Chapter III: Part 3

The time had now arrived, when every true son of America felt bound to participate in the approaching struggle for liberty and independence, and John Eager Howard received a commission as captain, in one of those bodies of militia termed flying camps in the regiment commanded by Colonel Hall. The commission depended upon his raising thirty men in a given time; but such was the esteem in which our hero was held, that he formed his company required in two days, and marched direct to the army.

In the following year he was promoted, till finally he succeeded Lieutenant-Colonel Ford in the command of the second Maryland regiment. He was present at the battle of White Plains, and continued to serve till the end of the year 1776, when his corps was dismissed. Congress having resolved to raise additional regiments to serve during the war, with officers commissioned by Congress, Major Howard was one of the number allotted to Maryland, and in April 1777, we find him marching with his regiment to join the army at Rocky Hill, near Princeton, where he remained till the latter end of June, when receiving information of the death of his father, he returned home, till the following September, when he rejoined the army a few days after the Battle at Brandywine Springs, but in time to give proofs of his bravery at the battle of Germantown, which afterwards so greatly distinguished him.

Colonel Hall being disabled at the commencement of the battle of Germantown, Major Howard assumed the command and encountered the British corps of light infantry, posted some distance from the main body, and after a sharp conflict, pursued them through their encampment, Howard passing with his regiment amidst the standing tents, and in front of Chew’s house, without any serious injury from the fire of the British. Having passed in safety, he advanced his Maryland troops about a quarter of a mile farther towards the main body of the British troops, who now sallied forth from their temporary fortress, and attacked the Maryland corps, but a return fire killed the officer who had commanded the garrison, and no further molestation ensued.

Major Howard still remained with the army, and was present at the battle of Monmouth, but we do not hear of any particular share that he bore in that contest. In June, 1779, Major Howard received the commission of Lieutenant-Colonel of the fifth Maryland regiment in the army of the United States, and accordingly prepared for a southern march, to meet General Gates and his army at the camp at Deep Run, North Carolina.

Having reinforced, they made night marches, in order to attack the British army, commanded as they thought by Lord Rawdon, but Cornwallis, who had lately arrived from Charleston with a strong reinforcement, was resolved to assault Gates in his camp. Gates, who had left his camp, and was proceeding by night marches to meet his antagonist, was encountered in the woods, where, to his great astonishment and dismay, he found that not Lord Rawdon, but Cornwallis, was the commander of the British troops, and that the enemy was much superior in force to the American troops. A retreat now was impossible, and the only alternative offered, was to form a line of battle. The disheartening intelligence, that Cornwallis had reinforced the British army, and the darkness of night, may, in some measure, account for the conduct of the militia in the battle of Camden, for they gave way early in the action, thereby throwing the whole of the British troops entirely upon the two Maryland brigades, who maintained the contest obstinately against superior numbers, at one time making a partially successful attempt to use the bayonet. Colonel Howard drove the corps in front of him out of line; and if the left wing of the American army had been able to occupy the attention of the British right, the day would have been propitious; but attacked as he was in front and rear, by horse and foot, the American troops were overpowered and driven into the woods and swamps in all directions. Colonel Howard succeeded in keeping a few of his men together, and being occasionally joined by other officers and men, they reached Charlotte, a distance of sixty miles, in about three days: their only subsistence during that time was a few peaches. From this time, and until the arrival of General Greene in December, Colonel Howard was employed in equipping and forming into a battalion, four companies of light infantry, placed under his command, and then transferred to Greene. The next conspicuous act of our hero was at the celebrated battle of the Cowpens, 17th of January, 1781. We find from manuscript and printed documents of Colonel Howard himself, whose scrupulous accuracy places his authority beyond a doubt, that it was Howard, and not Morgan, who gave the order to the right company to change its front and protect his flank, and it was Howard also, who, on his own responsibility, ordered the charge with the bayonet. We give his own language:--“Seeing my right flank was exposed to the enemy, I attempted to change the front of Wallace’s company, (Virginia regulars;) in doing it, some confusion ensued, and first a part, and then the whole of the company commenced a retreat. The officers along the line seeing this, and supposing that orders had been given for a retreat, faced their men about and moved off. Morgan, who had mostly been with the militia, quickly rode up to me and expressed apprehensions of the event; but I soon removed his fears by pointing to the line, and observing that men were not beaten who retreated in that order. He then ordered me to keep with the men, until we came to the rising ground near Washington’s horse; and he rode forward to fix on the most proper place for us to halt and face about. In a minute we had a perfect line. The enemy were now very near us. Our men commenced a very destructive fire; which they little expected, and a few rounds occasioned great disorder in their ranks. While in this confusion I ordered a charge with the bayonet, which order was obeyed with great alacrity. As the line advanced, I observed their artillery a short distance in front, and called to Captain Ewing, who was near me, to take it. Captain Anderson, (now General Anderson, of Montgomery county, Maryland,) hearing the order, also pushed for the same object; and both being emulous for the prize, kept pace until near the first piece, when Anderson, by putting the end of his spontoon forward into the ground, made a long leap, which brought him upon the gun and gave him the honor of the prize. My attention was now drawn to an altercation of some of the men with an artillery man, who appeared to make it a point of honor not to surrender his match. The men, provoked by his obstinacy, would have bayoneted him on the spot, had I not interfered and desired them to spare the life of so brave a man. He then surrendered his match. In the pursuit I was led to the right, in among the seventy-first, who were broken into squads; and as I called to them to surrender, they laid down their arms, and the officers delivered up their swords. Captain Duncanson, of the seventy-first grenadiers, gave me his sword and stood by me. Upon getting on my horse, I found him pulling at my saddle, and he nearly unhorsed me. I expressed my displeasure, and asked what he was about. The explanation was, that they had orders to give no quarter, and they did not expect any; and as my men were coming up, he was afraid they would use him ill. I admitted his excuse and put him into the care of a sergeant. I had messages from him many years afterwards, expressing his obligation for my having saved his life.” At the time Colonel Howard was “among the seventy-first,” as he observes, he had in his hand at one time, seven swords of officers who had surrendered to him personally.

