Chapter XXXVI: Section 4: And be it further enacted, That this act shall (4)

"It was perhaps characteristic of the conduct of the war, that
the first blood spilled should be American blood, shed by
Americans. … In the night of June 22d, three days after the
proclamation of war, a mob in Baltimore sacked the office of
the 'Federal Republican,' edited by Alexander Hanson, because
he had opposed the war policy. The mob also attacked the
residences of several prominent Federalists, and burned one of
them. Vessels in the harbor, too, were visited and plundered.
About a month later Hanson resumed the publication of his
paper, and in the night of July 26th the mob gathered again."
This time they were resisted and one was killed; whereupon the
authorities seized Hanson and his friends and lodged them in
jail. "The rioters, thus encouraged by those whose business it
was to punish them, attacked the jail the next night, murdered
General Lingan [one of Hanson's defenders], injured General
[Henry] Lee so that he was a cripple for the rest of his life,
and beat several of the other victims and subjected them to
torture. The leaders of the mob were brought to trial, but
were acquitted! In this state of affairs, the war party in the
country being but little stronger than the peace party, the
youngest and almost the weakest of civilized nations went to
war with one of the oldest and most powerful. The regular army
of the United States numbered only 6,000 men; but Congress had
passed an act authorizing its increase to 25,000, and in
addition to this the President was empowered to call for
50,000 volunteers, and to use the militia to the extent of
100,000. Henry Dearborn, of Massachusetts, was made a
major-general and appointed to command the land forces.
Against the thousand vessels and 144,000 sailors of the
British navy, the Americans had 20 war-ships and a few
gunboats, the whole carrying about 300 guns. But these
figures, taken alone, are deceptive; since a very large part
of the British force was engaged in the European wars, and the
practical question was, what force the United States could
bring against so much as England could spare for operations on
the high seas and on this side of the Atlantic. In that
comparison, the discrepancy was not so great, and the United
States had an enormous element of strength in her fine
merchant marine. Her commerce being temporarily suspended to a
large degree, there was an abundance both of ships and
sailors, from which to build up a navy and fit out a fleet of
privateers. Indeed, privateering was the business that now
offered the largest prizes to mariners and ship-owners. … War
with Great Britain being determined upon, the plan of campaign
that first and most strongly presented itself to the
Administration was the conquest of the British provinces on
our northern border. … In planning for the invasion of Canada,
the Administration counted largely upon a supposed readiness
of the Canadians to throw off their allegiance to Great
Britain and join with the United States. Such expectations
have almost never been realized, and in this instance they
were completely disappointed. In the preceding February,
William Hull, Governor of the Territory of Michigan, who had
rendered distinguished service in the Revolution, had been
made a brigadier-general and placed in command of the forces
in Ohio, with orders to march them to Detroit, to protect the
Territory against the Indians, who were becoming troublesome.
In June he was in command of about 2,000 men, in northern
Ohio, moving slowly through the wilderness. On the day when
war was declared, June 18th, the Secretary of War wrote him
two letters. The first, in which the declaration was not
mentioned, was despatched by a special messenger, and reached
General Hull on the 24th. The other informed him of the
declaration of war, but was sent by mail to Cleveland, there
to take its chance of reaching the General by whatever
conveyance might be found. The consequence was, that he did
not receive it till the 2d of July. But every British
commander in Canada learned the news several days earlier.
Hull arrived at Detroit on the 5th of July and set about
organizing his forces. On the 9th he received from the War
Department orders to begin the invasion of Canada by taking
possession of Malden, 15 miles below Detroit, on the other
side of the river, if he thought he could do so with safety to
his own posts. He crossed on the 12th, and issued a
proclamation to the Canadians." He found the enemy too
strongly fortified at Malden to be prudently assaulted with
raw troops and without artillery. "So it was decided to defer
the attack, and in a few days came the news that, on the
declaration of war, a force of over 600—British and
Indians—had promptly moved against the American post at
Michilimackinac—on the rocky little island of Mackinaw,
commanding the strait between Lake Huron and Lake Michigan—and
the garrison of 61 officers and men capitulated on the 16th of
July.
{3341}
This disaster to the Americans roused the Indians to renewed
hostility against them, while it proportionately disheartened
Hull, and seems to have been the first step in the breaking
down of his courage. After a few skirmishes, he recrossed to
Detroit on the 7th of August. Meanwhile the British Colonel
Proctor had arrived at Malden with reënforcements, and on
Hull's withdrawal to Detroit he threw a force across the river
to intercept his supplies. This force consisted of a small
number of British regulars and a considerable number of
Indians commanded by the famous Tecumseh." Two considerable
engagements occurred between this force and detachments sent
out to meet an expected supply train. In the first, the
Americans were badly beaten; in the second, they drove the
enemy to their boats with heavy loss; but the supply train was
not secured. "During this gloomy state of things at Detroit, a
bloody affair took place on ground that is now within the city
of Chicago. Fort Dearborn stood at the mouth of Chicago River,
and was occupied by a garrison of about 50 soldiers, with
several families. Captain Nathan Heald, commanding the post,
had been ordered by General Hull to abandon it and remove his
force to Detroit. "To conciliate the neighboring Indians who
professed friendliness, he promised to give them all the
property in the fort which he could not carry; but before
making the delivery to them he foolishly destroyed all the
arms, the gunpowder and the liquors. Enraged by this
proceeding, which they considered a trick, the savages pursued
Captain Heald's small party, waylaid them among the Sand-hills
on the lake shore, and massacred the greater part, twelve
children included. The scalps which they took were sold to
Colonel Proctor, "who had offered a premium for American
scalps." The same day on which this occurred, August 15th,
"the British General Isaac Brock, who had arrived at Malden a
few days before and assumed command there, formally demanded
the surrender of Detroit. This demand included a plain threat
of massacre in case of refusal. Said Brock in his letter: 'It
is far from my intention to join in a war of extermination;
but you must be aware that the numerous bodies of Indians who
have attached themselves to my troops will be beyond my
control the moment the contest commences.' … Brock's force,
according to his own testimony, numbered 1,330 men, including
600 Indians, and he had also two ships of war. Hull had
present for duty about 1,000 men. Brock sent a large body of
Indians across the river that night, at a point five miles
below the fort, and early in the morning crossed with the
remainder of his troops, and at once marched on the place." On
the approach of the attacking force Hull offered to surrender.
"The articles of capitulation were drawn up, and the American
general surrendered, not merely the fort and its garrison, but
the whole Territory of Michigan, of which he was Governor. …
Hull's officers were incensed at his action, and he was
subsequently court-martialled, convicted of cowardice, and
condemned to death; but the President pardoned him, in
consideration of his age and his services in the Revolution. …
Subsequent investigations, if they do not exonerate General
Hull, have at least greatly modified the blame attached to
him."

