BATTLE-FIELDS NAVAL EXPLOITS OF THE UNITED STATES, FROM LEXINGTON TO THE CITY OF MEXICO. HENRY W. HARRISON. Jltestratofc toitjj nt Jittitofr an!tr /iftj PHILADELPHIA: H. C. PECK & THEO. BLISS 1858. Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1858, by II. C. PECK & THEO. BLISS, in the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the United States for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. STEREOTYPED BY L. JOHNSOX & CO. PHILADELPHIA. PRLNTED BY C. SHERMAN & SOW. PREFACE. THIS work is designed to present a coup-d'ceil of American military history by means of lively sketches of the most important battles fought since the commencement of the Kevolutionary War, by troops and naval forces, in the service of the United States. It has been by no means an easy task to condense so much history within so small a space. The writer hopes and trusts, however, that what is contained in this volume will be found sufficient for the information of the general reader, and that it will dwell in the memory more permanently, than if the record of the same events had been spread out so as to occupy many volumes. CONTENTS. PAGE BATTLE OF LEXINGTON 8 Capture of Ticonderoga and Crown Point 12 Battle of Bunker Hill 14 Siege of Boston 20 Expedition against Canada 27 Defence of Fort Moultrie 36 Descent upon Long Island 40 Battle of Trenton 43 Battle of Princeton 50 Battle of Brandjwine 54 Battle of Germantown 58 Battles of Red Bank and Fort Mifflin 61 Battle of Bennington 65 Battle of Behmus's Heights 71 Battle of Stillwater 75 Attack on Forts Clinton and Montgomery..... 79 Battle of Monmouth 84 Massacre of Wyoming 88 Siege of Savannah 95 Storming of Stony Point 98 Capture of the Serapis 102 Capture of Charleston 106 Battle of Waxhaws 109 Battle of Camden Ill Battle of King's Mountain 116 Battle of the Cowpens 121 Battle of Guilford Court-House 126 Battle of Hobkirk's Hill 131 Battle of Eutaw Springs 134 Siege of Yorktown 139 Capture of the General Monk 150 Close of the Revolutionary War 153 General Wayne's Victory over the Indians 158 Capture of L'Insurgente. 161 Burning of the Philadelphia 165 Bombardment of Tripoli IjjJ Capture of Derne I" 3 5 CONTENTS. Battle of Tippecanoe 178 Commencement of the War of 1812 Defence of Fort Harrison 183 Battles of Ogdensburg, Fort Niagara, and Queenstown 187 Constitution and Guerriere 194 United States and Macedonian Wasp and Frolic Constitution and Java * 197 Battle of Frenchtown , 207 Siege of Fort Meigs 209 Defence of Fort Stephenson 215 Battle of Lake Erie 218 Battle of the Thames ; 223 Hornet and Peacock 225 Chesapeake and Shannon 229 Enterprise and Boxer 233 Massacre at Fort Mimms 237 Battles of Tallushatches and Talladega 240 Expedition to the Hillibee Towns and the Tsillapoosa River 246 Final Treaty of the Creeks 251 Battle of Chippewa 258 Battles of Bridgewater and Niagara 262 Siege of Fort Erie 267 Battles of Plattsburg and Lake Champlain 275 Battle of Bladensburg and Capture of the Capital 282 Attempt of the British on Baltimore 289 Attackof Fort Bowyer and Capture of Pensacola 291 Battle of New Orleans 296 President and Endymion 306 Constitution, Cyane and Levant 310 Hornet and Penguin 315 Porter's Cruise in the Pacific 320 Seminole War. 325 Black Hawk's War 335 Second Seminole War 342 Commencement of the Mexican War, and Battles of Palo Alto and Resaca de la Palma 348 Storming of Montgomery 359 Battle of Buena Vista 363 Siege of Vera Cruz 371 Battle of Cerro Gordo 379 Battles of Contreras and Churubusco 387 Storming of Molino Del Rey 405 Storming of Chapultepec and Capture of Mexico 418 Siege of Puebla 436 Battles of Huamantla and Atlixco 443 Occupation of California and New Mexico 451 THE anft afml THE object of most of the wars undertaken by Great Britain has been to force her commercial system upon other nations. This system had been submitted to by her North American colonies with a very ill grace for many years before the Kevo- lution; and when in addition to it a system of direct taxation was resorted to, the Americans, foreseeing the ultimate result of further submission, resolved upon resistance. Their object at first was what they called redress of grievances; but a single year of hostilities drove them into a declaration of independence, which it cost seven years more of war to maintain and perfect. BATTLE-FIELDS AND THE MINUTE-MAN. BATTLE OF LEXINGTON. THE first blow struck for the freedom of the American people was at Lexington. The people, long oppressed by the tyranny of the mother-coun try, had begun to make preparations for a struggle to free themselves from the taxation and oppression of a despot whose only aim seemed to be the drain ing of the coffers of Americans. The stores of arms and provisions at Concord first attracted the attention of General Gage, commander-in-chief of the British forces in America. At eleven o'clock at night, on the 18th of April, 1775, in pursuance of his determination to seize the stores at Concord, General Gage embarked 800 grenadiers and light infantry, the flower of his army, under the command of Lieutenant-Colonel NAVAL EXPLOITS. 9 Smith and Major Pitcairn, on Charles River, at Boston Neck. Sailing up to Phipp's Farm, they landed there, and advanced towards Concord. Some of the friends of liberty got notice of this movement; and, in spite of the secrecy of their movements, the British troops soon found, by the firing of guns and ringing of bells, that the alarm was spreading over the country. Between four and five o'clock on the morning of the 19th of April, the troops reached Lexington, thirteen miles from Boston. About seventy of the American militia were standing near the road; but, on account of the deficiency of their force, they had no idea of attacking the military. Major Pitcairn, who had gone forward with the light infantry, rode towards them, calling put, " Disperse, you rebels ! throw down your arms and disperse !" The order not being obeyed, the troops fired on them. Several Americans dispersed; but, finding that the British still fired, they returned the fire. Eight Americans were left dead on the field. The rest of the detachment, under Lieutenant- Colonel Smith, coming up, the soldiers proceeded to Concord without any further resistance. The small body of militia stationed there retreated across the bridge before the British light infantry. The main body of the troops entered the town, and destroyed all the stores of ammunition, arms, and provisions which they could lay their hands on. American reinforcements arriving, Major Buttrick, of Concord, assumed the command, and advanced to take the bridge, until then in possession of the British light infantry. The light infantry retired, 10 BATTLE-FIELDS AND and commenced pulling up the bridge. The militia advancing still, the regulars fired on them. The provincials returned the fire, and a sharp contest ensued, the Americans finally forcing the British to commence their retreat to Boston. But the country was now alarmed, and the retreating troops were exposed to an irregular but destructive fire PROVINCIALS HARASSING* THE BRITISH IN THEIR RETREAT. from the militia, who, sheltering themselves behind trees, fences, and stone walls, and availing them selves of their superior knowledge of the country, kept up an incessant, galling storm of bullets on the British. The regulars, exhausted with their rapid retreat, at last reached Lexington, where Lord Percy joined them with 900 men and two pieces of cannon. The regulars, now amounting to 1800 men, con* NAVAL EXPLOITS. H tinued their retreat after a moment's rest at Concord. Lord Percy, by means of his cannon, kept the militia at their distance ; but the galling fire still continued. In the evening the regulars arrived at Bunker's Hill, where, exhausted by fatigue, they remained until morning, and then went into Boston. In this ex pedition the British lost 65 men killed, 180 wounded, and 28 made prisoners: total loss, 273. The American loss was 50 killed, 34 wounded, and four missing : total loss 88. From the moment the British had arrived in Boston, after this action, that place was in a state of siege, which lasted till March, 1776. 12 BATTLE-FIELDS AND RUINS OF FORT TICOIf DERO G A. CAPTUKE OF TICONDEROGA AND CROWN POINT. THE fortress of Ticonderoga was thought by the British to command all our passes to Canada. Though in a somewhat dilapidated condition, it was a post of importance. A bold scheme was at once formed by a few men in Connecticut to get possession of this fortress, and also of Crown Point. About forty volunteers, by the authority of Gover nor Trumbull, marched to Castleton, where they were joined by Colonel Ethan Allen, with his "Green Mountain Boys," which increased the number to two hundred and seventy. Colonel Benedict Ar- NAVAL EXPLOITS. 13 nold, who had meditated the same enterprise, now joined the volunteers, and the command was given to Colonel Allen. On the 9th of May, they arrived on the shore of Lake Champlain, opposite Ticon- deroga. Allen and Arnold crossed with eighty- three men and surprised the garrison, who were yet asleep. Three loud cheers roused them to a sense of their danger, and as light skirmish ensued. De la Place, the commander, was required to surrender the place. "By what authority?" he asked. "I demand it," replied Allen, "in the name of the great Jehovah and the Continental Congress." The for tress surrendered immediately. Colonel Seth War ner, with a small party of men, surprised and cap tured Crown Point. The pass of Skeensborough was seized at the same time by some Connecticut volun teers. At this time a sloop-of-war was lying at St. John's, a town at the northern extremity of Lake Champlain. Colonel Arnold surprised and seized it. Ticonderoga, Crown Point, and the pass of Skeens borough, were all seized without any bloodshed; and, the seizure of the vessel being also effected without the loss of a man, two important posts, a very large quantity of military stores, a sloop-of-war, and, above all, the command of Lakes George and Champlain, were acquired by the daring of a few provincial soldiers. 14 BATTLE-FIELDS AND GENERAL WARREN. BATTLE OF BUNKER HILL. ON the 12th of June, 1775, General Gage issued a proclamation offering pardon to all persons " who shall forthwith lay down their arms and return to the duties of peaceable subjects, excepting only from the benefit of such pardon Samuel Adams and John Hancock, whose offences are of too flagitious a nature to admit of any other consideration than that of condign punishment." This proclamation, so far from intimidating the colonists, only served to strengthen and unite them. NAVAL EXPLOITS. 15 An apprehension having been excited, by the movements of the British army, that General Gage intended invading the interior, movements were made in Congress to take measures for the defence of Dorchester Neck, and to occupy Bunker's Hill. Colonel Prescott was sent with the fragments of three regiments, on the night of the 16th of June, to occupy Bunker's Hill. Finding, however, that Breed's Hill was a much better spot for a battle ground, and considering that they would not be disobeying orders by occupying that place, the en gineers at once commenced a redoubt on the right of Breed's Hill. It was about one hundred and forty feet square, with two passages for ingress and egress. A breastwork of sods was constructed on the left of the redoubt; and a screen, made with two post-and-rail fences, four feet apart, with grass trodden between, extended to Mystic River. General Ward, commander of the American forces, saw that the British would make an attempt to capture the works, and sent reinforcements to Colonel Prescott from his camp in Cambridge. Early in the morning, one of the men was shot from the battery at Copp's Hill, and was buried where he fell. No further damage was done, however, though the cannonade was incessant. General Gage wished to drive the provincials from the hill, and for this purpose sent Major-General Howe and Brigadier-General Pigot, with ten com panies of grenadiers and ten of light infantry, with 'some artillery, to perform this service. These generals waited until three o'clock P.M. for rein forcements from Boston, and then the British began 16 BATTLE-FIELDS AND to march slowly up the hill. The Americans were ordered to put four buck-shot to a bullet, and to reserve their fire until the British were within point-blank range. At this moment they poured in upon the British a terrible and destructive fire. The regulars, who only expected an irregular and scattering militia volley, were astounded at the deadly fire which made such havoc among their ranks. They fell back in confusion. The officers had the greatest difficulty in making them form for the second time; and, indeed, had it not been for the determined bravery of the British commanders and the encouraging daring of the officers of lower rank, the troops would have met a signal defeat. For the second time the British advanced, and a second volley was poured into them, making the confusion worse than before. Clinton saw this from Boston, and hastened over to assist Howe. Both generals addressed the troops, called to mind the victories gained by British soldiers over all European powers, and the everlasting disgrace of being beaten by raw militia. Charlestown had been set fire to, in order to intimidate the Americans; and the whole town, consisting of four hundred houses, was in a blaze. The British commanders, not daring to trust a third time to bravery, tried stratagem. Pigot, taking the command of a con siderable force, went around to the southwestern angle of the redoubt and scaled the slight works. Che Americans were now attacked east and west. Their ammunition was exhausted; and, having no bayonets, they were forced to retreat, after a short fight with the butts of their guns. Those at the NAYAL EXPLOITS. 17 breastwork and in the redoubt retreated, and those at the rail fence followed, over Charlestown Neck, northward. It was during the retreat that the Americans suffered the most part of their loss. Captain Knowlton, having a large company near Mystic Kiver, moved up in good order and covered the retreat of the provincials. The British acknowledged 1054 killed and wound ed, with a large proportion of officers; but their loss was undoubtedly greater. The Americans had 1500 to 1600 men engaged in battle, of whom one hundred and thirty-nine were killed and three hundred and fourteen wounded and missing. The officers killed on the American side were Majors Moore and McCleary, Colonel Gardiner, and Lieutenant-Colonel Parker. Major- General Joseph Warren was also among the killed. This gallant and brave officer was appointed major- general four days previous to the battle, and on his entering the redoubt Colonel Prescott offered him the command, which he refused, saying, "I came to learn war under an experienced soldier; not to take any dmmand" He was at the time ot his death president of the Provincial Congress and chairman of the Committee of Safety. His death caused the Americans to determine never to give up their cause. His blood cried from the ground for vengeance. The effect of this battle was to inspire the Americans to greater deeds of daring. It showed to those who were in a state of incertitude in regard to which side was the best, that the provincials could and would fight. They had done enough for honor, 2 18 BATTLE-FIELDS AND enough to show the British that they were deter mined. They had given themselves confidence in their own ability, and they seemed more and more likely to make the throne of England totter to its base. The loss was severely felt ; the wound they had received was deep ; but the British forces the pride of their nation, the troops who were thought invincible, were twice repulsed and nearly defeated by raw militia fighting for their homes and firesides. NAVAL EXPLOITS. 19 SIEGE OF BOSTON. SIEGE OF BOSTON. ON the 10th of May, Congress voted an army of 20,000 men, chose George Washington to be com- mander-in-chief of the army of the United Colonies, and emitted three million dollars' worth of bills of credit. Washington accepted his high trust, though with great diffidence. On the request of Congress that he would accept the command, he addressed the president of that august body in the following words : " Though I am truly sensible of the high honor done me by this appointment, yet I feel great distress, from a consciousness that my abilities and military experience are not equal to the arduous 20 . BATTLE-FIELDS AND trust. But, as the Congress desire it, I will enter on the momentous duty, and exert every power I possess in their service and for the support of the glorious cause. I beg they will accept my cordial thanks for this high testimony of their approbation." Every favorable position was fortified and vigi lantly guarded, so that the British could find no point of egress from Boston. Washington and the other generals exerted themselves to equip and discipline the army. There was no lack of courage and zeal among the officers and men ; but they were generally unaccustomed to the subordination and discipline of the camp, and destitute of the requisite arms and ammunition. In the beginning of September the army received a supply of seven thousand pounds of powder from Rhode Island, and powder-mills were erected at various places to supply the demand. Washington boldly grappled with the many difficul ties of his situation. He perceived that the expense of maintaining an army far exceeded the estimates of Congress, and that the short term for which the men were enlisted threatened serious consequences. The new enlistments were made to serve until the 1st of December, 1776. The British troops in Boston, amounting to about men, were reduced to a very uncomfortable ition. The country-people generally refused to them any provisions, and their naval supplies were intercepted by the armed vessels which the Massachusetts Assembly had fitted out for the de- f Ce f ' he 'T fc ' , 0n th * 10th of October, General Gage left Boston for England, and the command devolved on General Howe. Several vessels, con- NAVAL EXPLOITS. 21 taining a large quantity of stores for the British army, were captured by the Massachusetts privateers, and afforded a seasonable supply to the Americans. On the 13th of December, Congress resolved to .fit out thirteen ships-of-war, which formed the germ of the American navy. It had been also resolved to raise a large army, and each of the colonies had agreed to furnish a considerable number of men; but recruiting went on slowly. No bounty was offered until February ; and on the last day of De cember, when the old army was disbanded, Wash ington learned that but 9650 men had been enlisted for the campaign of 1776. Compelled to submit to inactivity, his means of acting on the offensive were magnified, and doubts of his ability and integrity rewarded his constant anxiety. Congress desired that the town should be attacked ; but a council of war decided against the measure. It was now deemed expedient to get possession of Dorchester Heights; and the night of the 4th of March was fixed upon for the attempt. A covering party of 800 men led the way. These were followed by the carts, with the entrenching tools, and 1200 of a working party, commanded by General Thomas. In the rear there were more than two hundred carts, loaded with fascines and hay in bundles. While the cannon were playing in other parts, the greatest silence was kept by this working party. The active zeal of the industrious provincials completed lines of defence by morning which astonished the garrison. The difference between Dorchester Heights on the evening of the 4th and the morning of the 5th seemed to realize the tales of romance. The ad- 22 BATTLE-FIELDS AND miral informed General Howe that if the Americans kept possession of these heights he would not be able to keep one of his majesty's ships in the harbor. It was therefore determined, in a council of war, to attempt to dislodge them. An engagement was hourly expected. It was intended by General Wash ington, in that case, to force his way into Boston with 4000 men, who were to have embarked at the mouth of Cambridge River. The militia had come forward with great alertness, each bringing three days' provision, in expectation of an immediate assault. The men were in high spirits and impa tiently waiting for the appeal. They were reminded that it was the 5th of March and were called upon to avenge the death of their countrymen killed on that day. The many emi nences in and near Boston which overlooked the >und on which it was expected that the contend^ rties would engage were crowded with numerous spectators; but General Howe did not intend to ' until the next day. In the night a most violent storm, and towards morning a heavy flood i, came on. A carnage was thus providentially evented that would probably have equalled, if ^o exceeded, the fatal 17th of June at Bunker's Will. In this situation it was agreed by the British .-council of w , to evacuated t an a ' ' on an to NAVAL EXPLOITS. 23 the town, unless the troops under his command were molested during their embarkation, or at their de parture, by the armed force without." When this paper was presented to General Washington, he replied " that as it was an unauthenticated paper, and without an address, and not obligatory on General Howe, he could take no notice of it ;" but at the same time intimated his good wishes for the security of the town. A proclamation was issued by General Howe, ordering all woollen and linen goods to be delivered to Crean Brush, Esq. Shops were opened and stripped of their goods. A licentious plundering took place. Much was carried off, and more was wantonly destroyed. These irregularities were for bidden in orders, and the guilty threatened with death ; but, nevertheless, great mischief was com mitted. The British, amounting to more than 7000 men, evacuated Boston, March 17th, 1776, leaving their barracks standing, a number of pieces of cannon spiked, four large iron sea-mortars, and stores to the value of 30,000. They demolished the castle and knocked off the trunnions of the cannon. Various incidents caused a delay of nine days after the evacuation, before they left Nantasket Road. This embarkation was attended with many cir cumstances of distress and embarrassment. On the departure of the royal army from Boston, a great number of the inhabitants, attached to the royal cause, and afraid of public resentment, chose to abandon -their country. From the great multitude about to depart, there was no possibility of procur- 24 BATTLE-FIELDS AND ing purchasers for their furniture ; neither was there a sufficiency of vessels for its convenient trans portation. Mutual jealousy subsisted between the army and navy, each charging the other as the cause of their common distress. The army was full of discontent. Keinforcements, though long promised, had not arrived. Both officers and soldiers thought themselves neglected. Five months had elapsed since they had received any advice of their destina tion. Wants and inconveniences increased their ill- humor. Their intended voyage to Halifax sub jected them to great dangers. The coast, at all times hazardous, was eminently so at that tempest uous equinoctial season. They had reason to fear that they would be blown off to the West Indies and without a sufficient stock of provisions. They were also going to a barren country. To add to their difficulties, this dangerous voyage, when com pleted was directly so much out of their way ' business lay to the southward, and they were going northward Under all these difficulties, and or Ha fn P g ^ F SpeCts ' the fleet steered Max. Contrary to appearances, the voyage thither was both short and prosperous. They re mained there for some time, wilting for reinforce mente and instructions from England V len the royal fleet and army departed from on several ships were left behind, for the pi NAVAL EXPLOITS. 25 were also taken. These had run into the harbor, not knowing that the place was evacuated. The boats employed in the embarkation of the British troops had scarcely completed their business, when General Washington with his army marched into Boston. He was received with marks of approba tion more flattering than the pomps of a triumph. The inhabitants, released from the severities of a garrison life, and from the various indignities to which they were subjected, hailed him as their de liverer. The evacuation of Boston had been pre viously determined upon by the British ministry, from principles of political expediency. Being re solved to carry on the war for purposes affecting all the colonies, they conceived a central position to be preferable to Boston. Policy of this kind had in duced the adoption of the measure; but the Ameri can works on Eoxbury expedited its execution. For his services in expelling the British from Boston, Congress passed a vote of thanks to General Washington and the army, and presented the general with a gold medal commemorating the event. 26 BATTLE-FIELDS AND MONTGOMERY'S MONUMENT, AT BT.PA.UL'S CHURCH, NEW YORK. EXPEDITION AGAINST CANADA. DURING these transactions in New England, events of some importance took place in other parts of America. Congress had early directed its attention towards Canada, and endeavored either to gain the co-operation or secure the neutrality of the inhabit ants in its dispute with Britain. Addresses had been repeatedly sent to them in the French as well as the English language, representing the tendency of the new measures of Parliament ; and these had not been without some effect. The Canadians NAVAL EXPLOITS. 27 generally were willing to remain neutral in the contest. Congress believed them to be partial to their cause, and resolved to anticipate the British by striking a decided blow in that quarter. In this purpose they were encouraged by the success of the expedition against Crown Point and Ticonderoga, as well as by the small number of troops then in Canada. They appointed General Schuyler commander of the ex pedition, with General Montgomery to act as second in command. Early in September, 1775, these officers, with about 1000 men, made an ineffectual attack on Fort St. John, situated on the river Sorel, but found it expedient to retire to Isle-aux-Noix, at the entrance of the lake, about twelve miles above the fort, and wait for an increase of their effective force. Meanwhile, General Schuyler being taken ill and returning to Albany, the command devolved upon General Montgomery, who was instructed to prose cute the enterprise on receiving reinforcements. These reinforcements soon arrived; the attack on Fort St. John was renewed ; and after a vigorous defence it surrendered, about the middle of Novem ber. The Americans found in the fort a consider able number of brass and iron cannon, howitzers, and mortars, a quantity of shot and small shells, about eight hundred stand of small arms, and some naval stores ; but the powder and provisions were nearly exhausted. During the seige of Fort St. John, Fort Cham- blee had been taken, which furnished General Mont gomery with a plentiful supply of provisions, of 28 BATTLE-FIELDS AND which his army stood much in need. General Carle- ton, on his way from Montreal, had been defeated and repulsed ; and Colonel Ethan Allen, who had made an unauthorized and rash attack on Montreal, had been overcome, made prisoner, and sent in irons to England. On the fall of Fort St. John, General Montgomery advanced against Montreal, which was not in a con dition to resist him. Governor Carleton, fully sensi ble of his inability to defend the town, quitted it. Next day General Montgomery entered Montreal. He treated the inhabitants with great lenity, re specting their religion, property, and rights, and gained their good-will by the affability of his man ners and the nobleness and generosity of his dis position. A body of provincials, under Colonel Easton, had been despatched by Montgomery, and took post at the mouth of the Sorel ; and, by means of an armed vessel and floating batteries, commanded the navi gation of the St. Lawrence. The British force which had retreated down the river from Montreal, con sisting of 120 soldiers under General Prescott, and accompanied by Governor Carleton, seeing it im practicable to force a passage, surrendered by capitu lation. About midnight the day before the capitu lation Governor Carleton escaped down the river, passing through the American squadron in a boat with muffled oars, and reached Quebec in safety. It was now the 19th of November, and the sea son was very unfavorable to military operations. General Montgomery, a young officer of superior talent and high spirits, found himself placed in ex- NAVAL EXPLOITS. 29 tremely unpleasant circumstances. He was at the head of a body of armed men by no means de ficient in courage and patriotism, but totally un accustomed to military subordination. The term of service for which many of them had enlisted was near an end ; and, heartily weary of the hardships of the campaign, they were loudly demanding their discharge. Nothing but devotion to the cause could have made the general continue the pommand. Hitherto his career had been marked with success ; and he was ambitious of closing the campaign with some brilliant achievement, which should elevate the spirit of the Americans and humble the pride of the British ministry. With these views, not withstanding the advanced season of the year, he hastened towards Quebec, although he had found it necessary to weaken his army, which had never ex ceeded 2000 men, by discharging many of them whose terms of service had expired. About the middle of September, a detachment of 1100 men, under Colonel Arnold, had been sent from the vicinity of Boston, with orders to march across the country against Quebec, by a route which had never been explored and was but little known. The party embarked at Newbury, steered for the Kennebec, and ascended that river, in order to reach Canada by penetrating the forests in the in terior of Maine, a most difficult and hazardous at tempt. Their progress was impeded by rapids and by an almost impassable wilderness ; and they suf fered incredible hardships through the severity of the weather and the want of provisions. They separated into several divisions ; and the last, undei 30 BATTLE-FIELDS A N 1> Colonel Enos, finding itself unable to proceed, re turned to the camp at Koxbury. But the other divisions, under Arnold, pressed forward, and tri umphed over every obstacle. For a month they toiled through a rough and barren wilderness, with out seeing a human habitation, or the face of an individual except of their own party; and their provisions were exhausted ; so that Arnold was obliged to push forward before the rest, with a few followers, and obtain a supply from the nearest Canadian settlement. At length, on the 9th of November, the party, with its force much diminished, arrived at Point Levi, opposite Quebec. His appearance, says an English writer, was not unexpected ; for the lieutenant-governor had been for some time apprised of his march. In the early part of his progress Arnold had met an Indian, to whom, although a stranger, he had imprudently trusted a letter to General Schuyler, under cover, to a friend in Quebec. The Indian, instead of faith fully delivering the letter according to the direc tions which he had received, carried it to the lieu tenant-governor, who, in order to prevent the Americans from passing the river, immediately re moved all the canoes from Point Levi, and began to put the city in a posture of defence, which, but for this folly and rashness of Arnold, might have been easily surprised. On discovering the arrival of Arnold at Point Levi, the British commander stationed two vessels- of-war in the river, to guard the passage ; and at that interesting crisis Colonel McLean, who had re treated before Montgomery, arrived from the Sorel, NAVAL EXPLOITS. 31 with about one hundred and seventy newly-raised troops to assist in defence of the place. In spite of the vigilance of the British, Arnold succeeded, on the night of the 14th of November, in crossing the river with five hundred men in ca noes, and landed near the place where the brave and enterprising Wolfe had landed sixteen years before, called, from this circumstance, Wolfe's Cove. Not being able to convey his scaling-ladders over the river with his troops, he could not immediately attack the town. Instead of concealing himself till his scaling ladders could be brought forward, and then making a sudden and unexpected attack by night, he marched part of his troops in military parade in sight of the garrison, and so put the British fully on their guard. He wished to summon them to surrender. But they fired upon his flag of truce, and refused to hold any communication with him. He therefore, on the 19th of the month, re tired from Quebec to Point aux Trembles, about twenty miles above the city, where General Mont gomery, with the force under his command, joined him on the 1st of December. From him the sol diers of Arnold received a supply of winter clothing which their previous condition rendered particularly acceptable. Soon after Arnold's retreat, Governor Carleton arrived in Quebec, and exerted himself to put the place in a state of defence. General Montgomery, having brought the scaling- ladders across the river, appeared with his whole force before Quebec on the 5th of December. The garrison was then more numerous than its assailants. II i; \ r M i n r i i> \ \ P Tli' \m,Mt, in. aiihMintod to l>ul niuo hmuhvil ifliH?tivo men, while GOYftNMM t'arlrlou had about lill.vn lnm.li>-,!. soKh.M-M. nnhh.i. KOtUUon, and \olim .i.lor IHM riMmnau.l 1 M,MJ(;'..MI1M \ -vn! .1 ll.l" of h'lU'O {() MMU nn U irroiuloi . IMII it \\Jis tiivd UJMMI. UM that i>f AruoKI had U>on . atul. allh.n : -h it \\ tho vlrpth v>f a raumlian uiuliM- ami in tho most l>i\viwKHl to tho vlidivMili lit to unithotovtitivation- He ihotv- fct* determined tlo few i t ho MK D tho morninsr of tho :U ? t of IV v in tho moruin ; v. in the * v, NAVAL EXPLOITS, attacks were *ir..uii:,nr.ouftly made, The real attack* were conduct^! by Montgomerj tad Arnold, Mont- gomery, advancing at the head of about tun hundred men, fell by.,the first df* i-.-rge of grape-shot from the works, Seven >i of i.U best officer! being I ,.n. -.1, liii division retreated, ArnoM ( HID head of about three hundred men, in a diflferenl quartet m.-.mh.ined a fierce and obstinate conflict for *.n,.- time, but was at last wounded and r^MiU'd leaving m.-.i.vof his men in tho hands of ti.- enemy, The ! atb t Montgomery was the subject .i much i , BOMBARDMENT OP TRIPOLI. BOMBARDMENT OF TRIPOLI. ON the 21st of July, 1804, the American squadron was collected off Tripoli. It consisted of the Con stitution, forty-four twenty-four-pounders ; Argus, eighteen twenty-four-pounders; Siren, eighteen eighteen-pounders ; Yixen, v sixteen six-pounders ; Enterprise, fourteen six-pounders ; six-gunboats, carrying each one brass twenty-six-pounder; two bomb-ketches, each carrying a thirteen-inch mortar; and the Scourge, a captured polacre, taken into the service. The whole number of men in the fleet was 1060. The batteries on shore were judiciously constructed, mounted one hundred and fifteen pieces of heavy cannon, and were defended by 25,000 Arabs and Turks; the harbor was protected by nineteen 164 BATTLE-FIELDS AND gunboats, two galleys, two schooners of eight guns each, and a brig of ten guns. The unfavorable weather prevented an attack until the 3d of August, when, says Commodore Preble, in his despatches, "At noon we were between two and three miles from the batteries, which were all manned. At half-past twelve I wore off-shore, and made the signal to come within hail, when I com municated to each of the commanders my intention of attacking the enemy's shipping and batteries. The boats were immediately manned, and prepared to cast oif in two divisions of three each, Captain Somers, Lieutenant James Decatur, and Lieutenant Blake, commanding the three first respectively. Captain Stephen Decatur, Lieutenants Bainbridge and Trippe, the second division." The two bombards were commanded by Lieu tenant-Commandant Dent and Lieutenant Eobinson. At half-past one o'clock the squadron stood for the batteries; at two the gunboats were cast off. At half-past two signal for battle, at fifteen minutes before three signal for general action. It was com menced by throwing shells from the bombs into the town. A tremendous fire was immediately opened from the whole of the enemy's guns, and returned by the squadron, while Captain Decatur, in the second division of gunboats, advanced to board the eastern division of the enemy, consisting of nine gunboats. As they advanced, grape and musket- balls were fired, which were soon succeeded by the free use of the pistol, sabre, pike, and tomahawk. Captain Somers was in such a dull sailer that he was unable to second Decatur's attack ; but, bearing NAVAL EXPLOITS. 165 down upon the western division of five gunboats, he defeated and drove them on the rocks in a shattered condition. Lieutenant Blake was kept to windward during the whole of the action, and on that account many of the enemy's gunboats escaped which might by his aid have been taken. Lieutenant James De- catur, in the remaining vessel of the first division, engaged one of the largest of the enemy's boats, and compelled her to strike her colors ; but, as he was boarding her to take possession, the cowardly captain of the surrendered boat drew a pistol and shot him through the head, by which baseness he was enabled to escape under cover of the other boats. Captain Decatur, after having boarded and car ried one of the enemy of superior force, took his prize in tow, bore down and engaged a second, which was also obliged to surrender. The gallant officer narrowly escaped death twice during this action ; once by his own presence of mind, and again by the devotion of one of his crew, who, being wounded in^both hands, received a blow upon his own head which was intended for that of De catur. These two prizes had 33 officers and men killed, 19 badly wounded, and 27 taken prisoners. Lieutenant Trippe, in the last of Decatur's divi sion, ran alongside of one of the enemy's large boats, which he attempted to board ; but, his boat falling off too rapidly, himself, Midshipman John D. Hen ley, and nine men only, were enabled to reach the Tripolitan deck. They had before them victory or death, with the fearful odds of 11 to 36. The 166 BATTLE-FIELDS AND Turkish commander defended his vessel with the utmost bravery, and before he was mortally woun ded, by the aid of Henley, Lieutenant Trippe had received eleven wounds from him. The American seamen swept the deck of their enemies, and in a few minutes the colors were hauled down. Four teen of the enemy were killed and 22 made pri soners, seven of which were badly wounded. Lieutenant Bainbridge had his lateen-yard shot away before he was enabled to close with the enemy ; but he galled them by a steady and well- directed fire, within musket-shot; indeed, he pursued the enemy until his boat grounded under the bat teries. She was fortunately soon got off. The bomb- vessels kept their station, though covered with the spray of the sea occasioned by the enemy's shot; they were well conducted by Lieutenants Dent and Robinson, who kept up a constant fire from the mortars and threw a great number of shells into the town. The gunboats made two ineffectual attempts to recover the prizes; but the American gunboats were too well supported by the shipping, and they were obliged to desist. The fire of the Constitution produced a great effect, both on shore and on the water. Wherever the guns were turned, the enemy's batteries were silenced and the flotilla thrown into disorder. Her grape-shot made great havoc among the men. At half-past four the signal was given for the flotilla to retire from the action, * and in fifteen minutes the light vessels, gunboats, and prizes, were all out of reach of the enemy's shot, and they were taken in tow. NAVAL EXPLOITS. 167 GENERAL EATOX CAPTURE OF DERNE. WHILE these operations were in progress on the sea, General Eaton had made a successful campaign on the land, and, at the time the treaty was signed, actually threatened to drive the reigning bashaw from the throne. ' Upon his return to the Mediter ranean he learned that Hamet Bashaw, the exile, was at Alexandria, protected by an Egyptian bey. After spending some time in the Mediterranean, he sailed in the United States brig Argus, Captain Hull, for Alexandria, where he arrived on the 25th of 168 BATTLE-FIELDS AND November, 1804. On the last day of November he sailed for Kosetta, from Alexandria, where he arrived on the following day. On the 7th of December he reached Cairo, and, in several conferences with the viceroy, that functionary was prevailed upon to grant a letter of amnesty, and permission to pass the Turkish army, which was besieging the Mame lukes, whom the exiled bashaw had joined in the village of Minuet, in Upper Egypt. Despatches were sent to Hamet Bashaw, and Eaton busied him self in the mean time with looking for exiles from Tripoli who would be inclined to join the expedition. From one of them he learned that Joseph Bashaw had circulated the report that his brother had been assassinated. After much difficulty in meeting the bashaw, General Eaton prepared to march from Alexandria to Derne, across the Libyan Desert, with 500 men, 100 of whom were Christians, recruited in Egypt. Leaving Alexandria on the 3d of March, this little army travelled through the desert to Bomba, where it arrived on the 15th of April. During the march, the Arab chiefs who had sided with Hamet Bashaw, and who were but little better than bands of robbers, frequently deserted from the main body on account of the refusal of General Eaton to satisfy their exorbitant demands for money over their stipu lated reward. They generally, however, returned to the encampment within a day or two, hoping perhaps to make up the loss they sustained from General Eaton's firmness by the spoils they expected from their enemies. For fifteen days previously to their arrival at Bomba, they had been destitute of NAVAL EXPLOITS. 169 bread, subsisting upon rice collected in the line of march. ^ On the 22d the Argus and Hornet ap peared in sight, saw and answered the signals of Eaton, and supplied his army with bread and other provisions. Upon receipt of these, the Arab sheiks found no difficulty in moving forward ; and on the 25th of March the army took post on an eminence in the rear of Derne. Several chiefs came out of the town to Hamet Bashaw to convince him of their fealty; and from them they learned that of three factions in the town, one, well armed and in poses- sion of a strong fortification, was in the interest of Hamet. On the 26th, terms of amity were offered the Governor of Derne, by a letter from Eaton, which he simply answered by the words, " My head, or yours." On the morning of the 27th the battle was com menced by the Tripolitans firing upon the Argus, Hornet, and Nautilus, which had stood in to second the attack. The Hornet and Nautilus stationed themselves so as to fire upon the batteries, while the Argus advanced until she was able to throw her twenty-four-pound shot into the town. In a little while the batteries were silenced, the Tripolitan cannoneers leaving their guns to join their country men in the attack upon the American part of Hamet's troops. One field-piece only was here worked by the Christians against a battery of the barbarians. This was disabled by the rammer be ing shot away ; and the enemy were manifestly gain ing the advantage, when Eaton resolved to charge with the 50 men under his command. Though the Tripolitans numbered seven to one of their oppo- 170 BATTLE-FIELDS AND nents, they fled, and their battery was soon sur mounted by the American flag and turned against its late possessors. In this charge Eaton was wounded in the wrist, but Lieutenant O'Bannon gallantly led on the troops. This success was soon followed by the capture of the bey's palace, and the town was in possession of the Americans. The bey took refuge in a Mo hammedan sanctuary; he, however, managed to escape to the Turkish force which had marched from Tripoli to the relief of Derne, and which was but fourteen hours' march from that town when the Americans fortunately gained possession of it. This army numbered about 1000 men, exclusive of the fugitives from Derne, and a battle took place be tween it and Harriet's army on the loth of May. They commenced the action by an attack on about 100 of Hamet's cavalry, who warmly disputed the ground but were compelled to give way to superior numbers. The enemy succeeded in forcing their way to the bey's palace, when a fire was opened upon them from the batteries, and they retreated. Hamet's forces now came forward and annoyed them, and they also suffered much from the fire of the shipping, to which they became exposed. The enemy lost about 85 in killed and wounded, and the bashaw 12. Several of the Arab chiefs in the enemy's camp were much dissatisfied, and two of them deserted to the army of Hamet Bashaw. From this time until the 10th of June the enemy lay en camped within sight of Derne, frequently making feints of attack and skirmishing with the bashaw's troops. On that day the enemy attempted to drive NATAL EXPLOITS. 171 a party of Hamet's cavalry from a pass they occu pied in the heights near Derne, and^ upon resistance, reinforcements were successively added to both sides. In the end the exiled sovereign gained a decisive victory without any other aid than his own troops afforded. The battle was fought in the Barbary fashion, the Americans and Europeans being but little more than spectators of the fight. The enemy lost about 50 killed and 70 wounded. Hamet had about 60 killed and wounded in all; and, had his men been provided with bayonets, the cavalry of his brother's army would have been severely handled. 172 BATTLE-FIELDS AND !.j!H]:iji!|' GEN. W. H. HARRISON. BATTLE OF TIPPECANOE. IN the autumn of 1811, the murders and other outrages committed by the savages determined the government to adopt measures for the protection of the exposed citizens against further molestation. A gmall force of regulars and militia was assembled at Vincennes, and placed under the command of William Henry Harrison, Esq., Governor of the In diana Territory, with instructions to march to the Prophet's town and demand a restoration of the pro perty carried off by his partisans. He was author ized also to obtain redress by coercive measures, if necessary. NAVAL EXPLOITS. 173 On the 6th of November Governor Harrison ar rived before the town. Messengers from the Pro phet were sent out to meet him ; and, after an in terview, in which it was mutually agreed that no hostilities should take place before the next morning, when amicable conferences were to be held, the army proceeded to a creek northwest of the village and bivouacked on a bank of dry oak land, consider ably elevated, and situated between two prairies. The infantry, in two columns, occupied the front and rear, separated on the left one hundred and eighty yards, and on the right about half that dis tance. The left flank was covered by two companies of mounted riflemen, containing 150 rank-and-file, commanded by Major-General Wells, of Kentucky, and the right flank by Spencer's troop of mounted riflemen, to the number of 80. The front line was composed of one battalion of the 4th regiment of the United States infantry, under the command of Ma jor Floyd, flanked on the right by two companies of militia and on the left by one. The rear line was formed of another battalion of the 4th United States infantry, under Captain Baen, acting major, flanked by four companies of militia, under Lieutenant- Colonel Decker. Two troops of dragoons, 60 strong, took post in the rear of the left flank, and another, somewhat stronger, in the rear of the front line. To guard against a night attack, the order of encamp ment was appointed the order of battle ; and each man rested upon his arms. One flank was protected by two captain s guards, each of 4 non-commissioned officers and 42 privates; and the other by two subaltern's guards, each of 20 174 BATTLE-FIELDS AND non-commissioned officers and privates. Just before reveille on the morning of the 7th of November, 1811, an attack commenced on the left flank, and the pickets were driven in. The first notice of the approach of the enemy was the usual yells of the savages, within a short distance of the line. They had violated the armistice agreed upon to subsist until the ensuing day; which, it would seem, they had proposed with a view to gain an opportunity of surprising their adversaries in their usual manner. Nothing but the precaution of encamping in order of battle, and the deliberate firmness of the officers in counteracting the effects of a surprise, saved the army from total defeat. The storm first fell upon Captain Barton's regulars and Captain Geiger's mounted riflemen, forming the left angle on the rear line. Some Indians forced themselves through the line and penetrated into the encampment, where they were killed. The companies thus suddenly and severely attacked were reinforced with all pos sible speed. A heavy fire then opened to the left of the front, immediately on the regular companies of Captains Baen, Snelling, and Prescot. A gallant charge by the cavalry, from the rear of the front line, under Major Davies, was ordered for the pur pose of breaking the Indians, who appeared in great force among some trees a few yards distant in front. The major received a mortal wound, and his men were driven back by superior numbers of the enemy. Captain Snelling's company then charged with fixed bayonets, and the enemy were dislodged. The enemy's fire now extended along the left flank, the whole of the front, the right flank, and part of the NAVAL EXPLOITS. 175 rear line. Upon Spencer's mounted riflemen and the right of Warwick's company it was excessively heavy. Captain Spencer and his first and second lieutenants were killed ; and Captain Warwick fell, mortally wounded. The troops, notwithstanding the fall of their officers, bravely maintained their posts until reinforced. Day approached ; when Ma jor Wells, reconnoitring the position of the enemy BATTLE OP TIPPECANOE. on the left, charged and broke them. At this favor ing moment, a small detachment from the cavalry dashed furiously upon the retreating Indians and precipitated them into the marsh. Simultaneously with these successful efforts on the left, the enemy were charged on the right by the companies of < tain Cook and Lieutenant Larabie, supported by t 176 BATTLE-FIELDS AND mounted riflemen, who pursued and killed a num ber of Indians in their flight. Driven now at all points, and pursued as far as the ground would per mit, the Indians dispersed in every direction. They were handled so severely in the end that they were compelled to abandon many of their killed and wounded on the field, which is, with them, evidence of positive defeat. Forty Indians were found dead on the field. Numbers were carried off, some of whom were found the next day in holes contain ing two, three, and four bodies, covered to conceal them from the victorious army. The general esti mated their loss, in killed and wounded, at 150. NAVAL EXPLOITS. 177 ZACHART TAYLOR. COMMENCEMENT OF THE WAR OF 1812 DEFENCE OF FORT HARRISON. MANY causes of mutual ' hostility between the United States and Great Britain had existed since the Revolution ; but these did not lead to actual hostilities until the 18th of June, 1812, when war was declared by the United States. The chief reasons of war with Britain, as stated in the President's message, were: Impressment of American seamen, British cruisers violating the peace of our coasts, pretended blockades of the enemy's coast without an adequate force, and the orders in council whereby our commerce with her enemies was entirely prohibited and a vast amount of property captured while on its way to their ports. 