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1812.

had been committed in leaving undisturbed a battery below Queenstown, which enfiladed the ferry. The militia had seen the wounded; they had seen the Indians; they were panic-struck; and so, fifteen hundred fifteen hundred able-bodied men, well armed and equipped, shortly before swelling with prowess and untameable spirit, now "put on the mask of lawfulness to hide their cowardice;" they shamelessly professed to have constitutional objections to invading an enemy's territory!

At four o'clock, the British being reinforced by eight hundred men from Fort George, under General Sheaffe, renewed the engagement with fresh vigor. General Van Rensselaer, perceiving that our men were almost exhausted with fatigue, and their ammunition nearly spent, was compelled, under the most painful sensations, to address a note to General Wadsworth, informing him of the disgraceful conduct of the militia, and leaving it to him to resist or retreat, as he deemed best. "Wadsworth," as Ingersoll states it, "could do neither. Surrender, nearly unconditional, was all he could do or get for his troops, who, from before daybreak in the morning till late in the afternoon, had been constantly engaged. They did not yield at once, without a sharp conflict, however; but panic seized some of the militia, and complete rout soon took place instead of orderly retreat, a movement beyond the discipline of unpractised troops. Rushing to the shore and finding no boats, many brave men had no alternative but to surrender on the enemy's terms. An armistice of three days, however, was arranged,

and the Americans were humanely treated, except in some instances, of what Chrystie, an Englishman, mentions as terrible slaughter by Indians, whom it was impossible to restrain. Of about eleven hundred fighting men who crossed the river, nearly all were killed, wounded, or taken;" and Wadsworth, Scott, Wool, and other brave officers among the prisoners, were paraded through Canada, as trophies of victory.

Van Rensselaer having resigned the command a few days subsequent to the battle of Queenstown Heights, General Alexander Smyth was put in charge of the army of the centre. This gentleman seems to have been fired with an ambitious desire to do something to distinguish himself, and wipe out the disgrace of the numerous failures of the campaign thus far; but forgetting the significant advice, "Let not him that girdeth on his harness boast himself as he that putteth it off," he issued, on the 10th of November, a grandiloquent address to "The Men of New York," assuring them that, in a few days, he should plant the American standard in Canada, and inviting them to "come on" and share 1812 the glory of the enterprise. Another proclamation followed in a similar strain, and several thousand volunteered, probably however, more from their confidence in General Porter, who was to be associated with Smyth, and who was to command the volunteers, than from the effect of that general's inflated appeal. Preparatory to crossing with the army, General Smyth sent two parties, on the night of the

CH. VIII.]

GENERAL SMYTH'S UNDERTAKING.

27th of November, one under Colonel Borstler, and the other under Captain King, who was accompanied by Lieutenant Angus, of the navy, with a small but valiant band of marines; the whole under the direction of General Winder. The party under Borstler, whose object was to destroy a bridge, went several miles down the river, dispersed the enemy, made several prisoners, but returned without having accomplished their object. That under King, who were ordered to attack the batteries opposite Black Rock, performed the service in a most gallant manner. Nine out of twelve of the naval officers who embarked in the affair, and half the seamen, were either killed or wounded. They had dispersed the enemy, rendered useless their artillery, and prepared the way for the safe landing of the army who had been ordered to embark at reveille; but delays occurred, and they were not embarked till noon. General Smyth, at this time, ordered them to disembark to dine. It was then found that there were not sufficient boats to carry over three thousand men at once, as had been the orders of the secretary of war; and the general, amidst the murmurings of the army, called a council of war, and concluded to postpone the invasion for a few days! Most of the brave men who crossed, succeeded in returning; but some were made prisoners, among whom was Captain King. Not finding boats enough to cross over his whole party, he sent all his officers and part of his men, but would not desert the remainder, and was captured with them.