The moral effect of this celebrated battle was felt throughout the whole country. Congress voted a gold medal to Colonel Howard, (_See_ Plate I.,) descriptive of his gallant conduct at the Cowpens, which is described at the end of this sketch.

The battle of the Cowpens is the only one on record, in which the American troops fairly conquered the British with the bayonet in open field.

In the extreme danger incurred by the rear guard, in protecting the retreat of Greene, Colonel Howard bore his full share; in the battle of Guildford, which soon followed, we find his skill and bravery displayed in no common degree. In his own manuscript, he observes:--“My station being on the left of the first regiment, and next the cleared ground, Captain Gibson, deputy adjutant-general, rode up to me, and informed me that a party of the enemy inferior in number to us, were pushing through the cleared ground and into our rear, and that if we would face about and charge them, we might take them. I rode to Colonel Gunby and gave him the information. He did not hesitate to order the regiment to face about, and we were immediately engaged with the guards. Our men gave them some well directed fires, and we then advanced and continued firing. At this time Gunby’s horse was shot, and falling upon him, injured him, but not severely. Major Anderson was killed about this time. As we advanced, I observed Washington’s horse, and as their movements were quicker than ours, they first charged and broke the enemy. My men followed very quickly, and we pressed through the guards, many of whom had been knocked down by the horse without being much hurt. We took some prisoners, and the whole were in our power.

“After passing through the guards, as before stated, I found myself in the cleared ground, and saw the seventy-first regiment near the court-house, and other columns of the enemy appearing in different directions.

“Washington’s horse having gone off, I found it necessary to retire, which I did leisurely; but many of the guards who were lying on the ground, and who we supposed were wounded, got up and fired at us as we retired.”

Such is the unadorned narrative of this brave and gallant soldier. At the battle of Hobkirk’s Hill, he also ably distinguished himself. At Eutaw he had the command of the second Maryland regiment, who distinguished themselves at the bayonet’s point, and (according to Lee) in encountering the obstinate resistance of the Buffs, many of the Marylanders and of the Buffs were mutually transfixed with each other’s bayonets. Colonel Howard, in a letter, says, “nearly one-half of my men were killed or wounded, and I had seven officers out of twelve disabled; four killed, and three severely wounded.” Towards the end of the battle, Colonel Howard received a ball in the left shoulder, which, passing entirely through, came out under the shoulder-blade, and disabled him. In a letter from General Greene to General Smallwood, written a few days after the battle, he says, “nothing could exceed the gallantry of the Maryland line, the uncommon bravery of Colonels Howard, Williams, and the other officers, and the free use of the bayonet, by this and some other corps, gave us the victory.”

As soon as he was able to be removed, Colonel Howard was taken home, followed by the affectionate commendations of his brother officers. General Greene, in writing to a friend, after his departure, says, “Colonel Howard is as good an officer as the world afforded, and deserves a statue of gold, no less than the Roman or Grecian heroes.”