12 178 BATTLE-FIELDS AND The war on land was at first disadvantageous to the United States. Michilimakinac, with the ter ritory of Michigan, fell into the hands of the Bri tish. General Hull, who invaded Canada, August 1, 1812, was captured, with his whole army; and the territory on our northwestern frontier was thus laid open to the attacks of the enemy, aided by hostile Indians. Previous to Hull's surrender, which took place on the 16th of August, 1812, there had been an action at Brownstown, twenty-six miles below Detroit, between Major Van home with 200 Ohio volunteers, and an ambuscade of Indians, in which our loss was 17 killed and 8 wounded, (August 4.) Another action took place, August 9, at Maguago, fourteen miles below Detroit, in which Colonel Miller, with 600 militia, defeated 700 British and Indians, under Major Muir and Tecumseh. Our loss was 18 killed and 64 wounded; their loss was 15 regulars killed and 40 Indians found dead on the field. Near Chicago, August 15, Captain Heald, with 54 regulars and 12 militia, encountered between 400 and 500 Indians, and, after a severe contest, was defeated with the loss of 39 men, with two women and 12 children who were with the party. Captain Taylor in defending Fort Harrison met with better success. This post, which was situated on the river Wabash, in the Indian Territory, was garrisoned by about 50 men, one-third of whom were sick, under Captain Zachary Taylor, of the regular army. On the evening of the 3d of September, 1812, two young men were shot and scalped in the vicinity of the fort ; arid on the succeeding night the attack was commenced by the conflagration of a block- NAYAL EXPLOITS. 179 house, in which the provisions were contained; and, at the same time, a brisk fire was opened by a large body of the Indians who had lain in am bush. The fire was returned with great spirit by the garrison ; and, as the destruction of the block house had caused an opening in his line of defence Captain Taylor, with great presence of mind, pulled down a cabin, and with its materials constructed DEFENCE OP FOET HARRISON. a breastwork across the aperture. The situation of this small but gallant party became, however, very critical, as the attempts of the enemy to enter by the breach produced by the fire were of a most desperate nature. Two of the garrison, preferring the risk of capture by the enemy to the prospect of massacre in the fort, endeavored to make their escape. One of them was immediately killed ; the 180 BATTLE-FIELDS AND other returned to the walls, and remained concealed until morning. The enemy, finding their attempts to gain possession ineffectual, retreated about day light, but remained in the vicinity of the fort for several days. Their loss was supposed to have been considerable; that of the garrison was only three killed and three wounded; but the destruc tion of the block-house was a serious disadvantage, as it contained the whole of the provisions. For his gallant conduct on this occasion Captain Taylor was shortly after brevetted a major. NAVAL EXPLOITS. 181 FORT NIAGARA. BATTLES OF OGDENSBURG, FORT NIAGARA, AND QUEENSTOWN. IN the beginning of October, 1812, there were as sembled at Black Rock and Buffalo 1300 newly- enlisted recruits, under General Smyth, 500 militia at the same place, 2900 militia near Lewistown, six companies of field and light artillery, amounting to 300 men, and 800 infantry, at Fort Niagara, mak ing an aggregate of 5800, and composing what Gene ral Smyth in his proclamations denominates the army of the centre, extending the length of the Niagara frontier. The whole of this force was un der the command of Major-General Yan Rensselaer, of the Albany militia. On the opposite side of the river was General Brock, with a force at Fort George, and other posts extending to and including 182 BATTLE-FIELDS AND Fort Erie, of 2400 men, consisting of the veterans of the 41st and 49th regiments and Canadian flank- companies, and 400 Indians. On the 8th of October, two British armed brigs, the Detroit and Caledonia, came down the lake from Maiden and anchored under the guns of Fort Erie. Lieutenant Elliott, of the navy, had then just ar rived at Black Rock, with 50 seamen, to superin tend the naval operations in that quarter. On the evening of the 9th, with his seamen and a detach ment of 50 volunteers from General Smyth's brigade, he passed over from Black Rock, boarded and took the brigs. But, the wind not favoring, they drifted down the current and grounded. The Detroit, which was formerly the American brig Adams and sur rendered by Hull at Detroit, after being divested of most of her military stores, was abandoned and burned. The Caledonia, being near enough to be protected by the guns at Black Rock, was saved; she was laden with furs to the value of $150,000. This brilliant achievement was effected with the loss of only two killed and four wounded. The general tenor of the Congressional debates and the publications and the conversation of the day had induced a settled belief that the Canadas would be a certain, easy, and almost a bloodless, conquest ; that, upon the appearance of a respectable force at any point on the frontier, the Canadians in great numbers would flock to the American standard and assist in the object. Impressed with these ideas, the militia and volunteers, who had come out but for a short period, were impatient to make a descent on Canada. They insisted on being permitted to attack NAVAL EXPLOITS. 183 and drive the British from the Niagara peninsula and then to return to their homes ; and many threatened to leave the camp unless led to immediate action. The success of Lieutenant Elliott had induced them to believe that the conquest was an easy one, and that they had only to show themselves to the enemy in order to conquer them. In compliance with their wishes, General Van Rensselaer decided on making the attempt. The principal British force was at Eort George ; but they had made an establishment and erected batteries on the heights above Queens- town : against these batteries the efforts of the American troops were to be first directed. Batteries were erected on the American shore to protect the passage and landing of the troops. The regular forces, under Colonel Fenwick and Major Mallary, were ordered up to Lewistown ; and thirteen boats, being all that could be procured at the time, were provided for crossing. The van of the troops destined for the attack consisted of militia, under the command of Colonel Solomon Yan Rensselaer, aid to the general, a part of the 13th infantry, under Colonel Christie, a detachment of the 6th and 9th, under Major Mal lary, the whole amounting to 400 men. At three o'clock on the morning of the 13th they proceeded from the camp at Lewistown to the place of embark ation. Colonel Van Rensselaer, to whom the chief command of the expedition was intrusted, with 100 men, crossed over and effected a landing. A grape- shot, from a battery below Queenstown which en filaded the passage, wounded Colonel Christie in the hand ; his pilot became confused, his boatmen frightened, and he was obliged to return. The boats 184 BATTLE-FIELDS AND with Major Mallary were carried by the violence of the current below the landing-place; two of them were taken, and the others returned. In ascending the bank, Colonel Van Rensselaer received four wounds. Captains Armstrong, Wool, and Malcolm, were also wounded; and Lieutenant Yalleau and Ensign Morris killed. A party of British troops, BATTLE OF QDEENSTOAVX. having issued from an old fort below. Queen stown, were fired upon by the Americans and compelled to retreat. The firing from the batteries on the heights soon obliged the Americans to take shelter under the bank. To Colonel Van Kensselaer, who lay on the bank severely wounded, application was made for orders. He directed the batteries to be immediately EXPLOITS. 185 stormed. The men were rallied, and 160, under the command of Captain Wool, mounted the rocks on the right of the batteries and took them. The guns were ordered to be turned upon the enemy, but were found to be spiked. The remainder of the detach ment now joined Captain Wool. Both parties were considerably reinforced, and the conflict grew severe at various points. Many of the British took shelter behind a guard-house, from whence a piece of ord nance was briskly served; but the fire from the bat teries on the American side soon silenced it. The British then retired behind a large stone house, but were soon routed and driven from the hill in every direction. General Brock rallied the troops at Queenstown, and, with reinforcements, led them round the hill in rear of the batteries. Captain Wool, discerning this, detached 160 men to meet them; these were driven back. Being reinforced, they returned to the attack, and were again driven by the British to the precipice which forms the bank of the Niagara above Queenstown. Here, the British pressing upon them with double their numbers, and no opportunity of retreating, an officer placed a white handkerchief upon the point of a bayonet, and raised it as a flag, with intention to surrender; Captain Wool immediately tore it off, rallied his men, and returned to the charge. The British troops were in turn routed. General Brock, in endeavoring to rally them, was struck by three balls and instantly killed. His aid, Colonel McDonald, the attorney-general of Upper Canada, was mortally wounded by his side. By ten o'clock the British were completely driven from the 186 BATTLE-FIELDS AND heights. The American line reformed, and flank- ing-parties were sent out. The victory now ap peared complete, and General Van Eensselaer pro ceeded to take measures to secure the conquest. At two o'clock, General Wadsworth, of the militia, with Colonels Scott, Christie, and Major Mallary, crossed over and took the command. Captain Wool was directed to retire and have his wounds dressed. He crossed the river for that purpose, and soon returned to the field. About three o'clock a large party of Indians appeared, pouring out of Chippewa, and, with their savage, yells, commenced a furious attack. The Americans at first gave way, but were soon rallied, and charged the savages, who directly fled to the woods, leaving one of their chiefs a prisoner and several dead on the ground. Scarcely had this battle ended, when a large reinforcement with artil lery arrived from Fort George, and the* battle was renewed with increased severity. Most of the events of the day were in view of Lewistown. The militia who had not crossed over had now seen enough of war. Their zeal for the Canadian conquest had abated. They had dis covered that the Constitution did not require them to go beyond the limits of the United States. Seve ral boatloads which had embarked returned, and no more could be induced to go. General Van Rens- selaer returned to the American side, and, by every means of persuasion and authority, promising and threatening, endeavored to bring them over to secure the victory; but to no effect. Twelve hun dred, whose presence only on the opposite bank would have decided the fortune of the day, stood NAVAL EXPLOITS. 187 on the American shore, inactive spectators of the slaughter and capture of their brethren. The regu lar troops, under General Smyth, who had been ordered down from Black Rock, had not arrived; and the Americans on the heights were left to pro tect themselves. At this time General Van Rens- selaer addressed a note to General Wadsworth, in forming him that it was out of his power to send him succors, and advising him to retreat to the river, where boats should be provided to take them over. The gallant band fought their way to the river against thrice their numbers, but on arriving there no boats were to be found. The same panic had struck the boatmen : not a boat could be manned to bring them, off, and the whole were obliged to surrender. Three hundred and eighty-six regulars, and 368 militia, were made prisoners : the number killed was not exactly ascertained, but supposed to be about 90. The whole loss in killed, wounded, prisoners, and missing, was estimated at 1000. General Brock was conveyed to Fort George, and interred on the 15th with military honors, the guns of Fort Niagara, as well as those of Fort George, firing during the ceremony. 188 BATTLE-FIELDS AND CONSTITUTION AND GUERRIERE. ON the 2d of August, 1812, the Constitution, of forty-four guns, Captain Hull, sailed from Boston on a cruise which will long be memorable in the Re public as the first of a series of exploits which ele vated the character of the nation and strongly illustrated the importance of her navy. On the 19th of August he fell in with His Bri tannic Majesty's ship Guerriere, rated at thirty-eight guns but carrying fifty, commanded by Captain Dacres, who, some time before, had politely en dorsed on the register of an American ship an invi tation to Captain Hull to give him a meeting of this kind. At half-past three P.M., Captain Hull made out his antagonist to be a frigate, and continued the chase till he was within about three miles, when he NAVAL EXPLOITS. 189 cleared for action ; the chase backed her maintopsail and waited for him to come down. As soon as the Constitution was ready, Hull bore down to bring the enemy to close action immediately; but, on his coming within gunshot, the Guerriere gave a broad side and filled away and wore, giving a broadside on the other tack, but without effect, her shot falling short. She then continued wearing and manoeuv ring for about three-quarters of an hour to get a raking position ; but, finding she could not, she bore up and ran under her topsails and jib, with the wind on the quarter. During this time, the Constitution not having fired a single broadside, the impatience of the officers and men to engage was excessive. Nothing but the most rigid discipline could have re strained them. Hull, however, was preparing to decide the contest in a summary method of his own. He now made sail to bring the Constitution up with her antagonist, and, at five minutes before six, p. M., being alongside within half pistol-shot, he commenced a heavy fire from all his guns, double-sliotted with round and grape; and so well directed and so well kept up was the fire that in sixteen minutes the mizzenmast of the Guerriere went by the board, and her rnainyard in the slings, and the hull, rigging, and sails were completely torn to pieces. The fire was kept up for fifteen minutes longer, when the main and foremast went, taking with them every spar ex cept the bowsprit, and leaving the Guerriere a com- * plete wreck. On seeing this, Hull ordered the firing to cease, having brought his enemy in thirty minutes after he was fairly alongside to such a condition that a few more broadsides must have carried her down. 190 BATTLE-FIELDS AND The prize being so shattered that she was not worth bringing into port, after removing the pri soners to the Constitution she was set on fire and blown up. In the action the Constitution lost 7 killed and 7 wounded; 'the Guerriere, 15 killed, 62 wounded, including the captain and several officers, i and 24 missing. The news of this victory was received in the United States with the greatest joy and exultation. All parties united in celebrating it, and the citizens and public authorities vied with each other in be stowing marks of approbation upon Captain Hull and his gallant officers and crew. BUBRENDER 07 THE QDEREIEKZ. NAVAL EXPLOITS. 191 UNITED STATES AND MACEDONIAN- WASP AND FKOLIC CONSTITUTION AND JAVA. ON the 8th of October, 1812, the squadron under the command of Commodore Eodgers, consisting of the President, United States, and Congress frigates, and the Argus sloop-of-war, sailed from Boston on a cruise. On the 13th, in a gale of wind, they parted from the United States and Argus. On the 15th, the President and Congress captured a British packet, with specie amounting to nearly two hundred thou sand dollars. On the 30th of December the two frigates arrived at Boston, without having had the 192 BATTLE-FIELDS AND good fortune to bring an armed vessel of the enemy to action. The Argus arrived soon afterwards at New York, from a very successful cruise of ninety- six days, during which she made captures of British merchant-men to the value of two hundred thousand dollars, and displayed the swiftness of her sailing, as well as the skill of her officers, by an escape from a squadron of the enemy, consisting of six sail, by which she was chased for three days. But the cruise of the United States was by far the most fortunate, as it gave her distinguished com mander an opportunity of adding another leaf to the laurels he had already acquired, and of shedding additional glory on the Republic. On the 25th of October, being off the Western Islands, she fell in with the British frigate Macedonian, of forty-nine guns and 300 men, a vessel newly built and of superior equipment. Being to windward, the latter had the advantage of choosing her distance, which, as the United States was in great part armed with carronades, prevented her from availing herself of them. In consequence of this the action occupied an hour and a half. As soon, however, as the United States was able to bring her enemy to close action, the superiority of the Americans in gunnery was manifestly displayed. The enemy's mizzenmast and most of his spars and rigging being shot away, he deemed it expedient to surrender, with^the loss of 36 killed and 68 wounded. 'That of the Ame ricans was only four killed and seven wounded : among the former was Lieutenant John Musser Funk. This great disproportion in the loss of lives, which was remarkably displayed in all the naval NAVAL EXPLOITS. 193 actions during the war, white it afforded a striking proof of the precision of the Americans in the art of firing, rendered their victories doubly grateful, by depriving them in a great measure of the alloy of individual grief with which such events are too often intermixed. The damage sustained by the United States was not so great as to render necessary her return to port. It was deemed proper, however, to accom pany the prize in ; and both frigates arrived in safety at New York on the 4th of December, where Captain Decatur was received with a similar degree of rejoicing aiid gratitude to that the Republic had heretofore so liberally bestowed upon Captain Hull. The victories, however, of the Constitution and United States, brilliant as they were, were obtained over antagonists somewhat inferior in the number of their guns as well as of their men. We have now to record one in which"" the enemy was un doubtedly superior in the number of his cannon and not inferior in the amount of his seamen. The United States sloop-of-war Wasp, Captain Jacob Jones, sailed from the Delaware on the 13th of October. On the 16th she experienced a heavy gale, in which two men were lost, together with her jib-boom. At midnight on the succeeding day several sail were descried, to which chase was given. On the 18th, at daylight, they were dis covered to be a convoy of six merchant-men, under the protection of a sloop-of-war, four of them being armed vessels. At half-past eleven in the morning the action commenced between the two national vessels, at the distance of about fifty yards. So 13 194 BATTLE-FIELDS AND near, indeed, did they arrive, that the rammers of the Wasp's cannon were, in one instance, struck against the side of her enemy. The fire of the English vessel soon slackened; and after a most sanguinary action of forty-three minutes it was determined to board her. This was immediately effected, Lieutenant Biddle, of the Wasp, particularly distinguishing himself among the boarders. When they reached the deck of the enemy, they found no person upon it, except three officers and the seaman at the wheel. The colors were hauled down by Lieutenant Biddle, there being no one of the enemy's seamen left to perform that office. The vessel thus gallantly captured proved to be his Britannic majesty's brig-of-war, the Frolic, of twenty-two guns, commanded by Captain Whin- yates. The Wasp mounting but eighteen guns, the enemy was thus superior by four cannon. The annals of naval warfare have, perhaps, seldom con tained the narration of a more sanguinary conflict than this. The decks of the Frolic were crowded with the dead and wounded, many of whom were crushed by the falling of her spars. Not less than 30 are said to have been killed, and about 50 wounded: both of her masts were shot away; and she lay on the water, an unmanageable wreck. The Wasp also suffered severely in her spars and rigging from the enemy's fire : her loss of men, however, was trivial, compared with that of her opponent, four only being killed and four wounded. The brave officers and crew of the Wasp were unfor tunately deprived, shortly afterwards, of their hard- earned prize. No sooner had the engagement ceased NAVAL EXPLOITS. 195 than a sail was seen, which soon approached near enough for them to discover that she was an enemy's seventy-four-gun-ship. From the disabled state of both vessels, an escape was impracticable : they were therefore obliged to surrender to the British ship Poictiers, by which they were carried into Bermuda. The honors conferred upon Captain Jones, his officers and crew, on their return to the United States, were not less flattering than those received on the former occasions. Many of the State legis latures voted them their thanks; and the substan tial recompense of twenty-five thousand dollars was appropriated by Congress as a compensation for the loss of the vessel they had so gallantly acquired. Captain Jones was soon afterwards appointed to the command of the Macedonian frigate, which had been purchased by the government from the cap tors and added to the navy of the United States. Nor was this the last of those gallant achieve ments which raised so high the character of the American navy. The frigate Constitution was des tined to receive a brilliant addition to the fame she had acquired in her combat with the Guerriere, and to render the name of the Kepublic celebrated in remote seas. After his capture of the British frigate, Captain Hull resigned the command of the Constitu tion, for the purpose of attending to his private affairs, and was succeeded by Captain William Bainbridge. Accompanied by the Hornet sloop-of-war, the Constitution sailed from Boston, on a cruise to the Pacific Ocean, towards the end of October. In run- 196 BATTLE-FIELDS AND ning down the coast of Brazil, they discovered the Bonne Citoyenne, a British vessel-of-war, of greater force than the Hornet, lying in the port of St. Sal vador. Captain Lawrence, of the Hornet, sent a challenge, however, to the commander of the enemy's vessel, pledging himself that Captain Bainbridge should not interfere. The British captain did not think proper to accept the offer, although the Con stitution had sailed on another cruise, and the Hor net was left to blockade the enemy's vessel. After leaving St. Salvador, Captain Bainbridge steered along the coast of Brazil until the 29th of December, when two sail were discovered, one of which stood in for the land and the other towards the Constitution. The latter was soon perceived to be a British frigate, when Captain Bainbridge tacked ship and stood for her. At two P.M., the enemy being to windward and having hauled down all her colors except the union. Captain Bainbridge ordered a gun to be fired ahead of her, upon which she hoisted her colors and returned the fire. The action now commenced with great vigor on both sides ; the British frigate keeping at long shot, and the Constitution not being able to close with her without exposing herself to the danger of being raked. The wheel of the latter, however, being shot away, Captain Bainbridge now determined to bring his antagonist to close action. He accordingly luffed up and took a position near to her. Soon after four o'clock, the fire of the enemy being com pletely silenced, the Constitution passed ahead for the purpose of repairing her rigging. Finding, how ever, that the British flag was still flying, Captain NAVAL EXPLOITS. 197 Bainbridge took a raking position on her bows, and was at the moment about to commence a destruc tive fire, when the enemy hauled down his colors and surrendered his ship. Possession was soon after taken of her, when she proved to be the British frigate Java, carrying forty-nine guns and manned with upwards of 400 men. She was commanded by Captain Lambert, a very distinguished officer, who was mortally wounded, and was on her way to the East Indies, with a number of British land and naval officers. Among them was Lieu ten ant-General Hislop and his staff. One hundred supernumerary seamen were also on board. Her loss was exceed ingly severe, 60 having been killed and considerably more than 100 wounded. The Americans, as usual, suffered much less, only 9 being killed and 25 wounded. Finding that the Java was so much injured by the fire of the Constitution as to forbid the hope of getting her safe into the United States, she was set on fire on the 31st, the crew and passengers and their baggage having been previously removed. The prisoners, to the number of 361, including officers, were landed at St. Salvador, on their parole. The damage the Constitution received in t{ie action, and her decayed state, made it necessary to return to the United States for repairs. She left St. Salvador on the 6th of January, and arrived at Boston on the 8th of the succeeding month. In all the victories of the American navy the skill and valor of the officers and crews were not less conspicuous than their humanity and generosity to their vanquished enemy. The truth of the old 198 BATTLE-FIELDS AND observation, that the brave are peculiarly susceptible of the kindly and gentler feelings of our nature, was never more strongly manifested than on these occasions. Every thing that the most active humanity as well as the most refined delicacy could suggest was displayed towards the officers and crews of the Guerriere, the Macedonian, the Frolic, and the Java. Private property was scrupulously respected ; and the acknowledgments of the enemy evinced their high sense of the liberality with which the conduct of the Americans had been marked. It was not to be expected, however, that the con flict on the ocean, covered as it was by the ships of the enemy, could be carried on without some loss to the American navy. It was boldly anticipated by the British orators at the commencement of the war that the infant marine of the Kepublic would be swept from the ocean, while the commerce of the British isles would be carried on as usual, without interruption. Even the best friends of America feared that, after a sanguinary opposition and per haps useless victories, the national vessels would be hunted from the ocean or be compelled to sur render to an overpowering superiority. The con trast between these anticipations, however, and the actual result, was of the most striking nature, and must have afforded occasion to many mortifying reflections on the part of the British cabinet. Six months had now elapsed from the commencement of hostilities, during which time the national ves sels of the Kepublic had carried its flag into almost every ocean. Three of them only had fallen into NAVAL EXPLOITS. 199 the hands of the enemy, and those under such cir cumstances of relative force as to reflect no discredit on the captured. The Wasp sloop-of-war was taken, as we have seen, by a seventy-four-gun ship; the schooner Nautilus, of twelve guns, commanded by Lieutenant Crane, surrendered, after a long chase, to a squadron of the enemy's frigates; and the Yixen gun-brig was captured on the 22d of Novem ber by the frigate Southampton, and carried into the West Indies, where her commander, Captain Kead, subsequently died. On the other hand, the havoc made upon the commerce of the enemy was beyond all previous calculation. It has been stated, upon good authority, that, previous to the meeting of Congress in Novem ber, nearly two hundred and fifty vessels had been captured by the American cruisers, and more than 3000 prisoners taken, while of the American mer chant-men comparatively few had fallen into the power of the enemy. The injury thus inflicted on the British commerce was produced only in a partial degree by the public vessels. The American priva teers swarmed in every sea, and the enterprise so conspicuous in the character of the nation rendered them most formidable opponents. Being mostly built with a view to expeditious sailing, they were in general able to overtake the merchant vessels and to escape from the fastest frigates of the enemy. These advantages were never sullied by inhumanity; and the generosity with which they, in many in stances, acted in opposition to the love of profit, reflects credit on the national character. 200 BATTLE-FIELDS AND MASSACRE ON THE RIVER RAISIN. BATTLE OF FKENCHTOWN. IN the West and Northwest the American arms were unfortunate. The left wing of the North western army was commanded by General James Winchester. Receiving intelligence that the British and Indians were posted at Frenchtown, on the river Kaisin, Harrison ordered this detachment to proceed against them, if its commander thought it practicable. Winchester immediately detached an efficient force, under Colonel Lewis, which made a rapid inarch and reached the vicinity of Frenchtown on the 18th of January. The enemy were prepared to receive them ; but the Americans advanced with such impetuosity that the enemy were dislodged from their works and driven to the distance of two miles. The battle lasted from three o'clock in the NAVAL EXPLOITS. 201 afternoon until dark. The American detachment then encamped on the spot from which it had driven the enemy. The loss of the British and Indians was very severe. That of the Americans was 12 killed and 55 wounded. General Winchester, with about 300, arrived at Frenchtown on the 20th. On the morning of the 22d the Americans were surprised and attacked by a greatly superior force of British and Indians, commanded by Colonel Proctor. The action was warmly contested for about a half hour, when, the enemy's fire becoming too galling, Winchester ordered his men to form on the north bank of the river; but they gave way, and could not be rallied. The Indians gained their rear, and, thus borne down by numbers, General Winchester, 35 officers, and 487 non-commissioned officers and privates, surrendered themselves prisoners of war. Before the troops surrendered, the British com mander promised them protection from the ferocity of the Indians; but the promise was made to be broken. At break of day the next morning the savages were suffered to commit every depredation they pleased. An indiscriminate slaughter of all who were unable to walk ensued ; many were toma hawked, and many were burned alive in their houses. Every species of private property remaining in the tents was appropriated by the Indians. The whole detachment was captured or destroyed. The loss of the British and Indians was not ascertained, but , must have been severe, since, for a time, the Ameri cans fought with the fury of desperation. There is no doubt that this disaster was owing to Winchester's want of caution. 202 BATTLE-FIELDS AND SIEGE OF FOKT MEIGS. AFTER the defeat and capture of General Win chester and his army at the river Kaisin, General Harrison established his advanced post at the foot of the Miami Kapids, enclosing about eight acres with strong pickets, and establishing batteries at the most commanding points. This position was selected as being convenient for keeping open a communication and receiving reinforcements and supplies from Kentucky and the settled parts of the State of Ohio, and, at the same time, affording the best station for protecting the borders of Lake Erie, recapturing Detroit, and carrying the war into the British territories. It was denominated Fort Meigs, in honor of the zeal and talents of the Governor of Ohio, The Miami of the Lake is formed by the St. NAYAL EXPLOITS. 203 Mary's, which comes from the South, and the St. Joseph's, which rises in the Indiana Territory. These rivers unite at Fort Wayne, near the west line of the State of Ohio ; from this point the river assumes the name of Miami, and runs a northeast erly direction, about fifty miles to Fort Winchester, formerly Fort Defiance, where it receives the waters of the Auglaize from the South. Thence it con tinues the same course forty miles farther to the rapids, and, after passing a short distance below Fort Meigs on the left, and the ruins of a small village on the right, and embracing a large island, falls into the Miami Bay, opposite the site of an old British fort, eighteen miles from Lake Erie. The rapids terminate at Fort Meigs, three miles above the head of the bay. On the breaking up of the ice in Lake Erie, General Proctor, with all his disposable force, consisting of regulars and Canadian militia from Maiden, arid a large body of Indians under their celebrated chief, Tecumseh, amounting in the whole to 2000 men, laid siege to Fort Meigs. To encourage the Indians, he had pro mised them an easy conquest, and assured them that General Harrison should be delivered up to Tecumseh. On the 26th of April the British co lumns appeared on the opposite bank of the river and established their principal batteries on a com manding eminence opposite the fort. On the 27th the Indians crossed the river and established them selves in the rear of the American lines. The gar rison, not having completed their wells, had no water except what they obtained from the river under a constant firing of the enemy. On the 1st, 2d, 204 BATTLE-FIELDS AND and 3d of May their batteries kept up an incessant shower of balls and shells upon the fort. On the night of the 3d the British erected a gun-and-mor- tar battery on the left bank of the river, within two hundred and fifty yards of the American lines. The Indians climbed the trees in the neighborhood of the fort, and poured in a galling fire upon the garrison. In this situation General Harrison received a sum mons from Proctor for a surrender of 'the garrison, greatly magnifying the means of annoyance; this was answered by a prompt refusal, assuring the British general that if he obtained possession of the fort it would not be by capitulation. Apprehensive of such an attack, General Harrison had made the governors of Kentucky and Ohio minutely acquaint ed with his situation, and stated to them the neces sity of reinforcements for the relief of Fort Meigs. His requisitions had been zealously anticipated, and General Clay was at this moment descending the Miami with 1200 Kentuckians for his relief. At twelve o'clock in the night of the 4th an offi cer arrived from General Clay with the welcome intelligence of his approach, stating that he was just above the rapids, and could reach him in two hours, and requesting his orders. Harrison determined on a general sally, and directed Clay to land 800 men on the right bank, take possession of the British batteries, spike their cannon, immediately return to their boats, and cross over to the American fort. The remainder of Clay's force was ordered to land on the left bank and fight their way to the fort, while sorties were to be made from the garrison in aid of these operations. Captain Hamilton was NAVAL EXPLOITS. 205 directed to proceed up the river in a periauger, land a subaltern on the left bank, who should be a pilot to conduct General Clay to the fort, and then cross over and station his periauger at the place designated for the other division to land. General Clay, having received these orders, descended the river in order of battle in solid columns, each officer taking posi tion according to his rank. Colonel Dudley, being the eldest in command, led the van, and was ordered to take the men in the twelve front boats and exe cute General Harrison's orders on the right bank. He effected his landing at the place designated, without difficulty. General Clay kept close along the left bank until he came opposite the place of Colonel Dudley's landing; but, not finding the subal tern there, he attempted to cross over and join Colonel Dudley; this was prevented by the violence of the current on the rapids, and he again attempted to land on the left bank, and effected it with only fifty men amid a brisk fire from the enemy on shore, and made his way to the fort, receiving their fire until within the protection of its guns. The other boats, under the command of Colonel Boswell, were driven farther down the current, and landed on the right to join Colonel Dudley. Here they were ordered to re-embark, land on the left bank, and proceed to the fort. In the mean time two sorties were made from the garrison, one on the left, in aid of Colonel Boswell, by which the Canadian militia and Indians were defeated and he enabled to reach the fort in safety, and one on the right, against the British batteries, which was also successful. Colonel Dudley, with his detachment of 800 Ken- 206 BATTLE-FIELDS AND tncky militia, completely succeeded in driving the British from their batteries and spiking the cannon. Having accomplished this object, his orders were peremptory to return immediately to his boats and cross over to the fort; but the blind confidence which generally attends militia when successful proved their ruin. Although repeatedly ordered by Colonel Dudley, and warned of their danger, and called upon from the fort to leave the ground, and although there was abundant time for that purpose before the British reinforcements arrived, yet they commenced a pursuit of the Indians, and suffered themselves to be drawn into an ambuscade by some feint skirmishing, while the British troops and large bodies of Indians were brought up and intercepted their return to the river. Elated with their first success, they considered the victory as already gain ed, and pursued the enemy nearly two miles into the woods and swamps, where they were suddenly caught in a defile and surrounded by double their numbers. Finding themselves in this situation, con sternation prevailed ; their line became broken and disordered; and, huddled together in unresisting crowds, they were obliged to surrender to the mercy of the savages. Fortunately for these unhappy vic tims of their own rashness, General Tecumseh com manded at this ambuscade, and had imbibed, since his appointment, more humane feelings than his brother Proctor. After the surrender, and all re sistance had ceased, the Indians, finding 500 pri soners at their mercy, began the work of massacre with the most savage delight. Tecumseh sternly forbade it, and buried his tomahawk in the head of NAVAL EXPLOITS. 207 one of his chiefs who refused obedience. This order, accompanied with this decisive manner of enforcing it, put an end to the massacre. Of 800 men only 150 escaped. The residue were slain or made pri soners. Colonel Dudley was severely wounded in the action, and afterwards tomahawked and scalped. Proctor, seeing no prospect of taking the fort, and finding his Indians fast leaving him, raised the siege on the 9th of May, and returned with precipitation to Maiden. Tecumseh and a considerable portion of the Indians remained in service ; but large num bers left it in disgust, and were ready to join the Americans. On the left bank, in the several sorties of the 5th of May and during the siege, the Ameri can loss was 81 killed and 189 wounded. General Harrison, having repaired the fort and committed its defence to General Clay, repaired to Franklin ton to organize the new levies and systematize a plan of defence for the Erie frontier. At Lower Sandusky he met Governor Meigs, at the head of a large body of Ohio volunteers, pressing on to his relief, and gave him the pleasing intelligence that the siege was raised. The volunteers were there discharged, with the warmest acknowledgments of the governor and general for their promptness and zeal in marching to the relief of Fort Meigs. 208 BATTLE-FIELDS AND DEFENCE OF FORT STEPHENSON. DEFENCE OF FORT STEPHENSON. ON the 28th of July, 1813, the followers of Proc tor again approached Fort Meigs, around which they remained for a week, effecting nothing, though very numerous. The purpose of this second investment seems, indeed, rather to have been the diversion of Harrison's attention from Erie, and the employment of the immense bands of Indians which the English had gathered at Maiden, than any serious blow; and, finding no progress made, Proctor next moved to Sandusky, into the neighborhood of the commander- in-chief. The principal stores of Harrison were at Sandusky, while he was himself at Seneca and Major Croghan at Fort Stephenson or Lower San dusky. This latter post being deemed indefensible against heavy cannon, and it being supposed that NAVAL EXPLOITS. 209 Proctor would of course bring heavy cannon if he attacked it, the general and a council of war called by him thought it wisest to abandon it ; but, before this could be done after the final determination of the matter, the appearance of the enemy upon the 31st of July made it impossible. The garrison of the little fort was composed of 150 men, under a commander just past his twenty-first year, and w r ith a single piece of cannon, while the investing force, including Tecumseh's Indians, was, it is said, 3300 strong, and with six pieces of artillery, all of them, for tunately, light ones. Proctor demanded a surrender, and told the unvarying story of the danger of pro voking a general massacre by the savages unless the fort was yielded : to all which the representative of young Croghan replied by saying that the Indians would have none left to massacre if the British con quered, for every man of the garrison would have died at his post. Proctor upon this opened his fire, which, being concentrated upon the northwest angle of the fort, led the commander to think that it was meant to make a breach there and carry the works by assault: he therefore proceeded to strengthen that point by bags of sand and flour, while under cover of night he placed his single six-pounder in a position to rake the angle threatened, and then, having charged his infant battery with slugs and hidden it from the enemy, he waited the event. During the night of the 1st of August, and till late in the evening of the 2d, the firing continued upon the devoted northwest corner; then, imder cover of the smoke and gathering darkness, a column of 350 men approached unseen to within twenty paces 14 210 BATTLE-FIELDS AND of the walls. The musketry opened upon them, but with little effect ; the ditch was gained, and in a moment filled with men. At that instant the masked cannon, only thirty feet distant, and so directed as to sweep the ditch, was unmasked and fired, killing at once 27 of the assailants. The effect was decisive; the column recoiled, and the little fort was saved, with the loss of one man. On the next morning the British and their allies, having .the fear of Har rison before their eyes, were gone, leaving behind them, in their haste, guns, stores, and clothing. COLONEL CROGUAN. NAYAL EXPLOITS. 211 BUILDING OF THE FLEET ON LAKE ERIE. BATTLE ON LAKE ERIE. THE American fleet on Lake Erie having been completed, and with great difficulty passed over the bar, a principal part of the crew of each vessel being made up of the Pennsylvania militia who had volun teered to go on an expedition, sailed on a short cruise for the purpose of training the guns and of exercising the sailors. In the latter part of August, Commo dore Perry proceeded to the mouth of Sandusky River to co-operate with General Harrison. At this place about 70 volunteer marines were received on board, and the fleet sailed in quest of the British squadron. The latter was at that time near Maiden, before which place Commodore Perry appeared, and, after reconnoitring the enemy, he retired to Put-in Bay, a distance of thirty miles, in hopes of drawing out his antagonist. 212 BATTLE-FIELDS AND On the morning of the 10th of September, 1813, the enemy was discovered bearing down upon the American squadron, which immediately got under way and stood out to meet him. The superiority of force was greatly in favor of the British, though they had not an equal number of vessels. Their crews were larger and the length and number of their guns greater than those of the American squadron. When the American fleet stood out, the British fleet had the weather-gauge ; but at ten o'clock A. M. the wind shifted and brought the American to wind ward. The line of battle was formed at eleven, and at fifteen minutes before twelve the enemy's flag ship and the Queen Charlotte opened upon the Law rence a heavy and effectual fire, which she was obliged to sustain upwards of ten minutes without a possibility of returning it, in consequence of her bat tery being of carronades. She nevertheless con tinued to bear up, and, having given a signal to the other vessels to support her, at a few minutes before twelve opened her fire upon the enemy. The wind being too light to assist the remainder of the squadron in coming up, the Lawrence was compelled to fight the enemy's heaviest vessels up wards of two hours. The crew were not at all depressed ; their animation increased as the despera tion of the fight became greater, and the guns were worked with as much coolness and precision as if they had been in the act of training only. The slaughter on board the brig was almost unparalleled, the rigging very much injured, and the braces en tirely shot away; and at length, after every gun NAVAL EXPLOITS. 213 had been rendered useless, she became quite un manageable. The first lieutenant, Yarnall, was thrice wounded; the second lieutenant, Forrest, struck in the breast ; the gallant Lieutenant Brookes, of the marines, and Midshipman Laub, were killed, and Sailing-master Taylor, Purser Hamilton, and Midshipmen Claxton and Swartwout, wounded. Her loss already amounted to 22 killed and 61 wounded, when the commodore, seeing that she must very soon strike if the other vessels were not brought up, gave up the command of the Lawrence to Lieutenant Yarnall, and, jumping into a boat, ordered it to be steered .for the Niagara, to which vessel he had determined to shift his flag. In passing from the Lawrence to the Niagara he stood up, waving his sword and gallantly cheering his men, under a shower of balls and bullets. He gained the Niagara unhurt at the moment the flag of the Lawrence came down; and, the wind having at that instant increased, he brought her into action, and at forty- five minutes past two gave signal for the whole fleet to close. All the vessels were now engaged; but, as the superiority of the enemy had been increased by the loss of the Lawrence, the commodore determined on piercing his line with the Niagara. He therefore reso lutely bore up, and, passing ahead of the Detroit, Queen Charlotte, and Lady Prevost, poured a galling and destructive fire into each from his starboard side, and into the Chippewa and Little Belt from his lar board. He was then within half pistol-shot, and, as he cut through the line, the commander of the Lady Prevost, a brave officer, who had distinguished him- 214 BATTLE-FIELDS AND self at the battle of the Nile, received a musket-ball in the face, and the crew, being unable to stand the fire, immediately ran below. At this moment the Caledonia was struggling to get closer into the ac tion, and her commander, Lieutenant Turner, ordered her guns to be fired through the foresail, which in terfered between him and the enemy, rather than BATTLE OF LAKE ERIE. lose the chance of a full share in the combat, and was only prevented from attempting to board the Detroit by the prudent refusal of the officer of another small vessel to assist him. The action was now raging with its utmost vio lence, every broadside fired with the most exact precis-ion, and the result of the conflict altogether uncertain. In addition to the loss of the Lawrence's * NAVAL EXPLOITS. 215 guns, one of the Ariel's had bursted, and the enemy had then the superiority of thirty-four guns. This doubtful aspect, however, soon after changed. The Queen Charlotte had lost her captain and all her principal officers ; and having, by some mischance, run foul of the Detroit, most of the guns of both vessels became useless. In this situation, advantage of which was immediately taken by Commodore Perry, they were compelled to sustain, in turn, an in cessant fire from the Niagara and other vessels of the American squadron. The British commodore's flag was soon after struck, and those of the Queen Charlotte and Lady Pre.vost, the Hunter, and the Chippewa, came down in immediate succession. The whole fleet surrendered to the inferior squadron, with the exception of the Little Belt, which attempted to escape, but was pursued by two of the gun-boats and captured at a distance of three miles from the squadron. Thus, after an action of three hours, in which the individual gallantry of either fleet had never been surpassed by any naval event now to be found on the record of history, was the entire command of this important lake yielded to the American arms. 216 BATTLE-FIELDS AND COLONEL JOHNSON. BATTLE OF THE THAMES. THE victory gained by Commodore Perry on Lake Erie gave many advantages to the army of General Harrison. The pursuit of the enemy was instantly resolved upon. On the 27th of September the army crossed the lake. Maiden was found wasted and deserted by Proctor, who had retreated by the valley of the Thames towards the heart of Canada. On the 2d of October Harrison started in pursuit of the enemy, and, on the 5th, overtook them. Proctor's position was strong. The Indians, under Tecumseh, NAVAL EXPLOITS. 217 were upon the left, between the river and a small marsh; the British regulars, between two marshes on the right. Harrison's order of battle had been determined when he became aware that the British regulars were drawn up in open order, which made them liable to a fatal attack by cavalry. He in stantly resolved upon a novel manoeuvre. Colonel James Johnson, with one battalion of mounted men, was ordered to charge and break the line of regulars and then form in their rear. This was executed with precision. The British were broken, and the whole body, panic-stricken by the unexpected character of the attack, surrendered at once. Tecumseh and his Indians fought more ob stinately. The Kentuckians, commanded by Colonel Richard M. Johnson, were forced to dismount in the contest. But the fall of the valiant Tecumseh, the soul of his people, led to the complete overthrow of the Indians. Within half an hour the battle was won, and a detachment was in pursuit of General Proctor, who had fled at the onset. Though 5000 men were engaged in this battle, only about 40 were killed, most of whom were Indians. This was a splendid and decisive victory. The British army was nearly all captured, and the Indians never re covered from the blow. 218 BATTLE-FIELDS AND CAPTAIN LAWRENCE. HOENET AND PEACOCK ON the 23d of February, 1813, the sloop-of-war Hornet, commanded by Captain James Lawrence, while cruising near Demarara, discovered a brig to the leeward, and chased her so near the shore that he was obliged to haul off for want of a pilot. Dur ing the chase, however, he had discovered a vessel at anchor outside of the bar of Demarara River, with English colors flying, and now began beating round the Corobano bank to get at her; when, between three and four o'clock in the afternoon, another sail was seen on his weather-quarter, edging down for him. As she approached she hoisted English colors, and proved to be the British brig Peacock, Captain Peake. The Hornet was immediately cleared for action, and kept close to the wind in order to get the weather- gauge of the approaching vessel. At ten minutes past five, finding that he could weather the enemy, Captain Lawrence hoisted American colors, tacked, and, in about a quarter of an hour, passed the British NAVAL EXPLOITS. 