave much strength to the beleaguered garrison. Major ILincock now det ti-m- ined to storm the American battery, and gave orders for an immediate and vignrous sortie by the two companies just arrived. They made several desperate charges, and were as often repulsed by the infantry supports of the artillery under Smith and IJis- sell. They were finally driven back across the bridge, and compelled to take refuge in the block-house on the northerly side of the stream. There they were soon joined hy some Canadian Grenadiers and Voltigeurs from Burtonvillc, only two miles dis- tant. These joined the companies of Ellard and Ilolgate in another sortie more des- perate than the first, which, after a severe struggle, was repulsed by the covering brigades, and the cannonade and bombardment wont on. They made no impression, liowever, upon the walls of the mill. The garrison had been augmented by re-en- forcements to almost a thousand men, and, after a contest ot two hours, "Wilkinson withdrew, having lost thirteen killed, one hundred and twenty-eight wounded, and thirteen missing. The enemy lost eleven killed, two oflicers and forty-four men wounded, and four missing. I visited the scene of this conflict on a pleasant evening towai'd the close of Jtily," 18C0. I had been to French Mills (Fort Covington) in the morning, ., i »t and had arrived at Rouse's Point, as before observed (page 665), towaid evening. In a light wagon, behind a fleet hoi"se, I rode from the village to La Colle Mill in time to make a sketch of the scene — the bridge, and the block-house, then part '^■'TKSW^WCSg.^ 1.A COLI.b .MILL AM) ULOCK-lIUUbK. of a dwelling, the property of Mi*. William Bowman — and to obtain fi'om that gentle- man 80 exact a description of the form and size of the old mill, which had been de- < i J 5 ( i • tlfc. 792 PICTORIAL FIELD-BOOK Oriives of the Slain In the Battle. End of Wilkinaon'i military Career. Brown ordered to the Niagara Frontier, molishod only two years before, as to enable mo, by observing the relative position of its ruins to the bridge, to reproduce the likeness of it given in the picture on tho preceding page. Mr. Bowman accompanied me to the Ferry-road, opened by hinisolf a little southward of the bridge, where, about thirty rods southeast from the highway might be seen the mounds which cover the remains of tho slain in the battle tliere, Those of the Americans were buried on the right side of the road, and those of tlic British on the left side, about twenty feet from each other. Only one grave was made for the dead of each nation. At twilight I passed through La Colle village and Odelltown, the road ruiminc; through a level, well-cultivated region, which was covered by forest at the time of the war. I spent the night at an indifferent inn at Rouse's Point village, and on the following morning journeyed to Champlain and Plattsburg. Of this journey I shall hereafter write. With the discreditable affair at La Colle Mill tho military career of General Wi|. kinson was closed. By an order from the War Department, issued a Aveek previous • March 24, to that affair," he was relieved of the command of the army in the Depart- ^®'''' ment of the North, and his conduct while in command of that district was subsequently committed to the scrutiny of a court-martial. He proved that durin,' the most important operations of the disastrous campaign, which ended at Froiioii Mills, the War Department, in the person of Minister Armstrong and Adjutant Gin- eral Walbach, was on the Northern frontier, and that he acted under the Socretai y's immediate instructions ; tliat the failure of Hampton to meet him at St. Regis' justi- fied his abandonment of an attack on Montreal ; and that his encampment and stav at, and departure from French Mills, was in accordance with the views of the Secre- tary of War. Tliese proofs being positive, Wilkinson was acquitted, and the puhlie placed the chief blame, where it seemed to properly belong, on the War Department. Like Harrison, who had felt the baletul effects of the administration of that depart- ment, Wilkinson threw up his commission in disgust. Many official changes Avere necessary. Dearborn was in retirement on account of ill health ; Hampton had left the service in disgrace : and Winchester, Chandler, ami Winder were still prisoners of war in the hands of the enemy in Canada. On the 24th of January Brigadier Generals Brown and Izard were commissioned major gen- erals ; and Colonels Macomb, T. A. Smith, Bissell, Scott, Gaines, and Ripley were ap- pointed brigadiers. On the retirement of Wilkinson, Brown became chief commander in the Northern Department. General Brown, as we have seen, left French Mills with a division of the army for Sackett's Harbor at about the middle of February.^ He arrived there on the 24tl), after a rather pleasant march for that season of the year. There he received a letter ^ from the Secretary of War, dated on the 28th,'' informing hira that Colonel Scott, who was a candidate for a brigadiership, had been ordered, with the accomplished Major Wood, of the Engineers, to the Niagara frontier. "The truth is," Armstrong ss'd, "public opinion will not tolerate us in permitting the enemy to keep quiet possession of Fort Niagara. Another motive is the effect which may be expected from the appearance of a large corps on the Niagara in restraining tho enemy's enterprises to the westAvard." After expressing doubts concerning the abil- ity of the force under Scott to recapture Fort Niagara, the Secretary, " by command of the President," as he said, directed Brown to convey, with the least possible delay, the brigades which he brought from French Mills to Batavia, Avhere " other and more detailed orders" Avould aAvait him.' On the same day, by another dispatch, the Sec- retary directed Brown to cross the ice at the foot of the lake, and attack the enemy at Kingston, if, on consultation with Chauncey, it should be considered practicable. • Sec pnpe 0B4. > MS. Letter of Secretary Armstrong to General Brown, February 28, 1813.- ' See pacp W>T. -Qeueral Brown'a Letter-book, pWlli OP THE WAR OF 1812. 798 the Niagara Frontitr. relative position he picture on iho pencil by himsolt', rora the highway, the battle thoro. , and those of the y one grave was the road ruiniint; est at the time of village, and on the his journey I shall or of General Wil- jd a week previous rray in the Depart- of that district was proved that duriiv^ ;h ended at Frenoli and Adjutant Gui- lder the Secretary's 1 at St. Regis' justi- campment and stay 1 views of the Score- itted, and the puhlio ne War Department, ition of that depart- ment on account of lester, Chandler, ami in Canada. On the ssioned major gen- Mid Ripley were ap- me chief commander ision of the army for there on the 24tli. he received a letter ing him that Colonel en ordered, with the ontier. "Thetrutl. rmitting the enemy he effect which may ra in restraining tlie concerning the ahil- jtary, " by cominaivl least possible delay, (ere " other and nion' ler dispatch, the Sec lul attack the enemy iisidered practicahlc. a See pace W' I Brown's Letter-book. Brown moving toward the Niagara. Ridiculous Urdere from the War Department. Public Property in Danger. In that event he was directed to use the instructions in the first letter of that date as a mask. The two commanders considered the force of four thousand men at the Harbor in- sufficient for the capture of Kingston under the circumstances ; and, mistaking the real intentions of the government, which was to make tlie movement on Kingston the tnain object, and that toward Niagara a./l;m^, Brown put his troops in motion to- ward the latter at the middle of March. Tlioy numbered about two thousand, con- sisting of the Ninth, Eleventh, Twenty-first, and Twenty-fifth Regiments of Infantry, the Third Regiment of Artillery, and Captain Towson's company of the Second Ar- tillery.' These troops had reached Saliiia, in Onondaga County, and Brown was at Geneva, when General Gaines thought he discovered his commander's mistake. Brown acquiesced in his opinion, and resolved to retrace his steps. He hastened back to Sackett's Harbor " the most unhappy man alive.''^ There Chauncey "and other confidential men" convinced him that his first interpretation of the Secretary's in- struction was correct. " Happy again," he hastened back to his troops, and resumed the march westward. At the close of the month tiiey arrived at Batavia, where they remained about four weeks, when they moved toward Buffalo. In the mean time Armstrong had written a soothing letter to the perturbed Brown, saying, " You have mistaken my meaning If you hazard any thing by this mistake, correct it promptly by returning to your post. If, on the other hand, you left the Harbor with a competent force for its defense, go on and prosper. Good consequences are soraetimes the result of mistakes."^ While at Batavia and vicinity Brown was made very uneasy by alarming letters from Chauncey, and also from General Gaines, who had been placed in command at Sackett's Harbor. The British were in motion at Kingston early in April, the ice having broken up, and there were indications of another attack on the Harbor. With this impression, and feeling the responsibility laid upon him by the grant of discre- tionary power given him by the Secretary of War, Brown hastened back to that post, leaving General Scott in command of the troops on the Niagara frontier during his ahsence. Observation soon taught him that an attack on the Harbor was " more to be desired than feared,"* and that the real point of danger was Oswego, at tlie mouth of the Oswego River. At the Great Falls of that stream, twelve miles from the lake, where the village of Fulton now stands, a large quantity of naval stores had been col- lected during the autumn and winter for vessels on the stocks at Sackett's Harbor. These would be very important objects for the British to possess or destroy ; and, ex- cepting the partly-finished vessels at Sackett's Harbor, they formed the most attract- ive prize for Sir James Yeo, the British commander on Lake Ontario. For the pro- tection of this property. Lieutenant Colonel Mitchell, with a battalion of light artil- lery, was sent to garrison the fort at Oswego. At the beginning of May Sir James Yeo sailed out of Kingston Harbor with an ef- fective force of cruising vessels. Chauncey was not quite ready for him. Both par- ties, one at Kingston and the other at Sackett's Harbor, had been bending all tlieir energies during the preceding winter in making preparations for securing the com- mand of Lake Ontario, an object considered so important by the two governments ' MS. Letter to Colonel E. Jenkins, March 12, 1S14. » MC. '.otter to the Secretary of War, March 24, 1RI4. ' MR. Letter, March 20, 1814. It must be confessed that many of the orders issued from Washington at this time were eireeilliigly perplexing to the officers iu the flcld. A great portion of the frontier was yet in a wilderness state, nnil the lopoL'raphy and geography of the country was very Imperltectly known. In a letter before mo trom the venerable Jiihn II. Kellogg, of Allegan, Michigan, dated 15th March, 1S04, some amusing anecdotes bearing npon this subject are rfvcn. He says that he heard Captain (afterward Commodore) Woolsey relate to Chauncey and other officers, In the old twn-story wood tovern at Oswego, the fact that he had received the following order from Washington : "Take the Mi; "/ the Lake and proceed to Onondaga, and take in, at Nicholas MIckle's Funiace, a load of ball and shot, and |)ro- cced at once to Buffalo." In other words, go over Oswego Foils, then up th" ''swego and Heneca Klvers to Onondaga Lake to Saiina or Syracuse, and then two miles south of that city by land, where the furnace was situated, and, return- ius to Oswego, proceed to the Niacrara, and up and over Niagara Fall' to Buffalo I « MS. Letter to the Secretary of War, April 26, 1814. iili-l Wii 704 PICTOUIAL FIELD-BOOK TUe Navy on Lake Ontario. Naval Stores. The British Squadron leaves Sackett's Hnrlmr. OIIAU.NUEV U DIH.MA.N 1 LED KI.AO-81111" Sll'EIilOH. that tlu'y withdrew officers and seamen from the ocean to assist in the lake service. Tlie American government also addetl twenty-five per cent, to the pay of those en- gaged in that service. In February Henry P>kford' had laid the keel of three vessels, one a frigate flc- signed to carry fifty gwns, and two brigs of five hundred tons each, to carry twcntv- two guns. Deserters who came in reported heavy vessels in great forwardness at Kingston ; and Chauncey, who reliiriicd from the national capital at the close of February, ordered the size of the frigatu to be increased so as to carry sixty-six guns. The brigs, named respectively Jtf. ferson and Junes, were ready for service, except their full armament, at the close «( April ; and the frigate, which was iiamed 77(6 /Superior, was launched on the '2d of May, just eighty days after her keel was laid !- But the naval stores and lieavy guns designed for her were yet at Oswcffo Falls, to which point they had been car- ried by tedious transportation from Al- bany up the Mohawk, and through AVood Creek and Oneida Lake into the Oswetjo lliver, the roads across the country from Utica to Sackett's Harbor being iinj)assal)lc with heavy ordnance. They were kept at the Falls for security from the enemy, mi- til schooners employed by Captain Woolsey for the purpose could be loaded and dis- patched singly from Oswego. The ice, as we have remarked, broke up earlier than usual, and the British made attempts to destroy the large frigate at the Harbor. On the night of the 25tli of April, Lieutenant Dudley, while out with tAvo guard-boats, discovered three others in Black River Bay. Not answering his hail, he fired. They fied. On scarcliinu, six barrels of gunpowder were found, each containing a fuse, and slung in pairs by a rope in a way that a swimmer might convey them under a ship's bottom for the pur- pose of explosion. A few days afterward the British squadron was seen in sailiiiL' trim at Kingston; and on the 4th of May Lieutenant Gregory, in the Zadi/ of tin: Lake, saw six sail of the enemy leave Kingston Harbor and move toward Amliei-st Bay. This was the squadron of Sir James Yeo, bearing a little more than one thou- sand land troops, under Lieutenant General Sir George Gordon Drummoiid. The active cruising force of Sir James consisted of eight vessels, ranging from 12 to 62 guns, making in the aggregate 222 ])ieces of ordnance, besides several gun-boats and other small craft, Avhosc armament, added to the otliers, gave to the British much su- periority in the weight of metal. When Sir James sailed his squadron was so much superior in strength to the one that Chauncey could then put to sea that the latter prudeivtly remained in SackettV Harbor, and the enemy moved unimpeded against Oswego on the morning of the 5th of May. His vessels were seen at reveille from that port, and preparations were speed- ily made to dispute his landing. The village, standing on the west side of the har- ' See page 015. » Ou the 1st of Jnne the American eqnadron consisted of the following vessels : SH^jcnor, 00, Lieutenant Ellon, Chniincey's flag-ship; /^rte, 2R, Captain Crane; floftnicj;, 42, Captain Jones; Waiim. 24, CaiJtalnTienchard: ./(-/^n-mn, 22, Captain Ridgeley ; yon- one a frigiite <\v- , to carry twinty- at forwardiuss at !ey, who ret\inie(l ill at the close of size of the frisrate to carry sixty-six il respectively Jef- ! ready for service, lent, at the close of , which was uiimcd uched on the '2d of ( after her keel was 1 stores and lieavy were yet at Oswcjzo they had been car- ;|)ortution from Al- and through Wooil !kc into the Oswego Dor being impassable from the enemy, mi- ld be loaded and dis- ind the British made night of the 25th of overed three others llled. On searching, il slung in pairs by a bottom for the pur- was seen in saiUiisr 1, in the Lady of ik ' ve toward Amlierst Imore than one thou- in Drummond. Tlu' Inging from 12 to 62 jveral gun-boats ami the British much su- . strength to the one [cmained in Sackctt's morning oftheotli [arations were speed- rest side ofthelwr- L, Captain Jones: Jfod.* I 14, Captain Elliott ;Onfl*. I'vpl»el Besides the?c vsw Im-r-nnpiMn^.CMiashipina" Intcnant Woloott Chamc^y; Tbe UefeneeK and Defenders of 0»we);o. Attack uii Flirt Ontario. Lundint; of Britleh Troup«. BIB JAME8 LUUA8 YEO, l)or formed by the mouth of the Oswego Uiver, contained less tlian five hundred inhabitants. Upon abluft'on the north side of the river was old Fort Ontario, i)artly built in colonial times, spacious, but not strong. It tlien mounted only si.v old guns, three of which were almost useless because they had lost their trun- nions. The garrison consisted of Mitch- eU'o battalion of less than three hundred men. The schooner Growler, having on l)oard Captain Woolsey and Lieutenant Pearce, of tlie Xavy, was in the river for the purpose of conveying guns and naval stores to the Harbor. To prevent licr ialUiig into the hands of the enemy she was sunk, and a part of \\>^v crew under Lieutenant Pearce joined Mitcliell, who liad sent out messengers to arouse and bring in the neighboring militia. Mitchell had too few troops for the defense of both the village and the fort, so lie ordered all the tents in store there to be pitched near the town, while with his whole force he took position at the fort. The deception had the desired effect. To the en- emy the military array seemed mucli stronger on the side of the village than at the fort, and the British proceeded to assail the latter position. Leaving the absolutely defenseless village unmolested, the Briti.sli tro(/ps, in fifteen large boats, covered by the gun-boats and small armed vessels, moved toward the shore, near the fort, early in tlie afternoon, while the cannon on the larger vessels opened tire on the fort. Mean- while Captain James A. Boyle and Lieutenant Thomas C. Legate had been sent down to the shore with an old iron 12-pounder, and as soon as the enemy's boats were within jiroper distance they opened on them with deadly effect. Some of the boats Avere l)adly injured ; some were abandoned, and all of the remainder hastily retired to the ships. Just then a heavy breeze sprung up, and the entire squadron jmt to sea. Drummond, in a general order, stated that he did not intend to attack on that day. He was only feelingthe position and strength of the Americans. On the morning of the Cth the fleet again appeared off Oswego, and the larger ves- sels iniinediately opened a lieavy tire on the fort. Tlie Magnet took station in front (if the village, and the Star and CharweU yxeva towed in near the mouth of the river for the purpose of covering the spot selected for the landing of troops. Under this -liiekl were landed the flank companies of De Watteville's regiment, under Captain I)e Bcrsey ; a light company of the Glengary Regiment, under Captain iM'Millan ; a battalion of marines under Lieutenant Colonel ^lalcolm; and two hundred seamen, iirined with pikes, under Ciptain Mulcaster. The whole force, about twelve linndred in number, was commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Fischer. A reserve of troops was left on the vessels. The enemy effected a landing early in the afternoon, and were compelled to ascend a long, steep hill in the face of a heavy fire of the Americans in the fort, and of a small botly-of the militia, who had been hastily summoned, and were concealed in a wood.' These, however, fled when the enemy had secured a footing on the shore. Finding it impossible to defend the fort with so few men, Mitchell left the works, and met the invaders in fair fight, covered only by woods. With the companies of Cap- tains Romeyn and3Ielvin, lie gallantly moved forward and attacked the front of the ' The British landed near where the City Ilospital now stands, and the battle was just in the rear of it. IV! * II v:l i 790 I'lCTouiAL kii:l»-book Tbe Drltish capture Oawei[o. The Fort diamuntled nuil Uurracki bDri^ed. Conduct of Veo and UrnromniKl, ATTACK OH oBWKuo.— (From au old Prtut.) enemy, while the remainder of liis command, under Captains M'Intyre and Pierce ol the heavy artillery, annoyed them prodigiously on the flank. By desperate figlit- jng the enemy was kept in check for a long time, but overwhelming numbers finally compelled Mitoh.ell to fall back. The British took possession of the fort and all tlic works and stores in the vicinity. Mitchell retired up the river to a position whore lie might protect the naval stores should the euemy attempt to penetrate to the Falls in search of them. In this gallant but hopeless defense tlie Americans lost the brave Lieutenant Blaiiey, and five killed, thirty-eight wounded, and twenty-five missing. The British lost nine- teen killed and seventy-five wounded. Among the latter were Captain jVIulcaster, of the Princess Charlotte, severely, and Captain Popham, of the Montreal, slightly. At five o'clock on the morning of the 7th the invaders withdrew, after having em- barked the guns and few stores found there, dismantled the fort, and burneil the har- racks. They also raised and carried away the Growler and two sunken boats ; ami, under circumstances not at all creditable to Sir James Yeo as an oflicer and gentle- man, several citizens, who had been j)r()mised protection and exemption from all mo- lestation, were abducted and borne away by the squadron. Among these was the att- ^^,^ erward eminent merchant of Oswego, ./^y^ ' y^^2^yo-3^ ^/>^L^ y^ IIonor.able Alvin Bronson, who was tlun C^^Ci/^i-.^^ ^ ^/^O^f ,ng these was the alt- icrehant of Oswe;.'(\ •onson, who was then per, and wlio is still f that place.' After 1 post, and while Yeo lerintending the loiul- ,1 to ^Ir. Bronson lor lUed that all the men unes angrily growled [,und rU shoot you, on the bank ahove. tntT^indo^oe, Michigan, i» OF THE WAU OF 1812, m FirmneM of Store-keeper Brousiin. Ills Captivity and Koleane. Niirvlvon of the Wnr In Oswego. called out to Sir .lames," Tliat, 8ir, is the public storc-keopcr, and may bo useful to lis." Sir James called Mr. Bronson back, and said," You art' my prisoner, and I shall expect you to inform me what stores have recently been forwarded for the army and navy, what remains in the rear of the post, and what, if any, are secreted in its neigh- borhood. "My books and papers," replied Mr. Bronson, have been removed for siife- ' ty, and I can not, theretbre, give you the desired information ; nor would it be j)roper tor nio to do so if I could." Sir James threatened to take him off with liim if ho withheld the coveted information. " I am ready to go, sir," was INIr. Bronson's calm reply. This was followed by an onler to Captain O'Connor to take him on board the flagship Prince Jiit/ent, At midnight tho naval and military officers came on hoard the Jtegent. Among them was General Sir George Gordon Druminoiid, who lavished upon tho captive store-keeper such coarse and vulgar abuse that Colonel Harvey, as soon as an opportunity w.as afl'orded, a])ologized for the brutality of his superior officers, of whom he was evidently ashamed.' jVfr. Bronson Mas confined a short time in the guard-house at Kingston, and again taken to tho squadron when it proceeded to tho blockade of Sackctt's Harbor. He was well treated, and associated t'amiliarly with the subordinate officers. lie was soon afterward released. Among the survivors of the war, besides Mr. Bronson, whom I had the pleasure of meeting in Oswego, were the late Henry Eagle and Matthew M'Nair ; tho ven- erable bookseller James Sloan ; r/ ^ii^B-n^ 0/L the lively but aged light-house- keeper Jacob M. Jacobs ; and the late Abram 1). Hugunin. Mr. Eagle was a Prussian by birth, and possessed a fine figure when more than threescore and ten years of age. He learned the bus- iness of a ship-carpenter of a Scotchman on the border of the Baltic Sea, and worked his passage to America as such. He was the constructor of the Oneiikt at Oswego in 1808, and he accompanied Eckford to the frontier in 1812-'13. He became jjiir- ser at the Navy Yard at Sackctt's Harbor, where he Avas very active. He gave me many interesting particulars concerning the building of the New Orleans. Five Imndrod and fifty-three men were employed on her. The timber for her masts was out near Watertown, in Jefferson County, and the cost of their transportation to the Harbor was one hundred and sixty dollars apiece. They Avere afterward used in the construction of the ship-house. Mr. M'Nair, a Scotchman, was government commissary at Oswego, and had a store- house there and at the Falls. At the time of the British attack he had twelve hundred barrels of bread and other provisions in store at Oswego, and a (piantity of whisky.2 These became spoils for the enemy. Mr. Jacobs h.-cd been a companion in cruises with Commodore Rodgcrs, and went to Lake Ontario in 1812 with a midsliip- num's warrant. Although, Avhcn I last saw him [1864], he was eighty-eight years uf age, his complexion was so fresh and his step so elastic thnt he appeared like a man less than sixty years old. Mr. Sloan was Macdonough's clerk on the Saratoga at I Colonel nnrvey was ns gCDcroiis ns lie was brave. He was Rovcnior of Nova Scotli. in IS-TO when flcncral Scott was fentby his government to settle the dispute concerning the bonndnry-llnc between that country and the State of Maine elilier by arms or neKotiation. Scott and Harvey were ad.iutant generals in their respective armies on the Niagara fmiiticr, and at that time formed an intimacy which ripened into friendship. On going to the capital of Maine, Scott "pcned a friendly correspondence with Oovenior Harvey, which resulted In an amicable settiemcut of a difficulty which threaloncd to involve the United States and Great Britain In wnr. ' Mr. M'Nair died at Oewcgo on the aist of March, 1S02, at tho age of elghty-clght years. Ho had resided in Oswego sixty years. 'ISi^ I 1'. I ! l! ffi H fl^B^^n' J I i&K^^^^ ■ i ' ;l i ;: m ' ■lif:^i-i \ ^ii The Britlib raturu to Klnititon, PICTOUIAL KIKLD-IH Huckett'n Harbor bluckudud. WoolMjr'i SxpadliloD. the timo of till' battle of Pliittsburij in tlie nutumn of ini !. Jfr. TTu!iiriMl, tlii' I that fort liiis 1>cen ivml in c'liarge ofa f tlio light-liouse, is The place whcri' )icture. Wo'i Forcv ou B\g Sundjr Creek. Ths confldent Ilrltlnl) In I'uriutt. ere thoroughly over- atecl Bquadron again \oQk-out, Ladj/ oftk of that port, to the untirhig cffuvts to ■avy g"ii8 fi"'^ c'Mi^'i ■e in such conditidii lado matlc a voyage ne, or Sir James Yeo ir-active and gallant ness to attempt car- from Sackett's llar- nderBon Harbor, and ission to attempt tk lumber of the lieavY ■when the vigilance ninetet. boats heav- lund carronades, and 18 an immense rope. ing and one hundred er of Oneida Indies Lver, near the present issist in the event of Itheblockadersjme te land belonged to Timothy Td not a vestige of them no« Pr«|iarattonii to r«c«lv*TlMIB. vigilant, bo ho determined to run up Big Sandy Creek, within a few miles of the Har- bor, aii Tro"b'^"dge, was at Sandy Creek, and attended the Bound- ed British at the house of Mr. Otis. I h.id the jilenf nrt "( meeting him at the inaugnration of the statue o;'''frry,«i Cleveland, in SeptomVer, 1800. He is now (1807) a n.MtH of Oberliu, Ohio. OF THE WAR OF 1812. 801 It Cable for the Stiperior. but with slight ef- , marched up each ischargcs of grape Brsed tlie coAvardly isturbccl.i ithin rifle range of icm, and occasional bank, near the pres- flank, and rear, that fired in response to 1 killed, and at least nan and one Indian I squadron,^ with of- iventy. A negro on and small-arms over- Americans called on to them, and, with a ts, when he fell dead, et standing,* and still L'8 llOliBl iASDV OEKEK. country rewarded him liim a little more thm agents, who know how ipensationforhisserv- Ind transported hylaml \r had occupied, in pon- Las twenty-two inAos Inds; No vehicle cou.l Tfteradelayofawcoli, b^fcconrtllenteimntotr*- llRifle Corps 111 Apnl,W4^. I waB breveted colonel or W,. Icee8t«Wbhnieiitinlsl6,l.U« I at the age of only thirty >«". loml lieutenant of artillery at tte l„teaaC8-p.)un'l««'°°t,;™; I long M ; one two loD!? «».««« K";«%tar.tofS«rseonAm.« rCr"pVnni.7)ar«''"" %^ yyyJCrf'Zy Cirrying the great Cable to Sackett'a Harbor. Vlgtt to the Saudy Creek Region. Snrvlvors of the War met there. men belonging to the militia regiment of Colonel Allen Clark, who had hastened to the creek on hearing the din of buttle, volunteered to carry it on their shoulders. About two hundred men were selected for the labor. They left the Big Sandy at noon, and arrived at the Harbor toward the evening of the next day. They carried it a mile at a time without resting. Their shoulders were terribly bruised and chafed by the great rope. They were received by loud cheers and martial music. A barrel of whisky was rolled out and tapped for their refreshment, and eacli man received two dollars extra pay. In less than a fortnight from the time of the battle all the cannon and naval stores were at Sackett'a Harbor.* But many difficulties had to .jnneio, be overcome, and the fleet was not ready to leave the Harbor on a cruise ****• until the Ist of August. It was a sultry moniing in July when I visited the theatre of events just described. I arrived at Little Sandy Creek Village on the previous evening, and there met Har- mon Ehle, a sprightly little man, now (1867) eighty-seven years of age, who was one of the two hundred who carried the great cable to Sackett's Harbor. From him I learned most of the facts concerning it just related. I spent the evening very pleasantly with him. For forty-nine years he had lived there, and had seen the country transformed from a wilderness to the pleasant abode of civilized man.* The night succeeding our interview was tempestuous. At dawn a heavy thunder-shower drenched that whole region ; yet at an early hour I started in a light wagon for Sackett's Harbor, on the road that would lead to the battle- ground oil the Big Sandy. When within about a mile of it, we saw standing at a rustic gate, resting upon crutches, a venerable man of seventy-five years, with palsied legs, beard of a fortnight's growth, a slouched felt hat on his head, and a blue linen sack covering all that we could see of him. It was Jehaziel Howard, a native of Vermont, an old seaman of the lake, who was with Woolsey at the time of the battle of the Big Sandy. He had been with him since early in the war, and was with Chauncey at the tak- ing of Fort George.2 He saw the negro shot on the Brit- ish gun-boat in the Big Sandy, and assisted in taking the British wounded to Otis's. Bidding him good-morning, we rode to the bridge, where I made the sketch on page TOO. There we spent half an hour with Mr. Otis, aid then rode on to EUisburg, where we breakfasted between nine and ten o'clcck. Meanw hile very heavy clouds were gath- ering in the web.% and we had ridden only two or three miles from the village, through the " garden of Jefferson County," when a thunder-storm burst upon us with great fury. We took refuge in a tavern by the way-side, and arrived at Sackett's Harbor at litde p.ist m'lridian, in pleasant sunsliine, as already mentioned.^ Let us now leave the more easterly shores of Lake Ontario, and consider event an the Niagara frontier, where the broom of destruction during the year 1813 had swept away almost every thing worth contending for excepting territory. But Canada was to be conquered by one party and defended by the other, if possible, and the posses- sion of the Ontario and Erie peninsula was of vast importance to the contestants. For that possession the military movements we arc about to consider were com- i menced. JEHAZISL nowABn. > In Fcbmary, 1861, CongresB granted Mr. Elite a penaion of $16 a month during hifi natural life. ' See page SaO. ' See page 61B. 8E / i! I if fi If i 10 1: If i ■n J I ! 802 PICTORIAL FIELD-BOOK The Army on the Niagara Frontier. Its Composition. Red Jacket and hU Mcd»l. We left a portion of the Army of the North on its march from Batavia to Buffalo under the command of Brigadier General Scott, while Major General Brown, the com- mander-in-chief, hastened back to menaced Sackett's Harbor. That post and others on Lake Ontario were soon considered safe from attack, and, with the bulk of his army, Brown stood on the east bank of the Niagara Kiver at the close of June, 1814. He made Buffalo his head-quarters, and on the Ist of July he found himself at the head of a military force strong enough, in his judgment, to carry out the orders and wishes of the War Department by invading Caiuxda. Ilis army consisted of two brigades of infantry, commanded respectively by Generals Scott and Ripley, and to each of these was attached an efficient train of artillery, commanded by Captair Nathan Towson and Major Jacob Ilindman, and a small squadion of cavalry under Captain Samuel D. Harris, These troops were well equipped and highly disciplined.' They were the regulars. There was also a brigade of miscellaneous troops, composed of five hundred Pennsylvania Volunteers ; si.v hundred New York Volunteers, of whom one hundred were mounted ; and between five and six hundred Indian warii OTij, embracing almost the entire military force of the Six Nations then rcmainliif in the United States. These had been aroused to action by the stirring eloquence of the then venerable Red Jacket, the great Seneca orator, chief, and sachem,^ wliose in- ' General Scott had taken special pains to discipline these troops thoroughly. (!3cneral Jesnp (then major), In a man- uscript "Memoir of the Campaign on the Niagara" now before me, says that "he t Jesnp] began, under the orders of Oen'^ral Scott, a course of Instruction, and kept his command [Twenty-Hfth Infantry] under arms from seven to ten hours ft day. A similar course was pursued by the chiefs of other corps. The consequence was, that when we took the field in July our corps manoenrred in action and undei' the tire of the enemy's artillery with the accuracy of parade." ' Sa-go-ye-wat-ha, or Red Jacket, was born about the year 1750 where the city of Buffalo now stands, that bein" Iht chief residence of the leaders of the Seneca tribe of the Si.\ Nsulons. He was a swift-footed, fluent-tongncd bcinp. During the Revolntlon he, in commo'i with his tribe, took part with the British and Tories. His business was more in the way of arousing his people to action by his eloijuence than the performance of great actions himself. Indeed, Brant spoke very disparagingly of him, and called him a trai'or and dislionest man; and he was charged with hnvini; lioen fonnd in a place of safety cutting up a cow belonging to another Indian (which he had killed) while Sullivan was raarcli. Ing through the Seneca country in 1771), fighting the warriors whom Red .lacket had aroused by his eloquence. He Am appears conspicvtons lu history at the treaty of Port Stanwix (now Rome, New York) in 1784, when, by certain concc.<- f ions of territory by the Six Nations, those of the tribes who bad not emigrated to Canada were bronght under the pn- tection of the government of the United States. It was on that occasion that Red Jacket's fame as a great orator wa- established. Two years afterward he was prominent at a council held at the mouth of the Detroit River ; and in all the disputes between the white people and Indians respecting land-titles in Western New York Red Jacket was ever tlip eloquent defender of the rights of his race. His paganism never yielded to the influence of Christianity, and he was iho most Inveterate enemy to all missionary etforts among the Senecas. Under his leadership the Senecas becunie tlie al- lies of the Americans against the British in the War of ISia, and In the battle of Chippewa In the summer of ISU he he- baved well as a soldier, although be seems to have been constitutionally timid, and always braver in council than '•r arms from seven to ten ho.irs Is that when wc took the flcU he accuracy of parade." nlo now stands, that bein? tht fl-footcd, nucnt-tonsncd bcu.c ■ies His businesB was more in actions himself. Indeed, Brm! was charged with havMisV™ Uled) while Sullivan wtt« m«rfli- usedby his eloquence llefim „ 1784, when, by certain concc- ,dn were brought imder the pr.- \cfs fame as a great orator «. ;„c Detroit River -.and in aUb. York Bed Jacket was ever tko , of Christianity, and he w«»ttic l.liii, the SenecBs became tlie al- '.he summer of ISU he 1.. Iw wB braver in council than ■. Lrnityandthccivillzationta ',y by the intemperate n«co In- formally deposed by an act iu lie went to the Natio:,.^ rap- ;« reinstated. But he soon ^. k exhibited for money. Howta It ^n its vigor wouidhavcBCornc 'lalUml nedledonthe»o( S^ the age of almost c.ta; J remains were buried m ftc L ft"c Seneca mission, hrwo, rm hifralo,«nd..vcri,sgrav de thccomedlan,furui»hoJ«i.l. '"sXription which he .et ™ • the actors connected with >k catre, placed a slab of niajb^ br:;thcBevoi.ion^ fcHe^nS^---* VcderivcdhisEusliHhna'n';'" ears he wore, with pride a 1«^ The Volunteers and Indians. Chief Engineer M'Ree. Furt Eric and the Invasion of Canada. fluence among his people had been very great since the close of the Revolution, in which he took a part, not, howevci, very much to his credit as a soldier. The volunteers and Indians were under the cliief command of General Peter B. Porter, who was then quarter-master gen- eral of the New York Militia, and, as w<' have seen, was not only an eloquent ad- vocate of the war in Congress' before it was commenced, but a reatly and patriotic actor in its more stirring and dangerous scenes in the field, llie accomplished Ma- jor William M'Ree, of North Carolina, was the chief engineer in Brown's army,^ and he was assisted BEn JAOKKT, by the equally accomplished and gallant Ma- jor Elea.'-er D. Wood, with whom wo have liccomc well acquainted while following General Harri- son in his campaign in the far Northwest. On the Canada shore, at the foot of Lake Erie, nearly opposite Buffalo, stood Fort Erie, then garrisoned by one handled and seventy men, moscly of the One Hundredth Regiment, under the command of Major Buck, of the Brit- ish army. It was the most serious impediment in the way of our invasion of Canada ui that quarter; but Avhen, on the 1st of July, Brown n cived orders from the Secretary of War to cross tlie river c upture Fort I rie, and march on Cliippewa, at the iiwuuli ot Cliippewa Creek, where some fortificatio lad been tlirown up, menace Fort George, aiic ii iHsntid of the co-operation of Chaimcey's fleet, and ii^ «! liability of with- I'nlted States and the Six Nations after ilic R" •Intton. It Is m )e of sliver, with a heavy rim, ami Is Ave inches In wUllh, and iKMirly seven Inches In length. The. ic™ upon it woi. .ui^avcd, It Is said, by the crai ::t D.ivid Kitten- iwuse, the philosopher, who, as a jeweler in his younger days, had acquired nue facility In the use of ih.' Iniriii. It will be ohscrvcd that the painter of the above portrait did not correctly draw i device on tip medal whkli is given In the engraving on the preceding page from a photograph. The r'nlal is now , i-iflTl in the piissession of Brevet Brigadier General Parker, of General Grant's staff, chief Sachem of tl> "- rti tiji. I saw It In his possession at City Point In ha. Red Jacket's children being all dead at the time of ii, liiis ingignia of leadership passed out of the pos- fcfslon of his Immediate family. The stricken chief regar' iic death of his eleven chUdren as a punishment for his ilrankcnucsfl. The late venerable Mr. Uosmer, of Avon, Livuigston County, t(dd the writer In 18.Vi that on one occasion a lady at his table with Red Jacket, who did not know of his bem.avement, iniptlred after his children. The old chief, *ilh deep sadness, replied with unsurpassed eloquence, " Red Jail^ct v dhoo a great man and In favor with the Groat Spirit. He was a lofty pine among the smaller trees of the forist. iifter years of glory, he degraded himself by lirinkini! the flre-watcr of the white mau. The Great Spirit hu lon> ' aown upuu him in his auger, and his lightning has stripped the pine of its brunches." i See page '21'i. ' William M'llee was born In Wilmington, North Carolina, ■ l.tth of December, 17'>T. He was of Irish descent. Ili« father was an active ofllrcr In onr old War for Indepi'iidem ,■, and this son was educated at the Military Academy :il West Point. He entered the corps of Knglneers In 1805, and was commissioned a major, and assigned to the duty of fliicf engineer of the Northern Army in 1S13. He was conspicuous In the events on the Northern and Niagara frontier iloringthc war, at the close of whlcli his government sent iilm on a tour of military liispccticui In Europe. After serv- lat on a commission of engineers to determine upon a system of fortlrtcations for the United States, he retired from llie •TOT in ISll). He became United States surveyor general, and was almost cimlinually In public employment until his ileath, which occurred at St. Louis. Missouri, In May, 1S38. He was never married. The silhonette from which the above engraving was made U the only likonesa of him extant. I am indebted fur its lue to his nephew, Griffith J. H'Kee, o( • Wilnalngtou. •:■: , . if i * 1 , 804 PICTOniAL FIELr-BOOK Plan of thi^ iiew luvaiilon uf Canada. General Ripley. American Troops croRB the Niagara. Major Oardner. standing that of Sir James Yeo, to seize and fortify Burlington Heights, at the licad of Lake Ontario, he did not hesitate a moment to set about its execution. If these results could be obtained, the Americans would not only hold the peninsula in their grasp but might proceed leisurely to the conquest and occupation of all Upper Canada. In obedience to his instructions. General Brown issued orders on the 2d of July for his troops to cross the Niagara River from Black Rock. Accompanied by Generals Scott and Porter, he made a reconnaissance of Fort Erie and the upper part of tiie Ni- agara, and concerted a plan of attack. His means of transportation were few. Tiic arrangements for embarking and debarkhig were made with the brigadiers and tin senior engineers, M'Ree and Wood. General Scott was to cross with one division through a difficult pass in the Black Rock Rapids, and land about a mile below Fort Erie, and at the same time General Ripley was to cross from Buffalo, and land at the same distance above the fort. This was to be accomplished by the dawn of the 3(1, and tiie fort was to be immediately invested. The boats that conveyed these divi- sions were to return immediately to Black Rock, and transport the residue of the army, ordnance, and munitions of war to the Canada shore.' Toward the evening of the 2d, when the arrangements were all completed. General Ripley expressed a desire *or a change. He believed that his division wouU" ' ve to bear the brunt of battle should the enemy oppose the crossing, and he asktd for a larger number of troops. He complaineci that he could not ci'oss with sufficient forou to promise success ; and when General Browi., who knew that delay would be peril- ous, endeavored to convince him that his force would be adequate, and assured liim that no change could then be made in the arrangement, Ripley was angry, aiul ten- dered his resignation. It was not accepted, and the movement went on. General Scott crossed the river while it Avas yet dark on the morning of the ad, with the Ninth, Eleventh, part of the Twenty-second, and the Twenty-fifth Rel Oregon. Colonel Gai .Inor is now (186T) a resident of Washington City. He is the author of a Compend ttfln/antrii Tji- He», and a very com|n-(^licn8ive Dictionar]] lif tlu Army. ' ■•«•■ OF THE WAR OF 1812. 808 gar». Major Gardner. ;ht8, at the heail of ,n. If these vosults mla ill their gnisp, Upper Canadiv. 1 the 2d of July for paTiied by Generals pper part of the Ni- ioH were few. The I brigadiers and the 8 with one division t a mile below Fort falo, and land at tlio the dawn of the 3(1, conveyed these divi- •t the residue of the [I completed, General vision wouU'- ' ve to r, and he asktd for a 's with sufficient force clelay would be pcril- late, and assured liim ^ was angry, and ten- , went on. le morning of the ad. le Twenty-fifth R('!;i- ided below Fort Eric m two hours after lie ncral Brown, with liis onel Charles KG anl- roneral, Majors M'Uoi \is aids-dc-camp, lire- Canada shore as early m his obedience of or- is embarked. Brown , for Ripley to follow ined his troops on tli" trM»itrulc« fori. U top Vrcated a% enemies, «ud.. * loved with hlH parents to >;«• t,v»hDr.nomick,i..New\ork. in ISOS lu tlic following ycat, L,1812,lvewaaappou.tcJaf- tmand at New York, made !» LwnBhlngtonaBa«s.et I, iNorthcrn frontier at SaoUt inled General Brown'Mlmw Pappolntmentofadinto,^.- laB breveted Ueutenant eta VneralofthcArmyotthcN'rtti. t «•. 8 appointed corre^po,,,!...? IVclty and surveyor trcner»U Kort Erie captured by the Aincricaue. Re-enforccmenU for It sent too late. Oeuerul Riull. Brown ordered Scott to push for- ward a battalion nearer the fort, to observe the movements of tlie garri- son. This battalion, consisting of light troops and a few Indians, were under the command of Major Jesiii), of the Tweiity-fiftli. They drove in the ene- my's pickets ; and so favorable to suc- cess was every appearance, that Brown resolved to invest the fort with Scott's brigade, without waiting for the land- ing of Ripley's. Taking Avith hiiu a corps just formed by Major Gardner, he pushed into the woods, in tlie rear of the fort, where he seized a resident, and compelled liim to act as guide. He then directed Gardner to press for- ward through the forest to the lake shore above the fort, extcjid his left so as to connect with Jesup's command, and in tliat manner inclose the post. Tliis movement was accomplished be- fore Ripley, at a late hour, crossed tlu' river with the Nineteenth, Twenty- lii'st,and Twenty-third Regiments, and met at the landing the adjutant general with orders for his brigade to take the invcsthig position in connection with Scott's forces. This Avas promptly done. No time was lost in crossing the ordnance and selecting jiositions lor batteries un- der the direction of Ciiief Engineer 3rRce. A long lR-))ound cannon Avas mounted and ready for action upon an eminence called Snake Hill, Avhen Brown demanded the surrender of the fort, giving the commander, Major Buck, two hours for considera- tion. Very soon afterward a Avhito flag came out, and Avas received by Major Jesup ; the fort, Avhicli Avas in a very Aveak condition, Avas surrendered; ami at six o'clock in the evening the British soldiers, almost tAvo hundred in number, including seven offi- cers, inarched out and stacked their arms, became prisoners of Avar, Avere sent acioss tlie river, and posted immediately for the Hudson, During the morning the British had fired cannon from the fort, Avhich killed four Americans, and Avounded tAVo or t]ir?c others. When the pickets Avero driven in the British had one man killed. These Avere all the casualties attendant upon the capture of Fort Erie. Pioinj)t measures Avere taken to secure the advantage gaineit./ tore-enforce it. In front of Chippewa thcj' Avcro met and checked by intelligence of the surrender of the fort. General Riall then determined to make an immediate at- tack on the Americans, but Avas induced to forbear by the assurance that the Eightli Regiment Avas hourly cxj)ccted from York, now Toronto. He agreed to postpone the attack until the next morning. ' History la almost silent concerntuR the character of General Rlail. A contemporary, who served under him at th» time we are now considering, speaks of him as a (rallanl man, but possc8(.ed of very little military skill ; who had " at- tained hiB rank by the purchase of all purchasable grades." He was from Tlpperary, iu Ireland, ii little less than mid- ' (He age, and a man of fortnuo. it I iii 'I 806 PICTORIAL FIELD-BOOK Scott moves down the Niagara. Preparations for Battle at Street'ii Creek. Origin of the " Cadet's Gray," stbeet's gbekk uuiimE.i To confront and drive back this force of British regulars, Scott was sent toward Chippewa with his brigade, accompanied by Captain Towson's artillery corps, on the morning of the 4th. It was late in the afternoon before the second brigade, under Ripley, and Hindmsi I's artillery, were prepared to move. Scott marched down the Canada shore of the Ni- agara River to a posi- tion on a plain behind Street's Creek, opposite the lower end of Navy Island, and little more than a mile above Chip- pewa. On the way lie met a considerable Brit- ish force under Lieu- tenant Colonel Pearson, and, after a sharp skirm- ish, he drove them be- yond Street's Creek. In fact, the march, for sixteen miles, according to Jesup, was " a continual skirmish,"^ chiefly with the British One Hundredth Regiment, under tlie Marquis of Twccddale, who were driven to their intrenchraents beyond the Chippewa. Believing Scott's troops to be only "Buffalo militia," the marquis could account for their bravery only by the fact of its being the anniversary of American Independence, which gave them patriotic inspiration and courage. He was undeceived on the fol- lowing day.^ On the plain between Street's Creek and the Chippewa River, Captain Turner Crooker, of the Ninth, with a detachment of light infantry, received and re- pulsed a detachment of the Nineteenth British Dragoons. Finding the enemy strong- ly posted beyond the Chippewa, General Scott called in his light troops, and took a position behind Street's Creek, whore he encamped for the night. At about midnight the main body of Brown's array, embracing Ripley's brigade, a field and battery train, and Major Ilindman's artillery corps, came up, accompanied by the commanding gen- eral. With only the small creek between them, the belligerent armies slumbered that hot July night. The morning of the 5th of July dawned gloriously. The positions of the two ar- mies were simple. On the east was the Niagara River, along the margin of whicii was a road. On the west was a heavy wood, and between the parties conung in from the woods were two streams, namely. Street's and Chippewa Creeks, the latter, some- times called the Welland Creek, being the larger in volume.