_R. Johnson,
History of the War of 1812-15,
chapter 2._

ALSO IN:
_J. F. Clarke,
History of the Campaign of 1812 and
Surrender of the Post at Detroit._

_B. J. Lossing,
Hull's Surrender
(Potter's American Monthly, August, 1875)._

_F. S. Drake,
Memorials of the Massachusetts Society of the Cincinnati,
pages 341-354._

_S. C. Clark,
Hull's Surrender at Detroit
(Magazine of American History, volume 27)._

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: A. D. 1812.
The opposition of the Federalists to the war.

"Unfortunately for the Federalists, while they were wholly
right in many of their criticisms on the manner in which the
war came about, they put themselves in the wrong as to its
main feature. We can now see that in their just wrath against
Napoleon they would have let the nation remain in a position
of perpetual childhood and subordination before England. No
doubt there were various points at issue in the impending
contest, but the most important one, and the only one that
remained in dispute all through the war, was that of the right
of search and impressment. … It must be understood that this
was not a question of reclaiming deserters from the British
navy, for the seamen in question had very rarely belonged to
it. There existed in England at that time an outrage on
civilization, now abandoned, called impressment, by which any
sailor and many who were not sailors could be seized and
compelled to serve in the navy. The horrors of the
'press-gang,' as exhibited in the sea-side towns of England,
have formed the theme of many novels. It was bad enough at
home, but when applied on board the vessels of a nation with
which England was at peace, it became one of those outrages
which only proceed from the strong to the weak, and are never
reciprocated. Lord Collingwood said well, in one of his
letters, that England would not submit to such an aggression
for an hour. Merely to yield to visitation for such a purpose
was a confession of national weakness; but the actual case was
far worse than this. … We have … Cobbett's statement of the
consequences. 'Great numbers of Americans have been
impressed,' he adds, 'and are now in our navy. … That many of
these men have died on board our ships, that many have been
worn out in the service, there is no doubt.' … In 1806 the
merchants of Boston had called upon the general government to
'assert our rights and support the dignity of the United
States.' … Yet it shows the height of party feeling that when,
in 1812, Mr. Madison's government finally went to war for
these very rights, the measure met with the bitterest
opposition from the whole Federalist party, and from the
commercial States generally. A good type of the Federalist
opposition on this particular point is to be found in the
pamphlets of John Lowell. John Lowell was the son of the
eminent Massachusetts judge of that name; he was a
well-educated lawyer, who was president of the Massachusetts
Agricultural Society, and wrote under the name of 'A New
England Farmer.' In spite of the protests offered half a dozen
years before by his own neighbors, he declared the whole
outcry against impressment to be a device of Mr. Madison's
party. … He argued unflinchingly for the English right of
search, called it a 'consecrated' right, maintained that the
allegiance of British subjects was perpetual, and that no
residence in a foreign country could absolve them. …
{3342}
While such a man, with a large party behind him, took this
position, it must simply be said that the American republic
had not yet asserted itself to be a nation. Soon after the
Revolution, when some one spoke of that contest to Franklin as
the war for independence, he said, 'Say rather the war of the
Revolution; the war for independence is yet to be fought.' The
war of 1812 was just the contest he described. To this
excitement directed against the war, the pulpit very largely
contributed, the chief lever applied by the Federalist clergy
being found in the atrocities of Napoleon. … The Federalist
leaders took distinctly the ground that they should refuse to
obey a conscription law to raise troops for the conquest of
Canada; and when that very questionable measure failed by one
vote in the Senate, the nation may have escaped a serious
outbreak. … It might, indeed, have been far more dangerous
than the Hartford Convention of 1814 [see UNITED STATES OF
AMERICA: A. D. 1814 (DECEMBER)], which was, after all, only a
peaceable meeting of some two dozen men, with George Cabot at
their head—men of whom very few had even a covert purpose of
dissolving the Union, but who were driven to something very
near desperation by the prostration of their commerce and the
defencelessness of their coast."

_T. W. Higginson,
Larger History of the United States,
chapter 15._

ALSO IN:
_H. von Holst,
Constitutional and Political History of the United States,
volume 1, chapter 6._

_H. C. Lodge,
Life and Letters of George Cabot,
chapters 11-12._

_E. Quincy,
Life of Josiah Quincy,
chapters 11-14._

See, also, BLUE-LIGHT FEDERALISTS.

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: A. D. 1812 (September-November).
The opening of the war on the New York frontier.
The Battle of Queenstown Heights.