219 ship within half pistol-shot, and exchanged broad sides. The enemy was now in the act of wearing, when Captain Lawrence bore up ; received his star board broadside, and ran him close on board on the starboard-quarter; from which position he kept up so close and bloody a fire that in less than fifteen minutes from the commencement of the action the British struck their colors and hoisted a signal of distress. Lieutenant Shubrick instantly went on board, and found that she was cut to pieces, her captain killed, many of the crew killed and wounded, her mainmast gone by the board, six feet water in the hold, and sinking very fast. The two ships were immediately brought to anchor and the Hornet's boats despatched to bring off the wounded; but, although her guns were thrown overboard, the shot- holes which could be got at plugged, and every ex ertion made by pumping and baling to -keep her afloat, so completely had she been shattered that she sunk before the prisoners could be removed, carrying down thirteen of her crew, as well as three men belonging to the Hornet. Lieutenant Connor and the other officers and men employed in remov ing the prisoners narrowly escaped by jumping into a boat as the Peacock went down ; and four seamen of the Hornet ran up into the foretop at the same time, and were taken off by the boats. The Peacock was deemed one of the finest ships of her class in the British navy. In size she was about equal to the Hornet ; but in guns and men the Hornet was somewhat, though very little, her superior, and by no means so much so as to give her any decided advantage. The loss on board the 220 BATTLE-FIELDS AND Peacock could not be precisely ascertained. Captain Peake was twice wounded, the second time mortally. Four men were found dead on board. The master and thirty-two others were wounded, three of whom afterwards died. The Hornet had only one man killed and two slightly wounded. Her rigging and sails were much cut, but her hull received very little injury. NAYAL EXPLOITS. 221 CHESAPEAKE AND SHANNON. AFTER the action with the Peacock, Captain Law rence was promoted to the command of the frigate Chesapeake, then lying in Boston Harbor. She sailed on the 1st of June, 1813. As soon as she got under way, Captain Law rence called the crew together, and, having hoisted the white flag, with the motto of " Free Trade and Sailors' Eights," made a short address. His speech, however, was received with no enthusiasm ; on the contrary, signs of dissatisfaction were evident, par ticularly from a boatswain's mate, a Portuguese, who seemed to be at the head of the malecontents ; and complaints were muttered that they had not yet received their prize-money. Such expressions, at the eve of an action, were but ill-bodings of the re sult of it; but Captain Lawrence, ignorant as he was of the character of his sailors, and unwilling at 222 BATTLE-FIELDS AND such a moment to damp their spirits by harshness, preserved his accustomed calmness, and had prize- checks at once given by the purser to those who had not received them. While this scene was pass ing, the Shannon, observing the Chesapeake coming out, bore away. The Chesapeake followed her till four o'clock in the afternoon, when she hauled up and fired a gun, on which the Shannon hove to. They manoeuvred for some time, till, at about a quarter before six, they approached within pistol- shot and exchanged broadsides. These broadsides were both bloody ; but the fire of the Shannon was most fortunate in the destruc tion of officers. The fourth lieutenant, Mr. Ballard, was mortally wounded ; the sailing-master was killed, and Captain Lawrence received a musket-ball in his leg, which caused great pain and profuse bleeding ; but he leaned on the companion-way and continued to order and to animate his crew. A second and a third broadside was exchanged, with evident advantage on the part of the Chesapeake ; but, unfortunately, among those now wounded on board of her was the first lieutenant, Mr. Ludlow, who was carried below ; three men were successively shot from the helm in about twelve minutes from the commencement of the action ; and, as the hands were shifting, a shot disabled her foresail, so that she would no longer answer her helm, and her anchor caught in one of the after-ports of the Shan non, which enabled the latter to rake her upper- deck. As soon as Lawrence perceived that she was falling to leeward, and that by the Shannon's filling she would fall on board, he called his boarders, and NAVAL EXPLOITS. 223 was giving orders about the foresail when he re ceived a imisket-ball in his body. The btigleman who should have called the boarders did not do his duty; and, at this moment, Commodore Broke, whose ship had suffered so much that he was pre paring to repel boarding, perceiving from this acci dent how the deck of the Chesapeake was swept, jumped on board with about 20 men. They would have been instantly repelled ; but the captain, the first lieutenant, the sailing-master, boatswain, lieu tenant of marines, the only acting lieutenant on the spar-deck, were all killed or disabled. At the call of the boarders Lieutenant Cox ran on deck, but just in time to receive his falling commander and bear him below. Lieutenant Budd the second lieutenant led up the boarders; but only 15 or 20 would follow him, and with these he defended the ship till he was wounded and disabled. Lieutenant Ludlow, wounded as he was, hurried upon deck, where he soon received a mortal cut from a sabre. The marines who were engaged fought with des perate courage ; but they were few in numbers, too many of them having followed the Portuguese boatswain's mate, who exclaimed, it is said, as he skulked below, " So much for not paying men their prize-money!" Meanwhile the Shannon threw on board 60 additional men, who soon succeeded in overpowering the seamen of the Chesapeake, who had now no officers to lead or rally them, and took possession of the ship, which was not, however, sur rendered by any signal of submission, but became the enemy's only because they were able to over whelm all who were in a condition to resist. 224 BATTLE-FIELDS AND As Captain Lawrence was carried below, he per ceived the melancholy condition of the Chesapeake, but cried out, " Don't surrender the ship." He was taken down in the wardroom, and, as he lay in ex cruciating pain, perceiving that the noise above had ceased, he ordered the surgeon to go on deck and tell the officers to fight on to the last and never strike the colors. " They shall wave," said he, " while I live." But it was too late to resist or to struggle longer; the enemy had already possession of the ship. As Captain Lawrence's wounds would not allow of his removal, he continued in the ward room, surrounded by his wounded officers, and, after lingering in great pain for four days, during which his sufferings were too acute to permit him to speak, or perhaps to think of the sad events he had just witnessed, or do more than ask for what his situa tion required, he died on the 5th of June. His body was wrapped in the colors of the Chesapeake, and laid on the quarter-deck until they arrived at Halifax, where he was buried with the highest military and naval honors, the British officers forgetting for a moment, in their admiration of his character, that he had been but lately their enemy. His pall was supported by the oldest captains in the navy then at Halifax, and no demonstration of respectful attention was omitted to honor the re mains of a brave but unfortunate stranger. NAVAL EXPLOITS. 225 ENTEEPRISE AND BOXER.' ON the 1st of September, 1813, the brig Enter prise sailed from Portsmouth on a cruise, and on the 3d discovered and chased a schooner into Portland, where he gained intelligence of several privateers being off Manhagan, and immediately stood for that place. The British gun-brig the Boxer, of fourteen guns and nearly 100 men, had been fitted up at St. John's, New Brunswick, for the purpose of a combat with the Enterprise, mounting the same number of guns and very nearly the same number of men. To the crew of the Boxer, however, a detachment was added from the Rattler upon her arrival on the United States coast. On the morning of the 5th the Enterprise, in the bay near Penguin Point, discovered the Boxer get ting under way, and gave chase to her. The Boxer fired several guns, stood for the Enterprise, and hoisted four ensigns. Captain Burrows, having as certained her character, stood out of the bay to obtain sea-room; and, followed by the Boxer, he 15 226 BATTLE-FIELDS AND hauled upon a wind until three P. M. At that hour he shortened sail, and in twenty minutes the action commenced, within half pistol-shot. At the first broadside Captain Blythe was killed by a cannon- shot through his body, and in a moment after wards Captain Burrows fell by a musket-ball. The command of the two vessels during the whole en gagement* was therefore maintained by the lieute nants. Captain Burrows refused to quit the deck, and at four P.M. received the sword of Captain Blythe from the hands of Lieutenant McCall, ex pressed his satisfaction at the manner of his death, and expired about eight hours afterwards. The colors of the Boxer had been nailed to the mast, and her first officer was therefore obliged to hail Lieutenant McCall to inform him of her surrender before it was known that she was vanquished. She was immediately taken possession of and carried into Portland, with her masts, sails, and spars cut to pieces, and with twenty eighteen-pound shot in her hull. The number of her killed and wounded could not be ascertained, no papers being on board by which the strength of her crew could be known. Her officers admitted the loss of 25 killed and 14 wounded. The rigging of the Enterprise was much cut with grape-shot, but her hull was not materially damaged. Her loss was one killed and thirteen wounded : among the latter, the captain and car penter's mate, mortally. Lieutenant Tillinghast and Midshipman Waters, the latter of whom was severely wounded, behaved with coolness and deter mination 5 and Lieutenant McCall, who succeeded .ft NATAL EXPLOITS. 227 his gallant captain, sustained the reputation of the navy by his conduct throughout the action. On their arrival at Portland the bodies of the deceased commanders were deposited with the usual military ceremonies, and the prisoners were soon after removed to the interior. -Both vessels were repaired with the utmost despatch ; and the Boxer, being considered the superior vessel, was ordered by the President of the United States to be delivered up for the benefit of the captors and bought from them into the service. 228 BATTLE-FIELDS A >7 D MASSACRE AT FORT MIMMS. EARLY in 1812, Tecumseh, the great Shawnee warrior and statesman, appeared among the Indians of the South, attended their councils, and used all his knowledge of their character and his eloquence to induce them to join the Indian confederacy of the North and its British allies. It appears that his efforts were at first unsuccessful. But the successes of the British in the North, and the awful aid of superstition, effected Tecumseh's purpose. Through the channel of Florida the British supplied the Indians with implements of war and presents of goods highly valued by the red men. A large majority of the Creeks by far the most powerful of the Southern tribes were induced to begin hostilities against the United States. Murders and robberies were committed, and the criminals were not delivered up on demand. The inhabitants of the frontier were filled with alarm and consterna tion. The people of the Tensaw district, on the Alabama, fled for safety to Fort Mimms. This post NAVAL EXPLOITS. 229 was garrisoned by 150 volunteers, under command of Major Beasly. In the forenoon of the 30th of August, 1812, Weatherford, a Creek chief of great talents, with about 600 warriors, surprised the fort, set fire to the buildings it contained, and massacred all within it except 17 persons, who contrived to escape. Nearly 400 men, women, and children were put to death, with circumstances of the utmost horror. This terrible event spread consternation through the neighboring settlements. The inhabitants fled towards the other forts, leaving their dwellings and fields to be destroyed or wasted by the savages. The spirit of the people of Tennessee and Georgia was aroused, and prompt exertions were made to punish the perpetrators of the massacre. 230 BATTLE-FIELDS AND GENERAL JACKSON. BATTLES OF TALLUSHATCHES AND TALLADEGA. ON the 2d of . November, 1813, Major-General Jackson despatched Brigadier-General Coffee from NAVAL EXPLOITS. 231 the camp at Ten-Islands with 900 men, consisting of cavalry and mounted riflemen, on an expedition against the Tallushatches towns, where a consider able force of the Creeks was concentrated. Coffee arrived within a mile and a half of the town on the morning of the 3d, where he divided his force into two divisions, and directed them to march so as completely to encircle the town, which was effected in a masterly manner. When they arrived within about half a mile of the town the enemy began to prepare for action, which was announced by the beating of their drums, mingled with savage yells. About an hour after sunrise the action was brought on by two companies who had gone within the circle of alignment for the purpose of drawing the enemy out from their buildings. As soon as the two com panies exhibited their front in view of the town and gave a few scattering shot, the enemy formed and made a violent charge upon them, on which they gave way, and were followed by the Indians until they reached the main body, who immediately opened a general fire, and then charged. The In dians now, in their turn, retreated, firing, until they got around and in their buildings, when they made a most determined resistance, fighting to the very last moment, as long as they could stand or sit, not one shrinking or complaining, not one asking for quarter. Every warrior in the town was killed, and all the women and children were taken prisoners, except a few who were unintentionally slain in con sequence of the men flying to the houses and mix ing with their families, and at the same time refus ing quarter. 232 BATTLE-FIELDS AND The number found killed of the enemy was 186, and a number of others were killed in the woods who were not found. The number of women and children taken was 84. Of the Americans five were killed arid 41 wounded, the greater part slightly, none mortally ; two of the killed were with arrows, which appeared to form a principal part of the arms of the Indians on this occasion, every man having a bow, with a bundle of arrows, which he used after the first fire with his gun, until a leisure time for loading offered. Coffee bestows much praise on his men for their deliberation and firmness. "Notwithstanding our numbers," says he, "were far superior to that of the enemy, it was a circumstance to us unknown, and from the parade of the enemy we had every reason to suppose them our equals in number; but there appeared no visible traces of alarm in any. On the contrary, all appeared cool and determined; and, no doubt, when they face a foe of their own or of superior number, they will show the same courage as on this occasion." The following day General Coffee returned with his detachment to the camp. Late on the evening of the 7th a friendly Indian arrived at the camp, who brought intelligence that the enemy had arrived in great numbers at Talla- dega, about thirty miles below the camp, where 160 men of the friendly Creeks had erected a fort, the more effectually to resist the efforts of the hostile party, and where they were now stationed with their wives and children. The messenger repre sented that, unless speedy relief could be obtained NAVAL EXPLOITS. 233 from the army, the fort would certainly be taken. General Jackson immediately gave orders for taking up the line of march, with 1200 infantry and 800 cavalry and mounted riflemen, leaving behind the sick, the wounded, and the baggage, with a suffi cient force for their protection. By twelve o'clock that night the army was in motion, and commenced crossing the river opposite the encampment, which was effected in a few hours, and on the night of the 8th the army was encamped within six miles of the enemy. At eleven that night a soldier and two Indians, who had been sent forward to recon noitre, returned with the intelligence that the enemy were encamped within a quarter of a mile of the fort; but they had not been able to approach near enough to ascertain either their number or precise situation. At midnight the adjutant-general was ordered to prepare the line of march, and by four o'clock the army was in motion. The infantry marched in three columns; the cavalry and mounted riflemen were in the rear, with flankers on each wing. The advance con sisted of a company of artillery with muskets, and two companies of riflemen. A company of spies marched four hundred yards in front of the whole, to bring on the engagement. Having arrived with in a mite of the enemy at seven o'clock, 250 of the cavalry and mounted riflemen were placed in the rear of the centre as a corps de reserve, and the re mainder were ordered to advance on the right and left of the infantry, and, 'after having encircled the enemy by uniting the fronts of their columns and keeping their rear connected with the infantry, to r 234 BATTLE-FIELDS AND face and press inwards towards the centre, so as to leave the enemy no possibility of escape. The in fantry were ordered to advance by heads of com panies, General Hall's brigade occupying the right and General Roberts's the left. About eight o'clock, the advance having arrived within eighty yards of the enemy, who were con cealed in a thick shrubbery which covered the margin of a rivulet, received from them a heavy fire, which they immediately returned and then charged and dislodged them from their position. The advance now fell back, as they had been pre viously ordered, to the centre. On the approach of the enemy, three of the militia-companies, having given one fire, commenced a retreat, notwithstand ing the utmost exertions of their officers. To fill the vacancy occasioned by this retreat, Jackson im mediately ordered up a regiment of volunteers ; but, finding the advance of the enemy too rapid to admit of their arrival in time, the reserve was ordered to dismount and meet them. This order was executed with great promptitude and gallantry; and the re treating militia, seeing the spirited stand made by the reserve, immediately rallied, and, recovering their position, poured in upon the enemy a most destructive fire. The engagement now became general ; and in fifteen minutes the Indians were seen flying in every direction. On the left they were met and repulsed by the mounted riflemen; but on the right it unfortunately happened that too great a space had been left between the cavalry and infantry, by which numbers escaped. They were NAVAL EXPLOITS. 235 pursued, however, for three miles, to the mountains, with great slaughter. The force of the enemy was represented by them selves at 1080, of whom 299 were left dead on the ground, and a great many were killed in their flight. It is believed that very few escaped without a wound. The American loss was 15 killed and 80 wounded. 236 BATTLE-FIELDS AND EXPEDITION TO THE HILLIBEE TOWNS AND THE TALLAPOOSA RIVER. ON the llth of November, General Cocke, who commanded the other division of the Tennessee militia, ordered Brigadier-General White, with a de tachment of mounted infantry and cavalry, to pro ceed from Fort Armstrong, where this division was stationed, on an expedition against the Hillibee towns of the hostile Creeks, on t he Tallapoosa River. This expedition was completely successful. They penetrated one hundred miles into the enemy's country and burned four of their villages, three of which they found deserted. Previous to their ar rival at the fourth, they learned that a party of the hostile Creeks were assembled there. Having inarched the whole of the night of the 17th, they NATAL EXPLOITS. 237 surrounded and completely surprised the town at daylight of the morning of the 18th; and of the whole party, which consisted of 31 6, not one escaped, 60 being killed and the remainder made prisoners. The detachment now returned to camp, where they arrived on the 23d, having lost not one drop of blood in this enterprise. The country through which they marched was exceedingly rough and hilly, and they had to pass several narrow defiles, where it was necessary to use the utmost precau tion. The troops and horses, likewise, had to be subsisted, in a great degree, on such supplies as could be procured in the enemy's country, which rendered their march more tardy than -it would otherwise have been. The Georgia militia, though embodied before those of Tennessee, were not able, from the want of mili tary supplies, to proceed to active operations till the end of November. Brigadier-General Stewart had been originally destined for the command, as the senior brigadier ; but, family considerations inducing him to decline its acceptance, Brigadier-General Floyd was appointed in his room. Towards the end of November, Floyd received in formation that numbers of the hostile Indians were assembled at Autossee, a town on the southern bank of the Tallapoosa Eiver, about twenty miles above its junction with the Coosa. He immediately left his camp, which was situated on the west side of the Chattahoochee Kiver, and proceeded against the enemy with 950 militia and between 300 and 400 of the friendly Creeks. On the evening of the 28th the detachment encamped within nine or ten miles 238 BATTLE-FIELDS AND of the place of destination, and, having resumed their march about one next morning, at half-past six they were formed for action in front of the town. The detachment was formed in two columns, with a rifle- company on each flank and a company of artillery in front of the right column. It was Floyd's intention to have completely sur rounded the enemy by resting the right wing of his force on Canleebee Creek, at the mouth of which he was informed their town stood, and resting his left on the river-bank below the town ; but, to his sur prise, as the day dawned, he perceived a second town about five hundred yards below that which he was preparing to attack. The plan, therefore, was instantly changed: three companies of infantry on the left were wheeled to the left en echelon, and ad vanced to the lower town, accompanied by a rifle- company and two troops of light dragoons. The remainder of the force approached the upper town, and the battle soon became general. The Indians presented themselves at every point, and fought with desperate bravery; but the well-directed fire of the artillery and the bayonets of the infantry soon forced them to take refuge in the outhouses, thickets, and copses in the rear of the town. Many, it was supposed, secured themselves in caves previously formed for this purpose in the high bluff of the river, which was thickly covered with reeds and brush wood. It was intended that the friendly Indians should have crossed the river above the town and been posted on the opposite shore during the action, to fire on such of the enemy as should attempt to escape, or to keep in check any reinforcements which NATAL "EXPLOITS. 239 might be attempted to be thrown in from the neigh boring towns. Owing to the difficulty of the ford, however, and the coldness of the weather and late ness of the hour, this arrangement failed, and their leaders were directed to cross Canleebee Creek and occupy that flank, to prevent escapes from the Tallissee town. Some time after the action com menced, the friendly Indians thronged in disorder in the rear of the militia, when the hostile tribes fell on the flanks of the detachment and fought with great intrepidity. By nine o'clock, however, the enemy was completely driven from the plains and the houses of both towns wrapped in flames. It was impossible to determine the strength of the enemy; but from the information of some of the chiefs, which it is said could be relied on, there were assembled at Autossee warriors from eight towns for its defence, it being their beloved ground, on which they proclaimed no white man could approach with out inevitable destruction. Neither was it possible to ascertain their loss ; but from the number which were lying scattered over the field, together with those destroyed in the towns and those slain on the bank of the river, whom respectable officers affirmed they saw lying in heaps at the water's edge, where they had been precipitated by their surviving friends, their loss in killed alone must have been at least 200, among whom were the Autossee and Tallissee kings. The number of buildings burned is supposed to have been 400 ; some of them were of a superior order for the dwellings of savages, and filled with valuable articles. The Americans had 11 killed and 54 wounded : among the latter was General Floyd. 240 BATTLE-FIELDS AND The detachment being now sixty miles from any depot of provisions, and their rations pretty nearly consumed, as soon .as the dead and wounded were properly disposed of the place was abandoned, and the troops commenced their march back to the camp on the Chattahoochee : a measure the more necessary as they were in the heart of an enemy's country, which in a few days could have poured from its numerous towns hosts of warriors. They arrived at the camp in safety, having marched 120 miles in seven days. On the 9th of December another detachment of the Georgia militia, consisting of about 530 men, under the command of General Adams, marched on an expedition against the Creek towns on the Talla- poosa Eiver. Notwithstanding the precautions which they used to prevent the Indians from hearing of their approach, they found the villages deserted, and were unable to bring the enemy to action, though their yells were repeatedly heard on both sides of the river. Having burned two of their villages, therefore, the detachment returned to camp. NAVAL EXPLOITS. 241 TREATY OF THE HICKORY GROUND. FINAL TREATY OF THE CREEKS. ON the 17th of January, 1814, General Jackson, finding himself in a condition to commence active offensive operations, marched from his encampment at Fort Strother with 900 volunteers, who were soon afterwards joined by 300 friendly Indians, against an assemblage of Creeks at the Great Bend of the Tallapoosa. On the evening of the 21st he fell upon a large trail which indicated the neighborhood of a strong force. At eleven o'clock at night his spies came in and informed him that there was a large encampment of Indians at about three miles distance, who, from their warwhoops and dances, appeared to be apprized of his approach, and would either commence a night-attack upon him or make 16 242 BATTLE-FIELDS AND their escape. Having received this intelligence, General Jackson put himself in readiness to meet an attack or pursue them as soon as daylight ap peared. At six o'clock in the morning a vigorous attack was made upon his left flank, which sustained it with bravery : the action continuing to rage at that point and on the left of the rear for half an hour. As soon as it became light enough -to pursue, the left wing was reinforced by Captain Ferril's com pany of infantry and led on to the charge by Gene ral Coffee. The enemy was completely routed at every point ; and, the friendly Indians joining in the pursuit, they were chased about two miles with great slaughter. The chase being over, General Coffee was detached to burn their encampment ; but, finding it fortified, he returned to the main body for artillery. Half an hour after his return a large force appeared and commenced an attack upon the right flank. General Coffee was permitted, at his own request, to take 200 men and turn the enemy's left; but, by some mistake, only 54 followed him. With these he commenced an attack on their left : 200 of the friendly Indians were ordered to fall upon the enemy's right and co-operate with the general. The Creeks intended this attack on Jack son's right as a feint, and, expecting to find his left weakened, directed their main force against that quarter; but General Jackson, perceiving the object of the enemy, had directed that flank to remain firm in its position, and at the first moment of attack they were supported by the reserve under Captain Ferril. The whole line met the approach of the NAVAL EXPLOITS. 243 enemy with vigor, and, after a few fires, made a bold and decisive charge. The Creeks fled with precipita tion, and were pursued a considerable distance with a destructive fire. In the mean time General Coffee was contending on the right with a superior force ; the friendly Indians who had been ordered to his support, seeing the enemy routed on the left, quit their post and joined in the chase. That being over, Jim Fife, with the friendly Indians, was again ordered to support General Coffee. As soon as he reached him they made a decisive charge, routed the enemy, and pursued him three miles. Forty- five of the enemy's slain were found. General Coffee was wounded in the body, and his aid, Colonel Donaldson, and three others, slain. The next day General Jackson commenced his return-march to Fort Strother. His men and horses were exhausted, and he was not furnished with either provisions or forage for a longer stay. The enemy, supposing they had defeated the general, hung on his rear; and on the morning of the 24th, as he was on the point of crossing Enotachopeo Creek, the front-guard having crossed, with part of the flank-columns and the wounded, and the artillery just entering the water, an attack commenced on the rear. The main part of the rear-guard precipitately gave way, leaving only 25 men, under Colonel Carrol, who maintained their ground as long as possible. There then remained on the left of the creek, to meet the enemy, the remnant of the rear-guard, the artillery- company, and Captain Russell's company of spies. Lieutenant Armstrong, of the artillery, immediately ordered them to form and advance to the top of the 244 . BATTLE-FIELDS AND hill, while he and a few of his men dragged up a six-pounder amid a most galling fire from more than ten times their numbers. Arrived at the top, they formed and poured in upon their assailants a fire of grape, and at length made a charge and repelled them. Lieutenant Armstrong, Captains Hamilton, Bradford, and McGovock, fell in this rencontre. By this time a considerable number had recrossed the creek and joined the chase; Captain Gordon, of the spies, rushed from the front and partially succeeded in turning the enemy's left flank. The Creeks now fled in the greatest consternation, throwing off their packs and every thing that retarded their flight, and were pursued for more than two miles. Twenty-six of their warriors were left dead on the field. Gene ral Jackson's loss, in the several engagements of the 22d and 24th, was 24 killed and 70 wounded. After the battle of the 24th, General Jackson was enabled to return to Fort Strother without further molesta tion. The Creeks, encouraged by what they considered a victory over General Jackson's forces in the battles of the 22d and 24th of January, continued to con centrate their forces and fortify themselves at the Great Bend of the Tallapoosa. This river forms the northeastern branch of the Alabama. Several miles above its junction with the Coosa, is a curve in the river in the form of a horseshoe, called by the whites the Great Bend, and by the Indians Emucsau. The peninsula formed by the bend con tains about one hundred acres, and the isthmus leading to it is about forty rods across; at the bottom of the peninsula is the village of Tohopisca, con- NAVAL EXPLOITS. 245 taining about two hundred houses. On this peninsula the Indians from the adjoining districts had concen trated their forces to the amount of 1000 warriors, with ample stores of provisions and ammunition, and had fortified themselves with great skill, having thrown up a breastwork consisting of eight tiers of logs with double portholes across the isthmus, so that an assailing enemy might be opposed by a double and cross-fire by the garrison, who could lie in perfect safety behind their works. Considerable reinforcements of volunteers from Tennessee, and friendly Indians, having reached General Jackson on the 16th of March, he left Fort Strother with his whole disposable force, amounting to about 3000 of every description, on an expedition against this assemblage of Indians. He proceeded down the Coosa, about sixty miles, to the mouth of Cedar Creek, where he established a post called Fort Williams, and proceeded, on the 24th, across the ridge of land dividing the waters of the Coosa from the Tallapoosa, and arrived at the Great Bend on the morning of the 27th, having the three preceding days opened a passage through the wilderness of fifty- two miles. On the 26th he passed the battle ground of the 22d of January, and left it three miles in his rear. General Coffee was detached, with 700 cavalry and mounted gun-men and 600 friendly Indians, to cross the river below the bend, secure the opposite banks, and prevent escape. Having crossed at the Little Island Ford, three miles below the bend, his Indians were ordered silently to ap proach and line the bank of the river, while the mounted men occupied the adjoining heights, to 246 BATTLE-FIELDS AND guard against reinforcements, which might be ex pected from the Oakfusky towns, eight miles below: Lieutenant Bean at the same time was ordered to occupy Little Island at the fording-place, to secure any that might attempt to escape in that direction. In the mean time General Jackson, with the artillery and infantry, moved on in slow and regular order to the isthmus, and planted his guns on an eminence one hundred and fifty yards in front of the breast work. On perceiving that General Coffee had com pleted his arrangements below, he opened a fire upon the fortification, but found he could make no other impression with his artillery than boring shot- holes through the logs. General Coffee's Indians on the bank, hearing the roaring of the cannon in front and observing considerable confusion on the peninsula, supposing the battle to be nearly won, crossed over and set fire to the village and attacked the Creeks in the rear. At this moment General Jackson ordered an assault upon the works in front. The regular troops, led by Colonel Williams, accompanied by a part of the militia of General Dougherty's brigade, led on by Colonel Kussell, presently got possession of a part of the works, amid a tremendous fire from behind them. The advance-guard was led by Colonel Sisler, and the left extremity of the line by Captain Gordon, of the spies, and Captain McMarry, of General Johnson's brigade of West Tennessee militia. The battle for a short time was obstinate, and fought musket-to-musket through the port holes, when the assailants succeeded in getting pos session of the opposite side of the works, and the contest ended. The Creeks were entirely routed, NAYAL EXPLOITS. 247 and the whole margin of the river strewed with the slain. The troops under General Jackson, and General Coffee's Indians, continued the work of destruction as long as there was a Creek to be found. General Coffee, on seeing his Indians cross ing over, had ordered their places to be supplied on the bank by his riflemen; and every Indian that attempted to escape by swimming the river or crossing the Little Island below was met and slain by General Coffee's troops. The battle, as long as any appearance of resistance remained, lasted five hours ; the slaughter continued until dark, and was renewed the next morning, when 16 more of the unfortunate savages were hunted out of their hiding- places and slain. Five hundred and fifty-seven warriors were found dead on the peninsula, among whom was their famous prophet Manahell, and two others, the principal instigators of the war; 250 more were estimated to have been killed in crossing the river, and at other places, which were not found. General Jackson's loss was 26 white men and 23 Indians killed, and 107 white men and 47 Indians wounded. This was a decisive stroke. The power of the Creeks was crushed forever, and the miserable remnant of the hostile party, under their bold, eloquent, and indomitable chief, Weatherford, wan dered about the country, hunted like wild beasts. Soon after the victory, General Jackson retired to the Hickory Ground, at which place terms of peace were settled, Weatherford, by his dignified conduct, securing an unexpected degree of favor for his people. 248 BATTLE-FIELDS AND BATTLE OF CHIPPEWA. FROM this period until the commencement of July, 1814, the hostile armies lay comparatively inactive. Soon after his arrival at Sackett's Harbor from French Mills, General Brown put his troops in motion for the Niagara frontier ; but, after proceed ing some distance, he returned to the former post. At this place he remained, assiduously employed in disciplining and organizing his troops, until he re ceived orders from the government to assemble a division of the army at Black Rock and Buffalo, with a view to the recovery of Fort Niagara, which still remained in the hands of the enemy, and to the capture of the British posts in the peninsula. His force, which consisted of between 3000 and 4000 men, was composed of two brigades of regulars, with artillery, the first brigade commanded by Brigadier- NAVAL EXPLOITS. 249 General Scott, and the second by Brigadier-General Ripley, together with a body of volunteers from New York and Pennsylvania, under General Porter. The commander-in-chief, General Brown, had re cently been promoted to the rank of major-general. With this army, therefore, the best-appointed, per haps, and most efficient of any that had been yet assembled, was the last campaign of the war on this frontier commenced. The first attack made by this force was on the British fort of Erie, opposite to Black Rock. On the 2d of July, at midnight, the whole army em barked in boats from the latter place, and the next morning landed on the enemy's shore. Prepara tions were immediately made for the assault of the fort; but it surrendered before the artillery could be planted against it. The garrison, to the num ber of t 137, were made prisoners of war. The British troops in the vicinity were at this period encamped in a strong position at Chippewa, and were supposed to amount to about 3000 men, who were commanded by Major-General Riall. To the attack of this place General Brown moved his army on the succeeding day, leaving behind him a small garrison in Fort Erie, and encamped in the evening in a favorable position, within two miles of the enemy's works. On the morning of the 5th the American pickets were repeatedly attacked by parties of the enemy; and General Porfer was de spatched in the afternoon to gain the rear of these skirmishers, and, by cutting them off, bring on an engagement of the main body. General Riall, about the same time, moved out of his works with his 250 BATTLE-FIELDS AND whole force, and soon fell in with General Porter's command. Perceiving this movement, General Brown ordered the first brigade and Towson's artil lery to advance and engage the enemy on the plains of Chippewa : and in a few minutes a warm action commenced. The left of the American position was occupied by General Porter's brigade of volunteers, who, un able to withstand the fire of the British regulars, gave way, and exposed that flank of General Scott's brigade. To prevent the enemy from assailing it, General Brown now ordered up the brigade of Gene ral Ripley, with directions to skirt the wood on the left and endeavor to gain the rear of the British right. After a most severe and arduous conflict, Major Jessup, who commanded a battalion on the left flank, succeeded in gaining a position, from whence he opened so galling a fire as to cause the enemy's right to fall back. In the mean time the brigade of General Scott had continued to advance against the powerful resistance of the enemy, who now, finding his efforts repulsed at every point, gra dually retired, until he reached the sloping ground in the vicinity of Chippewa, where, being hard pressed by the victors, his retreat was changed into a rapid and disorderly flight. The advance of the Americans was, however, checked by the batteries at Chippewa, behind which the British troops had rallied. General Brown now ordered up the artil lery, with a view of forcing the works ; but, finding the day to be nearly spent and the batteries of the enemy strongly fortified, he drew off his forces and retired to the camp. NAVAL EXPLOITS. 251 In proportion to the numbers engaged, the loss of men in this action was unusually great. The official report of General Brown stated the killed, wounded, and missing of the American army to amount to 328. That of the British troops appears, from the statement of General Drummond, to have amounted to 133 killed, 320 wounded, and 46 prisoners, among whom were many officers of rank. Few of the American officers were wounded, and not one killed, although their conduct was such as to call forth the highest encomiums of their commander. Generals Scott and Kipley, and Majors Jessup, Leavenworth, and McNeill, and many others, were specially noticed, in the official report, in terms of high, praise. 252 BATTLE-FIELDS AND BATTLES OF BRIDGEWATER AND NIAGARA. ON the 25th of July, 1814, General Brown was informed that the British army had moved to Queenstown in considerable force, and was landing a party at Lewistown for the purpose of attacking the town of Schlosser and capturing the stores of his army. With the expectation of drawing him off from this attempt, General Scott was despatched on the road to Queenstown, with his own brigade, Towson's artillery, and the dragoons. At four in the afternoon this detachment moved from the camp, and, having proceeded about two miles, dis covered the enemy posted on an eminence of con siderable strength at a place called Bridgewater, having the Queenstown Road in their front, the position being defended by a formidable battery of NAVAL EXPLOITS. 253 nine pieces of artillery. Between this post and General Scott's advance was a narrow strip of wood. He immediately determined to attack the enemy, and, after despatching an express to camp for a reinforcement, formed his small party in a plain in front of the British position. The artillery, under Captain Towson, opened a cannonade, which was returned by the enemy's batteries with great effect ; and an action commenced and was supported more than an hour, by the first brigade, against greatly- superior numbers. The llth and 22d regiments, having expended their ammunition, fell back, both of their commanding and most of the inferior officers being wounded. The brunt of the engage ment then fell on the 9th,' commanded by Colonel Leavenworth, which suffered severely from the enemy's fire. In the mean time the 25th regiment, under Major Jessup, which had been placed on the right of the American line, finding the road which led to the rear of the enemy's left unoccupied, moved along it, and threw itself on the rear with such signal success as to capture General Kiall and many other officers and to cause the flight of a great part of their line. The enemy's batteries, however, still continued a heavy fire, before which the ranks of General Scott's brigade were rapidly thinning; and, reduced as it was in numbers, it was evident that it could not withstand the assault of a fresh body of troops which the British commander, ignorant of the small amount of troops opposed to him, had ordered up. In this critical situation of affairs, day being now spent and its light partially supplied by the moon, the second brigade, under 254 BATTLE-FIELDS AND General Ripley, arrived in time to retrieve the fortune of the day. Hearing, while at the camp, the fire of musketry and cannon, it was immediately put in motion, and received orders from General Brown to advance to the support of the first brigade, to which it immediately hastened. The order was rapidly complied with; and, when the troops arrived on the field, General Ripley was directed by General Brown to form on the right of the first brigade. Perceiving the exhausted state of that body and the nature of the enemy's position, General Ripley determined to depart from his orders, a literal compliance with which would, in all probability, have placed his brigade in the same dangerous situation with that of General Scott. He saw that the position of the enemy's artillery on the eminence was the great source of annoyance to the American army, and unless that should be carried their defeat might be considered as certain. He determined, therefore, to place his own brigade between that of General Scott and the enemy's battery and endeavor to get possession of the latter. Forming, therefore, the two regiments of w r hich his brigade was composed in the intended situation, he directed Colonel Miller to lead the 21st regiment immediately up to the cannon, while he himself, at the head of the 23d, moved to the attack of the infantry on the left. This order was executed by the 21st with a degree of gallantry never exceeded in any previous combat, and which shed the highest glory upon that regiment and its gallant commander. In a few moments the enemy's cannon were in his possession; and such was the valor of the assail- NAVAL EXPLOITS. 255 ants and the resolution of the enemy that the artillery-men were bayoneted while in the act of firing their pieces. Exactly at the same moment General Ripley, with the 23d regiment, which had at first faltered before the destructive fire of the enemy, attacked the infantry and drove them from the crest of the eminence. The enemy's position was thus gained, after a most sanguinary contest ; and the line of the second brigade formed in front of the captured cannon, with the 1st regiment and General Porter's volunteers on the left and the 25th regiment on the right, the American artillery being between that regiment and the 23d. Mortified by his expulsion from the eminence, and having received an accession of fresh troops, the enemy now brought up his whole force and made a resolute and determined attempt to recover his posi tion. He was received with equal gallantry by the second brigade, and, after a close contest of bayonets, was driven down the hill. The attack was renewed a second time with no better success ; and at last, about midnight, a third and final attempt was made, which was not defeated until after great loss on both sides. The firing then ceased in every direction, the British troops having been withdrawn, leaving their opponents in possession of the field. The brigade of General Scott had, while this contest was continued, been reformed, and, passing through an opening of General Ripley's line, made an un successful charge upon the enemy's right flank ; and afterwards, participating in the conflict, it took post on the left. In this severe engagement Generals Brown and 256 BATTLE-FIELDS A X D Scott were both wounded and compelled to leave the field. The command therefore devolved upon General Bipley, who, with this information, received directions from General Brown to collect the wounded and return to camp. Unfortunately, no means were at hand for the removal of the captured artillery. Most of the horses had been killed, and the troops were so much exhausted as to render the removal of the cannon by hand impracticable. They were, therefore, reluctantly left on the ground, having been previously spiked and otherwise injured. The wounded being collected and the shattered remains of the army consolidated, the line of march was taken up in good order for the camp. The loss of men was remarkably equal in number on both sides ; but, from the inferior numerical force of the Americans, it fell more severely on them. Of the British 84 were killed, of whom 5 were officers, 559 wounded, including Generals Drum- mond and Kiall and 39 other officers, and 234 missing and prisoners : in all, 878. Of the Ame ricans 860 were killed, wounded, or missing. NAVAL EXPLOITS. SIEGE OF FORT ERIE. THE capture of Major-General Riall and many other of the enemy's officers was owing to the enter prise and skill of Major Jessup, one of the most gallant and accomplished of soldiers, whose humanity was as strongly displayed on this occasion as his valor. To the judgment of General Ripley and the unsurpassed steadiness of his brigade, particularly of the 21st regiment, under Colonel Miller, the final success of the day seems to have been greatly owing; and the storming of the heights of Bridgewater will long be remembered among the most gallant achieve ments in the American annals. The remains of the army having been marched back to the camp, General Ripley received directions from General Brown to refresh the troops and return to the field of battle in the morning, there to be 258 BATTLE-FIELDS AND governed by circumstances. Accordingly, at dawn on the succeeding day the troops were put in motion for that purpose ; but General Ripley, having ascer tained that the enemy was strongly posted in front and his line nearly double that of the Americans, his own force being reduced to 1600 men, resolved to disobey his instructions and avoid a contest with an enemy of such superior force. He therefore broke up his camp at Chippewa, and, destroying the bridges in his rear, retreated to Fort Erie, and immediately proceeded to strengthen and extend its defences. This wise and judicious retreat, which was severely censured at the time., probably saved the remains of this gallant army from entire destruction. The enemy, to the number of about 5000 men, soon afterwards followed his footsteps and appeared before Fort Erie, to which they began to lay a regular siege. In the mean time, by the indefatigable ex ertions of the American troops, the fort was put in a better state of defence, although still imperfect. The main camp of the enemy was distant about two miles from the American fortifications, around which they now commenced a double line of intrench- ments, supported by block-houses. On the 5th of August the day after the com mencement of the siege General Gaines arrived from Sackett's Harbor, and, being the senior officer, took the command. From this day to the 14th nothing material occurred, the enemy being em ployed in cannonading the American batteries and drawing closer their lines of circumvallation. At length, on the evening of that day, an unusual NAVAL EXPLOITS. 259 GENERAL TOWSOK. 