* Below the Chippewa, and about two miles from Scott's camp, was that of Riall. On one side of it Avas a ulock-house, and on the other was a heavy battery. At the mouth of the Chippewa, on the south side, some fortifications had been thrown up to cover the bridge, called a tete-de-pont (or head of the bridge) battery, whose ruins are still (18G7) visible, A little farther up the river the British had a small navy yard and some barracks. > This is a view of the bridge at the mouth of Street's Creek looking up the Niagara, from a sketch made by the au- thor ill the summer of 1800. On the extreme right is seen a chimney, which composes the remains of the hoasoofUf. Street, f^om whom the stream derives its name. In the distance, on the left, is seen Grand Island. ' Jesup's MS. Memoir, etc. » General Scott explained to the \vrlter the cause of the marquis's mistake. While at BnflTalo Scott wrote to ti,c qnar- temiaster for a supply of new clothing for his regulars. Word soon ccme back that blue cloth, such as was iiacd in thf army, could not be obtained, owing to the stringency of the blockade and the embargo, and the lack of inniiufnctarei in the country, but that there was a sufficient quantity of gray cloth (now known as "Cadet's Gray") in Phlladelphls Scott ordered it to be made up for his soldiers, and in these new gray suits they marched down the Niagara on Canadi soil. Believing them to be only militia, Riall regarded them with contempt when preparing for battle on the 6th. B^ cause of the victory, won chiefly by thorn, at Chippewa on the 6th, and in honor of Scott and his troops, that Btyle ot cloth was adopted at the Military Academy at West Point as the uniform of the cadets. It has been used ever since. anil in known *o be the best color for field service. ♦ Tlie Chippewa is navigable with small boats for abont forty miles. It is obstrncted, however, by its connectioa with the Welland Canal, al>oat nine miles from Its month. OF THE WAR OF 1812, 807 n of the " Cadet's Gray," Dcolt re-eu forced. British Mght Triiopa aud ludlaus dlslodijed by Porter. Captalu Joseph Trent. t, was sent toward illery corps, on the 3nd brigade, under tnarclied down the ^da shore of the Ni- •a River to a posi- on a plain beliind •ct's Creek, oppoHite lower end of Navy ind, and little more ,n a mile above Chip- va. On the way he t a considerable Ihit- force under Lieu- lant Colonel Pearson, d, after a sharp skinn- 1 he drove them be- ording to Jcsup, was I Regiment, \iiHlcr the beyond the Chippewa, uis could account for nerican Independence, undeceived on the ibl- ippewa River, Captain mtry, received and re- ling the enemy strong- laht troops, and took a [t. At about midnight [field and battery train, the commanding gen- armies slumbered that ..ositionsofthctwoar- L the ranrgin of which parties coming m from Greeks, the latter, sonu- Below the Chippewa, )u one side of it was a Uoutb of the Chippewa ;„ver the bridge, called u-e still (1867) visible. and some barracks. ['tbcreniainBofthchouBOotMi Land Island. It Buffalo Scott wrote to tucinB' l^T^t-^otninrhUad^lS^: Ted down the Niagara on CaD.to P„g for battle on he «h.I^ tott and his troops, that yte Its. It has been used ever 8B«, Led. however, by lUconnectl* BRMAINH OF TETE-llK-FONT JIATTEBY At about noon of the 5th Scott was joined by three hundred Pennsylvania Volun- teers, and about four hundred Indians under Captain Pollard and tlie famous Red .lacket. The whole were commanded by General Porter, who had been accompanied from Black Rock by Majors Wood and Jones, of Brown's staff. Tlie British were re- enforced during the night by the expected Eighth, or King's Regiment, from York or Toronto, and small parties went out from their line at dawn on the beautiful plain between the Chippewa and Street's Creek — a plain then bounded on the Avest, three iburtlis of a mile from the river, by a dense wood. For several hours the belligerents were feeling each other, the pickets and scouts of each keeping up a desultory fire all the morning. '^ Finally tlie American pickets on the extreme left of Scott's line be- came so annoyed by a heavy body of British light troops and Iiidians in the woods, that at four o'clock in the aftei'noon General Porter ^vas sent with his corps to dis- lodge them. He was successful. The enemy fled in affi'ight toward Chippewa, dread- fnlly smitten by the pursuers. Tliere Porter found himself within a few yards of the entire British force advancing in battle order. In this affair, uj) to the meeting of the British in force, the Indians behaved well. Tliey were in the woods, on the left of Porter's column, with Red Jacket on their ex- tremity in the forest. Porter, with Caj)tain Pollard, the Indian leader, took post in the edge of the woods, betAveen the pale and dusky soldiers. The Indians, led by 1 The engraving represents the remains of this battery when I visited the spot and sketched them in the snmmcr of 1(160. lu the front, between the two figures and the mounds, are seen the waters of the feeder of the Welland Cnnnl. On the left Is the mouth of Chippewa Creek, aud beyond, the Niagara River at the head of the Great Rapids. Beyond that is the New York shore ; and to the left, looking by the head of Goat Island, is seen Niagara Falls Village. Over ilie most westerly point of the remains of tetc-dc-pont battery, on the New York shore, Is seen the residence of Colo- licl Peter Augustus Porter, sou of the general, who accoi.ipa:iied me at that time. This gentleman lost his life while at ilie head of his regiment lighting for the rcpublir in the Battle of the Wilderness, Virginia, in 1SC4. ' It was dur,lng these movements early in the morning that Captain Treat, in command of a picket-guard of forty men and a patrol of ten, " retired disgrocefully, leaving a wounded man on the ground," as General Brown said in his re- port. For this alleged oiTense, Browu ordered Treat, on the spot, to retire from the army ; and, in his report of the af- fiir, he advised the dismissal of the captain aud one of his lieutenants fi-oni the service. " This punishment " says Drown, in a manuscript " Memorandum of Occurrences, etc., connected with the Campaign of Niagara," " though severe, was jnst, and at the moment indispensable It had the happiest effect upon the army." This affair gave rise to much feeling in und out of the army. Captain Treat was a most valuable oSBcer, and had been highly esteemed by General Brown. On the day after his disgrace ho called on General Brown and demanded a fonrt-martial. It was finally granted, after long and tedious delays, bat the result was not reached until the 8th of May, 1815, when the court declared, "After mature deliberation on the testimony deduced, the court find the accused. Captain Joseph Treat, not guilty of the charge or spcclflcation preferred against him, and do honorably acquit him." This finding of the court was approved by Major General Brown atSackett'a Harbor on the 3d of July following. At about the same time Captain Treat published a vindication " ogainst the atrocious calnmny," which was dedicated to President Madison. It contains a report of tho proceedings of the court-martial, and occupies slxly-two pages. The vindication of his character as a soldier was triumphant. Captain Treat was the son of one of tho earliest settlers on the Penobscot, in Maine. He entered the army as captain of the Twenty-first Regiment of Infantry in the spring of 1812. With his company, recruited chiefly at Bangor, he Joined the Northern Army. On the day of his disgrace on Chippewa Plain he volunteered to fight as a private ; and such was the confidence of Major Vose, of the Twenty-first Regiment, in Captain Treat, that he requested him to take command of a platoon In the fight. lie declined, but fought bravely in the ranks. He became brigadier general of militia in his native state in 1820, and the memory of Geueral Treat is cherished with the moat cordial respect. I !tJ m iMMt their war-chiefs, were allowed to conduct their share of the hf '3 as they pleased; and, when the enemy had delivered his fire, they rushed forward with horrid yuUs spreading consternation in the ranks of the foe, and making feaiful havoc with toma- hawk and scalping-knifo. They fought desperately, hand-to-hand in many instances, and in every ^^iy they won the applause of their commanding general. Hut tlie tide of fortune soon changed. The heavy line of the foe, after an exchange of two or three rounds of musketry, charged Porter's troops with the bayonet furiously. Ileaiinir nothing of General Scott, and finding no support against an overwhelming force near, Porter gave an order to retreat and form on the left of Scott's brigade, beyond Street's Creek. The retreat became a tumultuous rout. Riall, it seems, had intended to fall upon the American camp with his whole force, and for that purpose he had led it across Chippewa Creek. Tliere Porter had con- fronted it, as we have observed. General Brown was on the extreme left, watdiinrr Porter's movements at this time, and, seeing an immense cloud of dust in the direc- tion of Chippewa, at once comprehended its meaning. He correctly supposed tlie whole force of the enemy to be advancing, and at once dispatched Colonel Gardner with an order to General Ripley to put in motion the Twenty-first Regiment of In- fantry and Biddle's Battery. He also or- dered Captain Ritch- ie, with his artillery company, to follow him to the ])laii), where he properly posted him, and tlica rode to the quarters of General Scott to direct him to cross Street's Creek at oncf with his whole bri- gade and Tow son's artillery to meet the advancing foe. He found Scott almost ready, with his horse before his tent, to lead his brigade over for the purpose of drilling them on the jjlaiii. lie did not believe the enemy to be so near in force, but, like a true soldier, he obeyed the order promptly, rather captiously remarking that he would march and drill his brigade, but did not believe he would find three hundred of the enemy thcre.^ Just then Porter's flight was observed. It uncovered Scott's left, and exposed it to great peril ; but Ripley had been ordered to advance cautiously through the woods, under the direction of Colonel Gardner, and produce a diversion in Scott's favor by falling on the rear of the British right. General Riall's advancing army was composed of the One Hundredth Regiment, commanded by the Marquis of Tweeddale ; the First, or Royal Scots, under Lieuten- ant Colonel Gordon ; a portion of the Eighth, or King's Regiment, under Major Evans; a detachment of the Royal Artillery, under Captain Macconnochie; and also of the . ^_^ ' This is n view of the bridge over Street's Creek, looking down the Niagara River. Across the Niagara, in the ex- treme distance, immediately to tlie right of the figures on the bridge, is seen Schlosser Landing, and, nearer, the fool of Navy Island. The house beyond the willow-tree, on the left, is on a portion of the battle-ground, and bcloiised. when I was there, to Mr. William Gray. It was the scene of a tragedy during the troubles in Canada in 1837 and 1S3S. Some miscreants came over fl-om Navy Island on .light (among thrm the scoundrel Lett, who destroyed Brock's Mon- ument), and, after enticing a Mr. Edgworth Usher, who was at this houae, to come to the door, shot him through tbe side-lights as he was seen approaching with a candle in his hand. ' Ueneral Brown's MS. Menwir q/ Events in the Niagara Campaign. BIBKET's CBEEK URIUGE, LOOKUta ^0BTU.> OF THE WAR OF 1813. 8Cf ;lon of Iho Brllleh Force. as they pleased ; with horrid ytUs, havoc with toiiia- in many instances, sral. lint the tide igc of two or tlnee iriously. Hearing lehning force near, de, beyond Street's ith hia whole force, !rc Porter had con- remc left, watching f duat in the direc- •ectly supposed the ed Colonel Gardner rst Regiment of In- ntry and Biddle's , attery. He also or- ered Captain Ritch- !, with his artillery ompany, to follow im to the plain, /here ho properly ,08ted him, and then ode to the quarters >f General Scott to lirect him to cross Itrcet's Creek at once ith his whole hvi- adc and Tow son's rtillery to meet the dvaucing foe. He bund Scott almost •eady, with his horse ig them on the plain, uc soldier, he obeyed march and drill his enemy there.^ Just lI exposed it to great igh the woods, uikIov oU's favor by falling [undredth Regiment, ±5C0ts, under Licuten- fnnder Major Evans; Ihie ; and also of Uic b^BetbeNiRRarn.mthe"- Lumng. and, nearer, the tool rbattle-sroiu.d,an(n)eloMeil. Ib In Canada In Ism ami 1S3» T who destroyed BriKk's Mod- ! door, shot him through the BegtnnlDg of the Battle of Chippewa. Charge of the Eleventh Regiment. Nathan TowMMk Royal Nineteenth Dragoons, under Major Lisle ; a regiment of Lincoln militia, under Lieutenant Colonel Dixon, and a body of Indians. Tlioae Mere 8ui)ported by a heavy battery of nine pieces. lie advanced from his intrenchments at Chippewa in three columns, liis vangirird being composed of light companies of tlie Royal Scots and of the One Hundredth Regiments, and the Second Regiment of Lincoln militia. These were commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Pearson. On his right, in tlie edge of the woods, were about three hundred Lulian warriors. It was these, witli the vanguard, who fell upon Porter. On the road that skirts the Niagara River, Riall placed two light 24-pounder8 and a 5j-inch liowitzer. Scott in the moan time had crossed Street's Creek over the bridge with the great- est coolness, in the face of a heavv camionade from the enemy's full battery within ])oint-biank range, and formed in battle order with the Ninth and part of the Twenty- second Regiment, under Major Leavenworth, covered by Towson's artillery, on the extreme right, the Eleventh Regiment, under Major M'Neil (Colonel Campbell, its commander, liaving received a severe wound in tlic knee), in Llie centre, and the Tweiity-tifth Regiment, commanded by Major Jesup, on the extreme left. In this movement Scott was greatly aided by Towson,' whose artillery, placed near the bridge, kept the enemy at bay, and at times caused him to slacken his cannonade. When Porter's corps came flying in confusion from tlie enemy's right, they were partially cliecked by Captain Harris's cavalry behind a ravine fronting Brown's camp, and Jesup, by an obli([ue movement, covered Scott's left, while Ripley was making un- availing ettbrts to gain the position to which he was ordered by Brown. Jesup ^. as joined by Porter and his staif, and some of the more courageous volunteers, and as the conflict became general, the major engaged and held in check the enemy's right wing. The battle raged with fury along the entire line of both armies. Several times the British line was broken, and then closed up again ; and it often exposed as many flanks as it had regiments in the field. This unskillful manoeuvring had been ob- served by Scott, wlio had advanced, halted, and fired alieniately, until he was within eighty paces of his foe. Observing a gap in his lines which made a new flank, he ordered a quick movement in that direction by M'Xeil's Eleventh Regiment. He shouted with a voice tliat was heard above the din of battle, " The enemy say that we are good at long shot, but can not stand the cold iron! I. call upon the Eleventh instantly to give the lie to that slander ! Charge .^"2 This move- ment was immediately made, with the most decisive effect. A similar charge was made by Leavenworth, ' Nathan Towson was one of the moat useful officers of the army at this limp. He was bom in Maryland in 1784, and was appointed captain in the Second Regiment of Artillery in March, 1S12. He aided Lieutenant Elliott, of the navy, as we have seen (page 3S6), in capturing the Caledonia at Fort Eric in October of that year, and for his gallant conduct there he was brevet- ed a major. In repelling the attack of the British on Fort George, Upper Canada, iu July, 181.1, he was wounded. He greatly distinguished himself un- der Brown as an artillery officer, and was breveted lieutenant colonel for his good conduct in the battle of Chippewa. lie performed equally distinguished service at Niagara and Fort Erie. In the latter a bastion was named in his honor, after the Americans took possession of it, early in July, 1814. He was retained in the service at the close of the war, and was made paymaster gen- eral in 1S19. In 1S34 he was breveted brigadier general ; and for his dlstin- gnished services In the Mexican War he was breveted major general in March, 1S». He died in Washington City on the 20th of Jnly, 1864, at the age of seven- ty years. His remains lie interred on a pleasant slope in Oak Hill Cemetery, Georgetown, District of Columbia, by the side of those of his wife, and over lliera is a beautiful white marble monument on which is the following simple inscription: "Nathan Towson, Brevet Major General and Paymaster Gen- erai, United States Army. SoruiA Towso.n, wife of Nathan Towson." ' Mansfield's Li/e o/SeoU, page lOT. iilN' ili' iWKBBfii ''If Ml M ■ 810 nCTOKIAL FIELD-KOOK lI'Nflir* flank Muvement. The Britlah mated. The Luuea of the CumbatanUk who held an obliquo position on the Aincriciin rii^ht. At tho saino tinm 'Wtw. Hon's battery ponrod in lui ()l)li(|uc tiro of ninrdcroHH oanistor-Hliot, ai'tcr silenc- ing tlio eneniy'H most cflbctivo batliTv by blowing np an anununilion-wagon; and ptTHL'ntly tho whole left and cciitro of tho liritiwh broke and fU'd in conl'ii- Hion. That effective flank movement by M'Neil was the one, there can be no doubt, which gave tho victory to the Americans, "lie deserved," said (icn- eral Scott in Ids ropoi ,, "every lliiii<; which conspicuous skill and gallantly can win from a grateful country." Ho was soon afterward breveted a lieuten- ant colonel " for his intrepid behavior on the 5th day of July, in tho battle of Chippewa." At this time Josup, hotly pressed hy the British right, and finding his inon falling thickly around him, ordered his soldiers to " support arms and advance !" In the face of a deadly and destructive lire this order was obeyed, and a more secure position was gained, when Jcsup opened such a terrific lire on the enoniy that they broke and fled toward their in- trenchments beyond the Chippewa. Cap- tain Ketchum, with one of the light com- panies of the Twenty-fifth, hotly pur- sued the fugitives, and halted only when Avithin half musket -shot of Chippewa Bridge, where they received some dam- age from the tCte-de-pont battery. Tiioy captured many prisoners. The British did not cease their flight until tiiey were fairly behind their breastworks lie- low Chippewa Creek, and taken up tlie planks of the bridge. Tho plain was strewn with the dead and the dyini; of both nations. The American loss diir- N<)TK.-The above map Indicates the movemcntB of the ing the moming skirmishing and in the troops in the battle of Chippewa. A H show the position of (.ydinjr battle On that long, hot Juiv M'Nell and Leavenworth when thev made the flnal charge. *' , 1 -ll 1 T 1 'l o, o, n, the point to which Porter drove the British and In- day, waS SlXty-OUC killed, twO llUIiared dians (see page SOT), ft, Street's bam. ^^^^l fifty -five woundcd, and nineteen missing. The British lost two hundred and thirty-six killed, three himdred and twenty-two wounded, and forty-six missing.' The horrors of the battle-field were » The American musketry was very effective. Over each ball, in loading, the Americans placed three buckshot, vfhlch Bcattered and did severe execution. The British lost largely in officers. A member of the Marqnis of Tweeddale'n One Hundredth Regiment afterward stated that two officers of that regiment were killed and twenty wounded. Among the latter was the marquis himself. Fourteen of the British were made prisoners. These, added to the prisoners captured at F.)rt Erie two days before, made the number 151. The writer above alluded to says that the American officers were Men on the field fteely exposing themselves In front of their men. "As to General Biall, as soon as his line tied, he OP THE WAR OF 1812. 811 of the Oumbutanu. LO position Oil ilie the Hixinotinu' Tow- ill iin oltluiui' tiro .>r-Hl»ot, at'ti-r siU'nc- Ht t'tVoctivo battery vmiuunition-\vii;^(m; hole k'tl luitl ccnlre ■ iiiid tU'd in confu- ! tiiink movcituMit \)\ le, there can \k no tho victory to tlio IcsiTVL'd," Baid (Ion- ■opoi , , " ovcry tliiu-j: Bkill anil gaUautry iteful country." Ho d breveted a lieuton- , intrepid behavior on ily, in tlic battle of 3up, hotly pressed by and tii\ding his mon )und him, ordered his i-t arms and advance r eadly and destructive 8 obeyed, and a moiv as gained, when Jcsiiii rific lire on the enemy id tied toward their in- id the Chippewa. Cap- hone of the light com- ^-enty-fifth, hotly pur- , iuid halted only wIumi Lt-shot of Chippewa .y received some dam- 7e.^jon< battery. Tiioy risoners. The British iicir flight until tlioy fl their breastworks lio- •eok, and taken up the •idgo. The plain was |lead and the dying of he American loss clur- skirmishing and in the fl that long, hot July te killed, two hundred ounded, and nineteen h1 three hundred ami ,f the battle-tield were LTnlaced three huclishot, wWch Itwontywounded. Amongth T«dTedtothepriBoner,cnptn^ that the American offloerBWC klall.MBoonashiBUnefleJ.l'e Bravery of Adjutant O'Cunuer. The Brttlah Pualtlon at Chippewa. The Americana fltU back. ludiani disheartened. mitigated by a gentle shower, that eanic like an angel of mercy at the close of the coiiHict to cool tlie throbbing teinjtles and moisten tiie feverish lips of the wounded. At the close of the battle on the plain, when Scott was about to commence a vig- oidiis pursuit of the enemy, Porter was ordered forward to his support witli two jiuiidred I'eiinsylvania militia who had been left in camp as reserves. These took |Hist on Scott's left, where tliey awaited the arrival of Uipley's brigade, which had not reached the field in time to participate in the .action. The gallant Adjutant O'C'on- iior' (laslied forward alone to reconnoitre the enemy's positi(ui. He saw them tear- ing up Chippewa I^ridge, and comprehended the situation at a glance. Having satis- tied himself, he wheeled his horse and galloped back to the lines, followed by several bullets from the men at the bridge, which did no harm. Scott pressed forward, and at a point of woods came into an open field in full view of the enemy. Tlie guns at the (cte-cle-pont battery and at the British camp opened upon them, the ecu-ps of I'or- ter receiving the first discharge. .lust then a building near the bridge, touched by a British torch, burst into flame; and at the same moment a thuntler-gust, followed by ircntle rain, went skurrying up the river, filling the air with blinding clouds of dust. The commanding general resolved to bring up all his ordnance, and force the enemy's position by a direct attack, when M.ajor Wood, of the Engineers, and Ca|)taiii Austin, the general's aid, who had been forward and made observations, assured him that the position of the enemy was too strong to be easily moved. This report, and the ad- vice of Scott and Wood, caused the general to issue an order for a retrogr.ade move- ment. The victorious little army marched slowly b.ack through mud where deep (lust had lain only an hour before, and at sunset reached their encani])ment behind Street's Creek. On that eventful night Chii)|)ewa Plains were lescrteil, and the two armies occujjied the s.amc relative position which they did at dawn. In the morn- ing (icneral Brown had assured (General Porter that not a British regular would be seen on the south side of the Chippewa that day, and in this belief Scott had shared.^ lint they h.ad been there, left a sanguinary record, and were gone; and the stars look- ed down that night on a scene of repose, triinquil and profound, where the horrid de- tonations of fierce conflict had been heard, and tlie smoke of battle liad obscured the light of th iiing sun. There y in the American camp that night. A decisive battle had been fought by small ..mibers,^ .and gallantly won by the Americans. The chief glory properly helonged to General Scott, whose brigade was the principal instrument in the achieve- ment.' It was very import.ant in its results — more important, perhaps, th.an any pre- ceding battle of the war. The Indian allies of the British were disheartened. Their disaft'ection, begun at the Thames, was now made complete. Nearly all of the sav- rode np straight to the enemy's line, as if to court death ; but, as is usual in snch cases, he failed to find it, while his faslilonnble and well-dressed aid-de-canip, obliKcd to accompany bira in what he must have thought not a very agreea- Wb enterprise, was seriously wounded lu the tliigh."— See The Spirit of our Timeit, Montreal, March 10, ISfil. Among the American officers who were wounded was Colonel Campbell, and C:nptalns KiuR, Read, and Harrison. Tlic flrst-uained fell, as we have seen, at the very beginning of the action. Captain Harrison had his leg shot off by a cannon-ball, but heroically refused to allow a man to be taken ft-om the ranks to bear him off until the liritish retreat- ed. Lieutenants Palmer, Barron, De Witt, Patchin, and Brimhall were also wonnded. ' John Michael O'Connor was a native of New York. He was commissioned first lieutenant in the Third Artillery In Marcli, 1812. He was soon afterward appointed regimental quartermaster, and in the spring of 1S13 was promoted to captain. On the 20th of June, 1814, he was appointed assistant adjutant general, under Gardner, on General Brown's staff, and held that office at the time of the battle of Chippewa. He was retained in the army at the close of the war, and left it iu 1321. In 1S24 he translated for the Military Academy at West Point Guy dc Vernon's Scienee of War and Fiirlifications. ' Mannscript Narrative of the Battles of Chippewa and Niagara, by General Porter General Brown expressed this Mief to General Porter while the latter was marching from Black Rock to Scott's enciiinj-ment. He informed Porter that the British militia and Indians were annoying his pickets very much, and when proposing to that officer to em- ploy his Indians in driving the former from the woods lie promised him ample support, and gave him the assarance that no regulars would be seen.— See Stone's Life of Red Jacket, page 2BT. ' According to the most careful estimates, the whole number of troops actually engaged in the battle did not exceed 3000, namely, 1300 Americans and 1700 British. * "Brigadie, General Scott," said Brown, In his report to the Secretary of War on the 7th of .Tuly, "is entitled to the hichest praise our country can bestow ; to him more than any other man I am indebted for the victory of the Bth of July. Ulsbrigadehas covered itself with glory The family of General Scott were conspicuons in the field— Liea- hi •l : 1 ■ i ;!' *' ■ •«! PICTOItlAL ilELU-DOOK The People Iniplrlted. Recralting active. Sketcbei ormbordlntle Offlcen, agPH, who had been ii terror to nil in every diHtriet in the West in which miliiurv movt'incntM oecurrcd, now letl tiie Hritinh army iiiid returned to their hoineH. 'ri,,. victory alHo gave a nee(lcd impetus to enlistineiitH, It created great joy tiiroiigliout the (country. The jieopli! were amazingly inspirited, and recruiting Itecanie so active that ahnost any numher of men migiit iiave been added to the army for anotiier cam- paign. This victory also won more genuine respect for the Anierieans from the ene- my than had over been accorded before; and among the peevish exjn'essions of nior- tcniint Hmlth, of the Sixth Inrnntry, major of hrlt;nclp," niid LIcutcniintfi Wortht and WiitlH.t IiIh iiIiIh. From Ooiicml Ripley and his brinado I rccfived cvnry adiiliitaiico that I ^javc them an oiiiiortiiiiily of rpiidcrliif,'." He jjave eciiiajlv warm praJHO to Uciieral I'orlci- niid hix command, and ail the other onicerH and troopn. of (lardiicr and Jones,; uf lili own military family, he made particular mention, and said, " I Hhnll have oecanion a^ain to epcak to vou." • Gerard 1). Smith, who wnn made adjutant In 1«13, was now Hcolt'H brigade niiOor, having been appointed In Marcli. lie wan a native of \ew York, lie hail iieen promoted to ciiptain In June, hut IiIh comnilHHhui liail not vet lieen iii.mIi' itnown to (lenera! Ih'own. in the battle of NiaKaiii he ho dlHtiuKulfihed hlinrelf that he wan breveted a major. IIu »»■ wounded there, with hJH chief. lie wan retained In the army at tlie peace, but renitjned In ISUI. t William .lenklniiWortii wan a tmtlve of t'ohimbla County, New Vorl<, and died a major general by brevet in tlie army of the I'liiinl Staten. lie entered the army an llrnt lieutenant, and wan iildilv. camp to Major Oenerni I.ewin in 1SI3. In March, IS14, he hcciunc aid to Hris;adlcr (lenerai Scott, and wan breveted eaptale fur hl« gallant nerviccs in the battle oi' Chippewa. For bin dlir. He wn? isin. ve ofColnmlilftCmiiily.New vet In the urii>yi)ftlii'l'iniiii I lleuteiiiiiit, mill wii" nl'' !>'" wli' near an outpost of the /|uarters, when one of [l the general by shoot- M out fifty or sixty of o had served his conn- jmed his men, and ad- 'he enemy were driven ) Queenston.2 "After l" said General Porter as a volunteer to give t^^dMMG^nerols Klpley and tal Gardner advised an invest- La brother of the late Gcneisl St Davld'g Vinage burnt. Fort George approached. Brown falls back to Chippewa. the aid of his experience in support of the violated rights of his country; and never flras that country called on to lament the loss of a firmer patriot or braver man." A few days after this sad occurrence, Colonel Stone, of the New York militia, while out on a foraging expedition, wantonly burned the little village or hamlet of St. Da- vid's, a short distance from Queenston ; and similar uup/arrantable acts caused great c-xasperation against the Americans. General Brown promptly dismissed Stone from the service as a punishment for his crime, in accordance with the sentence of a court- martial' While Brown's council of officers were debating, word came of the retrograde movement of Riall to Fifteen-mile Creek, but no intelligence Avas received of liis re- enforcements. Brown evidently did not believe that any were near, for on the pre- ceding day* he wrote to Chauncey, saying, " All accounts tgree that the . jn,y 13 force of the enemy in Kingston is very light. Meet me on the lake-shore ^^^*- north of Fort George with your fleet, and we will be able, I have no doubt, to settle a plan of operations that will break the power of tlie enemy in Upper Canada, and that in the course of a short time I doubt not my ability to meet the enemy in the field, and to march in any direction over his country, your fleet carrying for me the necessary supplies. We can threaten Forts George and Niagara, and carry Burlington Heights and York, and proceed directly to Kingston and carry that place. For God's sake let me see you. Sir James will not fight." With such opinions and expectations General Brown prepared to invest Fort George. Generals Porter and Ripley were ordered to reconnoitre the position of the enemy, one along the river, and the other in the interior, by way of St. David's; and on the 20tli the military works at Queenston were blown np, and the whole army ItH that post and advanced toward Fort George. There Brown was apprised of the arrival of Riall's re-enforcements, when he withdrew, and occupied his old posi- tion at Queenston on the 2 2d. On the morning of the 23d Brown received a letter from General Gaines at Sack- ett's Harbor apprising him of the sickness of Chauncey, the blockade of the fleet, and the peril to be apprehended to re-enforcements that might be sent by water in small vessels hugging the coast. Abandoning all hope of co-operation by the fleet, or the speedy reception of re-enforcements, the general changed his plan of operations, and at once ordered a retreat to the Chippewa, there to be governed by circumstances. He expected by this retreat to draw Riall on to the Niagara again, or, failing in this, .0 draw a small supply of provisions from Schlosser, on tfi" opposite shore, disencum- ber his army of all baggage which could possibly be dispensed with, march against Riall by way of Queenston, and fight him wherever he might be found. The army reached the Chippewa on the 24th, encamped on the south side of it, on the battle- groimd of the 5th, and prepared to make the 25th a day of rest. On the night of the •24th, General Scott, ever anxious for duty and ambitious of renown, requested leave to lead his brigade immediately in a search for Riall, not doubting his ability to win victory for his troops, glory for himself, and renown for the army. He repeated the request on the morning of the 25th, and was vexed because General Brown would not consent to divide his army.'^ He had an opportunity to try his powers and skill in combat with the enemy sooner than he expected, and in that trial he won fadeless laurels. The story is told in the following chapter. ' "The militia have bnrnt several private dweltiiig-hoiiees," wrote the pnllnnt Major Daniel M'Farland, of IhoTwenty- tliW Infantry, who was killed a few days afterward at NinRara Falls, " and on the 19th bnrnt the vniapc of St. David's, consisting of al)ont thirty or forty houses. This was done within three miles of the camp I never witnessed snch a scene; and had not the commanding ofilcer, Colonel Stone, been disgraced and sent out of the army, I should have reslfjned my commission." ' General Brown's manuscript Memorandum of Oceurrentxt of the Camjiaigii on the Xiagara Frontier, :t:^ ;? ! all ■*t! 18 ■ 816 PICTORIAL FIELD-BOOK Rumors of an Advance of the British. They appear in Force at Lundy's Lane. Their Advance unsuspected CHAPTER XXXVI. " O'er Huron's wave the sun was low, The weary soldier watch'd the bow Past fading from the cloud below The dashing of Niagara. And while the phantom chain'd his sight, Ah ! little thought he of the flght— The horrors of the dreamless uight, That posted on so rapidly."— Old Sono. lEAUTIFUL to the senses was the morning of the 25th of Julr 1814, on the banks of the Niagara River — a day memorable in the annals of the Republic. It was serene and sultry. Not a cloud appeared in the heavens, nor a flake of mist on the wa- ters. The fatigued American army lay reposing upon the field of its late victory, with the village of Chippewa in front, and had enjoyed half a day of needed rest, when a courier came in haste with intelligence from Colonel Philetus Swift at Lewis- ton that the enemy were in considerable force at Quecnston and on the Heights; that five vessels of Yeo's fleet had arrived during the night ; and that a number of boats were in sight moving up the river. A few minutes afterward another courier arrived from Captain Denman, of the quartermaster's department, with a report tliat the enemy, a thousand strong, were landing at Lewiston, and that the American bag- gage and stores at Schlosser were doubtless in imminent danger of capture. These rumors were true only in part. Vessels had arrived in the river, boats had ascended it, and a considerable British force was occupying Queenston. Lieutenant General Sir George Gordon Drummond had arrived with re-enforcements from Kings- ton, composed in part of some of Wellington's veterans, and landed at Fort Niagara, and in boats manj of them had gone up and disembarked at Queenston. Li the mean time the troops under Riall had been put in motion. Loyal Canadians had early informed him of the retreat of the Americans to Chippewa ; and at near mid- night of the '24th he sent forward a column under Lieutenant Colonel Pearson, com- posed of a regiment of the ever-active Glengary militia, commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Battersby ; the incorporated and sedentary militia, under Lieutenant Colonels Robinson (late chief justice of Canada) and Parry; detachments from the Royiil Ar- tillery, with two 24-pounders, three 6-pounders, and a howitzer ; and the One Hund- red and Fourth Infantry, under Lieutenant Colonel Drummond, and a troop of tlio Nineteenth Light Dragoons. Pearson moved forward with celerity, and at seven o'clock on the morning of the 25th took position on an eminence in and near Lundy's Lane, a public highway leading directly westward into the heart of the peninsula and the head of the lake from the road along the river from Chippewa to Queenston. The position was a short distance from the great cataract of Niagara, and a com- manding one. Of Pearson's movement Brown seems to have had no intelligence, and his efforts to counteract the supposed invasion at Lewiston were rather tardily begun. He heard of the invasion at noon, but it was quite late in the afternoon before he ortiorod a forward movement of any of his troops. At two o'clock IVIajor Jcsup, who had crossed Chippewa Bridge, brought him word from Lieutenant Colonel Leavenworth,' ' Henry Leavenworth was bom in Connecticnt, December 10, 1T83, and was made captain in the Twenty-llftti Rofi- ment United States Infantry iii April, 1812. He was promoted to major in the Ninth Infantry in August, 1813. Fur OF THE WAR OF 1812 817 lir Advonce unsnspected. of the 25th of July, I day memoraV}le in and sultry. Not a of mist on the wa- osing upon the field ppewa in front, and ■n a courier came in ;tu8 Swift at Lewis- md on the Heights; nd that a number of (vard another courier it, with a report that at the American bag- r of capture. 1 the river, boats had eenston. Lieutenant rcements from Kings- led at Fort Niagara, Queenston. In the '^oyal Canadians had •a -, and at near mid- Soloncl Pearson, com- manded by Lieutenant r Lieutenant Colonels ,3 from the Tloyal Ar- , and the One llund- d, and a troop of the ;elerity, and at seven e in and near Luinly's jcart of the peninsula ippewa to Queenston. Niagara, and a com- igence, and his effort? r tardily begun. Ih" lOon before he ordered llajor Jesup, who had :)olonel Leavenworth,' llufantry In August, 1813. roi Scott ordered to march on Port George. The Widow WHbou's Story. Scott suddenly confronted by the BritUh. the officer of the day, that a considerable '>ody of the enemy had been seen at Niag- ara Falls, not more than two miles distant;' but so impressed was the general with the idea that the enemy were after his supplies at Schlosser that he would not be- lieve that more than a few light troops on a reconnoissance were in front. Conceiv- ing the best plan for recalling the foe would be a menace of the forts at the mouth of the Niagara River, he ordered General Scott to march rapidly upon them with his brigade, Towson's artillery, and all the cavalry and mounted men at command. This order was issued between four and five o'clock in the afternoon," and with- .juiy26, in twenty minutes afterward the impatient Scott had all his troops in mo- *^'*- tion. He crossed Chippewa Bridge between five and si-t o'clock, and pushed on to- ward the great cataract, fully impressed with the belief that a large force of the en- emy was on the other side of the river, and not directly before him. His battalion commanders were Lieutenant Colonel Leavenworth, Major M'Neil, Colonel Brady, and Major Jesup, Towson was with his artillery, and Captains Harris and Pentland commanded the mounted men, Tlic whole force numbered full twelve huudred persons. A widow named Wilson lived in a pleasant white house at the great Falls, near Table Rock; and when the vanguard of Scott's command came in sight of her dwell- ing they discovered a number of British officers there, who mounted their horses and rode hastily away after surveying the approaching column of Americans with their glasses.^ The widow, with the skill of a diplomat, assured Major Wood, of the En- gineers, who were in the van, that she extremely regretted their tardiness, as they might have captured General Riall and his staif, whom they had seen riding off. She iilso assured them, with more truthfulness, that eight hundred regulars, full three hundred militia, and two pieces of artillery were just below a small strip of woods near. Scott, who had come up with his staff and heard her story, did not believe it. Had not the British army been beaten on the 6th ? And was there not in the pos- session of the commander-in-chief positive information that a large part of that army had been thrown across the Niagara at Lewiston? He believed that only a remnant of it was in his front, and he resolved to obey his instructions to " march rapidly on the forts." He sent a message to his general by Lieutenant Douglass, to inform him of the appearance of the enemy, and then dashed gallantly into the woods to dis- perse the foe. What was his astonishment on finding the story of the widow literally true ! Riall had been re-enforced, and there he was, with a larger number of troops than Scott had encountered twenty days earlier, drawn up in battle order in Lundy's Lane— a highway, as we have observed, running from the Niagara River to the head of Lake Ontario. His position was one of extreme peril. To stand still would be fatal ; to retreat would be very hazardous. The latter movement might jeopard- ize the whole army by the creation of a panic, especially among the reserves under Ripley, who were not in the former battle. There was no time for reflection, for a heavy fire of musketry and cannon had been opened upon him. From that wonder- ful wealth of resource, at the moment of great need, which always distinguished him, Seott drew immediate inspiration, and resolved to fight the overwhelming number of the enemy, and impress Riall with the conviction that the whole American army was at hand. hiK bravery at Chippewa he was breveted lieutenant colonel, and for his distinguished eervices at the battle of Niagara I'llls he was breveted colonel. He was retained in the army, and made lieutenant colonel of the Fifth Infantry in Pob- rnary, 1918. He performed able service In the wilderness westward of the Mi-afit^slppi, far up the Missouri, and a fort in tliat region bears his name. In July, 1824, he was breveted brigadier general for ten years' service, and the follow- iog year he was made full colonel. He died near the Cross Timbers, on the False Washita River, .July 21, 18ii4. I Jesup's Manuscript Memoir, etc. ' Within three or fonr days the Rritish had erected beacons in this vicinity in order to give alarms. These were con- ftrncted under the direction of Lieutenant Colonel Myers, an ofBcer who was madi' jjrisoncr at Fort George the year hefore, and afterward exchanged. Writing to Captain James Cumminga (now of Chippewa) on the '2l8t of July, he said, "The best place at Wilson's is on the cleared point, near the paling of Wilson's garden, and not far ft-om the head of the path that goes down to the Table Rock."— .jluiotf)-aj>/t Lcttfr. 3F mmi PICTORIAL FIELD-BOOK f Jnnctton of British Forces. Their Line of Battle. Scott attacked. The British flanked. Trusting to rumor instead of actual observation through scouts, Brown was wholly uninformed, or at least misinformed, concerning the movements of the British. Not a soldier of that army had been sent across the Niagara at Lewiston. Every man left fit for service since the late battle was with Riall preparing for this advance movement. On the night of the 24th Lieutenant General Sir George Gordon Drum, mond, as we have observed, had arrived at the mouth of the Niagara liiver in the British fleet from Kingston. He brought eight hundred men with him, and sent Lieutenant Tucker, with about five hundred of them and a body of Indians, to dis- perse or capture a small American force at Lewiston, This movement gave rise to the report of invasion. Drummond had apprised Riall of his intentions ; and thpw oflScers, with their respective commands, Jiad formed a junction on the Niagara with- out discovery by General Brown. These united forces, not less than four thoiipand five hundred strong, with the exception of a portion of the re-enforcements, were con- fronted by Scott and his " twice six hundred men," with two field-pieces. When forty minutes before sunset, the battle began, the line that opened fire on Scott was full eighteen hundred in number, well-posted on the slope and brow of au eminence over whicli Lundy's Lane passed. The enemy's line was a little inclined to a crescent form, the wings being thrown forward of the artillery in the centre. Its left, rested on the Queenston Road, and extended over the liil!, on the brow of wiiid, was planted a batten- of seven guns, nearly in the rear of tlie Jletli- odist church on Lun- dy's Lane, and not far I south of the house of Mr. Fraleigh when I visited the spot in 1800. Into the bowl of this crescent Scott sudden- ly found himself ad- vancing with his little force, within canisiter- shot distance of a greatly superior army and powerful field-bat-. tery. His quick eye instantly discovered 3 j blank space between the British extreme left and the river of two hundred yards. covered with brushwood. He saw the advantage it afforded, and directed Major Jes- up to creep cautiously behind the bushes in the twilight, with his command, and at- tempt to turn tlie enemy's left flank. Jesup obeyed with alacrity. In the moan time Scott was hotly engaged with the British veterans, some of them from Wellington- army, while the battery on the hill poured destruction upon his men. Towson, with | his little field-pieces right gallantly handled, could make but a feeble impression. Brady, and Leavciiworth, and ]\I'Neil managed their battalions with skill, and fought j bravely themselves ; not, however, with the expectation of conquering the enemy,! only of keeping him in check until the reserves should come up. This was done, and | more. Tlicre they stood, the brave Ninth, Eleventh, and Twentieth, mere skeletons of regiments, hurried into battle without warning or preparation, while .Tesup'sTwen-j ty-fifth, unaided, was battling manfully and successfully with more than a tliousandj of the enemy to gain possession of the Queenston Road. '^^t}m TiKwr AT lunoy'h lane in 1S60. OF THE WAR OF 1812. 819 The Brlttoh flunked. s, Brown was wholly of the British. Not wiston. Every man ing for this advance oorp among Amrivl Scenemj. This positive testimony of the chief actors settles the question. It was General Brown, and not Geucrnl R:,--! ley, who gave the order. Miller's modest response, " I'll try, sir," is one of the sayings which Americans dclighUorf-I member, and History loves to repeat. James Miller was born iu Peterborough, New Hampshire, on the 88th of April, 17T6, and was thirty-eight ycBrs oti.iI at this time. He was educated for the bar, but in 1808 he entered the United States Army as major of the F(inrtbR«-| iment of Infantry. In 1810 he was made lieutenant colonel, and, as we have already observed in this work, perfr gallant services under Harrison in the campaign that ended at the battle of Tippecanoe. In August, 1812, he h'i, when he was prostrated by paralysis. He had a second stroke of paralysis on the morning of the 4tli of JslJ 1851, and died on the 7th at the age of eeventy-flve years. He was then living at Temple, New Ilampshi'-o, wlicKpc| nf his family still reside. The gold medal presented by Congress is the slue delineated on the following page. On one side is a biifl offt eral Miller, with his name and title, and the words " i'li. tet." On the other, a battle scene on a slope and eniiinij iis at Lundy's Lane. Troops are seen advancing in the distance. Over the scene are the words " BEBOi.imox mm ■iKESs, NOVEMiiEB 8, 1814." Below, the words " hattlkb ok ohippkwa, julv 6, 1814; niauaba, jot.y 20, 1814; ror,si^ TKMI'IIR 17, 1814." ' Robert Carter Nicholas, of Kentncky, entered the army as captain of the Seventh Infantry In 1808. ncbKjiii| major in 1810, and lieutenant colonel of the First Infantry in August, ISI'2. After the battle of Niagara he vuf moted to colonel of the Nineteenth (September, 1814), and was retained at the peace. Ho resigned inlS19,»ndii became United States Indian Agent for the Chickasaws. OF THE WAR OF 1812. 821 tches of MlUer and Nichola; ad arrived that day, to neither of the Ijri- had been orderud to he enemy and iVirect X Ikliller's movement, r paid no attention to moved steadily for- with less than tlircc istly concealed hy aii ig which wiis a growth ,f.ery. They aiivroach- to a point within two ;ry, where the guimer< their lighted matclus (vord to tire. In wliis- •ed his men to rest their a fence, take good aim. liners. This was prompt- a man was left to apply Ikliller and his men t'ol- pvitha8hont,and,nisli- re in the very centre of illery before the enemy 3 resist. A British line, protection of the cannon, ! ed a most destructive en- They then attempted to heir tire so warmly tkil night for some time.atil were finally pushed l);wU ,n taken or driven from their i»?:j Colonel Mmer, take your re:iH- 1 ,,(„,,., etc., BayB," The command::,: artillery wltb the bayonet He :^ 1 Smiman'sGaliopnnioiij^nimanl eneral Brown, and not General Rifl lugs which Americans delight to »l L and was thirty-eight years oliJ i Army bk major of the FonrthliK-I Rv observed in this work, perl :^'!« fcanoe. In August, 1812 he w|. '- rrecorded;andinMaythetoto:i Lntier In the Sixth Regiment. Lcompanled General Bro«-.u.ft^ "atthebattlesofCl.ippcvrar,.'\-l n nndy's Lane, and gcncrnl c-ivu KngresBagoldmedaUUhwj Icral Miller resigned hscomn..*J Eo held that oflace until Marcti,l!» Ion he held twenty-four year.. j« Uon the morning of the 4tl. of J'4 pemple, New Hampshire, wher, 1.1 ■„Bce. on one side is a bust cf4 Knle scene on a slope and ennrd Ite the words ••BP.ou"^J ; mAOABA, Jni.v 26,1814. IW - Uh infantry m 1808- nohea».| ir the battle of Niagara he w««? lee llere-lg"«'l'"l^''''""^"1 Compusltlon of the British Battery. Appreciation of Hiiler's Exploit. The Eleventh Regiment and Major M'Nell. fiiul compelled to abandon their wliole artillery, ammunition-wagons, and every thing tlse. Seven splendid brass cannon remained with Miller, one of which was a 24- poiinder with eight horses, some of them killed. Twice the British attempted to ex- pel Miller from the height, but were repulsed, when Uipley, with the First and Twen- ty-third Regiments, came gallantly to his aid. At that moment the last of Drum- mond's re-enforcements, which had been ra])idly advancing from Queenston under Colonel Scott, nearly fifteen hundred in all, came up, when the enemy rallied, and made a fourth unsuccessful attempt to drive the victors from the heights and regain tlieir battery.' The exploit of Miller elicited universal ad- miration. The American officers declared that it was one of the most desperate and eallant acts ever known. It was the MAJOn JOUN M'.-il.ll.. most desperate thing we ever saw or heard of," said the British officers, who were made prisoners. The moment that General Brown met ]Miller afterward, he said, " You have immortalized yourself! My dear fellow, my heart ached for you when I gave you the order, but I knew th.at it was the only thing that would save us."