"To put Dearborn [who commanded in the northern department] in
a condition to act with effect, Governor Tompkins [of the
state of New York] made the greatest efforts to get out the
New York quota of militia. The Democratic Legislature of
Vermont voted to add to the pay of their militia in service as
much as was paid by the United States. At the same time they
passed a stringent drafting law, and offered $30 bounty to
volunteers. By the co-operating exertions of these states and
of the war department, some 3,000 regulars and 2,000 militia
were presently assembled on Lake Champlain, under Dearborn's
immediate command. Another force of 2,000 militia was
stationed at different points along the south bank of the St.
Lawrence, their left resting on Sackett's Harbor. A third army
was collected along the Niagara River, from Fort Niagara to
Buffalo, then a village of a thousand or two inhabitants, in
the midst of a newly-settled district. This latter force of
nearly 6,000 men, half regulars and volunteers and half
militia, was under the immediate command of Major-general Van
Rensselaer, a Federalist. … The first skirmishes on the New
York frontier grew out of attempts, not unsuccessful, made
principally from Ogdensburg, a new but much the largest
village on the American side of the St. Lawrence, to intercept
the British supplies proceeding upward in boats. The militia
officer in command at Ogdensburg was General Jacob Brown. A
Pennsylvanian by birth, a Quaker by education, while employed
as a teacher in the city of New York, some newspaper essays of
his had attracted the attention of Alexander Hamilton, to
whom, during the quasi war of '98, he became military
secretary. Removing afterward to the new settlements of
Northwestern New York, his enterprise had founded the
flourishing village of Brownsville, not far from Sackett's
Harbor. … His success in repulsing a British force of 700 men,
which attempted to cross from Prescott to attack Ogdensburg,
laid the foundation of a military reputation which soon placed
him at the head of the American army. There had been built on
Lake Ontario, out of the gun-boat appropriations, but by a
fortunate improvement upon Jefferson's model, a sloop of war
of light draft, mounting 16 guns. This vessel, called the
Oneida, just before the breaking out of the war had been
furnished with a regular-bred commander and crew. She was
attacked shortly after at Sackett's Harbor by five British
vessels, three of them larger than herself, but manned only by
lake watermen. By landing part of her guns, and establishing a
battery on shore, she succeeded, however, in beating them off.
Hull's failure having shown how important was the control of
the lakes, a judicious selection was made of Captain Chauncey,
hitherto at the head of the New York Navy Yard, to take
command on those waters. Along with Henry Eckford as naval
constructor, and soon followed by ship-carpenters, naval
stores, guns, and presently by parties of seamen, he was sent
to Sackett's Harbor [September, 1812], then held by a garrison
of 200 regulars. That newly-settled region could supply
nothing but timber; every thing else had to be transported
from Albany at vast expense. … A 24-gun ship was at once
commenced; for immediate use, Chauncey purchased six of the
small schooners employed in the then infant commerce of the
lake, which, though very ill adapted for war, he armed with
four guns each. With these and the Oneida he put out on the
lake, and soon [November 8] drove the British ships into
Kingston. … While thus employed, Chauncey had sent Lieutenant
Elliot to Buffalo, with a party of seamen, to make
arrangements for a force on the upper lakes. Elliot, soon
after his arrival, succeeded in cutting out [October 9] from
under the guns of Fort Erie, nearly Opposite Buffalo, two
British vessels just arrived from Detroit. One, the late
Adams, which the British had armed and equipped, grounded, and
it became necessary to destroy her. The other, the Caledonia,
of two guns, was brought off, and became the nucleus of the
naval force of Lake Erie. Elliot also purchased several small
schooners lying in the Niagara River; but they, as well as the
Caledonia, lay blockaded at Black Rock [now a part of the city
of Buffalo], the passage into the lake being commanded by the
guns of Fort Erie. The troops along the Niagara frontier,
highly excited by Elliot's exploit, demanded to be led against
the enemy; and, under the idea that the British village of
Queenstown, at the foot of the falls [a few miles below] might
furnish comfortable winter quarters for a part of his troops,
Van Rensselaer resolved to attack it."

_R. Hildreth,
History of the United States,
2d series, chapter 25 (volume 3)._

{3343}

The Niagara River, 35 miles long, which conducts the waters of
the upper lakes through Erie into Ontario, constituted an
important military frontier in such a war; its banks sparsely
settled, and the crossing a narrow one. Below the roaring
cataracts had assembled another little army, supplied in great
measure by regiments of the New York quota, Major-General Van
Rensselaer, of the militia of that State, a prominent
Federalist, being in command. Hull's sudden surrender left
Brock free to confront this second adversary with a moderate
force from the Canada side, not without feeling uncertain as
to where the American blow would be struck. By October Van
Rensselaer had 6,000 men, half of them regulars; and, yielding
to the impatience of his volunteers and the public press, he
gave orders to cross the river from Lewiston to Queenston.
High bluffs arose on either side. There were not boats enough
provided to carry more than half the advance party at a time.
Too much reliance was placed upon militia, while regulars won
the laurels. Wool, a young captain, and Lieutenant-Colonel
Scott did gallant work on Queenston Heights; and General
Brock, the conqueror of Detroit, fell mortally wounded; but
reinforcements crossed too slowly, and with the green militia
dreading death, many of the reserve pleading legal exemption
from service in an enemy's country, their deserted comrades on
the Canada side, unable to return, were forced to surrender.
Van Rensselaer, whose advance had been premature, resigned in
disgust, leaving a less capable but more pretentious officer,
of Virginia birth, General Alexander Smyth, to succeed him.
Smyth had a gift of windy composition, which fortunately,
imposed upon the inhabitants of Western New York just long
enough to check despondency and restore a glow to the
recruiting service. 'Come on, my heroes,' was his cry, 'and
when you attack the enemy's batteries, let your rallying word
be: "The cannon lost at Detroit, or death!". All this inkshed
promised an exploit for invading Canada from the upper end of
the Niagara, between Fort Erie and Chippewa. By the 27th of
November Smyth had concentrated at Black Rock, near Buffalo, a
fair army, 4,500 troops, comprising, in addition to the
regulars, volunteer regiments from Maryland, Pennsylvania, and
New York; the last under the command of General Porter, the
representative in Congress, whose report, twelve months
before, had given the first loud note of war. The big moment
approached; but, notwithstanding the sonorous promise of
'memorable to-morrows,' and an embarkation to the music of
'Yankee Doodle,' one or two shivering attempts were made to
land on the opposite shore, and then the volunteers were
dismissed to their homes, and regulars ordered into
winter-quarters. Disorderly scenes ensued. Our insubordinate
and mortified soldiers discharged their muskets in all
directions. Porter having openly charged Smyth with cowardice,
the two crossed to Grand Island to fight a duel, and then
shook hands. … But the country could not be reconciled to such
generalship, and Smyth was presently cashiered."