260 BATTLE-FIELDS AND degree of activity being observed in the British camp, it was conjectured that an assault would be attempted; and preparations were therefore made to receive it. At two in the morning of the 15th the British troops moved from their intrenchments in three columns, the right under Colonel Fischer, the centre and left under Colonels Drummond and Scott. The approach of the right column was soon perceived on the American left, which \vas defended by the 21st regiment and Towson's artillery, be tween whom and the enemy only a line of loose brush intervened. The column was permitted to approach within a short distance, when so destruc tive a fire was opened upon it that it fell back in confusion. The attempt was four times renewed, with no greater success ; and the enemy at last broke and fled to the encampment. In the mean time the left and centre columns had advanced at the same moment to the assault. The former were received by the 9th regiment, the artillery of Captain Douglass, and two companies of volunteers, of New York arid Pennsylvania, and retreated after the first fire. The efforts of the centre column, however, were more steady and suc cessful. Being covered in a great measure by a ravine, they suddenly emerged, and, placing scaling- ladders to the wall, ascended the parapet, and, after a sanguinary struggle, in which they were twice repulsed, succeeded for a short time in establishing themselves in the bastion. At this moment an explosion took place under the platform which de stroyed great numbers of both armies and caused the sudden and confused flight of the enemy, whose XAVAL EXPLOITS. 261 numbers were thinned in their retreat by the Ame rican artillery. In this sanguinary and protracted contest, which continued until after daylight, the British troops suffered very severely. According to the official report of their commander, 57 were killed, including Colonels Scott and Drummond, the leaders of the left and centre columns, 319 wounded, and 539 missing, of whom about 200 were taken prisoners. The American loss amounted to but 84 in killed, wounded, and missing. Among the killed, however, were Captain Williams and Lieutenant McDonough of the artillery, both officers of great promise. After this repulse the British troops lay com paratively inactive for a considerable period. A cannonading was, indeed, kept up on both sides, without material consequences. By the bursting of a shell General Gaines received a wound that obliged him to retire from the command, which then devolved on General Ripley, and was retained by him until the 2d of September, when General Brown, having recovered from his wounds, resumed it. The batteries of the enemy began now to appear every day more formidable ; fresh troops were con stantly arriving; and every thing indicated an unfavorable destiny for the garrison of Fort Erie. Considerable anxiety was consequently excited in the public mind for the fate of these brave men. Reinforcements were, however, on the march from Plattsburg, which was itself menaced by Sir George Prevost. The fire from the batteries continuing to be very severe, General Brown resolved upon a sortie for the purpose of effecting their destruction. 262 BATTLE-FIELDS AND GENERAL PORTER. The British force consisted of three brigades of about 1500 men each, one of which was alternately stationed at the batteries, while the other two remained at the camp, two miles distant. The object proposed in the sortie was the destruction of the cannon and the defeat or capture of the brigade on duty before the arrival of the reserve. The 17th of September was fixed upon for this enter prise. At noon of that day the troops moved out of the fort, in two divisions. The left, commanded by General Porter, and consisting of the riflemen and Indians under Colonel Gibson, and two columns, NAVAL EXPLOITS. 263 one under General Davis, the other under Colonel Wood, proceeded, by a road nearly opened through the forest, to the enemy's right. The right division, under General Miller, was stationed in the ravine, between the fort and the hostile lines, with direc tions not to advance until General Porter should have reached the enemy's flank. The left division advanced with so much celerity that the enemy were completely surprised. A severe conflict, however, ensued, which in thirty minutes ended in the capture of the batteries and garrison, with the loss of Colonels Gibson and Wood, both of whom fell, gallantly fighting, at the head of their columns. The noise of the firing reaching the division of General Miller, he immediately moved forward, and succeeded, after a close and desperate contest, in carrying the batteries opposed to him, and took possession of their block-houses. He was now joined by General Ripley, who took the command; and, the remaining battery having been captured, the troops were employed in destroy ing the enemy's works and spiking his cannon. At this moment General Ripley received a severe wound, and the command devolved upon General Miller. The object of the sortie being accomplished, the whole body returned to the fort, bringing with them 380 prisoners, and having destroyed the fruits of forty-seven days' labor. From the spirited resistance of the enemy, the loss sustained by the assailants was, as may be sup posed, severe. Of killed the number amounted to 79, among whom was General Davis, of the New York militia; 232 were wounded, and 216 missing. 264 BATTLE-FIELDS AND The official report of the British commander acknow ledged a loss of 609 men, 115 of whom were killed, 178 wounded, and 316 prisoners. The enemy claimed a victory ; but their retreat, which took place a few days afterwards, palpably contradicted this pretension. The reinforcements from Plattsburg, amounting to nearly 5000 men, which had taken a circuitous route and were delayed a considerable -time, arrived on the 9th of October at Fort Erie, and the com mand of the whole force then devolved upon Major- General Izard. The enemy having fallen back behind the Chippewa, that officer moved from Fort Erie on the 14th, with the design of bringing him to action. On the 18th General Bissell was de spatched with about 900 men to destroy the enemy's stores at Lyon's Creek, which service he executed after a sharp contest with a detachment from the enemy's army of about 1200 men under the Mar quis of Tweedale, which he succeeded in repulsing. The army of General Izard had, in the mean time, advanced towards Chippewa, where it found the enemy strongly posted in an intrenched camp, from which various attempts were made to entice him, without success. The season being now far ad vanced, it was determined to withdraw the army to the American shore. Fort Erie being therefore destroyed, General Izard evacuated the Canadian territory,, and distributed his troops at the posts of Buffalo, Black Rock, and Batavia : and thus termi nated the third and last invasion of the peninsula by the American forces. NAVAL EXPLOITS. 265 COMMODORE MCDONOUCtH. BATTLES OF PLATTSBURG AND LAKE CHAMPLAIN. IN the mean time, events occurred in other quar ters of the Union no less honorable to the Ameri can arms. Sir George Prevost, Governor-General of Canada, having collected all his disposable force for an invasion of the Union as far as Crown Point, entered the country on the 1st of the month and occupied the village of Champlain. There he issued proclamations tending to dissuade the people from their allegiance, and inviting them to furnish the army with provisions for their further progress. General Macomb was then at Plattsburg, with about 2000 American troops, many of whom were militia. He made able dispositions of his small force, and prepared for a determined resistance to the pro gress of Prevost. Simultaneously with their opera tions on land, the enemy prepared their fleet for action on Lake Champlain. The American fleet, under Commodore McDo- 266 BATTLE-FIELDS AND nough, lay at anchor in Burlington Bay, on the right flank of the American lines, and two miles distant. Great exertions had been made by both parties to produce a superior naval force on this lake, the Americans at Otter Creek, and the British at the Isle aux Noix. On comparing their relative strength on the llth of September, the American fleet consisted of the Saratoga, flag-ship, mounting 26 guns; Eagle, 20 guns; Ticonderoga, 17 guns; BDKLINQTON BAT. Preble, 7 guns; six galleys of two guns each, 12 guns ; four of one, 4 guns : making in the whole 86 guns and 820 men. The British fleet consisted of the frigate Confiance, flag-ship, mounting 39 guns; Linnet, 16 guns; Cherub, 11 guns; Finch, 11 guns; five galleys of two guns each, 10 guns; eight of one, 8 guns : making in the whole 95 guns and 1020 men. NAVAL EXPL-OITS. 267 The British-land forces employed themselves from the 7th to the llth in bringing up their heavy artil lery and strengthening their works on the north bank of the Saranac. Their fortified encampment was on a ridge a little to the west of the town, their right near the river, and their left resting on the lake, one mile in the rear of the village. Having determined on a simultaneous attack by land and water, they lay in this position on the morning of the llth, waiting the approach of their fleet. At eight o'clock the wished-for ships appeared under easy sail, mov ing round Cumberland Head, and were hailed with joyous acclamations. At nine o'clock they anchored within three hundred yards of the American squa dron, in line of battle, the Confiance opposed to the Saratoga, the Linnet to the Eagle, thirteen British galleys to the Ticonderoga, Preble, and a division of the American galleys, the Cherub assisting the Con- fiance and Linnet and the Finch aiding the galleys. In this position, the weather being perfectly clear and calm and the bay smooth, the whole force on both sides became at once engaged. About an hour and a half after the commencement of the action the starboard guns of the Saratoga were nearly all dis mantled. The commandant ordered a stern-anchor to be dropped and the lower cable cut, by means of which the ship rounded to and presented a fresh broadside to her enemy. The Confiance attempted the same operation and failed. This was attended with such powerful effects that she was obliged to surrender in a few minutes. The whole broadside of the Saratoga was then brought to bear on the Linnet, and in fifteen minutes she followed the ex- 268 BATTLE-FIELDS AND ample of her flag-ship. One of the British sloops struck to the Eagle ; three galleys were sunk, and the rest made off. No ship in the fleet being able to follow them, they escaped down the lake. There was no mast standing in either squadron at the close of the action to which a sail could be attached. The Saratoga received fifty-five round-shot in her hull and the Confiance one hundred and five. The action lasted without any cessation, on a smooth sea, at close quarters, two hours and twenty minutes. In the American squadron 52 were killed and 58 wounded. In the British, 84 were killed and 110 wounded. Among the slain was the British com mandant, Commodore Downie. This engagement was in full view of both armies and of numerous spectators collected on the heights bordering on the bay to witness the scene. It was viewed by the in habitants with trembling anxiety, as success on the part of the British would have opened to them an easy passage into the heart of the country and ex posed a numerous population on the borders of !he lake to British ravages. When the flag of the Con- fiance was struck, the shores resounded with the acclamations of the American troops and citizens. The British, when they saw their fleet completely conquered, were dispirited and confounded. At the moment of the commencement of the naval action, the British, from their works on shore, opened a heavy fire of shot, shells, and rockets, upon the American lines. This was continued with little in terruption until sunset, and returned with spirit and effect. At six o'clock the firing on the part of the British ceased, every battery having been silenced NAVAL EXPLOITS. 269 GENERAL MACOMB. by. the American artillery. At the commencement of the bombardment, and while the ships were en gaged, three desperate efforts were made by the British to pass the Saranac, for the purpose of carry ing the American lines by assault. With this view, scaling-ladders, fascines, and every implement neces sary for the purpose, were prepared. One attempt was made to cross at the village-bridge, one at the upper bridge, and one at the ford-way, three miles above the works. At each point they were met at the bank by the American troops and repulsed. At the bridges the American regulars immediately drove them back. The ford was guarded by the volun- 270 BATTLE-FIELDS AND teers and militia. Here a considerable body of British effected a passage, and the militia retired into the neighboring woods, where their operations would be more effectual. A whole company of the 76th regiment was here destroyed, three lieutenants and 27 men taken, and the captain and the rest of the company killed. The residue of the British were obliged to recross the river with precipitation and oonsiderable loss. At dusk the British withdrew their cannon from the batteries ; at nine o'clock sent off all the artillery and baggage for which they could procure transports ; and at two the following morning the whole army precipitately retreated, leaving their sick and wound ed behind. Great quantities of provisions, tents, intrenching-tools, and ammunition, were also left. Much was found concealed in the ponds and creeks and buried in the ground. Their retreat was so sudden, rapid, and unexpected, that they arrived at Chazy, a distance of eight miles, before their de parture was known to the American general. The light troops and militia were immediately ordered out in pursuit, but were unable to make many pri soners. Upwards of 300 deserters came in within two or three days after the action, who confirmed the account of Prevost's precipitate flight, and as sisted in discovering the property they had con cealed and left behind. The American loss on land during the day was 37 killed and 82 wounded and missing. General Macomb's official report estimates the British loss in land and naval forces since their leaving Montreal, in killed, wounded, prisoners, de serters, and missing, at 2500. NAVAL EXPLOITS. 271 The British army engaged in this expedition con sisted of 14,000 men. The precipitate retreat of so numerous and well-appointed an army from before a force of 1500 regulars and 3000 militia, suddenly called together, was unaccountable and wholly un expected. General Prevost endeavored to justify himself to his government by imputing it to the loss of the fleet. But no active co-operation was or could be expected from their respective fleets by either army. The real ground was that the valor of the American troops in defence of their soil hacl con vinced the British general that an attempt to pene trate the country and carry his original plans into effect would be attended with defeat and disgrace. 272 BATTLE-FIELDS AND BLADENSBURG. BATTLE OF BLADENSBURG AND CAP- TUEE OF THE CAPITAL. IN the Chesapeake great devastation was com mitted, in revenge, as was stated, for outrages upon the Canadians. Early in the year the General Go vernment had received information that a powerful armament was preparing to make a descent upon the country in the vicinity of the Chesapeake; and measures for defence were taken. General Winder was placed in command of the land-forces called into the field for the defence of Washington, and Commodore Barney in command of a flotilla of gun boats in the bay. In August the British fleet, under Admiral Coch- rane, conveying a large army, under Major-General NATAL EXPLOITS. 273 Ross, arrived at the mouth of the Potomac. By great exertions General Winder was enabled to collect at Bladensburg about 5000 men, 350 of whom were regulars, and several hundred marines and seamen from Commodore Barney's flotilla. The British troops were landed, and about noon on the 29th of August reached Bladensburg. An obstinate contest ensued, in which the British suffered a severe loss but compelled the Americans to give way. As the militia retired, the British regulars ad vanced upon the main road, and, coming immediately in front of Commodore Barney's flotilla, he opened an eighteen-pounder upon them, which cleared the road, and for a time disordered their column and re tarded their approach. Two other attempts made by the enemy to pass the battery were also repulsed, and General Ross marched a division of his troops into an open field with a determination to flank the commodore's right. This attempt also was frustrated by Captain Miller, of the marines, with three twelve- pounders, and the men of the flotilla acting as in- fantry. After being thus kept in check about half an hour, General Ross began to outflank the right of the battery in large numbers, and pushed about 300 men upon General Smith's brigade, which, after exchanging a shot or two, fled as precipitately as the brigade of General Stansbury. In the panic pro duced by this disorderly retreat the drivers of the ammunition-wagons fled also, and Commodore Bar ney's small command was left to contend against the whole force of the enemy with less than one com plete round of cartridge. To add to the general mis fortune and to increase the difficulties even of retir- 18 274 BATTLE-FIELDS AND ing with credit, he had received a severe wound in his thigh, and his horse had been killed under him ; two of his principal officers were killed and Captain Miller and Sailing-master Martin wounded. The places of GENERAL SMITH. these could be promptly supplied from the men act ing as infantry; but the means of repulsing the enemy were expended, and the British infantry and marines were by this time completely in the rear of the battery. Thus situated, the commodore gave NAVAL EXPLOITS. 275 orders for a retreat, and, after being carried a short dis tance from the scene of his gallantry, he fell exhausted by the loss of blood, and was soon after made prisoner by General Ross and Admiral Cockburn, who put him on his parole, and, having first removed him to their hospital at Bladensburg, ordered the immediate attendance of their surgeons to dress his wound. Having thus obtained possession of the pass of the bridge over the eastern branch of the Potomac, the enemy marched directly upon the capital, and im mediately proceeded to the destruction of all the spacious and splendid edifices by which it was adorned. The Senate-house, the Representative- hall, the Supreme Court room, the President's house, with all its exterior and interior decorations, and the buildings containing the public Departments, were very soon demolished, and several private houses burned to the ground. The plunder of in dividual property was prohibited, however, and soldiers transgressing the order were severely pu nished. The principal vengeance of Admiral Cock- burn on whom, if the safety of the citizens' dwell ings had alone depended, if he is to be judged by his former conduct, they would have rested on a slender guarantee was directed against the printing- office of the editor of a newspaper, from whose press had been issued frequent accounts of the admiral's depredations along the coast. The navy-yard, as well as a new first-rate frigate and a sloop-of-war, were destroyed by order of Go vernment upon the approach of the enemy, to pre vent the immense public stores, munitions, and armaments deposited there from falling into his 276 BATTLE-FIELDS AND hands. The Patent-office alone, in which were col lected the rarest specimens of the arts of the country, escaped the insatiate vengeance of a foe whose de stroying arm was directed against the most superb monuments of architectural skill and public munifi cence. The public documents and official records, the flags and various other trophies of the repeated triumphs of the American arms, and the specie from all the banks in the district, had- previously been placed beyond the reach of the invaders, and they returned from an irruption which excited the in dignation of all parties in the Union and drew forth the deprecations of the principal nations in Europe. The President and the heads of Departments, all of whom had visited the rendezvous of the troops at Bladensburg the day before the battle, finding that the force which had been hastily assembled did not amount to the number called for by the requisitions upon the adjacent States, returned to the metropolis to make arrangements for the augmentation of Gene ral Winder's army. This duty, which in times of less danger required the exercise of great energy, could not be performed before the enemy had encountered and defeated the corps already collected. The cap ture of these officers would have caused at least a temporary derangement of the Government, and, in order that its functions might be resumed imme diately after the departure of the enemy, they retired from the metropolis upon his approach. General Winder had also withdrawn with the remnant of his force to Montgomery Court-house ; the citizens were incapable of opposing the hostile operations of the NAVAL EXPLOITS. 277 British commanders ; and the capital was therefore entirely at their mercy. That division of the enemy's fleet which ascended the Potomac, consisting of eight sail, upon which were mounted 173 guns, and commanded by Captain Gor don, was directed to attack the city of Alexandria. As they approached up the river, the commander of Fort Warburton, Captain Dyson, destroyed that post and retired with his artillerists, and the British squad ron passed up to the city without annoyance or im pediment. The people of Alexandria surrendered their town and obtained a stipulation, on the 29th of August, from the British commander that their dwellings should not be entered or destroyed. The condition upon which this stipulation was made re quired the immediate delivery to the enemy of all public and private naval and ordnance stores ; of all the shipping and the furniture necessary to their equipment then in port; of all the merchandise of every description, whether in the town or removed from it since the 19th of the month ; that such mer chandise should be put on board the shipping at the expense of the owners ; and that all vessels which might have been sunk upon the approach of the enemy should be raised by the merchants and de livered up, with all their apparatus. These hard and ungenerous conditions were complied with ; and, on the 6th of September, Captain Gordon moved off with a fleet of prize-vessels, which, as well as his frigates and other vessels of war, contained cargoes of booty. In descending the river he was warmly opposed, and received considerable damage from two batteries, at the White House and at Indian Head, under the 278 BATTLE-FIELDS AND respective commands of Captains Porter and Perry, of the navy, the former assisted by General Hunger- ford's brigade of Virginia militia infantry and Cap tain Humphrey's company of riflemen, from Jeffer son county, and the latter by the brigade of General Stewart and the volunteer companies of Major Peter and Captain Birch. The batteries, however, not being completed, and mounting but a few light pieces, could not prevent the departure of the enemy with his immense booty, though they kept up an incessant fire from the 3d until the 6th of the month upon the vessels passing down on each of those days. Commodore Kodgers, too, aided by Lieutenant New- combe and Sailing-master Kamage, made frequent attempts to destroy the enemy's shipping by ap proaching him within range of musket-shot with several small fire-vessels. After the communication of the fire a change of wind prevented these vessels from getting in between the British frigates, though they excited much alarm among the fleet, whose men were actively employed in extinguishing the flames. These respective forces were afterwards concentrated, and Commodore Kodgers took posses sion of Alexandria, with a determination to defend it, notwithstanding its surrender, against another attempt of the enemy, whose fleet was not yet out of sight of the nearest battery. NAVAL EXPLOITS. 279 BOMBARDMENT OF FORT MCHENRY. ATTEMPT OF THE BRITISH ON BALTIMORE. AFTER the embarkation of the troops under Gene ral Ross, whose loss at Bladensburg amounted to nearly 1000 men in killed, wounded, prisoners, deserters, and those who died of fatigue, Admiral Cochrane concentrated the various detachments of his fleet, and made preparations for an attack upon the city of Baltimore. As the powerful armament approached, the alarm spread quickly through the adjacent country, and a large volunteer force collected, under Major-General Smith. The troops intended for the land-attack were debarked upon North Point, fourteen miles below the city, and, on the morning of the 12th of 280 BATTLE-FIELDS AND September, nearly 8000 soldiers, sailors, and marines, had effected a landing, while sixteen bomb-vessels and frigates proceeded up the river and anchored within two miles and a half of Fort McHenry. General Smith detached General Strieker, with part of his brigade, on the North Point Eoad, and Major Kandal, with riflemen and musketry, to the mouth of Bear Creek, to check the progress of the enemy. The light parties of the Americans were driven in, and the force, under General Strieker, was soon engaged with greatly-superior numbers. After an hour and twenty minutes' fighting, the Americans were compelled to retire to the high grounds in their rear. The enemy did not pursue. General Strieker was reinforced, and the Americans prepared their whole line of intrenchments and batteries for their reception. On the loth the British army came in sight of the main body of the Americans and manoeuvred in their front, driv ing in the vedettes. But, seeing the strength of the defences and the skilful dispositions of General Smith, they did not attack: In the mean time the British vessels bombarded Fort McHenry, which was bravely defended by its garrison, commanded by Major Armistead. The vessels suffered con siderably from the fire of the American batteries. About midnight on the 13th the British army re treated to the point at which it landed, and re-em barked. The next day the fleet dropped down the river. The British lost 700 men and their general, Boss; the Americans, 175. NAVAL EXPLOITS. 281 ATTACK ON FORT BOWYER AND CAPTURE OF PENSACOLA. IN the mean time an attack was made on the remote Southern coast, which was the prelude to an invasion of a more important nature. After the conclusion of the contest with the Creeks, the head quarters of General Jackson were removed to Mobile, where, about the end of August, he received in formation that a body of 300 British troops, with an immense quantity of the munitions of war, had arrived at Pensacola, in three armed vessels, and had marched into the fort at that place, then in the possession of the Spanish ; and that an additional force of thirteen sail-of-the-line, and 10,000 troops, was daily expected. From Pensacola Colonel Nicholls, the commander of the British forces, soon after issued a proclamation, addressed to the inhabit ants of Louisiana, Kentucky, and Tennessee, recom mending to them to "throw off the yoke under 282 BATTLE-FIELDS AND which they had been so long groaning and put an end to the unnatural war by which they were op pressed." About the same period, also, an attempt was made by the same officer to engage in his service a band of lawless pirates who had formed an establish ment on the island of Barrataria, within the limits of Louisiana. The efforts of the American govern ment had' been hitherto unavailing, to destroy this nest of outlaws. Mixing with the sanguinary audacity of the buccaneer the address and caution of the smuggler, they had contrived, for a long time, under the government of a chief named Lafitte, to overawe or elude the expeditions sent against them. To these marauders the British officer made a pro posal of union and alliance, communicating at the same time important information with respect to his designs; but, although proscribed by the Ame rican government, which had set a price upon his head, Lafitte would not consent to act the part of a traitor. Instead of accepting the British offers, he immediately made the whole known jto Governor Claiborne, of Louisiana. Struck with this proof of magnanimity, that officer promised a general pardon to the whole band, on condition of their engaging in defence of the country, at that time menaced by invasion, an offer which was joyfully accepted by the Barratarians, who from that time rendered eminent services to the Kepublic, distinguishing themselves particularly at the defence of New Orleans. The three vessels which had arrived at Pensacola, joined by another, soon after sailed from that port NAVAL EXPLOITS. 283 for Mobile, and on the loth of September appeared off Fort Bowyer. Mobile Bay is about thirty miles long, and of considerable breadth ; but its entrance is only five miles broad, and is completely com manded by Fort Bowyer, which is situated at the extreme point on the east side of the bay. The fort was occupied by a small garrison, commanded by Major Lawrence. The British squadron, consisting of two ships and two brigs, appeared in sight about noon of the 15th, standing directly for the fort. About four o'clock in the afternoon the battery was opened upon them. The fire was immediately returned from all the ves sels. A force of 110 marines, commanded by Colonel Nicholls, 200 Creek Indians, headed by Captain Woodbine, of the British navy, and about 20 artillerists, which had been previously landed in the rear of the fort, opened a fire upon it from a twelve-pounder and a howitzer; but they did no execution and were soon silenced by a few shot. The action continued without intermission on either side for nearly three hours, when three of the ves sels were compelled to retire. The commodore's ship, which mounted twenty-two thirty-two-pound carronades, having anchored nearest the fort, had her cable cut by the shot, and was so much disabled that she drifted on shore, within six hundred yards of the battery ; when, the other vessels being out of reach, such a tremendous fire was opened upon her that she was set on fire and abandoned by such of her crew as survived. Of a crew of 170 men the commander and 20 men only escaped. On board of the other ship 85 were killed and wounded ; one 284 BATTLE-FIELDS AND of the brigs also was very considerably damaged, but her loss was not ascertained. The effective force in the fort was about 120 men; their loss was only 4 killed and 5 wounded. During the hottest part of the action 1 the flagstaff was shot away, but the flag was immediately regained, under a heavy fire of grape and canister, hoisted on a sponge-staff, and planted on the parapet. The land-forces re treated by land to Pensacola. The unprecedented conduct of the Governor of Pensacola, in harboring and aiding the British and their Indian allies and in allowing them to fit out expeditions against the United States from that port, had been forcibly remonstrated against by General Jackson, but hitherto without effect. Having been reinforced by about 2000 Tennessee militia, who had marched to Mobile through the Indian country, Jackson advanced to demand of the Spanish autho rities in Pensacola redress for thus violating the rules of neutrality. He reached the vicinity of that post on the afternoon of the 6th of November, and immediately sent a flag to the governor to com municate the object of his visit. The flag was fired on and forced to return. Nothing remained now but to take possession of that post, which had been so long a source of annoyance to the United States. General Jackson accordingly commenced the attack early on the 7th. The encampment of the Ame rican army being to the west of the town, it was natural for the enemy to suppose that the attack would be made in that quarter ; a detachment of 500 men, however, was ordered to move in that direction, while, with the main body, he gained an opposite NAVAL EXPLOITS. 285 and unexpected point, and, by hastening rapidly on, entered the town before the garrison was aware of his approach. They were unexpectedly saluted, however, by a battery formed in the street, which, after a few volleys, was carried at the point of the bayonet; and the Spanish and British troops were soon driven from all their positions. The governor then surrendered the town and forts unconditionally, and soon after signed a capitulation by which Pen- sacola and its dependencies were delivered up to the United States. The British, in evacuating the bay, destroyed the fortress of the Barrancas ; and General Jackson returned with his troops to Mobile. 286 BATTLE -FIELDS AND FORTIFYING OF NEW ORLEANS. BATTLE OF NEW ORLEANS. THE projected attack upon New Orleans, which it was now certain the British would attempt, in duced General Jackson to proceed to that city with his troops. He accordingly left Mobile on the 22d of November, and arrived at New Orleans on the 2d of the succeeding month. In the situation in which he found that city, abundant occasion existed for the display of those warlike talents and that mental energy with which he was eminently gifted. The population was composed of a mixture of various nations, among whom there was little bond of union; and, the country having been but recently trans ferred to the Republic, there was perhaps less national attachment -than in any other quarter. Discontent and apprehension pervaded a great por- NAVAL EXPLOITS. 287 tion of tbe community; the city corps refused to turn out on the requisition of General Flournoy ; and even the legislature of the State, then in ses sion, encouraged them in their disobedience. Added to this, the important post to be defended was ap proachable in various quarters, and the troops stationed at each of these points were insufficient to defend them. But the intrepid spirit of General Jackson was un appalled in the midst of the difficul ties with which he was surrounded. He immedi ately adopted the most decided and efficient measures for the defence of the place. He visited in person every point at which an invading enemy might be opposed, and left no point unfortified that could at all conduce to the great object of defence. The grand approach by the Mississippi was secured by batteries, and the inlets and bayous were obstructed by all possible means. The active and energetic measures and the confident tone of the commanding general revived the spirits of the inhabitants of Louisiana, which had fallen at the prospect of inva sion by so numerous an army as that which it was ascertained was on their coast; and all the true lovers of their country in the State flocked to his banner, and declared their intention of standing by him till the British were expelled from their shores or they had died ibr their country. Upon the lakes to the east of the town a small force of five gun boats, under Lieutenant Jones, had been collected, which, in the narrow passes, would, it was supposed, be competent to repel any force that could be con veniently brought against them. . Information having been rece/ved early in Decem- 288 BATTLE-FIELDS AND ber of the arrival of sixty sail of vessels off Ship Island, Lieutenant Jones made sail for the passes leading into Lake Pontchartrain, where they might be opposed to advantage. On the 14th the enemy were discovered, moving, in forty-three gun-boats, with 1200 men, to the attack of Lieutenant Jones's small force, which, consisting of five gun-boats, as mentioned above, and 180 men, lay becalmed in an unfavorable position. After a gallant resistance of an hour against such an overpowering superiority of force, the American flotilla was compelled to sur render, with the loss of about 40 killed and wounded. That of the assailants was, from concurrent circum stances, believed not to have been less than 300. This gave the British the command of Lakes Pont- chartrain and Borgne. The capture of the gun-boats, upon which General Jackson had depended greatly as a means of defence as well as of the transmission of intelligence, made it necessary to use greater exertions than before on the land. The militia of New Orleans was called out en masse ; and measures which nothing but the urgent necessity of the case could 'justify were adopted. An embargo was laid on all vessels in the harbor; the negroes were impressed and compelled to work on the fortifications; and, on the 16th, martial law, of the most rigid nature, was proclaimed by General Jackson. The rigid police which this last measure enabled him to exert soon freed the city from the disaffected, the spies, and the traitors, with which it had abounded ; and the citizens arose as one man and labored day and night at the fortifi cations. NAVAL EXPLOITS. 289 By his command of Lake Borgne the enemy had it in his power to approach New Orleans by any of the numerous bayous and canals leading to the Mis sissippi. Most of these had been obstructed with great care. Unfortunately, however, a pass, called the Bayou Bienvenue, which was little known and used only by fishermen, was left open, and unde fended except by a picket-guard. Guided by some traitors, the enemy, on the 23d, came suddenly on the American guard through that secret passage, and, having made them prisoners, pushed rapidly on, and, by two o'clock in the afternoon, reached the bank of the river. This intelligence being conveyed to General Jackson, he resolved immediately to attack them. Having therefore collected about 2000 men, he marched at five in the afternoon to meet the enemy, and at seven came in sight of them, encamped on the bank of the river, and engaged in preparing their evening repast. The enemy's force on shore amounted to about 3000 men, and extended half a mile on the river, and in the rear to a wood. Their position being thus exposed to an attack from the water, it was determined that a fire should be opened upon it from Commodore Patterson's schooner, the Caroline, at the same time that General Coffee, with his brigade, assailed their right, and General Jackson, with the remainder of the force, attacked the strongest part of the position, near the river. The darkness of the night preventing a discovery, the Caroline gained her position, and opened a heavy and galling cannonade, the seamen being lighted to the slaughter by the enemy's own camp-fires. This was the first intimation that the British had of the 19 290 BATTLE-FIELDS AND approach of an enemy. At the same moment the brigade of General Coffee rushed impetuously on their right and entered their camp, while the force of General Jackson assailed their front and left with equal ardor. Though taken by surprise and several hundred killed or wounded, the enemy were not yet defeated. Extinguishing their fires, they came boldly forward into action. A thick fog arising shortly after the commencement of the engagement, General Jackson deemed it most prudent to call off his troops; and, having lain on the field all night, he retired in the morning to a stronger position,, about two miles nearer the city. His loss was 24 killed, 115 wounded, and 74 missing; that of the British was 46 killed, 162 wounded, and 64 missing. The position now taken by General Jackson occu pied both banks of the river. On the eastern bank, a ditch containing five feet water, which had been dug for agricultural purposes, reaching from the river to the swamp, was now made use of for an im- portant military purpose. On its northern bank in- trenchments were thrown up, and large quantities of cotton-bales were so arranged as to protect the troops effectually from the enemy's fire. These works were well mounted with artillery. On the western bank of the river a heavy battery of fifteen cannon enfiladed the whole front of the position on the eastern bank. This battery was manned by Com modore Patterson, with the crews of part of his squadron, and near him General Morgan was sta tioned with a body of militia. In the mean time the enemy, who had suffered severely from the fire of the Caroline, took advantage NAVAL EXPLOITS. 291 of her running aground on the 27th, set her on fire and destroyed her by means of hot shot. On the 28th, the British commander-in-chief, Sir Edward Packenham, having landed with the main body of his army and a large train of artillery, advanced within half a mile of the American works and com menced a furious attack with rockets, bombs, and a heavy cannonade. The fire, however, from the batteries and an American vessel, the Louisiana, caused so much destruction that, after a severe con test, the British general drew off his troops with con siderable loss. On the 1st of January, 1815, the invaders made another attempt to force General Jackson's fortifications. They had in the night erected a battery, and early in the morning opened a brisk cannonade, making, at the same time, two bold efforts to turn his left wing; but they were again repulsed, with the loss of about 70 men. Shortly after this event both armies were reinforced, that of General Jackson by the arrival of 2500 Kentuckians, under General Adair, and that of the invaders by General Lambert, with 4000 men. The American force now consisted of about 7000 men, most of them indifferently armed; that of the British of about 12,000, all of whom were veterans, well appointed, and commanded by able and expe rienced officers. With great labor, the British gene ral completed, on the 7th of January, a canal from the bayou to the Mississippi, by which he was enabled to transport the necessary number of boats and troops to the attack of the works on the western side of that river. The American com mander had, in the mean time, not been deficient in 292 BATTLE-FIELDS AND preparation. His works had now been completed. The defences on the eastern bank were manned with the Tennessee and part of the Kentucky militia, under the personal command of General Jackson. Early in the morning of the 8th of January a day which will ever be memorable in the annals of the Republic the British commander, having de tached Colonel Thornton with a strong body to the west bank, moved to the assault with the remainder of his force, in two columns, under Generals Gibbs and Keane, the reserve being commanded by Gene ral Lambert. They approached with determined countenances, slowly but firmly, accompanied by detachments carrying fascines and scaling-ladders. The former were designed to fill up the ditch, and with the latter they intended to mount the ramparts. When they arrived within nine hundred yards, the Americans commenced a heavy and incessant can nonade, which mowed them down with terrible slaughter. But they still moved on with a firm step, invariably supplying the place of the fallen with fresh troops. At length they came within reach of the American small-arms. Then com menced a stream of such well-directed and destruc tive fire that, after losing hundreds in the vain attempt to advance, they broke, and retreated in confusion. In the endeavor to rally them their commander-in-chief, Sir Edward Packenham, was killed. A second time did the British columns advance to within a short distance of the ditch, with the same ill success. The cannon thundered from every battery, the Tennessee rifles were levelled with deadly aim, and grape-shot and shells NAVAL EXPLOITS. 293 were scattered as thick as hailstones over the plain. The British again faltered, and again were pressed forward by their officers. But all their efforts suc ceeded only in leading their veteran soldiers to destruction : the men shrunk from a contest in which they saw nothing but immediate slaughter. The columns broke and retreated in confusion. A BATTLE OP NEW ORLEANS. third but. equally unavailing attempt was made by the British officers to bring them up to the charge. The loss of the commander-in-chief, the disability of Generals Gibbs and Keane, who were severely wounded, and the sight of the plain, covered as it was with the bodies of near 2000 dead and wounded, operated in checking any further advance. General Lambert, on whom the command now devolved, 294 BATTLE-FIELDS AND finding that no hope remained of a successful result, collected together the broken remnants of this once- formidable army and retired to the encampment. In the mean time the detachment under Colonel Thornton, after landing on the west bank, imme diately attacked the American works. The Ken tucky militia, believing themselves to be outflanked, retreated, leaving the enemy in possession of their works. This post completely commanding that on the opposite bank, its occupation by the enemy would have proved of the most serious detriment to General Jackson, had he not, by a dexterous strata gem, induced him to abandon it. General Lambert having proposed an armistice, to continue till twelve o'clock, in order to enable him to remove his dead from the field of battle, the proposition was agreed to by the American commander, with a condition, however, that it should not extend to the west bank, to which no reinforcements were to be sent by either party. Deceived by this reservation, and supposing that a large American force was already on that bank, General Lambert ordered Colonel Thornton to withdraw his troops, and it was immediately re- occupied by General Jackson. In this battle the British loss was 293 killed, 1267 wounded, and 484 missing or prisoners, in cluding almost all the commanding officers ; while of the Americans only 13 were killed, 39 wounded, and 19 missing. This splendid and most important victory was thus rendered doubly gratifying, from the reflection that it was clouded by the loss of so few of those by whose exertions it was achieved. From New Orleans the whole British fleet pro- NAVAL EXPLOITS. 295 ceeded to Mobile Bay, where they took possession of Fort Bowyer, which was garrisoned by 375 men, a number so small when compared with that of the force sent against them as to render resistance un availing. The further prosecution of their schemes of conquest was arrested about this time by the news of peace, which being soon after confirmed officially, the territory of the United States was evacuated by the British. 296 BATTLE-FIELDS AND PRESIDENT AND ENDYMION. EVERY attempt to escape from the blockade of the frigates United States and Macedonian and the sloop- of-war Hornet, at New London, having failed, until the only season at which they could possibly escape had elapsed, the Hornet was ordered to remain at her station as a guard-ship, while the frigates were to be moved up New London River to the head of navigation for heavy vessels, and there to be dis mantled. Commodore Decatur and the crew of the United States were transferred to the frigate Presi dent, then moored at New York. In the course of the winter a cruise to the East Indies was deter mined on at the Navy Department, to be performed by a squadron consisting of that frigate, the sloop- of-war Peacock, then also at New York, the sloop-of- war Hornet, and the Tom Bowline, a merchant ves sel bought into the service as a store-ship. The Hornet was, therefore, directed to proceed to the same harbor. NAVAL EXPLOITS. 297 On the night of the 18th of November, 1814, Cap tain Biddle passed the blockading squadron without being discovered, and joined Commodore Decatur at New York. That port had been also constantly blockaded, and several frigates, sloops-of-war, and a razee, were at that time cruising off the Hook. On the 14th of January, Commodore Decatur, thinking it more likely to get to sea with the Presi dent singly, directed Captain Warrington to follow him with the Peacock and Hornet as soon as the Tom Bowline was in readiness, and, having assigned the island of Tristun d'Acunha as the first place of rendezvous, proceeded to the bay with a view of escaping from Sandy Hook in the night. In conse quence of the negligence of the pilot, the President struck upon the bar, and remained there thumping upwards of two hours. This accident caused her ballast to shift ; and, when extricated from this situa tion by the rise of the tide, it was discovered that she had entirely lost her trim. The course of the wind forbidding her return to port, the commodore determined, nevertheless, upon running out to sea, and did not doubt but she would soon recover that ease in sailing for which she had been long celebrated. At daylight he fell in with the British squadron, composed of the Majestic, (razee,) the frigates Endy- mion, Tenedos, and Pomone, and the despatch-brig, which immediately gave chase. The President was lightened as much as possible ; but the superior sail ing of the enemy's ships enabled them to gain rapidly upon her, and the leading frigate, the Endymion, of forty-nine guns and mounting twenty-four-pounders 298 BATTLE-FIELDS AND on her gundec' got close under her quarters and commenced firi g. Commodore Decatur, finding that the Endymion was cutting up his rigging without his being able to annoy her, determined to bear up and engage, and if possible to run her on board, and, in the event of Carrying her, to sail off and abandon the President. But the enemy manoeuvred to avoid this plan, and the conflict continued two hours, and ended in silenc ing and beating off the Endymion with her hull and rigging much cut up, her masts and spars badly in jured, and a great proportion of her crew killed and wounded. The President was also considerably damaged, and lost 25 men killed and 60 wounded, among the former, Lieutenants Babbit and Hamilton and Acting-Lieutenant Howel ; among the latter, the commodore, and Midshipman Dale, who lost a leg, and died of his wounds at Bermuda. By this time the rest of the squadron* came within two miles of the President. The Endymion had hauled off to repair, and Commodore Decatur made another effort to escape. But in three hours the Pomone and Tenedos lay alongside, and the Majes tic and Endymion were within a short distance of him. The gallant commodore, not choosing to sacri fice the lives of his crew in a useless contest with a squadron of ships mounting not less than one hun dred and ten guns, received the fire of the nearest frigate, and surrendered. He was taken on board the Endymion, to whose commander he refused to deliver his sword when required, alleging that if they had been singly engaged that officer would in evitably have been captured, and that he had struck NAVAL EXPLOITS. 299 to the whole squadron. The *nemy, however, asserted that the President had I ^en conquered by the Endymion alone, that the damage was sustained in a storm which rose up after the battle, and, hav ing repaired both vessels, sent the prize from Ber muda to England under her convoy. There she was lightened and laid in dock alongside an old seventy-four, which was deeply laden to give her a smaller appearance in the water than the Pre sident. 300 BATTLE-FIELDS AND CONSTITUTION, CYANE AND LEVANT. THE United States frigate Constitution, which had been some time repairing at Boston for a cruise, sailed from that port on the 17th of December, 1814, still under the command of Captain Stewart. After cruising in various parts of the ocean and in the track for outward and homeward bound convoys until the 20th of February, she fell in with two strange men-of-war-sail at ten minutes past one P.M. on that day. One of these, being to windward, was bearing up for the Constitution, and at half-past two displayed signals and squared away to the westward to join her consort. The Constitution set every rag in chase, and a few minutes before three commenced firing from her forward guns on the gundeck. At a quarter-past three the main-royal-mast of the Con stitution was carried away, and enabled the enemy's vessels to distance her fire. Before five a new royal- mast was completed, and a little while after the breeze freshened, and the ship to leeward tacked to the southward under all sail. At six the two ships NAYAL EXPLOITS. 