^ Meanwhile the first brigade, command- ed by General Scott, had maintained its po- sition with the greatest pertinacity under terrible assaults and destructive blows. The gallant Eleventh Regiment lost its commander, Major John M'Neil,by severe wouiuls,^ and all of its captains. Its am- m.aiition became spent, and as a regiment ' .Autograph Letter of Qeueral Miller to his Wife from Port Erie, July 28, 1814. ^ Miller's Autograph Letter. ' John M'Neil was born in New Hampshire in 17S4. He very early evinced u taste for military life. At the age E of seventeen years he was an ensign, and soon afterward a captain of a grenadier company in his native state, which \in> remarkable for its physical vigor, ills youth and early manhood were spent in rural labors and sports. In March, |t<12, he entered the army as captain of the Eleventh Infantry, and in August the next year ho was promoted to major. iFor his gallant conduct at Chippewa, where he commanded his regiment, he was breveted lieutenant colonel, and for I elmilar conduct in the battle oi" Niagara he was breveted colonel. In that battle he behaved with the greatest gallant- When the Twenty-second Regiment broke and was about to flee In disorder, M'Neil spurred his horse In fl-ont of itliem, and, with his tremendous voice uttering persuasions and throats, ho succeeded in rallying them and leading them Tito action. Ills horse was killed under him, and he was wounded in both legs by canister-shot. A six-ounce ball l(aseed through and shattered his right knee, and nearly carried away the limb. But he continued tu flght until, be- mi PICTORIAL FIELD-BOOK A deuperute Struggle in Oarkneas Both Parties re-enfurced. SIcetclies of Colonels Brady and Jemp te^ifiii i ■ ^f=**''^ ^^nj^^ni. it retired from the field, its more gallant spirits rallying around the flags of the Ninth and Twenty-second as volunteers. Very soon Colonel Brady, of the Twenty. second, was severely wounded,' with several of his subordinates. Its ammunition became exhausted, and it, too, dissolved, and its remnant clung to the baniiei- ol'tlic Ninth, commanded by the brave Lieutenant Colonel Leavenv/orth, as voluiitecis, This was now the only regiment remaining of the first brigade, and it fought with a courage that partook of the character of dcrfpei-atioii. The thi-ee skeleton regiments were consolidated, and contended fearfully in the darkness. Finally Scott ordeieil them to chai'ge, and they were moving gallantly forward for that purpose when tiio taking of the battery turned the current, and the order was countermanded. They took their old position at the foot of the slope, ready for any emergency. It was now about half past ten o'clock at night. The troops were enveloped in thick darkness, for the smoke of battle, untoucfied by the slightest breeze, hung Jiki. a thick curtain between them and the palo light of the moon. Around the tattered colors of the Eleventh the shattered fi-agmeiits of the first brigade were rallied, commanded by the oflicers of the Ninth who remained unhurt. The Twenty-fifth, under Jesnp,^ with their i-eg- imental banner piei'ced witli scores of bullet-holes re- ceived at Chippewa and in this engagement, reposed a moment after their victory on the river side of the Queenston Road, where the village of Drummondsville now stands, while the second brigade, skillfully handled by Ripley, bore the brunt of the battle in the fierce con- tention for the battery on the height. Yet the others were by no means idle. Every corps was engaged in the desperate struggle, Avhich had continued for more than two hours, the way of the combatants lighted only by fitful gleams of the moon darting through the murky battle-clouds, and the lurid flashes of exploding powder. Both parties were re-enforced during the struggle ; the British by Colonel Scott's coming faint from loss of blood, he was carried off the flcUl, a cripple for life, and his Iron constitntion shattered. He was retained in the army at its reduction as major of the Fifth Infantry, and served upon the Western fl-ontier. He was breveted brigadier general in 1824, and in 182U promoted to the rank of full colonel. He was appointed an ludian com- missioner in 1829. In 1S30 he resigned his coraniission, and was appointed by President Jackson surveyor ofthe pon of Boston, which office he held until hig death at Washington City, on the 23d of Febrnary, 1860. Ho mairied a half- Bister of Franklin Pierce, the fourteenth President of the United States. He was a powerful man, standiu;; sii feet six inches in his stockings. ' Hugh Brady was a Pennsylvanlan by birth, and was born in Northumberland County in 170S. He entered Iht army as ensign in 1T92, and served in the Northwest under General Wayne. He was captain ofthe Fourth Infantry in 1799, and was out of service from June, 1800, until July, 1812, when he was commissioned colonel of the Twenty-second Infantry. He was distinguished at both Chippewa and Niagara Falls. He was retained in 1816, and in 1S22 was bre- veted a brigadier general. He was in the war with Mexico, and for meritorious conduct there, at the age of eighlj years, he was breveted major general. He died at Detroit on the 16th of April, 1851, aged eighty-three years. » Thomas Sidney Jesup was a native of Virginia, and was bom in 1788. He entered the array as second lieiitenu: of infantry in May, 1808. Ho was General Hull's brigade major in the campaign of 1812, in which he was also acticL adjutant general. He was promoted to captain In January, 18i;i, and major of the Nineteenth Infantry in April follm- ing. Early In 1814 be was transferred to the Twenty-flflh— a regiment which he had raised mostly by his own eier- tions in Hartford, Connecticut, and its vi«inity. For his gallant conduct at Chippewa he was breveted lieutenant col- onel, and for like distinguished conduct in the battle of Niagara, where he was wounded, ho was breveted colonel. He | was retained in the army in 1816, and was made lieutenant colonel ofthe Third Infantry In 1817. The followlni; yea; he was made adjutant general, with the rank of colonel, and shortly afterward qnartermaster general, with the rnniiol j brigadier general. In May, 1828, ho was breveted major general for ten years' faithful service. In 1830 he wi.s appolnl- i ed to the command of the army In the Creek Nation, and the same year succeeded General Call in command oftke army in Florida. He was active during the war with the Seminole Indians, and was wounded In one ofthe battles. He was succeeded by Colonel Zachary Taylor, and retired to the duties of the quartermaster general's department, in the performance of which he continued until his death at Washington City, at the age of seventy-two years, on tlie lOlli j of June, 1860. » This picture of the tattered banner and its broken staff of the Twenty-flfth Regiment, as it appeared on the day ill- er the battle of Niagara Falls, is from a drawing made then, belonging to the Rochester Light Guard, and hnnglngli I their armory in the spring of 1862, when a careful copy was kindly sent to me by Mr. Jeremiah Watts, one of the meffl- 1 bers of the Guard. The flag was white silk, with a yellow ffinge, and the words " Tub Twbnty-fiftu RKoijiiiit w | U. 8. iNrAMTBY" were inscribed upon a blue ribbon, with gilt scrolls at each end. TUE FLAG OF THE TWENTT-nFTB.' OF THE WAU OF 1812. 623 Colonels Brady and Jejop. id the flags of the cly, of the Twciity- i. Its ammunition o the banner of tlic )rth, as vohintLHMs. nil it fought with a skeleton regiments nally Scctt onleroil it purpose when tlw ntermanded. Tky srgency. ig were enveloped in est breeze, hiuis,' like FL\a OF TUE TWENTV-nnn, tish by Colonel Scott's rmTconBtitntion Bhnttered. H( li the WcBtern frontier. He was |c was appointed an Indian com- lit Jackaon surveyor of the port narv,1860. Uo mm ricd a hit- Lowcrful man, standiug sii fw lounty In ITOS. He entered tlie untain of the Fourth Infantry m 4 colonel of the Twentj-sccMl ,edinl81^,andinlS22wa>br^ flnctthero,BtthcngeofelsMy Tcd eiuhty-three years, rt the array as second lieuleniit m in which he was also actio? He'enth Infantry in April fota- 'raised mostly hyhi» own ««• he was breveted Ucutenam CO, Ed ho was hrcveted colonel. II' ftryinlSlT. The following 5". 'naster general, with the rank « service. In 1830 he wu appoi».- ^cneral Call m command of » Pdedinoneofthebatto. . Lcr general's departmen ia k [f seventy-two years, on tbelOti I Int a* It appeared on the day rf- 1 Ito Light Gnard, and hangtas^ leremlahWatts.oneottheinm- |nETvENTY.FiFTuREO.M>.T0r Oeuerals Brown and Bcott wounded. The Troops fall back to Chippewa. lnJurlouD Tardiness of General ni|>ley. cornniaiul, as wo liave seen, and the Amerieans by a part ofl'or- ter's brigade, whieh took post on Kipley's left, and participated in the closing events of the battle. The enemy was beaten off by sheer hard blows gi\en by the muscle of indomitable Persever- ance, but at the expense of pre- cious blood. Generals Brown and Scott were severely wound- ed and borne from the field, and the active command devolved on General Ripley, the senior officer on duty.' When the absolute repulse of the enemy was manifest, and General Brown observed great numhers of stragglers in a'.l di- rections from the broken regi- ments, he ordered the new com- mander to fall back Avith the troops to Chippewa, there reor- ganize the shattered battalions, u'ivo them a little rest and rc- tresliments, and return to the field of conflict by daydawn, so as to secure the fruits of victory by holding the ground and se- (uiing the captured cannon, which, on account of a lack of iioises, harness, or drag- ropes, could not be removed at once. Ripley had not moved from Chippewa when the day dawned, and Brown, disappointed and angered by his tardiness, ordered his own staff to go to the commanders of corps and direct them to be promptly prepared to march. It was sunrise before the army crossed the Chippewa, and they were halted by Rip- ley at the Bridgewater Mills, a mile from the battle-gi-ound, where he was informed that the enemy was again in possession of the heights of Lundy's Lane and his can- non, had been re-enforced, and was too strong to be attacked by a less force than the entire army of tiie Niagara with any promise of success. With this information Rip- ley returned to head-quarters. The commanding general was irritated. He resolved not to trust the brigadier with the command of the army any longer than necessity required; and he dispatched a courier to Sackett's Harbor with an order for General 1 Tlie gailant Mi\jor M'Farland was mortally wounded while fighting at the head of his battalion of the Twenty- third Regiment. Daniel M'Farland was a Penusylvaulan, and entered the army as captain in the Twenty-tecoud In- fantry iu March, 1812. In August, 1813, he was promoted to major in the Twenty-third, and was killed iu the battle of Niagara Falls. Captains Biddle and Ritchie, of the artillery, were both wounded in that battle early in the action, and the brnnt of the artillery service fell on Towson. Thomas Biddle, Junior, was a gallant officer from Pennsylvania. He entered the snny as captain of infantry in the spring of 1812, but Joined the Second Artillei? soon afterward. He was dlstlHguished in tlic capture of Fort George, and also at Stony Creek in May and June, 1813. In September he was brigade major un- der General Williams. He was slightly wounded nt Niagara, and for gallant service at Fort Erie afterward he was bre- vtled a major. There he was again wounded. In December following he was ald-de-camp to General Izard. He re- mained in the army some years, and was finally killed in a duel at St. Louis, Missouri, August 29, 1831. ; John Ritchie, who was also in this battle, was a Virginian. He entered the army in the spring of 1812 as captain in Ihe Second Artillery. Although severely wounded in the battle of Niagara Falls, he stuck to his gun, and was killed. ilc liud declared that he would never leave bis piece, and, true tu that declaration, he fell by it, covered with wounds. m f li Wfl 824 PICTORIAL FIELD-BOOK ClrciimRUncei of tbo Battle nf Niagara. Namber nf Troupa eogaged lu It. Tbe Victory claimed by both Partlei, (iaiiies to come and l:ikc the temporary leadership of tlie Niaj^ara forties.' UiplcyV delay had doubtless deprived the Americans of all the substantial advantapes of vic- tory, for the enemy was allowed to return, reoccupy the field of battle, and retake the captured cannon, excepting one beautiful brass O-pounder, which was prescntcil to Colonel Miller's regiment on the spot. This they bore away with them as a pic- cious trophy of their prowess. Tlio remainder were retaken by the British a few hours afterward.'* Thus ended the sanguinary Battle op Niagara Falls, sometimes called Lundy\i Zone, and sometimes Bridt/ewater,^ It has few purallcls in history in its -wealth of gallant deeds. It was fought wholly in the shadows of a summer evening between sunset and midnight. To the eye and ear of a distant spectator it must have bet n a suolime experience. Above was a serene sky, a placid moon in its wane, and innu- merable stars — a vision of Beauty and Peace; below was the sulphurous smoke of battle, like a dense thunder-cloud on the horizon, out of whicli came the quick Hashes of lightning and the bellowing of the echoes of its voice — a vision of Horror and Strife. Musket, rocket, and cannon cracking, hissing, and boouiing ; and the claslidi' sabre and bayonet, with the cries of human voices, made a horrid din that commin- gled with the awful, solemn roar of the great cataract hard by, whose muffled thun- der-tones rolled on, on, forever, in infinite grandeur when the pmiy drum had ceased to beat, and silence had settled upon the field of carnage. There the dead were buried, and the mighty diapason of the flood was their requiem. According to the most careful estimates, the number of troops engaged in the hat- tic of Niagara Falls was a little over seven thousand, the British having about four thousand five hundred, and the Americans a little less than two thousand six hund- red, ''oth parties lost heavily. Tlie Americans had one hundred and seventy-one kille. \ hundred and seventy-one wounded, and one hundred and ten missing— a total of eight hundred and fifty-two. The British lost eighty-four killed, five hund- red and fifty-nine wounded, one hundred and ninety-three missing, and forty-two pris- oners — a total of eight hundred and seventy-eight. A large proportion of those taken by Jesup on the British left , and by Miller on the height, escaped during the night. Both parties claimed a victory, the Americans because they drove the enemy from the field and captured his cannon, and the British because their foe did not retain the field and the cannon he had won. While the American people rejoiced over the af- fair as a genuine triumph, as it undoubtedly was, as a victory in battle, the governm general of Canada was right in complimenting his troops for their steadiness and valor ; and the Prince Regent did a proper thing when he gave permission to one of the regiments to wear the word Niagara upon their caps. Major General Brown was twice severely wounded, yet he kept the saddle until the victory was won. First a musket-ball passed through his right thigh ; and a few ' General Brown's Mnnnscrlpt Memoir, etc. He says, "OeDernl Brown entertained no donbt of tin; iiitelllgence or bravery of General Ripley," but his conduct on the morning of the 26th was such that " his confldcnce in him as a com- miindcr was seueibly diminished. The j,'encral believed that he dreaded reapojiaibility more than danger. In short, that he had a greater share of physical than moral courage." ' Miller's Autograph Letter to his Wife, July 2a Brown's Memorandum, etc., and his Official Report to the Secretarj of War, dated " Buffalo, August, 1S14." In that report the commanding general spoke in the highest terms of nil hi* officers and troops. He particularly mentioned the gallant services of Scott, Porter, Jesup, Towson, nindman, Blddlf, Ritchie, Gardner, his adjutant general, M'Ree and Wood, his engineers, his aids-de-camp Austin and Spencer, and Lieu- tenant Randolph, of the Twentieth Regiment, " whose courage was conspicuous." " The staff of Generals Rlpiey and Porter," he said, "discovered great zeal and attention to duty." 3 The battle was fought within sight and hearing of the great Falls of Niagara, and should bear that dignified name. It was so called in one of the first pnblished accounts of it. "The battle of Niaoaba," said the Albany Argus atthf beginning of August, " commands, like the achievements of our naval heroes, the admiration of all classes of the Amer- ican people, a few excepted." The hottest of the contest having occurred in the struggle for the battery in Lwviiii Law caused the battle to be called after the name of that road. About a mile above the field of battle, on the banks ot the Niagara, were mills called The Bridgewaler Mills. A person attached to the American army, but not In tho battle. wrote while it was in progress to some fric^iid in the interior of New York, paying that a great battle was then ragin; near the Brldgewater Mills. This letter w:ih published extensively, and the conflict wos called the B(UtUo/ liri(lgtwi\Ur It was HO announced in Niles's Register, August 13, 1814. im-: '■'ilW OF THE WAR OF 1812. 885 id by both Pnrtlm. OBIcera wonndad ia tiM Battle of Niagara. Scott proceed* to Waahlngton. Honora conterred upon Mm. forces.* Riploy'K advantages of vic- hattle, and retake lich was i)n'sc'nli'il nth them as a jirt- tho British a few mos called Lumh/n ivy in its wealtli of 3r evening between it must have hem ;i its wane, and innu- ilphurous smoke of mo the qniek flashes irtion of Horror and ng ; and the elasluil' id din that commin- whose muffled ihun- my drum had ceased :'hcro the dead were B engaged in the bat- sh having ahmU four o thousand six hund- Ared and seventy-one ;d and ten missing- Pfour killed, live lumd- g, and forty-two pris- portion of those taken cd during the night. .rove the enemy from ^ ] foe did not retain tln' rejoiced over the at- battle, the govenmi their steadiness and permission to one ot kept the saddle until ight thigh ; and a few doubt of ll... intelligence or alsconfldeuce in him as a con- more than danger. In short, pfflclal Report to the Sccrclary in the highest terms of alte ,up,Towson.ninaman,Bll*. J Austin and Spencer, and Ucii- leetaff of Generals Ripiey and lonld bear that dignified n»me. •said the Albany Argus at the Lion of «U classes of the Amer- leie for the battery in l^fP rfleldofbattle,onthebank»o Ian army, but not in the bate, fft great battle wa. then ragte 1 called the BottK of linitit«<^ minutes afterward tho gallant Captain Spencer, his aid-de-camp, received a mortal wound.' Then came a ball of some kind which struck Brown in the side, not lacer- ating, but sev(>rely contusing it. Both hurts were so severe that the general felt (loid)tful of his ability to keep his seat, and so informed Major Wood, his confidential friend. That bravo officer, deeply engaged in the battle, exclaimed, " Never mind, my dear general, you are winning the greatest battle ever gained for your country !" The eni'my were soon repulsed, and tho general, supported by Captain Austin, his only remaining aid, moved from tlic field, leaving the command, as we have seen, with General Ripley. Brown rapidly recovered, and was able to resume the command of the army of the Niagara early in September. General Scott was wounded by a bullet tliat entered his left slioulder while he was conversing with Major Jesup on the extreme right. lie had been exposed to death on every i)art of the field, and had two horses shot under him. lie was spared until the last struggle of the battle, when his aid. Lieutenant Worth, and Brigade Major Smith, were very severely wounded. His own luirt was so great that he could no longer remain on the field, and he was borne first to the Chippewa camp, then to Buf- falo, and finally to Williamsville, a hamlet in the east part of the present town of ■Java, Wyoming County, New York. At the latter place ho found the wounded General Riall well-cared for. Seott suftcred intensely, and for a month his recovery was considered doubtful. He was finally removed to the house of a friend (Mr. Brisbane) in Bivtavia, where kind nursing made his convalescence rapid; At length, when able to bear the motions of a litter, he was carried on the shoulders of gentlemen of the country from town to town, to the house of a friend (Mr. Nicholas) in Geneva, where lie remained until he was able to resume his journey, wlien he went to Philadelphia, and placed himself in cliarge of the eminent Doctors Physic and Chapman, of that city. He was every \ where received with demonstrations of the warmest respect and admiiaiion for his Irtrsonal achievements, and as the representative of the now glorious army of the Ni- agara.'' From Philadelphia he passed on to Baltimore early in Septetnber, then threatened by the British, who had just destroyed the public buildings of the na- tional capital; and on the I6th of October he was so far recovered as to be able to take command of the Tenth Military District, whose head-quarters were at Washing- ton City. Honors were conferred upon him by public bodies in many places. The Congress of the United StJites, by a resolution on the 8th of November, 1814, voted him the thanks of the nation, and requested the President to have a gold medal, with suitable devices, struck in his honor, and presented to him.^ The Legislatures of 1 Ambrose Spencer, of New York, was commissioned a first lieutenant In the Twenty-ninth Infantry In April, 1S13, and promoted to captain in February, 1S14. lie had been made aid to General Brown in August, ISU, and remained in Ills family until his death. He was greatly distingnlshod In the battle of Niagara Falls. General Brown relates. In his Manuscript Memoir, etc., already cited, that when the last heavy rc-cnforcements of the British were coming up iu the dim raoonlight, and he was watching them with intense interest. Captain Spencer suddenly put spurs to his horse, and rode directly to the front nf the advancing foe. Then, turning to the enemy's right, he inquired, in a firm, strong voice, "What regiment is that?" He was promptly answered, "The Royal Scots, sir." "Halt! Royal Scots," he re- plied, and they obeyed. With this Information he returned to his general, and soon afterward received a wound which caused his death, at Fort Kric, on the 5th of August. General Dtumniond hnii ^ent a message to Brown asking an ex- change of their aids. Spencer was mortally wounded, but Lorin^ »»» well. A ifcction for his aid caused Brown to de- part from the usages of war, an^ he complied. On the very day 1|(W*Pcncer was brought to Port Erie he died, and Captain Loring was sent back to his general. ' It was the annual Commencement at the College of New Jersey, at Princeton, when General Scott arrived i here on his way to Philadelphia. The faculty of the college invited him to attend the ceremonies at the church. He was carried Ihlther on a litter, pale and emaciated from suffering, and was placed upon the stage among the professors and invited Rnesti. He was greeted by both sexes with the greatest enthusiasm. The orator of the day was the now deceased brother of Bishop M'llvaine, of Ohio, and his subject happened to be " Tho public duties of n good citizen in peace and war"— an appropriate one for the occasion ; and toward Its close he turned to Scott and pronounced a most touching eulogy of his conduct. This compliment was followed by the conferring upon the wounded hero the honorary degree of Master of Arts. With grateful heart Scott passed on, and was met, when approaching Philadelphia, by Governor Suydcr and a division of militia.— See Mansfield's Life nf Scott, Chapter XI. ' Our engraving on the following page Is a representation of the medal, a trifle smaller than the original. On one ■ 1" i» a bust of General Scott, with his name. On the Ncott. Other Olfti. Blu|{rapblcul Sketch. Appointed Bravet Uauluutnt Cleuintl. • Febninry 12, ISlfi. ' February, 1810. • 1S15. i>at bend in the river at tlic seething whirlpool. At Drummondvillc, a pleasant little town of about five hundred inhabitants, skirt- Mig the highway from Chippewa to Queeiiston, wc turned into Lundy's Lane, ;',''.d rode to the top of the hill on which stood the Hritish battery captured by Miller. It is a pleasant spot, and sufficiently elevated to command extensive views of the coun- try ill Canada and New York. On the crown of the hill was the ilwelling of Mr. Fra- loigh and a Methodist church ; and on the slope toward Drummondville was a small cemetery, a view of which may be seen oi. /'^ge 818. A little to the left of the large tree in that picture was the site of the British battery taken by Miller. Near the mid- dle of that cemetery was the grave and monument of Lieutenant Colonel Bisshopp, de- lineated on Jiage 628 ; and on its western margin, close by the fence, was the grave of Captain Abraham F. Hull, who appears somewhat conspicuously in the narrative of the surrender of Detroit by his father, General William Hu)'., in the summer of 1812. On the spot where he fell, gallantly fightuig in the batt'. : Niagara, the brother officers of Captain Hull erected a wooden slab, with a &'■■ do inscription, to mark the spot;* and in after years his friends erected the r.-> of marble, which, with an ^^^■^^-^■yv^- :»2-«^L^j^ 1 Colonel Cummings is yet (18GT) living at Chippewa, at the age of eighty years. He enterud the military service as llentcnant of- volunteer flank company in 1812, and was stationed on the spot where the battle of Chippewa was fought two years later. He was promoted to the cavalry, but was soon called to Fort George by General Brock, and ^^^ -^^^ appointed deputy quartermaster general of militia, with _««^«S;??^.i^he fence in the pic- ture on page 818.' Fronting on Lundy's Lane, a little northwestward of the position of the Britisli battery, was an observatory, made of timbers, and latticed. It was one hundred and thirty feet in height, and was ascended on the interior by one hundred and twenty- live steps. We climbed wearily to the top, and were richly rewarded for the toil by a magnificent panoramic view of the surrounding country, including in the vision, by the aid of a telescope, the statue of Brock on its lofty pedestal on the Heights of Queenston. Westward we looked far over the Canadian peninsula to the broken country around the Beaver Dam region, and eastward as far over tlie cultivated lands of the State of New York, while at our feet was the great cataract, which gave a tremor to the pile of timber work on which we stood, and formed a conception in the mind of the amazing power of that mighty pouring flood. An elderly man, who acted as guide to the surrounding scenery as seen from the observatory, ascended with ns, and, in monotonous tone, began his well-learned task of repeating the record of historical events there. We only wanted to know the exact locality of certain in- cidents of the battle, and, after four times preventing him going farther in his tedi- ous details than the words "In the year one thousand eight hundred and fourteen," we obtained what we wished, and descended. We climbed into the little cemetery, and I sketched the tomb of Bisshopp and the view on page 818, and at the same time Mr. Porter made a neat pencil drawing for me of a small house in Drummondville, which was used as a hospital after the battle, as seen from Bisshopp's grave. It is copied in the annexed engraving. On returning to the Suspension Bridge to reeross the river, Ave observed large crowds of people on both banks, above and below the aerial highway, who had come to see the peril- ous feats of Blondin and a rival upon sl.nck ropes stretched across the river from bank to bank. They were both performing at the same time, cheered on by their re- spective friends, one above and the other below the bridge. Beneath these daring acrobats was the foaming river, r'lshing down hill to the great whirlpool at the rate of thirty miles an hour. It was -..n unpleasant spectacle, for a sense of fearful danger oppressed the mind of the beho.der. We rode slowly across the bridge, viewing the foolish and yet heroic performances of both young men, and arrived at Niagara Falls village in time for a late dinner. Toward evening I rode down to Queenstf n, behind a blind horse, to make the visits on the Canadian peninsula described in pre- ceding chaptt iH.' Let us now resume the narrative of events in which the Army of the Niagara was engaged in the summer and early autumn of 1^]4. General Riplc's tardiness, if not absolute diKobedicnce, as we have observed, left the battle-field ot ^Niagara, so gloriously won by the Americans, in tlie posnession of HOSPITAL NEAB LUNDT'S LANE. WOOOkN HLA was \hp fo'lowliig Inccrlptlon : "Tljio was erected by his bi ither ofllce'~i to tnaik the spot wher> Captain Hnll. I'. S. Army, fell in the memorablf anion at Lnu' f>'d-rincipal officers, by a vehement opposition, pre- vented. Ripley ne8 preparatory to an expected siege.^ General Porter, at about the saiT^e time, issued a stirring appeal to his fellow-citizens, asking for four thousand volunt 'IS. The labor at Fe-i, Erie for that purpose was commenced with great zeal and en- ergy by the engineers, and from the 27tli of July until the 2d of August the troops were employed in the business day and night, casting up intrenchments, constructing redoubts, making traverses, and preparing abatis. Fortunately for the Americans, Drummond did not know their real weakness, and he remained quietly at Lundy's Lane and vicinity, resting his men and receiving re-enforcements for two or three days. Finally, on the 29th, having been re-enforced by about eleven hundred men of General De Watteville's brigade, he prepared to push forward and invest Fort Erie. At this time Fort Erie was an indifferent affair, small and weak, standing on a plain about twelve or fifteen feet above Lake Erie, at its foot. Efforts to strengthen it having been made ever since it was captured at the beginning of July, it was be- ginning to assume a formidable appearance. On the extreme right of the American encampment, and near the lake shore, a strong stone work had been erected, and two guns mounted on it,en barbette, ov on the top without embrrsures. It was called the Diiuglass Battery, in honor of Lieutenant David B, Douglass, of the Engineer corps, under whose superintendence it was built. From the left of this battery to the right of the old fort continuous earthworks were thrown up, seven feet in height, with a ' "While the wounded," pays Major Jesup, " were moving by water to niiffnlo, the army abaudoned Its strong posi- tion behind the Chippewa, and, after destroying a part of its »toree, fell baclt, or, rather, tied to the ferry opposite Blaclt Roclt, but a short distance below Fort Erie ; and General Ripley, but for the opposition made by M'Hee, Wood, Tow- son, Porter, and other otBccrs, would have cronged to the American shore. Had the enemy availed himself of this blun- der, not a man of our army eruld have escaped The Anicrican general could have maintained his position [at t'hippcwn], and have held General Diuminond in check du.Ing the remainder of the campaign."— Jesup's Manuscript Urmoiro/thf Xiagani Oamjtnujn. Early on the morning of the 27th the commanding general at Black Rock " was advised that the army had fallen back in haste, and was then near him on the opposite side of the strait. This movement was unexpected, and greatly ef- fected t'.'e general. General Ripley intended to have proceeded with the army immediately to the American side of the strait, but the honorable stand taken by t.ie officers whom he consulted induced bin to sbrlnk from this Intention. Majors M'Ree, Wood, and Towson, as well as Gencr,,! Porter, deserve particular honoi' for their high-minded conduct on this (coasiou. General Ripley left the r.rmv, and came to General Brown with a hope of obtaining an order for him to rnss with the forces. No proposition could have been more flurpi: ng to the major general : and perhaps, at this Interview, he treated General Ripley with u'justlflable Ipdignation and scorn."— General Brown's Manuscript ifemo- randum nf Omun\ncei mm^'eteil viiiK I'm Campaiqvt nf Siagara. > When General Ripley leR Genersi Brown's chamber an ' went be1;iw, he remarked to persons there that he would not be responsible f.-r t'.e army if it rcmnl'^icd in Canada, and insisted that a written order should be given him. When inrorincd of this. Brown sent to RIoley the fallowing note • " Hoad-qnarters. Buffalo, ZTth July, 1814. •' Si*,— All the sick and wounded, and the surplua baggage, will be immediately removed to this place. Those men v.'io .ire sound and able to fight will en.^amp at Fort Erie, so as to defend that post, and, at the same time, hold fne ferry lielow unf.l this wounded, sick, and surplus baggage have crossed. You will (end MtOor Wood or Major M'Ree to me uniuedlatcly.'— General Brown's Manuscript Ljlter-book. % ijit 830 PICTORIAL FIELD-BOOK Fort Eric and its RevetmentH. The Britisli attacic Block Rucli. Hbcldeuts of the Movement, ■ ^-/^4ws«»*8i«r: KKM.MNH (IF IMlK.LASH'h HA TTKBY ANI> lOUT EKIE. ' ditch in front and slight aba- tis ; and from tlie left of the fort, and in a line nearly paral- lel with the lake shore, strong ])arapet breastworks wero commenced, Avith two ditches and abatis in front. At the southwestern extremity of this lino of works, on a natural sand-mound called Snake llil!, a sort of bastion, twenty feet in lieitjht, was cast up, hve gims mounted on it, ami named Towson's Battery, in honor of the gallant artillery captain in whose charge it was placed. From this battery to the lake shore, near Avhich lay at anchor the three armed schooners Porcupine, Somers, and OA/o, was a lino of a6a-v^tA>a..^^ ^^/ >h" 1 4i' ftwaamtd at seven o'clock in the evening, w lien very little impression haW 'A^in ni;i,4« -on the American defenses. Gainew was convinwjd that I)/ vw aflair with skill and bravery.' The sky was overhung with clouds. Sound, not sight, gave intelligence of the approach of the enemy. Belknap fired an alarm, and then fell steadily back to camp. The enemy came dashing on in the '.doom, full fifteen hundred strong, under Lieutenant Colonel Fischer, and charged fu- riously upon TowHon's Battery and the abatis on the extreme left, between that work and the lake shore. They expected to find the Americans asleep, but were mistaken. Colonel Miller's brave Twenty-first Regiment, then in charge of Major "Wood, of the Kngineers, was behind the abatis, and Towson's artillerists, gallantly supj)orted on ilic right by the Twenty-third Regiment, were on the alert. At a signal, Towson's \imH 'ii |)'/iiiiders sent forth such a continuous stream of flamt from the h^ummit of Snake Hill that the foe )d it the "Yankee Light-house." At the same instant a I li(/M flame beamed for. . .rom the line of the Twenty-first, and sent a brilliant illu- mination high and far, and revealed the position of the enemy to the garrison. It was as evanescent as the I'ccht of the Roman candle of the pyrotechnic, and in a few moments lieaviest gloom ,- itled upon the scene, relieved only by the Hashes of the cannon and musketry. While one assailing column Avas endeavoring by the use of ladders to scale Tow- son's embankment, the other, failing to penetrate the abatis, waded in the shallow water of the lake under cover of darkness, and attempted to < irge the Twenty-first in the rear. But both columns failed. After a desperate struggle, they were re- pulsed and fell back. Five times they came gallantly to the attack, and were as often driven away. Finally, having suffered great loss, chiefly from the destructive effects of grape and canister shot, they abandoned the enterprise. Almost simultaneously with this movement on the extreme left, an assault was I William Goldsmith Bell«nnp was born in NewlMirg, Orange Connty, New York, on the 14th of September, 1794. He entered the army as third iiciitenant in the Twenty-third Regiment of United States Infantry in the spring of 1S14, and 111 the following autumn was in Wilkinson's ex|)cditlon down the St. Lawrence, lie followed the fortunes of CJeneral Brown, nud was with him on the Ninsnra frontier In 1S14. Ili.s services at Port E.ie, where he was severely wounded, nteived the warm pommendations of his superior oHicer.'i.* He was i, ained in the army at the peace as first lleuten- aut in the Second Kegimont, Colonel Brady. At the reduction of the ariny.n 1S21 he was transferred to the Third, and tiic fdllowing year was i)rnmoted to captain. He was promoted to maj>.: in 1842, and, having lieen active and useful in the Seminole War in Florida, lie was breveted lieutiMiant colonel. Ho was with General Taylor in Texas and Mexico, and III the battles of Palo Alto and llcsaca do la Palina ho gallawtly commanded a brigade. During the remainder of I'uc service he was Taylor's Inspector general. For his gallant conduct at the battle of Bnena Vista he was breveted lirigndicr general. He was with General Taylor in all 'li i battles. From December, 184S, to May, IW], General Bel- knap was in command of Fort Gibson, in the Cherokee i'.ition,and his memory is cherished with graiitude by that peo- ple He died near Preston, Tcxa.i, on the lOlh of November, 1861. ' III a letter to Major Belknap in 1S41 (kindly placed in my hands by a daughter of that galKint oflicp'S Brigadier Gen- eral Towsoi) gave most interesting details of the operations of the picket and tin itlack of tho caemj 3 G . ^ nCTOUIAL riELD-BOOK The Battle of Fort Erie. The BrItlBh iii u Biutlon. i Mr ( , made on the riglit by five Immlrod infantry and artillery, with a reserve of Indiiins composing the centre and left columns of the enemy, under Lieutenant Colonels Diuin- mond and Scott. They advanced rapidly, under a blaze of fire from cannon and mus- ketry — Drummond toward old Fort Erie, which the mortified British had determiiitd to recover at all hazards, and Scott toward the Dougl.iss Battery and the coniioctiiiL; intrenchments. The latter were received by the veteran Ninth, under the conniiiiiiil of Captain Foster, and Captains Broughton and Harding's companies of New Ydik and Pennsylvania Volunteers, aided by a 0-pounder between Douglass Battery aiul the lake shore, managed by Major JVI'ltee, the chief engineer. The enemy was soon re- pulsed in this quarter; but the centre, led by Lieutenant Colonel Drummond, was not long kept in check. It approached every assailable jioint of the fort at once. Tluv brought scahng-laddcrs, and, with the greatest coolness and bravcrj-, attempted to force an entrance over tiie walls, Captani Williams, and Lieutenants Macdonoui;!! and Watmongh, in the fort, met thera gallantly, and twice repulsed them. TIkh Drummond, taking advantage of the covering of a thick pall of gunpowder smoke which hung low, went silently around the ditch, and with scaling-ladders ascended tn the para})et with great cclerit y, and gained a secure footing there with one huiulud of the Royal Artillery before any cfVectual opposition could be made. Alrciuly tin exasperated Drummond, goaded almost to matlness by the murderous repulses wliidi he had endured, had given orders to show no mercy to the " damned Yankees,"' ami had actually stationed a body of pauited savages near, Avith instructions to rusli jntu the fort when the regulars should get possession of it, and assist in t'.ie general mas- sacre.^ Finding himself now in actual possession of a part of the fort, he instaiitiv directed his men to charge upon the garrison with pike and bayonet, and to " show no mercy." Most of the American officers and many of the men received deaillv wounds. Among the former was Lieutenant Macdonough. He was severely limt. and demanded quarter. It was refused by Lieutenant Colonel Drummond. Tiie lieu tenant then seized a handspike, and boldly defended himself until ho was shot down with a pistol by the monster who had refused him mercy, and who often reitoratil the order, "Give the damned Yankees no quarter !" lie soon met his deserved iiiio. for he was shot through the lieart, was severely bayoneted, and fell dead by the siili of his own victim.^ The battle now raged with increased fury on the right, while on the left the enemy was repulsed at every jjoint and put to flight. Thence, and fi'om the centre, Gaines promptly ordered re-enforcements. They were quickly sent by Ripley and Porter, while Captain Fanning kept up .n spirited cannonading on the enemy, now to he seen approaching the fort, for the day had dawned. The enemy still held the bastion, in spite of all eflbrts to dislodge them, Ilindman and Trind)le had failed in their at tempts to drive them out, Avhen Captain Birdsall, of the Fourth Rifle Itegimeiit, rushed in through the gateway, and with some infantry charged the foe. They were repulsed, anil the captain was severely wounded. Then a detaciunent fron< the Elev- enth, Nineteenth, aiid Twenty-second Infontry, under Captahi Foster, of the Eleveiilli, was introduced into the interior bastion for the purpose of cliarging the enemy. The movement was gallantly maele — I"\jster was accompanied by Major Hall, the assist- ant inspector general — but, owing to the narrowness of the passage, it failed. It was often repeated, and as often checked; yet these attacks greatly diminished the mira- her of combatants in the bastion. A more furious charge was about to be made. when, days an eye-witness, " Every sound Avas hushed by the sense of an unnatural • " I sHveral times hcnrd," Bays General Gniiieg in his report to the Secretary of War, "and mauy of our officer hoard, iirdors jiiven ' '« (/tic the damneil I'mitet" rancale nn quarter I' " ' Statement of "A Veteran of 1812, In Porter's Corps," who was n participant In the ttgM, writing from Troy, Np« Vorlt. Sec Old Soldirrs' Advnaite, Cleveland, Ohio, Orfolirr, IfiBtl. Alludlnp to the capture of Lieutenant Fottaine.ot the artillery, who fell among the Indians, and was kindly treated by them, G 'neral Gaines iu his report said, "Itwonl! teem, ihen, that these savaRcs had not Joined in the rcs;Ui88 liattery aihl > enemy was soon re- Drunimond, was not ! fort at once. Tlioy i-avery, attqmptcHl to tenants Macdonou[;li ?pulsed them. Then of gunpowder smoke jr-ladders ascended to ere with one huiuhid • made. Ah-eady the derous repulses whicli imned Yankees,"' and itructions to rush iutu st in the general mas- ■ the fort, he instantly jayonct, and to " sluiw nien received deadly lie was severely luul 3rummond. Tlie liin- [ntil he was shot down 1 -who often rcitoiat^ 1 met his deserved fate, |d fell dead by the side on the left the enemy fiom the centre, Gaines by Ilipley and Porter, enemy, now to he seen ;illheld the bastion, in had failed in tlunr at- onrth Rifle Kegimeiit, ed the foe. They were ichmentfrom thcElev- 'oster,oftheElevenili, [rging the enemy. The Major Hall, the assist- ^ssage, it failed. Itms ly diminished the nnm- Ivas about to be made. sense of an unnatiu:il leflKht.wrltiiis from Troy, N-f' I'es in Wb report ealrt, "11 «»« A BaatloDi with the BrltiBh, hlown up. The Actors In the Mutter. An Amwiora panradlng ftrtj. tremor beneath our feet, like the first heave of an eartlKjuake. Almost at the same inHtanttlie centre of the bastion burst up with a terrific explosion, and a jet of flame, minified witli fragments t)f timber, eartli, stone, and botlii's of men, rose to the height of one or two hundred feet in the air, and fell in a shower of ruins to a great distance all around.'"' Tliis explosion, so destructive and appalling, was almost the final and decisive blow to tiu' Hritisli in the contest.^ It was followed immediately by a galling cannonade, opened by Uiddle and Fanning, and in a l\'\v moments the Hritish broke and fled to their intrenchments, iciiving on the field two hundred and twenty-orie killed, one hundred and seventy-t'cur wounded, and one liundred ami eighty-six prisoners. Some of their slightly wounded were borne away. Tiie loss of the Anu'ricans was seven- teen killed, fifty-six wounded, and (deven missing. Among tlie officers lost were Cap- tahi Williams and Lieutenant Macdonougli, killed ; Lieutenant Watmough, severely wiHuided, aiul Lieutenant Fontaine, wlio was blown into the ranks of tlie Indians wlien the bastion exploded, but was not severely hurt. Tiiese were of tlu" artillery, and were all injured in defending the bastion. Captain Biddle, of the artillery, had been previously injured, and Wutinougli had also received a contusion. Of tlie in- fantry officers injured were Captain Birdsall, Lieutenants Huslinell and Urown, and Ensign Cisna, wounded in defending the fort, and Lieutenant Belknap, wounded in defending tiie picket-guard wiiieh he commanded. General (Raines called the affiiir a "handsome victory," not merely a defense and a repulse,' and in this opinion the impartial liistorian must agree. lie sj)oke in high- est terms of all his officers and men, and particularly of the good conduct of (Jenerals Itiploy and Porter, Captain Towson, and 3Iajors llindmaii, M'Wee, and Wood. The iiitidligence of tiie event was reeeiveil witii great joy tiiroughout tiie country; and for liis gallant conduct and valuable services at this time, and in tiie second siege of Tort Erie, wiiich soon followed, (ieneral Gaines received substaiiti:il honors. On the Htii of September he was breveted a major general, and on the Hd of November the President approved of the action of the national Congress in voting liiiii tlie thanks of the nation and ordering a gold medal, with suitable devices (see next Jiage), to be struck and presented to him. Tiie three great states of New York, Virginia, and Tennessee each rewarded him with reseilutions and an elegant sword. There were drawbacks npon tiie joy and the honors of the victory besides those of the less of life in the conflict, for two of the three schooners tliat lay at anchor off" the fort, as we have observed, were caiitured by the enemy, and on the day succeed- ina; tlie victory a marauding party brought dishonor npon the American name at Port Talbot, on tlic Canada shore. Tiie schooners 0/iio and f^oincrs were captured on tiie iiiglit of tiio Tiili of August by Captain Dobbs, of the Uoyal Navy, and sev- enty-live men in nine boats. They were taken down the river halfway to Cliippewa and secured, but the Porcupine beat off her assailants.'' The marauders referred to 1 Miinuscript Reminiscences of Mnjor (thin Lieutenant) Donglaes, quoted by Dawson in his Dattlcf <\f the United States Ij Sm anil ImucI, il., 30S. ! "The cause of this explosion," says nn oye-wltnons (one of Porter's men), "has never been officially ejtpl'ilncil, llis- Mry ascribes It to accident ; and pcrliaps it would not lie proper for me to etato what I learned at the time. Even if it wan design, I think the end justified the means. It was that mysterious explosior which, through Providence, saved ■Jiir gallant little army from the horrors of a tjeneral massacre." The venerable Jabez Fink, nov.- (lS(i7) living near Adrian, Michigan, who was in the flght, is not so reticent concern- ing the explosion. In a letter to me, dated May 20, ISOIl, he writes : " Three or four hundred of llie enemy had got in'o lif liastion. At this time an American ofllcor came rnnning up, and said, 'General (iaines, the baHtion i.s full. I can ! l(i\v them ail to heil in a minute !' They both passed back throngh a stone building, and in a short time the bastion m] the British were high in the air. General Gaines soon relumed, swinging his hat, and shouting ' Hurrah for Little Yorli !' " This was in allusion to the blowing up of the British magazine at Little York, whore General Pike was killed. Sec pa!;e tlSft. ' Letter of General Gaines to the Secretary of War, August 2fi, 1S14. " It is due," he said, " to the brave men 1 have <\w houor to command that I should say that the affair was to the enemy a sore beating and a ilc/ml ; and it was to us n handmmr rMnry." < In this nlTair the Americans lost one seaman killed, and three officers and four seamen wounded. The enemy loBt two fcamcu killed and four wonnded. The />wi';"»i' sailed for Erie. ^Hm 1/ 't\ 830 riCTOUIAL riELD-BOOK Honnra to Oenernl Onlnei. Cnnnnnade of Fort Erie. Brown resumes Command of the Army. " .\ GKNEBAL OAINEB'b VEnAL.I . i ' T were a party of ono linndrcd AmcM'icans and Indians, wlio landed at Port Talhot nn tlie night of the 16tli. and robbed about fifty families of A'aluable property, siicli iiv horses, liousehold furniture, and wearing apparel, and several respectable citizen- were carried off as prisoners of war; one of them, Mr. IJarnwell, was a member of tin Canadian Assembly. As a dutiful historian I record the affair, but with slmmc. Happily, such conduct on the j)art of the Americans was so rare that these pages have not been often stained by the recital. Both parties at Fort Erie immediately prepared for another struggle, and dniiii',' the remainder of August and until the middle of Sejitember each received and eiv- ated strength by the arrival of re-enforcements and completing of their respeetivi defenses. The Americans had by that time mounted twenty-seven heavy guns, and had over tliree thousand men behind them. Drummond also received re-eiifoiee- ments a few days after his defeat on the 15th, and from some new batteries he opened a caimonadc and bombardiront of Fort Erie with the design of compelling the Amer icans to evacuate it. Alm.ost daily, until the close of August, he threw hot shot. shells, and rockets into the fort, and annoyed the garrison much ; and finally, on tin 28th, a shell fell through the roof of Gaines's quarters, destroyed his writin£r-(lel wreath on the end of a cannon which is staudinfr uprleht, its muzzle downward. Around it is n fcroll Inscribed " erie." On one trunnion rests British colors, and from the other is snspetidcd a broadsword. By the (i* of the cannon lies a howit/.cr, helmet, and balls. Behind the cannon is seen .1. halbert. Around the whole arc l!if words "BEBOLexioN of uo.nubkbs, nove-mueb S, 1S14; and bulow, "uattlk of ebie, acqcbt 18, 1814." OF THE WAU OF 1812. 837 en Commmul of the Army, BrUlib Wurkii and Furt Eric. Brown determineB on a Cortie. Prcparatiuna fur It. h\ at Port Talbot on jlc property, such as respc('tal)lc citizpiis was a member of tliu 'air, but with sliaiue, rare that these pages Btruggle, and durini! ach received and oiv- \*«(( harejmnned over I' " " Prom this time," says the -manuscript Mmiorandum already quoted, " the major general atied niul spoke as though he relied for safety on the defense of his camp ; and, to confirm this opinion in tlie army, he look measures to floor the tents, and in every way to improve the condition of his forces in quarters, as if they were to reniaia stationary for ft long time." lie sent spies, asdeserters, to the British camp to give information of these move- mpnle in tlie American camp : and so adroitly was the whole afliilr managed, that a spy was sent on the dry of the sor- tip,.nt the very honr when the American forces moved, and was received by the British without snsplcion. ' "General Ripley contented himself with saying that the enterprise was a hopeless one, and he should be well sat- Isfled to escape from the disgrace which, in his Judgment, would fall upon all engaged iu it."— Brown's Manuscript Mem- vmndum, etc. 888 PICTOUI AL !• I KI.D-HOOK BriUaat SnccesR of Uenoral Torter, Death ofvalukblo UBtcen. Blogrnphlcal Sketch ut I'oricr inentH (the flrHt conimaiiy Miijin Trinil)l('), under James Miller (who had been breveted u brit,'iiilier t^enenil threi iIhvs before for his gallantry in the liattle of Niajjjara Kails), was ordered to move I'r. imi,,. riijht by way of a ravine between Fort Erie and the enemy's batteries, and attm ' ilu. British centre. The remainder of tiiu Twenty-tirst Kej^iment, eominanded by (iincnil JJijtley, was posted as a reserve near the fort, and out of sight of the eneniyV works. General Porter' and his comiiiaml moved from the eneanipment at noon, and, followincj Lieutenants Hiddlc and Fra/.er through tiie woods, readied u position within a few rods of the Hilt. ish right wing at a quarter before time o'eloek, before their movement was eviii suspected by the enemy. An assuuli was immedi.'itely commeneiil. It was a eomplete surprise, and the startled en- emy on that flank fell back and left the Atnerieans in ])ossession of the groniMJ. The 1)atterie8 Nos. 3 and 4 were imin.- diately stormed, and, after a (dose ami tierce contest for about thirty minutes, both were carried. This triuni])li m^ " ^'^~^ — 'yPv C^ ,^ — followed by the capture of the bloekdinuse yt^OC^X/^J . yaTL.^<^.yi^ i„ the rear of No. 3. The garrison were •' \ ' made prisoners, the cannon and carriages were destroyed, and the magazine blown up. Porter's victory Avas complete, hut it was obtained at a fearful cost. His three ])rineipal leaders, namely. General Davis, CJolonel (Jibson, and I^ieutenant Coloiiel Wood, all iidl mortally wounded; and the commands of the two latter officers devolved respectively on Lieutenant Colonel M'Donald and IVfajor Hrooks. I Peter Bnel Porter was Ixirii in Snllsbury, Connecticnf, on the 14th of Angii§t, 1773. lie wns grndmited at Yale Col- leije with hlfjh honorH, Rtiulled liiw, and ciitcreil upon its practice in his native town. He removed to Wcslorn Xen Yorlt in 17!I5, was elected to l'on),'rc88 In 180S, and in that body, as we have oliscrvcd (page 212), he became prdniincni as a supporter of the administration, and eoiispicuouH as a member of tlie Committee on Foreign Reiatioiin when the country was approacliiiifj a war with Kii)jland. His residonee was at Black Rock, near Iliitraio, on tlic Niaspra Kiver, when tlie war broke out, and he at (nice engaged In the military service of his country. lie was appointed hv Governor Tompkins Major Oeneral of New York Volnntecrs in July, IHI'i, and In that capacity he performed dgiial service for his country during that and the succeeding year, as our record in the text attests. In 1815 he was again elected to Congress, and was appointed a commissioner to run the bonndary-line between the United States and Can- i.drt. He remained In public life much of the time until 182!), when, having served a year in J. Q. Adams's Cabinet as Secretary of War, he left government employment for the quiet of private life. He possessed large estates on the Niagara frontier, and the wealth accumulated thereby !3 now enjoyed by his descendants. His name and serv- ices are identified with the growth and prosperity of West- ern New Y'ork. lie died at bis residence at Niagara Falls on the 20th of March, 1844, In the seveuty-flrst year of his age. Ills remains rest in a quiet cemetery there, under :i beautiful monument, mi which Is the following Inscription : " Peteii Buki. PoKTEn, a i)loneer in Western New Y'ork ; n statesman eminent in tlic annals of the nation and the state: a general in the armies of America, defending in the tleld what be bad maintained in the conncll. Born In Salisbury, (Jonnccticut, August 14, 1773. Died at Niagara Tails, March 2(), 1844, known and mourned throughout that extensive region which he bad been among the foremost to explore and to defend." I am indebted to the pencil of bis son, the late Colonel Peter Augustna Porter, lor the accompauylug sketch of the mouumeut. rOBTEHS TOMll. OF THE WAR OF 18 12. igrniihlcnl Sketch uf formr 1(1 llic liiwt l>y Major rgi'iu'riil tlirci ilavs tul to move IVniu tile iM-ics, mill aU;ii ' tlw umsuuk'tl l)y (uiieral aa a reserve near tlic <'ht of the enemy's and Ilia cotniiiand iicanipiiu'nt :it ihmmi, utenaiitH Itidille ami le woods, readied u few rodrt of tlic Uiit- I (juarter hel'ore llinc r movement was even enemy. An asHmili lommenctil. Itwasii , and the startled cm- lell back and lii't the session of llio grouiiil i. 3 and 4 were in\im- vnd, after a elosc and about thirty miimtis, i. This triuin])li \v;b ire of the bloek-lieusi' . The garrison won cannon and carriages f was complete, hut it amely, General Davis, II y wounded; and the jn Lieutenant Colond IIo wn8 grndmitcd at Yule Col llo removed to Western New iii^e 'il'i), lie becftmc pniminral (in Foreign Uclmions when k, near lluflalo, on the Niagara iiimtry. Ho was appointed by |t capiicity lie performoa signal attests. In 1818 he was again Plan ofSlrgc und Dafttutl brVbrt Xrte. Triumph of IDDir ifld Vfihtm. Esri.ANATioN oi» THE AiiovK Map.