_J. Schouler,
History of the United States,
volume 2, chapter 8, section 2._

ALSO IN:
_S. Van Rensselaer,
Narrative of the Affair of Queenstown._

_J. Symons,
The Battle of Queenstown Heights._

_General W. Scott,
Memoirs, by himself,
volume 1, chapter 6._

_W. H. Merritt,
Journal during the War of 1812._

_H. Adams,
History of the United States:
First Administration of Madison,
volume 2, chapter 16._

_F. B. Tupper,
Life and Correspondence of Major-General Sir Isaac Brock,
chapters 13-14._

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: A. D. 1812.
Seventh Presidential Election.

James Madison was re-elected, receiving in the electoral
college 128 votes, against 89 cast for DeWitt Clinton,
Federalist. Elbridge Gerry was elected Vice President.

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: A. D. 1812-1813.
Possession of West Florida taken from the Spaniards.

See FLORIDA: A. D. 1810-1813.

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: A. D. 1812-1813.
Indifference to the Navy at the beginning of the war.
Its Efficiency and its Early Successes.

"The young leaders of the war party in congress looked to
successes on land and territorial conquest, and had an
indifference to the field which the ocean afforded. And yet
the triumphs of our young fleet in the Revolution, the alarm
which John Paul Jones excited in English homes, and, later,
the brilliant achievements in the Mediterranean, the heroes of
which were still in the prime of their service, might have
inspired better counsel. Madison's cabinet were said to have
without exception opposed the increase and use of our navy;
indeed, somewhat after Jefferson's idea in imposing the
embargo—to save our vessels by laying them up. The advice of
Captains Charles Stewart and William Bainbridge, who happened
to be in Washington at the time of the declaration of war,
determined Madison to bring the navy into active service. One
of the chief causes of the war being the impressment of our
seamen, it seems to-day surprising that their ardor in defense
of 'Free Trade and Sailors' Rights,'—the cry under which our
greatest triumphs were won—should have been either passed by
or deprecated."

_J. A. Stevens,
Second War with Great Britain
(Magazine of American History, May-June, 1893)._

"Although [the American navy] had never been regarded by the
government with favor, it happened that the three most
essential measures had been adopted to secure its efficiency,—
the ships built for it were the best of their class in the
world, the officers had been carefully selected (200 out of a
total of 500 having been retained under the Peace
Establishment Act), and they had received—at least a large
number of them—in Preble's squadron at Tripoli a training such
as had fallen to the lot of few navies, either before or
since. To these three causes the successes of 1812 were
directly due; and although Commodore Preble died in 1807, the
credit of the later war belongs more to him than to any other
one man. It was not only that he formed many of the individual
officers who won the victories of 1812-15,—for Hull, Decatur,
Bainbridge, Macdonough, Porter, Lawrence, Biddle, Chauncey,
Warrington, Charles Morris, and Stewart were all in his
squadron,—but he created in the navy the professional spirit
or idea, which was the main quality that distinguished it from
the army in the war with Great Britain. At the outbreak of the
war there were 18 vessels in the navy, ranging from 44-gun
frigates to 12-gun brigs. There were also 176 gunboats, on
which a large sum of money had been expended, but which were
of no use whatever. … Immediately after the declaration of
war, the frigates in commission in the home ports, together
with two of the sloops, put to sea as a squadron under
Commodore John Rodgers. They fell in with the English frigate
'Belvidera,' but she got away from them; and after an
ineffectual cruise across the Atlantic, they returned home,
without meeting anything of consequence.