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whole affair was as clumsily managed by the regular officer as it had been by the militia-men. On the 1st of Decemher, (which was the latest of several days that had been fixed,) the troops received orders to be in readiness to

pass the river, and they were 1812. all at their posts. The volunteers set out, General Porter in the leading boat, with a flag to indicate his position; fifteen hundred men were found willing to make the attempt, in spite of all the ill omens. But before the other bank could be reached, another council of war was held, and Smyth recalled the expedition, ordered the volunteers to return home, and the regulars to go into winter-quarters. A scene of riot and confusion ensued. Some three or four thousand men, indignant and outraged in feeling, discharged their muskets in every direction, under a keen sense of the indig nity which had thus been forced upon them by Smyth's absurd course.

General Porter posted Smyth in the newspapers as a coward; and this unfortunate general, "never tried but in the public journals and by common opinion, was actually driven away to be no more heard of, mobbed by the militia and the populace, not without strenuous vindication by himself and others in the newspapers, but without favors or further employment."* Porter and Smyth got up a duel out of this newspaper squabble, wherein having

* At the close of 1813, Smyth sent a lengthy petition to Congress, asking for a restoration to his rank, an opportunity to serve the country, etc. The petition was handed over to the secretary of war, which was

Despite Smyth's pretensions, this equivalent to rejecting it with contempt.

fired at one another, their nice sense of honor was soothed; the public were congratulated on the happy issue; Ingersoll dryly says, "the public would have preferred a battle in Canada."

Beside the ill success at Queenstown, and the abortive attempt of Smyth, there were here and there efforts made to do something. In September, a detachment of militia from Ogdensburg, attacked a party of the British, who were moving down the St. Lawrence, and defeated them. They were reinforced, and, in their turn, compelled the militia to retire. In retaliation, the British attempted the destruction of Ogdensburg, on the 2d of October; but they were repulsed by General Brown, the energetic commander at that station.

Colonel Pike, on the 19th of October, made an incursion into Canada, burned a blockhouse, and escaped without loss. On the 22d, Captain Lyon captured forty English at St. Regis, with baggage, dispatches, and a stand of colors; and the enemy, at Salmon River, on the 23d of November, captured two of our officers, with some forty men and four boats.

Thus far, certainly, there is little room for gratulation on account of our land operations. It is bad enough to have to record most of what we have just detailed; but the senile conduct of General Dearborn capped the climax of the military misdeeds of 1812. It was his misfortune, it must be acknowledged, "to have an army to form; an inexperienced, not over ardent executive, a secretary of war constrained to resign; a Senate inclined to distrust the

1812.

executive; Congress withholding taxes and supplies for near twelve months after war was declared; waiting upon a presidential election; disaffected states,-Dearborn's Own state, Massachusetts, at the head of disaffection; a country destitute of military means and men, unaccustomed to restraints, and impatient for exploit."* All this is true enough; but it will not excuse his allowing himself to be deluded into an armistice by Prevost, (p. 159) from which Hull was excluded; neither will it account for his idleness and inactivity, and neglect to avail himself of the plainest advantages within his reach.

Dearborn had the largest discretion in respect of the materiel of war, and had under him more than three thousand regular troops; two thousand Vermont, and one thousand New York militia on Lake Champlain. And opposed to him were, as General Armstrong insists,+ not three thousand men altogether, who had to protect nine hundred miles of frontier. After due council of war, Dearborn, on the 20th of November, dispatched General Bloomfield with a large force, to enter Canada, and achieve some deed of daring, in order to redeem the military character of the United States. The "Aurora" announced the fact, and predicted glori ous results.

By some means, the British commander, three days before, heard that the invasion was about to take place;

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CH. VIII.]