— A, old Fort Eric ; n, a, demi-hnctions ; 6, u ravelin, anil r, <•, block-hou.-.eH. These were all built by th,8 British previous to its capture at the beginning of July, rf, d, bastlouB built by the Americans uur- iiig the siege ; f, c, a redoubt built for the security of the deinl-bastlons, a, a. B, the American camp, secured on the right by the line ;/, the Douglrss Battery, f, and Fort Erie ; on the left, and In front, by the lines/,/,/, and batteries on the extreme right and left of them. That on the right, immediately under the lotlen. in the words t.kvei. plain, is Towson's; ft, ft, etc., camp traverses ; »i, nwiin traverse; o, magazine traverse, cov- irias also the head-quarters of General Oaincs ; i>, hospital traverse ; 17, grand parade and provost-guard traverse ; r, General Brown's head-quarters; «, a drain ; t, road from Chippewa up the lake. C, the encampment of Volunteers outside of the Intreiichments, who joined the army a few days before the sortie. D, D, the British works. 1, 2, 3, their first, second, and third batt.'ry. r, the route of Porter, with the left column, to attack tl' ritish right flank on the 17th ; x, the ravine, and route of Miller's command. I am iiii...uted to the late Chief Engineer General Joseph G. Totten for the manuscript map of which this is a copy. In the mean time, General Miller, aided by the gallant T^ieiitenant Colonel ITphara, liad executed his orders well. He penetrated between the British first and second bat- teries, and, by the aid of Porter's successful oj)eration8, carried them both, and block- EJl IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT 3) 4 *, A «y^ ^^. LO I.I l^lul 12.5 I' i « mil 2.0 11.25 6" Photographic Sciences Corporation 33 WEST MAIN STREET WEttSTER.N.Y. 14510 (716) 872-4503 m V ^ iV \ ^ :\ [v \ ^\^^ ..' lid is the following inscription: "The Corporation of the City of New York to Major Qcn- ersJ Jacob Brown, in testimony of the high sense they enter tain of his valor and skill in defeating the British forces, su- perior in number, at the battles of Chippewa and Bridgewa- ter,on the 6th and 26th of July, 1814." The following is a copy of the certificate, or diploma BOX, l^l 'H p 1 \'i'\ mi 842 PICTCBIAL FIELD-BOOK Medal awarded to Generals Porter and Ripley by Congress. Ripley honored by Gifts from several States. not long after the National Congress voted him a medal. An elegant sword was also presented to him by Daniel D. Tompkins, governor of the State of New York, in the name of that commonwealth.' To Generals Porter''* and Ripley,^ as well as to Scott, Gaines, and Miller, as we liave already observed, the National Congress awarded the thanks of the nation, and a gift ^»- __ of a gold medal to each ; and to Ripley the States of New L^t Ci/t/iy^'M.''^ York, Massachusetts, South Carolina, and Georgia each ^ ^ gave expression of approbation, and visible honorary to- kens of their appreciation of his services. The spirits of all the general officers in OENKBAL POBTEB'b MEDAL. proud evidences of the skill and intrepidity of the hero of Chippewa and his brave companions in arms, and affording ample proof of the suporior valor of our hardy farmers over the veteran legions of the enemy, " ' Resolved, That, as a tribute of respect to a gallant officer' and his intrepid associates, who have added such Instre to our arms, the freedom of the city of New York be presented to General Jacob Brown, that his portrait be obtained and placed iu the gallery of portraits belonging to this city.t and that the thanks of this Corporation be tendered to the officers and men under his command.' " Know ye that Jacob Brown, Esquire, is admitted and allowed a freeman and a citizen of the said city, to have, to hold, to use, and enjoy the freedom of the city, together with all the benefits, privileges, franchises, and immunities whatsoever granted or belonging to the saiu city. " By order of the Mayor and Aldermen. " In testimony whereof the said Mayor and Aldermen have cansed the seal of the said city to be hereunto affixed. " (Witness), De Witt Clinton, Esquire, Mayor, the fourth day of February, in the year of onr Lord one thousand eight hundred and fifteen, and of the Independence and Sover- eignty of the United States the .SOth. "J. MoETON, C'crk." ' The following inscription is trpon the scabbard ; " Presented by his Excellercy Daniel D. Tompkins, Governor of the State of New York, pursuant to resolutions of the Senate and Assembly of the said stnte, as a testimony of gratitude, to Major General Jacob Brown, for his eminent services, and as a memorial of the repeated victories obtained by him over the enemies of his coun'ry." On the other side, " Major General Jacob Brown, U. S. Army." » On one side of Porter's medal is his bust in profile, name, and title, and on the other the figure of Victory, stand- ing, 'aolrting in one hand a palm branch and wreath, and in the other three little flags, on which are the names respeot- ively of eiiirpEWA, niaoaba, and eeie. Sitting near, the Muse of History is recording the events. Around are the words " eesolution of oonobksb, November 8, 1S14," and below the names and dates of the three battles. ' On one side of Ripley's medal is his bust, r.anie, and title in profile , and on the other a figure of Victory holding np a tablet amf-.ig the branches of a palm-tree, inscribed with the words ouippewa, niaoaba, and ebie. In her right hand, which is hanging by bar side, are seen a trumpet and a laurel wreath, and around the whole and below, the same inscriptions as upon Porter's medal. EieaTer Wheelock Ripley was bom in Hano^ er, New Hampshire, in 1T82, and was a grandson of the Rev. Dr. Whee- lock(w) ose name be bore), the fbnnder of Dartmouth College. He was a lineal descendant of Miles Standish. Hewa.< • Here is a monument with memorial nm. On one side a woman with a wreath, about to crown it ; on the other a woman on one knee inscribing on the monument, and back o/ her a tent, t This portrait, a copy of which may be seen on page 608, is in the Uovemor's Room In the City Hall, Wew York. , |: OF THE WAR OF 1812. 843 ly Gifts from eeveral States. Bat few of the Army uf the Niagara now alive. Two remarkable Survivors. How they were wonnded. ,6 caused the seal of the Bald cltj OINEBAI. BtPLET'S MEDAL. the Arniy of Niagara at that tir le, and of nearly all of the subordinate officers, h".v^ passed away from earth, but their memories are clicrished with honor and affection. And of all the rank and file of that army, whose existence as an organization ended soon after the siege and defense of Fort Erie, very few remain among us, and these are men "with the snow that never melts" upon their heads. Fifty-three yeais or more have elapsed since they were there in arms for their country.' Major Geneial George Izard, who was in command on Lake Champlain, having, as educated at Dartmouth, and was graduated in the year 180O. He adopted law as a profession, and in 180T was elected aracmber of the Massachusetts Legislature, he being a resident of Winslow, in that state. He succeeded the late Judge Story as its speaker. He entered the army as lieutenant colonel of infantry in March, 1812. He rose to brigadier gen- eral in the spring of 1814, and was breveted major general for his gallant conduct in the battle of Niagara. He was severely wounded at Fort Erie, when he was removed to Buffalo. For three months his life was despaired of. He was a brave, eltillful, and patriotic soldier. He did not do himself or his country justice on the Niagara frontier owing to a very serious misunderstanding between himself and General Brown, which became an open quarrel after the war. General Ripley was retained in the army at its reduction, but resigned in 1820. He became a resident of Louisiana, and represented that state in Congress. He died at West Feliciana on the 2d of March, 18iiB, at the age of flfty-scveii years. I Tliere are two survivors of that army yet (18CT) living with whom I have had correspondence, who are worthy of no- tice here because of their remarkable escapes from death, having been wounded so desperately that no hope could have been entertained of their recovery. Yet for over fifty years since they have lived as B' To cover and protect the stores at Bntavia, Major Helms was stationed there with a battalion of dismonntcd dra- goons. Lieutenant Colonel Enstls, witb a battalion of light artillery, was stationed at Willlamsvllle to gnard the er tensive hospital there. Colonel Ball's sqnadron of dragoons were stationed on the Genesee River, near the villafrcol Avon, for the convenience of forage ; and the whole of the remaining infantry were cantoned on the margin of the wi- ter between Buffalo and Black Rock.— Izard'e Letter to the Secretary of War, November 26, 1814. ' Our engraving shows the appearance of the ruins of Fort Erie from Towson's Battery on the sonthweatem angle, looking toward Buffalo, which is seen in the extreme distance toward the right. The woter in the foreground Is in thf ditch. This was its appearance when I visited the spot in 1860. The main portion of the ruins, 'seen toward the n!:lii. w'th windows, Is that of the mess-house built by the British. This was not fortified by them, hut was intrenched by Iht Avnericans. On the left is seen the riitos of the magazine, between which and the met s-honse a portion of Bufalo ap- pears. Jnst back of Towson's Battery, a part of which U seen in the foregroimd on the kft, Lieutenant Colouel DrniU' mond and others were buried. « See Chapter XXIV., and his portrait and biography on page 628. OF THE WAR OF 1812. 847 Commodore Champlln. (V fell back to Fort ns on the peninsula lely perilous to \m •y. Soon afterward lada. General Win- 's infantry to Sack- opposite Albany, on 1 for winter qiiarteri*, egiments under (Icn- Knowing Fort Erio e Engineers, and oth- blown up and laid in In Buffalo, a day or two \i August, 1860. It was [be venerable and war- kamplin, of the United Lrave Perry ha\el)ecii |he seemed to forget his ace in 1814, and, order- \xer%\ Uftrd, October 22, 1814; U- It a battalion of dismounted dra- ft WilllamBvUle to guard the ex- lenesec River, near the vlUapeoi Intoned on the margin of the wJ- ler 26, 1814. Ittery on the sonthwestcm angle. 1 water in the foreground is in tbf Vthe nilns,-8een toward tlicneht. I them, but was Intrenched Ijyihe tfs-houBe a portion of Buffalo ap- Ee left. Lieutenant Colonel Drnm- lOUT KBIE M11.1.H, FOKT KUIE. VUitto Fort Krie and historic Places In and near Buffalo. Veteran* of the War In that City. Forent Lawn Cemetery. ing his light carriage, he took mo to every jilaco of interest to the historian, the stu- dent, and the stranger, Wc finst rode to F'ort Eric, crossing the head of the swift-flowing Niagara River from the Frontier Mills at the old Black Rock Ferry to tlie village of F'ort Erie, which was once called Waterloo. Tlic ruins of the fort are some distance up tlie Canada slittre from the village. On our way we passed old Fort Erie Miil, on the margin of tiic foot of the lake, which stood there during the ,.= war, as many scars and ball-holes still in its clap- boards fully attest. On the left of the mill, delin- eated in the engraving, across the river, upon a high bank, is seen F'ort Porter, and in the ex- treme distance on the right is seen the wharf of the Buffalo and Lake Huron Railway Company. On our right, as we passed on to the fort, an elevated ridge was pointed out, on which the British batteries were erected for the siege of Fort Erie. No. 1 (see map on page 839), nearest the fort, was on property belonging to Captain Murray, of the Royal Navy, and No. 2 on the promisee of Mr. Thompson. I did not ascertain on whose land were the mounds of No. 3. The ruins of all were quite prominent. We spent about two hours in the hot sun on the site of Fort Erie and the battles, examining the theatre of scenes described in this chapter, and sketching some of the ruins; and, returning to Black Ro^l^, we visited the site of the old navy yard,^ a lit- tle way up Shogeoquady Creek, and called on the venerable James Sloan, the last sur- ^ vivor of the captors of the Caledo- ^^ Cy ^/^ P '^^^ ^"'^ Adams in the aritumn of CJyCt/yyl-^ %7^^r!^0 Ci'^'y^ ^/^J'J'V- I8I2.2 He was then past sevcnty- ^^ one years of age. From his lips we lieard an interesting narrative of some of the events of that daring enterprise, illus- trative of the courage, fortitude, and skill of the actors. Leaving Mr. Sloan, we rode to the office of Dr. Trowbridge, of whom I have already spoken as a phyoician in Buffalo when the Bi'itish destroyed it. lie was seventy-five years of age, yet vigorous in mind and body. He gave us some interesting particu- lars of his own experience, and the bravery of the widow St. John. His son accom- ])anied us to the room of the City Councils, where wc saw the portrait of Mrs. Mer- rill (Miss Ransom), who was the first white child born in Western New York, on the domain of the Holland Land Purchase. At a late hour we returned, heated and weary, to'the delightful residence of Captain Champlin, in the midst of gardens, and dined. There I saw the elegant straight sword presented to the hero,^ and the rich- ly-caived easy-chair made of the wood of the Lawrence^ Perry's flag-ship, delineated on page 542. On the following morning" I rode out with Captain Champlin to a beau- ■ Angnst i6, tiful depository of the dead in the suburbs of Buffalo, called Forest Lawn '^^'^■ Cemetery. The ground is pleasantly undulating, is much covered with trees of the primeval forest, and is really a delightful resort during the heats of summer for those ' See page 385. ' See page 380. ' The following is the inscription on one side of the blade of the sword : " Stephen Champlin, Actino Sailins Mab- TiB, L\KK Eeik, 10th Skptkmbes, 1818." On the other side, " Ai.tics ibdnt and Marianne Williams, of the city of Phila- delphia, who was killed In the night attack by the British on For". Erie, August l-t-15, 1814. In the midst of the con- flict, a lighted port-flre In fi-ont of the enemy enabled them to direct their fire with great precision upon his company. lie sprang forward, cut it off with his sword, and fell mortally wounded by a musket-ball. lie eacriflced himself lo save his men. Born October 10, 1700. Died August IB, 1814. Fratri Dilecto." > His name is on the monument. The following inscription is on the slab: "Memorial tribute to Joseph Rlnney,of Norwich, Connecticnt, senior captain in the Twenty-flfth Regiment United States Army, shot through the breast althf battle of Bridgewater, July 25, 1814. To the friendship of George Colt, Esq., his relatives are indebted for his burial «; this place. Erected by a brother, July, 1829. « Ills name is on the monument. The following is the Inscription on the slab : "In memory of Captain Simeon I). Wattles, of the United States Army, who g killed In the memorable sortie of Fort Erie on the 17th of September, 1814, M. 33 years. As a Christian, he was pious and exemplary ; as a Soldier, brave and magnanimous ; as a Cltiseo, benevolent and sincere." Below this was a verse of poetry, but it was too much effaced to be deciphered. 'His name is on the monument. The following Is the inscription on tho slab : " The grave of Myndert M. Dox, late captain In the Thirteenth Regiment Uni'ed States Army, son of Peter and Catbalina Dox, of Albany. Bom JanaarjO, 1790. Died September a, 1830, in the forty-flrst year of his age." • The following is tho inscription: "Major General Bennet Rlley, United States Army. Died June 9, 1853, in tk sixty-sixth year of his age." General Riley was a native of Maryland, and entered the army as ensign in a rifle corps in January, 1813. He re- • Lodowick Morgan was a native of Maryland, and entered the army as second lieutenant in arifle corps In May, 1805. He was promoted to captatn in July, 1811, and to major In January, 1814. He was a very efficient officer, and received the highest praise for his conduct In repelling the British invasion near Black Rock on the Bd of August, 1S14, ^Iremlj mentioned in the text. He was killed, as we have seen. In a skirmish before Fort Erie on the 12lh of the same raonlh. t The graves of all of these, excepting Morgan and the sergf ant, as observed In the text, are marked by inscribed slab!. t Ho-na-ye-wuo, or Farmer's Brother, was a conspicuous contemporary of Cornplanter and Red Jacket. He was e^ teemed as one of the noblest of his race. lie was a warrior on principle and practice, spurning every art of civilized life. He was probably bom about the year 1T30. He was in the battle with Braddock in 1766, and during his whole life he was a foremost chief among the Senecas. He was eloquent in speech, and brave on the war-path. He died ii the autumn of 1314. { He was long at the bead of the Engineer Department of the United States Army, and was one of the fonadera of the Military Academy at West Point. See page 236. He superintended the constraction of many fortificatiuii& OF TIIK WAR OF 1812. 849 and luKTiptlonB on them. the Bight of gravi'8. open Bpaco, witli'm s!iil)lo, i, which waH L'lTcti'il iics of Bufl'aio in tlic cmoration of sovt'iiil iteB Army wlio wito 1812; also ot' a cc'.o- i to mark tlie ^n<\ cr one thousand \m- ed from tho city, I'k iment (an?'tl>islifeat tion on it is hisloriciil 1.2 Southward of this in commemoration of lieastcrly of the monu- 1 south of it is anotliiT no, is tho grave of Gcn- ,d was distinguished in handsome marble mon- ladows of the trwi, ^-e [;;j;;;i;^o^;M^kM^">' • cnptata „1ertM.Dox,an(l8erge«nlT.y. Z Church and Eagle SlreeUio theCUyofBuffalo-UlramBar- I Alexanrter John Williams, of tho ,Ve Williams, of the city of Phil- 1814 InthtmldBtoflhecoi,. real precision upon his compatiy. [eT-UTl. IleBacrlflccdhimBeKto torialtrlbnte to Joseph Klnaey.ol rny, shot through the breast ftth fves are indebted for his burW.; Iln memory of captain SlmcoDTi. Ke on the nth of September, fand magnanimous; as a Clti««, Ud to be deciphered. Idox, of Albany. BomJannaryO, lArmy. Died June 9, 1853, la the L corps In January, 1813^3«; fc^^iliit^i^rlfle corps In May, » I very efBclent officer, and rcccv^ loTthe3aofA«snst,W4,ulre»* Iteontheiathofthcsamcnonlb, lxt?are marked by inscribed si* Inter and Red Jacket. Hew ei- Ice spurning every art of cIvlM IrckTn 1T66, and during his «« lave on the war-path. Uediedin |y and was one of the founders of ftionofraanyfortlflcatloiiB. Sxpcdltlun of Captain liolmea into Canada. Battle at the Longwoodi. Lost Poats to be recaptorcd. QKNEIUI. KII.KV H MONIi'MKHT, UUVKALO. lingered some tinto, when a thunder-peal from the direction of l^ake Erie warned us of the ;ipproaeh of a Biimmor shower. We rodo back to tho city deli^'htod with tho morning's ex- perience, and between two and three o'clock I left for Niag- ara Falls in a railway coach, whore I arrived, as before ob- served, in the midst of a heavy thunder-storm. While tho events we have been relating were occurring on tho Niagara frontier, others of great importance were occur- ring in other portions of tho wide field of action, especially on Lake Champlain, and on and near the sea-coasts. Before we proceed to a consideration of these, let us take a hasty glance at movements in tho Northwest, which closed active military opcrr.tioiis in the region of the upper lakes. For many weeks after Harrison's victory on the Tliames nothing of great importance occurred in that region. The most stirring event was an expedition under Captain Holmes, a gallant and greatly beloved young officer, sent out by Lieu- tenant Colonel Butler in February," whore he was in temporary command at Detroit. It consisted of one hundred and sixty men, including artillerists, with two 6-pounders, and its object was the capture of Fort Talbot, a British outpost a hundred miles down Lake Erie from Detroit. Difficulties caused Holmes to change his destination, and he proceed- ed to attack another outpost at Delaware, on tho River Thames. In that movement, too, ho was fo'led by the watchfulness and strategy of the foe, who lured him from his expected prey. Finally they came to blow3 toward the evening of the 3d of March,'' at a place called the Longwoods, in Canada, where they fought more than an hour, and then each glaJly withdrew under cover of the night-shad- ows. In this aifair the Americans lost seven men in killed and wounded, while the enemy's loss, including the Indians, was much greater.* The expedition was fruitless of good to any body.^ In former cliapters we have a record of the capture of Fort St. Joseph and the post and island of Michillimackinack, or Mackina\7, by tho British, immediately preceding (and partly inducing) the fall of Detroit in the summer of 1812.^ The latter post, with all Michigan, as we have observed,* was recovered from the British in 1 81 3. For the better security of these acquisitions against British and Indian incursions. Gen- eral M'Arthur, the commandant of the Eighth Military District, caused works to be erected at the foot of Lake Huron, or head of the Straits or River St. Clair. It was called Fort Gratiot, iu honor of the engineer of that name who superintended its con- struction. The Americans were not contented with the recovery of Michigan only, but de- termined to recapture Mackinaw and St. Joseph. Tlie latter was the key to the vast traffic in furs with the Indians of tho Northwest, and tlie British, knowing its im- portance in its commercial and political relations to their American possessions, as resolutely resolved to hold it. Accordingly Lieutenant Colonel M'Douall was sent thither with a considerable body of troops (regulars and Canadian militia) and sea- mained in the army, and in 1828 was breveted a major for ten years' falthCal service. He was breveted a colonel for good conduct in Florida, brigadier general for his bravery at Cerro Oordo, and major general for his gallant conduct at Contreras. He was made military commander of the Department of Upper California, and was ex officio governor in 1349 and 1850. > Captain Holmes's Dispatch to Lieutenant Colonel Butler, March 10, 1S14. ' A similar expedition had been sent out by Butler a short time before. Butler was informed that a considerable . Dumber of regulars, Canadians, and Indians were collected on the River Thames, not far ftom Chatham. He sent Cap- tain Lee with a party of mounted men to reconnoitre, and, if feasible, to attack and disperse them. Lee gained the rear of the enemy nnobseTved, fell upon them, and scattered them in all directions. He took several of them prisoners. Smmg them was Colonel Babie (pronounced Bawbee), whose house, we have observed, was the hcad-qnarters of Gener- al Hull, and yet standing in the village of Windsor, opposite Detroit. See page 203. Colonel Babie had been a leader otindians in the invasion of the Niagara fhintier at the close of 1813. ' See Chapter XIV. < See page 667. SH ■ H60 PICTORIAL FIELD-BOOK Kipedltion to tbe Upper Lskei. Operatluni at tha Haiit 8t. Mule. Battle on Mackliuw Inland. men, accompanied by twenty-four bateaux laden with ordnance. 'I lero ho found a hir<;<' body of Indiaim waiting to join him as allien. The Americans planned a land and naval expedition to the upper lakes ; and ho ciirly an April, when M'DduiiH O /^) /p went to Mackinaw, Conunander •?-^ ^2.,A^^ Arthur St. Clair waH placed in charge of a little squadron for tiic purpose, consisting of the Niagara, Caledonia, .^'. Lawrence, Scorpion, and Ti(jress, all familiar names in connection with Commodore Perry on Lake Krie. A land hnv under Lieutenant Colonel Croghan, the gallant defender of Fort Stephenson, was jjrc- pared to accompany the squadron. Owing to differences of opinion in Madison's Cabinet, the expedition was not in readiness until the close of June. It left Detroit at the Itegimung of July. Crmrhnn had five hundred regular troops and two hundred and fifty militia; and on the ar- rival of the expedition at Fort Gratiot on the 12th he was joined by the garrison of that post, composed of a regiment of Ohio Volunteers, under Colonel William Cot- greave. Captain Gratiot also joined the expedition. They sailed for Matcliadach Bay to attack a newly-established British post there. A lack of good pilots for the dangerous channels among islands, rocks, and shoals leading to it, and the perpetna! fogs that lay upon the water, caused them to abandon the undertaking after a weck'H trial, and the squadron sailed for St. Joseph, in the direction of Lake Superior. It anchored before it on the 20th. The post was abandoned, and the fort was commit- ted to the flames. This accomplished. Major Holmes, of the Thirty-second Ivfantry, and Lieutenant Turner, of the Navy, wore sent with some troops and cannon to de- stroy the establishment of the British Northwest Company at the Saut St. Marie, or Falls of St. Mary. That company had been from the beginning, because of its vital interest in maintaining the British ascendency among the Indian tribes, with whom its profitable traffic was carried on, the most inveterate and active enemy of the Americans. Its agents had been the most effective emissaries of the British author- ities in inciting the Indians to make war on the Americans; and, in every way, it merited severe chastisement at the hands of tliose whose friends had suffered from the knife and hatchet of the cruel savages. •July, Holmes arrived at St. Mary's on the 21 st* John Johnson, a renegade mag- **"• istrate from Michigan, and an Indian trader, who was the agent of the North- west Company at that place, apprised of his approach, fled with a considerable amount of property, after setting on fire the company's vessel above the Rapids. She was saved by the Americans,' but every thing valuable on shore that could not be carried away was destroyed. Holmes then returned to St. Joseph, when the whole expedi- tion started for Mackinaw, where it arrived on the 2(jth.'' It was soon ascer- tained that the enemy thore were very strong in position and numbers, and the propriety of an immediate attack was a question between Croghan and St. Clair. The post could not be carried by storm, nor could the guns of the vessels easily do much damage to the works, they were so elevated. It was finally decided that Cro- ghan should land with his troops ou the back or western part of the island, under cov- er of the guns of the ships, and attempt to attack the works in the rear. This was done at Dowsman's farm on the tth of August, without much molestation, but Cro- ghan had not advanced far before he was confronted by the garrison under M'Douall, who were strongly supported by Indians in the thick woods. M'Douall poured a storm of shot and flhell from a battery of guns upon the invaders, when the savages fell npon them. A sharp con3ict ensued, carried on chiefly on the part of the enemy by the Indians under Thomas, a brave chief of the Fallsovine tribe, when Croghan I They enoeavored to bring this regsel away with them, but ahe bilged while paasing down the Rapids, and was then destroyed. ' July. 'V.^Ll.v OF TUB WAR OF 18 12. 8S1 Bfttlle tin M»ckln«w Inland '1 icro ho found u upper lakes ; iiiid ho iril, when M'Doiiiill Lckinaw, Coimniuidir Jlair wan placed in ittlo squadron for tlic j^io/i,and 7VV/rcM,ull Erie. A land forcf, Stephenson, wiis pre- jxpcdition was not in iujr of July. Croirlian illitia; and on tlic ai- led by the garriHou of Colonel William Cot- sailed for Matchaducli ; of good pilots for tlic it, and the perpi'tiiiil crtaking after a wooli's 1 of Lake Superior. It d the fort was coniniit- Thirty-second l-ifantry, ■oops and cannon to do- t the Saut St. Marie, or ling, because of its vital idian tribes, witli whom id active enemy of tla- .8 of the British author- ; and,m every way, it lends had suffered from ohnson, a renegade mag- the agent of the North- h a considerable amount > the Rapids. She was ,hat could not be carried ivhcn the whole expcdl- th.^ It was soon asccr- lition and numbers, and . Croghan and St. Clair. of the vessels easily do jnally decided that Cro- ofthe island, under cov- in the rear. This was [^h molestation, but Cro- rarrison under M'Douall, !d8 M'Douall poured a aders, when the savages ?n the part ofthe enemy ne tribe, when Crogbn Blockade of Mackinaw. Capture of the blockading Veiaeli. Commander Jhamplln wounded. waH compelled to fall back and flee to the shipping, with the h)ss of the much-be- loved Major Holmes, who was killed, and Captains Van Horn and Desha, and Lieuten- ant Jackson, who were severely wounded. He also lost twelve private soldiers killed, lifty-two wounded, and two missing. The loss ofthe enemy is unknown. Croghan and St. Clair abandoned the attempt t<> take Mackinaw ; and as they were ahout to dep.irt, they heard ofthe successful cxpcditii^n of Lieutenant Colonel M'Kay, who, wltli nearly seven liundretl num, mostly Indians, had gone down the Wisconsin lliver and taken from the Americans the j)()st at Prairie du Chien, at the mouth of that stream.* Yet they were not disheartened, and resolved not to return . .T„iy n, to Detroit empty-handed of all success. They proceeded to the mouth of '^'^ the Nautawassaga River, assailed and destroyed a block-house three miles up from its mouth, and hoped to capture the schooner Nancy, belonging to the Northwest Company, and a quantity of valuable furs. They failed. The furs hnd been taken to a place of safety, and the schooner was burnt by order of Lieutenant Worseley, who was in command of the block-house. Very soon after this the scjuadron sailed for Detroit, with the exception of the 'PiQreas, Captain Champlin, and Scorpion, Captain Turner, which were left to block- ado the Nautawassaga, it being the only route by whicli provisions and other sup- plies might be sent to Mackinaw. They cruised about for some time, eflectually cut- ting off supplies from Mackinaw, and threatening the garrison with starvation. Their useful career in tliat business was suddenly closed early in September, when they were both captured by a party of British and Indians, sent out iu five boats (one mounting a long 6, and another a .3 pounder) from Mackinaw to raise the blockade, under the general command of Lieutenant Bulger, his second being Lieutenant Worse- ley. They fell first upon the Tiffress, off St. Joseph's, when her consort was under- stood to be fifteen miles away. She was at anchor near the shore. The attack was made at nine o'clock in the evening of the 3d of September. It was intensely dark, and they were within fifty yards of the Tigress when discovered. The assailants were warmly received, but in five minutes the vessel was boarded and carried by overwhelming numbers, her force being only thirty men, exclusive of oflicers, and that of the assailants about one hundred. " The defens') of this vessel," said Bulger, in his report of the affair, " did credit to her oflicers, whn were all severely wound- ed."' Her oflicers and crew were sent prisoners of wai .snant Bulger to Lieutenant Colonel M'Douall, September T, 1814. Captain Champlin had his thigh-bone shat- tered by a ball In that fight, and he has not only been a cripple ever since, but a palnAU sufferer from a seldom-healed woand. In the jrear 1808 several pieces of bone were taken from his thigh. ' Chunplir's Report to Lieutenant Turner, commanding. !ll(l if,. ill !! I M' Arthur madu a terrifying raid into Canada. IIo had been ordered to raise mount- ed men for the purpose of chasti'-inK liie Indians around Lake Michigan, and on die 9th of October lie liad arrived at Detroit with about seven hundred mouMted men from Kentucky and OJiio, accompanied by Major Charles S. Todd as adjutant gen- eral. The critical Hituation of tlio American arniy under (eJcnoral Brown, at Fort Erie, at that time induced M'Arthur first to make a diversion in favor of that gcnicral. Accordingly, late in the month, ho left l)e:roit with seven hundred and iifty men and five field-pieces, and, to mislead the enemy, passed up Lake and River St. Clair toward Lake Huron. On the morning of the 20th ho suddenly crossed the St. Cliiir Ilivcr into Canada, pushed on to the thriving Baldoon settlement of Scotch faniilies, and then made his way as rapidly as possible to tlio Moravian Towns, on the scene of Har- rison's exploits a year before, spreading great alarm in Ids path. On the 4tli of No- vember ho entered the village of Oxford. He came unheralded, and tho inhabitants were greatly terrified. Ho disarmed and paroled the militia, and threatened instant destruction to the property of any one who should give notico to any British post of his coming. Two men did so, and their liouses were laid in ashes. On the follow- ing day lie pushed on to Burford, where the militia Avere casting up intrcncshmcnts. They fled at liis approach, and tho whole country was filled with alarm. Fear mag- nified the estimate of his number, and the story went before him that he had two thousand men in his train. H'aBTUIIB'8 BAtU, Burlington, at tlie head of Lake Ontario, was M' Arthur's destination. On ''.c pressed from Burford, but when ho arrived on the bank of the Grand River, at Brant ford, lie found his passage of that considei-able Btream disputed by a large force of the Six Nations who icsidod near, with militia and dragoons. He was informed tliat Major Muir was not far distant, in a dangerous defile on tho road to Burlington, wiili a considerable force of r jgulara and Indians, and some cannon. M'Arthur concludeil it would not bo prudent to aitempt to go farther eastward, so he turned down the Long Ponu Road, anr" proceeded to attack seme militia, who had a fortified cam]i at Malcolm's Mill, on the vTrund River. They fled at his appi-oach, and in liis piii suit of them M'Arthur killed and .^^ounded seven, and took one hundred and thirty one prisoners. His own loss was only one killed and six wonndsd. Tlie mill was bunied, with all the property in it. This accomj lished, the invaders pushed on to Dover, destroying several mills on the way, which were making flour for Drum- mond's army. There he was informed of the evacuation of Canada by Izard, aini of a web of perils that were gathering around; so he tunied his faco westward, aiul hastened toward Detroit, by way of St. Thomas and the Thames, pursued some dis- tance by eleven hundred British regulars. He arrived at Sandwich on the 17th of November, and there discharged his brave band. M' Arthur's raid was one of the boldest operations of the war. For almost foar weeks he had skurried hundreds of miles through the enemy's country, spreading alarm every where, and keeping the militia from Drummond's ranks ; destroying property here and there that might be useful to the enemy, and then returning to OP THE WAR OF 1813. 853 M'Anliur'i! UcluFD. iorcd to raise mount- Michigan, and on die Lunlrcul mounted )ncn o«ld aH adjutant )?(mi- iueral Brown, at Fori favor of that gciu'ral. Ired and iifty nun iuid River St. Clair toward lod the St. Cliiir llivcr )f Scotch fau\ilics, and 18, on the Bconeofllar- th. On the 4th of No- sd and the inhabitants and threatened instant ) to any Brititth post ni' ashes. On the foUow- ting up intrcn(!hmcnts. yrith alarm. Fcav niag- •0 him that ho had two r» 1I0H .^< '^^'^ jicbf'_^OTVCff Ir's destination. On ''p e Grand River, at Bratit ited by a large force of , He was informed that 1 road to Burlington, with n. M' Arthur concludeil I 80 he turned down tlie riio had a fortified oamp ippvoaeh, and in his pui- one Inmdred and tiiirty fvoundod. The mill A^as c invaders pushed on to making flour for Drum- ,f Canada by Izard, awl Ihis faco westward, aiul uimes, pursued some dis- ;andwichonthenthoi Ic war. For almost font Iray's country, spreading Iond'8 ranks; destroying ly and then returning to M'Arthnr'B Bravery and Qu-T'^oiliy. the place of departure with the loss of only one life I' lie was generous n^* well as bold; and ho ])ublicly acknowledged that nmch of his Huc<^eHH was due " t' die mili- tary talents, activity, and intelligence of Major Todd," his adjutant general, who yet [1807] lives in liis native Kentucky, in the vigor of a green old age. I M'Afc'j'8 UUUtry of the late War in the Weeteru Co\.ntru, page 440. annul. wumsLU eoorr im 1860. § Ill \ ll. il llji PICTORIAL FIELD-BOOK General Izard in Command In Northern New York. Napoleon's Fortunes change. Washington Benevolent Societiea. CHAPTER XXXVH "Hail to the day which, in splendor retnmlDg, Lights r;a to conqaest and glory agair I Time, hold that year I Still the war-totcb was bnmlng, And threw its red ray on the waves of Champlain. Roused by the spirit that conquered for Perry, Danntless Macdonongh advanced to the fray ; Instant the glory that brightened Lake Erie Burst on Champlain with the splendor of day. Loud swells the cannon's roar On Platt^bi.rg's bloody shore, Britons retreat trua the tempest of war, Prevost deserts the field, While thj gallant ships yield ; Victory ! glory, Colnmbiuis, huzza I" Old Bono— Ebix Ain> CaAjiPt.AtN. (ROM the Niagara frontier and the portion of the Army of the North engaged there we will now turn to the consideration of the events upon Lake Champlain and its vicinity during the year 1814, where the other portion of that army was in active servico. "We have already taken a brief glance at military oi> erations in that quarter to the close of the campaign of the pre- vious year, A/hen General Wilkinson, relieved of command, re- tired from the army, and General Hampton, another incompe- tent, also left the service for his country's good.' His lieutenant. General George • May 4, Izard, of South Carolina, was soon afterward* placed in command of the right 1314. wing of the Army of the North, with a competent staff,'* and made his head- quarters at Plattsburg. Since the opening of the campaign in the spring a great change had occurred ir. the aspect of foreign affairs — a change which made a deep impression on the Ameri- can mind in its contemplations of the war. We have already alluded to the disasters of Napoleon at Leipsic in the autumn of 1813. Notwithstanding brilliant achieve- ments on his part after that, the Allied Powers finally pushed him back, and not only confined him to the soil of France, but hemmed him and his army almost within thf walls of Paris. There was no chance for his escape. On the 3l8t of March, 1814, the Emperor of Russia and the Duke of Wellington entered the city as conquerors, and on the 11th of May Napoleon abdicated the throne of France and retired to the island of Elba.^ His downfall was hailed with great joy, not only in Europe, but by the great Federal party in the United States,* who considered his ruin as the most > See page 6ST. » Brigadier Qenera! Winder, just exchanged, was appointed his chief of staff; Alexander Macomb and Thomas A. Smith were bis brigadier generals ; William CumiLing was adjutant general, and H^jor Joseph G. Totten was cliief engineer. » The fickle populace of Paris received the conquerors of Napoleon with acclamations of Joy, and the French Sena(c lsi.ely Napoleon's pliant instrument, now declared that, by arbitrary acts and violations of the Constitution, he bsd for- feited his right to the throne. * The Wathington Benevolent Societies' (Federalist associations) had made Napoleon'c dlsasterB the subject of orttiosi • These Washington Benevolent Societies originated in Philadelphia very soon after the declaration of war In the summer of 1812. They were political organizations, with attractive social and benevolent features. The first orgaB- ization was frilly comr'ated on the i9.d of February, 1818, under the title of the Washington Benevolent Society of Pennsylvania, and each member was required to sign the Constitution and the following declaration . " We, each of m, do hereby declare that we a>e firmly attached to the Oonstitntion of the United States and to that of Pennsylvania ; to the principles of a f^ee republican government, and to those which regulated the public conduct of Oeobox Wabuiiio' TON ; vhat we will, eacii of as, to the best of our ability, and so far m may be consistent with our rellgtoas prhiciplo OF THE WAR OF 1812. 855. Ington Benevolent Societies. Q )n of the Army of the to the consideration of its vicinity during the liat army was in active f glance at military oi> he campaign of the p^^ ilieved of command, re- ipton, another incompe- tenant, General George in command oi tiie right aff,'^ and made his head- change had occurred ir. ipression on the Ameri- alluded to the disasters inding brilliant achieve- him back, and not only army almost within ihv ;he 31st of March, 1314, the city as conque^o^, ■ranee and retired to the t only in Europe, but hy •ed his ruin as the .nost Lander Macomb and ThonwiA^ \aJor Joseph G. Totten was chief InBofjoy. and the French Sen,tf. Inii of the ConBtUntlon, he h»d for- L dUaaterB the subject oforaUw tj^T^d^dmtto^ war In te Volent featnres. The flrst organ- bashlnRton Benevolent Society of P„gdeclaration.''We,eacbof^ Land to that of Pennsylvania; to Lie conduct of GkoeokWasbt.^ Lent with our rcliglouB principle- The Downfall of Napoleon celebrated. English Troops releaxed for Service !•? America. damaging blow that could be given to their political opponents and the war party. Pulpits, presses, public meetings, and social entertainments were pressed into the serv- ice as proclaimers of their satisfaction, notwithstanding it was evident that the release thereby of a large British army from service on the Continent would enable the com- mon enemy to send an overwhelming force across the Atlantic that might crush the American armies, and possibly reduce the states to British provinces. Their hopes and the limit of their wishes doubtless were that the changed aspect of foreign af- fairs, and the consciousness of the great peril that might reasonably be apprehended, would cause the administration to seek peace on any terms. They were mistaken, as the se "uel will show. The retirement of Napoleon to Elba did release from Continental service a large body of English troops, and several thousands of them were immediately dispatched to Canada to re-enforce the little army there. They were sent from the Garonne, in Spain, and many of them were Wellington's veterans, hardy and skillful. They ar- rived at Quebec late in July and in August," aad were rapidly pushed up to Montreal. In the mean time, the forces under T i-evost, the Governor of Cana-- * **"' da and general-in-chifif, had been very busy in preparations for an invasion of New York, and the little flotilla in the Richelieu, or Sorel River, h>d been greatly aug- mented in numbers and strength during the winter and spring. '' b igu. On the 9th of May" General Izard was informed that the enemy were in mo- " ism. tion below. Captain Pring, of the Royal Navy, was moving up the Sorel in the brig Linnet as his flag-ship, accompanied by five armed sloops aad thirteen row-galleys. On the following day he anchored his flotilla behind Providence Island, in Lake Cham- plain, where he remained until the 1 Sth,"* preparing for an attack on the Amer- ican flotilla, then nearly ready for .,ea at Vergennes, in Vermont, at the head *^' of the navigation of Otter Creek.' Captain Macdonough, who was in comr land of the little squadron, was apprised of this movement, and sent Lieutenant Cassin, with a party of seamen, to reenforce Captain Thornton, who had been ordered from Bur- lington with a detachment of light artillery to man a battery of seven 12-poundera and toasts on the anniversary of Washington's birthday (22d of February, 1814) ; and in Albany, where the Dutch ele- ment was very predominant in the population, the emancipation of Holland from hU thrall was celebrated. 'Relig- ions eervlces we.e held in the Dutch church on the occasion, and a sermon was preached by the pastor, Rev. Dr. Brad- ford. These were followed by a dinner at the Eagle Inn. General Stephen Van Rensselaer prerided, assisted by John H. Wendell as vice-president. Several songs were sung, and toasts given. In Dutch. Ill June and July foiloiving, the downfall of Napoleon was celebrated in several of the commercial cities of the United Slates. In Boston and New York It was celebrated by religious ceremonies and public dinners. In New York the dinner was In the Washington Hotel, thei i the principal pnblic house in the city, which stood on the siie of Stewart's marble store, on Broadway, between ChaiUbers and Reade Streets. It was on ';he 2»th of June. Three hundred geu- tlemen sat down to the table. Ruths King presided. The vice-presidents were Generals Nicholas Fish, Ebenezer Ste- vens, Mr. Clarkson, John B. Coles, and Comelins J. Bogart. All the foreign consuls but the French were present. Richard Stockton, of New Jersey, gave as a toast : " Louis XVIII., King of France and Na.arre, heir-at-law to Ameri- can gratitude." On the 4th of July the event was celebrated by religious services and publi'; dinners. Rev. Timothy Dwight, Presi- dent of Yaie College, presided at a dinner at Butler's Hocel, In Hartford, where one hundred gentlemen were assembled at table. Among the toasts were the following : "The Minority i,% Congre^.—Uaa they appealed to patriots they would have been heard." "The Administration.— VroAlgtd enough, but too proud to return." " The Rcnjal Family of Trance.— Oxa friends in adversity, we rejoice at their prosperity." " The Democratic Party of America If not satisflec? with their own country, they may seek an asylum in the island ofBlbn." < The flotilla then at Vergennes consisted of the following vessels : 1 ohip of 20 guns, 1 schooner of 20 guns, 2 sioops ofs, 6 row-galleys uf 2, and 4 gun-boats of 1 each. rciipcctively, preserve the righto and liberties of our country against all foreign and domestic violence, A-aud, and asnr- lution ; and that, as members of the Washington Benevolent Society, we will in all things comply with its regulations, support Its principles, and enfcrce its views." .''lie Itands of the society were used for the purposes of charity among Its members and their familiep, and for other parpos-q which might be prescribed. They had anni.drsary dinners ou 'he birthday of Washington. Such econ- nmy was used '.bat all the members might afford to participate in the festivities. The cost of the dinner to each, with a bfluDtiftil supply of beer and choice ardent spirits, wa.' seventy-flve cents. They built Washington Hall, on the weal i^iile nf Third Street, between Walnut and Spruce Streets It was dedicated with religious ceremonies, led by Bishop White, in the autumn of 1816. These associations rapidly maltiplied throughout the country di^ring the war, but dis- appeared with the demise of the old Federalist party. *i ii Wl^ Ki m nw.-.i-iu i I it i! -vf-- struggle for the Control of Lake Cbaraplaln. on sea-carriages at the mouth of the creek. Governor Chittenden also ordered out a brigade of Vermont militia to oppose the thi eatened invasion ; and when, on the morning of the 14th, eight ofPring's gal- leys and a bomb-sloop anchored off thu mouth of the creek, they found ample preparations for their reception. A brisk fire was opened from the battery. It was answered from the water, and for more than an hour a cannonade was kept up, when the British vessels were driven off. They then entered the Bouquet River for the purpose of destroying flour at the falls of that stream. On their return they were compelled to run the gauntlet of a sho^ver of bullets from some militia who had has- tily assembled. Many of the British were killed and wounded. Foiled and disheart- ened, Pring returned to Isk awx, Nou a wiser man, for he had learned tliat even in Vermont, whose governor was a zealous member of the " Peace Par- ty," the people were ready to fight the common enemy any where. A few days afterward Macdonough sailed out of the creek with his flotilla, and anchored it in Cumberland Bay, off Plattsburg. Both parties now prepared for a struggle for supi-emacy on Lake Champlain. The British, as we have observed, had adopted in a degree the plan of Burgoyne for sep- arating New England from the rest of the Union, while the Americans were as de- termined to resist the meditated invasion at the very threshold, and defend the lake region and the valley of the upper Hudson at the gates of Canada. Both parties were also le-enforced during the remainder of May, and General Izard caused a bat- tery of four 1 8-pounder8 to be planted on Cumberland Head instead of at Rouse's Point, at the entrance to the Sorel River, as directed by the Secretary of War,' and urged by Major Totten, his chief engineer. At the middle of June Izard disposed his troops for a movement into C&nada. He sent Brigadier General Thomas A. Smith, with a light brigade of about fourteen hund- red men, to occupy the village of Champlain,^ five miles below the Canada line. Col- onel Pearce, of the Sixteenth, was at Chazy with about eight hundred men composed of consolidated regiments, and about twelve hundred men occupied the cantonment at Plattsburg, on the peninsula between the lake and the Saranac, the works on Cum- berland Head, and a position at Dead Creek, about two miles below Plattsburg, Macdonough, with his flotilla, was below Cumberland Head, watching the little Brit- ish squadron, which lay at the Isle aux TStes. The British had thirty-six hundred troops at La Colle ; Meuron's Swiss regiment, a thousand strong, was at L'Acadie, am! two brigades of artillery and three hundred cavalry were at Chambly, making a total of five thousand five hundred and fifty men. There was also a reserve of two thou- sand regulars at Montreal. There was feverishness among the people and the soldiery along the Canada bor- j der, which was frequently manifested. The armed belligerents were eager for a trial > Letter of the Secretary of War, May 2^ 1814, In Izard'e Official Correapondenee, page 28. « This brigade was composed of the Fourth and Tenth Regiments eonsolldnted, and commanded by Colonel Pnrdr, the Twelfth, under Major Morgan, Lieutenant Colonel Porgyth'g riflemen, and a company of artillery under Captali Branch, OF THE WAR OF 1812. 