301 hauled to on the larboard tack, in line, and in ten minutes the Constitution ranged ahead of the sternmost, brought her on the quarter, her consort on the bow, at two hundred yards' distance, and opened a broadside, which was immediately re turned. An exchange of broadsides continued until the three ships were completely enveloped in smoke, upon the clearing away of which the Constitution found herself abreast of the headmost ship, and Cap tain Stewart ordered both sides to be manned, backed topsails, and dropped into his first position. The ship on the bow backed sails also. The Constitu tion's broadsides were then fired from the larboard battery, and in a few minutes the ship on the bow, perceiving her error in getting sternboard, filled away with an intention of tacking athwart the bows of the Constitution, and the ship on the stern fell off, perfectly unmanageable. The Constitution then filled away in full pursuit of the former, came within one hundred yards of her, and gave her several raking broadsides. She made all sail before the wind with a view to escape ; and Captain Stewart, knowing her crippled situation would enable him to overhaul her at any time after securing her consort, wore round and ranged alongside the latter ship, from which a gun was fired to leeward to signify that she had sur rendered. Possession was then taken, by Lieutenant Hoffman, of his Britannic Majesty's frigate Cyane, Captain Gordon Falcon, of thirty-four guns, thirty- two-pound carronades. Her commander and offi cers being brought on board, Captain Stewart sailed in chase of the other vessel, and in a short 302 BATTLE-FIELDS AND time discovered her standing for him on the weather- bow. In a few minutes the enemy fired a broadside, which being instantly returned, he tacked ship, made all sail, and at that moment received a rake from the star board broadside of the Constitution. Upon gaining his wake, Captain Stewart opened a fire from his gundeck chase-guns with such effect that the enemy hove to and surrendered, with five feet water in his hold, his masts tottering, and nothing but the smoothness of the sea preventing them from going overboard. Lieutenant Ballard was sent on board, and took possession of his Britannic Majesty's ship Levant, Captain Douglass, of eighteen thirty-two- pound carronades and two large twelve-pounders. The loss on board the Cyane and Levant amount ed to 40 men killed and nearly double that number wounded ; on board the Constitution, where no other spar was lost than the foretop-gallant-yard, four men were killed and eleven wounded. On the 10th of March Captain Stewart entered the harbor of Port Praya with his prizes, and on the llth a British squadron, consisting of the Leander, Sir George Collier, the Newcastle, Lord George Stewart, neither of them carrying less than sixty guns, and the frigate Acasta, Captain Kerr, of forty-four guns, which had sailed from the 4 eastern coast of the United States in quest of the Constitution, appeared off its entrance. Captain Stewart immediately made sail, escaped from the harbor with his squadron, and was closely pursued by the enemy's three ships. After a long and perilous chase the Con stitution and Cyane escaped their pursuers and NAVAL EXPLOITS. 303 arrived safely in the United States; but the Levant, after whom all sail was made by the enemy's ships, ran into Port Praya, with a heavy fire of broadsides from the Leander and Newcastle, to put herself under the protection of the neutral port. The neutrality of the Portuguese was not regarded by the British squadron, however, and they recaptured the Levant and carried her into Barbadoes. 304 BATTLE-FIELDS AND ESCAPE OF THE HORNET. HOENET AND PENGUIN. A FEW days after the departure of the President from New York, the Peacock, Hornet, and Tom Bowline left that harbor without knowing of her capture. On the third day after sailing from Sandy Hook, (the 23d of January,) the Hornet parted company with the Peacock and Tom Bowline and directed her course towards the island of Tristan d'Acunha, the first-designated rendezvous for the squadron. On the 23d of March she descried the British brig Penguin, Captain Dickenson, of eighteen guns and a twelve-pound carronade, to the south ward and eastward of the island. This vessel had been fitted out and 12 supernumerary marines put on board, with whom her crew amounted to 132 men, to cruise for the American privateer Young Wasp. NAVAL EXPLOITS. 305 Captain Biddle immediately made sail, cleared the island, and hove to, until the Penguin, at the same time coming down, should be within striking- distance. At forty minutes past one P. M. the Pen guin hauled her wind on the starboard tack, hoisted English colors, and fired a gun at musket-shot dis tance. The Hornet immediately luffed to, sent up an ensign, and gave the enemy a broadside. A con stant fire was kept up for fifteen minutes, the Pen guin all that time gradually nearing upon the Hornet, when Captain Dickenson gave orders to run her on board, and was killed by a grape-shot before he saw them executed. Lieutenant McDonald, upon whom the command of the Penguin then devolved, bore her up, and, running her bowsprit in between the main and mizzen-rigging of the Hornet, ordered his crew to board. His men, however, seeing the Hornet's boarders not only ready to repel them, but waiting for orders to jump upon the Penguin's deck, refused to follow him. At that moment the heavy swell of the sea lifted the Hornet ahead, and the enemy's bowsprit carried away her mizzen-shrouds and spanker-boom, and the Penguin hung upon the Hornet's quarter-deck with the loss of her foremast and bowsprit. Her commander then called out that he had surrendered. Though he was not distinctly understood, Captain Biddle ordered his marines to cease firing, and demanded of the Penguin whether she had struck. An officer of the Hornet discovered a man taking aim at Captain Biddle after the sur render, and called to him to avoid the fire. He had scarcely done so when a musket-ball struck the cap tain in the neck, severely wounding him, and pass- 20 306 BATTLE-FIELDS AND ing through his coat-collar. Two marines, to whom the man was pointed out who had discharged his piece at their commander, immediately fired at and killed him before he brought it from his shoulder. The Penguin just then got clear of the Hornet, and the latter wore round to give the enemy a fresh broadside, when her commander called out a second time that he had surrendered. The- severest exer cise of authority became necessary to prevent the Hornet's crew, who were incensed at the enemy's firing after he had struck, from discharging the broadside. Twenty-two minutes after the com mencement of the action she was taken possession of by Mr. Mayo, of the Hornet. The Penguin was so much injured that Captain Biddle determined upon taking out her crew and scuttling her ; after doing which he sent his prisoners to St. Salvador in the Tom Bowline, by which vessel and the Peacock he was joined on the 25th of the month. In this action the Penguin lost 14 men killed and 28 wounded; the Hornet, one killed and 11 wounded; among the latter, her first lieutenant, Connor, dan gerously. Having bent a new suit of sails and repaired his rigging, Captain Biddle was in a perfect condition to prosecute the cruise, and, together with the Peacock, after waiting the. full time for Commodore Decatur at the island of Tristan d'Acunha, sailed on the 12th of April for the Cape of Good Hope. On the 27th they discovered a British ship-of-the-line with an admiral's flag. The Peacock and Hornet imme diately separated and made all sail in different directions from the stranger, who came up in pur- NAVAL EXPLOITS. 307 suit of the latter. The chase commenced at about two o'clock of the 27th and continued until ten in the morning of the 30th, during which time the enemy's bow-guns were continually fired, his vessel fre quently gained upon and was as often dropped by the Hornet; and Captain Biddle, after throwing overboard every heavy article at hand, and all his guns but one, at length effected his escape, and went to St. Salvador for the purpose of refitting. On his arrival there he gained intelligence of the conclusion of hostilities between the two nations, and, soon after sailing thence, returned to the United States about the latter end of July and was promoted to the rank of post-captain. 308 BATTLE-FIELDS AND CAPTAIN WABRINGTON. PORTER'S CRUISE IN THE PACIFIC. THE intelligence of Captain Porter's exploits had at length occasioned a force of the enemy to be sent in pursuit of him. Soon after his arrival at Val paraiso, the Phoebe, a British frigate of thirty-eight guns, and a sloop-of-war, appeared off the port, having been fitted out expressly to meet the Essex. They entered the harbor to obtain provisions, and, having effected this, again stood out and cruised off the port for about six weeks. Their united force was much greater than that of Captain Porter, the Essex Junior being of but little utility in action. NAVAL EXPLOITS. 309 At length, on the 28th of March, the Essex made an attempt to get to sea with a favorable wind. The enemy's vessels were close to the shore, and Captain Porter expected to be able to pass to wind ward of them. Unfortunately, however, in round ing the point, the American vessel was struck by a squall, which carried away her main-topmast. Thus crippled, escape to sea was impossible ; and, as it was equally difficult to reach the harbor, Captain Porter ran into a small bay and anchored within pistol-shot of the shore. In this situation it was to have been expected that the ordinary rules of war fare, which forbid an attack upon an enemy lying within a neutral territory, would have been observed. It was, nevertheless, soon perceived that Captain Hillyar, the English commander, was determined to avail himself of the opportunity offered, without regard to the rights of sovereignty of the local government. The Essex was prepared for action with all possible despatch ; but, before a spring could be put upon her cable to enable her to bring her broadside to bear, the attack was commenced. The British commander, desirous of capturing the Essex with as little loss to himself as possible, placed his frigate, the Phoebe, under her stern, while the Cherub took a position on her bows. The latter, soon find ing the fire of the Essex too warm, bore up and ran also under her stern, where both ships kept up a heavy and raking fire. Captain Porter continued the action for a considerable time with three long twelve-pounders, being all the guns which he found it possible to bring to bear on the enemy, when, finding his crew falling fast around him, he cut his 310 BATTLE-FIELDS AND cable and ran down on the enemy with the intention of laying the Phoebe on board. For a short time a close and sanguinary action ensued ; but, the superior equipment of the British frigate enabling her to choose her distance, she edged off and continued so heavy a fire from her long guns that Captain Porter determined to run his ship ashore. He was, how ever, disappointed in this hope by the wind setting off the land, and, after an unequal and hopeless contest of three hours, was compelled to give the painful order to strike the colors. The loss of the Essex in this engagement was 58 killed, 66 wounded, and 31 missing, most of the latter escaping to the shore by swimming ; that of the British was said to be only 5 killed and 10 wounded. Both of the enemy's vessels, as well as the Essex, were so much crippled that it was with difficulty they were enabled to reach the port of Valparaiso. Captain Porter and his crew were paroled and permitted to return to the United States in the Essex Junior, her armament being previously taken out. On arriving off the port of New York they were overhauled and detained by the Saturn razee. Being thus treated, Captain Porter told the boarding-officer that he gave up his parole and con sidered himself a prisoner of war, and as such should use all means of escape. In consequence of this threat the Essex Junior was ordered to remain all night under the lee of the Saturn; but the next morning Captain Porter put off in his boat, though thirty miles from shore, and, notwithstanding he was pursued by the Saturn, effected his escape and landed safely on Long Island. His reception in the NATAL EXPLOITS. 311 United States was such as liis great services and dis tinguished valor deserved. On the 29th of April the sloop-of-war Peacock, of eighteen guns, commanded by Captain Warring- ton, fell in with and, after an action of forty-two minutes, captured the British brig-of-war Epervier, of a like number of guns and 128 men, of whom 8 were killed and 15 wounded. The Peacock was deprived of the use of her foresail and foretopsail in the early part of the action, but received no other injury, 2 men only being slightly wounded. The prize had on board one hundred and twenty thousand dollars in specie, which was transferred to the Pea cock, and both vessels arrived in safety in the United States. About this period the sloop-of-war "Wasp, of eighteen guns, commanded by Captain Blakely, sailed from Portsmouth on her first cruise. After capturing seven merchant-men, she encountered, on the 28th of June, the British brig-of-war Keindeer, of nineteen guns and 118 men. After a series of manoeuvres on the part of the latter, by which a close action was for a long time prevented, a warm engagement commenced, which was continued with great spirit on both sides for upwards of two hours, during which the enemy several times attempted to board, but was as often repulsed. The crew of the Wasp now boarded with great ardor, and in a few minutes resistance ceased and the British flag was hauled down. Owing to the proximity of the two vessels and the smoothness of the sea, the loss on both sides was severe. That of the Americans was 5 killed and 21 wounded; while the British lost 25 312 BATTLE-FIELDS AND killed, including Captain Manners, and 42 wounded. The Reindeer was so much injured that it was found necessary to set her on fire. Captain Blakely, continuing his cruise, about the 1st of September discovered a fleet of merchant-men under convoy of a seventy-four-gun ship. One of them was taken, and,- after removing her cargo, was set on fire. On the same evening he fell in with and captured the British sloop-of-war Avon, of twenty guns. The appearance of a British squadron compelled him to abandon his prize, which sunk soon after the removal of her crew. The damage sustained in this action being soon repaired, Captain Blakely continued his cruise, and, on the 23d of September, captured the British brig Atalanta, which he sent into the United States. From this period no tidings ever reached the Republic of this gallant ship. Whether she foundered in darkness and tempest, or perished in a conflict with an enemy, has never been ascertained. NAVAL EXPLOITS. 313 SEMINOLE WAR. JUST after the close of the last war with Great Britain, when the British withdrew their military force from the Floridas, Edward Nicholls, formerly a colonel, and James Woodbine, a captain, in the British service, who had both been instrumental in exciting the Indians and negroes of the South to hos tilities, remained in the territory for the purpose of forming combinations against the Southwestern fron tier of the United States. To the Creeks, who had ceded their lands to our Government by General Jackson's treaty of August, 1814, Nicholls repre sented that they had been defrauded, that the treaty of Ghent had provided for the restoration of their lands, and that the British government was ready to enforce their claims. He even went so far as to assume the character of a British agent, with powers from the commencement for supporting their pretensions. To effect their purposes, Nicholls and Woodbine established a fort on the Appalachicola River, be tween East and West Florida, as a rendezvous for 314 BATTLE-FIELDS AND runaway negroes and hostile Indians. In July, 1816, about 400 negroes and Indians were collected at this place, which was strong by its position, forti fied with twelve pieces of artillery, and well provided with ammunition and provisions. To dislodge this horde of outlaws, Colonel Clinch, with a detachment of United States troops and 500 friendly Indians, under the command of Mclntosh, proceeded from the head-waters of the Appalachi- cola and laid siege to the fort on the land side. Nicholls and Woodbine first exacted an oath from their followers not to suffer an American to ap proach the fort alive, and then, giving it up to them, went off. To supply Colonel Clinch's forces with munitions and provisions for the siege, two schooners from New Orleans, by permission of the Spanish autho rities at Pensacola, proceeded up the Appalachicola, under convoy of two gun-boats, on the 10th of July. When near the fort, a watering-party of seven men from the schooners was surprised by an ambuscade of negroes : five were killed, one escaped, and one was captured, tortured, and put to death. The gun boats, having but a twelve-pounder and 25 men each, were deemed insufficient by Colonel Clinch to attack the fort, and their commander was cautioned against attempting any offensive operations. Not deterred by this, he warped up sufficiently near to reach it, and, on commencing the firing of hot shot, one of them entered the principal magazine and blew up the fort. The destruction was complete : 270 of the enemy were killed, most of the remainder were badly NAVAL EXPLOITS. 315 wounded, and only three of the whole number escaped unhurt. An immense quantity of arms and munitions of war, designed for supplying the Indians and negroes with the means of annoying the frontier- settlers, fell into the hands of the conquerors ; and two chiefs, who had directed the torture of Ameri can prisoners., were given over to the tender mercies of Macintosh's Indians. The savage horde of West Florida was thus broken up. In East Florida an enemy of the same description was engaged in a similar system of operations. This province of Spain had become the receptacle of a population of the vilest character. The Spanish authorities had no control over them beyond the limits of their fortified posts. The most numerous occupants of the interior were the Seminole Indians, outcast runaways, as their name indicates, from the Creeks. Their allies were the Red-Sticks and other fugitives from the Northern tribes. The Red-Sticks were Creeks who had been expelled from their lands in 1813. They had erected a high pole at their principal village of Mickasuky and painted it red, to denote their thirst for the blood of the whites. Their flag was composed of scalps of Americans whom they had murdered. Hence their name Red-Sticks. To this Indian population were added some hundreds of runaway negroes from Georgia. The frontier-in habitants had much to dread from such a popula tion. Their warriors amounted to some 1500 or more. Francis Hillishago, a Creek chief, had been on an unsuccessful visit to England for the purpose of recovering his lands by the aid of the govern ment. The Spanish authorities of Florida and 316 BATTLE-FIELDS AND numerous adventurers from New Providence gave them encouragement and supplied them with arms, and represented the Americans as enemies bent upon the extermination of the Indian race. Thus supported, these outcasts carried on a system of murder and plunder on the frontiers of Georgia and Alabama, taking refuge in the Mickasuky and Sawa- ney villages, situated on the borders of Georgia. The region which had thus become the seat of a sanguinary border-warfare was situated in the mili tary department of General Jackson, and was under the immediate command of General Gaines. The latter, in pursuance of his orders to protect the frontier, concentrated his forces in that quarter, and built Fort Scott, on the Flint River, near its junc tion with the Chattahoochee, Fort Gaines, on the latter river, on the line between Georgia and Missis sippi, arid Fort Crawford, in Mississippi, on the Canacho branch of the Escambia. General Gaines's instructions on the subject of the Seminole War were contained in four orders from the War Department. The first, of the 30th of Octo ber, 1816, after directing a detachment of Georgia militia to be called into service, states "that the assurance of an additional force, the President flat ters himself, will at least have the effect of restrain ing the Seminoles from committing further depreda tions, and perhaps of inducing them to make repara tion for the murders which they have committed. Should they, however, persevere in their refusal to make such reparation, it is the wish of the President that you should not, on that account, pass the line and make an attack upon them within the limits of NAVAL EXPLOITS. 317 Florida, until you shall have received further in structions from this Department. You are author ized to remove the Indians still remaining on the lands ceded by the treaty made by General Jackson with the Creeks." The second, bearing date the 2d of December, re marks, " The state of our negotiations with Spain,, and the temper manifested by the principal European powers, make it impolitic, in the opinion of the Pre sident, to move a force at this time into the Spanish possessions for the mere purpose of chastising the Seminoles for depredations which have heretofore been committed by them." By the third, dated the 9th of December, General Gaines was instructed that, should the Indians appear in force on the Spanish side of the line and persevere in committing hostilities within the limits of the United States, to exercise a sound discretion as to the propriety of crossing the line for the purpose of attacking them and breaking up their towns. The fourth, bearing date the 16th of December, further instructed him that, should the Seminole Indians still refuse to make reparation for their outrages and depredations on the citizens of the United States, to consider him self at liberty to march across the Florida line and attack them within its limits, unless they should shelter themselves under a Spanish fort, and, in that event, immediately notify the War Department. On the 19th of November, 1816, General Gaines, being at Fort Scott, and having been instructed to remove the remaining Creeks from the territory ceded to the United States by Jackson's treaty, sent an offi cer to Fowltown, one of their settlements near him, 318 BATTLE-FIELDS AND to require the removal of certain Indians still remain ing. The chief returned a haughty refusal. Major Twiggs, being despatched on the next day with 250 men to bring the chiefs and warriors to Fort Scott, was attacked by the Indians ; but he repulsed and put them to flight after killing and wounding a small num ber. Four days after he marched to the town, which he found deserted. Three vessels, under the direction of Major Muhlenburg, with military stores for the supply of Fort Scott, were ascending the Appalachi- cola, on the 30th of November, when a party of 40 men, under Lieutenant Scott, was sent down the river to their assistance by General Gaines. Muhlen burg took out 20 of the men, and, supplying their places with his sick, invalids, and seven women, sent the boat back towards the fort. At the mouth of Flint River the boat was attacked by an ambus cade of Indians, and all were killed except six sol diers, who escaped to the opposite shore by swim ming, and one woman, who was captured. The scalps of the killed were taken to the Mickasuky village and added to the trophies on the red pole of the Indians. The vessels, retarded by the current and constantly assailed by the savage enemies who lined the banks of the river, received the aid of another detachment from the fort, which a favorable wind at last enabled them to reach. The news of these disasters induced the Govern ment to take more decisive measures; and on the 26th of December General Jackson was ordered to take the field, with instructions to raise troops at his discretion and conform to the orders previously given to General Gaines as to the method of prose- NAVAL EXPLOITS. 319 cuting the war. An appeal from the general to the patriotism of the volunteers of West Tennessee sooli brought a thousand soldiers into the service. They were ordered to rendezvous at Fayetteville and pro ceed to Fort Scott. The general now left his residence at Nashville, and on the 9th of March arrived at Fort Scott, with 900 Georgia militia. He crossed the Flint River on the 10th, and arrived on the 16th at Prospect Bluff, where he erected a fort, to which he gave the name of Fort Gadsden, in honor of the engineer engaged in its erection. General Gaines had joined him on the march. Being nearly destitute of provisions, General Jackson determined to sustain the army by causing supplies to be transported up the Escambia, passing Pensacola and the fortress of Barrancas. He ac cordingly wrote to the Spanish governor of West Florida that he should consider any interruption to this proceeding, on his part, as an act of hostility against the United States. The governor demanded duties on the stores, but did not venture to enforce his demand. Mclntosh, the Creek chief, with 1500 warriors, having entered the service of the United States in this expedition, the whole force of General Jackson now amounted to 4300 men. The enemy consisted of runaway Indians and negroes to the amount of one-quarter or one-third of that number. No serious contest could be anticipated; and, accordingly, the subsequent operations constituted, as Jackson after wards aptly denominated it, u a war of movements." On the 1st of April the Tennessee volunteers 320 BATTLE-FIELDS AND joined the main body, which had then nearly Cached the Mickasuky villages. As they ap proached them the outposts had a trifling skirmish with some Indians, who soon fled ; and the villages, on the arrival of the army, were found deserted by their inhabitants. The wigwams were burned ; the old red stick, with the scalps of Lieutenant Scott's party attached to it, was found still standing. Mclntosh and his warriors were ordered to scour the neighboring country in pursuit of the fugitives ; and General Jackson now marched to the Spanish fort of St. Mark's, took possession of it, hoisted the American flag, and shipped the Spanish garrison to Pensacola. In the neighborhood of this place was found a Scotch trader, named Alexander Arbuthnot, who had been carrying on an extensive intercourse with the hostile Indians and negroes. The general put him in close confinement. Francis Hillishago, the Creek chief, and Hoonotlemied, a Red-Stick chief, who had led the murderers of Lieutenant Scott's party, and had been decoyed on board a vessel in Appalachee Bay by Captain McKeever, were now hung by the general's order. The general then left a small garrison at St. Mark's, and on the 9th of April marched for the Sawaney villages, distant one hundred and seven miles. He arrived there on the 16th, killed eleven Indians and took two prisoners. The next day the villages w r ere destroyed and parties were sent out in pursuit of the fugitives. Arbuthnot's schooner was captured at the mouth of the Sawaney Eiver, and employed in transporting the sick and baggage NAVAL EXPLOITS. 321 of the army to St. Mark's. On the 18th, Robert C. Ambrister, late a lieutenant of marines in the British service, under Nicholls, was captured in the neigh borhood of the villages. The war was now considered as having termi nated. The Georgia militia and Mclntosh's Indians were discharged; and on the llth of April the main body set out for St. Mark's, and after a rapid march of five days arrived at that place. It is foreign to our purpose to go into a history of what was denominated, at that time, the Arbuthnot and Ambrister affair. The proceedings in relation to their trial were certainly of a very summary character, and they were put to death ; but whether as outlaws, spies, or pirates, we must leave to Gene ral Jackson to decide. It is worthy of remark, how ever, that the proceedings of the general in relation to these men were justified by the Congress of the United States and the Parliament of Great Britain. The Spanish government complained, but were silenced by the answer of Mr. Adams. At St. Mark's General Jackson received intelli gence that some of the fugitive Seminoles had escaped to West Florida. He, therefore, after leav ing a garrison in the fort, marched into the imme diate neighborhood of Pensacola. The Spanish go vernor remonstrated ; the general occupied the town, and the governor and garrison were obliged to take refuge in the fortress of Barrancas. (24th of May.) The fort was now invested and bombarded till the 27th of May, when it was surrendered to the United States. St. Augustine, the only remaining Spanish fortress, being subsequently captured by General 21 322 RATTLE-FIELDS AND Gaines, in obedience to Jackson's orders, the whole province was in the military possession of the United States; and the Seminole War had ended in the conquest of Florida. The diplomatic proceedings which followed this event, the temporary restoration of the province and its final cession, are matters which belong to the civil history of the United States. Subsequent events have made it pretty apparent that in this war the Seminoles were not all killed. NAVAL EXPLOITS. 323 BLACK HAWK'S WAR BLACK HAWK, the Indian chief whose fame has been recently so widely extended among us, was born on Rock River, in Illinois, about the year 1767. His greatgrandfather was a chief by the name of Nanamakee, or Thunder. Having, at the early age of fifteen, taken the scalp of an enemy, he was admitted to the rank of a brave. A short time afterwards he joined in a war-party against the Osages, and was greatly distinguished for his valor. On his return he was allowed to join in the scalp- dance of the nation. His reputation being thus 324 BATTLE-FIELDS AND established, he frequently led war-parties against the enemies of his tribe, and was in almost every case successful. The treaty which had been made in 1804, by Governor Harrison, with the Sacs and Foxes, by which they ceded their lands east of the Mississippi, was executed by a few chiefs without the knowledge or consent of the nation. Therefore, when Fort Madison was erected by the Americans upon the Mississippi, these tribes expressed their dissatisfac tion in an open manner, and even made an unsuc cessful attempt to cut off the garrison. In the mean while the territory of Illinois had been admitted into the Union and now formed a State. Emigrants poured in from all parts, and in a short time the territory occupied by the Sacs and Foxes was completely surrounded by the settlements of the white men. These soon began to commit outrages upon their red neighbors, in order to hasten their departure from the ceded territory. In 1827, when these tribes were absent from their homes, en gaged in hunting, some of the whites set fire to their village, by which forty houses were consumed. The Indians said nothing concerning this disgraceful act, but, on their return, quietly rebuilt their dwellings. The whites also turned their cattle into the fields of the Indians, by which means the corn was all trodden under foot and destroyed. The American government now determined to sell the lands occupied by these tribes of Indians, and they were accordingly advised to remove. Keokuk, the chief, with a majority of the nation, determined to do so; but Black Hawk, with a party , NAVAL EXPLOITS. 325 which he gained over to himself, resolved to remain, at all hazards. Meanwhile the whites committed greater acts of violence upon the Indians than before. The latter at last took up arms, and a war would certainly have taken place had not General Gaines, com mander of the western division of the United States army, hastened to the scene of action. He held a council with the principal chiefs, in which it was agreed that the nation should instantly remove. They accordingly crossed the river and settled on its western bank. The majority of the Indians were on peaceable terms with the United States. But Black Hawk and his band determined to return to Illinois, alleg ing that they had been invited by the Pottawatomies, residing on Kock River, to spend the summer with them and plant corn on their lands. Accordingly, they crossed the Mississippi and pro ceeded towards the country of the Pottawatomies. They did not attempt to harm any one upon the road. The traveller passed by them without receiv ing any injury, and the inmates of the lowly hut experienced no outrage. Thus they continued, and, without doubt, no violence would have been com mitted by them had not the whites been the first to shed blood. Five or six Indians who were in advance of the party were all captured and put to death by a battalion of mounted militia, except one who made his escape. The one who escaped brought the news to Black Hawk, who immediately deter mined to be revenged. He therefore planned an ambuscade, into which the militia were enticed. On 326 BATTLE-FIELDS AND receiving the fire of the Indians they became panic-struck, and fled in disorder, with the loss of 14 men. The Indians, now that the war was begun, deter mined to do all the mischief in their power. They accordingly divided into small parties, proceeded in different directions, and fell upon the settlements which were at that time thinly scattered over a greater portion of Illinois. Here they committed such outrages that the whole State was in the greatest excitement. Governor Reynolds ordered out 2000 additional militia, who, on the 10th of June, assembled at Hennepin, on the Illinois Eiver, and were soon engaged in pursuit of the Indians. On the 20th of May, 1832, the Indians attacked a small settlement on Indian Creek, and killed 15 persons, besides taking considerable plunder. On the 14th of June 5 persons were killed near Galena. General Dodge, being in the neighborhood, marched with 30 of his mounted men immediately in search of them. When he had gone about three miles, he discovered 12 Indians, whom he supposed to be the party that had committed the murders, and he en tered into the pursuit with great spirit. The Indians made for a swamp, in which they immediately took shelter. The whites rushed in after them, and soon met them. No resistance was made ; every Indian was killed, and their scalps were taken off and borne away in triumph. Meanwhile General Atkinson was pursuing Black Hawk, whose camp was near the Four Lakes. In stead of crossing the country, to retreat beyond the Mississippi, as was expected, he descended the Wis- NAVAL EXPLOITS. 327 consin, to escape in that direction ; by which means General Dodge came upon his trail and commenced a vigorous pursuit. On the 21st of July, Dodge, with about 200 men, besides Indians, came up with Black Hawk, on the Wisconsin, forty miles from Fort Winnebago. The whites came upon the Indians just as they were about to cross the river. After a short engagement the Indians retreated ; and, it being dark, the whites could not pursue them without disadvantage to themselves. Black Hawk's party, it is supposed, lost about 40 men in this encounter. The Indians were now in a truly deplorable con dition ; several of them were greatly emaciated for want of food, and some even starved to death. In their pursuit of, them before the battle the whites found several of their number lying dead on the road. Yet were they not altogether dispirited, and they resolved to continue hostilities as long as they were able. In the affair which we have just related, a squaw, the wife of a warrior called Big Lake, was taken prisoner. From her the whites learned that Black Hawk intended to proceed to the west side of the Mississippi, above Prairie-du-Chien ; those having horses were to strike across the country, while the others were to proceed by the Wisconsin. A great many of these latter were taken prisoners on the road by the whites. Several circumstances now transpired to prevent the escape pf the main body under Black Hawk. The first was his falling in with the " Warrior" steamboat, (August 1,) just as he was about to 328 BATTLE-FIELDS AND cross the Mississippi. On this occasion the chief did not wish to fight, but to escape. He displayed two white flags, and about 150 of his men came to the river without arms, making signs of submission. But J. Throckmorton, the commander of the boat, either could not or would not understand their sig nals : he gave orders for his men to fire upon them, which they did ; the fire was returned^ but without doing any damage. The engagement lasted for about an hour, when the wood of the steamboat began to fail, and it proceeded to the Prairie. In this battle the Indians had 23 men killed, besides a great many wounded; while the whites had none killed and only one wounded. On the next day Atkinson's army came up with Black Hawk, after having encountered many incon veniences and dangers in the march. He imme diately formed his troops in order of battle and attacked the Indians. However, lest some should escape up or down the river, Atkinson had ordered Generals Alexander and Posey to form the right wing of the army and march down to the river above the Indian encampment on the bank, and then move down. The battle now commenced, and lasted for about three hours. The Indians fought with desperation, and disputed the ground with the greatest valor. They were, however, finally obliged to retreat. Their loss in killed and wounded amounted to about 200, while that of the Americans was but 27. This action may be considered as the finishing- stroke of the war, although Black Hawk made his escape. From this time Black Hawk's men con- NAVAL EXPLOITS. 329 tinually deserted him and went over to the whites. Finally, the warrior himself came in and surrendered to the agent at Prairie-du-Chien. On this occasion he made a speech, in which he said that he regretted his being obliged to close the war so soon without having given the whites much more trouble ; that he had done nothing of which he had any reason to be ashamed ; that an Indian who was as bad as the white men would not be allowed to live in their communities ; and ended with the following words : " Farewell, my nation ! Black Hawk tried to save you and revenge your wrongs. He drank the blood of some of the whites. He has been taken prisoner, and his plans are stopped. He can do no more. He is near his end. His sun is setting, and he will rise no more c Farewell to Black Hawk." Black Hawk was now taken to Washington, where he had an interview with the President. He was then conducted through the principal Atlantic cities and received everywhere with the most marked attention and hospitality. He was then set at liberty and returned to his nation. He died on the 3d of October, 1838 ? at his village on the Des Moines Kiver. ISO BATTLE-FIELDS AND SECOND SEMINOLE WAR. THIS war broke out in the summer of 1835, and, to the disgrace of the Government, lasted eight years. General Clinch, with 250 regulars and 650 Florida militia, had the chief command at first; and in December, 1835, Major Dade's detachment was entirely destroyed by the Indians. Generals Gaines, Scott, and Jessup, were in turn intrusted with the conduct of the war ; but none of them succeeded in bringing the enemy to a decisive engagement. The last-named commander resorted NAVAL EXPLOITS. 331 to a stratagem to gain possession of the master-spirit among the Seminoles. Osceola was known to be a brave and sagacious warrior, and was at this time the principal chief. He was viewed as the great director of all the hostile bands of Seminole warriors. It was deemed, there fore, a great achievement by the American general to get him into his power. General Jessup found means to communicate to the Indians that it was his wish to have the chiefs come in and hold a talk, in order to come to some agreement. White flags were displayed on the fort. On the 20th of October, 1837, Osceola, accompanied by other chiefs and a few warriors, came in, agreeably to the invitation. He, carrying a white flag in his hand and relying on the honor of the commanding general, put himself in his power; but, instead of being received as was expected, they were immediately surrounded by bayonets, made prisoners, and confined in the fort. Whether General Jessup was alone accountable for this act of treachery, or whether he acted under orders from the President, is not known ; but, the Government having afterwards approved of the mea sure, it became a national act. Osceola was kept there a prisoner for some time, when he was, by order of the Government, conveyed under a strong guard to Sullivan Island, in the harbor of Charleston, S.C., and confined in the fort. His proud and independent spirit could not bear the confinement, and he gradually pined away and died in prison. Thus fell another brave Indian chieftain, not in fair fight, but in a manner that will ever be a stigma upon our national honor. 332 BATTLE-FIELDS AND Other chiefs were kidnapped in the same treache rous manner ; but, severe as the loss must have been to the, Indians, it did not appear to discourage them. The war was still carried on, by those who were left, in a desultory manner. The ranks of the Indians are said to have been filled up by runaway slaves and some of the Creek Indians who had not yet quitted Georgia. BATTLE OP OKEECIIOBEE. On the 24th of December, 1837, Colonel Taylor succeeded in bringing the Indians to a general en gagement at Okeechobee. The action was a severe one, and continued from half-past twelve until after three P. M., a part of the time very close and severe. The troops suffered much, having 26 killed and 112 wounded, among whom were some of the most valuable officers. The enemy probably suffered NAVAL EXPLOITS. 333 equally, they having left 10 dead on the ground, besides, doubtless, carrying off many more, as is customary with them when practicable. Taylor's column, in six w r eeks, penetrated one hundred and fifty miles into the enemy's country, opened roads, and constructed bridges and causeways when necessary, on the greater portion of the route, established two depots and the necessary defences for the same, and finally overtook and beat the enemy in his strongest position ; the results of which movement and battle were the capture of 30 of the enemy, the coming-in and surrendering of more than 150 Indians and negroes, mostly the former, including the chiefs Ou-la-too-chee, Tus-ta- nug-gee, and other principal men, the capturing and driving out of the country six hundred head of cattle, upwards of one hundred head of horses, be sides obtaining a thorough knowledge of the country through which the troops operated, a greater portion of which was entirely unknown except to the enemy. Colonel Taylor's conduct in the battle of Okee- chobee was duly appreciated by the Government. The Secretary of War, Mr. Poinsett, gave him the warmest commendation in his report to Congress ; and he was immediately promoted to the brevet rank of brigadier-general, with the chief command in Florida. His head-quarters were in the neigh borhood of Tampa Bay. From this point he directed the " war of movements," so difficult and discouraging to an ardent officer, until 1840, when he was relieved by General Armistead, who was ordered to take the command in Florida. The Seminoles had eluded pursuit for a long time 334 BATTLE-FIELDS AND i previous to May, 1841, when the conduct of the war was intrusted to Colonel Worth. Sickness among the men impeded his operations, but he was soon able to compel the surrender of several considerable detachments of hostile Indians ; and, on the 19th of April, 1842, he succeeded in compelling a large body of Indians to fight at a place called Palaklak- laha. The result, as might have been anticipated, was a complete defeat of the enemy, which was soon after followed by the surrender of one of the leading chiefs of the Indians with his band. The Florida War was not yet ended. Even before Worth left the territory hostilities had recom menced at San Pedro. The exasperation and chagrin of the inhabitants broke forth into loud murmurs against the Government and the army. Colonel Yose was ordered to take the field imme diately, and another series of negotiations, skir mishes, butcheries, and hollow truces, ensued. The details might well fatigue, but could not please or instruct, the reader. It may be sufficient to know that, in November, Colonel Worth, lately breveted brigadier-general, resumed the command ; that a few more chiefs were captured, a few driven into the everglades, and a few decided and afterwards retained ; that several hundred Indians, desolate, friendless, and heart-broken, were despatched to the West ; that the military force was now reduced and now augmented, according as the war-temperament dictated the thermometer-like policy; and that No vember, 1843, has generally been regarded as the time when this whole affair, dignified by the ap pellation of a national contest, may be supposed to NAYAL EXPLOITS. 335 have been concluded. That fact was duly announced by General Worth in a despatch to the adjutant- general. Since that time peace has, with few interruptions, been maintained. The Indian warriors now in Florida number perhaps 150. Recently some out rages were committed which caused some anxiety lest the war was about to be renewed; but it is believed that no plot for that purpose exists among the Indians. 336 BATTLE-FIELDS AND COKPDS CHRISTI. COMMENCEMENT OF THE MEXICAN WAR, AND BATTLES OF PALO ALTO AND RE- SACA DE LA PALMA. IN 1844 General Taylor was appointed to the command of the army of observation in Texas. His inarch from Corpus Christ! to the Rio Grande is a narration of wonderful and romantic events. The great American desert was to be crossed, where all vegetation is stunted and every river and lake filled with salt water. Here and there dense prickly pears, green and beautiful in the distance, mocked the eye with the appearance of cultivation and plenty. Then streams, cold and clear, caused the blood to thrill through the veins of the exhausted soldiers; but the waters were salt and loathsome, and on tasting them the troops looked upon each other with fearful foreboding. Drooping with thirst KAVAL EXPLOITS. 337 and weariness, the army moved over the burning sand, their feet parched and blistered with the heat and their cattle dropping at every step. Men who subsequently faced death with alacrity now grew still and melancholy; and their unechoing tread seemed like the muffled march to a funeral. But at length their sufferings terminated. They emerged from the desert, and far in the distance a white line was observed glittering in the sun. "Fresh water" was spoken with startling energy, and, as though accelerated by a superhuman impulse, every man sprung onward. Nearer and nearer they drew, until the waves could be distinctly recognised spark ling in the distance. Now their eagerness became uncontrollable. Sweeping along in rapid marches, the troops reached the brink, dashed down their arms and equipments, and rushed in headlong. It- was a moment when discipline yields to necessity ; and General Taylor exulted and revelled with his troops as the commonest soldier. On the 28th of March the American flag was waving on the banks of the Eio Grande. Kound their national banner the weary troops sat down to enjoy once more the luxury of rest. They had crossed streams and deserts, forded rivers, endured hardships of hunger, thirst, fatigue, and heat, had captured Point Isabel and established there a mili tary depot. The limit of their authority was reached, and they now sat down on the great river to await the commencement of hostilities or an order to re turn home. The death of Colonel Cross, and subsequently of Lieutenant Porter, roused the army from its security. 22 338 BATTLE-FIELDS AND Then Captain Thornton with his command was cap tured, and immediately after the Mexicans, grown bold by success, crossed the Rio Grande and spread themselves along the neighboring plains. Spies were sent out from the American fort; but one by one they returned, with the information that crowds were still crossing and that all communication with CAPTURE OF CAPTAIK THORNTON. Point Isabel was cut off. A period dark and try ing was settling over the army. They were de prived of all communication with the government or their main depot, and surrounded by a hostile army many times superior to themselves. Yet not for one moment did they despond. Confident that the motto of their leader was " Victory or Death," they leaned upon him as a strong pillar, and felt that there was NAYAL EXPLOITS. 339 that in his genius and firmness which must finally insure success. Nor was this confidence diminished when Captain Walker, of the Rangers, arrived at the 'fort, after escaping innumerable dangers, and re ported the critical condition of Point Isabel. * Aware of the importance of reopening his com munication, the general left his fort on the 1st of May for the purpose of cutting his way to Point Isabel. Strange to say, he reached it in safety, re plenished his stores, recruited his army, and set out (May 7) on his return. That night the troops slept on the open plain, and early on the following morn ing recommenced their solitary march. At noon they reached a wide prairie, flanked by pools of fresh water and bounded in the distance by long rows of chapparal. In front of the latter were drawn up in battle-array 6000 Mexicans, in one unbroken line a mile in length. It was a thrilling sight. Long rows of bayonets glittering in the sunbeams, together with the lances of the horsemen and hundreds of pennants and national flags, formed a spectacle brilliant and exciting. Undaunted by the over whelming numbers of their adversaries, each soldier forgot the fatigues of the journey and pressed for ward with the highest enthusiasm. Nearer and nearer the armies approached, until but six hundred yards intervened between them. Then suddenly a roar like thunder shook the ground, and volumes of smoke burst from the batteries to the Mexican left and rolled away in the distance. Battery after bat tery followed in rapid succession, till the ground rocked and trembled, the whole field was dense with smoke, and the balls tore up the earth and grass in 340 BATTLE-FIELDS AND whirling fragments. For a few minutes there was a pause, and the Americans placed their guns in bat tery. This done, the action commenced in earnest, Einggold, Duncan, and Churchill sustaining the whole force of the enemy's fire. At every discharge of these gallant cannoneers the Mexican cavalry reeled to and fro, while scores sunk down in mangled masses beneath the tread of their companions. The rattling of artillery-wagons as they swept to different stations, the galloping of horses and rushing of armed men, the shouts of command and moans of the dying, mingled fearfully over that solitary plain. Dismayed by the havoc of his cavalry, the Mexican general collected their scattered fragments and pre pared for a charge. At this movement the third and fifth infantry regiments, who had hitherto taken no part in the battle, were ordered forward to meet the enemy. But the huge masses bore on amid a tremendous fire from the third regiment, assisted by Kidgely's guns, until they arrived at the fifth. This was formed into a square to support Lieutenant Ridgely. That brave officer planted his guns in the very front of the lancers, and rode from rank to rank amid showers of balls and bullets. His horse fell dead ; and four others, maddened with the smoke and uproar, plunged headlong before the muzzles of the cannon and directly between the two armies. There was a moment of sickening dread, for without horses the artillery would be unmanageable. In the next Eidgely sprang forward and drew the animals to their stations. A pealing shout followed this daring action, echoed by roars of artillery and the hurry- ings of the enemy's retreat. At this uncertain NATAL EXPLOITS. 