{3344}

Three weeks later, the 'Constitution,' under Captain Hull,
sailed from Annapolis. Soon after leaving the Chesapeake she
came upon a British squadron of one sixty-four and four
frigates, and then ensued the famous three days' chase, in the
course of which, by a marvel of good seamanship and good
discipline, the American frigate escaped. After a short
respite in Boston, Hull set out again, and on the 19th of
August he fought and captured the 'Guerrière,' Captain Dacres,
in an engagement lasting about an hour. The 'Constitution,'
being armed with 24-pounders instead of 18's, threw at a
broadside a weight of shot half as large again as that of the
'Guerrière,' and her crew was numerically superior in a still
greater degree. Nevertheless, the immensely greater
disproportion in the casualties which the 'Constitution'
inflicted and received, and the short time which she took to
do the work, cannot be explained by the difference in force
alone; for the 'Guerrière' had five times as many killed and
wounded as her opponent, and at the close of the engagement
she was a dismasted wreck, while the 'Constitution' had
suffered no injury of importance. The essential point of
difference lay in the practical training and skill of the
crews in gunnery. … In the next action, in October, the sloop
'Wasp,' Captain Jacob Jones, captured the English brig
'Frolic,' of approximately the same force. The relative loss
of English and Americans was again five to one. Both vessels
were soon after taken by a seventy-four. Later in the same
month, another frigate action took place, the 'United States,'
under Decatur, capturing the 'Macedonian.' The advantage of
the Americans in men was about the same as in the first
action, while in guns it was greater. The American casualties
were 13, the English 104. This difference was not due to the
fact that the American guns were 24's and 42's, instead of
18's and 32's, or that the Americans had three more of them in
a broadside; it was really due to the way in which the guns on
both sides were handled. Shortly after this capture, a cruise
in the Pacific was projected for a squadron to be composed of
the 'Constitution,' 'Essex,' and 'Hornet.' The 'Essex' failed
to meet the other vessels at the rendezvous off the coast of
Brazil, and went on the Pacific cruise alone [having great
success]. The 'Constitution,' now commanded by Bainbridge, met
the frigate 'Java,' near Brazil, on the 29th of December. The
antagonists were more nearly matched than in the previous
frigate actions, but the fight, lasting a little over an hour,
resulted in the total defeat and surrender of the 'Java,' with
a loss of 124 to the Americans' 34. The 'Java' was a wreck,
and could not be taken into port, and Bainbridge returned
home. Two months later, February 24, 1813, the 'Hornet,'
commanded by Lawrence, met the 'Peacock' off the Demerara, and
reduced her in fifteen minutes to a sinking condition, while
the 'Hornet's' hull was hardly scratched. The English sloop
sank so quickly that she carried down part of her own crew and
three of the 'Hornet's' who were trying to save them. The
casualties, apart from those drowned, were 5 in the 'Hornet'
and 38 in the 'Peacock.' … The moral effect in England of
these defeats was very great. … In March, 1813, Admiral Sir
John Warren assumed the command of the British squadron on the
American coast. Although rather past his prime, his defects
were more than compensated by the activity of his second in
command, Rear-Admiral Cockburn, who during this summer and the
next kept the coasts of Chesapeake Bay in a continuous state
of alarm by successful raids, in which much valuable property
was destroyed. Among the more important of the actions of 1813
were the capture and destruction (in part) of Havre de Grace,
Md., early in May, and an attack on the village of Hampton,
Va., on the 25th of June. 'Acts of rapine and violence' on the
part of the invading forces characterized the latter attack,
which excited intense indignation throughout the country. … In
the summer of 1813 occurred the first serious reverse of the
navy during the war. On the 1st of June the frigate
'Chesapeake,' Captain James Lawrence, sailed from Boston to
engage the 'Shannon,' which was lying outside, waiting for the
battle. The two ships were nearly matched in guns and men,
what slight difference there was being in favor of the
'Chesapeake'; but the crew of the latter had been recently
shipped and was partly composed of disaffected men, and
Lawrence had had no time to discipline them. The engagement
was short and decisive. Ranging up alongside of the 'Shannon,'
whose crew had been brought to the highest state of efficiency
by Captain Broke their commander, the 'Chesapeake' at the
first fire received a severe injury in the loss of several of
her officers. Falling foul of the 'Shannon' she was
effectually raked, and presently a boarding party, led by
Captain Broke, got possession of her deck. The great mortality
among the officers [including Captain Lawrence, who had
received a mortal wound just before his ship was boarded, and
whose dying appeal, 'Don't give up the ship,' became the
battle cry of the American navy during the remainder of the
war], and the want of discipline in the crew, resulted in a
victory for the boarders. The battle lasted fifteen minutes
only, and the 'Chesapeake' was carried as a prize to Halifax.
During this summer the naval war on the ocean continued with
varying fortunes, two important actions being fought. The brig
'Argus,' Captain Allen, after a successful voyage in the Irish
Sea, in which many prizes were taken and destroyed, was
captured by the English brig 'Pelican,' on the 14th of August.
Early in September the brig 'Enterprise,' commanded by
Lieutenant Burrows, captured the English brig 'Boxer,' near
Portland, Me."

_J. R. Soley,
The Wars of the United States
(Narrative and Critical History of the United States,
volume 7, chapter 6)._

ALSO IN:
_T. Roosevelt,
The Naval War of 1812,
chapters 2-5._

_J. F. Cooper,
History of the Navy of the United States,
volume 2, chapters 9-22._

_A. S. Mackenzie,
Life of Decatur,
chapters 10-12._

_D. D. Porter,
Memoirs of Commander David Porter._

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: A. D. 1812-1813.
Harrison's northwestern campaign.
Winchester's defeat.
Perry's naval victory on Lake Erie.
The Battle of the Thames and death of Tecumseh.
Recovery of Detroit and Michigan.