857 antrol of Lake Chumplain. mouth of the creek, also ordered out a lilitia to oppose the and when, on the sight of Pring's gal- »p anchored off thu they found ample reception. A brisk the battery. It was ivater, and for more lonade waa kept up, ;8el8 were driven off. le Bouquet River for lying flour at the falls iieir return they were gauntlet of a sliONvei' , militia who had lias- ny of the British were Foiled and dishcart- med to Isle mix Noix r he had learned that t, whose governor .vas ,er of the "Peace Par- vere ready to hght the mgh sailed out of the ■ Plattsburg. ^ake Champlain. The fofBurgoyneforsep- ^ericans were as dc- d and defend the lake Janada. Both parties ral Izard caused a bat- instead of at Rouse's Secretary of War,' and nent into Canada. He of about fourteen hund- r the Canada line. Col- nundred men composed [cupied the cantonment Inac, the works on Cum- liles below Plattsburg. Latching the little Brit- Ihad thirty-six hundred Ig.wasatL'Acadie.anu kambly, making a total a reserve of two thou- I along the Canada bor- Its were eagerfoi^a^' f^~^dedl.y colonel Pn^^ '.pany of artUIery under CapUlB Inrailon of Canada. Death of Forsyth. Vengeance. Preparations to meet an Invasion ttom Canada. of prowess. Finally, on the 22d of June, Lieutenant Colonel Forsyth, the accom- plished partisan commander, with seventy riflemen, crossed the frontier line, and at a little hamlet northwesterly from Rouse's Point, called Odell Town, ho was attacked by two hundred of the niemy's light troops. Forsyth heat thera ofl^, and retired in rrood order to Champlain with the loss of one man killed and Ave wounded. A few (lays afterward he was again sent in that direction for the purpose of drawing the enemy across the lines. He formed an ambuscade, and then sent a few men forward !i8 a decoy. They were soon met, and immediately fell back, followed by Cantain Mahew and one hundred and fifty Canadians and Indians. When the pursuers were near the ambuscuuc, Forsyth stepped upon a log to watch the movement, when he was shot through the breast by an Indian. His mvjn immediately arose, and poured such a deadly tire upon the foe that they retreated in wild confusion, leaving seven- teen of their dead upon the field. Forsyth was greatly be- loved by his followers. Hot- ly incensed because of the employment of savages by the British, they resolved to avenge the death of their own leader by taking the life of the leader of the In- dians. A few days after- ward some of thera crossed the line and shot Mahew, that leader. He was taken to the house of Judge Moore, in Champlain,' where he died about a week afterward.^ Skirmishing along the bor- der was a frequent occurrence, but no movement of importance took place until the close of July, when General Macomb's brigade, composed of the Sixth, Thirteenth, Fifteenth, Sixteenth, and Twenty-ninth Regiments, embarked in boats at Cumberland • jniy 31, Head* for Chazy Landing, at the mouth of Chazy Creek. On the same day ^^^*' General Bissell's brigade, composed of the Fifth, Fourteenth, Thirtieth, Thirty-first, Thirty-fourth, and For- ty-fifth Regiments, started for Chazy Village by land. /^^^/^ • Two hundred effective men and a corps of invalids of y/^yA^/j^ /^^ Macomb's brigade were left to complete the works on ca^-^^^^^c/^^f^l^^ Cumberland Head, and a fatigue party four hundred £ strong, taken from Bissell's brigade, was left in command ' of Colonel Fenwick to complete three redoubts on the peninsula between the lake and the Saranac River at Plattsburg. There were now four thousand five hundred effective men ut Champlain, within five miles of the Canada border. But these were few compared to the numbers of the enemy, which were constantly augmenting. During the months of July and August not less than fifteen thousand troops, chiefly veterans from Wellington's armies, as we have observed, arrived at Montreal. Only one brigade was sent westward, and the remainder were kept in reserve for the con- templated invasion of New York, in such overwhelming force as to overbear all op- I This honsL, the residence of the late Judge Pliny Moore, is a fine old mansion on a pleasant shaded slope in the tU- Isge of Champlain, not far n-om the banks of the Big Cbazy, Just north of the bridge, in the village. It was the bead- qnarters of the British commander whenever that village was occnpled by him ; and Dearborn, Wilkinson, and Izard were in turn sojourners under its -oof. This is from a sketch made by the author in 1860. It was then the residence of Pliny, son of Judge Moore. * Palmer's Hittory qf Lake Champlain, page 184. JDDOU MOOKES uocsi:. m !*lf ti!i t ' mm^ |f:i||! till Mi 8A8 PICTORIAL FIELD-BOOK PrevoBt comma.itiing In Person. Alarmlcg Order from the War Department. Izard's Protojt. position. These newly-arrived troops were encamped in the level country between Laprairie on the St. Lawrence, and Chambly on the SoreL Very soon after the advance of the Americans to Chazy and Champlain, Sir George Prevost* arrived at the Isk aux Noix, where he had concentrated a considerable body of veterans, and took chief command in person- and strong detachments of seamen were sent from Quebec, by order of Sir James L, Yeo, to strengthen the naval power at the same place. It was evident that a speedy invasion of Northern New York was in contemplation ; and yet, with full informa- tion on the subject, the American government, as if fearful of a conqueiit of Canada whenever a spirited general was in command near assailable points,'* ordered Izard at that critical moment, when danger was never more apparent, to march a larger portion of his force westward to co-operate with the Army of Niagara. It was an open invitation to invasion ; and the army and people, expecting a great battle soon at the foot of Lake Champlain, and hoping for a decisive victory, were astonished by the ordei. The disappointed Izard could scarcely restrain his indignation. On the 11th of August he wrote: "I will make the movement you direct, if possible ; but I shall do it with the apprehension of risking the force under my command, and with the certainty that every thing in this vicinity but the lately erected works at Platts- burg and Cumberland Head will, in less than three days after my departure, be in the possession of the enemy. He is in force superior to mine in my front ; he daily threatens an attack on my position at Champlain ; we are all in hourly ex- pectation of a serious conflict. . . . Let me not be supposed to hesitate about ex- ecuting any project which the govern- ment I have the honor to serve think proper to direct. My little army will do its duty."^ Izard continued to protest against the movement as unwise and perilous,* but, like a true soldier, he made preparations for it as speedily as his limited transpor- tation would allow. He set about four thousand men in motion by the way of the head of Lake George, Schenectady, and the Mohawk Valley,* and, as we have observed, arrived with them at Sackett's Harbor at the middle of the month, and immediately started a portion of them by land and wa- > Gteorge Prevost was bom In the city of New York on the 19th of May, ITflT. His father was a native of Genevj, Switzerland. His mother way a Dutch woman. He was created an Bnglish baronet in 1805. » See note S on page 2B9. ' Izard's Official Correspondence, pnije 65. ♦ Ou the 20th of August Izard wrote to the Secretary of War : " I must not be responsible for the consequences of abandoning my present strong position. I will obey orders and execute them as well as I know how. Miijor Qenenil Brisbane commands at Odell Town. He is said to have t>etween five and six thousand men with him. At Cbambl; m ■aid to tie about four thousand." > This route was chosen because the uppSr route by Chateangay and Ogdensbnrg would be altogether ton perilnns. He submitted the question of route to his offlcers, who decided unanimously to goby the way of Schenectady.— See Iiard'i Official Correspondence, page T3. ^>-t?-£yZ^ OF THE WAR OK 1812. 850 Izard'B Proteat. The Militia called out. Concentration of Troops near Platteburg. The British invading Force. rel country between I father was a native of Ocmth, ■> 1806. Iclal Corresponacnce, pase 65. Insible for the consequences of si know how. Mnjor General Inen with him. AtChamblysre gibe altogether too perilnns. Hf fay of Schenectady. -See Imd« Soptsmber IT, 1814. ter* for the Niagara front- ier,' He left all his sick and convalescents, and about twelve hundred effective men, to garrison Piatt's Point, as the peninsula was called, and Cumberland Head. In obedience to an order of the War Department, he made a requisition upon Major General Mooers, the commander of the militia in that district, for the assembling, without delay, of one regiment of infantry and one troop of light dragoons at the vil- lage of Chazy, riflemen to be accepted as infantry. Brigadier General Alexan- der Macomb was left in chief command, with his head-quarters at Plattsburg. Immediately after General Izard left, Macomb concentrated all his troops at Plattsburg, and worked vigorously in preparations for de- fense. He had, at the close of August, about three thousand five hundred troops under his control,'' but they were in a weak condition, for there was only on'- organized battalion among them, and full fourteen hundred of them were invalids and non-combatants. The garrisons at the different points were composed of convaleiicents and new recruits ; the condition of the ordnance and stores was chaotic, and the defensive works were all unfinished. On the day when Izard hift his camp at Champlain,'' General Brisbane <• August 29. advanced from Odell Town, and occu- _ -£r; ^--: pied that village and its vicinity ; and on the 3d of September full fourteen thousand British troops were gathered there, under the jicneral command of Sir George Prev:ot, assisted by General De Rottenburg as his second. There he avowed his intention to take and hold possession of the country as far down as Ticonderoga; and he issued orders and proclamations inviting the people to cast off their allegiance to their government, and to furnish him with supplies. On the following day they moved forward to Chazy Village ; and on the 5th they encamped near Sampson's, now (1867) oc- bami'son's.' > See page 844. » These troops were composed of detachments of the regiments that had left, amounting to TO in namber; Captain Leonard's company of light artillery, 100 ; Cnpta'n M'Glassin's company of the Fifteenth Regiment, 60 ; the Sixth, Tvrenty-ninth, Thirtieth, Thirty-third, and Thirty-fourth BeglmenU, 1771 s Captain Spronll's detachment of the Thir- teenth Regiment, 200 ; sick and invalids, HOi ; two companies of artillery under Captain Alexander Brooks ; and abont 200 infantry on board the fleet serving as marines. ' This is a view of the Sampson House looking north toward Chazy, which is six miles distant. It Is brick, and when I sketched it in 1860 It was stUl a Uvem, and kept by Mr. Harvey Bromley. The old barn, just as it was in 1814, it Been Just beyond the house. / 1/ I li!P ii. ' •H 860 PICTOllIAL FIELD-BOOK IndlcatioiB of an Advance of the Brltteb Army. Poiltlon of American Worka at Plattaburg. cupiccl as a tavern, about eight miles from Plattsburg. Captain Pring, with the British squadron, moved at the same time, anchored oSJsle la Motte, and on the wost side of that island erected a battery of three long 18-pounders to cover the landing of supplies for Prevost's troops. Macomb, at the same time, was straining every muscle at his command in preparations for defense, for the impressment of trains by the British at Champlain and Chazy, and loading wagons with heavy baggage, indi- cated a speedy advance upon Plattsburg. By great exertions (the soldiers working day and night), the redoubts and block-houses were completed and manned before the enemy appeared before them, for he made short and cautious marches. These were on the high level peninsula between the Saranac and the lake, gently sloping toward the latter. The redoubts were on a curved line across the neck of tho penin- sula, and were named respectively Forts Brown, Moreau,' and Scott. The first- named stood on the bank of the river, at its head, about ha'f way between the lower bridge at the village and near its mouth, and the upper bridge, a mile higher up, ou the road leading to the Salmon River. Fort Moreau, the principal work, was hal<" way between the river and the lake, fifty rods eastward of Fort Brown ; and Fort Scott was near the bank of the lake. Northward of it were store-houses and a hos- pital Between the lower bridge, and some distance above Fort Brown, the right bank of the Saranac is steep, and from fifty to sixty feet in height ; and about sixty rods above the lower bridge it is cleft by a deep ravine that extends from the river almost to the lake. Near this ravine a block-house was built, and on the point near Foquet's Hotel, overlooking the modem steam-boat landing, was another block-house. At the mouth of the river, a short distance from the lower bridge, stood (and yet stands) a stone mill, which served an excellent defensive purpose. To create a spirit of emulation and zeal among the troops, General Macomb di- if'^Tftiul • Port Moreaa was named by Izard in honor of a celebrated French genera' of that name, whom Bonaparte exiled flrom France becanse of hia snppoaed complicity with Fichegro and others In a conspiracy against the newly-created emperor. He remained In the United States nine years. The Bmperor Alexander invited him to Russia, and while en- gaged in his military service, near Dresden, a cannon-ball f^om Napoleon's guard broke both his legs, ttom the effects of which he died. Hacomb gave the names of Brown and Scott to the other two redoubts, in honor of those two offi- cers, whose gallantry on the Niagara (h>ntier had won his admiration. OF THE WAtt OF 1812. 861 ican Work! at Plattiburg. in Pring, with the tte, and on the wi'st ) cover the landing r&B straining every ssment of trains by eavy baggage, inili- he soldiers working and manned before us marches. These lake, gently sloping le neck of the penin- 1 Scott. The first- f between the lower , a mile higher up, on icipal work, was haK ort Brown ; and Fort ore-houses and a hos- 'ort Brown, the right ght ; and about sixty xtends from the river ind on the point near I another block-house, ridge, stood (and yet je. General Macomb di- ame, whom Bonaparte exiled •ttcy against the newly-created Tl htm to RuBBla, and while en- rboth hlB legs, from the effectt Its, In honor of those two oil- Occupants of the Plattsburg Forts. Puaitlon of the Troops. The British advance on Plattsbnrg. vided them into detachments, declaring in orders that each detachment was the gar- rison of its own work, and bound to finish it and defend it to the last extremity. Colonel Melancthon Smith,* with the Sixth and Twenty-ninth Regiments, was placed in command of Fort Moreau. Fort Brown was intrusted to Lieutenant Colonel Storrs, with detachments of the Thirtieth and Thirty-first Regiments ; and Major Vinson, with the Thirty-third and Thirty-fourth Regiments, garrisoned Fort Scott Captain Smith, of tlio Rifles, with a part of his company and the convalescents, occu- pied the block-house near the ravine ; and Lieutenant Fowler, with a detachment of artillery, held the block-house on the Point. The light artillery, under Captain Leon- ard, were ordered to annoy the enemy whenever and wherever an opportunity should oftcr. The main body of Macomb's nrmy lay within tlie triangular portion of the peninsula formed by the ravine, the river, and the lake. When the British advanced to Chazy, Macomb ordered Captain SprouU to take a position near Dead C»-^ek Bridge, on the lake road, with two hundred of the Thir- teent' Regiment'' and two field-pieces, while Lieutenant Colonel Appling, the hero ofSai.ay Creek, was sent farther in advance, with a little more than a hundred rifle- men, and a troop of New York Cavalry under Captain Stafford and Lieutenant M. M. Siandish. Their business was to watch and annoy the enemy, and obstruct his marcii by felling trees in the road. It was theiv appearance that caused his Jialt at Sampson's. General Mooers had called for the entire militia force of his district to repel the invasion, and Macomb made an earnest appeal for troops to Governor Chit- tenden, of Vermont. On the evening of the 4th Mooers had seven hundred men imder his command, and with them, by order of Macomb, he advanced a few miles northward on the Beek- mantown Road, on an errand similar to that of Sproull and Appling. He was in- structed to watch the enemy, skirmish with his vanguard, break up the bridges, and obstruct the roads with felled trees. He went forward on the morning of the 5th, and bivouacked that night near the stone church in Beekmantown. On the morning of the 6th the British army, full fourteen thousand strong, mostly veteran troops, marched upon Plattsburg in two columns from their encampment near Sampson's, the right crossing over to the Beekmantown Road, and the left fol- lowing the lake shore that led to Dead Creek Bridge. General Edward Baynes was the adjutant general, and Sir Sidney Beckwith, who was conspicuous at Hampton and in Hampton Roads the previous year,' was quartermaster general. The right column was composed of General Powers's brigade, supported by four companies of light infantry and a half brigade under Ma- jor General Robinson. The left was composed of General Brisbane's brigade, and was led by > Uelancthon Smith was commissioned a mnjor of the Twenty- ninth Infantry on the 20th of February, 1818, and was promoted to colonel on the 12th of April following. He left the army at the close of the war, and died at Plattsburg on the IBth of Au- gast, 1818. In the eastern extremity of the old bnrial-gronnd at Plattsburg I found his grave in 18(X>, and at the bead of it an elab- orately-wrought tombstone, of bine limestone, on which is the following Inscription : "To the memory of Colonel Mkiabotiion Sxnu, who died Angnet 18, 1818, aged 38 years. As a testimony of respect for his virtues, and to mark the spot where rests the athes of an excellent Father, this stone is erected by his son Rion- siu. United with many masculine virtues, he had a tear for pity, and a hand open as day for melting charity." ' This was always a famous regiment. We first met portions of It following the gallant Captain Wool up Queenston Heights. See page 897. At this time [1867] only three of its offlcers enr- vive, namely. Major General Wool, Dr. M'Call (then surgeon's mate, and now superintendent of the Lunatic Asylum at Utica), and Captain Myers, mentioned in the note on page C51. ' See page 683. 1 ■ \ V) •■» COLOnn. BMITU'S MOMCIUUIT. n v\ , i . f i 1< y ... set PICTORIAL FIELD-BOOK Mi\)ur W This honee was the residence of Mr. Joel Smith when I visited Beekmantown in 1860. It was naed as a bospiul, with others, after the skinnigh there and at Calver's Hill. > This heavy stone wall, bnilt by some Vermonters before the war, was yet standing when I rode over Calrer's Dill in the gammer of 1860. ' To Samuel Terry, who was living at Pern, Clinton County, New York, is awarded the fame of having shot Willlngloii. IKA UUWK H, UKGKliA^TUWN. OF THE WAR OF 1812. 803 gagement on CaWer'a Rill. i of Major Gciu'ral the lines of the foe, men, throwing away the bayonet. Leon- Bins with him, turning lot of tba Britl*b. They praw on tu Plattibarg. PIght In and near the Village. Otone-mlll Ctudel. IBAAO O. PLATT'd RKBII>KNUE.> them occasionally upon the ptirsuing foe, and, crossing the Saranac at the lower bridge, he pluntod thoni in battery on a gentle eminence in tlie roatl, near the stone mill, to co\er the crossing of the rest of the Americans if they should find it neces- sary to retreat. In the affair at Ilalsey's Corners several of the British were killed. Among them was Lieu- tenant Kingsbury, of the Third Bufi's, who was mor- tally w^oundcd, and tak- en into the farm-house of the now (1807) venerable Isaac C. Piatt, Esquire, near by, where he soon afterward died.' llie more rapid march of the British right col- umn imperiled the de- tacliments of Appling and Sproul, who were await- ing the approach of the left, Macomb perceived this, and ordered them to tall back toward Plattsburg, and attack the enemy's flank. They did so, and their riflemen galled the foe severely. They reached the lower bridge just in time to avoid being cut ofl'by the British right, and to cross it with Wool's retiring troops. When ail were safely over, the bridge was torn up in the face of a heavy fire from the head of the enemy's right, which had reached the little village. The militia in the mean time had fled across the upper bridge, and destroyed that in the same way. The British lefl column soon aflerward appeared. It crossed the Dead Creek Bridge, and, while making its way along the beach of Plattsb-irg Bay to unite with the right, it was severely harassed by an enfilading fire L^t^ «ome of Macdonough's galleys which had been sent to the head of the bay for the purpose. A heavy blow came on, and Macdonough sent Midshipman Silas Duncan in a gig to order the galleys to return to the fleet. His boat was fired upon by the enemy, and he was severely wounded, but he delivered the order and escaped with his life. The British were checked at the village by the destruction of the lower bridge, whose timbers were used in the construction of a breastwork for the infantry. They took position in some store-houses near the Saranac. Upon these Captain Brooks hurled some hot shot, and burned out the enemy. Their light troops endeavored during the day to force a passage of the Saranac, but were each time repulsed by the guards at tlie bridge and a small company known as Aiken's Volunteers, of Platts- burg, who were stationed in the stone mill (see engraving next page) already men- tioned. These young men had been out on the Beekmantown Road in the morning and behaved gallantly, and they garrisoned that mill-citadel most admirably.^ In the mean time a division of the British had pressed toward the uppc: bridge, where General Mooers and his militia, as we. have observed, crossed the bridge, tore it up, ' Palmer'8 Hiftorij of Lake Champlain, page 192. Statement to the aathor by Mr. Piatt In 1860. > Tbiii was the appearance of Mr. Piatt's hou le in 1860. The main building is of bricli. The Immense bnttemnt- trce near the house was a fine bearing tree at the time of the battle, and two bullet scars npon Its trunk were pointed oDt to me. We shall notice this honse and its owner hereafter. ' The following are the names of these young men, or rather lads, for none of them were old enough to be legally i-alled into the military service: Martin J. Aiken, Azariah C. Flagg, Ira Wood, Qustavns A. Bird, James Trowbridge, Hazen Mooers. Henry K. Averlll, St. John B. L. Skinner, Frederick P. Allen, Hiram Walworth, Ethan Everest, Amos Soper, James Patten, Bnrtimeus Brooks, Smith Bateman, Melancthon W. Travis, and Flavins Williams. They were highly praised by Macomb for their gallantry, aud he promised that each of them should receive a rifle. This promise Congress redeemed in 1826 by ordering a rifle to he presented to each member of that little volunteer company. Sev- eral of these lads afterward became distlnguisbed men. h 'if 804 riCTOIUAL FIELD-BOOK Tbe Btltlib checked tt the Bridge in Plettibarg. Prepanitlonii for liattle on Land and Witer, OLD BTONB MILL.* and UHod its timhorN for n breastwork. The ea- einy made extraordina- ry efforts to for(!o a pan- Hage there, but Alooers and his men stood lirm, and kept thcni at buy. Finding the passage of the stream impoHNibie under the cirruinstan- ceSjPrevost ordered hu troops to encamp \ipon an elevated ridge about a mile back from the rivei", and upon the liigh ground north of the village. IIo made his head - quarters at Al- len's farm-house on the ridge,' and gave orders for vigorous prepara- tions for attack. Not- withstanding he was at the head of overwhelm- ing numbers, the events of that day* convinced him that the task before him was not a light one. He had lost, in killed and wounded, since the dawn, over two hundred men, while the loss of the Americans did not exceed forty-five.^ Prevost employed the time between the 7th and 11th in bringing up his battering trains and supplies, and in erecting several works that might command the river, the bay, and the American forts and block-houses on the peninsula.* The Americans in the mean time were not idle. They labored without ceasing in strengthening tiieir wo\ks. They removed their sick and wounded to Crab Island, two miles distant, in the lake, and there erected a two d-pound gun battery, and manned it with convales- cents. Wliile these preparations were under way on land, the belligerents were making ready for a combat on the water. A greater portioii of the British flotilla, under Captain Pring, had advanced, as we have seen, to Isle la Motte, where they were joined'' by the remaindet of the squadron and Captain George Downie, of the Royal Navy, late of the Montreal on Lake Ontario. Macdouough, at the same time, had the American squadron at anchor in Plattsburg Bay, and calm- ly awaited the approach of his enemy. For almost five days the seamen waited for a general movement of the landsmen, wh ich was to be a signal on the part of the British for the weighing of anchors and > This was a large two-storied ftame hoase, nearly square, and stood on the site of the residence of John H. Sanborn, Esquire, in 1860, when I visited Plattsbnrg. It was on a little hill west of the village. General Robinson mode hi; head-quarters at the house of the Honorable William Bailey, not far distant. Judge Bailey (mentioned In the note on page 660) took refuge, vdth his family, in the house of Dr. Man (mentioned in the same note), some distance from Flatls- burg. Judge Bailey married the daughter of Zepbaniah Piatt, a patentee of Plattsburg, and was the father of Admiral Bailey, of our navy, who performed gallant service in the battle of Ports Jackson and Philip, below New Orleans, in tlie spring of 1803. » This was the appearance of the old stone mill when the writer sketched it In 1860 fh)m the gallery of the UnlW States Hotel. On the left is seen a portion of Plattsburg Bay, and Cumberland Head in the distance. ' Palmer's Biatory of Lake Champlain, page 194. * These consisted of threr block-houses erected at points within range of the American works ; a battery on the lak« shore. Just north of the mouth of the Saranac ; another on the steep bank above the mill-pond ; a third near the burial- ground ; and one for rocketeers on a hill opposite Fort Brown. ' September 6, 1814. ' September 8. br Battl* on Land and Wtttr, OF TUB WAK OF 1818. 805 Drive Kxplult uf CapUin M'Uliuialn. A Britlih Batttrjr eaptand. Biittah land and naval fomi In Motion. VmW UP TUK BAKANAO, rKUM fOKT UUUWN,> preparing ships for action, and during that time no military operation of great im- portance occurred. There were some minor movements worthy of notice. One of them, on the part of the Americans, was a bold one. On the night of the 9th there was tempestuous weather. There was liglitning, and rain, and wind, and thick dark- ness. The British had been seen at sunset busily engaged in the erect ion of the rocket battery opposite Fort Brown. Captain M'Glassin, who was described to me as a "little beardless Scotchman" anxious to distinguish liimself, asked (Jencial Ma- comb to allow him to load fifty men tliat night to an attiusk on the builders. Ma- comb complied, and M'Glassin, who had arisen from a sick-bed, sallied out in the gloom with his men, from whose gun-locks the flints were removed, crossed the Sar- anac about half way between F'ort Brown and the upper bridge, and, unobserved, reached the foot of the hill on which the battery was rising. There he divided his men into two parties. One went to the rear of the battery by a circuitous route, and, Avhen all was ready, lie Ehouted " Charge ! men, charge ! upon the front and rear !" His men rushed forward with frightful yells. The British, believing over- whelming numbers were upon them, fled precipitately to their main body. The work was taken, the guns were spiked, and M'Glassin returned without the loss of a single man. Over three hundred veteran troops had been surprised and frightened into tliglit by only fifty men, and Sir George Prevost was much mortified. The morning of the 11th dawned brightly, and at an early hour in the forenoon the British land and naval forces were in motion for a combined attack on the Americ'^ns. Prevost had arranged the movement with Downie. It was agreed that when the Brit- ish squadron should be seen approaching Cumberland Head, the advance of the army, under Major General Robinson, sliould press forward, force the fords of the Saranac, climb tlie steep banks, and with ladders escalade the American works on the penin- sula, while the several batteries around Plattsburg village should open a brisk fire. Between seven and eight o'clock the squadron was seen advancing, and at eight it rounded Cumberland Head. It consisted of the frigate Conflance, 38, Downie'c flag- ship; the brig iiVme^, 16, Captain Pring; the sloops ^At This vessel lay so near the shoal extending northeast from Cuvb Island, that it was impossible for the enemy to turn that end of the line. In the .'ear of these larger vessels were ten gun-boats or galleys, six of them mountinjr one long 24-pounder and one 18-pound Columbiad each, and the other four carrying each a 1£ pounder. These were so arranged as to fill up the openings between the larger vessels in the line, making the order of battle in two lines, about forty rods apart. The larger vessels were at anchor, while the gun-boats were kept in position by the use of oars. ^ The American line of battle had been formed with great skill by the young com- mandci, reference being had to the confonnation of the land. It extended completely across the entrance to Plattsburg Bay from Crab Island to Cumberland Head, and the enemy, rounding the latter, was compelled to approach the Amsrican squadron with his bows on, giving the latter a great advantage at the beginning.^ The firet vessel that made its appearance was a sloop, which, it is said, carried a company of amateurs, who kept out of the action that ensued. It was immediately followed by the Finch, which led the van of the British squadron, and made for the right of the American line, in the direction of the Preble, near Crab Island, At the same time the Chub moved toward the head or left of the Americans, near Cumberland Head. keeping well to the windward of the Eagle, to support the Linret in a direct attack on that vessel, while the gun-boats coming up in order, their commanders received from Commodore Downie ".nal instructions for action. He then attempted to lay tlic Conjiance athwart the Saratoga, while the Finch and the gun-boats should attack the Ticonderoga and Preble. He was baffled by shifting winds, and was compelled to anchor his vessel within two cables' length of its antagonist, Macdonough, in the mean time, had thoroughly prepared to receive the enemy. When his vessels were cleared for action, springs placed on his cables, and all was in readiness, lie knelt upon the deck of the Saratoga, near one of its heaviest guns, witli his oflicers and men around him, and, in tew words, asked Almighty God for aid, and committed the issue into his hands,* He arose with assured courage, and as the en- emy came bearing down upon him, hip vessels sprang their broadsides to bear, and the Eagle opened the action by hurling the first shot. It discharged in quick suc- cession its four long 1 8-pounders in broadside. This was followed by the fire of a long 24-pounder on the Saratoga, which the young and gallant commodore had sight- ed himself The ball entered the outer hawse-hole of ihe Confiance, the enemy's flag- ship, and went crashing through every obstacle the entire length of her deck, killing ' The SarcUoga wai built at Vergennee in the spring of 1814. The Ticonderoga was in conrse of construction for n steam-boat when she was taken for the public service by Macdonough and converted Into a sloop-of-wnr. The EagU was also built at Vergennes in the summer of 1R14. So rapid was her construction that she was launched In uinetMQ days after her keel was cut in the woods. She Joined the sqaadron early in August. • The American force consisted of one ship, one brig, one schooner, ' . sloop, and ten gnn-boats, carrying 86 gum in all, and manned by 882 mer. The British had one fVlgate, one brig, two sloops, and twelve gnn-boats, cnrryin;; hi all 96 giins, and manned by a little more than 1000 men. The metal of each was unusually heavy. That of the Amer- icans was as follows: Fourteen long 24'8, six 42'8, twenty-nine S2"«, twelve long IS's, twelve 'ong IS's, seven lonp 9'», and six 18-ponnd Columblads. The British had thirty-one long 24'e, seven 18'e, sixteen 12's, Ave fl's, twelve 84-ponini carronados six 24's, seventeen 18's, and one 18-pound Columbiad. ' See Map on page 871. * At ■ pnblic dinner given to Hacdonongh at Plattsburg a few days after the battle, the following toast was olferfd after he had left the table: "Theplons and brave Macdonongh— the professor of the religion ofthe Redeemer— prepar- ing for action, he called on God, who forsook him not in the honr of danger: may he not be forgotten by his coontry." OF THE WAR OF 1812. 867 BegiDDing of the Battte, [ four of them 1 gun erland or Plattsburw the shore, at an aver- the head of the line, !, 26, Captain Henley, waB the Saratoga, 2G, Viconderoga, 1 7, Lieu- tenant Charles Budd, iding northeast from , end of the line. In six of them mounting e other four carrying >peningB between the nes, about forty rods were kept in position 11 by the yoimg com- i extended completely umberland Head, and e Amsrican squadron leginning.^ The fii-st carried a company of nediately followed hy le for the right of the 1. At the same time ar Cumberland Head, iret in a direct attack commanders received 1 attempted to lay tlie boats should attack and was compelled Cock crowing on Uacdonongh's Flag-ehip. Fight between the Flag-ebips. The Battle general. 3 receive the enemy, cables, and all was in ;8 heaviest guns, with jhty God for aid, and luraae, and as the en- jadsides to bear, and larged in quick suc- iwed by the fire of a !ommodoro had sight- nce, the enemy's flag- 1 of her deck, killing _ conrse of construction for n to a Bloop-of-wnr. The Kijk she was launched In ulnetran gtin-bo8t«, carrying 86 gtrai twelve gnn-boatu, carrylnR la ly heavy. That of the Amer- jlve long IS's, (even lonf 9>, 12's, five fl'B, twelve 32-ponu(l ' See Map on psjre 8J1, _ following toast was nfferfd Ion oftheRedeeiner— preptr- be forgotten by his conntry." several men on its way, and demolishing the wheel. The Linnet, as she was passing to attack the Eagle, gave the Saratoga a broadside, but without serious effect. One of her shoto demolished a hen-coop on the Saratoga, in which was a young game- cock which some of the seamen had lately brought on board. The released fowl, startled by the noise of cannon, flew upon a gun-slide, and, clapping his wings, crow- ed lustily and defiantly. The sailors cheered, and the incident, appearing to them as ominous of victory for the Americans, strengthened the courage of all. ' The Conjiance made no reply to the Saratoga's savage 24-poiTnder until she had secured a desirable position, notwithstanding the entire American line had become engaged in the combat. When rear'.y, she exhibited a sheet of flame. Her entire larboard broadside guns, consisting of sixteen 24-pounder8, doi .ble-shotted, leveled point-blank range, coolly sighted, aiid favored by still water, were discharged at one time. The effect was terrible. The Saratoga shivered from round-top to hull as with an ague, and forty of her people, or almost one fifth of her complement, were disabled. But the stunning blow was felt only for a moment. Almost iinmediatelj Macdonough resumed the conflict, and the fire of the Saratoga was steady, and gal- lantly conducted. Among her lost was her first lieutenant, Peter Gamble, who was on his knees sighting a bow-gun, when a shot entered the port, split the quoin, drove a part cf it against his breast, and luid him dead without breaking the skin. Fifteen minutes afterward an American ball struck the muzzle of a 24-pounder on board the Conjiance, dismounted it, sending it bodily inboard against the groin of Commodore Downie, killing him also without breaking the skin.'' The battle had now become general, steady, and active between the larger vessels. Tlie Chub, while nianceuvring near the head of the American line, received a broad- side from the gallant Henley,^ of the Eagle, which so crippled her that she drifted helplessly, and, after receiving a shot from the Saratoga, she struck, and was taken possession of by Mr. Piatt, one of the midshipmen of that vessel,* who had her towed > statement to the anthor by Commodore Samuel L. Breese, who was commander of the gnn-boat NeUey In the ac- tion,* anr". James Sloan, of Oswego, who, as we have observed [page 7BT], was Macdonough's clerk, and was a witness to the affair. He says that some of the sailors were fond of cock-flghting. This particnlar bird, owned on shore, had been a formidable antagonist, and, by " hook or by crook," they had obtained possession of him. The following allusion to this event Is contained iu a rhyming " Epittk qf Brother Jonathan to Johnny BvU, said to have been ,vritten at near the close of 1614 : " O, Johnny Bull, my joe, John, Behold on Lake Champlain, With more than equal force, John, Yon tried your fist again ; But the cock sew how 'twas going, And cried ' Cock-a-doodle-doo,' And Macdonough was victorious, O, Johnny Bull, my Joe !" > Cooper's yatal Hiiitory of the United States, ii., 434. ' Robert Henley was bom In James City County, Virginia, on the Bth of January, 1783. He was educated at William ind Mary College. He obtained a midshipman's warrant in ITflO, and made his first cmlee with Commodore Trux- tun in the ConnteUation. He showed much gallantry in several engagements, especially with La Vengeance (see page 104), when Truxtnn said, "That stripling Is destined to be a brave officer." He was appointed to the command of the Eagle iu the spring of 1814, :md after the battle of Plattsbnrg in September, his commander, Macdonough, said, in Ills official report : "To Captain Rob«rt Henley, of the brig Eagle, much is to be ascribed ; his courage was conspicu- ous, and I most earnestly recommend him as worth) of the highest trust and confidence." The National Congress thanked him, and gave him a gold medal.t He was also promoted to captain. He died at Charleston, Soath Carolina, in the year 1829. • The late Commodore Charles T. Piatt, who died ai Kcwburg, New York, on the 12th of December, 1860. He was a native of Plattsbnrg, and a gallant officer. He entered the navy as midshipman In 1812 on Lake Champlain. During the battle here recorded he passed three times through the line of the enemy's fire in an open boat carrying orders. He was promoted to lieutenant, and accompanied Commodore Porter to the West Indies in 1822, in command of the schoon- -;» jiif! * Samuel L. Breese is a native of New York. He entered the navy as midshipman in December, 1810. He was pro- moted to lieutenant in the spring of 18in ; to commander in December, 1835 ; to captain In September, 1841 ; and to rear admiral in 1802. He Is on the retired list, and is now (1S(17) light-house inspector. t The picture on the next page Is a representation of Henley's medal. On one side is abnst of Captain Henley In pro- iUe, with the legend, " hob. inir«i.i!T, kaolk pii<«f7ot. palm* virtu. p«b «txiinit fi.ohibit." On the reverse is a repre- Kntatlnn of a fleet ongaged before a town (Plattsbnrg), enveloped in smoke. Several small boats are seen on the lake. X/egend— " dmo latsbe piboitsso. altisum. bhpibavit." Esergne— " lntxb olass. aioibi. bt but. vim xi. ibft., WIOOOXUII," I., i\ ^^^^^K ^^^^^^^B 'W s' ' ' / . • n i ill 868 PICTORIAL FIELD-BOOK Capture of the Fnush. BrilUh Qun-boatB in Action. (Jold Medals awarded by Congresa. benlet's meual. into Plattsburg Bay, and anchored near the mouth of the Saranac. She had suffered very severely. Almost half of her people were killed or wounded. An hour later the Finch was driven from her position by the TYccK/ero^a, commanded by the in- trepid Lieutenant Cassin; ard, being badly injured, drifted upon Crab Island shoal oabsin's medal. of rocks, and grounded. The invalid corps on the island brought their little two-gun battery to bear on her, when she struck, and surrendered to this small band of con- valescents.' The British gun-boats now entered vigorously into the action, and soon compelled the Prebk, Lieutenant Budd, to cut her cables and flee to a safer place near the shore, where she anchored, and was of no farther service in the fight. This success embold- ened the British galleys, and they made a combined and furious attack on the Ticon- deroga, fourteen in number, with an average of fifty men in each.'* Cassin walked the taffrail in a storm of grape and canister shot, watching the movements of the assail- er BtagU. In this war against tlie pirates Piatt distln^lslied himself. He was attached to the steam fV!<;ate Fulxm when she blew np, and was severely Injured. His last service was in command ofthe Navy Yard at Memphis. « That inaccurate historian, Sir Archibald Alison, In his HUtonj of England, in writinp; of this event, remarks, "The FltieK, a British brit;, grounded out of shot, and did not engage!" Again, he speaks of her ge'ting on rocks, and not being able to engage In the action. Her commander, Captain Pring, in his ofilcial report, says truly that she struck on a reef of rocks to the eastward of Crab Island, nbvut the middle 0/ the engagement, which prevented her rendering such a! Statemeut to the author by Admiral Paulding. OF THE WAR OF 1812. 869 3dal8 awarded by Congreu. ic. She had suffered ided. An hour later )ramanded by the iii- on Crab Island shoal IS. AMEBI' ■XISEBT. M It their little two-gun [is small band of con- l, and soon compelled ■ place near the shore, I This success embold- attack on the Ticon- Cassin Avalked the /cments of the assail- Id to the Bteam ftlsate Fulton \iy Yard at Memphis, lof thU event, remarks, "The Ver geHing on rocks, and not I says truly that she struck on fcrovented her rendering such fnns and forty men a brig, and Lor by Admiral Paulding. Victory doubtful. The Flag-ships disabled. Surrender of the Confianoe. Cassin and Paulding. ants, and directing effective discharges of musket-balls and other light missiles, which kept the enemy at bay.' Several times they were within a few feet of the sides of the Ticonderoga with the intention of boarding her. They behaved with the utmost gallantry, but with equal gallantry the Americans repulsed them. The Ticonderoga maintained her position, and covered her extremity of the line to the last, winning from the commodore and all beholders unqualified praise for her commander and people.' While the fortunes of the day were thus fluctuating at the lower end of the line, the Americans were suffering at the other extremity. The Eagle lost the springs of her cable, and b&came exposed to the combined fire of the Linnet and Conjiance, Henley at once dropped her between and a little astern of the Saratoga and 7?con- deroga, and, anchoring her there, opened his larboard guns afresh on the Conjiance and the British galleys. But the Saratoga was left exposed to the whole fire of the Linnet, which sprang her broadsides in such a manner as to rake the bows of her an- tagonist. Very soon th> , wo flag-ships became disabled. Tlie Saratoga had not a single serviceable starboard gun left, and was silent. The Conjiance was not much better off. Now was the moment for Macdonough to exhibit his splendid seamanship. He did 80, quickly and effectively. With the aid of Philip Brum, his skillful sailing-mas- ter, he wound the ship, by means of a stream ar^chor and hawsers, so that he brought the guns of his larboard quarter to bear on the Conjiance., which had vainly endeav- ored to imitate the movement. Under the direction of Acting Lieutenant Lavallette, these poured such a destructive fire or. the British flag-ship that she soon surren- dered. The Saratoga's fire was then uirected upon the Linnet, and in the course of 1 Stephen Cassin, eon of Commodore John Cassin, of the navy, was bom in Philadelphia on the 16th of February, nS3. He entered the navy as a mldah'pman in the year 1800, and was in the Philadelphia with Decatur in the Mediter- ranean. He was active, aud beiiaved bravely in the naval operations in that quarter from 1801 to 1804-'6. He was ap- pointed to the command of the Ticonderoga in the spring of 1814, and Macdonough, in his official report of the b&ctle off Plattsburg, in September of that year, said, " The Ticonderoga, Lieutenant Commandant Stephen Cassin, gallantly fustnined her full share of the action." For his good conduct on that occasion Cassin was promoted to a post cap- taincy, and received from Congress a vote of thanks and a gold medal. The latter is delineated in the engraving on the Dpposite page. On one side is a bust of Cassin in profile, with the legend "stkf. cassin tioondkrooa PE^rsoT. quvg iiEoio IN TXBBiB NOB. MON PLiNA LAB." On the reverde Ui the same design, legend, and exerguo as ou that of Captain Henley. > Among the brave spirits on board the Ticonderoga was Midshipman Hiram Fanlding, now (186T) a rear admiral. He was then a lad not seventeen years of age, but, for want of officers, he v/as placed in command of a division of eight guns. When the British galleys approached it was discov- ered that the matches for firing the cannon were useless. Young Paulding saw no resource but the flash of a pistol, and with his own hand he thns fired the gnns of his sec- tion during a combat of more than two hours ; and in the interval of the cannon-firing, when the enemy were with- in pistol-shot, he discharged his weapon against them. These facts I had fk'om the lips of the late Commodore Tattnall. Hiram Paulding, a son of one of the captors of AndrA, was born in Westchester County, New York, on the 11th of December, 179T. His first service In the navy was as a midBbipman, at thirteen years of age, on Lake Ontario, in 1S12. During the remainder of the war he was confined to like Chaniplain. In 181S he accompanied Decatur in the CmiUllation frigate to the Mediterranean. He was pro- moted to lieutenant, and served under Bainbridge and Downes. He was on shore for some time in 1821 engaged In study preparatory to a more useful career In the navy. He accompanied Porter In his expedition against the West India pirates, and from that time until 1806, he was in active, nrdiion!<, and most useful service, afloat and ashore, as sub- ordinate and commander, having been promoted to captain Id 1843. He took an active Interest in the suppression of the rebellion that broke out In the Slave-labor states in 1861, and in 1868 (when the annexed portrait was drawn) was pro- moted to rear admiral. He was the first American com- mander who received a ftall admiral's salnte. It was given bjr a French frigate lying In New York Harbor, August 1, 19- cn|«.i, and they acted accordingly. Macdonongh made a signal for his gun-boats to follow, but they were recalled to the relief of the J/inTut and Cot\ftance, ' Letter to his brother, December U, 1S14. * AiMlectic Magazine, vii., 2U Spectators of the Battle. n the mean time had tatcly associates, and colors of the larger past noon not one of the British squadron their sweeps with on- hich had been lying I the light-house now ■, and were, moreover, the Conflance and the could only look at the Lgh wrote to the Sc^re- ler squadron that could nearly all shot away, > " Our masts, yard?, he Confiance, who was les of matches and the |j raged, while the tlmn Ithe rattle of musketry Ibeheld by hundreds of Leted the victory witli luctiveness not excelled M the hnttle of Lake Champlnin. ^alcour Island, near •■ -hBcns- le lofty Adirondack Wonntnins. Ihe Burrendcr, a cannon on board I Up to that time, he Biiyf,tta Irdcd this gnn as a signal for ee- low, bnt thoy were recalled to llic I * il»iototi« Magazine, vU.,21l OF THE WAK OF 1812. 871 Vijtory for the Americans complete. Macdonough's Announcement of It. Cunalties. PLAN OP TDK NAVAL ACTION ON LAKE OIIAMPLAIN.' by any during the war, indeed seldom equaled any where or at any time.' The vic- tory for the Americans was complete and substantial; and from the Saratoga,\\aM an hour after the Linnet struck and the galleys fled, Macdonough sent the following dispatch ashore in a gig, to be forwarded to the Secretary of the Navy : " Sir, — The Almighty has been pleased to grant us a signal victory on Lake Cham- ])lain in the capture of one frigate, one brig, and two sloops of war of the enemy." Two days afterward he sent Lieutenant Commanding Cassin to the Secretary of ♦he Navy with a more detailed yet brief account of tlie battle, in which he statea that the Saratoga had fifty round shot in her hull, and the Conjiance one hundrqjl and five. He added, " The Saratoga was twice set on fire by hot shot from the enemy's ship."' Very few officc-s or men on the Saratoga and Conjiance were uninjured. Indeed, the same might be said of those of the other large vessels of both parties. Macdon- ough was twice prostrated upon the deck, and his venerable sailing-master, Peter Brum, had his clothes nearly torn off by a splinter while winding the ship.* Acting ' This map was compiled from a large one in the Engineer Department, Washington City, and a rongh pen-and-ink sketch made at the time of the battle by the late Chancellor R. U. Walworth, then Macomb's adjutant general. The coast Hues are from the report of the Coast Surrey. « " The havoc on both sides was dreadful," Midshipman William Lee wrote. " I don't think there are more than five of our men, out of three hundred, but what are killed or wounded. Never was a shower of hail so thick as the shot whistling about our ears. Were you to see my jacket, waistcoat, and trowsers, you would be astonished to know how I escaped as I did, for they are literally torn all to rags with shot and splinters ; the upper part of my hat was also shot sway. There is one of the marines who was in the Trafalgar action with Lord Nelson, who says it was a mere flea-bite In comparison with this."— Letter to his Brother, December 14, 1S14. Midshipman Lee rose to the rank of lieutenant, and died "on the 24th of Febniary, 1817, at the Telegraph, West Square."— O'Byme's Naval Biography. Mr. James Sloane, of Oswego, Informed me that, a few days before the battle, he gave one of the seamen a very nice glazed hat. After the battle was over the sailor came to him with the hat in his hand, having a semicircular cut in the side and crown made by a cannon-shot while it was on his head. " Look here, Mr. Sloane," said the sailor, "how the damned >John Bulls have spoiled my hat." He did not seem to reflect for a moment how nearly the cannon-ball came to spoiling his head. ' On page 8T9 is a fac-siinile of this paragraph of the dispatch, copied from the original in the archives of the Navy Department, Washington City. When the Confianee was captured she was found to have ovens for heating shot. There were no others in any vessel on the lake. ' Macdonongh sighted a favorite gun much of the time during the action. Wliile doing so at one time, bending his body, ft shot cut the spanker-boom in two, and it fell upon his back with such force as to prostrate him senseless on the (Ifck. The cry went through the ship that the commodore was killed. He soon recovered and resumed his station. A few minutes afterward a shot drove the head of the captain of his favorite gun in upon him, and knocked him Fensa- kfi into the scupper^ when bis death was again announced ; but he speedily recovered. Mr. Bnim had a splinter HI..' I I \ ' ( 1 ( i 11 1 i 1 ' J- ! ■ iwfp P WW i i L ' m 872 PICTORIAL FIELD-BOOK CaBualties on the Sbipa. Haccionoagh'g Reception of the captive British Offlcen. /^-i"^ c^c^^ ^/^v-7^ >^ (S^^t^My^J- rA0-8IMILE OF A PART OF MAOnONODOR'B DIBPATOH. Lieutenant Lavallette had a shot-box, on which he was standing, driven from tin- der hiin by a ball, and was knocked down by the flying head of one of the st-iimen.' Lieutenant Gamble, as we have seen, was killed at the beginning of the action. Lieutenant Stansbury suddenly disap- peared from the bulwarks, and two days afterward his body, cut in two, rose to the surface. Joseph Smith, first lieuten- ant of the Eagle, received a severe wound, but returned to his quarters during the action.