341 moment Colonel Twiggs came down on them with the third infantry, supported by Major Ringgold. Heavy balls crushed through their crowded columns, mowing down whole regiments and piling man and steed in one long black line of death. While the cavalry were breaking before our artil lery, the prairie grass became ignited, and in a few BATTLE OF PALO ALTO. moments the stirring spectacle of a prairie on fire was added to the more terrible one of a battle. Thick masses of smoke rose between the two armies, hiding them from each other and from the light of the sun. Gradually the work of death slackened, until at last silence brooded once more over the plain, interrupted only by the crackling of flames or an occasional command. But the cessation was only temporary. Under 342 BATTLE-FIELDS AND cover of the darkness, each army formed a new line of battle, and after an hour's intermission the action recommenced. The appetite for blood, the darker passions of human nature, had been aroused ; and now man saw his brother and companion fall by his side, or heard from every quarter the shrieks of suf fering wretches, with scarcely one feeling of com punction. The artillery led the battle ; and both armies fought with a heroism rarely surpassed in the history of American warfare. In the very midst of it, one man rode along the van of our troops on a white horse and exhorted them to duty. At sight of him wild shouts of exultation rose above the shock of contending armies, and each soldier forgot that he was rioting in blood and danger. No man sustained the honor of his country better on that day than did Major Ringgold. The very soul of the artillery-force, he watched with thrilling interest the effect of every gun, and saw with the pride of a soldier the terrible havoc in the enemy's ranks. His calm, collected bearing and chivalric bravery were the admiration of every beholder. Yet he was to shine but for a moment. Death had marked him as its victim and fixed the dear price of his glory. While superintending the eighteen- pounders, a cannon-ball struck his right thigh, passed completely through the shoulders of his horse and out through his left thigh, tearing away all the muscles that opposed its course. The last charge of the cavalry was met by Captain Duncan's battery, assisted by the 8th infantry and Ker's dragoons. Before the fire of these companies the horsemen fell back in confused masses, and the NAVAL EXPLOITS. 343 day was won. Night brought repose to the weary soldiers, who sank upon the field in their equip ments, while the artillerists lay down beside their pieces. Thus one battle was won ; but another, more dark and dreadful, and which was to drive the Mexican from Texas forever, was in reserve for the following day. At four o'clock in the afternoon (May 9) the Americans arrived in front of a deep gorge known as the Resaca de la Palma, flanking the road on each side and covered with impenetrable chapparal of prickly pear, Spanish needle, and other thorny plants. Here the legions of Mexico had concealed their forces and were awaiting the arrival of their op ponents. Heavy batteries were posted in the gorge so as to rake the road from both sides, while the infantry should, at the same time, employ their musketry from the chapparal. The cavalry were stationed so as to support the rest of the army and act according to emergencies. About four o'clock quick discharges of musketry were heard in the direction of the chapparal. The battle had begun. A party of skirmishers had en gaged some Mexican cavalry, and, after retreating a short distance, rallied, and in turn drove back their opponents. Meanwhile the main army moved towards the gorge at a rapid march, eager to finish the work commenced at Palo Alto. Riding through their columns, the commander exhorted each man to prepare for the approaching struggle and complete the measure of their worth and glory. Shouts of gratitude and exultation gave assurance that his words were not idly spoken. Every eye flashed, 344 BATTLE-FIELDS AND every bosom heaved, with the intensity of excite ment; and the hurrying tread announced that very soon the two armies would again face each other in mortal strife. At length, when near the Resaca, the Mexican artillery broke forth in discharges which echoed and re-echoed along the gorge and ploughed up the ground and rocks in every direction. - The troops immediately halted. Then one regiment after another moved towards the ravine, regardless of the iron shower that hailed around and above them. In advance of all was Lieutenant Ridgely, whose bat teries poured forth uninterrupted discharges of shot and canister. Closely following were the heavy columns of the 8th infantry, succeeded by the re mainder of the army. For thirty minutes the artillerists stood between the opposing forces, while the balls dashed and bounded and whistled around them and the wailings of mangled companions rung in their ears. The cavalry dashed upon them until the horses almost leaped upon the cannon ; yet they faltered not. Throwing aside all superfluous clothing, grim with smoke and powder, and sweltering in the burning sun, these heroes stood hand to hand with death, and, amid blood and uproar and thunder, wrenched victory from the enemy. Their leader managed a gun with his own hand, like the com monest soldier, and refused to mount his horse until the cavalry were broken. A shout, terrible to the Mexicans, rang from the American troops on beholding this retreat, and a pursuit immediately commenced. Batteries groaning with heavy cannon were wheeled into action, and NAVAL EXPLOITS. 345 opened upon the Americans. Clamor and misery followed their course; but still our troops pressed forward. Then the flash of thousands of muskets burst forth from the chapparal, which seemed as a wall of living fire. Whole companies sunk down beneath the feet of their companions, and the artil lery was almost dismantled. Still the soldiers advanced. The bursts of artillery, the roar of mus ketry, and shouts of command, formed a scene incapable of description. But. dashing through death and horror, our troops reached the thicket and sprang forward to the fierce trial of the bayonet. Suddenly all noise was hushed save that sickening one whose short, quick sound chills the blood, the grating of bayonet with bayonet as they leap sternly at opposing bosoms. Then there was another shout : the chapparal was gained. Sure of victory, the troops now attempted to drive the Mexicans from their batteries. But here their progress was arrested. Manned by the Tampico veterans, and commanded by the brave La Vega, these guns swept down every thing before them and covered the retreat of the infantry. At the same time the cavalry prepared for another charge. Perceiving that nothing decisive could be accom plished while the Mexicans retained these guns, General Taylor ordered Captain May to charge them with his dragoons. That order was welcome. As the captain rode back to his command, each eye was bent upon him with an almost agonizing expression. "Men," he exclaimed, "follow!" and instantly that troop were plunging towards the rocks of the Resaca. On they swept, like some living thunderbolt, until 346 BATTLE-FIELDS AND they reached Colonel Kidgely, by whom they were halted till he had drawn the enemy's fire. Then those fiery horsemen, with their arms bared to the shoulder and their sabres glittering in the sun, swept on towards the opposing batteries. Grim and silent, the enemy awaited their approach, with the ignited matches close to the cannon. Nearer and nearer the dragoons approached ; ' it seemed like mocking death, one of those terrible moments when the mind dares not think. A roar like thunder broke the suspense, and eighteen horses, with seven men, reared and screamed and fell dead. Lieu tenant Sackett was thrown into the midst of the enemy ; Lieutenant Inge was shot through the throat. But naught could stop the survivors. Leap ing on the breaches of the cannon, they overthrew the cannoneers and drove back the Tampico regi ment with their sabres. These were repulsed but a moment ; they rushed back to their stations, seized the horses' bridles, and fought hand to hand with the riders. Again they were rolled back, and again returned, climbing over heaps of their fallen com panions and planting their standard by the principal battery. La Yega, their general, black with the filth of battle, stood among his fallen heroes and called the survivors to their posts. Nobly did they second his call, and closed about him like a wall of iron. But, concentrating his force, May again rushed on them, breaking their ranks and capturing La Yega himself. Slowly and sullenly that shattered band left their guns. Tearing the flag from its staff, one of them wrapped it around his body and attempted to escape, but, weary and wounded, fell down through loss of blood and was captured. NAVAL EXPLOITS. 347 STOKMING OF MONTEREY. AFTER refreshing his troops and receiving rein forcements, General Taylor marched for Monterey, in the neighborhood of which he arrived on the 19th of September. On the 21st this strong city was attacked at two stations by the main army, while General Worth led a division against the forts on a neighboring hill. The details of this fearful struggle are a series of rapid movements, brilliant assaults, and chivalric combats. Generals Twiggs and Butler, Colonel May's dragoons, and the Texas volunteers, became involved between three fires directed against them from strongly-built forts. Here, hour after hour, they stood in the jaws of death, while the old town rocked with the thunder of artillery, com panions dropping on every side and the balls ringing and whistling in showers around them. High over the scene of slaughter May and Twiggs were heard exhorting their heroes to the charge ; while Butler's troops, sweeping on with the bayonet, overthrew the opposing cavalry and rushed almost to the guns of the fort. But Mexico saw her danger, and, calling all her troops around, prepared to meet it. At each burst of lurid flame the balls broke and crushed the living masses, until our companies were completely riddled. In gloomy rage the troops were torn from 348 BATTLE-FIELDS AND the bloody scene, while the shouts of exulting Mexi cans rent the air. But the triumph of the latter was short. Captain Backus, having climbed upon a tannery near the fort, poured into it a deadly fire of musketry. Be fore the astonishment attending this unexpected attack had subsided, General Quitman descended upon it like a torrent, leaped the embrasures, wheeled round the cannon, and drove off the Mexicans with the bayonet. Now the battle recommenced with renewed fury. Exasperated by their loss, the Mexicans launched from thirty heavy cannon an avalanche of liquid fire that tore up massive stones and bulwarks and scattered them into the air like leaves in autumn. Whole sections melted under this appalling shower, and General Butler was wounded and retired from the field. The rapid charges of Colonel Garland against the second fort were unsuccessful, and the command was withdrawn to the captured station. About this time a body of lancers wound slowly round the wall of the city, towards the battery op posite the citadel. At seeing them Captain Bragg galloped forward, and, by a few well-directed charges, drove them back with loss. On the 23d a grand attack was made upon all the Mexican stations. Maddened by heavy losses, the American Rangers burst into the houses, tore the skirmishers from the windows, and bored through the side walls towards the central plaza. The dull sound of the pickaxe contrasted strangely with those terrible reports which were shaking earth and air and crushing the haughtiest buildings. Streets NAVAL EXPLOITS. 349 and squares were thus passed until the troops were in the vicinity of the principal plaza. Here they halted, issued from the houses, and commenced a cannonade. This renewed the general action. Soon the walls of the great cathedral were observed to totter, and at length, with an awful crash, a portion fell inwards. A wild shout arose from the assail ants, the cannon ceased for one moment, and then, dimly borne over the tumult, came the wail of suf fering anguish. A roar of artillery succeeded, as though death were ashamed that its work should be known. Until near sunset our troops toiled and fought and wrestled for the victory, although op posing a securely-intrenched foe of three times their number. They were then withdrawn to await the arrival of General Worth's division. This officer, after capturing the Bishop's Palace and other redoubts, had entered the city and pene trated towards the square on the side opposite General Taylor. Night, however, closed the scene of carnage, and both armies prepared for a final struggle on the ensuing day. On the 24th proposals for a capitulation were re ceived from the Mexican General Ampudia, and negotiations ensued which resulted in a surrender of the city and public stores to the army of General Taylor. The enemy marched into the interior on parole, the officers and soldiers retaining most of their arms, together with a battery of artillery. 350 BATTLE-FIELDS AND GENERAL TAYLOR AT BUENA VISTA. BATTLE OF BUENA VISTA. BUENA VISTA is a small village about seven miles south of Saltillo. At some distance from it is the deep gorge of Angostura, surrounded by rocks, hills, and ravines, and holding the key of a position which, for defensive warfare, is perhaps not surpassed by any other on the continent. Here, with his little army of 5000 men, General Taylor waited for 21,000 under the best general in Mexico. It was a brilliant sight to behold that host stretching over the distant hills in hurried march to the scene of slaughter. Far as the eye could reach, infantry, cavalry, and artillery flashed in the morning sun and shaded all the plain. Then they scattered in every direction, arranging their artillery, moving into line, and choosing stations for the attack. In the afternoon 3STAYAL EXPLOITS. 351 a party of lancers wound round the heights to the left of the American position, with the intention of making a charge. They were followed by some infantry companies and one of artillery, who com menced an attack in that quarter. The noise of cannon sounded strangely along those solitary cliffs, and the echoes bounded from one to the other as though in playful mockery. Considerable skirmish ing took place, and the troops of both armies manoeuvred till night. Scarcely had daylight appeared in the east on the 23d of September, 1846, than the trampling of men, fEegallop of horses, and the roar of cannon, told that the fearful drama was opening. Keinforced during the night, the enemy now poured upon our left a living mass that seemed clad in fire and steel. All along that moving, shouting mass, thousands of muskets united their startling volleys, while a pall of smoke rolled along the rocky heights and hid the combatants from view. Yet, in that terrible moment, ere the excitement of contest had strung the nerves to indifference, Colonel Marshall beheld unmoved the rushings of an army, and, calling his little band around him, prepared for their charge. Gallantly did they wrestle for victory for three dreadful hours, till many a gallant form sank low and the sharp rocks ran red with human blood. When the sun arose the armies were rushing and rolling over the bloody plain, while high over all the din of war soared above the scene and rolled in broken echoes in the distance. Yet this was but the beginning of the fray. At eight o'clock one dense, deep column came on in 352 BATTLE-FIELDS AND steady movement against the American centre. The eye of Washington and his artillerists watched their movement as he waited in stern silence their ap proach. On they came, over rocks and ledges and ravines, rising and lowering as if the whole mass were gifted with one soul. They passed artillery-range, and a wild shout arose, the fond anticipation of victory. Ere its tones had ebbed away another noise was heard, the sound of death. From side to side of that living column the heavy balls ploughed their maddening way, sweeping down the young, the brave, the ambitious, in weltering heaps. Then the thrilling cries of command, the closing of the severed ranks, and the onward tread, succeeded. But a second and a third time that dread battery poured forth, tearing and scattering the column like the sweep of a hurricane. Panic- struck, the lines rolled back ; and, when another roar came forth, thousands sent up a yell of horror, and rushed back over groaning piles and flying masses, leaving behind them their bleeding, dying comrades. With grief and dismay the Mexican general beheld the rout of this column, and prepared to redeem it. Under cover of the rocks, his cavalry and a large infantry force united in one body and issued forth to assault the left wing. This had been the first point of attack, and was now reinforced by the Illinois and Indiana regiments and the artillery of Captain O'Brien. Riding along his lines, General Lane pointed to the coming hosts and called on each man to re member that he was an American. Throwing the artillery rapidly forward, he ordered the second NAVAL EXPLOITS. 353 Indiana regiment to support it, and, placing himself by the soldiers of Illinois, watched the progress of his foe. They came in massive column, certain of victory, shouting as though in pursuit. Then the battle opened. Every eye was fixed upon this quarter, and many a brave heart, who all that morn ing had toiled amid blood and death, now grew sick at the anticipated result. Sweeping through the heavy Mexican phalanx, the shot mowed down whole columns and levelled the cavalry like an Alpine storm ; yet sternly the lines closed, and, with out giving a glance at the wounded, pressed on. Then another road opened ; swords and mangled masses flew in the air, and scores of horses rolled over each other in death. Yet now the blood of Mexico was aroused. With pale, compressed lips, and eyes that flashed fire, they spurned the dead beneath their feet and pressed forward. The Ame rican force began to melt at their approach, and the artillery was surrounded with the dead. But, sweep ing over the field through death and smoke, General Lane urged his troops to be firm; while O'Brien, leaping from his horse, seized a gun, and, though the balls leaped and whistled around him, kept the artillerists to their guns. Now a horse would plunge and fall dead; then a ball would tear a comrade from his side and sweep amid the supporting infantry. Still the battle went on, rocking and thundering in the mountains and flaming along the plain like the eruption of a volcano. But there was a page dark and unfortunate in this tale of glory. At this moment, when the energies of every man were required to insure victory, the In- 23 354 BATTLE-FIELDS AND diana regiment moved rapidly from their station and commenced an inglorious retreat. Appalled at the sight, the staff-officers galloped across their path, and, seizing the regimental colors, called on the troops to remember their country. But the appeal was vain. A few brave spirits disengaged themselves from the mass; but the rest left the field and its glory to be won by worthier hands. Inspired by this success, the Mexicans poured on in exulting shouts which drowned the hurry of battle. Sure of victory, each lancer rose in his stirrup and dashed down on the artillery in the fiercest haste. Yet those gallant few were undismayed. Exhausted with incessant labor, and deserted by their infantry, they bore up through danger and uproar until every horse was killed or wounded, and but a few men, standing here and there, told where the company had been. Yet the stern captain refused to yield, until his soldiers, less in number than the cannon, fell into confusion. Then, remounting his wounded horse, he sullenly ordered a retreat : the next moment the opposing cavalry dashed on the battery and his guns were lost. But at that moment the shrill voice of General Wool came ringing over the field : Illinois, Illinois to the rescue !" and then the fiery sons of the West, panting for conflict and revenge, opened their volleys of musketry. But that living avalanche was not to be stopped. Then the Mississippians planted them selves in the fatal path and awaited the struggle. All around, farther than sight could reach, horse men, artillery, and infantry, were concentrating upon these devoted regiments. The wild blood danced NAVAL EXPLOITS. 355 through every form, and hope and fear were in tensely bent upon one point. Still the tall form of Wool was seen gliding from company to company, shouting that stirring appeal and filling every heart with fire. But before the charge another voice was heard, more thrilling, more potent, than that of Wool. Sweeping along on his white horse, General Taylor rode between the armies, while his name went up from three thousand voices, and each soul was wound to enthusiasm at the mighty shout. Before that wild battle-cry was over the Mexicans were towering upon our troops for the final struggle. Then Captain Bragg galloped into battery,, and the next moment thousands of rifles, muskets, and heavy ordnance, were scattering death amid opposing multitudes. The armies reeled to and fro under the dreadful dis charges, while whole ranks sank down beneath their comrades' feet. The reputation of each nation, each general, each soldier, was at stake. Again and again the enemy were poured upon our ranks, and as often rolled back before the showers of iron hail that crushed and overwhelmed their columns. Sometimes there was a pause, and the moans of the dying and shrieks of the wounded rose on the air. Then the battling, the trampling and shouting, mingled in one horrible din and mounted up to heaven. Nobly did our troops do their duty. Every advance of the Mexicans was met with unshaken fortitude, and each soldier fought as though victory rested with him. Broken and repulsed, the enemy commenced their disastrous retreat. Strewn over the ledges and gullies, or piled in black masses, their dead and 356 BATTLE-FIELDS AND disabled marked the whole line of their march. Yet over these the terrified lancers rode, grinding them into the earth and completing what the artillery had begun. Kanks were trodden down by their comrades or whirled over the slippery rocks. Then they burst among the infantry, overthrowing column after column and scattering the flower of the army like chaff. On the shouting Americans poured, blighting those splendid companies with their terrible discharges and sweeping the entire field. Still the war-cry of "Wool, the shout for Taylor, went up and urged the troops to pursuit. Far in advance of their companions, the Kentucky regiment, under Clay and McKee, pushed after the fugitives until they became entangled among the ravines and passes on the left. Seizing this favorable moment, the cavalry wheeled around and attacked these troops with their whole force, and the fearful work once more commenced. All day those gallant sons of Kentucky had toiled and fought ; and now, pent up among rocky gorges and facing an entire army, they struggled on till night. Their colonels fell dead; but round their bodies the soldiers gathered and fought hand to hand with their cruel foe. But the contest was too un equal. Back through the ravines where they had lately passed in triumphant pursuit they were now driven, and the day once more seemed lost. But the artillery again met the enemy, drove them back, and secured the victory. General Taylor had triumphed. Overcome by exhaustion, the Americans sank upon the field in their equipments, and night closed upon the scene of slaughter. Two thousand, friends NATAL EXPLOITS. 357 and foes, were already on the field, dead, dying, and wounded. Groans of agony, shrieks of pain, had succeeded to the thrilling shouts of the day, and were making night hideous. In the morning those mangled heaps were bounding and elastic with life ; now they were maimed forever. This great battle, by far the most remarkable of the war, was the last military achievement of Gene ral Taylor. 358 BATTLE-FIELDS AND VESA CRUZ. SIEGE OF VERA CRUZ. SOON after the commencement of actual hostilities between the United States and Mexico, Scott re quested permission of Government to join General Taylor with a large army and push forward for the enemy's capital. This was denied him, and he remained at Washington until November. Receiving orders to proceed to the seat of war, he embarked from New York, and reached the mouth of the Rio Grande, January 1, 1847. After mustering an army of nearly 12,000 men, part of them from General Taylor's force, he proceeded against the city and castle of Vera Cruz, the first object of his cam paign. The following graphic description of the landing of the troops and siege of the city is from the pen of an eye-witness : " On the 5th day of March, 1847, while the Ame- NAVAL EXPLOITS. 359 rican squadron was lying at Anton Lizardo, a norther sprang up and commenced blowing with great vio lence. The ships rolled and pitched, and tugged at their anchors as if striving to tear them from their hold, while the sea was white with foam. About^ noon, General Scott's fleet of transports, destined for the reduction of Yera Cruz, came like a great white cloud bearing down before the storm. The whole eastern horizon looked like a wall of canvas. Vessel after vessel came flying in under reduced sail, until the usually quiet harbor was crowded with them. A perfect wilderness of spars and rigging met the eye at every turn ; and for five days all was bustle, activity, and excitement. Officers of the two ser vices were visiting about from ship to ship ; drums were beating, bands of music playing, and every thing told of an approaching conflict. " On the 10th the army were conveyed in huge surf-boats from the transports to the different ships- of-war, which immediately got under way for Vera Cruz. During the passage down to the city I was in the foretop of the United States sloop-of-war Albany, from which place I had a good view of all that occurred. It was a ' sight to see !' The tall ships-of-war sailing leisurely along under their top sails, their decks thronged in every part with dense masses of troops, whose bright muskets and bayonets were flashing in the sunbeams, the jingling of spurs and sabres, the bands of music playing, the hum of the multitude rising up like the murmur of the dis tant ocean, the small steamers plying about, their decks crowded with anxious spectators, the long lines of surf-boats towing astern of the ships, ready 360 BATTLE-FIELDS AND to disembark the troops, all these tended to render the scene one of the deepest interest. "About three o'clock P.M. the armada arrived abreast of the little desert island of Sacrificia, where the time-worn walls and battlements of Vera Cruz and the old grim castle of San Juan d'Ulloa, with their ponderous cannon, tier upon tier, basking in the yellow rays of the sun, burst upon our view. It was a most beautiful nay, a sublime sight, that embarkation. I still retained my position in the fore- top, and was watching every movement with the most anxious interest ; for it was thought by many that the enemy would oppose the landing of our troops. About four o'clock the huge surf-boats, each capable of conveying 100 men, were hauled to the gangways of the different men-of-war, and quickly laden with their 'warlike fraughtage/ formed in a single line, nearly a mile in length, and, at a given signal, commenced slowly moving towards the Mexican shore. It was a grand spec tacle ! On, on went the long range of boats, loaded down to the gunwales with brave men, the rays of the slowly-departing sun resting upon their uniforms and bristling bayonets and wrapping the far-inland and fantastic mountains of Mexico in robes of gold. On they went, the measured stroke of the countless oars mingling with the hoarse dull roar of the trampling surf upon the sandy beach and the shriek of the myriads of sea-birds soaring high in air, until the boats struck the shore, and, quick as thought, our army began to land. At this instant the American flag was planted, and, unrolling its folds, floated proudly out upon the evening breeze; NAVAL EXPLOITS. 361 the crews of the men-of-war made the welkin ring with their fierce cheering; and a dozen bands of music, at the same time, and as if actuated by one impulse, struck up " ' 'Tis the star-spangled banner ! Oh, long may it wave O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave !' " Early the next morning the old grim castle of San Juan d'Ulloa commenced trying the range of its heavy guns, throwing Paixhan shells at the enemy, and continued it at intervals for a week ; but, with the exception of an occasional skirmish with a party of the enemy's lancers, they had all the fun to them selves. In the mean time our forces went quietly on with their preparations, stationing their pickets, planting their heavy mortars, landing their horses, provisions, and munitions of war, constantly annoyed with a ceaseless fire from the Mexican batteries, which our troops were as yet too busy to return. " On the 24th Lieutenant Oliver Hazard Perry, with a zeal worthy of his illustrious father, 'the hero of Lake Erie/ dismounted one of the waist- guns of the Albany, a sixty-eight-pounder, procured a number of volunteers who would willingly have charged up to the muzzles of the Mexican cannon with such a leader, and, taking about forty rounds of Paixhan shells, proceeded on shore, where, after dragging his gun through the sand for three miles, he arrived at a small fortification which the engineers had constructed of sand-bags for him, and there planted his engine of destruction in a situation which commanded the whole city of Yera Cruz. Eoused by such a gallant example, guns from each 362 BATTLE-FIELDS AND of the other ships of the squadron were disembarked and conveyed to the breastwork, which was as yet concealed from the eyes of the Mexicans by being in the rear of an almost impervious chapparal, and irf a short time a most formidable fortress was com pleted, which was styled the Naval Battery. "At this period General Scott, having quietly made all his arrangements while a 'constant shower of shot and shell were thrown at his army by the enemy, sent a flag of truce, with a summons for the immediate surrender of the city of Yera Cruz and the castle of San Juan d'Ulloa, and with a full un derstanding that unless his demand was immediately complied with an attack would follow. As a mat ter of course, the Mexicans, expecting an assault, for which they were well prepared, and not a bom bardment, returned an indignant refusal, and were told that at four o'clock P.M. they should hear further from us. In the mean time the chapparal had been cut away, disclosing the Naval Battery to the gaze of the astonished Mexicans, and the mortars and heavy artillery which had been planted upon the hills overlooking the city and were ready to vomit forth their fires of death. Every person was now waiting with trembling anxiety the commence ment of the fray. " About four o'clock P.M., while the crews of the squadron were all at supper, a sudden and tre mendous roar of artillery on shore proclaimed that the battle had begun. The tea-things were left to ' take care of themselves/ and pellmell tumbled sick and well up the ladders to the spar-deck. I followed with the human tide, and soon found myself in the NAVAL EXPLOITS. 363 foretop of the Albany, and, looking aroun^ me, a sublime but terrific sight my elevated perch pre sented to the view. Some two hundred sail of vessels were lying immediately around us, their tops, cross-trees, yards, shrouds, every thing where a foothold could be obtained, crowded with human beings, clustered like swarming bees in midsummer on the trees, all intently watching the battle. I turned my eyes on shore. JONATHAN had at last awakened from his slumber and had set to work in earnest. Bomb-shells were flying like hailstones into Yera Cruz from every quarter; sulphureous flashes, clouds of smoke, and the dull boom of the heavy guns, arose from the walls of the city in re turn, while ever and anon a red sheet of 'flame would leap from the great brass mortars on the ramparts of the grim castle, followed by a report which fairly made the earth tremble. The large ships of the squadron could not approach 'near enough to the shore to participate in the attack upon the city without exposing them to the fire of the castle ; but all the gun-boats, small steamers, and every thing that could be brought to bear upon the enemy, were sent in and commenced blazing away : a steady stream of fire, like the red glare of a volcano ! This state of things continued until sunset, when the small vessels were called off; but the mortars kept throwing shells into the devoted town the livelong night. I was watching them until after midnight, and it was one of the most striking displays that I ever beheld. " A huge black cloud of smoke hung like a pall over the American army, completely concealing it 364 BATTLE-FIELDS AND from view ; the Mexicans had ceased firing, in order to prevent our troops from directing their guns by the flashes from the walls ; but the bombardiers had obtained the exact range before dark, and kept thundering away, every shell falling directly into the doomed city. Suddenly a vivid, lightning-like flash would gleam for an instant upon the black pall of smoke hanging over our lines, and then, as the roar of the great mortar came borne to our ears, the ponderous shell would be seen to dart upwards like a meteor, and, after describing a semicircle in the air, descend with a loud crash upon the housetops or into the resounding streets of the fated city. Then, after a brief but awful moment of suspense, a lurid glare, illuminating for an instant the white domes and grim fortresses of Vera Cruz, falling into ruins with the shock, and the echoing crash that came borne to our ears, told that the shell had exploded and executed its terrible mission ! "Throughout the whole night these fearful missiles were travelling into the city in one continued stream; but the enemy did not return the fire. At daylight, however, the Mexicans again opened their batteries upon our army with the most determined bravery. "About eight o'clock A.M. the gallant Perry and his brave associates, having finished the mounting of their guns and completed all their arrangements, opened with a tremendous roar the Naval Battery upon the west side of the city, and were imme diately answered from four distinct batteries of the enemy. The firm earth trembled beneath the dis charge of these ponderous guns, and the shot flew like hail into the town, and were returned with NAVAL EXPLOITS. 365 interest by the Mexicans. Their heavy guns were served with wonderful precision ; and almost every shot struck the little fort, burst open the sand-bags of which it was constructed, and covered our brave officers and men with a cloud of dust. Many shot and shell were thrown directly through the embra sures ; and, to use the expression of one of our old tars who had been in several engagements, c The red-skins handled their long thirty-twos as if they had been rifles!' Several of our men and one officer had fallen; but the remainder of the brave fellows kept blazing away, while the forts and ramparts of the city began to crumble to the earth. This state of things continued until the 27th, the army throwing a constant shower of bombs into the city, and the Naval Battery (manned daily by fresh officers and men) beating down the fortifications and destroy ing every thing within its range, when a flag of truce was sent out with an offer, which was imme diately accepted, of an unconditional surrender of the city of Vera Cruz and the castle of San Juan d'Ulloa." 3G6 BATTLE-FIELDS AND GENERAL SHIELDS WOUNDED. BATTLE OF CERRO GORDO. GENERAL SCOTT remained about two weeks at Yera Cruz and then set out for the capital. On the 17th of April he arrived at the pass of Cerro Gordo, where General Santa Anna was intrenched with 11,000 men. On the same day Scott issued the following celebrated order : " The enemy's whole line of intrenchments arid batteries will be attacked in front, and at the same time turned, early in the day to-morrow, probably before ten o'clock A.M. "The second (Twiggs's) division of regulars is already advanced within easy turning-distance to wards the enemy's left. That division has orders to move forward before daylight to-morrow and take NAVAL EXPLOITS. 367 up position across the National Koad to the enemy's rear, so as to cut off a retreat towards Jalapa. It may be reinforced to-day, if unexpectedly attacked in force, by regiments one or two, taken from Shields's brigade of volunteers. If not, the two volunteer regiments will march for that purpose at daylight to-morrow morning, under Brigadier-Gene ral Shields, who will report to Brigadier-General Twiggs on getting up with him, or the general-in- chief, if he be in advance. " The remaining regiment of that volunteer bri gade will receive instructions in the course of this day. " The first division of regulars (Worth's) will fol low the movement against the enemy's left at sun rise to-morrow morning. "As already arranged, Brigadier-General Pillow's brigade will march at six o'clock to-morrow morning along the route he has carefully reconnoitred, and stand ready as soon as he hears the report of arms on our right sooner, if circumstances should favor him to pierce the enemy's line of batteries at such point the nearer the river the better as he may select. Once in the rear of that line, he will turn to the right or left, or both, and attack the batteries in reverse, or, if abandoned, he will pursue the enemy with vigor until further orders. " Wall's field-battery and the cavelry will be held in reserve on the National Eoad, a little out of view and range of the enemy's batteries. They will take up that position at nine o'clock in the morning. " The enemy's batteries being carried or aban doned, all our divisions and corps will pursue with vigor. 368 BATTLE-FIELDS AND " This pursuit may be continued many miles, un til stopped by darkness or fortified positions towards Jalapa. Consequently the body of the army will not return to this encampment, but be followed to morrow afternoon, or early the next morning, by the baggage-trains for the several corps. For this purpose the feebler officers and men of each corps will be left to guard his camp and effects and to load up the latter in the wagons of the corps. "As soon as it shall be known that the enemy's works have been carried, or that the general pursuit has been commenced, one wagon for each regiment and one for the cavalry will follow the movement, to receive, under the directions of medical officers, the wounded, who will be brought back to this place for treatment in the general hospital. " The surgeon-general will organize this important service and designate that hospital, as well as the medical officers to be left at that place. " Every man who marches out to attack or pursue the enemy will take the usual allowance of ammuni tion, and subsistence for at least two days." This document is famous for its exact delineation of every movement of the battle, with one single ex ception, the day before the action really took place. This is shown by the annexed report, written after the engagement : " The plan of attack sketched in General Orders No. Ill, herewith, was finely executed by this gal lant army before two o'clock P.M. yesterday. We are quite embarrassed with the results of victory, prisoners of war, heavy ordnance, field-batteries, small arms, and accoutrements. About 3000 men NAVAL EXPLOITS. 369 laid down their arms, with the usual proportion of field and company officers, besides five generals, several of them of great distinction, Pinson, Jarre ro, La Vega, Noriega, and Obando. A sixth general, Yasquez, was killed in defending the battery (tower) in the rear of the whole Mexican army, the capture of which gave us those glorious results. " Our loss, though comparatively small in num bers, has been serious. Brigadier-General Shields, a commander of activity, zeal, and talent, is, I fear, if not dead, mortally wounded. He is some five miles from me at this moment. The field of opera tions covered many miles, broken by mountains and deep chasms, and I have not a report, as yet, from any division or brigade. Twiggs's division, followed by Shields's (now Colonel Baker's) brigade, are now at or near Jalapa, and Worth's division is en route thither, all pursuing, with good results, as I learn, that part of the Mexican army perhaps 6000 or 7000 men who fled before our right had carried the tower and gained the Jalapa road. Pillow's bri gade alone is near me at this depot of wounded, sick, and prisoners; and I have time only to give from him the names of First Lieutenant F. B. Nelson and Second Lieutenant C. G. Gill, both of the 2d Tennessee foot, (Haskell's regiment,) among the killed, and in the brigade 106, of all ranks, killed or wounded. Among the latter the gallant brigadier- general himself has a smart wound in the arm, but not disabled, and Major K. Farqueson, 2d Tennessee foot, Captain H. F. Murray, Second Lieutenant G. T. Sutherland, First Lieutenant W. P. Hale, (adju tant,) all of the same regiment, severely; and First 24 370 BATTLE-FIELDS AND Lieutenant W. Year-wood, mortally wounded. And I know, from personal observation on the ground, that First Lieutenant Ewell, of the Rifles, if not now dead, was mortally wounded, in entering, sword in hand, the intrenchments around the captured tower. Second Lieutenant Derby, topographical engineers, I also saw, at the same place, severely wounded ; and Captain Patten, 2d United States infantry, lost his right hand. " Major Sumner, 2d United States dragoons, was slightly wounded the day before, and Captain Johns ton, topographical engineers, now lieutenant-colo nel of infantry, was severely wounded some days earlier, while reconnoitring. " I must not omit to add that Captain Mason and Second Lieutenant Davis, both of the Rifles, were among the very severely wounded in storming the same tower. I estimate our total loss in killed and wounded may be about 250, and that of the enemy 350. In the pursuit towards Jalapa (twenty-five miles hence) I learn we have added much to the enemy's loss in prisoners, killed, and wounded. In fact, I suppose his retreating army to be nearly disorgan ized, and hence my haste to follow in an hour or two to profit by events. " In this hurried and imperfect report I must not omit to say that Brigadier-General Twiggs, in pass ing the mountain-range beyond Cerro Gordo, crowned with the tower, detached from his division, as I sug gested before, a strong force to carry that height, which commanded the Jalapa road at the foot, and could not fail, if carried, to cut off the whole or any part of the enemy's forces from a retreat in any NAVAL EXPLOITS. 371 direction. A portion of the 1st artillery, under the often-distinguished Brevet-Colonel Childs, the 3d in fantry, under Captain Alexander, the 7th infantry, "under Lieutenant-Colonel Plymton, and the Rifles, un der Major Loring, all under the temporary command of Colonel Harney, 2d dragoons, during the confine ment to his bed of Brevet Brigadier-General P. F. Smith, composed that detachment. The style of execution, which I had the pleasure to witness, was most brilliant and decisive. The brigade ascended the long and difficult slope of Cerro Gordo, without shelter and under the tremendous fire of artillery and musketry, with the utmost steadiness, reached the breastworks, drove the enemy from them, planted the colors of the 1st artillery, 3d and 7th infantry, the enemy's flag still flying, and, after some minutes of sharp firing, finished the conquest with the bayonet. "It is a most pleasing duty to say that the highest praise is due to Harney, Childs, Plymton, Loring, Alexander, their gallant officers and men, for this brilliant service, independent of the great results which soon followed. "Worth's division of regulars coming up at this time, he detached Brevet Lieutenant-Colonel C. F. Smith, with his light battalion, to support the assault, but not in time. The general, reaching the tower a few minutes before me, and observing a white flag displayed from the nearest portion of the enemy to wards the batteries below, sent out Colonels Harney and Childs to hold a parley. The surrender followed in an hour or two. " Major-General Patterson left a sick bed to share 372 BATTLE-FIELDS AND in the dangers and fatigues of the day, and, after the surrender, went forward to command the advanced forces towards Jalapa. "Brigadier-General Pillow and his brigade twice" assaulted with great daring the enemy's line of bat teries on our left; and, though without success, they contributed much to distract and dismay their im mediate opponents. "President Santa Anna, with Generals Canalizo and Almonte, and some 6000 or 8000 men, escaped towards Jalapa just before Cerro Gordo was carried and before Twiggs's division reached the National Boad above. "I have determined to parole the prisoners, offi cers and men, as I have not the means of feeding them here beyond to-day, and cannot afford to detach a heavy body of horse and foot, with wagons, to ac company them to Vera Cruz. Our baggage-train, though increasing, is not yet half large enough to give an assured progress to this army. Besides, a greater number of prisoners would probably escape from the escort in the long and deep sandy road, without subsistence, ten to one, that we shall find again, out of the same body of men, in the ranks op posed to us. Not one of the Vera Cruz prisoners is believed to have been in the lines of Cerro Gordo. Some six of the officers highest in rank refuse to give their paroles, except to go to Vera Croz, and thence, perhaps, to the United States. " The small arms and their accoutrements being of no value to our army here or at home, I have ordered them to be destroyed ; for we have not the means of transporting them. I am also somewhat NAVAL EXPLOITS. 373 embarrassed with the pieces of artillery all bronze which we have captured. It will take- a brigade and half the mules of this army to transport them fifty miles. A field-battery I shall take for service with the army ; but the heavy metal must be collected and left here for the present. We have our own siege-train and the proper carriages with us. " Being much occupied with the prisoners and all the details of a forward movement, besides looking to the supplies which are to follow from Yera Cruz, I have time to add no more, intending to be at Jalapa early to-morrow. We shall not, probably, again meet with serious opposition this side of Perote ; certainly not, unless delayed by the want of means of transportation. " I invite attention to the accompanying letter to President Santa Anna, taken in his carriage yester day; also to his proclamation, issued on hearing that we had captured Vera Cruz, &c., in which he says, 'If the enemy advance one step more the national independence will be buried in the abyss of the past/ We have taken that step. "One of the principal motives for paroling the prisoners of war is to diminish the resistances of other garrisons in our march." 374 BATTLE-FIELDS AND BATTLE Of CONTREBAS. BATTLES OF CONTKEKAS AND CHURU- BUSCO. AFTER the capture of Puebla by General Worth, (May 15,) the army remained there until the 7th of August, when it commenced its march for the Mexican capital. An excellent description of this march and of the great battles consequent upon it is given by a participator : " We left Puebla on the morning of the 7th, and entered upon a beautiful rolling country of great fertility, supplying with its gardens the inhabitants of Puebla with food, and surrounded by lofty moun tains, some of which were covered with snow. Our road was gradually ascending, and so good that on looking back from the head of the column our train could be seen for miles in the rear, dotting with its NAVAL EXPLOITS. 375 snow-white tops the maguey-covered plain. On our left was Popocatapetl and Iscatafetl, the snow on their not-distant tops rendering the air quite chilly. General Scott did not leave with us, but came on the next day with Captain Kearney's dragoons. " The second day's march was, like the first, gradually ascending, passing through defiles, narrow passes, and over deep chasms, where a more deter mined enemy might have seriously annoyed us by merely making use of the obstacles nature every where presented. Thick woods of the finest forest- trees were abundant, and the rugged nature of the country would readily carry one back to the northern parts of New England or the passes of the ' Notch/ Here and there beautiful little lakes were inter spersed in the deep valleys, and the clearness and coldness of their waters were almost incredible. " The third day we were to encounter the much- vaunted pass of Rio Frio, and also the passage of the mountain which was to lead -us to the El Dorado of our hopes, the great plain of Mexico. Our march was to be long and difficult, and three o'clock saw us under way, with heart and hopes full of the prospect before us. The dreaded defile is reached and passed. The mountains which skirt the road on the left here close upon it for about a mile, overhanging and enfilading it completely and affording with their crests most excellent coverings for an enemy's marksmen. The newly-cut trees and long range of breastworks thrown up on the crest showed us that preparations had been made ; while numerous para pets, with embrasures in the logs, taught us what might have been done. But no men were there ; 376 BATTLE-FIELDS ANP the muskets and cannon were gone. Valencia, with. 6000 Mexicans, was full a day's march ahead, making for Mexico with a speed which betrayed home-sick ness. Rio Frio was found to be a little stream pouring down from the Snow Mountain, of icy cold ness and crystal purity. After a slight pause for refreshment we commenced our ascent of the ridge which separates the plains of Puebla and Mexico, the former of which it had hitherto skirted. For several long miles we toiled up the hill, only recom pensed for our labor by what we hoped to attain at last. When all were pretty nearly worn out, a sud den turn in the road brought to our view a sight which none can ever forget. The whole vast plain of Mexico was before us. The coldness of the air, which was most sensibly felt at this great height, our fatigue and danger were forgotten, and our eyes were the only sense that thought of enjoyment. Mexico, with its lofty steeples and its checkered domes, its bright reality and its former fame, its modern splendor and its ancient magnificence, was before us ; while around on every side its thousand lakes seemed like silver stars on a velvet mantle. "We encamped that night at the base of the mountain, with the enemy's scouts on every side of us. The next day we reached Ayotla, only fifteen miles from Mexico by the National Road, which we had hitherto been following. Here we halted until Generals Quitman, Pillow, and Worth, with their divisions, should come up. We were separated from the city by the marshes which surround Lake Tezcuco and by the lake itself. The road is a causeway running through the marsh, and is com- , NJtVAL EXPLOITS. 