ESTIMATE OF THE CAMPAIGN.

and on the 20th, in the morning, one of the regiments sent forward to meet them, actually came upon Colonel Pike, leading the advance into Canada. "A confused and incomprehensible skirmish ensued," says Ingersoll, very sharply, "in which each party's object seemed to be to get away from the other, till the Americans, in the dark, mistaking themselves for enemies, began to fire on each other, killed four or five, and wounded as many, of themselves, and then returned, leaving their dead behind, which Indians never would have done. Where Generals Dearborn, Chandler, and Bloomfield were during this wretched foray, did not then appear, nor can be now told; and on no occasion did General Dearborn ever lead his troops into action." Following all this, it is perhaps only a fitting conclusion, that the six thousand men composing this army of the north, should be sent into winter-quarters, to repose after the fatigues of their invasion of Canada.

But, though we have spoken plainly, and even severely, candor compels us to confess, that it is not an easy task to form a just estimate of the campaign of 1812. Our country had been at peace with other nations for many years, and the generation which had grown up since the Revolution was

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wholly unacquainted with war as a science, and quite unaware of the supreme importance of discipline, steadiness, and prompt obedience. We had not remaining any officers of experience to conduct our armies, and not a single company that had seen actual service. In addition to this, the whole system for the recruiting, feeding, clothing, and maintaining an army, was, as it were, to be created. Many of the necessary munitions of war were to be provided. Platoon, staff, and many of the general officers, were to be selected from the body of the American people, upon conjecture merely as to their merits. It was therefore not unreasonable to expect, that many of them would be found incompetent, and undeserving. Certainly the campaign proved, that our generals needed experience, as much as our officers and soldiers needed discipline; and although it was disastrous, it was not without its consolations. The great body of the army was found to be brave to a fault; and many officers gave earnest of their future glory. Miller, Scott, Christie, Wadsworth, and Wool, gained immortal honor for themselves and their country; and Maguaga and Queenstown will bear comparison with the brave deeds of the heroic age of our country's history.

CHAPTER IX.

1812-1813.

PROGRESS OF THE WAR DURING 1813.

Efforts to arrest the progress of hostilities - Correspondence between Monroe and Warren - Presidential contest Congress in session President's message - The principal acts of the present session - Report of the committee of foreign relations-The British manifesto-Special message—Mr. Madison enters on his second term - His Inaugural address - Changes in the cabinet - Opening of the campaign of 1813-Harrison and Winchester — Disaster at Frenchtown - Proctor's treachery - Massacre of the prisoners-Harrison's movements -- Siege and defence of Fort Meigs - Indians taken into the service of the United States — Operations on the northern frontier -Forsyth's incursion into Canada — British attack on Ogdensburgh- Attack on York under General Pike— Death of Pike-Forts George and Erie taken - Prevost attacks Sackett's Harbor-Repulsed - Winder and Chandler at Stony Creek - Result of the expedition-Various skirmishes and expeditions-Dearborn retires from command - English attack on Plattsburg-Course pursued by the enemy on the sea-coast — Disgraceful marauding incursions Cockburn's exploits - Frenchtown, Havre de Grace, Georgetown and Fredericktown plundered Attack on Craney Island-Repulsed-Hampton sacked - Cockburn proceeds further southBlockade at the north under Hardy - Use of the torpedo - Naval affairs-The Hornet captures the Peacock · Lawrence and the Chesapeake - British sentiments — The Shannon's preparations -The battle-Lawrence's death-Effect of the capture of the Chesapeake -The Argus also captured by the British-The Enterprise takes the Boxer- Privateering and its results-The cruise of the Essex under Captain Porter Its success.

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ments on the subject; and, as an inducement to discontinue the practice of im pressment, Mr. Russell was instructed to give assurance, that Congress would pass a law prohibiting the employment of British seamen in American vessels, public or private. Lord Castlereagh, on behalf of his government, rejected these proposals, as wholly inadmissible. England could never consent, under any circumstances, to forego the right of impressment; but he professed that his government was willing to discuss any proposition tending to check abuses in the exercise of this right, etc. Mr. Russell finding his efforts unavailing, returned home in September.

Admiral Warren, who was in command of the British naval force on the

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