* The British officers suifered se- verely. Commodore Downie, Captain Anderson, of the Marines, Midshipman Gunn, of the Confiance, and Lieutenant Paul and Boatswain Jackson, of the Lin- net, were also killed, and many others were wounded. The wife of the steward of the Conjiance was also killed.' The entire loss of the Americans was one hundred and ten, of whom fifty-two were killed. The total British loss was more than two hundred.* Macdonough received the offi- cers of the captured vessels with ^n at courtesy of manner and «peech. When they offisred him their swords, he instantly replied, " Gentlemen, your gallant conduct makes you worthy to wear your weapons ; return them to their scabbards." They did so, and they all walked the deck of the victori- driven bo near his body rb to strip ofThia clotheB and prostrate bim senselesB. He soon gained his feet, and, makisg an apron of his handlierchief, continued his labors. See Cooper's A'avai History, ii,, 444, note. > Elie A. F. Lnvallette is a native of Virginia. He entered the navai service as Baliing-maBter a week after the decla- ration of war in June, 1812. He was acting lieutenant In the battle of Lalce Champlain, and received a commission at ftiU lieatenant at the middle of December following as a slight reward for bis gallant conduct. In March, 1831, be was promoted to commander, and in 1802 to rear admiral. He is now (1867) on the retired list and awaiting orders. » Joseph Smith, now (1807) rear admiral on the retired list, has been chief of the Bnrean of Yards and Doclts for sev- eral years. He is a native of Hassachnsetts, and entered the navy as midBhipman in January, 1809. When he was abmt to go to Lake Champlain he had an order to get a clerk. He fonnd Sloane (already mentioned) in a bookBtore in Bog- ton, and persuaded bim to go with him. Smith behaved most gallantly on the Bogle in the battle of Lake Champlain, He had been appointed lieutenant in July, 1818. He was promoted to commander in 1827, and to captain In 1837. He was created rear admiral in 1802. ' Letter in Niles's Weekly Regitter, vli., 43. Mr. Sloane Informed me that, while abb was stooping in the act of binding np the wounded leg of one of the men, a cannon-ball cam" through the side of the ship, carried away both of her breasts, and, driving her across the vessel, killed her instantly. ♦ Macdonough's official Letter to the Secretary of the Navy, September 13, 1814 ; Letter of Captain Prlng to Sir Jamfs L. Teo, September 12, 1814 ; Cooper's SavcA History, ii., 430 to 441, inclusive ; Palmer's History of Lake Champlain, pagea lOT to 203, InclDBive. z^r^:^^^^^^..^^. OF THE WAR OF 1812. 873 the captive BrtllBh Offlcere. lud of the Battle of Lake UhamplaiD. ing, driven from tin- ' one of the s^'anien,' our weapons; return e deck of the victori- gained hie feet, and, making ote. naeter a week after the decla- ind received a commission as duct. In March, 1831, he was and awaiting orders. of Yards and Docks for ecT- iry, 1809. When he was ab^ut -loned) tn a booketore in Bos- he battle of Lake Champlaln. f, and to captain in 183T. He stooping In the actof blndhig rled away both of her breasts, if Captain Prlng to Sir James my of Lake Champlain, pages Movements of the land Troopg. The Britlnh cross the Saranac River. 0U8 Saratoga, American and English officers, more in the character of friends than of enemies. Lieutenant Lavallette, who had taiten formal possession of the Cotijiaitce, was soon directed to prepare the prisoners for Crab Island, and before sunset all was quiet on the lake. Thus ended the famous Battle of Lake Champlain. The Brit- ish vessels were taken to Whitehall, at the head of the lake, and scuttled. The Sara- toga shared the same fiite afterward. I saw the remains of this vessel and the Con- fiance there » , late as 1850. We have observed that while the roar of the battle-storm was heard on the water, its thunders were bellowing over the land. According to arrangement, when the pennants of the British fleet were seen over Cumberland Head, a part of the British land force, under Major General Robinson, moved in three columns to force their way across the Saranac at the site of the two bridges, and a ford at Pike's cantonment, three miles from the mouth of the stream, and carry the American works by storm.' When the first gun was fired on the lake, the British land batteries were opened, and, under cover of the shot and shell which they hurled toward the American works, g^^ ■b JK ^^JIUT~k ■'■ ^V.l^fefr;. '■ .^. '^■'. ■ "■t^P'il.f _ Jm^r ^fi^^^imm "^^''^^^B ■ J-', -ci^jg^-t/^' » %i»ss- ■5 s^^»-»^;; ~4 w^ iS^ UATTLK OP PLATTsiitma. (From an old print.)" their three assailing columns moved. At the lower bridge they were repulsed by the guards, block-houses, and artillery of the forts, served by Captains Brooks, Richards, and Smith, and Lieutenants Mountfort, Smyth, and Cromwell. At the upper bridge the riflemen and pickets, under Captain Grosvenor and Lieutenants Hamilton and Riley, aided by some militia, successfully disputed their passage. Thoy Mere a little more successful at the upper ford, where the Clinton and Essex militia, mder Major General Mooers and Brigadier General Wright, were stationed. After being driven back several times with considerable loss, some companies of the British pushed across the stream, then shallow and rapid, firing briskly by platoons as they advanced, but doing very little harm.' The militia fell back. They were soon joined by a large detachment of Vermont Volunteers, and a party of artillery with a field-piece, under Lieutenant Sumter. The flying companies were now rallied, and drawn up in battle array to meet the pursuing foe, when Walworth, one of Mooers's aids,* came dashing up, his horse 1 These troops consisted o'" light infantry companies, 3d battalion Twenty-seventh and Seventy-sixth Seglmenfs, and Mi^or General Powers's brigade, consisting of the 3d, 6th, and Ist battalion of the Twenty-seventh and Fifty-eightli Regiments."— Sir George Prevost to Karl Bathnrst, September 11, 1814. > This view is ft-om the right bank of the Saranac, at its month. Toward the left is the three-storied stone mill, and in the distance Furt Brown. A portion of the lower bridge, from which the planks were torn up, is seen. Some of tbe British are attempting to ford the stream. The conrt-honse is seen on Are. The church observed In the picture was saved, and survived until September, 186T, when it perished in a great conflagration in the village. ' Participants in ;he fight told Mr. Palmer, the historian of Lake Champlaln, that most of the enemy's bullets struck the trees above thera " »t least fifteen feet from the ground." • Reuben II. Walworth was bom in Bozrah, Connecticut, October 86, 1T89. His parents removed to Hnosick, New Tork, where his early years were spent. Be received only a common school edncatior., and at tbe age of seventeen U *iJ Ul ^'1 .1 ' it .'■1*1* ! ?!•* 974 PICTORIAL FIELD-BOOK British Troops recalled. Their Leader alarmed. Uprising of the Penpis, TUK BABAMAC AT I'IKK 8 OANTUNMENT. flecked with its own foam, and gave tliem tlio joyful intelligence that the British fleet had just surrendered. These glad tidings were greeted with three liearty cheers. At the same moment they ob- served the pursuers with their backs tum- ed, and making their way in haste toward the Saranac. Sir George Prevost, mIio al- ways played the coward when near dan- ger, according to British historians, had become terribly alarmed, ann recalled these vigorous and only successful troops. lie had experienced " the extreme morti- fication," he said, " to hear the shout of victory from the American works" when the fleet surrendered on the lake. They had been loud and mighty cheers, iterated and reiterated by corps after corps, as the eye and ear caught knowledge of the vic- tory ; and Sir George wisely saw, as he said, that " farther prosecution of the service was become impracticable." He had assumed the position of co-operator with the fleet rather than principal, leaving to Downie the brunt of the service, but ready to receive and wear the garlands of honor which might be won. Seeing the British flags humbled on all their ships, and their gun-boats fleeing, ho resolved to fall back toward the Canada border, and halt until he should ascertain the use the Americans intended to make of their naval ascendency just acquired on Lake Champlain.' It was a wise determination, Notwithstanding his number was overwhelming,^ Pre- vost was really in peril. He might have crushed Macomb and captured the post at Plattsburg, but it would have been at the expense of many lives without obtaining any permanent advantage. The British had lost the lake absolutely, and Avithout any fair promise of its i-ecovery; and the militia of all that region were thoroughly aroused, and were rapidly gathering. (Tovemor Chittenden, of Vermont, had issued a patriotic address at the beginning of the invasion, calling upon the militia of his state to hasten to the aid of their brethren across the lake. It had been heartily res- spcnded to, and at the close of the memorable day of the battle not less than twenty- five hundred Green Mountain boys were on the Saranac, under Major General Strong. The militia of Washington and Warren counties were also streaming toward Platts- burg at the call of General Mooers, and re-enforcements of regulars were on their waj'. Prevost's array would very soon have been equaled in numerical strength, and perhaps surrounded and supplies from Canada cut ofl". He perceived these dangers when the navy was lost, and the moment the forces under General Robinson returned to camp, he made preparations to abandon the siege, notwithstanding General Bris- bane offered to cross the Saranac in force and carry the American works in twenty minutes. The fire from his batteries were kept up until sunset, and Fort Brown, un- der the immed'ate command of Lieutenant Mountfort,' sent back responses with great commenced the Btndy of law. He settled in Plattsburg for Its practice, and in 1811 was appointed a Master in Chan- cery. He was the favorite aid of General Mooers, of whose division th' ' - Colonel David B. M'Neil was Inspector General. He was a member of Congress twelve consecutive years. He beca.ne u judge ; and in 1828 he was appolnttd Chancellor, then the highest Judicial office In the state. He held it twenty years. After he left office he resided at Sar- atoga Springs until his death late in 1807. He was long identified with Uie leading religious and benevolent movo- ments of his day. I Sir George Prevost to Bart Batbnrst, September 11, 1814. • The BritUh had 14,000 troops and the Americans 4700 on the eventftal day of the b&ttle. The former conplrted of Hobinson's brigade, 8700 ; Powers's, 3800 ; Brisbane's, SlOO ; light troops, 2800, composed of Menron's Swiss regiment, Canadian chasseurs, voltlgenre, and frontier light infantry ; a troop of light dragoons, 800 ; Royal Artillery, 400 ; rock- eteers, sappers and miners, 100. The AmfTiearM had 1600 regulars, commanded by leaden of various ranks; 2600 Vep mont Volunteers, under Major General Strong ; and 700 Clinton and Essex militia. > John Monntfort was born in Boston in November, 17iH), and was the son of a patriot of the Bevolntion. He en OF THE WAR OF 1812. 876 Upriiing of the Penplt. ; of the Hevolntton. He en Flight of the British from Plattaburg. Cause of their great Haste. They re-enter Canada. BtmiB OF roET nsowN.' spirit.* So excel- lent was the fir- ing that the Brit- ish believed that French artiller- ists were employ- ed by the Ameri- cunH. When night fell Prevost cftjisod his cannon to be withdrawn from the batteries. At nine o'clock in the evening he sent them Canada-ward, with all the baggage for which he could find transportation, and at two o'clock in the raoming of the 12th the entire army fled with a precipita- tion wholly unaccountable at the timc.^ The sick and wounded, and a vast amount of munitions of war, were left behuid ; and the foe reached Chazy, eight miles dis- tant, before the Americans were a])prised of the movement. Light troops, volun- teers, and militia, under General Mooers,* at once started in pursuit. They made a few prisoners, but heavy rains compelled them to relinquish the chase. Prevost halt- ed and encamped at Ohamplain, and on the 24th left the territory of the United States, and retired to Montreal with the main army. Thus ended the Battle op Platts- BUKG and the second invasion of New York. Many of the British deserted, and the loss of Sir George after he crossed the frontier line, in killed, wounded, missing, and tered the army as second lieutenant of the Third Artillery In March, 1S12, and was promoted to first llentenant In May, 1S13. This was won by his gallantry at York, where, In consc- qnence of the absence of his superior officer, he commanded his company. He assisted In the capture of Fort George. After that he and his company acted as marines In Chauncey's fleet, volunteering for the service. He accompanied Wilkinson down the St. Lawrence, and be- haved so gallantly at Plattsburg thot he won the promotion to captain. He was major of ar- tillery in the Florida War, under Geuernl (Jaines, and afterward was the commander of sev- eral forts In succession. He left the army in 1S38, and iu 1861, just as he was about to leave for Europe with his family, he died. His death occurred on the 22d of October. While I was in Boston in the autumn of 1800, his brother, George Monntfort, Esq., showed me a gunner's quadrant, still smeared with gunpowder and blood, which the gallant officer took from un- der the slain soldiers In one of the British redoubts at Plattsburg. The engraving is a rcprc- MUtative of it. It Is a graduated quadrant of six-inch radius, attached to a rule a little more than twenty-three Inches in length, and all made of brass. It has a plumb-line and bob. The quadrant is applied either by the longer branch to the face of the piece, or this branch is run Into the bore parallel with the axis. It was in the original oaken case in which it vcub car- ried by the gunners of the Royal Artillery. Mountfort wok always coul. A fellow-soldier (Itobert Keith, of Boston), in a communica- tion before me, has related an example. During the battle, he says, he saw a small bomb- shell fall at the feet of the gallant lientenant,'when he caught it, threw it over the parapet, and said, "Don't be alarmed, boys, it is nothing but a humbug." ' Dariug the hostilities at Plattsburg, fh)m the 0th until the evening of the 11th, scarcely a building in the village escaped injury of some sort. Many houses were completely riddled. Nine dwellings, thirteen stores and shops, and the court-house and jail, were burned. Some of these were destroyed when the enemy were burned out by Brooks's hot shot, as mentioned on page 803. » These monnds are on the banks of the Saranac. Plattsburg is seen In the distance across the river. » The late Reverend Eleaier Williams (see page 3T7), who was in the military service of the United States at Platts- burg as commonder of the Secret Corps of Observation, Informed me that Sir George, naturally timid, was intensely alarmed by a clever trick arranged by Williams. Colonel Fassett, of Vermont, came over from Burlington on Friday Ware the battle, and assured Macomb that the Vermont militia would cross the lake to old him in spite of Governor Chittenden. Williams suggested to the general after Fassett left that a letter from that officer, declaring that a heavy body of the militia were about to cross the lake, sent so as to fall into the hands of Prevost, would have a salnlary ef- fect. Mncomb directed Williams to carry out the plan. He went over to Burlington, and received from Fassett a let- ter to Macomb, in which he said that Chittenden was marching with ten thousand men for St. Albans ; that five thou- sand more were marciiing ft'om St. Lawrence County ; and that four thousand from Washington County were in mo- tion. This letter was placed in the hands of n shrewd Irish woman on Cumberland Head, who took it to Prevost. The alarmed baronet immediately ordered the flight spoken of in the text, and at a little past midnight his whole army was on the wing. The trick played npon Hull at Detroit (see note 1, page 286) was repeated upon Prevost with equal success. « Benjamin Mooers was a soldier of the Revolution. He was bom in Haverhill, Massachusetts, In 1701, and entered the military service in 17T6, at the age of fifteen years. He was commissioned first an ensign, and then first lieutenant, and was an active officer during all the later years of the Revolution. When summoned to the field in 1814 he was fif- ty-six years of age, and living in quietude on the borders of Plattsburg Bay. He obeyed the summons with alacrity, and peiformed his duties nobly. He died at his residence on Cumberland Head on the J8th of February, 1888, at the \ I iili v PICTOKIAL FlELD-nOOK Public OlDoer given tu Macdonough. Bong, " Hiege of Platti'l)um.' deserters, did not fall much short of two thousand, according to careful ostimateg made at the time. The American loss was less than one hundred and fifty. Only one commissioned officer, Lieutenant George W. Kunk, was mortally wounded. He died the next day. The events on land and water at Plattsburg on the 11th of September, 1814, pro- duced a thrill of intense joy throughout the country, and with delight the people read the stirring General Orders in which, on the 14th of September, Macomb an- nounced the result to his little army." Spontaneous honors and praises were given by the people to him and Macdonough conjointly.'* Bonfires and illuminations blazed in almost every city and village in the land, and the recent disaster at the national capital was almost unthought of for the moment. Legislative resolves, artillery, ora- tory, and song' were pressed into the service of rendering homage to the two herocg and their men. The newspapers teemed with eulogies, and at all public gatherings and entertainments their names and deeds were mentioned with applause. Governor age of eeveuty-seTen years. HU remains are in tlic Plattsburg burying-gronnd ; and at tlic head of the grave, near the entrance to the cemetery, is a handsomely-wronght commemura- tlve slab of marble with the following inscription : " In memory of General Bknjamin Moo- XES, who died February 28, 1888, aged seventy-seven years. He served as lieutenant auil iidjn. tant in the Revolutionary War. lie commanded the militia at the battle of Plattsburg, Sep- tember 11, 18U. lie was the first settlor In this county, and for thirty years county trcnBurer. He repeatedly represented this scctlou of country in the Assembly and Senate of the Stale, and discharged the important duties which devolved upon him as a citizen, as a soldier, and B Christian, with fidelity to his country and integrity to his Qod." ' After alluding to the designs of Prevost, he said " he brought with him a powerful army and flotilla— an army amounting to fourteen thousand men, completely equipped, and accom- panied by a numerous train of artillery, and all the engines of war— men who had conqnered in France, Spain, Portugal, the Indies, and in various other parts of the globe, and led by the most experienced generals of the British ormy. A flotilla, also superior to ours in vessels, men, and guns, had determined at once to crush us both by land and water." He then spoke of the boastings of the governor general, and his attempts to seduce the Americans from llicir allegiance, and then gave a concise history of the battle and the precipitate flight of (he enemy. ' A few days after the battle, the citizens of Plattsburg, who had re- turned to their homes, resolved. In public meeting, to give a public dinner to Commodore Macdon- ough. A committee, of which Hen- ry De Lord was chairman, waited upon the hero on board his ship with an invitation. It was accepted, and on Tuesday, the 28d Instant, at three o'clock P.M., the commodore, with Generals Macomb and Mooers, and other officers of the army and navy, who were Invited guests, and a number of citizens, sat down to a bountiful din- ner at the United States Hotel, kept by Thomas Green, and yet standing in lS6n, between the stone mill and the bridge over the Saranac, In Plattsburg. General Macomb's band furnish- ed the music on the occasion. Peter Sailley, Esq., presided. Seventeen regular toasts were drank. The distinguished guests, as they retired, were toasted , and one was given in respectful silence to "The memory of Commodore Downie, our brave enemy." The fallen brave ofMacdonough's fleet were also remembered in the regular toasts. " Much credit," says a writer who was present, "Is due to Hr. Green for the excellent dinner which he provided for the occasion, it being generally conceded to be the best that was ever given in Plattsburg." A f^iU report of the proceedings was published In a band-bill, a copy of which Is before me. This Is a view of the United States Hotel at Plattsburg as it appeared In 1814. The clap-boards on the visible gable exhibited the perforations of bullets flrom British muskets on the left bank of the Saranac when I saw it in 1860. On the right is seen Plattsburg Bay, and Cumberland Head in the distance. 5 The victories of Macdonough and Macomb were the subject of one of the most popular songs written and snng dur- ing the war. It was written by Mioajah Hawkins for the proprietor of a theatre In Albany, arfd snng by him lu the character of a negro sailor. Qovemor Tompkins was present when U was first snng. Hawkins gained great npplaase and a prize by his performance. He was afterward a grocer In Catharine Street, New York. The following is a copr of th6 IkmouB ballad : SIEGE OF PLATTSBURG. Tnne—Boyne Water. " Backside Albany stan' Lake Champlatn, On Lake Champlain Uncle Sam set he boat. Little pond half full o' water : An' Mossa Macdonough he sail 'em ; Plat-te-bnrg dar too, close 'pen de main ; While Glneral Macomb make Plat-te-bnrg he home Town small— he grow bigger, do', herearter. Wid de army, whose conrage nebber fail 'em. UNITED STATES UOTEL. I'li (!' ,ng, "Blegc of PUttrburg.* OF THE WAU OF 18 12. 877 Booora to OanerBl Macomb. Biographical Sketch of blm. Uli MoDDmant Tompkins, in the name of the State of Now York, i)reHentod General Macomb with a gupcrb sword. Do Witt Clinton, Mayor of New York, presented him, in the name of the Corporation, the " freedom of the city" in a gold box similar in character to the one given to General Brown ;' and he was requested by the same body to sit for his iwrtniit, to bo placed in the gallery of distinguished men. Congress gave him the thanks of the nation, and voted him a gold medal.^ lie was commissioned by the President major general by brevet. When he returned to his family at Belleville, Xcw Jersey, the village was illuminated, and he was received with the most gratify- ing tokens of respect. " Never, on the return of any hero to the peaceful bosom of his family," said the New York Eoening Post, an opjjosition paper, " was evinced so universal a sense of sincere joy and heartfelt satisfaction." fATES UOTEL. "On 'Icbenth day Sep-tem-bor, In eighteen hun'rcd and funrteen, Qubbernor Proboeo and be British eoj-er Come to Plat-te-burg a tea-party courtin' s An' he boat come too, arter Uncle 8am boat. Massa 'Donougb, ho look sharp out do winder; Den Qlneral Macomb (ah I bo always a-homo) Cotch flre too, sirs, like a tinder. "Bam; ! bang I bang ! den de cannons 'gin to roar, In Plat-te-burg and all 'bout dat quarter ; Gubbernor Proboee try he ban' 'pon do shore, While he boat take be luck 'pon de water ; Bnt Massa Macdonongh knock he boat In he bead, lirciik he bciirt, break ho shin, 'tovo be caff In, An' Oinoral Macomb start olo Probose home— To't me soul den I muss die a lafUn'. "Probose scare so ho Icf all boblne. Powder, ball, cannon, tea-pot, an' kittle ; Some say he cotch a cole— trouble In he mine 'Cause he eat so much raw an' cole vittle. Undo Sara berry sorry, to be sure, for he pain, Wish ho nuss hosolf up well an' hearty, For Oinoral Macomb and Massa 'Donough home When he notion for anudder tea-party 1" 1 See page «1T. < A repreuentatlon of this medal Is given on the next page. On one side is a bust of Macomb In profile, with his name and title. On the reverse a battle on laud. In sight of a large town, troops crossing a bridge, and war-vessels lighting on a lake. Above this scene are the words " bebolctiom or oonqbess, mov. 8, 1814." The exergue—" battlk or riATTBHtnto, sept. 11, 1814." Alexander Macomb was the son of a fnr merchant of Detroit, who married one of the highly respectable family of Nn- varre. Their son was bom In Detroit on the 3d of April, 1782. Ho became a resident of Now York In Infancy, and was educated In New Jersey. He was a member of the " New York Rangers," a volunteer corps raised lu 1779, when war with France was expected. Gonerol North, of the Revolution, placed him on his staff. lie became permanently at- tached to the army as a dragoon, and was very useful, lie was with Wilkinson In the Southwest, and, being after- ward attached to a corps of engineers as first lieutenant, be was sent to West Point, where he compiled a treatise oti martial law. He became captain In 180B, and was ordered to superintend the erection of fortliicatlone on the frontiers. He was promoted to m^Jor in 1808, and when the war commenced in 1812 he was placed In command o(an artillery corps. We hove already mot blm sev- eral limes in the course of this narrative of the war. His crowning achievement was at Plattsbnrg. After llie war he was stationed nt Detroit. He was made cliief engineer in 1821, and removed to Washington. He remained In that bareau until 1836, when, on the death of General Jacob Brown, he was promoted to general - In - chief of the army of the United States. He (lied at Washington City on the 26th of June, 1541, aged flfty-nlne years. He was burled with mil- itary honors in the Congressional Bnrying-ground at Washington, and over his grave now stands a Iwaotiful white marble monnment bearing the fol- lowing inscriptions : Wnt Si'rfe.— "Alexakpeb Maoohb, Mi^or General Commandlng-in-chief United States Army. Died at Wasliiugton, the seat of government, SSth June, 1*»1." fiwf Side.—" It were but small tribute to his mem- ory to say that. In youth and manhood, he served his conutry In the profession in which be died, during a period of more than forty years, without stain or blemish upon his escutcheon." Smih Side.— "The honors conferred on him by President Madison, received on the field of victory for distinguished and gallant conduct in defeating tbe enemy at Plattsbnrg, and the thanks of Congress, bestowed with a medal commemorative of this tri- umph of the arms of tbe Republic, attest tbe high estimate of bis gallantry and meritorions services." On the west side, over his name, is an olive wreath ; on the Bonth side an hour-glass with wings, and a scythe; on the east side a simple cross, and on tbe north side a serpent and butterfly. In tbe above sketch, the little monument to Commodore Patterson Ik eeen in an iron ratling. Over one comer of it, in tbe distance, is seen William Wirt's monument, and between it and Macomb's is neeu that of Commodore Cbanocey. HAOOMBS MO.NDIIBifT. •iliin* i«:»iMiil Macdonoiigh, too, was nobly honored. The State of Now York pave him two thou- sand acres of land. The State of Vermont purc'.ascd two hundred acres on Ciiinbcr- land Head and presented it to him. It was on the borders of Cumberland, or Platts- burg Hay, and the farm-house upon it overlooked the scene of his gallant exploits. The cities of New York and Albany each gave the hero a valuable lot of land. 'Thus," said Macdonough to a friend, while team stood in his eyes, "in one month, from a poor lieutenant I became a rich man." Congress gave him the thanks of thy nation, and with his brave commanders, Henley and Cassin, voted him a gold medal, with suitable devices and inscriptions.' MAOnONOrOU'B MEDAT.. ' See page 808. The above Ih a representation of the medal given to Macdonongli. On one side is a bust of Ibe hero in profile, with the legend " tuo. maoikinouqu, btaqno onAMPt.AiN oi.as. rko. nair. bitpebavit." The reverse beare the eame device and inscriptions as those of Henley and Cassin, given on page 808. Thomas Macdonough was bom in the connty of New Castle, Delaware, on the 23d of December, 1T8S. His father was a physician, and a major in the Continental array. Thomas entered the navy as midshipman In 171)8. He was with Decatur In the Mediterranean, where he behaved with great gallantry, especially In the affair of the Philadflphia. S« page 120. His spirit was shown in the harbor of Qlbraltar on one occasion. He was then first lieutenant of the Sim. Near her lay an American merchant brig. A boat from a British man-of-war went alongside of her, and its crew seiiwl a seaman who was claimed as a British subject. Macdonough saw it. His commander was absent. He instanllj armed and m- aned his gig and gave chase. Ho overhauled the boat under the guns of the British frigate, released hini, and took him back to the merchant vessel. The British captain, in great rage, appeared on the Siren, and inqnlrcd o! Macdonough how he dared to take a man fi-om his boat. " He was under the protection of my country's flag, anil il was my duty," was the reply. With warm oaths the captain swore he would lay his fUgate alongside ind sink the Siren. "While she swims yon shall not have the man !" said Macdonough. "You'll repent of your rashness, yooni! man," rejoined the Englishman. " Sappoee I had been in that boat, would yon have dared to commit such an actf" V OF THE WAR OF 161S. 879 k|!' nitreM to the Commandtn. rk gave him two thou- clri'd acres on Cuinljcr- Cumbcrlaml, or I'latts- of his gallant exploits. I, valuable lot of land, is eycB, " in one month, • him the thanks of the oted him a gold medal, bh On one side is a bust of Ite ..BUPBBAViT." The reverse bew Jf December, 1T88. His father w« L affair of the />MWP*-«J« Ithen first lieutenant of the S.r«. lngBiaeofher,anaUBCrewfel«fa Inder was absent. He in, «nt^ I the British Wgate, re easeflWm, |redontheS Named from Jacques House, a French Canadian, who settled there In 1T88. • Boe page m. * See engraving on page 86T. ♦ Champlain is a lively post-village of less than two thousand inhab- itants, on the Chazy River, or Creek, and contains fine water pdwer. It is the southern tcrminns of the Northern Railroad from Ogdenaburi:, Mid from it most of the lumber brongbt down on that road ' . Khlppeil OF THE WAR OF 1812. 881 Oraves of slain Offlcera. fork, and points of have already men- Lting La Colic Mill, vent to Chami)lain, ailed over the place I of the railway sta- ,e of Izard's encarap- n the brow of a lull, \e mansion of Judge eft for Plattsburg i^ graan of Champlain,* ,tb the whole region, Ride tbruagb Beekmautown and over Calver's Hill. The Seat of War in Northern New York. Just before reaching it, [ho gave ub some of bis \ Vermont militia were rode on to Sampson's, Lam showB the position of escti h follows: 1. Commodore Do«- Is Lieutenant WllllnmGunn; 4. rAlexantier Anderson, of the Ma- lhe6ewereoftheDritW.>»vy, llshArmy. T. Pilot Joseph B«- ■Lieutenant John Stanslmry:. lidshipman James M B.ldw . l2. Lieutenant George W. Rmt Ivmington; U. LicutenanlJota I, the pine-trees. Icleve for the diagram. H ■«» Ited the grave of Licntcnsnt R. 1g near No. 12 in the dlmrrani. fuch Canadian, who settle.. here ■ • See page '»«• Lf less than two thonsandlahiV 1 and conUins fine water p»«" Ihern Railroad from Ogto'urc. V down on that road .»lilppeU • 1814. and southward of the tavern, the place of the British encamp- ment from the 5th to the 6th of Septem- ber* was point- ed out to us, on the farm of Mr. Phelps. We soon aflerward tui-ned westward to- ward Beokmantown,^ and in that little vil- lage, and upon Cul- ver's Hill southward of it, we spent about two hours. I sketch- ed the house of Ira Ilowe^ in the upper part of the viiiago; and in the delightful shadow of grand old elms, which wore flour- ishing trees in the time of the war, I made the sketch on the preced- ing page, on the left of which is seen the stone meeting-house, built by the Method- ists in 1830, and in the distance tlie road pass- ing over Culver's Hill, on which Wool fought his second battle with the invaders ' See sketch of the honse on page 8151). < Named In bouor of William Beeknian, to whom, with tweuty-nlue others, the township waa granted in the spring of 17W. ' Sec page 862. SK ' September, on the morning of the 6th.* A little south of the church (at a spot indi- 1814. cated by the two figures), we were shown a spring, by the side of the road, near which Colonel Willington was buried ; and directly in front of Francis Culver's house, on Culver's Hill, a flat rock was pointed out as the spot where Wil- lington fell' It is said that the stains of his blood were upon it a long time. There too, we saw the moss-covered stone fen'"o, built before the war, which formed an ad- mirable shelter for the American militia during the fight on the hill.^ Plattsburg was now eight miles distant, and the long summer day was passin" away. We rode on, Avithout stopping, by Ilalsey's Corners, where Leonard made a stand with his cannon,^ and at near sunset entered Plattsburg. I became the guest of a kinsman (Philander C. Moore), and pnssed a part of the evening profitably with P. S. Palmer, Esq., the historian of Lake Champlain. At an early hour the next morning, accompanied by my kinsman, I went out to visit the historical localities in and about Plattsburg; and just at twilight, after a day of incessant labor, we returned, having fully accomplished the object of my er- rand. We first rode up to the site of Pike's cantonment (where the British forced a passage of the Saranac), crossing the river at the upper bridge, and traversing a roiicli road most of the way for about two miles. The cantonment was on a low, narrow plain at the foot of rapids in the river, which are seen in the little sketch on page 874. We returned on the lake road by the United States military station, visiting the re- mains of Forts Moreau, Brown, and Scott, and sketching the old store-houses on the margin of the lake, which were erected ii: 1813 for the use of the Ameri- can troops. We rode back to the villatje, and, after skctchini' the stone null* and the United States Hotel," we crossed the Saranac, and made our wav along the lake shore road toward Cumberland Head. Soon after crossing Dead Creek Bridge over the sluggish stream, and among sand dunes drifted by southerly winds from the bay shore, wo passed ,^-vi: the site of Macdonough's farm- house,* on a rise of ground at the left of the road, a mile and a half from the light-house. The place of the cellar was marked by a luxuriant growth of weeds and bushes. Near there avo met a farmer on his way to Plattsburg, who, to our mutual surprise, proved to be Mr. J. J. Mosher, who was my scliool- master when I was a boy twelve years of age. It was an agree- able meeting. He turned back, accompanied us to various pla- ces of interest on the Head (where he has a farm), and en- HTORE-IIOD8ES. QENRHAL HOOKBS B BOUBI, OUMUKHLANn UKAI>. • Sec pnce 86?. « The old Culver manstnii, bnilt of wood, was on the site of the pretteut brick mansion of Samuel Andrew?, on ihf gQUthem (loi'J ofthe hill. 'Seepage 802. « See paije 364. 'Seepage 878. « Sec page SS. OF THE WAR OF 1812. 883 Islt to Cumberliiud Iloail, rcli (at a spot indi- by the side of the in front of Francis -10 spot where Wil- , long time. There, aiich formed an ad- liU.^ er day was passing ere Leonard made a I became tlie guest ning profitably witli sman, I went oiat to ,t at twilight, after a the object of my er- e the British forced a nd traversing a rougli was on a low, narrow Ic sketch on page 8(4. station, visiting tlic re- Forts Morcau, Brown, t, and sketching the oW ises on the margin of which were erected in the use of the Ameri- )ps. Wc rode back to ire", and, after sketching e mill* and the Uniteil lotel," we crossed the and made our way •or crossing Dead Creek cd by sontherly wuuis Besldencee of Mooers and Woolsey. Bemains of " Wilkinson's Folly." Mr. Piatt and hia Remintscencea. Lion of Samuel And-.on.V k page 8iO. W00L8KT UOCSE. tertained us with an excellent dinner and pleasant intercourse with his family. Taking the inner road to the light-house on tlie extreme point of the Head, we pass- ed the pleasantly situated old mansion of General Mooers (page 882), where he lived many years, and where he died. It over- looks the bay and the lake. We visited and sketched the light-house, and from its lofty gallery obtained a fine panoramic view of the entire theatre of the naval battle near.* Passing along the lake side of the Head, in full view of Grand Island and the Green Mountains, we came, at tlie distance of a mile from the light-house, to the residence of General Woolsey, father of the active commander on Lake Ontario. Near it was Colonel Durand's, the dep- uty collector (when this was the place of the Plattsburg port of entry), which was the custom-house ; and between Woolsey's and the light-house is the dwelling of Mr. Mosher. It Avas a tavern during the war, and in front of it was the landing-place of the troops brought over by Captain Ferris. When the British galleys were escaping down the lake, and were passing this tavern, several men were sitting on its porch. One of them called out to the fugitives in derision, when a British marine fired a mus- ket-ball at the group. It passed just over their heads, and through a door, whicli Mr. Moslier preserves as a memento of the incident. About three fourths of a mile from the light-house, on the farm of J. T. Ilagar, we saw the prominent remains of tlie ramparts and ditch of a large redoubt cast up by Hampton, and which received the name of " Wilkinson's Folly." It is about forty rods from the lake, on high ground, and on the shore in front of it was a water bat- tery. Its ramparts were of earth and stone. From its top we had a fine view of the surrounding country, and we lingered some timo in the sliadow of a tree that over- hung one of its bastions. The day was now far spent, and we turned back toward Plattsburg, where we arrived at dusk, well satisfied with our day's excursion. On the following morning I visited the venerable Isaac C. Piatt, then in his eight- ieth year, whose residence is on the Beekmantown road, not fitr from Ilalsoy's Cor- ners. He was living there at the time of the British invasion, and took his family over to Middlebury, in Vermont. On his return the skirmish liad occurred at Ilal- soy's Corners. He found his house in possession of the enemy, and used as a sort of hospital.^ He asked and obtained from General Brisbane protection for himself and his property. That ofiicer gave hira a general parole of honor to go where he j)lcased. When the British fled they left about forty liorscs in his fields, and tlicsc he consid- iTod a fair equivalent for hay and other property whicli they had appropriated to ilieir own use. The British behaved very honorably, ho said, generally paying for whatever they procured from the inhabitants. During a delightful interview of an limir with the liumorous octogenarian, he related many stirring incidents of the iiiva- ■iii, which limited space will not allow me to record. He still [1867] lives ui the iiij')ymefit of good health. Leaving Mr. Plijtt's, wc passed a huge old butternut-tree between his house and llilsey's Corners, its trnnk terribly scarred by the passage of one of Leonard's can- 1 ii-halls completely through it. It stands as a memento of the affair at that point. (We passed on to the burial-ground, and visited and sketched the freestone memorials Icf Downie and the slain, already mentioned ; of Colonel Melancthon Smith ; and of > See page STO. . > See page SOS. tfitil ill!! 884 PICTORIAL FIELD-BOOK The Orave of Hiss Davidson. A Shot In Macomb's Ilead-qoarters. Chauucey kept from active Service. General Benjamin Mooers.' Tliere, too, I found the grave of the wonderfully preco- cious child-poet, Lucretia Maria Davidson, who was th j author of a volume entitled Amir Khan, and other Poems^ and yet she died I ./ore she was seventeen years of age. A neat white marble monument marks the resting-place of her remains, and bears those beautiful lines written by William Cullen Bryant on the occasion of her burial : " In the cold motst earth we laid her when the forest cast Its leaf, And we wept that one bo lovely should have a lot so brief; Yet not unmeet It was that one, like that young friend of ours. So gentle and so beautiful, should perish with the flowers." , In the course of the day I called on General A. C. Moore, whose fine mansion, not far from the old stone mill, was the head-quarters of General Macomb before the bat- tle. In the hall, near the foot of the staircase and protruding from the upper edge of the wains- coting, was a 24-pound iron ball, which British cannon hurled across the Saranac. It had come crashing through the house, and lodged there. With good taste and patriotic feeling, it had been left undisturbed. It was painted black and var- nished, and on it, in white letters, were the words September 11, 1814. Toward evening of the same day I embarked at Plattsburg in a steamer for Whitehall, and on the following evening I was at my home on tht Hudson. With the flight of Prevost and his army from Lake Champlain ended all military movements of importance on the Northern front- ier. Hostilities soon afterward ceased on the Niagara frontier, as we have observed; and during the entire season, Chauncey, one of the most vigilant and active of naval commanders, had been compelled by circumstances to remain almost inactive at Sack- ett's Harbor a greater part of the time. He was blockaded by a British squadron tmtil early in June, when the completion of the armament of the Superior made Sir James Yeo prudently withdraw his blockading vessels. And when the Mohawk, which was launched* in thirty-four working days after her keel was laid, was prepared for sea, and the movements on the Niagara frontier with vvhicli Chauncey was to co-operate had commenced, that commander was prostrated bv severe illness at the Harbor. His re-enforcements came tardily, while the enemy was increasing his strength in vessels, arms, and men. It was the last of July before the squadron was ready for sea. Meanwhile Chauncey had set in motion minor operations. Supplies for the Brit- ish were continually ascending the St. Lawrence in small boats. He resolved to at- tempt the capture of some of them, and sent Lieutenant (late Rear Admiral) Fran- cis H. Gregory,^ with Sailing-masters Vaughan and Dixon, in three gigs, for that pur- BALL IH MOORe'B UOUBE, FLATTBBITItO. > Jnne 11, 1814. ' About a rod north of General Moocrs's grave is that of Samuel Norcro^^s, who, with two other nnarmcd cillzeni. met three British soldiers on the retreat on the morning of the 12th, and slnmltanenusly sprang upon them and ffiui their guns. A desperate struggle ensued. His antagonist wrenched the gnu from Norcross, and with it shot him, kill- ing him almost instantly. This occurred not far from the place where hie ' This volume was published in 1S29, and contained a biographical skii i li of the author by Professor Samnel F. B, Morse. She was born in September, 1S08 ; was educated at Mrs. Willard's seminary in Troy, and died in August, ISS. She was very beautiful. ' l^runcis II. Gregory was born at Norwalk, Connccticnt, on the 9th of October, 1789. He entered the merchant «n- ice in 1S02, and the navy as a midshipman in 1809 in the Heveiuje, commanded by Lieutenant O. H. Perry. He was pro- 1 moted to acting master in 1811, and in the spring of 1812 he was placed under Chauncey's command on Lake Ontario. In tbit service he performed many gallant exploits as acting lieutenant, for his skill and bravery were so consplcnci' I that he was employed in the most dangerous and diOlcult service. In August, 1814, be was captured and sent to En- gland a prisoner of war, and was kept there until the close of the contest ; not in close confinement, but on wide parok j in Devonshire, where the " vivacious little Yankee" was a great favorite with the ladies, and graced many a festal o«i- j ►ion. In 18-25 Lieutenant Gregory commanded the Drandytoine when she conveyed Lafayette to this country; nndii OF THE WAR OF 1812. 885 cey kept from active Service. le wonderfully preco- of a volume entitled IS seventeen years of e of her remains, and )n the occasion of her af. s, hose fine mansion, not lacorab before the bat- ! foot of the staii-casp, pper edge of the waing- ron ball, which British Saranac. It had come )use, and lodged there, iotic feeling, it had been 1 painted black and var- 1 letters, were the words e same day I emhaiked er for Whitehall, and on was at my home on thi' svost and his army from e on the Northern front- ;r, as we have observed; ilant and active of naval almost inactive at Sack- , by a British squadron if the Superior made Sir .nd when the Mohmcl :cr her keel was laid, ^\ as ;ara frontier with whiili 'nder was prostrated by ily, while the enemy was c last of July before tk Supplies for the Biit- jats. He resolved to at- [ate Rear Admiral) Fran- three gigs, for that pur- I with two other nnarmcd citizens t„gly ".prang upon them amUfi'rf \orcroL,andwithitBhothira,Wl- 'a"t''hor'byProfe!..or Samuel F_B. iu Troy, and died in August, is- Isg He entered the merchant ot Inienant O.H.Perry. He«»»f">] tncey^ command on LalceOnUn.! I land bravery were 80 couspku.^ I4 he waa captured and .eut to EH i;e confinement, hut on «i This was the beloved Washington Irving, one of the purest of the planet- ary lights of American literature. Mr. Irving was at that time editor of the Amkctic Magazine, for "which he had'furnished some brilliant biographies of the heroes of the war. Natnrally peaceful and retiring, he felt no special am- bition to become a conspicuous actor ; yet his soul was full of patriotic flame. It was increased intensely by a circumstance which occurred on a Hudson River steam-boat late in August, 1814, when the news of the capture and de- Rtmction of the national capital was fliling all loyal men with sadness. His biographer thus relates the story : "It was night, and the passengers had be- ttlicn themselves to their settees to rest, when a person came on board at Ponghkeepsic with the news of the inglorious triumph, and proceeded, in the darkness of the cabin, to relate the particulars : the destruction of the Presi- dent's House, the Treasury, War, and Navy Ofliccs, the Capitol, the Depository of the National Library and Public Records. There was a momentary pause after the speaker had ceased, when some paltry spirit lifted his head from a rettee, and, in a tone of complacent disdain, 'wondered what yt'mnit/ Madison wonid say now ?' ' Sir,' said Mr. Irving, glad of an escape to his swelling in- dignation, 'do you seize on such a disaster only for a sneer? Let me tell you, sir, it is not now a question about Jimmy Madison or Johnny Armstrong. The pride and honor of the nation are wonndc' the country is insulted and . disgraced by this barbarous success, and every loyal citizen would feel the ig- nominy, and be earnest to avenge it.' ' I could not see the fellow," said Mr. Irving, but I let fly at him in the dark.' "—The Life and Letters of Wa»hingtim Irving, by his nephew, Pierre M. Irving, i., 311. The fellow was cowed into silence. He was a prototype of a small class which obtained the name of Cop- perheads during the late Civil War, to whom the loyal men of the nation ad- ministered a similar rebuke. Mr. Irving's feelings were so much stirred by the incident that, on his arrival In New York, he offered his services to Governor Tompkins as his aid. They were accepted, and he became his excellency's aid and secretary, with the rank nf colonel. His name first appears attached to n general order dated September 2, 1314. He remained on the govern- or's itaff until the close of the war, a few months afierward. rUAUKOEY 8 MO.WHENT. I , i 'i : ini - 1 888 PICTORIAL FIELD-BOOK A trjrlng Time for New Bngland. The Blucknde of New London . Commodore Lewli In Long Island Sound. CHAPTER XXXVm. "Then, warriors on shore, be brave, Tour wives and homes defend ; Those preclons boons be tme to save. And hearts and sinews bend. Ob, think upon your fathers' fame, For glory marked the way ; And this foe aimed the blow, Bnt victory crowned the day. Then emulate the deeds of yore, Let victory crown the day."— Old Somo. ^EW ENGLAND experienced very little actual war within its bor- ders, yet it felt its pressure heavily in the paralysis of its peculiar industries, the continual ^rain upon its wealth of men and money, and the wasting excitement caused by constantly impending men- aces and a sense of insecurity. From the spring of 1813 until the ■.„<^^ -y W close of the contest, British squadrons were hovering along its ^rw^ coasts, and, in connection with the Embargo Acts, were double- barring its sea-ports against commerce, and threatening the de- struction of its maritime cities and villages. The year 1814 was a specially trying one for New England. The British govern- ment, as we have observed, had determined and prepared, at the beginning of that year, to make the campaign a vigorous, sharp, and decisive one on land and sea. Hitherto the more northerly coasts of the United States had been very little molest- ed by the enemy excepting by threatenings, for Commodore Hardy's blockade of New London and its vicinity had been so mild that it was practically little more than a jailor's custody of two prisoners — Decatur's vessels — above that town. Now a sys- tem of petty invasions commenced, and were followed by more serious operations. The blockade of New London was kept up in 1814, and as early as April a party of British seamen and marines, in several small vessels (each armed with a 9 or 12 pounder), under the command of Lieutenant Coote, of the Royal Navy, went up the ■ April 8, Connecticut River in the evening, and at four o'clock the next morning" land- ^"*- ed on Pautopaug Point, seven miles from the Sound, spiked the heavy guns found there, and destroyed twenty-two vessels, valued at one hundred and sixty thou- sand dollars. At ten o'clock they went down the river two or three miles to Brock- way's Ferry, where they indulged in similar incendiary sport. In the mean time a body of militia, with some marines and sailors from Decatur's vessels in the Thames, under Captain Jones and Lieutenant Biddle, gathered on the shore and endeavored to cut off their retreat, but, under cover of darkness that night, and with the silence of muffled oars, they escaped. At about this time Commodore Lewis made his appearance in the Sound with thir- teen American gun-boats for the protection of the coast-trade against the Jjiverpool Packet privateer, which was cruising very mischievously all along the Connecticut shore. She fled eastward at Lewis's approach, and when he reached Saybrook he found more than fifty vessels there, afraid to weigh anchor for fear of this corsair. Lewis told them to follow his flotilla, and he would endeavor to convoy them safely to New London. The entire fleet sailed on the 25th,'' and during the after- ** ' noon Lewis had a shai-p engagement with a British frigate, sloop, and tender. \wn OF THE WAR OF 1812. 