377 manded by a steep and lofty hill called El Pinnol. This hill completely enfilades and commands the National Road, and had been fortified and repaired with the greatest care by Santa Anna. One side was inaccessible by nature ; the rest had been made so by art. Batteries, in all mounting fifty guns of different calibres, had been placed on its sides, and a deep ditch, twenty-four feet wide and ten deep, filled with water, had been cut, connecting the, parts already surrounded by marshes. On this side Santa Anna had 25,000 men against our force of a little over 9000 all told. U 0n the 22d we made a reconnoissance of the work, which was pronounced impracticable, as the lives of 5000 men would be lost before the ditch could be crossed. We continued our search, and found another road which went round on the left, but when within five miles of the city were halted by coming suddenly upon five strong batteries on the hill which commanded this road, at a place called Mexicalcingo. We soon countermarched, and then saw our danger. With one regiment and three com panies of cavalry, in all about 400 men, we saw that El Pinnol lay directly between us and our camp, distant full fifteen miles. Every eye was fixed on the hill, with the expectation of an approaching column which should drive us back into a Mexican prison, while we stepped off" with the speed and endurance of four hundred Captain Barclays ! At about midnight we arrived safely at camp, and Gene ral Scott did us the honor of calling it ' the boldest reconnoissance of the war.' General Worth was en camped about five miles off, that is, in a straight 378 BATTLE-FIELDS AN D line, across the Lake Chalco, at a place of the same name, but about ten miles by the road. The Mexi cans had a foundry in the mountains, at which we were getting some shells made, and on returning from which Lieutenant Schuyler Hamilton was badly wounded. "By means of his scouts, General Worth had found a path round the left of Lake Chalco, which led us to the western gate of the city, and which, up to that time, had not been fortified. On the 14th the other divisions commenced their march, while we brought up the train and the rear. In the morning the train was sent in advance, while Smith's brigade acted as rear-guard. It was composed of the Rifles, 1st artillery, and the 3d infantry, with Taylor's battery. As the rear-guard, marching slowly along, reached with the train, word came to General Twiggs that a force of about 5000 men were trying to cross the road between them and the train in order to cut it off. We were then passing through a small village which, by a curious coincidence, was called Buena Yista. On our left were large fields of half-grown barley, through which was seen advancing, in splendid order, the enemy's column. It was the most splendid sight I had ever seen. The yellow cloaks, red caps and jackets of the lancers, and the bright blue and white uniforms of the infantry, were most beautifully contrasted with the green of the barleyfield. Our line of battle was soon formed, and we deployed through the grain to turn their left and cut them off from the mountains. A few shots, however, from the battery, soon showed them that they were observed ; and, countermarching in haste, they left 'NAVAL EXPLOITS. 379 their dead on the field. Thus ended our fight of Buena Vista. That night we stayed at Chalco. The next day we made a long and toilsome march over a horrible road, through which, with the utmost diffi culty, we dragged our wagons by the assistance of both men and mules. The next was nearly the same, except that the road was, if possible, worse than before, as the Mexicans had blocked it up with large stones rolled down from the neighboring hills. This night we encamped at a most beautiful olive- grove, of immense size and accommodating at once both divisions. In the town, as well as in Chalco, there are still standing the churches of the Indians where the fire-worshippers assembled before Cortez had introduced a new religion. They are large and sombre edifices, differing but little from the churches of this country, and, being near the city, are said to have been formerly resorted to by the ancient kings. " The next day we arrived in sight of the rest of the army and heard the guns with which Worth was breaching the walls of San Antonio. That night the news of the death of Captain Thornton, of the 2d dragoons, reached us. He was a brave officer and a thorough gentleman, but was alw r ays unfortunate in his military career. "On the morning of the 19th we left the little village where we had heard this sad news, and took the road to San Juan, about seven miles to the west and only about ten miles from the city. When we arrived here we heard the sound of General Worth's guns, who was said to have attacked San Augustine, a village three miles nearer the capital, where Santa 380 BATTLE-FIELDS AND Anna was said to be with 20,000 men. When we arrived at San Juan the men were told to sling their blankets across their shoulders, put their knap sacks into their wagons, and to put two days' bread and beef in their haversacks. When this order came all knew that the time had come. The officers arranged their effects, put on their old coats, and filled their haversacks and flasks. Soon we were ready for any thing but a thrashing. We here heard the position of the enemy, which was nearly as follows : Santa Anna, with 20,000 men, was at San Augustine ; Valencia, with 10,000, was at a hill called Contreras, which commanded another road parallel to the San Augustine road, but which led into it between the city and Santa Anna. Now, by cutting a road across, if we could whip Valencia, we could follow the road up and thus get in between Santa Anna and Mexico and whip him too. General Worth (supported by General Quitman) was to keep Santa Anna in check, while Twiggs (backed by Pil low) was to try and astonish Valencia, which you will see he did very effectually. Pillow, with some of the ten regiments, was to cut the road. "We left San Juan about one o'clock, not par ticularly desiring a fight so late in the day, but still not shunning it in case we could have a respectable chance. About two P.M., as we had crawled to the top of a hill, whither we had been ourselves pulling Magruder's battery and the mountain-howitzers, we suddenly espied Valencia fortified on a hill about twelve hundred yards off and strongly reinforced by a column which had just come out of the city. We lay down close to avoid drawing their fire, while NATAL EXPLOITS. 381 the battery moved past at a full gallop. Just then General Smith's manly voice rung out, ' Forward the Kifles, to support the battery!' On they went till they got about eight hundred yards from the work, when the enemy opened upon them with his long guns, which were afterwards found to be sixteen and eight-inch howitzers. The ground was the worst possible for artillery, covered with rocks large and small, prickly pear and cactus, intersected by ditches filled with water and lined with maguey-plant, itself imperviable to cavalry, and with patches of corn which concealed the enemy's skirmishers while it impeded our own passage. The artillery advanced but. slowly, under a most tremendous fire, which greatly injured it before it could be got in range, and the thickness of the undergrowth caused the skir mishers thrown forward to lose their relative posi tion as well as the column. About four the battery got in position, under a most murderous fire of grape, canister, and round-shot. Here the superiority of the enemy's pieces rendered our fire nugatory. We could get but three pieces in battery, while they had twenty- seven, all of them three times the calibre of ours. For two hours our troops stood the storm of iron and lead they hailed upon them unmoved. At every discharge they lay flat down to avoid the storm, and then sprung up to serve the guns. At the end of that time two of the guns were dis mounted and we badly hurt : thirteen of the horses were killed and disabled and fifteen of the cannoneers killed and wounded. The regiment was then re called. The lancers had been repelled in three suc cessive charges. The 3d infantry and 1st artillery 382 BATTLE-FIELDS AND had also engaged and successfully repelled the enemy's skirmishers without losing either officers or men. The greatest loss had been at the batteries. Officers looked gloomy for the first day's fight ; but the brigade was formed, and General Smith in person took command. All felt revived, and followed him with a yell, as, creeping low to avoid the grape, (which was coming very fast,) we made a circuit in Tear of the batteries ; and, passing off to the right, we were soon lost to view in the chapparal and cactus. "Passing over the path that we scrambled through, behold us at almost six o'clock in the evening, tired, hungry, and sorrowful, emerging from the chapparal and crossing the road between it and Valencia. Here we found Cadwalader and his brigade already formed, and discovered Biley's brigade skirmishing in rear of the enemy's works. Valencia was ignorant of our approach, and we were as yet safe. In front of us was Valencia, strongly intrenched on a hill-side and surrounded by a regu lar field-work, concealed from us by an orchard in our rear. Mendoza, with a column of 6000, was in the road, but thinking us to be friends. On our right was a large range of hills whose continued crest was parallel to the road and in w T hich were formed in line of battle 5000 of the best Mexican cavalry. On our left we were separated from our own forces by an almost impassable wilderness, and it was now twilight. Even Smith looked round for help. Suddenly a thousand vivas came across the hill-side, like the yells of prairie-wolves in the dead of night, and the squadrons on our right formed for NAVAL EXPLOITS. 383 charging. Smith is himself again ! ' Face to the rear !' ' Wait till you see their red caps, and then give it to them !' Furiously they came on a few yards, then changed their minds, and, disgusted at our cool reception, retired to their couches. " On the edge of the road, between us and Va lencia, a Mexican hamlet spread out, with its mud huts, large orchards, deep-cut roads, and a strong church ; and through the centre of this hamlet ran a path parallel to the main road but concealed from it : it is nearly a mile long. In this road Smith's and Riley's brigade bivouacked. Shields, who came up in the night, lay in the orchard, while Cadwalader was nearest the enemy's works. As we were within range of their batteries, which could enfilade the road in which we lay, we built a stone breastwork at either end to conceal ourselves from their view and grape. There we were, completely surrounded by the enemy, cut off from our communications, ignorant of the ground, without artillery, weary, dispirited, and dejected. We were a disheartened set. With Santa Anna and Salas's promise of c no quarter,' a force of four to one against us, and one- half defeated already, no succor from Puebla and no news from General Scott, all seemed dark. Sud denly the words came whispered along, c We storm at midnight.' Now we are ourselves again ! But what a horrible night ! There we lay, too tired to eat, too wet to sleep, in the middle of that muddy road, officers and men side by side, with a heavy rain pouring down upon us, the officers without blankets or overcoats (they had lost them in coming across) and the men worn out with fatigue. About 384 BATTLE-FIELDS AND midnight the rain was so heavy that the streams in the road flooded us, and there we stood crowded to gether, drenched and benumbed, waiting till daylight. "At half-past three the welcome word ( fall in' was passed down, and we commenced our march. The enemy's works were on a hill-side, behind which rose other and slightly-higher hills, separated by deep ravines and gullies and intersected by streams. The whole face of the country was of stiff clay, which rendered it almost impossible to advance. We formed our line about a quarter of a mile from the enemy's works, Eiley's brigade on our right. At about four we started, winding through a thick orchard which effectually concealed us, even had it not been dark, debouching into a deep ravine which ran within about five hundred yards of the work and which carried us directly in rear and out of sight of their batteries. At dawn of day we reached our place, after incredible exertions, and got ready for our charge. The men threw off their wet blankets and looked to their pieces, while the officers got ready for a rush, and the first smile that lit up our faces for twelve hours boded but little good for the Mexicans. On the right, and opposite the right of their work, was Eiley's brigade of the 2d and 1st infantry and 4th artillery, next the Rifles, then the 1st artillery and 3d infantry. In the rear of our left was Cadwalader's brigade, as a support, with Shields's brigade in rear as a reserve, the whole division un der command of General Smith, in the absence of General Twiggs. They had a smooth place to rush down on the enemy's work, with the brow of the hill to keep under until the word was givea. NAVAL EXPLOITS. 385 "At last, just at daylight, General Smith, slowly walking up, asked if all was ready. A look an swered him. 'Men, forward !' And we did 'for ward/ Springing up at once, Riley's brigade opened, when the crack of a hundred rifles startled the Mexi cans from their astonishment, and they opened their fire. Useless fire ! for we were so close that they overshot us, and, before they could turn their pieces on us, we were on them. Then such cheers arose as you never heard. The men rushed forward like de mons, yelling and firing the while. The carnage was frightful, and, though they fired sharply, it was of no use. The earthen parapet was cleared in an in stant, and the blows of the stocks could be plainly heard mingled with the yells and groans around. Just before the charge was made, a large body of lancers came winding up the road, looking most splendidly in their brilliant uniforms. They never got to the work, but turned and fled. In an instant all was one mass of confusion, each trying to be fore most in the flight. The road was literally blocked up ; and, while many perished by their own guns, it was almost impossible to fire on the mass, from the danger of killing our own men. Some fled up the ravine on the left or on the right, and many of these were slain by turning their own guns on them. To wards the city the Rifles and 2d infantry led off the pursuit. Seeing that a large crowd of the fugitives were jammed up in a pass in the road, some of our men ran through the cornfield, and, by thus head ing them off and firing down upon them, about 30 men took over 500 prisoners, nearly 100 of them officers. After disarming the prisoners, as the pur- 25 386 BATTLE-FIELDS AND suit had ceased, we went back to the fort, where we found our troops in full possession and the rout complete. " We found that the enemy's position was much stronger than we had supposed and their artillery much larger and more abundant. Our own loss was small, which may be accounted for by their perfect surprise at our charge, as to them we appeared as if rising out of the earth, so unperceived was our ap proach. Our loss was one officer killed, Captain Hanson, of the 7th infantry, Lieutenant Van Bu- ren, of the Eifles, shot through the leg, and about 50 men killed and wounded. Their force consisted of 8000 men, under Valencia, with a reserve, which had not yet arrived, under Santa Anna. Their loss, as since ascertained, was as follows : Killed and buried since the fight, 750 ; wounded, 1000 ; and 1500 prisoners, exclusive of officers, including four generals, Salas, Mendoza, Garcia, and Guadalupe, in addition to dozens of colonels, majors, captains, &c. We captured in all on the hill twenty-two pieces of cannon, including five eight-inch howitzers, two long eigh teens, three long sixteen s, and several of twelve and eight inches, and also the two identical six-pounders captured by the Mexicans at Buena Vista, taken from Captain Washington's battery of the 4th artillery. The first officer who saw them happened to be the officer of the 4th selected by General Scott to command the new battery of that regiment, Captain Drum. In addition were taken immense quantities of ammunition and muskets ; in fact, the way was strewed with muskets, escopets, lances, and flags, for miles. Large quantities of NAVAL EXPLOITS. 387 horses and mules were also captured, though large numbers were killed. " Thus ended the glorious battle of Contreras, in which 2000 men, under General P. F. Smith, com pletely routed and destroyed an army of 8000 men, under General Valencia, with Santa Anna and a force of 20,000 men within five miles. Their army was so completely routed that not 1500 men rejoined Santa Anna and participated in the second battle. Most people would have thought that a pretty good day's work. Not so. We had only saved ourselves, not conquered Mexico ; and men's work was before us yet. "At eight o'clock A.M. we formed again, and, General Twiggs having taken command, we started on the road to Mexico. We had hardly marched a mile before we were sharply fired upon from both sides of the road, and our right was deployed to drive the enemy in. We soon found that we had caught up with the retreating party, from the very brisk firing in front, arid we drove them through the little town of San Angelo, where they had been halt ing in force. About half a mile from this town we entered the suburbs of another called San Katherina, when a large party in the churchyard fired on the head of the column and the balls came right among us. Our men kept rushing on their rear and cutting them down, until a discharge of grape-shot from a large piece in front drove them back to the column. In this short space of time five men were killed, ten taken prisoners, and a small color captured, which was carried the rest of the day. " Meanwhile General Worth had made a demon- 388 BATTLE-FIELDS AND stration on San Antonio, where the enemy was forti fied in a strong hacienda ; but they retired on his approach to Churubusco, where the works were deemed impregnable. They consisted of a fortified hacienda, which was surrounded by a high and thick wall on all sides. Inside the wall was a stone building, the roof of which was flat and higher than the walls. Above all this was a stone church, still higher than the rest, and having a large steeple. The wall was pierced with loopholes and so arranged that there were two tiers of men firing at the same time. They thus had four different ranges of men firing at once, and four ranks were formed on each range, and placed at such a height that they could not only overlook all the surrounding country, but at the same time they had a plunging fire upon us. Outside the hacienda, and completely commanding the avenues of approach, was a field-work extending around two sides of the fort, and protected by a deep wet ditch and armed with seven large pieces. This hacienda is at the commencement of the causeway leading to the western gate of the city, and had to be passed before getting on the road. About three hundred yards in rear of this work another field- work had been built where a cross-road meets the causeway, at a point where it crosses a river, thus forming a bridge-head, or tete de pont. This was also very strong and armed with three large pieces of cannon. The works were surrounded on every side by large cornfields, which were filled with the. enemy's skirmishers, so that it was difficult to make a reconnoissance. It was therefore decided to make the attack immediately, as they were full of men and NAVAL EXPLOITS. 389 extended for nearly a mile on the road to the city, completely covering the causeway. The attack com menced about one P.M. General Twiggs's division attacked on the side towards which they approached the fort, that is, opposite the city. General Worth's attacked the bridge-head, which he took in about an hour and a half, while Generals Pillow and Quit- man were on the extreme left, between the cause way and Twiggs's division. The Rifles were on the left and in rear of the work, intrusted by General Scott with the task of charging it in case General Pierce gave way. The firing was most tremendous, in fact, one continued roll while the combat lasted. The enemy, from their elevated station, could readily see our men, who were unable to get a clear view from their position. Three of the pieces were manned by ' The Deserters,' a body of about 100, who had deserted from the ranks of our army during the war. They were enrolled in two companies, commanded by a deserter, and were better uni formed and disciplined than the rest of the army. These men fought most desperately, and are said not only to have shot down several of our officers whom they knew, but to have pulled down the white flag of surrender no less than three times. " The battle raged most furiously for about three hours, when, both sides having lost a great many, the enemy began to give w r ay. As soon as they commenced retreating, Kearney's squadron passed through the tete de pont, and, charging through the retreating column, pursued them to the very gate of the city. When our men got within about five hundred yards of the gate they were opened upon 390 BATTLE-FIELDS AND with grape and canister and several officers wounded. Among the number was Captain Kearney, 1st dra goons, who lost his left arm above the elbow. Lieu tenant Graham, of New York, received a severe flesh-wound in his left arm; Captain McReynolds, ditto. Our loss in this second battle was large. We lost in killed seven officers : Captains Capron, Burke, 1st artillery; Lieutenants Irons, Johnston, Hoffman, Captain Anderson, Lieutenant Easely, 2d infantry; Captain Hanson, 7th infantry. Lieute nant Irons died on the 28th. Colonel Butler, of South Carolina, and about 30 officers wounded, ex clusive of the volunteers. The official returns give our loss in killed and wounded at 1150, besides offi cers. The Mexican loss is 500 killed in the second battle, 1000 wounded, and 1100 prisoners, exclusive of officers. Three more generals were taken, among them General Eincon and Anaya, the pro visional President; also, ten pieces of cannon and an immense amount of ammunition and stores. Santa Anna, in his report, states his loss in killed, wounded, and missing, at 12,000. He has only 18,000 left out of 30,000, which he gives as his force on the 20th in both actions. " Thus ended the battle of Churubusco, one of the most furious and deadly, for its length, of any of the war. For reasons which he deemed conclusive, General Scott did not enter the city that night, but encamped on the battle-field, about four miles from the western gate of the city. The next day a flag of truce came out, and propositions were made which resulted in an armistice." NAVAL EXPLOITS 391 MOLINO DEL RET. STORMING OF MOLINO DEL KEY. ON the 5th of September, 1847, one day previous to the termination of the armistice, the American general learned that many church-bells had been sent from the city to a foundry called Casa Mata, to be cast into guns, and that immense quantities of powder, balls, and other military stores, were arriving at the same place. As soon as the truce terminated, General Scott determined on an immediate attack upon this place, hoping to deprive the enemy of their cannon and ammunition, both of which were at this time of the greatest importance to them. This determination was further strengthened by the 392 BATTLE-FIELDS AND consideration that recent events had deprived the enemy of more than three-fourths of the guns neces sary to defend the strong works at the eight prin cipal gates of the city, which rendered a free com munication with the cannon-foundry highly essential to Santa Anna's operations. This communication could be cut off only by taking the formidable castle upon the Heights of Chapultepec, situated between the city and Casa Mata and overlooking both. For this dangerous operation the army was not al together ready ; and the earnest desire of General Scott was to avoid altogether, if possible, an attack upon this place, and approach the city by the dis tant southern approaches, should they be found less formidable. Preparatory to attempting this he de termined upon destroying the foundry and stores at Molino del Eey. The execution of this plan was intrusted to Brevet Major-General Worth. On the morning of the 7th, Captain Mason, of the engineers, made a close and daring reconnoissance of the lines collateral to Chapultepec, ascertaining the enemy's position to be as follows : the left resting upon and occupying the strong stone build ings of Molino del Rey, near a grove at the foot of Chapultepec Hill and directly under the guns of its castle ; the right resting upon Casa Mata, at the base of a ridge sloping gradually from the heights above the village of Tacubaya to the plain below. Midway between these buildings- was the enemy's field-battery, supported on both sides by infantry. This reconnoissance was repeated and verified by Captain Mason and Colonel Duncan on the after noon of the same day, the result indicating that the NAVAL EXPLOITS. 393 centre was the enemy's weak point, and that of his flanks the left, bordering on Molino del Key, was the stronger. Generals Scott and Worth accom panied the engineers during the afternoon. The examination, however, was far from being satisfac tory, since, although it afforded a fair observation of the configuration of the ground and the extent of the enemy's forces, yet, on account of the de fences being skilfully masked, only an imperfect idea was obtained of their actual strength. On the same afternoon a large body of the enemy was seen hovering about Molino del Rey, within a mile and a third of Tacubaya, where General Scott was stationed with his staff and Worth's division. They did not venture an attack, and the American commander would not derange his plans by offering battle. General Worth's division was reinforced by 270 dragoons and mounted riflemen, under Major Sum- ner, Cadwalader's infantry and voltigeur regiments, 784 strong, three pieces of field-artillery, under Captain Drum, and two twenty-four-pound batter ing-guns, under Captain Huger. The whole com mand, thus reinforced, numbered 3200 men. The orders of General Scott were that the division should attack and destroy the lines and defences between the Casa Mata and Moiino del Rey, cap ture the enemy's artillery, destroy the machinery and material supposed to be in the foundry, but under no circumstances to make an attack upon Chapultepec. After carrying the works the troops were to be withdrawn immediately to Tacubaya. The object of attack being connected with Cha- 394 BATTLE-FIELDS AND pultepec, it became necessary to isolate it from the defences of the castle. To effect this object, Colonel Garland's brigade, strengthened by two pieces of Captain Drum's battery, was posted on the right so as to intercept any reinforcements from Chapultepec and be within sustaining-distance of the assaulting party and Huger's battering-guns. The latter were placed on the ridge, five or six hundred yards from Molino del Rey, so as to play upon and detach it from Chapultepec. The assaulting party designed to act against the enemy's centre, consisting of 500 picked men and officers, commanded by Brevet Major Wright, was stationed on the ridge to the left of the battering-guns. Colonel Clarke's brigade, under Colonel Mclntosh, was placed farther up the ridge, near Duncan's battery, so as either to protect the American left flank, to sustain the assaulting column, or to discomfit the enemy, as circumstances would require. Cadwalader's brigade was held in reserve, in a position on the ridge between the bat tering-guns and Mclntosh's brigade, at easy support ing-distance from both. Major Sumner, with his cavalry, was ordered to the extreme flank, to act as his own judgment might dictate; and the general disposition of the artillery was confined to Colonel Duncan. These preparations were designed and executed in the most desirable manner, exhibiting, in the subsequent result, the military abilities of the general who planned the whole attack and of those who carried it into effect. The artillery was placed in the best possible position for preventing the arrival of any support from the castle, by breaking the con- NAVAL EXPLOITS. 395 tinuous line of defences leading to that place and distracting the garrison curing the charge of Wright's party. This was posted so as to experience the least difficulty from the nature of the ground and the presence of the enemy's cavalry. The latter were watched by the intrepid Sumner, and at a well- chosen position Mclntosh's troops were placed in general superintendence of the whole. But so strong were the Mexican defences, and throughout the whole line so skilfully masked, that, but for a strong supporting reserve, Wright's charge the soul of the entire assault would probably have failed. Such support was afforded by Cadwalader's brigade, which during the action was called into active service and contributed in no slight degree to victory. At three o'clock A.M. of the 8th the division commenced its march by columns, each taking a dif ferent route. So accurately had every thing been arranged that, notwithstanding the darkness of the night and the irregularity of the ground, the troops at daylight were found posted in the different posi tions with as much precision as though on parade. Very soon after the dawn of day the report of Huger's guns, opening upon Molino del Rey, gave the signal for attack. So heavy were the discharges that in a short time masses of masonry fell with tremendous noise and the whole line of intrench- ments began to shake. This, uniting with the roar of cannon and cheering of soldiers, produced a scene of confusion peculiarly distressing. The enemy an swered each discharge in rapid succession, unfolding at intervals to the sight of their antagonists bat- 396 BATTLE-FIELDS AND teries and systems of defence of the strongest cha racter, but hitherto masked. In the interim, while the cannonade was going on, Major Wright was preparing his troops for the attack. Stationed on an eminence, he had a full view of the artillery operations, and could determine with great ease upon the exact direction in which to lead his men. All things being in readiness, he dashed down the slope, guided by Captain Mason and Lieutenant Foster and followed by his whole command. At this stirring spectacle the remainder of the division sent up a shout which momentarily drowned the roar of artillery ; while at the same moment, as though in desperate defiance, the central batteries of the enemy opened their fearful discharges., sweep ing down man and officer in terrible and indiscri minate slaughter. The cheering died away at such a spectacle, and, with unuttered forebodings at the unexpected sight, the reserve and support leaned forward to await the result. Yet, in the midst of the unexpected showers of fire which were launched upon them, Wright and his gallant men rushed on, gained the lines, and, sweeping through a storm of musketry and canister-shot, drove infantry and artillerymen before them at the baj^onet's point, seized the large field-battery, drove off the can noneers, and trailed its guns upon the retreating masses. But the battle was not yet decided. After retreat ing to a short distance the enemy suddenly halted, rallied, and, on observing the smallness of the force by which they had been attacked, returned with renewed energy to the conflict. Suddenly a flash NAVAL EXPLOITS. . 397 like lightning ran along their whole line, pouring forth a discharge which struck down 11 officers out of the 14 composing the command, with non-com missioned officers and men in proportion. Brevet Major Wright, Captain Mason, and Lieutenant Foster, were among the severely wounded. At the same time the windows and roofs of buildings were lined with infantry, who united their fire with that of the main body. At so overwhelming a loss the party was thrown into confusion, and the eagle eye of General Worth foresaw that another such dis charge would snatch victory from its grasp. Ac cordingly the right wing of Cadwalader's brigade and the light battalion held to cover Captain Huger's battery were immediately ordered forward to its support. Coming rapidly into action, these troops reached the shattered remnant of Major Wright's party at a most seasonable moment. The struggle with the enemy was close but short. They were again routed and their central positions fully carried and occupied. This victory gave the Americans- an important station inside the enemy's works, and separated the Casa Mata from Molino del Key and its adjoining fortifications. These, therefore, formed two isolated points of attack, each of which could be attacked by a separate party without danger from the other. The assault upon the enemy's left was intrusted to Garland's brigade, sustained by Drum's artillery. Here the struggle was obstinate and bloody. The manner in which the American guns were served drew forth shouts of applause from the whole army; while, on the other hand, the powerful batteries of 398 BATTLE-FIELDS AND Molino del Rey were worked in a manner which evinced the determination of the enemy to regain the day. The loss of the assailants was heavy; but they at length succeeded in forcing the position and driving the garrison from their guns. The Mexicans fled towards Chapultepec, suffering heavily from their own guns, which were turned upon them and continued to fire until they were beyond reach. Simultaneously with this assault, Duncan's bat tery opened upon the Mexican right, so as to mask an assault upon it by Colonel Mclntosh. The whole field was now a scene of uproar, the battle raging, mostly of artillery, throughout the entire line of de fences from Casa Mata to Molino del Rey. As Mclntosh's troops moved to the attack they came in front of Duncan's battery, which was consequently obliged to suspend its fire. The command then moved steadily to the assault. On approaching the Casa Mata it was discovered to be not an ordinary field-intrenchment, as had been supposed, but a strong stone citadel, built in the Spanish style, with bastioned intrenchments and impassable ditches which had recently been repaired and enlarged. The apparent difficulty of the undertaking was thus tenfold increased ; but still the soldiers pressed on without the least diminution of ardor. The batteries of the enemy were for a long time silent, as though their attendants were doubtful whether to open or not. But this was but the deceitful allure ment whose object was to get the prey completely within grasp. On arriving within musket-shot the Americans were greeted with a storm of grape and canister, before which their front ranks melted away NAVAL EXPLOITS. 399 and many of the best officers were killed or wounded. Without intermission was this kept up until their lacerated columns had reached the slope of the parapet leading to the citadel. Here, amid the withering showers which smote their ranks, the ex hausted troops were obliged to halt. Their advance had been over a long, rugged road in front of their own batteries, and part of the time without their support. A large proportion of their number had been killed or wounded, including the three senior officers, Brevet Colonel Mclntosh, Brevet Lieutenant- Colonel Scott, and Major Waite, the second killed, and the first and last seriously wounded. As they stood for a few moments on the slope, the Casa Mata continued to pour its fire upon them; and, per plexed with the change of commanders consequent on the fall of Colonel Mclntosh, the brigade fell into confusion and withdrew to Duncan's battery. The latter branch of service, from the time of its being covered by Mclntosh's troops so as to prevent a continuance of its fire on the enemy, had been arduously engaged in another part of the field. A large cavalry force had appeared outside the enemy's works on the extreme left of the American line; and against this Colonel Duncan moved, supported by the voltigeurs of Cadwalader's brigade. As the cavalry galloped into canister-range, the whole battery opened upon them with great effect, driving back their heavy squadrons in disorder. At this moment Major Sumner, who had been carefully watching the enemy all day, moved to the front and changed direction in admirable order, under a most appalling fire from Casa Mata, of which he was 400 BATTLE-FIELDS AND within pistol-range. His loss was very severe, numbering 5 officers, 39 soldiers, and 104 horses. The exposure was, however, unavoidable, in consequence of a deep ditch which it was im possible to cross until he had arrived close to the Mexican intrenchments. After passing the ravine he formed his command in line, facing the enemy's cavalry, and prepared to 'receive their charge. At seeing this they suddenly halted, and shortly afterwards retired. The major continued to hold his command on the left flank until the battle was won, changing his position from time to time with every movement of the cavalry. During the whole time his men behaved with coolness and bravery ; and, notwithstanding the number and rapidity of their evolutions, they succeeded, chiefly through the indefatigable exertions of Captain Har~ dee, in avoiding all confusion. The major was joined, soon after the commencement of the action, by Lieutenant-Colonel Moore, who, although declining the command, remained with him during the day. Colonel Harney, who was unwell, also came upon the field during the action, and, after observing the arrangements, expressed himself satisfied, and left Sumner to execute them, "for which," archly ob serves the major in his report, "I am deeply obliged to him." The repulse of the second brigade enabled Colonel Duncan to reopen his battery upon the Casa Mata, which the enemy, after a short and well-directed fire, abandoned. The Americans rushed into the works with loud cheers, seized the cannon, and turned them upon their former owners. NAVAL EXPLOITS. 401 The enemy was now driven from every part of the field, leaving his strong lines in possession of the assailants. The quantity of stores within the two principal works fell far short of what had been anticipated, thus proving false many of the reports previously received upon that subject. In obedience to the commands of General Scott, the Casa Mata was blown up, and such of the captured ammuni tion as could not be used, together with the cannon- moulds found in Molino del Rey, were destroyed. Thus, after several hours' incessant cannonading and fighting, the Americans stormed and carried an entire line of strong fortresses, defended by 14,000 men, securing 800 prisoners, all the guns, a large quantity of small-arms, ammunition, and other stores. Fifty-two commissioned officers were among the taken. Generals Valdarez and Leon, the second and third in command, were killed. The total loss of the enemy was about 3000, exclusive of 2000 who deserted after the rout. These great results were not obtained without a proportionate loss on the part of the victors. Be sides being numerically great, the list of killed and wounded embraced the names of some of the brightest ornaments of the service. Of the first were Captains Merrill, E. K. Smith, Ayres, and Lieutenants Strong, Farry, Burwell, and Burbank. "All of these gal lant men," says General Worth, " fell as, when it pleased God, they would have wished to fall, fight ing bravely at the head of their troops, leaving a bright example to the service and spotless names to the cherished recollections of comrades." Among the wounded were Brevet Major Wright, Captains 26 402 BATTLE-FIELDS AND Mason, Walker, and Cady, and Lieutenants Shackle- ford, Daniels, Clarke, Snelling, and Foster, all of whom highly distinguished themselves. The conduct of both cavalry and artillery was admirable ; and the same meed of praise is due to Sumner's dragoons. General Cadwalader rendered most efficient service and received the encomiums of General Worth. Among the other officers simi larly noticed were Colonel Garland, Lieutenant- Colonel Duncan, Brevet Colonel Mclntosh, Captains Huger and Drum, Lieutenants Kirkham, Nichols, and Thorne, (the latter of whom captured a regi mental standard,) and the officers of Cadwalader's brigade. Worth withdrew his brigade to Tacubaya. The operations of the day had thrown the enemy on the defensive, and left no further obstruction to an attack upon the city, save the castle of Chapul- tepec. Knowing the strength of this fortress, General Scott wisely refrained from an immediate attack, preferring to give his troops the repose which they so much needed rather than risk disabling his army by over-exertion. The dead were collected and buried, the wounded rendered comfortable, and each division, with its officers, quartered where they could be protected from the weather. NAVAL EXPLOITS. 403 COLONEL HARNET. STORMING OF CHAPULTEPEC AND CAPTURE OF MEXICO. THE taking of Molino del Rey had cut off the for tress of Chapultepec from all immediate connection with any of the surrounding fortifications. The assault upon it was the next great event of the war, and the first of that brilliant series to which General Scott gives the general name " Battle of Mexico." Of that momentous action, which continued for more than two days, the storming of the castle is the only occurrence which is capable of separate description. The difficulty of conveying an adequate idea of the actions of August has been formerly mentioned ; but the events of Contreras and Churubusco are simple 404 BATTLE-FIELDS AND when compared to those attending the taking of the capital. The plan of attack in the latter brought out the abilities of every officer in the army simul taneously and, with but few exceptions, in inde pendent commands. Immediately after the victory of the 8th, General Scott commenced a series of strict and daring recon- noissances of the ground in the vicinity of the capi tal and the principal works of the enemy. These were conducted by the able engineers Captain Lee and Lieutenants Stephens, Tower, and Beauregard. This service was, in point of danger, equal to battle, stations being frequently chosen within full range of the enemy's batteries and even within musketry- range of the works. The observations were directed principally to the southern defences, the strongly- fortified gates of Piedad, San Antonio, San Angel, or Nino Perdido, and Paseo de la Yega. These pre sented a chain of ditches, intrenchments, gullies, breastworks, towers, and mines, appalling to any general save one of the first military genius and ex perience. " This city," says the American com mander, while speaking of these defences, " stands on a slight swell of ground, near the centre of an irregular basin, and is girdled with a ditch in its greatest extent, a navigable canal of great breadth and depth, very difficult to bridge in the presence of an enemy, and serving at once for drainage, cus tom-house purposes, and military defence, having eight entrances or gates, over arches, each of which we found defended by a system of strong works that seemed to require nothing but some men and guns to be impregnable. NAVAL EXPLOITS. 405 " Outside and within the cross-fires of those gates we found, to the south, other obstacles but little less formidable. All the approaches near the city are over elevated causeways, cut in many places (to op pose us) and flanked on both sides by ditches, also of unusual dimensions. The numerous cross-roads are flanked in like manner, having bridges at the intersections, recently broken. The meadows thus checkered are, moreover, in many spots, under water or marshy ; for, it will be remembered, we were in the midst of the wet season, though with less rain than usual, and we could not wait for the fall of the neighboring lakes and the consequent drainage of the wet grounds at the edge of the city, the lowest in the whole basin." An attack upon the city in this quarter would perhaps have been successful; but it would have been at a loss greater than has ever yet been expe rienced by an American army. General Scott, there fore, with that regard to the lives of his soldiers which has ever formed a prominent feature in his character, and rejecting the vain glory acquired by gaining a great battle at any expense, promptly de termined to avoid the network of obstacles on the south and seek less unfavorable approaches by a sudden inversion towards the west. u To economize the lives of our gallant officers and men," says the general, " as well as to insure success, it became indispensable that this resolution should be long masked from the enemy; and, again, that the new movement, when discovered, should be mis taken for a feint, and the old as indicating our true and ultimate point of attack." This design could be 406 BATTLE-FIELDS AND executed only by means of a well-conducted strata gem, whose most important part would be to pre vent the enemy from removing his guns in the southern defences to the new point of attack. This was executed in a manner which, while securing the lives of the troops, threw the balance of advantages in their hands, and afforded one more instance of the eminent scientific abilities of the man who, with a handful of troops, had fought his way through hos tile armies to the gates of the enemy's capital. We give the arrangements of his plan in his own words : "Accordingly, on the spot, the llth, I ordered Quitman's division from Coyoacan to join Pillow ~by daylight before the southern gates, and then that the two major-generals, with their divisions, should ~by night proceed (two miles) to join me at Tacubaya, where I was quartered with Worth's division. Twiggs, with Eiley's brigade and Captains Taylor's and Steptoe's field-batteries, the latter of twelve- pounders, was left in front of those gates to man oeuvre, to threaten, or to make false attacks, in order to occupy and deceive the enemy. Twiggs's other brigade (Smith's) was left at supporting-distance in the rear, at San Angel, till the morning of the loth, and also to support our general depot at Mixcoac. The stratagem against the south was admirably exe cuted throughout the 12th and down to the after noon of the 13th, when it was too late for the enemy to recover from the effects of his delusion. " The first step in the new movement was to carry Chapul tepee, a natural and isolated mound, of great elevation, strongly fortified at its base, on NAVAL EXPLOITS. 407 its acclivities and heights. Besides a numerous gar rison, here was the military college of the republic, with a large number of sub-lieutenants and other students. Those works were within direct gunshot of the village of Tacubaya, and, until carried, we could not approach the city on the west without making a circuit too wide and too hazardous. " In the course of the same night (that of the llth) heavy batteries within easy ranges were esta blished. No. 1, on our right, under the command of Captain Drum, 4th artillery, (relieved the next day for some hours by Lieutenant Andrews, of the 3d,) and No. 2, commanded by Lieutenant Hagner, ord nance, both supported by Quitman's division. Nos. 3 and 4, on the opposite side, supported by Pillow's division, were commanded, the former by Captain Brooks and Lieutenant S. S. Anderson, 2d artillery, alternately, and the latter by Lieutenant Stone, ord nance. The batteries were traced by Captain Huger and Captain Lee, engineer, and constructed by them, with the able assistance of the young officers of those corps and artillery. " To prepare for an assault, it was foreseen that the play of the batteries might run into the second day ; but recent captures had not only trebled our siege-pieces, but also our ammunition, and we knew that we should greatly augment both by carrying the place. I was therefore in no haste in ordering an assault before the works were well crippled by our missiles." The disposition of forces thus sketched should be borne in mind while taking a survey of the subse quent operations. The whole army was divided into 408 BATTLE-FIELDS AND two great sections, each performing duties distinct from the other yet essential to the success of the final operations. One of these amused the enemy and prevented him from employing to much effect his strongest forces ; the other conducted the assault at numerous points of the western defences. The former duty was intrusted to General Twiggs, with Elley's brigade and two batteries; while Smith's brigade remained as a supporting reserve. At the same time the divisions of Quitman and Pillow marched by night from the neighborhood of the southern defences and joined General Scott at Tacu- baya, preparatory to the assault upon Chapultepec. This hill lay between Twiggs's station and the western portion of the city, whither General Scott designed to make his attack. To pass between it and the city-wall was impossible; and to march around on the opposite side would have consumed so much time as to unfold the stratagem to the enemy and thus defeat one important object of it. There remained therefore no alternative but to storm the fortress, since, by so doing, the enemy would still be in the dark as to the ultimate point of at tack, and might easily be induced to believe that in case of capturing it the Americans would resume their station near the southern gates. Subsequent disclosures proved that they labored under this de lusion. The two batteries of Captain Drum and Lieute nant Hagner, supporting Quitman's division, and those of Captain Brooks and Lieutenant Stone, sup porting Pillow, opened on the castle early on the 12th. The bombardment and cannonade were super- NAVAL EXPLOITS. 409 intended by Captain Huger and continued during the whole day. During the continuance of this dreary work Twiggs was actively plying his guns on the southern side, in order to prevent the arrival of reinforcements at Chapultepec. The bombard ment at length became so severe that all the garri- CHAPULTEPEC. son, excepting a number sufficient to manage, aban doned their works and formed on a secure position of the hill, where they could easily return in case of an assault. As night approached, the fire of the assailants necessarily ceased; but it was observed that a good impression had been made upon the castle and its outworks. No changes of position were made during the 410 BATTLE-FIELDS AND night of the 12th, so that early on the following morning the guns reopened upon the castle. At the same moment those of Twiggs were heard bat tering the gates of San Antonio and Piedad. The Mexicans were again observed upon the hill, hold ing themselves in readiness for an assault. Meanwhile the general-in-chief was actively pre paring to storm the work. The force designed for this service consisted of two columns, acting inde pendently and on different sides of the hill.. The first was led by General Pillow, the second by General Quitman, the commands of these officers being reinforced by corps from other divisions. On the previous evening Worth had received orders to designate a party from his division to assist Pillow, and immediately organized a command of 260 men, with ten officers, under Captain McKenzie. He was also advised to take position with the remainder of his division and support Pillow, in case that officer should request his aid. He accordingly chose a favorable position and reported himself to Pillow. At the same time Smith's brigade was ordered to proceed towards the hill and support Quitman's column. These troops arrived on the following morning, after marching over an exposed road two miles in length. Twiggs also supplied a reinforce ment to Quitman's storming column, about equal in number to that from Worth's division and com manded by Captain Casey. The signal for the march of the storming parties was the momentary cessation of fire from the heavy batteries. At about eight o'clock on the morning of the 13th, General Scott despatched an aid to Gene- NAVAL EXPLOITS. 