"Great was the indignation of the West, great the
mortification of our whole people, on learning that, instead
of capturing Upper Canada at the first blow, we had lost our
whole Michigan Territory. The task now was to retake Detroit
under a competent commander. Ohio and Kentucky went on filling
rapidly their quotas, while urging the administration to march
them under Harrison.
{3345}
The President hesitated, doubtful whether Harrison was a man
of sufficient military experience. He proposed that Monroe
should go to the scene, as a volunteer, if not to command; but
Monroe restrained his first military ardor, as was prudent,
and Winchester, of Tennessee, another of the recent
brigadiers, and a revolutionary veteran, was selected. The
selection, however, gave umbrage to the Kentuckians, whose
State government had already made Harrison a brevet
major-general of militia. The hero of Tippecanoe was finally
assigned to the chief command of the Western army, Madison
countermanding his first orders. Harrison's route for Detroit
was by way of Fort Wayne and Fort Defiance to the falls of the
Maumee. But it was late in the fall [October 1812] before the
new military arrangements could be completed; and through a
swampy wilderness, infested as it was with hostile Indians,
the progress of the column was toilsome and discouraging; and,
except for the destruction of a few Indian villages on the
way, the deeds of prowess were reserved for a winter campaign.
… The winter expedition of the Northwest army … [was] retarded
by a disaster which overtook Winchester's command near the
Maumee Rapids, at a little village on the River Raisin. By
Harrison's orders Winchester had started for these Rapids,
whence, having first concentrated troops as if for winter
quarters, the design was that he should advance 50 miles
farther, when weather permitted, cross the frozen Detroit, and
fall suddenly upon Malden. Winchester not only pushed on
incautiously to his first destination, but, with a design more
humane than prudent, undertook to protect against a British
and Indian raid the alarmed inhabitants of Frenchtown [now
Monroe, Michigan], a place 30 miles nearer Malden. Here
[January 22, 1813] he was overpowered by the enemy, which fell
upon the American force suddenly at daybreak, with yells and a
shower of bomb-shells and canister. Winchester having been
taken prisoner, Colonel Proctor, the British commander,
extorted from him the unconditional surrender of all his
troops, some 700 in number, as the only means of saving them
from the tomahawk and scalping-knife. … Our sick and wounded …
the British commander shamefully abandoned to their fate. …
Officers and men, many of them the flower of Kentucky,
perished victims to barbarities … abhorrent to civilized
warfare, of which the British Colonel Proctor and Captain
Elliott were not innocent. Besides the American loss in
prisoners at the sad affair of the Raisin, nearly 200 were
killed and missing. Hearing at the Upper Sandusky of
Winchester's intended movement, Harrison had pressed to his
relief with reinforcements, but fugitives from Frenchtown
brought the melancholy tidings of disaster; and Harrison fell
back to the Rapids, there to strengthen the post known as Fort
Meigs, and go into winter quarters. The terms of many of his
troops having now expired, the Northwestern army was for many
months too feeble to begin a forward movement. But Harrison
possessed the unabated confidence of the West, and, promoted
to be one of the new major-generals, he received, through the
zealous co-operation of Ohio and Kentucky, whose people were
inflamed to take vengeance, enough volunteer reinforcements
[May] to relieve Fort Meigs [which was twice besieged in 1813
by British and Indians] from Proctor's investment in the
spring, and at length the quota requisite for resuming the
offensive; other frontier plans of the War Department having
long deranged his own in this quarter. The splendid
co-operation of an American flotilla on Lake Erie opened the
way to Detroit and victory. For that memorable service
Commodore Chauncey had detailed an aspiring young naval
officer, Captain Oliver H. Perry, of Rhode Island. Our little
Lake squadron was tediously constructed at Presqu' Isle (now
Erie). When all at last was ready [in August, 1813], Perry,
who had long chafed in spirit while the British fleet hovered
in sight like a hawk, sailed forth to dispute the supremacy of
the broad inland waters. His heavier vessels were floated over
the bar not without difficulty. After conferring at Sandusky
upon the combined plan of operations with General Harrison,
from whom he received a small detail of soldiers to act as
marines and supply vacancies in his crews, he offered battle
to Barclay, the British commander,—the latter a veteran in
naval experience, who had served under Nelson at Trafalgar.
Barclay had lain idly for several weeks at Malden, in hopes of
procuring additional sailors, purposely avoiding an action
meanwhile. But Proctor's army having now run short of
provisions, longer delay was inexpedient. At sunrise on
September 10th Perry descried the approaching British fleet
from his look-out, a group of islands off Sandusky. Ten miles
to the north of this locality, which was known as Put-in-bay,
the two squadrons at noon engaged one another,—Perry
approaching at an acute angle, and keeping the weather-gage,
while Barclay's vessels hove to in close order. In officers
and men the fleets were about equally matched; there were 6
British vessels to the American 9, but the former carried more
guns, and were greatly superior for action from a distance.
With 30 long guns to Perry's 15, Barclay had the decided
advantage at first, and our flag-ship, the Lawrence, exposed
to the heaviest of the British cannonade, became terribly
battered, her decks wet with carnage, her guns dismounted.
Undismayed by this catastrophe, Perry dropped into a little
boat with his broad pennant and banner, and crossed to his
next largest vessel, the Niagara, the target for 15 minutes of
a furious fire while being rowed over. Climbing the Niagara's
deck, and hoisting once more the emblems of commander, our
brave captain now pierced the enemy's line with his new
flag-ship, followed by his smaller vessels, and, gaining at
last that advantage of a close engagement which for nearly
three hours had eluded him, he won the fight in eight minutes.
The colors of the Detroit, Barclay's flag-ship, struck first,
three others followed the example, and two of the British
squadron attempting to escape were overtaken and brought back
triumphantly. 'We have met the enemy and they are ours,' was
Perry's laconic dispatch to Harrison, written in pencil on the
back of an old letter, with his navy-cap for a rest; 'two
ships, two brigs, one schooner, and one sloop.' … Barclay lay
dangerously wounded, and his next in command died that
evening. … To Harrison's expectant army, augmented by 3,500
mounted Kentuckians, whom Governor Shelby led in person, the
word of advance was now given. …
{3346}
Perry's flotilla, aided by the captured vessels, presently
landed the American troops on the Canada side. Proctor had
already begun the retreat, having first dismantled the fort at
Malden and burned the barracks. Harrison pursued him beyond
Sandwich, covered by the flotilla, until near a Moravian town,
up the river Thames [some 30 miles east of Lake St. Clair],
the enemy was overtaken, with Tecumseh's braves. Here, upon
well-chosen ground, the British made a final stand [October
5], but at the first impetuous charge of our cavalry their
line broke, and only the Indians remained to engage in a
desperate hand-to-hand fight. Among the slain was the famous
Tecumseh, dispatched, as tradition asserts, by the pistol of
Colonel Johnson, a Kentucky officer prominent in the battle.
Proctor himself escaped in a carriage with a few followers,
incurring afterwards the royal reprimand. … The baleful
British and Indian alliance was broken up by these victories,
while Detroit, Michigan, and all that Hull had lost, and a
fair portion of Upper Canada besides, passed into American
control. Among American generals in this war Harrison enjoyed
the rare felicity of having fully accomplished his
undertaking."

_J. Schouler,
History of the United States,
chapter 8, section 2
and chapter 9, section 1 (volume 2)._

"The victory of Lake Erie was most important, both in its
material results and in its moral effect. It gave us complete
command of all the upper lakes, prevented any fears of
invasion from that quarter, increased our prestige with the
foe and our confidence in ourselves, and ensured the conquest
of Upper Canada; in all these respects its importance has not
been overrated. But the 'glory' acquired by it most certainly
has been estimated at more than its worth. … The simple truth
is, that, where on both sides the officers and men were
equally brave and skilful, the side which possessed the
superiority in force, in the proportion of three to two, could
not well help winning. … Though we had nine guns less, yet, at
a broadside, they threw half as much metal again as those of
our antagonist."