889 wis Id Long Island Sound, I war within its bor- alysis of its peculiar 1 of men and money, ntly impending men- ingof 1813 untilthe hovering along its ) Acts, were doublo- threateuing the de- The British goveni- he beginning of that ine on land and sea. :n very little molest- ilardy's blockade of ally little more than ,t town. Now a sys- lerious operations. ,rly as April a party Irmed with a 9 or 12 ,1 Navy, w ent up the next morning" land- iked the heavy guns |idred and sixty thou- ;hree miles to Brock- In the mean time a issels in the Thames, ore and endeavored and with the silence the Sound with thir- Lgainst the Liverpool long the Connecticut leached Saybrook he ' fear of this corsair, convoy them safely ind during the after- Ite, sloop, and tender. I«wis attnclu the Blockaders. Ampblbluns Warfare on tl.-e New England Coast. New Bedford and Fair Haven. The merchant fleet entered the Thames in safety, and Lewis, inspirited by his suc- cess, determined to attack the blockading squadron with his gun-boats. He began by hurling hot shot, which set the British vessels on fire. He soon disabled the sloop, which, with the frigate, had attacked him while convoying the coasting vessels. He 80 maimed the frigate that she was on the point of surrendering, when night set in and the fire of the gun-boats ceased. It was excessively dark, and at dawn Lewis saw the enemy in the far distance towing away the wounded vessel. He was about to pursue, when several other frigates made their appearance, and he prudently aban- doned the design. Early in Juno the enemy commenced depredations on the coasts of Massachusetts. On the 13th a detachment of two hundred men, in six barges, were sent from thi Su- perb and Mmrocl, then lying in Buzzard's Bay, to destroy the shipping at Wareham, a village at the head of the bay. The elevated rocky neck at the mouth of the Nar- rows concealed the approach of the barges, and the inhabitants were taken by sur- prise. The enemy fired a ship, brig, and several schooners and sloops. The ship was partially saved, and so also was a cotton factory, which was set on fire by a Congreve rocket. The estimated value of the loss was $40,000. Quite a number of. the lead- ing inhabitants were seized and carried away as hostages, so as to prevent the mili- tia from firing on the vessels. These were released when the ships arrived at their anchorage. Similar destruction was inflicted at Scituate and smaller places. Some- times the militia would meet the marauders and drive them away, but in most cases the blow would be struck before a foil could be raised to avert it. On the 16th of June the Bulwark, 74, Captain Milne, carrying about ninety gnns, anchored oflT the mouth of Saco River, in Maine, and her commander sent one hund- red and fifty armed men, in five larg" boats, to destroy property on the Neck belong- ing to Captain Thomas Cutts. That gentleman met them with a white flag, and pro- posed a money commutation. The matter was referred to Captain Milne, who soon afterward came ashore in his gig. He assured Cutts that he had positive orders to destroy, and could not spare. The torch was then applied, and two vessels ^one fin- ished, the other on the stocks), valued at $15,000, were destroyed, and another one taken away, which the owner afterward ransomed for $6000. They also plundered Mr. Cutts's store of goods to the amount of $2000.' At about the same time the Nimrod and La Hogue were blockading New Bedford and Fair Haven, little villages on each bank of the Acushnet River, an inlet from Buzzard's Bay, They lay in Tarpaulin Cove, watching vigilantly the privateer Yan- /tee, belonging to De Wolfe, of Bristol, Rhode Island, the great slave-merchant. This vessel, and all others of her class, wei-e unwelcome to the New Bedford people, who were Federalists, but right welcome to those of Fair Haven, who were Democrats — a difference of opinion which led to the separation of the two towns. The Fair Haven people cherished all privateers and other enemies of the British, and had, moreover, a fort on their Point, built in the time of the threatened war with France in 1798 on the site of a battery of the Revolution. It now had about a dozen iron cannon on its rampart.^:, and was guarded by a small garrison under Lieutenant Selleck Osbonie, the poet.'* Of course, the British blockaders did not like the Fair Haven folk, and one dark night they planned an attack on the fort and the destruction of the village. Every thing was ready long before daylight, and the Nimrod was to be the executor of the plan. Just then the tin horn of a solitary mail-carrier was heard, and the clat- ter of his horse's feet as ho galloped across the Acushnet bridge and causeway sound- ' History of Saco and Blddcford, by George Folsom, page 309. » Selleck Osborne was a native of Connectlcnt, and a printer by trade. He printed a paper in Lltchfleld abont the fesr 1806. He was afterward an editor in Wilmington, TA-laware. He was commissioned first lientennnt of light dr»- Boons in .Tuly, 1808, and made captain in 1811, His company was disbanded In May, 1814, and be was acting as lieuten- ut in garrison at Fair Haven. He went to Lake Chnmplnin, and was engaged in the battle of Plattsbnrg. In 1893 ho published a volume of poenu. He died in Philadelphia on the 1st of October, 1820, II t! 800 PICTORIAL FIELD-BOOK Baa-port Towns uf New England blockaded. Appearance of Hardj'i Squadron. The Britltih capture Eiutport cd loudly upon the night air. The honi was mistaken for the braying of a trumpet sounding an advance, and the rattle of hoofs was interpreted as the foi-erunner of the approach of a large American force. The Nimrod hastened ♦" "' didraw to a Hufi! distance from the fort, and New Bedford and Fair Haven were spared the notoriiiy of a battle. The fort and its iron cannon yet (1867) remain, monuments of the wis- dom of ample preparation for evil. Other places were mcaced, and some were attacked. Formidable squadrons were kept before New York, Now London, and Boston. Eastport and Castine fell into tiie hands of the British, and Stonington became the theatre of a most distressing bom- bardment. All along the eastern coast, from the Connecticut to the St. Croix, tlie enejny carried on this kind of warfare, in most cases marauding on private property in a manner which degraded the actors in the eyes of all honorable men to the level of mere freebooters. The more respectable portion of British writers condemned the policy, for it was damaging to the British interest. Hitherto lukewarm New En- gland now became intensely heated with indignation against the common enemy, and burned with a war-fever which made the peace party in that region exceedingly cir- cumspect. A more serious invasion of the New England coast now occurred. Early in July • July 6, Sir Thomas M. Hardy sailed secretly from Halifax* with a considerable force 1814. fjjp \an({ and sea service. His squadron consisted of the Ramillics, 74, his flag-ship ; the sloop Martin, brig Borer, the Bream, the bomb-ship Terror, and several transports with troops, under Colonel Thomas Pilkington. The sqnidron entered Passamaqnoddy Bay on the 11th, and anchored off Fort Sullivan at Euhtport,' which was then in command of Major Perley Putnam, of Salem,* with a garrison of fifty men and six pieces of artillery. The baronet demanded an instant surrender of the post, giving the commander only five minutes for consideration. Putnam promptly refused compliance, but, on account of the vehement importunities of the alarmed in- habitants, who were indisposed to resist, he yielded his own judgment, and gave up the post on condition that while the British should take possession of all public prop- erty, private property should be respected. When this agreement was signed, a thou- sand armed men, with women and children, a battalion of artillery, and fifty or sixty pieces of cannon, were landed on the main, and formal possession was taken of the fort, the town of Eastport, and all the islands and villages in and around Passama- qnoddy Bay. Declaration was made that these were in permanent possession of the British,^ and the inhabitants were called upon to take an oath of allegiance within seven days, or leave the territory.* Two thirds of them complied. The custom- house was opened under British officials ;' trade was resumed ; the fortifications around Eastport were completed, and sixty pieces of cannon were mounted ; and an arsenal was established. Several vessels, and goods valued at three hundred thou- sand dollars, accumulated there to be smuggled into the United States, were made prizes of by the British. The enemy held quiet possession of that region until the close of the war. Having established British rule at Eastport, and left eight hundred troops to hold ' Eastport Is on Moose Island, In Passamaqnoddy Bay, which the British claimed as belonging to New Brunswick nnder the treaty of 1TS3. » After the declaration of war in June, 1812, the United Slates kept a garrison at Fort Sullivan. At first there were two militia companies, from General Blake's brigade on the Penobscot, under the command of Major Ulmer. The United States afterward took possession, and snbstitnted regular troops for militia. In the autumn of 1813 Major Pal- nam was appointed to the command there. » It was declared that "the object of the British government was to obtain possession of the islands of Pnsunmnqnod- dy Bay, in consequence of their being considered within their boundary-line."— Letter fi-ora Lieutenant Colonel J. FItz- herbert to Oenorai Brewer, of the Washington County Militia, July 12, 1814. . « A " royal proclamation" to this effect wag made by Commodore Hardy on the 14th, In which notice was given that "all persons at present on the island are to appear before ne on Saturday next, at ton o'clock in the forenoon, on the ground near the school-house [at Eastport], to declare their intentions," etc. ; • They took all the public property from the custom-house, and vainly endeavored to compel the collector tr sign nn- flnlahed treasury notes of the value of $9000. He reftised, saying " hanging will b« no compnleion." mfiirt , OP THE WAH OF 1812. fiOl Brltlab capture Butport. Ired troops to hold nging to New Brunswick Tne BrltUb Hqnadron off PorUmoath. the conquered region, Hardy sailed west- ward with his squiulron, spreading alarm along the coast. I'reparations for his re- ception were made every where. Vigilant eyes were watching, and strong arms were waiting for the appearance of the foe at Portsmouth, where little Fort Sumner was manned. The energetic General Montgom- ery,' of New Hampshire, ordered every tenth man of his brigade to repair to Ports- mouth for its defense, and there he com- manded in person. Little F'ort Lilly, at Gloucester, was armed. Fort Pickering, near Salem, and Fort Sewall, at Marble- head, were strengthened and garrisoned. Fort Warren, on Governor's Island, and Fort Lidependenco, on Cawtie Island, in Boston Harbor, were put in readiness for action, and well garrisoned by Massachu- setts militia. An attack npon the important city ofBoston was con- fidently expected after intelligence was received of the bombardment of Vlgtlance of Qflneml Hont|;omei7. Alluik ov BoitoD ox|)«eted. • Angnst 9, 1814. VOUT FIOKERINO.' Stonington,* which we shall presently consider. It was the capital of New England, and the moral effect of its capture or destruction would be great. It was a place for the construction of American war-vessels, which the enemy feared more than armies. On this account its destruction was desirable. It was also a wealthy town, and offered a rich har\est for plunderers. It was well known, too, that it was almost defenseless, for it was not until the descent of the enemy upon Eastport, and his hostile operations elfiewhere, had aroused the authorities of Massa- • John Montgomery was bom in Massachnsfctt!! In 1769, and was a relative of General Montgomery who was killed at Qaebec. He became a spirited and snccessful n irchant, and when the War of 1812 broke out he had just cent a heavy consignment ofgoods abroad, which were totally lost to him. At that time he was a brigadier general of New Ilamp- »l)ire militia. He was a Federalist in politics, but when his country was in danger he gave the government his snpport. When Portsmouth was threatened by the British squadron, he took command in person at that place, and there he re- mained until the danger disappeared. General Montgomery married a daughter of General Henry Knox, of the Bevolntlon, by whom he had six children, nil danghters. He died at Haverhill, New Hampshire, on the 99tb of February, 1825, at the age of fifty-six years. I am indebted to his danghter, Mrs. Samuel Bachelder, cf Cambridge, for the above portrait. ' This view is from the slope back of the fort, looking seaward. On the extreme left, in the distance, is seen Beverly. A little to the right, Misery Island. Still Earther toward the right, Baker's Island light-boase. On the extreme right la Marblehead Point. h\ «» * lift' liii 1 802 PIC AL FIELD-BOOK AUrm tn Botlon. Preparattoni fur th« UnbDie or tb« City. Cltiuni at Wurk un FontflcBitoni, chusctts from their dreams of peace that any important preparations wore made to repel an attack.' Tlio people had seen tlie blockading squadrons from the topH of their houses, and trembled for the safety of the town, but it was not until the close of August that any energetic measures were taken by the leading men of the city •Augnitso, toward providing for its defense. Then' a public meeting was called to '"*• consider the matter; and a committee, consisting of Harrison Gray Otis, James Lloyd, Thomas II. Perkins, and others, were appointed to wait on the govern- or, and present to him an address on the defenseless state of the city. They assured him that the people were ready to co-opcrato in any way for the security of the cap- ital and the stato. Governor Strong, whose opposition to the war was intense, listened to this appeal, and at once instituted measures for the defense of the whole line of the coast of Mas- sachusetts and of the District of Maine, its dependent. The high ground on Noddle's Island (now East Boston), known as Camp Hill,^ was chosen for the site of a new and heavy fort, and it was resolved to place its erection under the supervision of Laoinmi Baldwin, a graduate of Harvard College, as engineer. He issued his first official no- tice on the 10th of September, when he asked for tools and volunteers to work on the fortification. The response was patriotic. Large numbers of the inhabitants might be seen, day after day, toiling like common laborers with pickaxe, spade, shov- el, and barrow. Every class of citizens was represented. " I remember," says an eye-witness, " tho venerable Rev. Dr. Lathrop, with the deacons and elders of his church, each shouldering his shovel and doing yeoman's service in digging, shovel- ing, and carrying sods in wheelbarrows."' The volunteers were soon numbered by hundreds. A regular system of employment was adopted, confusion was avoided, and the work went on rapidly.* The fort was completed at the close of October. On the 26th of that month it was formally named, in honor of Governor Strong, Fort Strong, Lieutep Governor Phillips ofliciating as the chief actor in the ceremonies. The flag was 1 ^ amid the roar of artillery from Noddle's Island, North Battery, and India Wh. , ...id on the 29th the Selectmen of Boston announced that " the im- portant post of Fort Strong was completed," to the great joy of the people.* Hap- pily, it was never needed.' A battery of heavy guns was placed on Dorchester Heights (South Boston), and other defenses were prepared on prominent points at Roxbury and Cambridge. When Commodore Haidy left Eastport he rejoined the blockading squadron off New London. He was not long inactive. He was charged with a part of the duty " 1814 ®"j<'i"^*l "1 ^^^ terrible order of Admiral Cochrane, to destroy the coast towns and ravage the country, and on the 9th of August** he appeared off the bor- ' The demonstrations near Saybrook and In Buzzard's Bay had caused some alarm In Boston early In the summer ; and on the Iflth of Jane the governor and conncll appointed the Honorable David Cobb, John Brooks, and Tlmotliy Pickering commissioners for the defense of the sea-coast. » On the crown of present Webster Street, East Boston, near Belmont Square. The fort was between the square and brow of tho hill, near tjo dwelling of Mr. Lamson In 1800. ' Funeral sermon at the burial of Dr. Lathrop, by his successor, T. -''erend Dr. Parkman. ♦ A superintendent was appointed, who entered in a register the i-ames of the inhabitants who offered their service). The laborers were classified, and particular days assigned for particnlar classes. The newspapers of that period were filled with accounts of the patriotic ardor of the people of all classes. Notices like the following appeared : " Twenty- five mechanics from each ward in this town will labor on the fortifications on Noddle's Island. This day (September 14) to embark tram the ferry ways at half past six o'clock."— Sen/ine!, September 14. " Dealers in dry goods and in hardware to meet the next Thursday (20th) to do a day's work on Fort Strong," the name which it had already been determined to give the new fortification. Other Industrial pursuits, trades, and professions, as well as military and civil organizations, were continually represented on the work. Citizens also came firom the Interior. The Bosuin Ga- utte of October 8 has the following paragraph : " Fort Strong progresses rapidly. On Saturday the citizens of Ooncoril and Lincoln, to the number of two hundred, performed labor on It; the punctuality of the patriotic husbandmen de- served the highest praise of their fellow-citizens of the metropolis. The volunteers from wards 1, 8, and 4, together with others, amounted yesterday to five hundred." » Sumner's History of East Boston, page 416. • Governor Strong had called an extraordinary session of the Legislature on the 6th of October, and in his short mes- sage to that body, after giving the General Government a blow, he said : " Bnt, though we may be convinced that the war in its commencement was unnecessary and unjust," etc., "and though, in a war thus commenced, we may have de- clined to afford our voluntary aid to offensive measures, yet I presume there will be no doubts of our rights to defend oar dwellings and possessions against any hostile attack by which tbelr destruction is menaced." OP THE WAR OF 18 13. 8M 'Mi' I Bt Wurk un Purllflcailoni. itions wore made to 118 from tho topH of s not until the done ing men of the city eeting was called to IlarriBoii (iray ()ti», wait on the goverii- city. They assured 3 security of tho cap- itcncd to this appeal, s of tho coast of Mas- 1 ground on Noddle's tho site of a new and ipervision of Laoinmi •d his first official no- )lunteers to work on rs of tho inhabitants pickaxe, spade, shov- remember," says an ns and elders of his !e in digging, shovel- re soon numbered by nfusion was avoided, the close of October. Jovernor Strong, Fort tor in the ceremonies. Bland, North Battery, lounced that " the ira- of the people.* Ilap- )laced on Dorchester prominent points at jkading squadron off ith a part of the duty lestroy the coast towns ajjpearcd off the bor- BoBton early in the eumraer; lb, John Brooks, and Timothy rt was between the square and intB who offered their servlcei. ewspapers of that period were [)Uowiug appeared : " Twenty- Island. This day (Septeral)cr " Dealers in dry goods and In imo which it had already been isions, as well as military and the interior. The Bmwn Go- iturday the citizens of Concord the patriotic husbandmen dc- ■om wards 1, 8, and 4, together tory of East Boston, page 416. October, and in his short me«- we may be convinced that the I commenced, we may have de- doubts of oar rights to defend lenaced." The Brlttih Hquadron off Htonlogton. Surrender of the Town demanded and refused. It Is bombarded. ongh of Stonington, in Connecticut, for that purpose, with tho Jiamillies, 74, Pactohta, 44, bomb-ship Terror, tho brig JJispatch, 22, and barges and launches. He anchored his little squadron within two miles of the town at four o'clock in the afternoon, a mile and a half being the nearest point to tho village which the depth of water would allow the flag-ship to approach. He then sent a Hug of truce ashore, bearing to tho selectmen of the town the following mcHsage, dated half past live o'clock P.M. : " Not wishing to destroy tho unoffending inhabitants residing in the town of Stonington, one hour is granted them from the receipt of this to remove out of tlu; town."' " Will a flag bo received from us in return V" inquired the magistrates of the bearer of Hardy's letter. " No arrangements can bo made," was the reply ; and in answer to a question whether it was tho commodore's intention to destroy the town, they were assured that it was, and that it would be done eftcctually. Satisfled that no accom- modation could bo effected, tho magistrates returned the following answer: "Wo shall defend tho place to the last extremity ; should it be destroyed, wo will perish in its ruins I" The inhabitants were now in a state of great consternation. Tho sick and infirm, the women and children — all who were incapable of bearing arms, left the village, and the most valuable articles were immediately removed or concealed. A few mi- litia under Lieutenant Hough were stationed on the point of tho narrow peninsula on which Stonington stands, to watch the enemy and give notice of his nearer approach ; a precaution adopted none too soon, for toward sunset they reported the Terror mov- ing nearer the town by warping, accompanied by barges and launches each carrying a carronade. At eight o'clock the bomb-ship commenced throwing shell from a 13 and a 15 inch mortar, and tho launches hurled rockets. This assault, grand in appear- ance but teri'ible in fact, was kept up until midnight, when it ceased, and it wa.s as- certained that no life had been lost, and no serious damage inflicted on the shore. In the mean time an express had been sent to General Cushing, the United States commander of the district, who regarded the movement as a feint to cover a real at- tack on Fort Griswold, at Groton, and an attempt to seize Decatur's frigates in the Thames above New London. He made corresponding arrangements with General Williams, tho commander of the militia of tho district. A regiment was ordered to Stonington ; another to the head of tho Mystic, to oppose tho landing of the enemy there ; a company of artillery and ono of infantry were sent to a point on the Thames above the frigates ; and another company of artillery and a regiment of infantry were ordered to re-enforce the garrison of Fort Trumbull, for the protection of New Lon- don. These prompt dispositions of troops disconcerted the enemy's movements to- ward the Thames, if he ever liad a design of making any. During the bombardment on the evening of the 9th, some bold spirits at Stoning- ton took measures for opposing tho landing of the enemy. The only ordnance in the place consisted of two 18, one 6, and one 4 pound cannon. They dragged the 6 and one 18 pounder down to the extreme point of the peninsula, cast up some breastworks, and placed them in battery there. The other 18-pounder was left in a slight battery on the southwest point, near where the present breakwater leaves the shore. By the streaming light of the rockets they watched the approach of the enemy, reserving their fire until the barges and a launch came in a line near the southeast point of the peninsula, when they opened upon them with serious eff"ect. The guns, loaded with solid balls, were double shotted, and these so shattered the enemy's vessels that the little flotilla retreated in confusion toward the larger warriors. From midnight until dawn quiet prevailed, and during that time considerable numbers of militia and vol- unteers assembled in the neighborhood. At daylight on the morning of the 10th the frigate Pactolus and brig Dispatch were seen making their way up nearer the town, and at the same time the barges and 1 This was received by two magistrates, and Ueutenant Hongh of the militia.. !ii« Hi III 1 8B« PICTOni/L FIELD-BOOK Borabnrdment of StoningtnD. Captain llolmes and his Oun. Hi8 Flag nailed to its Staff. a launch had approached the eastern side of the peninsula, out of reach of the battery, aud commenced throwing rockets. A number of volunteers, with muskets and tlie 4-pounder, immediately crossed the ptninsula to oppose an expected landing of the enemy, but they could eftect little. The Dispatch came beating up, the Terror hurled her shells, and the rocketeers of the barges were industrious. The Pactolus ground- ed too far distant to hurt or to be hurt, and she was not engaged in the fight that ensued. So severe was the bombardment of the Terror that the mi- litia and volunteers who had assembled dared not enter the town. Most of the missiles went over the borough, but some of them went crashing through the village. One of them, called a carcass,' unex- ploded, may still (1867) be seen on a granite post on the corner of Main and Harmony Streets, in Stonington. It weighs two hundred and fif- teen pounds.2 At about six o'clock in the morning some bold volunteers came over from Mystic, among whom was the now (1867) venerable Captain Jer- emiah Holmes, who had been a prisoner in a British war-ship some years before, and had learned the art of gunnery well. He and his OAROASB. companions made their way to the battery on the point, when Holmes took charge of the old 18-pounder. At uhat moment the Dispatch was making her last tack preparatory to anchoring. Holmes sighted the gun, which Avas double-shot- ted with solid round biills, and at a favorable moment gave the word to fire. Both shots struck the hull of the brig. She at once cast anchor, with springs on her cable, and opened fire Avith 24-pound shot. The Terror sent shells in quick succession, Avhile Holmes and his companions kept the old iron cannon busy. The fight was now fiiirly opened, and it continued briskly for about an hour, when Holmes's ammunition gave out, and the borough was searched in vain for more. At eight o'clock he ceased fir- ing; and to prevent the great guP; which they could not drag away, being turned upon the tOAvn by the enemy, he had it spiked. Stonington was now wholly defenseless, for the militia were )>t a respectful distance from danger. It was at the mercy of the invaders, and a timid citizen, who was at the battery, proposed a for- mal surrender by lowering the color that was floating- over their hoads. " No !" shouted Captain Holmes, indignantly, " that flag shall never come down while I .im alive !" And it did not, in submission to the foe. When the wind died away, and it hung drooping by the side of the staflf", the br.ave captain held out the flag on the point of a bayonet that the British might see it, and while in that position several shots passed through jt. To prevent its being struck by some coward, Holmes held a companion (J. Dean Gallup) upon his shoulders while the latter nailed it to the staff. It was completely riddled by the British balls fired at the battery. I saw it in Stonington in the autumn of 1800, and the above engraving is a correct sketch of its appearance. The old cannon was not long silent. Six kegs of powder, taken from the privateer Halka, and belonging to Thomas Swan, had been concealed by sea-weed behind a BTONINQTON FLAO. 1 Theaa carcasses were generally made of iron honpg, canvas, and cord, of oblong shape, and filled with corabneti- bies fi.t burning towns and ships. This one Is of cast-lrou, and was one of the missiles filled with fetid substances, and called " sttnk-pots." ' Their weight varied from sixteen to two hnndr'id ai. 1 tixt^en ponnds. One of the car-iasses was set on flre, and burned with a flame ten fpel in height and emitting a horrible stench. Some of the rockets were shu'p-pointed, others not, and all were made o hick sheet-iron, with a fuee. The rocket (which is still In use in modified foim) contniuR in Its cylindrical case a comijosition of nitre, cHtrcoal, and sniphnr. propori oncd so as to burn slower than gunpowder. The bead is either a so''d shot, shell, or spheiical case-shot. It has a guide-stick attached, like the common rocket in pjToto(!hnic displays. ai8 Flag nailed to Ita Staff. respectful distance Captain Holmes reopens Are an the Br E WAR OF 1812. 895 Deputation sent to Hard;. The Resnit. Tarting Shots. rock. Their hiding-place was revealed by a lad, and at about nine o'clock the pow- der was placed in care of Captain Holmes. The cannon was dragged by oxen to the blacksmith-shop of Mr. Cobb, the spiking taken out, and then it was drawn back again to the little redoubt and placed in position. To the astonishment of the Brit- ish, it reopened fire vigorously. The gun was always double-shotted, and so telling were its missiles that by noon the DisjMtch was so much injured that she slipped her cables and hauled off to a place of safety. The Terror kept throwing shells until night, but she was out of reach of the little battery. During the day quite a number of militia assembled at Stonington, and General Isham took chief command. Order was soon restored, and many of the inhabitants, somewhat reassured, came back to their homes. During the afternoon, a deputation, consisting of Colonel Williams and William Lord, went with a flag to the liamiUies as bearers of a note from the authorities of the borough (signed Amos Denison, bur- gess, and William Lord, magistrate), in which Hardy was informed that all unoffend- ing inhabitants had left the village, and asked what was to be the fate of the place. They gave him assurances that no torpedoes had been fitted out from that port, and that none should be in the future; and he agreed to cease hostilities and spare the town on condition that they should send on board the flag-ship, by eight o'clock the next morning, Mrs. Stewart, a resident of New London, and wife of James Stew- art, the late British consul at that place, who was then in the squadron. The depu- tation returned, and the Ramillies and Pactolus took station within cannon-shot of the village to await an answer. Hardy having threatened, in the event of noncompli- ance with his demand, to lay the village in ruins. At eight o'clock on the morning of the 11th, the authorities, under the direction of General Isham, sent a message to Commodore Hardy,' saying (what he already knew) that the borough of Stonington had no power to comply with the requisition. "I will wait till twelve o'clock to-day," said Hardy, " and if the lady shall not be on board my ship at that hour I shall renew the assault on the town." At three o'clock the Terror resumed the bombardment, and threw shells until even- ing. A suflicient military force had now arrived to prevent the landing of the ene- my, but they could do his shipping no hprm. The night of the 11th was an anxious one for the inhabitants of Stonington. There was an ominous quietude on the water. It was broken at runrise," when • Angast 12, the Terror opened her mortars again. The Ramillies and Pactolus warped ^®'^- up near the town, and at eight o'clock opened fire. At this time an order was given by General Isham for the cannon on the Point 10 be removed to the north end of the town, where it was supposed the enemy would attempt to land. About twenty of t'e Norwich artillery, under Lieutenant Lathrop, volunteered to perform that peril- ous service. They did ^:0 without the slightest accident. In the mean time the Ramillies and Pactolus had given three tremendous broad- sides with spiteful vigor, which proved to be a parting salute, and quite harmless. They then withdre'- . ^ut the Terror kept np a bombardment until past noon. At four o'c' ^ck the assailaits ..'n withdrew, and the little squadron anchored far away toward I'isher's Island.^ , During this whole series of assaults not a single life was lot One person was mortally wounded,^ and five or six slightly. Among the latter was Lieutenant 1 It was signed Isaac Williams, William Lord, Alexander G. Smith, magistrates ; John Smith, warden ; George Ilnb- liard, Amos Denison, burgesses. ' Perkins's History, rtr., nf the last War ; Reverend Frederick Denbon's paper on the linrnbarilment of Stonington, in Thf Miittie Pimter; On\ statements to me by Captain Jeremiah Holmes ; Report of General t•uAln^'. ' This was Frederick Denison, from Mystic Bridge, a highly-respected young man, nineteen years of age, who was in the battery with Captain Holmes. While ontside of tho battery relighting the match-rope with which to Are the old cannon, he was struck by a ball f-nm the Vispateh, which shattered his knea. He lingered In pain many weeks, and :heu died. Over hl« grave was placed a stone with the following inscription; "If thy country's freedom Is dear tc Ihoc, contemplate here congenial virtue. HU life was ihort, but Its eacilflce deserve;; a grateful reccllecliou. Uii li W^ * ifii* 896 PICTORIAL FIELD-BOOK THE OUUII UOOSE. Btlecti of the Bombardment ai StonlngtoD. The Numbers engaged in the Affair. The Imputeucy of the Attuck. Hough. About forty buildings were more or less in- jured, and two or three were nearly ruined. The rock- ets and shells set several of them on fire, but the flames were extinguished. Among the four houses then on tlit Point, only one remained unaltered when I visited the spot in 1860. This was known as tIie"Cobb House." It was ancient in form, covered on the sides with shin- gles instead of clap-boards, and presenting manj"^ a scar of wounds received during the bombardment. It stood on Water Street, not far from the site of the battery, and was owned in 1 814 by Elkanah Cobb. Of my visit at Stonington and in its vicinity in the autumn of 1860 I shall write presently. The repulse of the British at Stonington was one of the most gallant affairs of the war, and the spirit there shown by the few who conducted the defense caused Hardy and his commanders to avoid all farther attempts to capture or destroy Connecticut sea-port towns. The assailing squadron had about fifteen hundred men, while the number actually engaged in driviiig them away did not exceed twenty.' It was computed that the British hurled no less than fifty tons of metal on to the little pen- insula during the three days.^ The loss to the British was twenty lives, over lifty wounded, and the expenditure of ten thousand pounds sterling. The affair spread a feeling of joy throughout the whole country, and the result was a deep mortifica- tion of British pride. The impotence of the attack was the point of many a squib and epigram.^ Hardy's easy conquest at Eastport and its vicinity encouraged the British to at- tempt the seizure of the whoij country lying between Passamaquoddy Bay and the body moulders beneath this stone, but his spliit has fled to the seat of immor- tality. "There the brave youth, with love of virtue flrcd, Who gallantly in his country's cause expired, Shall know he conquered." In ISM the State of Connecticut caused a handsome marble monnment, eight- een feet in height, to be erected over his grave in the cemetery at Mystic, on which are the following inscriptions: Eastern Side: "Frederick Denison, died Nov. 1, 1814, aged 19. He was mor- tally wounded by a shot ffom the enemy's brig-of-war Dispatch while acting as a volunteer in the defense of Stonington against the attack of the British squad- ron, August 10, 1814." Northern Side: "Erected by the State of Connecticut, 1S56, that the deed of patriotic devotion may be handed down to other genera- tions, inspiring them with ridelity to our liberties, and prompting them to such sacriflces as shall win their country's meed." Southern Side: " His life was his legacy, and his country his hei'.'." The tablet with the earlier inscription was lying near this monnment. Young Denison w:is born in Stonington township .... the 2Tth of December, 1796. He heard the roar and saw the smoke of battle from Mystic on the morning of the 10th, and, borrowing a gnn, he crossed the r:ver in a canoe, stopped a moment to speak with his sick father at the homestead, and hastened to the post of danger, where he received his death-blow ' The followiig are the names which have been preserved of the most prominent of the defenders of Stoninpton : Jeremiah Ilolme,'", George Fellows, Simeon Haley, Amos Denison, J. Deane Gallnp, Isaac Miner, Isaac Denison, Uora- tio Williams, Jeremiah Haley, Asa Lee, William Lord, Nathaniel Clift, Ebenezer Denison, Frederick Denison, Pot- ter, John Miner. » About flflecn tons were picked up by the inhabitants «)f Stonington, and sold to the United States government. The following advertisement appeared in a New York paper on the 10th of November following : " Just receive!, and offered for sale, about three tons of BorNO snoT, conslBtlng of 6, 9, 1'2, 18, 24, and 32 pounds, very handsome, b^ing a mnall proportion which were fired from his Britannic majesty's ships on the unoffending iuhnbltants of Stonington in the recent brilliant attack on that place. Likewise a few carcases, in good order, weighing about 200 pounds each. Apply to S. Trumbull, 41 Peck Slip." ' The occasion was the theme of one c f the most popular ballads of the time, written by Philip Freneau, the bard of the Revolution, In which the Impotence of the attack was set forth In the following verses : " The bombardiirs, with bomb and ball. They dashed away— and, pray, what theu f Soon made a farmer's barrack ftill. That was not taking Stonington. And did a cow-house sadly mm] „ ^^g g^ells were thrown, the rockets flew. That stood a mile from Stonington. jj^j „ot „ ^hell of all they threw, " They killed a goose, they killed a hen, Thongh every house was full In view. Three hogs Ihcy wounded In a pen— Could bum a bouse In Stonington." nENlSON's MONUMENT. OP THE WAR OF 1812. 807 e Impoleucy of the Attack. 3re more or less in- ruined. The rock- I fire, but the flames r houses then on the when I visited tlie the " Cobb House." the sides with sliin- senting many a scar bardment. It stood site of the battery, Cobb. Of my visit in the autumn of gallant affairs of the efense caused Hardy destroy Connecticut dred men, while the ed twenty.' It was [ on to the little pen- enty lives, over fifty The affair spread a r&s a deep mortifica- oint of many a squib Ted the British to at- iquoddy Bay and the i, Brlti'b loud aud naval Expedition leaves Halifax. It appears off Caitioe, at the Month of the Penobreoi. Ieni8on'h munumeht. le 10th, and, borrowing a gm, Imestead, and hastened to the |the defenders of Stoniiipton ; Miner, Isaac Denison, Uora- , Frederick Denison, Pot- le United States government. llowing : 112, 18, 24, and 32 ponnds.very In the nnoffending inhabitants lod order, weighing about 2(« ly Philip Freneau, the bard ot nnd, pray, what then? Jing Stonington. vn, the rockets flevf, I they threw, Iwas full In view, lae In Stonington." Penobscot River. For this purpose a IJritish fleet, consisting of the Bulwark, jytagon, and Spencer, 74 guns each ; the frigates Bacchante (late from the Med- iterranean) and Tenedoa ; sloops-of-war ^\jll)h and Perwoian ; and schooner Pic- ton, with ten transports, sailed from Halifax on the 26th of August, 1814.> The latter bore almost four thousand troops, under the command of Lieuten- ant General Sir Jolin Cope Sherbrooke, jToveinor of Nova Scotia, assisted by Major General Gerard Gosselin and Col- onel Douglass. The fleet was in com- mand of Rear Admiral Edward Griflith. It was the intention of Sherbrooke and Griffith when they sailed to stop and take possession ofMachias; but on • August, t'^*' 30th* they learned from the i^i^' commander of the brig jRifle- nuxn, with whom they fell in, that the United States corvette John Adams, 24, Captain Morris, had gone up the Penobscot, so they hastened to the mouth of that riv- er to blockade her. Passing up the Green Island channel, they ar- rived in the fine harbor of Castine, oif Cape Bigaduce,^ on which the pleasant village of Castine now lies, on the morning of the 1st of September. I Jouteiuint T,i"wis, of ther»iited States Army, with about forty men, was occupying a half moon redoubt UAkr-MOON BEDOrilT.— FOBT POBTEB.' which the Americans had erected in ^ ^08. That redoubt, whose embankments were il Artillery; two rifle companies of the Tth battalion ofthe Sixtieth ixty-second, and Ninety-eighth Regiments— the whole divided into ' The troops consisted of the 1st compai Rejiraent; detachments from the Twcntj Iwn brigades. ' This Is a cormptlon and diminutive of Majahiipiaduiv, the Indian name ofthe peninsul.i, which the Baron Castlue, of whom I shall presently write, wrote Mnrch4-M^Uu», the u in the last syllable being pronounced long. It is on the east side of Penobscot Bay, in full view of the ocean. ' The engraving is a view of the remains ofthe Ilalf-moon Redoubt as it appeared when I visited the spot in the an- 'iimn of IRSn, looking soutliward. On the extreme left, in the distance, are Noddle's Island, Cape Rozler, aud Hook's Macd. Directly over the redoubt is ceen the ocean ; on tlie right, the main, with a porll(m ofthe Camden Mouutaine. K little to the right of the redoubt is seen a small beacon at the entrance to the March6-blg8duce, or Castine Creek. This redoubt was to command that entrance. .". L lli' ^^ r '' 1 1 PICTORIAL FIELD-BOOK Flight of Americans from Caatine. The John Adams up the Penobscot River. The British go np that Stream. very conspicuons on the edge of the water southward of the village when the writer was there in 1860, was armed with four 24-pounders and two field-pieces. Lieuten- ant Colonel Nichols, of the Royal Engineers, who had been sent in a small schooner to reconnoitre, sent a summons to Lewis, at sunrise, to surrender. Lewis saw that resistance would be vain, so he resolved to flee. He gave Nichols a volley from his 24-pounder8, then spiked them, blew up the redoubt, and, with the field-pieces, he and the garrison fled over the high peninsula to its neck, and escaped up the Penobscot. Colonel Douglass immediately landed from the fleet at the back of the peninsula with a detachment of lloyal Artillery and two companies of riflemen, and took quiet possession of Castine, and with it the control of Penobscot Bay. The number of troops landed was about six hundred. Governor Sherbrooke made the house of Judge Nelson his head-quarters, and the court-house and other suitable buildings were occupied as barracks for the soldiers. A number of women also Avere landed.' The John Adams had just arrived from a successful cruise, and on entering Penob- scot Bay in thick Aveather had struck a rock and received so much injury that it was found necessary to lay her down for repairs. She was taken as far out of harm's way as possible. It was with great difficulty that she was kept afloat until she reached Hampden, a few mil^c below Bangor, when she was moored au Crosby's Wharf, with several feet of water in her hold. Some of her crew were disabled by scurvy, and she was almost helpless. This condition and position oixXie Adams was made known to Sherbrooke on landing at Castine, and he and Griffith immediately detached a land and naval force to seize or destroy that vessel, and treat the inhabitants of the towns on the Penobscot as circumstances might seem to require. The expedition consisted of the Sylph and Peruvian, a small schooner as a tender, the transport brig Harmony, and nine launches, commanded by Captain Robert Barrio, of the Royal Navy (commander of the Drajon, 74), who acted as commodore. The land forces, seven hundred strong, were unde'' the command of Lieutenant Colonel Henry John, assisted by Major Riddle. The expedition sailed in the afternoon of the day of the • September 1, iirrival at Castine," and, passing Buckston at twilight, anchored for the 1S14. night in Marsh Bay. In the mean time Sherbrooke and Griffith had is- sued a join i; proclamation, assuring the inhabitants of their intention to take posses- sion of thf, country between the Penobscot and Passamaquoddy, and oflering them protectiori on condition of acquiescence. All persons taken in arms were to be pun- ished, ard those who should supply the -^ j ij>_ British with provisions should be paid and protected. There Avas no disposition among the in- habitants along the Penobscot to submit quietly unless absolutely compelled to. On the da/ when the expedition sailed up the river. Information of the fact was conveyed by express to Captain Morris, at Castine, and he at once sent word to Brigadier General John Blake, at his home in Brewer, opposite Bangor, asking him to call out the militia immediately. Blake mounted his horse, and late in the afternoon was at Bangor, issuing or- ders for the assembling of the brigade of ^^^^/^ ^exy^^^t^ PBNKBAI. UI.AKe'B BKSlSKNan. > On the l8t and 5th of S("i)tember Sheibrooke and Orlftltli Issi-od joint proclamations assuring the inhabitants nmjile protection and quietude iflliey should CDiiduct thcmsolvee peaceably. m OF THE WAR OF 1812. 809 M British go np that Stream. The ■fohn Adams at Hampden. Preparations there to oppose the British. Gathering of the Hilitia. I.akk'b nKfiiDKNo:;. I assuring the Inhabitants ami.le the tenth Massaclmsetts division, of which he Avas commander, and the same evening he rode down to Hampden. Tlicre he found Captain Morris engaged in preparations for defense. lie liad dismantled the Jo/m Adams, dragged her heavy guns to the summit of the liigh right bank of the Soadabscook, fifty rods from the wharf, and placed them in battery there, so as to command the river approaches from below. Oil the following morning Blake held a consultation with Morris, and citizens of Bangor and Hampden, on the best methods of defense, but opinions were so various that no specific determination was arrived at. Morris had not much confidence in the militia, and declined any immediate co-operation with them. He approved of a proposition to meet the foe at his landing-place, wherever that might be, and ex- pcssed his resolution to destroy the Adams should the militia retreat. On the morning of the 2d, Belfast, on the western side of Penobscot Bay, was taken possession of by General Gosselin, at the head of six hundred troops, without resist- ance ; and, at the same time, the expedition under Bavrie and John, after landing a detachment from the Sixtieth and Ninety-eighth llegimonts at Frankfort, at the head of Marsh Bay, proceeded up the river. The detachment marched up the western side of the Penobscot unmolested, and the iittle squadron arrived at Bald Hill Cove, near Hampton, at five o'clock in the evening. The troops and about eighty marines were landed, and bivouacked there during the night in the midst of a drenching rain- storm. During the 2d, about six hundred raw militia, who had never seen any thing more like war than their own annual parade, assembled at Hampden, and General Blake posted them in an admirable position on the brow of the hill, where the residence of ill'. James A. Swett was standing when I visited Hampden in 1800. He had been joined by Lieutenant Lewis and forty regulars who filed from Castine. The artillery company of Blake's brigade, commanded by Captain Hammond, was there with two brass s-jjounders ; and an iron 18-pound carronade from Morris's vessel was placed in battery in the highway near the meeting-house, in charge of Mr. Bent, of the artillery. Many of the militia were without weapons and ammunition, and these were supplied, lis far as possible, by Captain Morris. Such was Blake's position on the dark and gloomy mornhig of the 3d. Morris in the mean time had mounted nine short 18-pounders from the Adams upon his redoubt on the high bank over Crosby's Wharf, and placed the battery in charge obobuy's WUAKF. I of Lieutenant Wadsworth, the first of the Adams, assisted by Lieutenants Madison :in(l Purser. With the remainder of his guns he took position in person on the wharf with a'-out two hundred seamen and marines and twenty invalids, prepared to defend Ills crippled ship to the last extremity. ' This is a view of Crosby's Wharf from the month of the SondabBcnolc Crook, north side, looklns; sonth. The place where the Adavm lay is indicated by the vessel at the end of the wharf Hampden is seen in the distance over the wliarf Toward the right is Crosby's old storc-honse, and the cleared spot to the richt and above it Is the place where MorriK's battery was planted. It Is the property of the Honorable Unnnibnl Hamlin, late [18041 Vice-President of the I'nlied States. Another store-house, like the one seen in the picture, stood on the end of the wharf, and was barnt when the John Adam» was destroyed. 'M M: 900 PICTORIAL FIELD-BOOK The British arrive at Hampden. Panic and Flight of the Militia. The British march on Bangor. The whole region of the Penobscot was enveloped in a dense fog on the morning of the 3d. The British at BaUi Hill Cove had been joined by the detachment who landed at Frankfort, and at five o'clock all were in motion toward'IIampdcn. They movt 1 1 cautiously in the mist, with a vanguard of riflemen. On the flanks were de- tachments of marines and sailors, with a 6-pound caniion, a G^-inch howitzer, and a rocket apparatus. The British vessels moved slowly up the river at the same time within supporting distance. Blake had dispatched two flank companies to watch and annoy the approaching enemy. Between seven and eight o'clock they reported them crossing the little stream that divides Hampden Corners from Hampden, and ascending the hill to at- tack the Americans. The fog was so thick that no enemy could be seen, but Blako pointed his 18-pounder4n the direction of the foe, and with his field-pieces blazed away with considerable effect, as was afterward ascertained. He had resolved to re- serve his musket-firing until the enemy should be near enough to be seriously hurt, but the ordeal of waiting, AvitLout breastworks in front, was too severe for the un- tried militia. The enemy suddenly advanced at a " double-quick," firing volleys in rapid succession. The militia, panic-stricken, broke and fled in every direction, leav- ing Blake and his oflScers alone. Lieutenant Wadsworth, at Morris's upper battery, perceived the disaster in its full extent, and communicated the fact to his chief on the wl arf Morris knew the impending danger. His rear and flank were exposed, and he saw no other way for salvation than flight. He oi-dered Wadsworth to spike his guns, and with his men retreat across the bridge over the Soadabscook while it was yet open, for that stream was fordable only at low water, and the tide was ris- ing. Wadsworth did so, his rear gal- lantly covered by Lieutenant Watson with some marines. The John Adams was fired at the same time, the guns on the wharf were spiked, and the men under the immediate command of Mor- ris retreated across the Soadabscook bridge. Their commander was the last man to leave the wharf. Before he could reach the bridge the enemy were on the bank above him. He dashed across the stream, arm-pit deep, under a galling musket-firing from the Brit- ish, unhurt, and, joining his friends on the other side, retreated, with Blake, his officers, and a bare remnant of his command, to Bau'^or. From there Moi*- ris soon made his way to Portland over- land. The British took possession of Hamp- den without farther resistance, and a part of their force, about five liundred strong, with their vessels, pushed on toward Bangor. They met a flag of truce a mile from the town, with a mess^ige from the magisti-ates asking terms of capitulation. No other was ' Charles Morris was horn in Woodstock, Connecticut, on the 20th of Jnly, 1734. He was one of the most useful men In the American Navy. He entered the service as midshipman in July, 1799, and from that day until his death, a pe- riod of flfty-seven years, his furlonghg and ahscncea from active duty amounted only to two years. He was dlslln- guUhed io the Mediterranean durinj; the wars with the Barbar; powers; and as a volanteer with Decatnr in the de- le British march on Bangor. OF TUE WAR OF 1812. 