411 ral Pillow, and another to Quitman, to inform them that this was about to be given. Immediately the whole field was covered with the troops of the assail ing parties moving into position. At the same mo ment a number of Mexican soldiers outside the fort rushed into it and prepared to resist the assault. General Pillow, in the morning, had placed two field-pieces of Magruder's field-battery inside the Molino del Key, to clear a sand-bag breastwork which the enemy had constructed without the main wall surrounding Chapultepec, so as to annoy any party assailing the principal works. Through the houses and walls of the mill she had also placed a howitzer-battery, to aid in driving the enemy from a strong intrenchment which extended nearly across the front of the forest and commanded the only ap proach to Chapultepec on that side. At the same time he placed in position four companies of the voltigeur regiment, under Lieutenant-Colonel John- stone, with instructions to advance by a rapid move ment on the outside and enter the enclosure after it had been gained by the storming parties. Four other companies of voltigeurs were placed, under Colonel Andrews, at a narrow gateway opening from the rear of the mills, with orders to advance in front, and, uniting with Colonel Johnstone's command, to deploy as skirmishers and drive a body of the enemy from some large trees among which it had taken shelter. Every thing being now in readiness, the heavy batteries were silenced, and immediately the storm ing columns rushed forward to the attack. Know ing too well the object of this movement, the Mexi- 412 BATTLE-FIELDS AND cans opened all their batteries, the fires from which swept every approach and glared in front of the ad vancing troops like a volcano. On they rushed, driving the enemy from the woods, and, reaching the hill, commenced the ascent. At this moment General Pillow was struck from his horse by a grape- shot, and the command devolved on Cadwalader. The former general would not leave the field, but employed some of his men to carry him up the hill, in order that he might be a witness of the result. Under command of the intrepid officer from Penn sylvania, the troops entered the enemy's drizzling fires and labored over the steep rocks. " The broken acclivity," says the general-in-chief, while describing Cadwalader's advance, "was. still to be ascended, and a strong redoubt midway to be carried, before reaching the castle on the heights. The advance of our brave officers, though necessarily slow, was un wavering, over rocks, chasms, and mines, and under the hottest fire of cannon and musketry. The re doubt now yielded to resistless valor, and the shouts that followed announced to the castle the fate that impended. The enemy were steadily driven from shelter to shelter. The retreat allowed not time to fire a single mine without the certainty of blowing up friend and foe. Those who at a distance at tempted to apply matches to the long trains were shot down by our men. There was death below as well as above ground. At length the ditch and wall of the main work were reached; the scaling-ladders were brought up and planted by the storming-parties. Some of the daring spirits first in the assault were cast down, killed or wounded ; but a lodgment was NAVAL EXPLOITS. 413 soon made ; streams of heroes followed ; all opposi tion was overcome, and several of our. regimental colors were flung out from the upper walls, amid long-continued shouts and cheers, which sent dismay into the capital. No scene could have been more animating or glorious." Conspicuous in this charge was the gallant Colonel Ransom, of the 9th infantry, who met a soldier's death while leading his troops up the summit to the castle. He was shot in the forehead. Major Sey mour succeeded him, and, on arriving before the walls, mounted the ladders, leaped upon the parapet, and tore down with his own hands the Mexican colors. Simultaneously with this attack, General Quit- man's troops approached the fortress on the opposite side. At early dawn he had opened his batteries with much effect and commenced preparations for the assault. Ladders, pickaxes, and crows, were placed in the hands of a pioneer storming-party of 120 men, selected from all corps of the division and commanded by Major Twiggs. At this time Gene ral Smith arrived with his brigade, and was in structed to move in reserve on the right flank of the assaulting column, to protect it from skirmishes or more serious attacks, and, if possible, cross the aqueduct leading to the city and cut off the enemy's retreat. These dispositions being completed, the whole command, at the preconcerted signal, moved forward with confidence and enthusiasm. At the base of the hill constituting part of the defences, and directly across the line of advance, were strong batteries, 414 BATTLE-FIELDS AND flanked on the right by equally strong buildings, and by a heavy stone wall, about fifteen feet high, which extended around the base of the hill, towards the west. The troops were, however, partially covered by some dilapidated buildings at about two hundred yards' distance. Between these and the wall extended a low meadow, whose long grass con cealed a number of wet ditches, by which it was in tersected ; and to this point the command, partially screened, advanced by a flank movement, having the storming-parties in front, who sustained a heavy fire from the enemy's fortress, batteries, and breast works. Here, under partial cover of the ruins, the advance was halted, and, upon the appearance of the New York and South Carolina regiments, Gene ral Shields was directed to move them obliquely to the left, across the low ground, to the wall at the base of the hill. Encouraged by the presence of the man who had led them to victory at Churubusco, these tried regiments waded through deep ditches, while the water around them was foaming with the enemy's shot, and, rushing forward together, effected a lodgment at the wall. Similar orders were given to Lieutenant-Colonel Geary and executed by his regiment with equal alacrity and success. While cheering on his men, General Shields was severely wounded in the arm ; but no inducement could per suade him to leave his command or quit the field. About the same time the esteemed Lieutenant-Colo nel Baxter was mortally wounded, Lieutenant-Colo nel Geary disabled, and Captain Van O'Linda killed. During this advance, Brigadier-General Smith was driving back skirmishing-parties of the enemy NAVAL EXPLOITS. 415 on the left, Lieutenant Benjamin, at the first bat tery, was pouring shot after shot into the fortress and woods on the slope, while Lieutenant Hunt, having obtained a favorable position in the rear, also threw shells and shrapnell-shot into the enemy's lines with good effect. At this moment General Quitman ordered the storming-parties to the assault. Led by their gallant officers, they rushed on in one unbroken tide, while the batteries from behind con tinued to pour shells and shot over their heads into the enemy's fortress. The Mexican fire was tre mendous; but, without pausing for a moment, the Americans swept on until they reached the outer breastworks. Here for a short time the contest was terrible. Hand to hand the fierce antagonists met each other's strokes, while, as though pausing for the result, died away the loud noise of opposing batteries. Swords and bayonets were crossed, rifles clubbed, and friend and foe mingled in one confused struggling mass. Resistance, however, to the des perate valor of the assailants was vain. The bat teries and strong works were swept, and the ascent to Chapultepec laid open on that side. Seven pieces of artillery, one thousand muskets, and 550 prisoners, were the trophies of victory. Among the prisoners were 100 officers, including a general and ten colonels. Captain Casey, the gallant leader of the storming- party of regulars, having received a severe wound when directly in front of the batteries, the command devolved on Captain Paul, who during the re mainder of the day distinguished himself for his bravery. The storming-party from the volunteer division also lost its commander, the lamented Major 416 BATTLE-FIELDS AND Twiggs, and was led, during the remainder of the attack, by Captain James Miller. At the same time the volunteer regiments on the left, animated by a generous enthusiasm, were as cending the hill on the south side. Fighting their way through every obstacle, these brave men fell in with their comrades of General Pillow's division; and side by side, amid the storm of battle, the colors of the two commands were seen struggling together up the steep ascent. At this moment the American batteries, which had continued their fire upon the castle over the heads of the assailants, ceased ; and immediately after the troops gained the summit. The short but obstinate struggle has been described. The veteran Mexican general Bravo, with a number of other officers, was captured by Lieutenant Charles Brower, of the New York regiment. In the assault upon the works, Lieutenant Steele, with a portion of the s tor ming-p arty, had advanced in front of the batteries, towards the left, scaled the outer wall through a breach near the top, ascended a hill in front, and was among the first upon the battlements. After giving the necessary directions for the safe keeping of the prisoners, General Quitman ordered his troops to form near the aqueduct, and hastily ascended the hill for the purpose of reconnoitring the enemy's position in front of the city. There he met with Major-General Pillow, who, as formerly stated, had been carried by his troops to the castle in order to enjoy the triumph of the occasion. In speaking of this brilliant affair, General Pillow says, " We took about 800 prisoners, among whom were Major-General Bravo, Brigadier-Generals Mon- NAVAL EXPLOITS. 417 terde, Monega, Doramentas, and Saldana ; also three colonels, seven lieutenant-colonels, 40 captains, and 24 first and 27 second lieutenants. " That the enemy was in large force I know cer tainly from personal observation. I know it also from the fact that there were killed and taken pri soners one major-general and six brigadiers. As there were six brigadier-generals, there could not have been less than six brigades. One thousand men to each brigade (which is a low estimate, for we had previously taken so many general officers prisoners that the commands of others must have been considerably increased) would make 6000 troops. But, independent of these evidences of the enemy's strength, I have General Bravo's own ac count of the strength of his command, given me only a few minutes after he was taken prisoner. He communicated to me, through Passed Midship man Eogers, that there were upwards of 6000 men in the works and surrounding grounds. The killed, wounded, and prisoners, agreeably to the best esti mate I can form, were about 1800, and immense numbers of the enemy were seen to escape over the wall on the north and west sides of Chapultepec." Many of those who distinguished themselves in this assault have been given in connection with the narrative ; a mere list of others mentioned with en comiums by the different commanders would alone fill a moderate chapter. Where all behaved as did the victors of Chapultepec, it is indeed difficult to discriminate in the awarding of praise. The feat will remain in American history as a proud trophy to American valor : and the fact of being one of the 27 418 BATTLE-FIELDS AND participators in it will insure to many a soldier the esteem and admiration of countrymen while he lives, and a grateful veneration of his memory after death. While the assault was going on, on the west and southeast of Chapultepec, and on its heights, two companies of infantry, under Colonel Ironsdale and Lieutenant Hebert, aided by Captain Magruder's field-battery, had some spirited skirmishes with dif ferent parties of the enemy. In one of these offi cers and men behaved in a gallant manner: they drove the gunners from a battery in the road, and captured a piece. Colonel Ironsdale was twice wounded, but continued on duty until the heights were carried. Immediately after the capture of Chapultepec, General Scott made active preparations for following up his success by an attack upon the capital. There are two routes from Chapultepec to the city, one leading to the Belen gate, the other to the gate of San 'Cosine, both of which were strongly fortified. Worth advanced along the San Cosme road, and Quitman by that of Belen. Both these generals- were strongly reinforced with troops and heavy siege- guns. As the San Cosme gate was judged to be the least difficult of entrance, Scott intended that Quit man should merely manoeuvre while Worth made the main attack. But Quitman pressed on, under flank and direct fires, and carried the Belen gate after a desperate struggle and severe loss. Worth advanced, preceded by skirmishers and pioneers with axes to force windows and doors, and by eight o'clock in the evening had carried two batteries and driven the enemy into the heart of the city. The American NAVAL EXPLOITS. 419 troops in the city were sheltered during the night. About four o'clock in the morning a deputation from the city authorities reached General Scott, re ported that the Mexican army had fled, and de manded terms of capitulation. General Scott, know ing his forces to be already in possession of the city, would not listen to any terms dictated by the CITT OP MEXICO. authorities, and, about daylight, ordered General Quitman to advance and take possession of the Grand Plaza and government-buildings. Quitman immediately executed the order, and soon the star- spangled banner was floating over the National Palace. As the remainder of the army entered Mexico, the troops were fired upon by about 2000 liberated convicts, posted on the tops of houses and 420 BATTLE-FIELDS AND at the corners of streets. This unlawful warfare lasted twenty-four hours, and was not suppressed until many officers and men were killed or wounded. The convicts were punished. General Quitman was appointed military governor of the city. Thus, in less than one month, 8000 men fought eight important battles, stormed castles, towns, and redoubts, garrisoned with three times the number of assailants; defeated 32,000 Mexican veterans, killing 7000 and capturing 3700 and 13 generals, of whom three were ex-presidents; taking more than twenty standards, one hundred and twenty-two cannon, twenty thousand small-arms, with an im mense quantity of shot, shells, &c. ; and finally en tered in triumph a capital where every wall was a fortification, every house a fort, and which contained a population of nearly 200,000 souls. NAVAL EXPLOITS. 421 COLONEL CHILD 8. SIEGE OF PUEBLA. ON the march of the American army from Puebla towards the capital, the command of that city was intrusted to Colonel Childs. His total force was about 400 men, consisting of forty-six cavalry, under Captain Ford, two companies of artillery, under Captains Kendrick and Miller, and six companies of the 1st Pennsylvania volunteers, under Lieu tenant-Colonel Black. With this small command the grand depot in the city named San Jose, and I 422 BATTLE-FIELDS AND the posts of Loreto and Guadalupe, were to be gar risoned and held against the combined efforts of the military and populace in Puebla. San Jose was the key of the colonel's position, on the safety of which that of every other depended. In addition to the small ness of the garrison and the extent of space to be covered, the Americans were encumbered with 1800 sick. The hospitals for these were situated in isolated positions, while the surgeons were provided with but six attendants. After the departure of the main army, no acts of hostility other than the occasional murdering of a straggling soldier occurred until September 13, the same day in which the Mexican capital was taken. During the night of that date the enemy opened a fire upon the Americans from the streets of Puebla. Colonel Childs had for some time been expecting this, and had removed all the hospitals within the protection of San Jose and placed every man of his command on duty. The firing of the 13th continued languidly until after daylight, when. -every thing became quiet. On the night of the 14th the guns were reopened with a violence which convinced the colonel that the siege had commenced in earnest. A storm of bombs and shot was thrown into the forti fications until morning, while numerous bodies of troops were heard taking up positions around the American stations. On the 15th large parties of cavalry were observed in the fields, gathering together the sheep and cattle and endeavoring to turn the stream of water which supplies San Jose. In the evening Colonel Childs organized two parties to secure, if possible, some of the live-stock. They NAVAL EXPLOITS. 423 succeeded in capturing thirty oxen and four hundred sheep, a most seasonable supply at the time. During the day the fire of the enemy was un abated, and large reinforcements were observed to join them from the interior. Nearly every station in the city from which a battery could be discharged was now occupied by the Mexicans, and, under a most tremendous fire, the Americans labored night and day in completing their defences and preparing for an assault. On the 22d, General Santa Anna arrived with a large force from Mexico. His appearance was hailed by discharges of cannon, a general ringing of bells, and other demonstrations of joy. A battery at Loreto was opened by command of Colonel Childs, which, throwing shells and round-shot into the heart of the city, did considerable execution, besides causing a temporary suspension of the rejoicing. Santa Anna, with his customary activity, imme diately began preparations for an assault. New batteries were planted, storming-parties designated, and a more perfect organization of the besiegers enforced. On the 25th Childs received a summons to sur render, with the assurance that he would be treated in a manner worthy of his valor and military rank. This was declined. After despatching his answer, the colonel rode to the different posts of his garrison, announcing the demand, together with the reply. This was received by the soldiers in a manner which convinced him of their determination to endure every hardship and danger rather than disgrace themselves by yielding to the Mexican forces. 424 BATTLE-FIELDS AND After receiving this answer from the American commander, Santa Anna opened his batteries upon San Jose, which now became the principal point of attack. Its garrison consisted of Ford's cavalry, Miller's artillery, four companies of volunteers, and a hospital, with its guard, under Captain Howe. The whole was commanded by Lieutenant-Colonel Black. " The duty required of this command," says Colonel Childs, "in consequence of the various points to be defended, demanded an untiring effort on the part of every officer and soldier. A shower of bullets was constantly poured from the streets, the bal conies, the house-tops and churches, upon their devoted heads. Never did troops endure more fatigue, by watching night after night, nor exhibit more patience, spirit, and gallantry. Not a post of danger could present itself but the gallant fellows were ready to fill it. Not a sentinel could be shot but another was anxious and ready to take his place. Officers and soldiers vied with each other to be honored martyrs in their country's cause. This is the general character of the troops I had the honor to command; and I was confident the crown of victory would perch upon their standard when the last great effort should be made." In order as far as possible to secure San Jose from the enemy's shot, Childs threw up a traverse on the plaza, and withdrew a twelve-pounder from Loreto to answer the besieging batteries. On the evening of the 30th a new battery of Santa Anna ceased, and on the following morning was with drawn, together with about 3000 of the supporting force. The object of this movement was to meet Vv NAVAL EXPLOITS. 425 some reinforcements daily expected at Final. Taking advantage of it, Colonel Childs determined on a sortie against certain barricades and buildings whose fire had become very annoying. The sortie was made on the 2d of October, by two parties commanded by Captain Wm. F. Small, of the 1st Pennsylvania volunteers, and Lieutenant Morgan, of the 14th regiment. The captain, after passing through the walls of an entire square, with 50 men, gained a position opposite the barricade, from which he drove the enemy with great loss, and burned one hundred and fifty cotton-bales, of which the work was composed. Seventeen Mexicans were killed upon the spot. Lieutenant Laidley, of the ordnance corps, was then sent to blow up a promi nent building, which he successfully accomplished. The whole party were then withdrawn. In this affair they had behaved with great gallantry, and for twenty-four hours were unceasing in their labors to accomplish their object. Their loss was but a few wounded. At the same time Lieutenants Morgan and Merry- field, with detachments from the marines and Rifles, attempted to gain possession of some buildings from which the depot was receiving a heavy fire. The latter officer succeeded in entering ; but Lieutenant Morgan was not so fortunate. After several despe rate efforts to force a passage through the strong detachment opposed to him, he was directed by Colonel Childs to fall back. These gallant feats were a severe check upon the enemy and produced a sensible dimunition of their fire. Other minor acts of bravery were performed by officers and men 426 BATTLE-FIELDS AND at San Jose, while from Guadalupe one or two suc cessful sorties were made upon the enemy while engaged in their daily attacks upon San Jose. Immediately after this disaster Santa Anna left the besieging forces and hurried. to oppose the march of General Lane from Yera Cruz. The bombard ment and cannonade continued, however, with diminished energy, until October 12, when General Lane arrived with reinforcements for the wearied garrison. NAVAL EXPLOITS 427 MAJOR ITURBIDE. BATTLES OF HUAMANTLA AND ATLIXCO. RUMORS of the enemy's designs upon Puebla, and of large parties infesting the road leading to that city, reached Yera Cruz in the latter part of Septem ber. In consequence of the information, General Lane left the latter place with a considerable force and marched for the interior. He was not long without sight of an enemy. At the hacienda of Santa Anna, near the San Juan River, he came up 428 BATTLE-FIELDS AND with a party of guerillas. Captain Lewis's com pany of mounted volunteers was sent in pursuit, and a portion, under Lieutenant Lilly, succeeded in over taking them. A short skirmish ensued, in which the lieutenant behaved with great bravery and finally drove the Mexicans from their position. After this slight interruption the whole command proceeded until it reached the Paso de Ovejas, where the rear-guard was fired upon by a small guerilla force, and Lieutenant Cline, an efficient young officer, killed. This march was unusually fatiguing to the troops, on account of the heat of the weather and nature of the road. Occasionally but a part of the gene ral's force could move forward, and frequently the artillery was greatly delayed amid ravines, passes, and other natural obstructions. Meanwhile rumors continued to multiply concerning a large Mexican force concentrating between Perote and Puebla. On arriving at the former place General Lane received confirmation of these reports, with the additional information that they numbered 4000 men, with six pieces of artillery, and were commanded by Santa Anna in person. At the hacienda of San Antonio Tamaris he learned from his spies that the enemy were then at Huamantla, a city but a few miles off. He promptly determined to march there, and, if possible, give their army battle. In order to execute this as speedily as possible, the general left his train packed at Tamaris's, under charge of Colonel Brough's regiment of Ohio volun teers, Captain Simmon's battalion, and a battery under Lieutenant Pratt. With the remainder of the NAVAL EXPLOITS. 429 command, consisting of Colonel Wynkoop's battalion, Colonel Gorman's regiment of Indiana volunteers, Captain Heintzelman's battalion of six companies, Major Lally's mounted men, under Captain Walker, and five pieces of artillery, under Captain Taylor. After moving forward as rapidly as the nature of the ground admitted, the column came in sight of the city at one o'clock of October 9. The troops being halted, the advance-guard of horsemen, under Captain Walker, was ordered to move forward to the entrance of the city, but not to enter, if the enemy were in force, until the arrival of the infantry. When within about three miles, Walker observed parties of horsemen riding over the fields towards the city, and, lest he might be anticipated, his men were put to a gallop. His progress was anxiously watched by General Lane, until, owing to a hedge of thick maguey-bushes on each side of the road, his movements were concealed from view. In a few minutes firing was heard from the city. About the same time a body of 2000 lancers were seen hurry ing over the neighboring hills, and General Lane ordered Colonel Gorman to advance with his regi ment and enter Huamantla from the west while Colonel Wynkoop moved towards the east. Captain Walker, on arriving at the entrance of the city, had discovered about 500 of the enemy drawn up in the plaza. He immediately ordered a charge. Dashing among the Mexicans, his handful of men engaged hand to hand with three times their number, and, after a close and bloody conflict, drove them away and captured three guns. A vigorous pursuit commenced, in which many feats of daring 430 BATTLE-FIELDS AND were performed, among which was the capture of Colonel La Yega and Major Iturbide by Lieutenant Anderson, of the Georgia volunteers. The former was a brother of General La Yega, and the latter a son of the unfortunate Emperor of Mexico. Anderson narrowly escaped with his life. A Mexican lieutenant was also taken. After pursuing the enemy some distance, Walker's men imprudently dispersed and returned to the square in small parties. This was in consequence of a belief that the enemy's entire force had been routed. Suddenly a company of lancers charged upon the plaza and succeeded in separating the Americans into bodies. A desperate fight took place, in which the Mexicans behaved with unwonted courage ; but, by Skilful manoeuvring, Walker suc ceeded in uniting his forces, and entered the con vent-yard, where the command was dismounted. Here another action took place,, in which the lancers were assisted by both artillery and infantry. Here, while directing the movements of his little band, Captain Walker fell mortally wounded, and soon afterwards expired. The enemy were driven back. Meanwhile the main column of the American forces arrived at the city and opened their fire upon masses of the enemy. Gorman, with the left wing of his regiment, proceeded towards the upper part of the town, where the enemy still were, and suc ceeded in dispersing them. At the same time Colonel Wynkoop's command had assumed position; but before they could open their batteries the Mexicans had fled. In this hard-fought action the loss of the Ame- NAVAL EXPLOITS. 431 ricans was 13 killed and 11 wounded. They suc ceeded in capturing one six-pounder brass gun, a mountain-howitzer, numerous wagons, and a large quantity of ammunition. The Mexicans lost, in killed and wounded, 150. CAPTAIN WALKER. After this battle General Lane marched to the relief of Colonel Childs. He remained at Puebla with his whole force until the evening of the 18th of October, when information was received that the Mexican general Rea was at Atlixco, thirty miles 432 BATTLE-FIELDS AND distant, in considerable force. Lane immediately ordered his troops to be ready for marching on the following morning at eleven o'clock. At that time he left Puebla with nearly the same force that had entered it, and, after a forced march of five hours' duration, came in sight of the enemy's advance- guard, near Santa Isabella. Here a halt was made until the cavalry could come up from their examina tion of a neighboring hacienda. Meanwhile small parties of the enemy came to the foot of the hill and opened a straggling fire, which did no execution. On the arrival of the cavalry, Lane put his whole force in motion ; but, as signs of confusion appeared among the Mexicans, he hurried on the cavalry to charge the enemy and keep them engaged until the infantry could come up. As the Americans ap proached the Mexicans retired, until, at a small hill, about a mile and a half from their first position, they halted and fought severely. The action was continued until, by a forced march, the American infantry arrived, when they again fled, pursued by the cavalry. Another running fight of about four miles took place, during which many of the fugitives were cut down. When within less than two miles of Atlixco, the enemy's main body was observed posted on a side-hill behind rows of chapparal hedges. Without stopping to ascertain their num bers, the cavalry dashed among them, dealing death on all sides, and forcing them within the thickest part of their shelter. Then, dismounting, the as sailants entered the chapparal, hand to hand with their foe. Here the struggle was long and terrible, scores of the enemy falling beneath the heavy blows NAVAL EXPLOITS. 433 of their opponents. This continued until the arrival of the infantry, who for the last six miles had been straining themselves to the utmost to join the cavalry, notwithstanding the previous fatiguing march of sixteen miles. The road being intersected by numerous gullies prevented the artillery from advancing faster than at a walk; and so worn out were the cavalry, both through exertion and the heat of the weather, that they could pursue the enemy no farther. The column continued, however, to press forward towards the town ; but night had already set in when it reached a hill overlooking it. But the moon shone with a splendor which afforded a fine view of all the surrounding country, a,nd enabled the American general to continue his opera tions with perfect certainty. As the Americans approached, several shots were fired upon them ; and, deeming it imprudent to risk a street fight in an unknown town at night, General Lane ordered the artillery to be posted on a hill overlooking the town, and to open upon it. This was speedily put in execution, so that in a very short time the terrified inhabitants beheld flaming balls and shells hurled into their town with a pre cision and effect to which their own system of war fare afforded no parallel. Every gun was served with the utmost rapidity ; and, amid the stillness of a Mexican night-scene, the discharges of artillery pealed for miles around, while at intervals the crashing of walls and roofs afforded a strange and distressing contrast. This bombardment continued for nearly an hour with great effect ; the gunners 28 434 BATTLE-FIELDS AND being enabled by the moonlight to direct their shot to the most populous parts of the town. The firing from the town had now ceased; and, wishing to obtain, if possible, its surrender, Lane ordered Major Lally and Colonel Brough to advance cautiously with their commands into the town. On their entering, the general was met by the ayunta- miento, or city council, who desired that their town might be spared. Quiet was accordingly restored, and on the following morning Lane disposed of such ammunition as could be found, and then commenced his return to Puebla. NAVAL EXPLOITS. 435 COLONEL FREMONT. OCCUPATION OP CALIFORNIA AND NEW MEXICO. IN May, 1846, President Polk was authorized by Congress to accept the services of 50,000 volunteers, to continue the war which had commenced on the 436 BATTLE-FIELDS AND Rio Grande. Of this number ten companies com posed a force destined to act against Santa Fe. They were formed of five companies United States dra goons, two of foot, two light artillery, and one volunteer horse. This army was placed under the direction of Colonel Stephen W. Kearney, who, in a confidential letter from Secretary Marey, dated June 3, 1846, received in substance the following instruc tions :-WTo organize for the expedition an additional force of 1000 men, in order to proceed from Santa Fe against Upper California ; to establish a govern ment there after taking possession; to receive as volunteers a number of Mormon and other emigrants, recently settled in the province ; to co-operate with the naval force in the Pacific; to open trade with the Indians ; and to respect the rights of the Cali- fornians. The letter concludes as follows : " I am directed by the President to say that the rank of brevet brigadier-general will be conferred on you as soon as you commence your movement towards Cali fornia, and sent round to you by sea, or over the country, or to the care of the commandant of our squadron in the Pacific. In that way cannon, arms, ammunition, and supplies for the land-forces, will be sent you." The depot of Kearney's force was Fort Leaven- worth. On the 27th of June his advance commenced its march ; and by the 1st of August more than 1600 men were concentrated at Bent's Fort, having marched a distance of five hundred and sixty-four miles. The march was resumed on the 3d, and, after a toilsome journey over frightful prairies, they NAVAL EXPLOITS. 437 arrived, August 12, at the mountains near the Kio Grande. Signs of hostility now began to appear; and messages arrived from General Armigo, Governor of Santa Fe, requesting Kearney to advance no farther, or at least to consent to negotiations for peace. The tone of these was dignified but earnest. The American commander replied that he came to take possession ; that the peaceable inhabitants should be well treated, but that the vengeance of both army and government would be poured upon all others. On the march the colonel received a despatch from Government constituting him briga dier-general. On the 18th of August General Kearney took possession of Santa Fe in the name of the United States. The oath of allegiance was administered to the alcalde and inhabitants, and a military terri torial government established. No opposition was experienced, Governor Armigo and his army having fled at the approach of the Americans. General Kearney was proclaimed governor, erected a fort, (called Fort Marcy,) and published a proclamation to the inhabitants. After seeing every thing in a state of tranquillity, General Kearney commenced his march, September 25, for the distant region of California. Before the general had accomplished this arduous undertaking, Colonel Doniphan, with his citizen volunteers, commenced one of equal magnitude, and pregnant with events of paramount importance. When Kearney left Santa Fe he ordered the colonel to proceed as soon as practicable into Chihuahua 438 BATTLE-FIELDS AND and report to General Wool, who, with the centre division, had been intrusted with the conquering of that province. On the 17th of December, Doniphan, with 924 men, began his expedition. On the 24th they reached the Jornada Lake, into which runs the Brazito River, more than twenty miles from the Paso del Norte of the eastern mountain-range. Here they were informed that the Mexicans, to the number of 1000, were collected at the Pass, ready for an attack. The Americans numbered about 600, the remainder being sick. On the afternoon of the following day (Christmas) the enemy were seen approaching, and, when within eight hundred yards, extended themselves so as to cover the Ame rican flank. An officer approached, carrying a black flag, and, after proclaiming no quarters, rejoined his column, which immediately charged at a rapid gallop. The conflict was but short, the Mexicans being de feated with the loss of 30 killed, and driven into the mountains. Eight were captured, six of whom subsequently died ; and their single piece of cannon was also taken. The Americans had seven wounded. On the 27th Doniphan entered the town of El Paso without resistance, where he was reinforced by Major Clark's artillery. On the 8th of February, 1847, the whole com mand (924 men) left the Paso del Norte and marched for Chihuahua. On the 28th was fought the great battle of Sacramento. This action, with the position itself, is thus described by Colonel Doniphan : " The Pass of the Sacramento is formed by a NAVAL EXPLOITS. 439 point of the mountains on our right (their left) ex tending into the valley or plain, so as to narrow the valley to about one and a half miles. On our left was a deep, dry, sandy channel of a creek, and between these points the plain rises to sixty feet abruptly. This rise is in the form of a crescent, the convex part being to the north of our forces. On the right from the point of mountains, a narrow part of the plain extends north one and a half miles farther than on the left. The main road passes down the centre of the valley and across the crescent near the left or dry branch. The Sacramento rises in the mountains on the right, and the road falls on to it about one mile below the battle-field or intrench- inent of the enemy. We ascertained that the enemy had one battery of four guns, two nine and two six- pounders, on the point of the mountain (their left) at a good elevation to sweep the plain, and at a point where the mountain extended farthest into the plain. On our left (their right) they had another battery on an elevation commanding the road, and three mtrenchments of two six-pounders; and on the brow of the crescent, near the centre, another of two six, and two four and six culverins, or rampart- pieces, mounted on carriages ; and on the crest of the hill, or ascent between the batteries, and the right and left, they had twenty-seven redoubts dug and thrown up, extending at short intervals across the whole ground. In these their infantry were placed and were entirely protected. Their cavalry was drawn up in front of the redoubts, four deep, and in rear of the redoubts two deep, so as to mask them as far as practicable. 449 BATTLE-FIELDS AND " We now commenced the action by a brisk fire from our battery, and the enemy unmasked and commenced also. Our fire proved effective at this distance, killing 15 men, wounding and disabling one of the enemy's guns. We had two men slightly wounded, and several horses and mules killed. The enemy then slowly retreated behind their works in some confusion, and we resumed our march in our former order, still diverging more to the right to avoid their battery on our left, and their strongest redoubts, which were orr the left near where the road passes. . . . The howitzers charged at speed, and were gallantly sustained by Captain Keid ; but, by some misunderstanding, my order was not given to the other two companies, Parsons's and Hudson's. Captain Hudson, anticipating my order, charged in time to give ample support to the howitzers. Cap tain Parsons at the same moment came to me and asked permission for his company to charge the redoubts immediately to the left of Captain Wright- man, which he did very gallantly. " The remainder of the two battalions of the first regiment were dismounted during the cavalry charge, and, following rapidly on foot, and Major Clark ad vancing as rapidly as practicable with the remainder of the battery, we charged their redoubts from right to left, with a brisk and deadly fire of riflemen, while Major Clark opened a rapid and well-directed fire on a column of cavalry attempting to pass to our left so as to attack the wagons and our rear. The fire was so well directed as to force them to fall back, and our riflemen, with their cavalry and howitzers, cleared it after an obstinate resistance. Our forces NAVAL EXPLOITS. 441 advanced to the very brink of their redoubts, and attacked them with their sabres. When the redoubts were cleared and the batteries in the centre and our left were silenced, the main battery on our right still continued to pour in a constant and heavy fire, as it had done during the heat of the engagement ; but, as the whole fate of the battle depended upon carry ing the redoubts and centre battery, this one on the right remained un attacked, and the enemy had rallied there 500 strong. " Major Clark was directed to commence a heavy fire upon it, while Lieutenant-Colonels Mitchell and Jackson, commanding the first battalion, were ordered to remount and charge the battery on the left, while Major Gilpin was directed to pass the second bat talion on foot up the rough ascent of the mountain on the opposite side. The fire of our battery was so effective as to completely silence theirs, and the rapid advance of our column put them to flight over the mountains in great confusion. "Thus ended the battle of Sacramento. The force of the enemy was 1200 cavalry from Durango and Chihuahua, 300 artillerists, and 1420 rancheros, badly armed with lassoes, lances, and machetes or corn-knives, ten pieces of artillery, two nine, two eight, four six, and two four-pounders, and six culverins or rampart-pieces. . . . Our force was 924 effective men ; at least one hundred of whom were engaged in holding horses and driving teams. The loss of the enemy was his entire artillery, ten wagons, masses of beans and pinola, and other Mexican pro visions, about 300 killed, about the same number wounded, many of whom have since died, and 40 442 BATTLE-FIELDS AND prisoners. The field was literally covered with the dead and wounded, from our artillery and the un erring fire of our riflemen. Night put a stop to the carnage, the battle having commenced about three o'clock. Our loss was 1 killed, 1 mortally wounded, and 7 so wounded as to recover without any loss of limbs." On the 1st of March Colonel Doniphan took pos session of Chihuahua, where he remained three weeks. At the end of this time, having received orders from General Wool, he marched, April 25, for Saltillo. On the road, Captain Keid defeated about 50 Indians near El Paso, May 13, capturing one thousand horses. On the 22d of May the com mand reached Wool's encampment, and, on the 27th, that of General Taylor. As the term of service of these gallant men had expired, they now commenced their return. Early in June they marched through Matamoras, and, on the 16th, arrived at New Orleans. Their reception was most enthusiastic, and they set out for their homes laden with the honors and congratulations of a benefited republic. In the mean time important events had been taking place in California. Before the Avar began, in 1846, the territory of Upper California formed the north western portion of the Kepublic of Mexico. The chief portion of its inhabitants were Indians, on account of whose hostility the interior of the country was little known. The settlements of the descendants of the Spaniards and Mexicans were situated on the coast of the Pacific, or near it. These small towns had grown up around the missions established NAVAL EXPLOITS. 443 at different places by the Jesuits at an early period. Portions of the country situated in the valley of San Jose and in the vicinity of Los Angeles were very fertile. But the greater part of the territory was thought to be only fit for grazing purposes, and consequently the population increased very slowly. Intelligence of the commencement of the war upon the Eio Grande having reached the Pacific Ocean on the 2d of July, Commodore Sloat, commander of the squadron on that station, arrived at Monterey, and, on the 7th, the American flag was hoisted over that town amid the cheers of the Americans and a salute from the ships in the harbor. Commodore Sloat then issued a proclamation to the people of California. On the 8th the American flag was hoisted at San Francisco, by Montgomery, com mander of the sloop-of-war Portsmouth.8ANCR 0t n Captain Fremont, who had arrived in California by an overland journey, with a party of about 170 men, took possession of Sonoma, one of the most northern posts in the territory, and, leaving a small garrison at that place, marched for the mission of San Juan, about thirty miles east of Monterey. He arrived there and took possession of the mission without opposition. A considerable Quantity of stores was found there. The fortification of Monterey was commenced im mediately after raising the United States flag. On the 23d, Commodore Sloat sailed in the Levant for the United States, leaving Commodore Stockton in command of the Pacific squadron. Immediately after, the Cyane, Commandant Dupont, with Captain Fremont and volunteers on board, sailed for San 444 BATTLE-FIELDS AND Diego, and the frigate Congress, Commodore Stock ton, sailed for San Pedro, the port of Los Angeles, the capital of California. The frigate Savannah remained at Monterey, and the sloop-of-war Ports mouth at San Francisco. Thus all the ports of the territory were secured. On the 17th of August Commodore- Stockton issued a proclamation, declaring California in the full and peaceable possession of the United States, and authorizing the election of civil officers through out the country. Colonel Fremont soon afterwards went north with only 40 men, intending to recruit and return immediately. Early in September Com modore Stockton withdrew all his forces and pro ceeded with the squadron to San Francisco. Captain Gillespie was left in command of Pueblo de los Angeles, with about 30 riflemen; and Lieutenant Talbot in command at Santa Barbara, with only 9 men. Scarcely had Commodore Stockton arrived at San Francisco, when he received information that all the country below Monterey was in arms and the Mexican flag again hoisted. He immediately returned, took command of the sailors, and, dragging by hand six of the ship's guns, marched towards Los Angeles. At the ranche Sepulinda the Californians were prepared to meet him ; but in the battle which ensued they were routed with great loss. By this victory Commodore Stockton acquired a sufficient number of horses, mounted his men, and organized his force for land-operations. On the 23d of September the City of the Angels was invested by an army of Californians, whose over whelming numbers caused Captain Gillespie to sur- NAVAL EXPLOITS. 445 render that place. He returned with his 30 riflemen to San Pedro, and there embarked for Monterey. The Californian chief, Manuel Gaspar, then led 200 of his men against Santa Barbara, where they were braved by Lieutenant Talbot and his insignificant force for ten days. This youthful commander, who had won the esteem of Colonel Fremont in his former expeditions, now proved himself worthy of holding the post of danger. He held the town until he was completely besieged, and then, refusing to surrender, forced his way through the enemy to the mountains in the vicinity, where he remained eight days, suffering from cold and hunger. The enemy made several attempts to induce him to surrender, which he rejected. One detachment of 40 men ad vanced to take him, but was driven back. They then offered to permit him to retire if he would pro mise neutrality during the war; but he told them, that he preferred to fight. At length, finding that neither force nor persuasion would cause him to leave his position, they set fire to the grass and brush around him and burned him out. He then retreated with his 9 men to Monterey, five hundred miles, mostly on foot. The brave fellows were wel comed as from the grave, the fears of their com panions that they were slain having been confirmed by a report of the Californians to that effect. Colonel Fremont had made an attempt to go from San Fran cisco to the relief of Captain Gillespie ; but, after being at sea twenty-nine days, he was compelled to put back to Monterey by bad weather. A day or two after the arrival of Lieutenant Talbot, a party of 27 Americans, under Captains Burrows and 446 BATTLE-FIELDS AND Thompson, were attacked by the Californians, 80 in number. Captain Burrows and three Americans were slain. Three of the enemy also fell, but they kept the Americans shut up at the mission of St. Johns until Major Fremont marched to their assist ance. The whole party left St. Johns on the 26th of November, and arrived at San Fernando on the llth of January. During the progress of these events in California, General Kearney was on his march thither from Santa Fe. On the 6th of October he met Carson with 15 men coming as an express from the City of the Angels, with an account of the conquest of that country by Fremont and Stockton. With the devo tion to the public service for which he has always been characterized, he complied with the request of General Kearney to allow some one else to take his despatches to Washington, and, giving up his hopes of seeing his family, he turned his face again towards the Pacific as a guide. General Kearney then sent back a part of his forces and continued his march with 100 men, well equipped. On the 15th of Octo ber they left the Rio Grande and commenced the march across the mountains. On the 5th of December they were met by a small body of volunteers, under Captain Gillespie, who had come from San Diego for the purpose of giving them information concerning the state of the country. Captain Gillespie informed them that there was an armed party of Californians, with a number of extra horses, encamped at San Pasqual, three leagues dis tant. General Kearney determined to march upon them, in the double hope of gaming a victory and a NAVAL EXPLOITS. 447 remount for his poor soldiers, who had completely worn out their animals in the march from Santa Fe, ten hundred and fifty miles. Captain Johnston led the advanced guard of 12 dragoons, mounted on the best horses in the company; then came 20 volunteers under Captains Gibson and Gillespie, and in the rear two mountain-howitzers, with dragoons to manage them, mounted on sorry mules. The rest of the army were ordered to follow on the trail of this detachment with the baggage. At daybreak on the 6th of December they encountered the enemy, who was already in the saddle. Captain Johnston made a furious charge upon them with the advance- guard, and was well supported by the dragoons. He fell almost in the very beginning of the fight; but the action did not flag, and the enemy were forced to retreat. Captain Moore led off rapidly in pur suit, but the mules of the dragoons could not keep up with his horses, and the enemy, seeing the break in the line, renewed the fight and charged with the lance. They fought well, and their superiority of numbers had wellnigh proved fatal to the little band ; but the dragoons came up, and they finally fled from the field, carrying off' most of their dead with them. They had kept up a constant fire in the first part of the fight, and used their lances with great dexterity at its close, and the American loss was heavy. Captain Johnston, Captain Moore, Lieutenant Hammond, two Serjeants, two corporals, eleven privates, and a man attached to the topo graphical department, were slain. General Kearney was wounded in two places, Captain Gillespie had three wounds, Lieutenant Warner, of the topogra- 448 BATTLE-FIELDS AND phical engineers, three, and Captain Gibson and eleven others were also wounded, most of them having from two to ten wounds from lances. The howitzers were not brought into action until near its close, when the mules attached to one of them got alarmed, broke from their drivers, and ran away with it directly into the enemy's lines. The severe wounds of the soldiers caused a halt in the inarch until the 10th of December, when the march was resumed, and on the 12th the army reached San Diego. The arrival of General Kearney at San Diego was opportune; and Commodore Stockton and he now laid a plan for putting an end to the war. In the battle of San Gabriel, (Jan. 3, 1847,) and on the plains of the Mesa, they defeated the enemy and entered Los Angeles, (Jan. 10,) and signed a capitulation (Jan. 13) by which the country passed tranquilly under the government of the United States. The other incidents which transpired in this quarter were unimportant. The treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, which terminated the war, gave Upper California to the United States on the pay ment of fifteen millions of dollars to Mexico. THE END. STEREOTYPED BY L. PHILADELPHIA.