_T. Roosevelt,
The Naval War of 1812,
chapter 6._

ALSO IN:
_C. D. Yonge,
History of the British Navy,
chapter 36 (volume 3)._

_E. Eggleston and L. E. Seelye,
Tecumseh,
chapters 26-34._

_I. R. Jackson,
Life of W. H. Harrison,
chapters 7-9._

_B. J. Lossing,
Field Book of the War of 1812,
chapters 16-17, and 23-26._

_G. Bancroft,
History of the Battle of Lake Erie._

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: A. D. 1813 (April-July).
The burning of Toronto.
The capture of Fort George.

"The American fleet on Lake Ontario had been increased, and in
1813 controlled the lake. General Sheaffe had succeeded Brock
as Governor as well as commander of the forces. Some 600
troops were in York [now Toronto], the capital. York had about
1,000 inhabitants, and was not regarded as of strategic
importance. The Americans, however, set sail from Sackett's
Harbour with 16 sail and 2,500 men to attack it. The enemy
landed [April 27] to the west of the town, and General Sheaffe
evacuated the works, and retired down the Kingston Road. The
Americans invested the town, and though skirmishing took
place, had an easy victory. The land force was under General
Pike, an officer well known as having, when a lieutenant,
explored the sources of the Mississippi. Just as the Americans
had well filled the fort, the powder-magazine exploded with
violence, killing and wounding about 250. General Pike, struck
in the breast by a flying stone, died soon after. The
Americans, contrary to the articles of surrender, shamefully
burnt the town, and retired from York on the 2nd of May, 1813.
While the squadron was absent, Sackett's Harbour was attacked
by a strong force. The garrison seemed to be on the point of
surrendering the fort, when Sir George Prevost, to the
surprise of all, ordered a retreat. Little York taken,
Commodore Chauncey then crossed the lake to Fort George at the
mouth of the Niagara River. General Vincent commanded the
fort. Twenty-four of Hull's guns frowned from its bastions.
Its defender had 1,340 men. The American army on the Niagara
frontier numbered 6,000. Chauncey had eleven war-vessels and
900 seamen. On the 27th of May the expected day came. Vincent
drew his men out about a mile from the fort and awaited the
attack. He was overpowered and retired, having lost nearly 450
soldiers. The Canadian force retired to a strong position,
'Beaver Dams,' twelve miles from Niagara on the heights,
having given up Fort Erie and Chippewa and blown up Fort
George. Vincent had now 1,600 men, and with these he retired
to Burlington Heights, near the present city of Hamilton. An
American army of 2,500 men followed General Vincent to Stoney
Creek. On the night of the 8th of June, Colonel Harvey of the
British force, with upwards of 750 men, fell stealthily on the
sleeping American army, scattered the troops, killed many,
captured the American generals Chandler and Winder, and about
100 men, along with guns and stores. The adventurers then
retired to their camp. The scattered American soldiers
reassembled in the morning and retired in a disorderly manner
down the country to Fort George. Vincent now followed the
retreating army and reoccupied Beaver Dams. One of his
outposts was held by Lieutenant Fitzgibbon and 30 men.
Smarting with defeat, the American general sought to surprise
this station as a basis for future attacks. He secretly
despatched Colonel Boerstler with nearly 700 men to capture
it. A wounded militiaman, living within the lines at
Queenston, heard by chance of the expedition. … The alarm was
given [by the militiaman's wife, who travelled 20 miles
through the forest, at night] and that night the men lay on
their arms. Early next morning the American party came, but an
ambuscade had been prepared for them, and after severe
fighting 542 men surrendered into the hands of some 260.
General Dearborn soon after retired from the command of the
American army, to be succeeded by General Boyd. British
parties captured Fort Schlosser and Black Rock on the Niagara
River at this time, though at the latter place with the loss
of Colonel Bishopp, the idol of his men. Colonel Scott, in
command of troops on board Commodore Chauncey's fleet, again
scoured Lake Ontario. Landing at Burlington Heights on the
31st of July, they did nothing more than reconnoitre the works
and depart. Afterwards the second attack on York was made and
the barracks burnt. After this a trial of strength took place
between Sir James Yeo's fleet, now sent forth from Kingston
Harbour, and Chauncey's squadron. The Americans lost two
vessels in a squall, and two were captured by the British, but
the result between the two fleets was indecisive."

_G. Bryce,
Short History of the Canadian People,
chapter 8, section 5._

_ALSO IN:
R. Johnson,
History of the War of 1812-1815,
chapter 7._

{3347}

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: A. D. 1813 (October-November).
The abortive expedition against Montreal.