901 pinnderiug at Baagor. Destraction of Veesels. Oatrages at Uumpden. Commodore MorriH. promised excepting respect for private property. They entered the village at about ter o'clock,* when Commodore Barrie gave notice that, if required, sup- plies should be cheerfully sent in, the inhabitants should be unharmed * *^ *"* " in persons and property. This assurance was scarcely uttered before Barrie gave tacit license to his sailors to plunder as much as they pleased ; and almost every store on the western side of the Kenduskeag Creek, which there enters the Penobscot, was robbed of all valuable property. Colonel John, on the contrary, did all in his power to protect the inhabitants. The British remained at Bangor thirty-one hours, during wbich time they were quartered on the inhabitants, and compelled them not only to bring in and surrender all their arms, military stores, and public property of every kind— ^even a few dollars in the post-office — but to report themselves prisoners of Avar for parole, with the agreement that they would not take up arms against the British. They compelled General Blake to come to Bangor, surrender himself as a prisoner, and sign the same parole. One hundred and ninety citizens were thus bound to keep themselves fron; hostilities. When this work was accomplished, the selectmen were required to give a bond, in the penal sum of $30,000, as a guaranty for the delivery of vessels on the stocks at Bangor to the commander at Castine by the end of October. The speedy appearance of peace canceled this bond. Having finished their work, and despoiled the inhabitants of property valued at $23,000, and destroyed several vessels,' the marauders left Bangor, and spent the 6th in similar employment at Hampden. There the soldiers and sailors, unrebuked by Barrie, performed scenes which had been enacted at Havre de Grace under the eye ofCockburn. They committed the most wanton acts of destruction. The village meeting-house (now the town-house — see engraving, next page) was desolated. They tore up the Bible and Psalm-books, and demolished the pulpit and pews. They de- stroyed cattle and hogs as at Havre de Grace. They carried away much private property, and compelled the selectmen to sign a bond for $12,000 as a guaranty for the delivery of vessels at Hampden to the commander at Castine.'' This bond sha>-ed stmctlon of the Philadelphia, he was the flrst on her deck. lie was a lieutenant when the War of 1812 hroke oat, nud was the executive officer of the Comtitution at the lime of her CBCapc from a British squadron (see page 439), and her capture of the Oueniere. In that action be was shot through the body by a mnsket-ball. He was promoted to post captain in September, 1813, for special cervices, and toolt command of the John Adamt floop-of-war. The following year, as we have seen in the text, he was compelled to destroy his vessel. The war closed soon afterward, and he was employed in im- portant services. lie was captain of the Brandi/ioine when she conveyed La Fayette back to France In 1825, ,i!!d ne afterward commanded squadrons on the Bra7.il and Mediterranean stations. His last cruise was in the DtUucare in 1S44, after which he was almost continually at the head of one of the bureaus in the Navy Depart- ment at Washington. At the time of his death, which occurred at Washington on the 27th of January, 1850, he was chief of the Bureau of Hydrography and Repairs. No man in the navy ever stood higlier in the estimation of his countrymen for wisdom and Integrity. He was liuried, with appropriate honors, upon a beautlftil wood- ed slope In Oak Hill Cemetery, near Georgetown, in the District of Columbia, and over his grave Is a beautiful white marble monument, delineated in the engraving, with this simple inscription on Its western side, under an anchor enwreathcd : "Com. Chahles Mobeis. Bobn JuLV 20, 1784. Died Jancarv 27, 1860." ■ The number of vessels burned was fourteen, and six were carried away. The entire property destroyed or carried away from Bangor was valued at $40,000.— Wil- liamson's History «/ Maine, il., 048, note '. commodohb morhib's .monumknt. ' HiMory of Aauiie, Penohiteot Hay and River, etc., by Joseph Whipple, 1S16 ; MS. HtHtury of tlie Briiinh Operations on lAe Pa.iA)»eot, by the late William D. Williamson, author of a Uintory of the Slate of Maine. i ! 1 i 1 mi il i^ the fate of the one given at Bangor. The total Iohs of property at Ilampilen, cxclu- siv of a valuabh' cargo of brandy, wino, oil, and silk whicli they found on hoard the schooner Commodore Decatur, was estimated at «44,000.> The indignant suft'ercrs ciiarged a greater portion of their misfortunes to the feeble resistance made by General lilakc at Hampden. His tardiness; his non-compliance with tlie wishes of Morris and others to attack the t.; emy at their landing-place; his neglect to throw up breastworks on the ridge at Hampden, and other evidence of inefficiency, Avere regarded as crimes ; and he was charged with cowardice, and even treason. The clamor against him was vehement for some time. He was hung, shot, and burned in effigy ;^ and for a while his per- sonal safety was not considered secure in some districts. The public indignation finally cooled, and sober judgment, on considering the crude materials of his little force, acquitted him of every other fault but a lack of competent military ability and experience for the extraordinary occasion. A court of inquiry investigated his con- duct, and acquitted him of censure or suspicion.* On the 12th of September Sherbrooke and Griffith, with most of the troops and a greater part of the fleet, left Penv)b8Cot Bay, and, after capturing Machias,* returned to Halifax. General Gerard Gosselin, a gentleman in manners and a brave so'dier, was left in command at Castine, and immediately prepared to maintain his position by thoroughly repairing the fortifications thei-e. Old Fort George, in the centre of the peninsula, which was built by the British in 1779,* was repaired, fraised, and > In the midst of the rapine a committee waited on Harrie, and told him that the people expected at his hand? thn common safeguards of humanilii, if nothing more, when the brntal officer rcplhul, " I have none for you. My buKiiiess is to burn, sink, and destroy. Yonr town Is taken by storm, and by the rules of war we ought botn to lay your vlllnt'e in ashes and put its inhabitants to the sword. But I will spare your lives, though I dou't mean to spare your huusca." — WilliamiKm'ii Hiatory iif Maine, ii., 046. » This Is a view of the old mecting-honse, now used as a town-honse, as it appeared In the antnmn of 1800. On tho left is seen the old hcnrsc-house, and in the distance is seen the dwelling of Mr. Swett, mentioned on page 8U9 as the position of General Blake when attacked by the British on the morning of the Sd of September. ' A small building was yet standing in Hampden when I was there in 1800, ,« .,^, _ in which the efflgy of General Blake was made. It was a cabinet-maker's shop, the property of George C. Reed, standing abont ninety rods from the town- house. In one corner of it I saw a post into which ft cannon-ball entered dur- ing the action, and was still lodged. In the shop was a rnde candelabra, used on the occasion of exhibiting the efflgy. That shop is one of the scarred relics of the fight, and is represented in the annexed engraving. ♦ Williamson's IlUtonj of Maine, ii., 049. » Machias is on the west branch of the Machlas River, and capital of Wash- ington County, Maine. At thfe time we are considering, the fort at that place was garrisoned by flftv United Stntes troops and ten militia, under the com- mand of C^aptain Leonai-d. When the British appeared, and it was evident that the fort could not be held, It was blown up. and the garrison retreated to the block-house near. They were forced to fly fiom that, and escaped. • In 1771), the British, under General Francis M'Lean, took possession of the peninsula of Bigaduce [see note 2, page 897], and commenced the erection of ft fort on the high central part of the land. The people of Massachusetts resolved to expel them, for they were on their territory, Maine being then a dependent of the Old Bay State. They sent a fleet of nineteen armed vesrels mid twenty-fonr transports, with almost four thousand men. Commodore Saltonstall was the naval commander, and Gen- eral Lovell led the troops. M'Lean was informed of this expedition four days before Us arrival In Penobscot Bay, and prepared to receive the Americans. They arrived on the 28th of July, and landed on the 28th. They at once com. menccd a siege of the fort, and continued it until the 1.1th of August, when Lovell was informed of the arrival of Sir George Collier with a heavy naval force. Tie immediately re-embarked his troops on the transports, and had the flo- tilla drawn up in crest .t form across thi I'cnobscot, to dispute the passage nntll the troops in the boats could flee np the river. Collier sailed boldly in, chased the Americans np the river, destroyed all their vessels, and compelled them to find their way home through the wilderness. The British then completed tiie fort, which they named George, in hon- or of the king. The Twenty-ninth British Regiment, that was at the taking of Castine, was the same that was stationed at Boston RERI> S BUOP. OF THE WAR OF 1812. 608 CsBtloe in Ihc Kevtilutton. of tho one givfii at The total Iohs of at IImiii)ilen,exclu- i valuable cargo of wine, oil, and silk hey found on board looner Commodore was esthnated at 1 indignant sufferers I a greater portion of ic at Ihunpden. His hers to attack the i.. orks on the ridge at 1 crimes ; and he wiis St him was vehement 1 for a while his per- he public indignation materials of his little It military ability and f investigated his con- )8t of the troops and a ing Machias,^ returned rs and a brave soUlier, ) maintain his position rcorgc, in the centre of s repaired, fraised, and [■■■lie expected at hli> hands the live none Tor you. My biiMiiesf e onRht botn to Iny your vl)l«|.'e n't mean to spare your houses." in the nntnmn of 1800. On the , mentioned on page 8i)9 as tbc pteuiber. Dew military Worki at Caatlne. An Oath of Allegiance exacted. Popularity of Qeuvrul OoiiBcUn. ill RESI>'8 8U0P. „ expel them, for they were on k of nineteen armed veps-els mid fthe naval commander, mid Gcii- Its arrival in Penobscot Bay, and hn the 28th. They at once com- lis informed of the arrival of Sir Ji the transports, and had theflo- Itroops in the boats conid flee np Their vessela, and compelled them yhich they named George, In hon- , that was stationed at Bojtoii UKMAINB OK roKT UE(IUhabitaiits be- tween the I'enobseot and the boundary-line of New IJruns- wicl above sixteen years of age, to take an oath of alle- uiaiicc to his majesty,^ and iiluo of neutrality. By the latter they agreed that they would peaceably and quietly demean and conduct themselves while in that territory ; that they Avould not carry arms, harbor lirit- isli deserters, nor give intelligence to the king's enemies during the current Avar.^ The select- men of different towns were authorized to administer these oaths of allegiance and neutrality ; and the permanent occupation of the country by the British was quietly accepted by the inhabitants as an inevitable necessity. General Gosselin m.-ide himself very popular at Castinc. The officers were quar- tered in private houses, and paid fairly for all they received from the inhabitants.* The soldiers were housed in the court-house and public school building. The barn of Mr. Hook, the collector of the port,* was converted into a theatre, and play-act- ors from Halifax afforded mucli amusement. Had these new-comers been friends in- stead of enemies, the inhabitants of Castine would have enjoyed their visit, notwith- standing the citizens suffered many inconveniences. It was not very long. Peace was proclaimed early in 1815, and on the 25th of April'' the British sailed out of Penobscot Bay.^ The event was celebrated by the people with festivities i\t the time of the " massacre" there In ITTO. The celebrated Sir John Moore, whose burial was the Buoject of Wolfe's immortal poem, commencing " Not a gnn was heard, nor a fnneral note," etc., was an ensign in this regiment, and, in a letter to a fi-lond, said that the first time he ever heard an enemy's gun was at Cnstlne on the occasion in question. He then commanded a picket. ' The following defensive works ganiishcd the peninsula at the close of the year : Fort George ; batteries Shcrbrooke, Gowelln, Penobscot, Grlfnth, Furlense, Castine, and United States ; a redoul)t called Fort Anne ; little batterlcB on North and West Points, and a block-house. Battery Cnptinc was old Fort Castine, now in the vlllnpe, and flattery United States was the hnlf-moon redoubt blown up by Lewis. It was originally called Fort Porter, it having been construct- ed by an officer of that name in ISOS. ' The following was the form of the oath of alleciance, copied from an original, in manuscript, before me : "I, A.B., do swear that I wHl be faithful, and bear true allegiance to his majesty King George the Third. So help me Ood." ' The seal and signatnre of General Gosselin above given I copied from Ills proclamation in manuscript. • See note 1, page 004. » Mr. Hook had the good fortune to escape fl-om Castine with the public papers before the British landed. • llittory of Aeadie, PenobHeot Ban ""li IH^fr, by .Toseph Whipple, 1810; //tViton/ of the State of Maiw, by William D. Wlllinms, In two volumes, 18ii2 : MS. Xarralive of the War in Maine, placed In the author's hands by the Hon. .Toseph Williamson, of Belfast ; Oral and written statements to the author by Dr. John Mason and the widow of the Rev. WII- » 1816. MBMINTO OP TUB BBITIBO AT OABTtNS. and rejoicings. Within a few days aft. erward not an armed enemy remained westward of the St. Croix River and Passamaquoddy Bay. Peace, joy, tran- quillity, and prosperity came with the birds and blossoms in the spring of 1815- and from that day until now no foreign enemy has ever appeared on our coast with hostile intentions, and probably never will.' T visited most of the places mentioned in this chapter in the month of Novem- ber, 1800. Leaving New York in the afternoon of the 16th, I arrived in Bos- ton at midnight, and spent three days there visiting men and places associated with the War of 1812, in company with a friend,^ to whom I had been indebted for kind attentions and information while seeking materials for my Pictorial Field-book of the Eevoliition twelve years before, In East Boston^ wo visited Mr. Samuel Dillaway, who was a soldier and a priva- teersman in the war. He was captured on board the privateer Sine qua nan, put into a prison-ship at Gibraltar, sent to England, and finally exchanged. He informed us that the authorities in charge of the exchange of prisoners, and sending them in cartel ships to America, generally subjected their victims to as much annoyance as possible. They were in the habit of sending prisoners whose homes were in the Northern States to some Southern port, and those from Southern States to Northern ports. This produced exasperation, and in miiiiy instances the prisoners rose and took possession of the ship. That was the case when Mr. Dillaway came in the biig Shakespeare. The captain was ordered to a Southern port. The prisoners too' session of the ship and sailed her into Boston. We went to the site of Fort Strong, in East Boston,* saw some of its reiiiiuung mounds, and then started to visit Fort Warren, on Governor's Island, which became famous as a prison for political oiTenders during the late Civil War. The sea was too rough for a skiff, and we contented ourselves with gazing at the venerable fort- ress from the highest part of East Boston. We turned, and in a two-wheeled chaise rode over to Charlestown, dined with Mr. Frothingham, the accomplished author of The Siege of Boston,^ who then lived in the shadow of Bunker's Hill Monument, on Monument Square, and with him visited Mr. Byron, one of the last survivors of the crew of the frigate Constitution. He was a Baltimorean and a musician. He en- tered the land service, but, preferring the sea, became a fifer on board the Constitu- tion, and was made a " minute-man ;" that is to say, one ready to fight at a mo- ment's warning. As such he fought gallantly in the actions of that vessel, and was highly commended by his superiors. Mr. Byron was lively and fluent in conversa- tion, and entertained us for an hour with grave and humorous narratives of his expe- rience in the service. He has passed away since my visit. liam Mason, of Bnngor ; Major Croflhy and Mrs. Stetson, of Hampden ; Dr. Joseph L. Stevens and Samnel T. Noycf, of Castine, and Jndge WilUams, of Belfast. 1 A curious memento of the British at Castine was yet in existence when I visited that place in 1860. It was an out- line of the British flag above that of the American flag, and the words " Yanlcee Doodle npeet," cut by Lieutensnt El- liot, of the British Army, with a diamond on a window-pane In the house of Mrs. Whitney, where some of the officers were qoartered. That pane of glass was the only one In the sash at the time of my visit that was not badly cracked. The above engraving is a fac-simile of the diamond-etching, slightly reduced. ' Frederick Kidiier, E*). 3 Noddle's Island. It contained 26,000 Inhabitants iu 1800. ♦Page 892. » Uistory qfthe Sieye ({fJBoaton, etc., by Bichard Frothingham, Jnn. OF THE WAR OP 1812. 005 on the New England Uuut. thin a few days aft- L'd enemy remuined t. Croix River and y. Peace, joy, tran- rity came with the n the spring of 181 5; until now no foreign peared on our coast tions, and probably the places mentioned j he month of Novcm- I g New York in the 3th, I arrived in Bos- md spent three days and places associated B12, in company with I I had been indebted and information while I twelve years before, a soldier and a priva- 3er Sine qua non, \M hanged. He informed i, and sending them in 18 much annoyance as se homes were in the prn States to Northern .he prisoners rose and away came in the brig le prisoners too' some of its rcn.uiaiij; Island, which became War. The sea was at the venerable fort- . a two-wheeled chaise ccomplished author of r's Hill Monument, on last survivors of the d a musician. He en- on board the Constitn- sady to fight at a mo- of that vessel, and was md fluent in conversa- narrativesofhisexpe- Nivjr Yard at Cbarlentown, The Figure-head of the CotutUuHon. The Place of her Conitrnctlon. ilfN Itevens and Samnel T.Noyw,ot ,at place In 1800. Itwasanojt- die upset," cut by Llentenant E)- Itney, where some of the offlceri risit that was not badly cracW. ■^ a Frederick Kiduer, Esq. 4 Page S92. •1834. BILLET-UEAD. At Charlcstown wo visited the national dock-yard, and at tiio head of the dry-dock saw upon a post, over a lunij), the billet-head which the Constitution had boi-ne during lier bat- tles in the War of 1812.' It was the one which Coininod(»re Elliott removed in 1834 while she was lying at that station, and put in its place a bust of (ieneral Jackson, then President of the United States. The substitution of tliat image for the old billet-head which had braved tlie storms of battle and the seas during the War of 1812 was considered an unpatriotic act, and was vehemently denounced by the Opposition as a partisan outrage. Elliott was assailed in newspapers, hand- billH,2 and speeches, and was threatened with violence in anonymous letters if he did not remove the obnoxious efti- gy. He disregarded all complaints ; so, one night, early in July,» during a feaiful storm of wind, lightning, and rain, a daring young man from New York went out to the ship in a skiff, sawed off the head of the image, and car- ried it to Boston. Great efforts were made to discover the mutilator of a government vessel, but in vain. The excite- ment died away, and at near the close of Jackson's adminis- tration the iconoclast went to Washington City, called on the President, frankly acknowledged his exploit, and assured him that it was only a "young man's daio-dovil adventure." Fie amused more than angered the President, who told him he should not be harmed. In the museum of the Navy Yard at Charlestown we saw a beautiful alabaster model of the monument erected to the memory of Lieutenant Allen, at Hudson, New York, Under it, in a glass-case, were a lock of Allen's hair, and the bullet which caused liis death. We found little else of interest connected with the history of the War of 1812, and, after a brief visit to Bunker's Hill Monument, returned to Boston. On the following day ihe writer went out to Salem by railway, sixteen miles from Boston, and visited Fort Pickering, Marblehead, and other points of interest, in com- pany with a citizen of Salem. If was a cold November morning, and with difficulty the pencil was used in sketching the exterior of Fort Pickering, seen on page 891, and the view of the interior (see next page), drawn while standing on t!ie southern ram- parts of the fortification, looking northward toward Beverly. This fort was built in 1798, and named in honor of the eminent Timothy Pickering, who was born in that town, and whose remains lie buried in its soil. It was an irregular work, occupied about an acre of ground, and commanded the harbor and the entrance to the North 1 . ' The original flsure-head of the Conxtitution was a bn«t of Ilcrcnles. It was shot away In the Tripolitan war [see Chapter VI], and its place supplied with the blllct-hcad delineated lu the engraving. 'One of these, posted about the streets of Boston, was headed, "Fbekmen, awake! or the CoNSTirnTios wm, piSKi!" It then went on to sny that the President had issued orders "for a colossal figure of his royal «?(/, in Roman costnme, to be placed as a flgurc-head on Old Ironbideb." It appealed to the most excitable people and passions to "save the ship" by the cry of "all hands on deck." It asked the citizens to assemble at Fnneuii Hail to take action affainst the outrage. "North Enders!" It exclaimed, "shall this Boston-bnilt ship be thus disgraced without remon- strance f Let this wooden i/orf— this old Roman, builded at the expense of three hundred dollars of tiie people's money, be presented to the office-holders, who glory in such worship, bnt, for God's sake, save tub suir from this foul disgrace." It was signed " A North Ender." The Constitution was built where Constitution Wharf now is, at what was called, even before the Revolution, The North Eud— that is, of Boston. It was the place for ship-building, and trom the Revolution until the War of 1812 it was the focus of groat political power. Samnel Adams was bom in that section of the town, and always had great influence with the people there. The caulkers were a numerous class, and with these Adams held ir.any secret meetings when the revolntionary movements were going on from 1704 to 1774. These were known as the " Caulkers' meetings," where revolutionary measures were proposed and perfected. From this fact has come the word caucus in our political nomen- clature—the private gathering of politicians to arrange for a political campaign. It is said that these caulkers of Adams's time were mostly descendants of the Huguenots. ' Oral statement to the author by the adventurer. He is yet (1807) living— a small, fearless, shrewd, energetic busl- nesB man, with a character above reproach in private life. Upon his address card he yet has the device of a iiand-saw, aad the words of Csesar— " I came, I saw, I conqaered," in allusion to the exploit of bis earlier daya. \ lit! I I !|, ;I-! '1 f " 000 PICTORIAL FIKLD-nOOK ForU PIckorlug and I^e, Balem Harbor and itR HurroondliiK' BItuatton of Marblchcnd. aiifl South Hivprs, ns tlio cs- limi'u'H lire called wliiiii cm- imco the |)('iiiiiH\ila. Uh oin- (Uukiiu'iitM, coiupoHcd ot'cartli and sl(»ii(',c'X('ej)tiiijj tho hiick wall ill till! rear {hvv ])i('tuiv oil \)n<^^' Hl)l), wore alxjiit eijj;ht leet in hei of Koil, to in<|iiin', " I'luy, wlu'iv do they bury llii'ir dfiulV"' It wuh inlmbilod chictly bfciuisu of itH udviiiitanfH und ron- voniencc as a fishing jmrt, ti churactt-r which it has alwayH bonu'.'' Its tradu wuh alinoat wliolly tk'stroyed during tho Uevohition,^ but it revived booh afterward. MABIILEUBAI) lURIIOH.* Mil ith ^' -fSf'r H>ltT HKWAI,!,.'' 3I0UH, With many rocky islaiidR trance. On the liigh promon- tory near tlie viUage was Fort Scwail, built 'n the year 1800, and rebuilt eauy in tlic War of 1812. When I visited it Mrs. Maria T. Perkins was tlie United States Agent in charge of tlie property there, liaving been a resident of Fort Sewall since 1835. She was an ener- getic woman, and with the greatest courtesy she received and entertained us. On the floor of one of lier rooms was a carpet ofwliich she was just- ly proud. It was made en- tirely of the clothes of her fa- ther (Sergeant Stephen Twist, of the Continental Army) and her two brothers, worn by th-^m during tlie War of 1812. They were ever afterward in the military service of the United States up to 1857." She was engaged in piecing it during twenty years. The carj)et was woven by Mrs. Perkins and her daughter, in Fort Sewall, a few months before my visit, and took a premium at a Fair in Boston. On returning to Salem I liad the pleasure of meeting T)r. Benjamin F. Browne, a native of that place, who entered the naval service as surgeon's mate in the })rivateer Alfred, in September, 1612, when lie was only nineteen years of age. While in the schooner Frolic, in the West Indies, he was captured, taken to Barbadoes, sent to En- 1 Barber's Ilietorical CoUffiliotvi of MasmrhunHts, pnge 201, note. 2 A hundred years ngo there were between thirty and forty ships, scows, and topsaii-scliooners owned in Marblehead, and cngafied in foreign trade ; and In 1770 it contained a greater number of inhabitants than any town in Massachn- wlt« excepting Boston. 'The inhabitants were very patriotic. In 1774, when the port of Boston was closed by order of Parllnmcnt, the in habitants offered the nse of their harbor to the Boston mcrcliants. They also ftirnished an entire regiment, fully offl- rerert, for tbe Continental Army. Blbridge Gerry, one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence, was born at Marblehead. • This slcetch was made from the gravelly beach. On the left is seen Fort Sewall, and on the extreme right, In the liletance, Marblehead Point. Toward the left, and extending behind Fort Sewall, is seen Lowell Island. ' In this view, ft-om the entrance to the fort, with baclf to the harbor, is seen the row of boml)-proof casemates, with arched windows and doors. Above them is seen the offlcers' quarters, builtof briclc, in which Mrs. Perliins resided. * The aggregate tipie of military service by her father and two brothers was about one hundred years. I 1^ i il; i ^l*fit«*H^» 903 PICTORIAL FIELD-BOOK /: //C/>yyo .^s. '/njfjjtie^ A Survivor of the Dartmoor Prison. Rettiin to Boston from Sr.lem. Journey to Boston and Voyago to Castine. gland, and confined six months in the notorious Dartmoor prison, of which I shall write hereafter. The cartd sliip Anne^ in which he was sent homo, was ordered to Norfolk. Most of the priv oners were from New England and New York. They seized the ship, and sailed into New York in .Tune, 1815. Dr. Browne was in the Dartmoor pris- on at tht time of the massacre there, and published an interesting sketch of it in the Democratic Heview, 1845.' The prisoners were chiefly privateers- men, and a verj"^ large proportion of them were from New England. He furnished me with a list of the names of more than one hundred survivors k»'own to be living in the vicinity of Salem at the time of my visit. In the evening I had an interview with Mr. William Leavitt, a teacher of navigation at Salem, who was living there during the war, and saw the Con- stitution chased into Marblehead by liic British frigates Junon and Tenedos, early in April, 1814. Mr. Leavitt was a careful investigator and chronicler ; and he furnished me with a most interesting list of all the privateers fitted out at Salem during the war, and of the names, armament, ton- nage, oommanders, etc., of all the prizes taken by them during that period. I passed the night at Salem, returned to BonLon the next day, and toward evening departed on a visit to the theatre of the sti'ring historic scenes on the Penobscot Bay and River, in Maine, in the year 1814. I traveled on the Eastern Railway to Port- land, one hundred and seven miles, where I embarked for Belfas-t, at ten o'clock in the evening, in the steamer Daniel Webster. It was a rough and stormy night on the Atlantic, but we made the voyage of one hundred and thirty miles in good lime. When we entered Penobscot Bay at dawn, the storm-clouds had passed away, and the sun shone out brilliantly when we landed at Belfast between seven and eight • November 19, o'clock in the morning." Soon after breakfast I sailed in the little piiek- ***"'*■ et Spy (formerly a Boston pilot-boat), with raking masts and schooner- rigged, for Castine, on the eastern side of Penobscot Bay. A stiff breeze had sprung up from the northwest, and before it we ran across the bay, thirteen miles, in little more than an hour. It was an exhilarating voyage. We entered the picturesque harbor of Castine at eleven o'clock, and, after a pleasant and profitable interview Avith Dr. Joseph L. Stevens and Samuel T. Noyes, Esq. (the former a physician and the lat- ter a ship-builder of Castine), I rambled over the interesting peninsula with an intel- ligent lad who was familiar with the historical localities. A portion of the peninsula is high, rocky, and covered with evergreens, while its southwestern slope is wet and spongy, bare, and abounding in juniper bushes. Tiie village of Castine is beautifully situated on a slope overlooking several picturesque islands. It is said to be the wealthiest town in Maine in proportion to its size, and is the seat of customs of the Penobscot district. '^ • Dr. Browne was a member of the MaBsaclniBetts Le^elature In 1831, and of the State Senate in 1848. He was In the enjoyment of remarltal)le health, having never been sick in his life. > Castine is a pleasant town of about fifteen hundred inhabitants, whoso principal business Is fishing and ship-bailil' OF THE WAR OF 1812, 909 on and Voyage to Castlne. MementoB of the War at Castine. Fort George and View from It. Kemaina of Fort Oantine. We first visited Fort Geort^e,' the principal military work on the peninsula, which lies northwestward of the town. A sketch of a portion of the ruins from the south bastion is given on page 903, in which one of the casemates is seen. In that bastion was tiie bomb-proof magazine. That, and all of the casemates, excepting the one de- lineated, built of brick and stone, had becij carried away for building purposes. The fort was a quadrangle, with bastions at each angle. The ditch was dug down to the flat rock, about six feet deep. The banks were about eighteen feet in height from the bottom of the ditch when I visited it, and were covered with a hard sward. Near the fort lay a 24-pound iron cannon — a relic of the War of 1812 — on a decayed carriage, whic^. the citizens on some occasion had dragged up from the old half-moon redoubt (Fort Porter) on the shore, where two of the same kind yet lay. The view from the banks of Fort George is very interesting at every point. The little picture gives an outline of the scenery around the head of Penobscot Bay, look- VIEW FROM FORT OKOROE. ing northwestward from the fort. On the extreme right is the entrance to the canal across Castine Neck, cut by the British. This canal was about twelve feet in width and eighty rods in length, and made Castine, or Bigaduce j)enin8ula, an island. It is now crossed by a bridge. Between the promontory seen beyond Brigadier Island ing. It derives its name fi'om tlie Bnron de Castin, a French no1)1eman, who established a residence there in 188T, married the daughter of Modockawando, a Penobscot Indian chief, built a fort, and opened a profitable trade with the natives, among whom he introduced Christianity in the form of the Roman Catholic Church, and gaimil the greatest influence over them. The baron lived there thirty years, and then returned to France, leaving his domiiin in possession of his hnlf-blood son, Cnstln the Younger, who was a man of dome education. When the country fell into the control of the English, after the fall of Louisburg in 1746, the Castine family abandoned it, and it became permanently settled bytheEugiishin 1700. Castin was a foe to the New Englanders. lie taught the Indians around him the nse of fire-arms, and he frequently co-operated with them in their attacks on the frontier New England settlements. The penalty for these sins of the fa- ther was unrighteously visited npon the son, who was really a friend to the English. In IT'il he wjs secured and car- ried to Boston, and there kept a prisoner for several months. The ruins of Castin's fort, now (1S07) in the suburbs of BEMAIH8 OF FORT OASTINE. Ihe village of Castine, on the property of Mr. Oeorgo Webb, arc nearly obliterated. Indeed, the monnda now seen are the remains of the embankments cast up In 1S12 on those of the ancient fort. In the above view are seen the remains ofthefort, Castine River, and the islands In front of Ihe village, with the high head of a peninsula. The highest |)otnts are called the Caterpillar and Ilnekctt's Hills. The lillle Island with the evergreens, between the two vessels on the rljht, is Noddle's. ' Ou the land of the heirs of Captain Joseph I'erkln'', near the vcsidcuce of Charles Abbott, Ksq. 910 PICTORIAL FIELD-BOOK Remains of Fortifications near Castiue. Voyage up the Penobscot. Historical Localities. BKMAI^H Of FORT OBIKFITII.' (then the pi-operty of David Soars, of Boston), near the centre of the picture, is sion the mouth of the Penobscot River. On the extreme left, over the cedar-covered point of land called Banks's Head, is seen Belfast, thirteen miles distant. J'rora Fort George we wont down the northwestern slope toward the Neck to the re- mains of Fort Griffith, one of the larger redoubts built l)v the British, and named in honor of the English admiral. It was intended to guard tlic Neck. There was another, called Fort Gosselin in honor of the general, just above tlu' present bridge over the canal. After sketching the remains of Fort Griffith, we visit- ed those of two or three others, and then hastened back to Castine, and embarked in the Spy for Belfast. It was toward evening, and the light wind was directly aiiead. The voyage was long and tedious, and it was almost eight o'clock before I was ad- mitted to the comforts of a warm supper at our destined haven, where I hud the pleasure of meeting Judge Joseph Williamson, son of the historian of Maine, and to whom I am indebted for valuable information. On the morning of the 21st I left Belfast for Hampden on the steamer Sanford. Cai)tain C B. Sanford, which plied between Boston and Bangor. The voyage up th( Penobscot — the winding, picturesque Penobscot — was a delightful one, and was made particularly instructive to me by Captain Sanford, who ,, ■ i: i. ■\^"'*: " ^ ^ '^^^"^^ kindly pointed out every a^ place and object of interest on the way. Fourteen miles from Belfast we passed Fort Point, a bluff with a light- house upon it.^ Opposite Bucksport, on the rugged hills, the solid mason- ry of a stupendous fortifica- tion, called Fort Knox, in process of erection, was seen, with the small village of Pros- pect nestled near. A little above we passed Indian Point, made famous as the site of a conflict between the savages and Captain Ciiui-ch, the decapitator of the slain King Philii). Farther on we entered Marsh Bay, in which the British invading squad- ron lay one night on their way toward Hamj)den.^ It is an expansion of the Penob- scot, and at its head lies the pretty little village of Frankfort. Westward rises tlu' Musquito Mountain, a huge mass of granite, ivhere, it seems, quarrying might bo car- ried on for a thousand years. In Frankfort, M'Glathry's store-house was jKjintod o\il as the recipient of a British cannon-ball when the invaders landed there in Septoni- ber, 1814;* and about a mile above the landing my attention was called to a thick Norway pine, the only one in that region, which bears the name of " Tiie Bacon Tree." It is a round, compact ti'ee, its short trunk composed apparently of a groii|i of smaller ones, and the limbs so near the ground that it is difficult to get under it. ' On the left is seen Banks's Head, on which were batteries. One was named Furieute, as It was armed with cannon taken from ii French vessel of that name, by the Kngllsh. On the rlpht Is BriKndier Island and month of the Penobecol 1 For the protection of the Penobscot Kivcr, Governor Pownnll oauscd a fort to be built on this point In 17HB. Ho made an expedition from Iloston for the imn'ose with three hundred and Ihlrly-thrce men. It was completed In July at a cost of nearly ilSOflO. It was named Fort Pownall. Some remains of It may yet be seen. It was (garrisoned until the Revolution, when It was betrayed into the hands of the British by a Tory commander. ' Page 898. ♦ Pago 899. FOBT POINT. Illstorical Localities. the picture, is seen cedar-covered point t. ''ort George we wont > northwestern nlopc :he Neck to the ro- Fort Griffith, out' of n- redoubts built hy tish, and nanu'd in the English admiral, itended to guard the Tliere was anotlicr, ort Gossclin in lionor sneral, just o,bovc tlio fort Griffith, wo visit- ine, and embarked in 1 was directly ahead. ,ock before I was ad- vex\, where I had tlu' rian of Maine, and to Lhe steamer Sanford. The voyage up the till one, and was made small village of Pros- lo famous as the siti' capitator of the slain itish invading squad- )ansion of the Peuob- Westward rises thu arryiug might be car- louse was pointed out idod there in Scpteni- was called to a thick name of "The Bacon .pparently of a grouji fficult to get under it. ., as It was armed with cannon 1(1 and mouth of tlin Pciii)bsoot. iillt on this point in ITim. He icn. It was compli'tcd In July seen. It was garrisoned nnf.l 3 Page 888. «Fa({cSii9. OF THE WAR OF 18 12. 911 The Bacon Tree. A Visit to Hampden. Jonmey to Buugur. THE HACON TKKK. I had a good view of it th»-iigh a telescope, by which I was enabled to make the annexed sketch. It derived its name from the circumstance that when the British land- ed, a citizen of Frankfort, having a large quantity of ba- con, carried it to this tree, and hung the pieces in the branches to conceal them from the foe. The measure was successful. The British passed along the road a short distance from the tree without observing its savory fruit, and the man saved his bacon. In a cove oif Oak Point, two or tliree miles above Frankfort, we saw the ribs of the Warren, one of the Massachusetts vessels destroyed by the British when they took Castine in 1779.' We landed at Hampden at an early liour, and T went immediately in search of the historical localities of that pleasant town. I called on the venerable Mrs. Stetson witli a letter of introduction from a friend in Boston. She was then eighty-seven years of age, and lived in a fine old mansion in the Upper Town, not far from the Soadabscook. Her husband was one of the citizens who was confined as a prisoner on board the Decatur.'^ She gave me a most vivid description of events in Hampden at the time of the invasion; and s]i(> furnished me with such directions that, with the aid of a young man wiiom I had engaged to take me to Bangor in a light wagon, I experienced no difficulty in finding all I had come to sec. I went down the winding road to the mouth of the Soadabscook, and sketched Cros- by's Wharf,3 climbed to the place of Morris's hill battery, and visited the meeting (now town) house and the site of Blake's brief encounter with the invaders near the Lower Town. When these pleasant tasks Avere accomplished, we dined at the liotel, near which I saw a small building, with a little Aveather-beaten signd)oard over the door, that was innocent of all paint excepting the black letters wliich composed the name of IlAxxinAL Hamlix. It was the law office* of that distinguished United States Senator, who a few Aveeks before had been elected V^ice-President of the Re- public. At three o'clock in the afternoon I left Hampden for Bangor, following the road which the British traveled in their march to that place.* I spent the remainder of the afternoon in ram- bling about that fine inland city of the pic- turesque State of IMaine, and Avas sur- prised by the great number of schooners that lay in the Penob- scot and in the mouth of the Kenduskeig. There Avere no less than two hundred and thirty. It Avas the VIEW AT TUH MOUTU Of TUK KENUimKEAO. ' Note «, pace W2. " Page 902. ' CroshyV Wharf (see pirtnre on pasje SiW) was erected liy (Jeneral John Croshy, one of the early settlers, wlio came from Woolwich in ITW. He entered Into commercial businesB there, and carried on an extensive trade with Europe ami the AVest Indies. He was a ft-iend and correspondent of Washinslon durinir the Revolution. General Crosby died .It Hampden in May, 1S4.S, at the age of eighty-six yeiirs. Vm a more minute account of Hampden and its people, see Cnolliige and Mansfield's llintiini and Ikiurriptinn »/ .Vcic Knfilnnd— Maine, ' Mr. Hamlin settled In Hampden as a lawyer in the year is:i2. ' Bangor is a line city of about seventeen thousand Inhabitants. Ills a port of entry and a great lumber dfpiH. It Is Miont thirty miles from the mouth of the Penobscot, and wae originally culled Kenduskeag, from the Indian name of lhe stream that there enters the river. \i 912 PICTOUIAL FIELD-BOOK Bangor. Henry Van Meter and his History. From Baugor to New Bedford, time for these vessels, engaged in the lumber-trade, to lay up for the winter, and they were rapidly lilling tlie stream below the bridge. I remained in Bangor two days, and spent a greater part of the time in the com- pany and under the hospitable roof of br. John Mason. With him I visited places of interest about Bangor; rode over to Brewer, and sketched the resi- dence of General Blake,' and spent some time in the humble dwelling of Henry Van INIeter, a remarkable black man, then ninety-five years of age. He was a slave to Governor Nelson, of Virginia, during the Revolution, became a sea- man in long after years, and was one of the crew of the privateer Lawrence which sailed from Baltimore in 1814.^ He was captured, sent to Plymouth, and confined in the Dartmoor Prison, where he saw the massacre in the spring of 1815. Van Meter's history, as he re- lated it to me, was an eventful one.^ His mind seemed clear, and his body not very feeble ; and when I had finished the annexed sketch of him, he wrote his name, Avith my pencil, ^,^^ . 9^^ ^^'^~6 /~\rO y^yr~ >0 under it, as well as he could with- O^^*/^ ^^ >icy /C/^^L^^ ^^ out glasses. I left Bangor on the morning of the 23d,* and, traveling by railway, reached Boston the same evening. A few days afterward, just at twi- light, I arrived at New Bedford,'' spent the evening with Dr. Charles L. Swasey, and made arrangements for a ride the next morning to the old fort near Fair Haven, across the Acushnet, spoken of on page 889 as having been saved from an attack by the British on a dark night in 1814 by the blast of a postman's tin-horn and the clat- ter of his horse's hoofs, which frightened them away. A heavy storm of wind and rain arose during the night ; nevertheless we made the journey, and at ten o'clock ' About a mile and a half above Bangor, on the same side of the Penobscot, was the residence of General Joseph Treat. See note 2, page SOT. • See page liwo, s Henry remembered peeing Washington many times. When Governor Nelson's estate was sold after the war to pay hi« debtK, Henry became the property of a planter beyond the Blue Ridge, on the extreme frontier. He wiis lli^ contented, and wished to leave, notwithstanding his master was kind. He wished Henry to marry one of his tiliivi' girls, and raise cliildrcn for him, offering, if he would do so, to order in his will that he should bo made a free man at his death. " I didn't like the gals," said Henry, " and didn't wani to ' wait for dead men's shoes.' So master sold me to a man near Lexington, in Kentucky, and there was only one log house in that town when I went there." He wa* sooA sold to one of those vile men engaged in the slave-trading business, who treated him shamefully. Henry inouut- ed one of his master's horses one night, and fled to the Iventnclty River, where he turned him loose, and told him to go home if he had a mind to, as he didn't wish to steal him. Some benevolent white people helped b'-n on to the Ohio, and at Cincinnati, then a collection of houses around Fort Washington, he took the name of Van Meter, borne by some of the family of his kind master of the Shenandoah Valley. Henry became a servant of an officer in St. Clair's army, and served in the company, in the Northwest, with that com- mander a-il General Wayne. After the peace in 171)6, he was living in Chlllicothe, and came East with some E.ifrtifh- , men with horses, by way of Wheeling, to Philadelphia. In the latter city some Quakers sent him to school, and he learned to read and write. When the war broke out he shipped as a common sailor in the privateer Lawmirr, having previ- ously been to Europe several times In the same capacity, and when cast into Dartmoor he held a prize ticket which was worth, when he got home, one thousand dollars. He let a captain have it as security for sixteen dollars. The man died of yellow fever in the South, and Henry never recovered his ticket. ♦ The half-shire town of Bristol County, Massachusetts, on the west side of the Acushnet River, an arm of Buzzard'? Bay. It is beanlifully situal.d upon rising ground, and is the child of the whale-flshery, that, and other branches con- nected with it, having been from the beiriuning the chief business of the inhabitants. During the Revolution It was a Kreat resort for privateers. A force of four thousand men, under General Grey, fell npon it, and destroyed buildings, wharves, vc ^els, and merchandise to the amount of more than $3'20,O0O. • November, 1800. m Bangor to New Bedford. for the winter, and le time in the com- traveling by railway, fterward,just at twi- harles L. Swascy, and brt near Fair Haven, ed from an attack by tin-horn and the clat- ■y storm of wind and r, and at ten o'clock e residence of General Joreph « See pnge im. ate was sold after the war to !Xtreme frontier. lie was (lis- nry to marry one of liis slave slioHld bo made a free man at i'8 shoes." So master sold nic wiicn 1 went there." He was i,n shamefully. Henry mount- I him loose, and told him to go )le helped bii on to the Obio. ic of Van Meter, borne by Bomc the Northwest, with that com- came East with some E.itrlifh- , nt him to pchool, and he learned vateer Lavrence, havinft previ- ,e held a pri7,cticliet which was sixteen dollars. The man died net River, an arm of Vrnmi't rf, that, and other branches con- luring tlie Kevolution it wne a on 11, and destroyed buiWiugJ, OF THE WAR OF 1812. 913 Thfl Port at Fair Haven. Captain Lemuel Akin. Providence. Mew London. Stonington. rode into the parade of the ruined fortress as far as the rocks would allow. The re- mains of the fort were upon a very vough cape opposite New Bedford, and a mile be- low the Acushnet Bridge and causeway. It was called Fort Phoenix, and was little more than an 8 or 10 gun battery, whose walls were of hewn stone and earth. Sev- eral of the iron cannon (24-pounder8) with which it was armed were lying within it, never having been removed since they were placed there in 1812. The storm was beating so furiously as it came driving in from the sea that our horse became very restive; so the kind Doctor stood out in the blind- ing tempest, and held him in quietude while, under the cover of tlic little carriage, I made the annexed sketch of the interior of the fort with all possible dis- patch.' Then we re- turned to Fair Haven village, and rode out to the residence of Cap- tain Lemuel Akin, an exceedingly intelli- gent and well-read gen- tleman, whose home had been on the sea during a large portion of his long life.2 For the good cheer with which he welcomed us, and for much valuable information which he gave me then, and afterward in letters, I feel grateful. While at his house the storm abated somewhat. Wc rode back to New Bedford, and in the aflcrnoon I traveled by railway to Providence, Rhode Island, where I passed Thanksgiving Day most profitably with Dr. Usher Parsons, the surgeon of the Lawrence, Perry's flag- ship at the time of the battle of Lake Erie, whoso name and record of services are fiimiliar to the readers of this volume. From this last survivor of Perry's commis- sioned officers I received much valuable and minute information concerning the army and navy on the Niagara frontier and on Lake Erio.^ Dr. Parsons is still (1867) liv- ing, in the enjoyment of excellent health of body and mind. Early on the morning of the 29th'' I left Providence for New London, •November, on the Thames, fifty miles westward, whore I spent the day, as already re- ^®™' corded in the latter part of Chapter XXX. of this work. At sunset I left for Ston- ingto'., a few miles eastward, and became the guest of Dr. George E. Palmer, whose house bears evidence of the cannonade in 1814. On the following morning, accom- panied by Dr. Palmer, I visited places of interest about Stonington, among others the old arsenal at the upper end of Main Street, in which were two or three cannon. It ' Between the walls of the fort and the wooden bnllding more in the foreground Is seen Ceres Island, with the city of New Bedford beyond. Since my visit the fort has been revived. " For five months," Dr. Swasey wrote to me in September, 1861 (six months after the great Civil War had begun), " the old fort has been thoroughly repaired, and gai-- risoned by the Home Guard of New Bedford and Fair Haven. IIow little did you or I dream of the events and neces- lities which have brought about this change, as wc stood on that old place that day when you sketched the fort ! How mild and gentle was even that storm that beat on our unsheltered beads compared with the tempest of war that has (Ince burst over our beloved land 1" ' Mr. Akin was engaged in the merchant service. He was captured ofT the Carolina coast by the British fri..'ate Sewm, taken to Amelia Island, and sent ftom there to Bermuda, where he was exchanged. Captain Akin died in 186T, at the age of gcvouty-flve years. ' See Chapter XXV. 3M BEMAIhS OF FOUT PUUiNlX, FAIB HAVEN. f If ill ffr ! i 014 PICTORIAL FIELD-BOOK The Ileru ofStoalngton and bis Wife. The Kim Grove Cemetery. The Denlsuu Fiimily, AB8KNAJ. AT bTOMlKUTON. ward, the joyful news of peace came, and the men of Stonington and Mystic were celebra- ting the event at a public dinner, Mrs. Holmes, justly consid- ering her sex entitled to recognition in the public demonstrations of delight, procured some powder, andjwith the aid of other young women, loaded and fired, with her own hands, a heavy cannon, in joyful commemora- tion of the great event. She bears the distinc- tion of having fired the first salute in that re- gion as a voice of wel- come to Peace. While at Mystic we was a brick building, somewhat altered since the war when the door was in the centre where the arch is seea Toward noon we rode over to Mystic, to visit the vcn- erable liero, Captain Holmes, who performed so conspic- uous a part in the defense of Stonington, as already re- lated in this chapter. We found him and his aged wifu in the enjoyment of good health of mind and body and such is still their condition." • December Mrs. Holmes is a small woman, and retains ^^''■ many mail