"While Perry and Harrison were … reclaiming our lost ground on
Lake Erie and in the northwest, Armstrong was preparing to
carry out his favorite plan of a descent on Kingston and
Montreal. When he accepted the post of Secretary of War, he
transferred his department from Washington to Sackett's
Harbor, so that he might superintend in person the progress of
the campaign. … Although Wilkinson had superseded Dearborn, as
commander-in-chief of this district in July, he did not issue
his first orders to the army till the 23d of August. … General
Wade Hampton, who had been recalled from the fifth military
district to the northern frontier, encamped with his army,
4,000 strong, at Plattsburg, on Lake Champlain. The plan
finally adopted by the Secretary was, to have Wilkinson drop
down the St. Lawrence, and without stopping to attack the
English posts on the river, form a junction with General
Hampton, when the two armies should march at once on Montreal.
These two Generals were both Revolutionary officers, and
consequently too advanced in years to carry such an expedition
through with vigor and activity. Besides, a hostile feeling
separated them, rendering each jealous of the other's command.
… Chauncey, In the mean time, after an action with Yeo, in
which both parties claimed the victory, forced his adversary
to take refuge in Burlington Bay. He then wrote to Wilkinson
that the lake was clear of the enemy, and reported himself
ready to transport the troops down the St. Lawrence. The
greatest expectations were formed of this expedition. The
people knew nothing of the quarrel between Wilkinson and
Hampton, and thought only of the strength of their united
force. … While Wilkinson was preparing to fulfill his part of
the campaign, Hampton made a bold push into Canada on his own
responsibility. Advancing from Plattsburg, he marched directly
for St. John, but finding water scarce for his draft cattle,
owing to a severe drought, he moved to the left, and next day
arrived at Chateaugay Four Corners, a few miles from the
Canada line. Here he was overtaken by an order from Armstrong,
commanding him to remain where he was, until the arrival of
Wilkinson. But jealous of his rival, and wishing to achieve a
victory in which the honor would not be divided, he resolved
to take upon himself the responsibility of advancing alone.
Several detachments of militia had augmented his force of
4,000, and he deemed himself sufficiently strong to attack
Prevost, who he was told had only about 2,000 ill assorted
troops under him. He therefore gave orders to march, and
cutting a road for 24 miles through the wilderness, after five
days great toil, reached the British position. Ignorant of its
weakness, he dispatched Colonel Purdy at night by a circuitous
route to gain the enemy's flank and rear and assail his works,
while he attacked them in front. Bewildered by the darkness,
and led astray by his guide, Colonel Purdy wandered through
the forest, entirely ignorant of the whereabouts of the enemy
or of his own. General Hampton, however, supposing that he had
succeeded in his attempt, ordered General Izard to advance
with the main body of the army, and as soon as firing was
heard in the rear to commence the attack in front. Izard
marched up his men and a skirmish ensued, when Colonel De
Salaberry, the British commander, who had but a handful of
regulars under him, ordered the bugles, which had been placed
at some distance apart on purpose to represent a large force,
to sound the charge. The ruse succeeded admirably, and a halt
was ordered. The bugles brought up the lost detachment of
Purdy, but suddenly assailed by a concealed body of militia,
his command was thrown into disorder and broke and fled.
Disconcerted by the defeat of Purdy, Hampton ordered a
retreat, without making any attempt to carry the British
intrenchments. … Hampton, defeated by the blasts of a few
bugles, took up his position again at the Four Corners, to
wait further news from Wilkinson's division. The latter having
concentrated his troops at Grenadier Island, embarked them
again the same day that Hampton advanced, against orders,
towards Montreal. Three hundred boats, covering the river for
miles, carried the infantry and artillery, while the cavalry,
500 strong, marched along the bank. … They were two weeks in
reaching the river. Wilkinson, who had been recalled from New
Orleans, to take charge of this expedition, was prostrated by
the lake fever, which, added to the infirmities of age,
rendered him wholly unfit for the position he occupied.
General Lewis, his second in command, was also sick. The
season was already far advanced—the autumnal storms had set
in earlier than usual—everything conspired to ensure defeat;
and around this wreck of a commander, tossed an army,
dispirited, disgusted, and doomed to disgrace. General Brown
led the advance of this army of invasion, as it started for
Montreal, 180 miles distant. … When it reached the head of the
long rapids at Hamilton, 20 miles below Ogdensburg, Wilkinson
ordered General Brown to advance by land and cover the passage
of the boats through the narrow defiles, where the enemy had
established block houses. In the mean time the cavalry had
crossed over to the Canadian side and, with 1,500 men under
General Boyd, been despatched against the enemy, which was
constantly harassing his rear. General Boyd, accompanied by
Generals Swartwout and Covington as volunteers, moved forward
in three columns. Colonel Ripley advancing with the 21st
Regiment, drove the enemy's sharp shooters from the woods, and
emerged on an open space, called Chrystler's Field, and
directly in front of two English regiments. Notwithstanding
the disparity of numbers this gallant officer ordered a
charge, which was executed with such firmness that the two
regiments retired. Rallying and making a stand, they were
again charged and driven back. … At length the British retired
to their camp and the Americans maintained their position on
the shore, so that the flotilla passed the Saut in safety.
This action [called the battle of Chrystler's Farm, or
Williamsburg] has never received the praise it deserves—the
disgraceful failure of the campaign having cast a shadow upon
it. The British, though inferior in numbers, had greatly the
advantage in having possession of a stone house in the midst
of the field. …
{3348}
Nearly one-fifth of the entire force engaged were killed or
wounded. … The army, however, still held its course for
Montreal. Young Scott, who had joined the expedition at
Ogdensburg, was 15 miles ahead, clearing, with a detachment of
less than 800 men, the river banks as he went. Montreal was
known to be feebly garrisoned, and Wilkinson had no doubt it
would fall an easy conquest. He therefore sent forward to
Hampton to join him at St. Regis, with provisions. Hampton, in
reply, said, that his men could bring no more provisions than
they wanted for their own use, and informed him, in short,
that he should not co-operate with him at all, but make the
best of his way back to Lake Champlain. On receiving this
astounding news, Wilkinson called a council of war, which
reprobated in strong terms the conduct of Hampton, and decided
that in consideration of his failure, and the lateness of the
season, the march should be suspended, and the army retire to
winter quarters. This was carried into effect, and Wilkinson
repaired to French Mills, on Salmon river, for the winter, and
Hampton to Plattsburg."

_J. T. Headley,
The Second War with England,
volume 1, chapter. 13._

ALSO IN:
_W. C. Bryant and S. H. Gay,
Popular History of the United States,
volume 4, chapter 8._

_S. Perkins,
History of the Late War,
chapter 12._

_J. Armstrong,
Notices of the War of 1812,
volume 2, chapter 1._

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: A. D. 1813 (December).
Retaliatory devastation of the Niagara frontier.
Fort Niagara surprised.
The burning of Buffalo.