At the conclusion of the war, Colonel Howard retired to his estates in Baltimore county, and soon after married Margaret, the daughter of Benjamin Chew, of Philadelphia. He was shortly after chosen governor of Maryland, which office he filled for three years. In 1795, General Washington invited him to a seat in his cabinet, but this was declined. In 1796, he was transferred from the legislature of his own state to the senate of the United States, where he remained seven years; he then returned again to his agricultural pursuits, where he remained till the trumpet of war broke in upon his retirement in 1814. The capture of Washington by the enemy, and the meditated attack upon Baltimore, demanded a preparation for resistance, and a troop of aged men was organized to render such services as their strength would allow, and Colonel Howard was, by unanimous consent, placed at its head. Colonel Howard now began to feel the effects of his early wound, which at every slight exposure brought on severe pain, which made inroads in his constitution not easily repaired. In 1821 he had the misfortune to lose his eldest daughter, and in 1822 his eldest son, and in 1824, the loss of his devoted wife gave him a shock from which he never recovered; from that time his health began fast to decline, and in October, 1827, he resigned his life with characteristic fortitude and pious resignation. An obituary notice written by a celebrated dignitary of the Catholic church, demands a place in these pages. “One after another, the stars of our revolutionary firmament are sinking below the horizon. They rise in another hemisphere, as they set to us; and the youth of other times will gaze upon their lustre, as he learns their names and marks them clustering into constellations, which will recall to his mind some interesting event of our period of struggle.” An able historiographer thus speaks of the lamented Howard: “In private life he was distinguished for the amenity of his manners, his hospitality, and his extensive and useful knowledge. He possessed a memory uncommonly minute, and a love of information that never sank under the labor of acquisition. These faculties rendered him, perhaps, the most accurate repository of the history of his own time, in this or any other country. His habits of life were contemplative, cautious, scrupulously just, and regulated by the strictest method. Few men have enjoyed a more enviable lot;--his youth distinguished in the field, his age in the council, and every period solaced by the attachment of friends. Affluent in fortune, as rich in public regard, and blessed in his domestic and personal associations, he has glided away from the small band of his compatriots, as full of honors as of years. The example of such a citizen is a legacy to his country, of more worth than the precepts of an age.”

MEDAL.

OCCASION.--Victory at the Cowpens, N. Carolina.

DEVICE.--An officer mounted, with uplifted sword, pursuing an officer on foot, bearing a stand of colors: Victory descending in front over the former, holding a wreath in her right hand over his head: a palm-branch in her left hand.

LEGEND.--John Eager Howard, legionis peditum præfecto comitia Americana.

REVERSE INSCRIPTION--(_within a laurel wreath_.)--Quod in nutantem hostium aciem subito irruens, præclarum bellicæ virtutis specimen dedit in pugna, ad Cowpens, 17th January, 1781.

COL. WILLIAM A. WASHINGTON.

William Augustine Washington was the eldest son of Baily Washington, of Stafford county, Virginia. The subject of these memoirs had commenced his studies for the church, when the war sound of the revolution rung in his ears; he was one of those who exerted such an exalted influence throughout the whole campaign, that his biographers distinguish him as the “modern Marcellus.”

Colonel Washington was a scholar of rare attainments, especially in the Greek language, in which, in his day, he was unequalled. At the request of his relative, General George Washington, he was appointed to the command of a company of infantry, in the third regiment of the Virginia line.

He was distinguished for his manly fortitude in sustaining the greatest difficulties and dangers.

He led one of the attacking columns, at the surprise of the Hessians at Trenton, where he received a severe wound from a musket-ball which passed entirely through his hand. He was afterwards appointed a major in a regiment of dragoons, commanded by Lieutenant-Colonel Baylor, which was shortly after surprised by a detachment of the enemy, commanded by General Grey, and almost cut to pieces. Our hero fortunately escaped, and in the year following joined the army of General Lincoln, of South Carolina, with whose troops he was constantly employed, in encounters with the British, first, near Ashley Ferry, where he drove back the cavalry of the British legion, commanded by Lieutenant-Colonel Tarleton, and took several prisoners: but being unsupported by infantry, he gained but little advantage or success.

It has been asserted, and it is believed from good authority, that Colonel Washington and Tarleton were personally engaged, and that during the skirmish, Tarleton lost three of his fingers from a stroke from the sword of Colonel Washington. An anecdote is related and believed to be correct, respecting the meeting of these two officers: it is as follows:--Tarleton, when on a visit to an American family, remarked, that he should be glad to get another look at this Colonel Washington, of whom he had heard so much: when a lady in company quickly observed, “What a pity Colonel Tarleton did not turn his head when he lost his fingers!” Subsequently, Colonel Washington was attached to the light corps, commanded by General Morgan; and by an ingenious stratagem carried a valuable post in possession of the British, called Rugely’s, and took a great number of prisoners, without firing a single shot. Aware of the character of his opponent, Colonel Rugely, he placed a pine log on the wheels of a wagon, so painted as to have the appearance, at a distance, of a field-piece, threatening immediate destruction if any resistance should be offered. The affrighted Colonel begged for quarter and surrendered without difficulty!

Next followed the brilliant victory of the Cowpens, in which Colonel Washington contributed in no small degree. His ardor in this contest had nearly cost him his life. Animating the troops to the pursuit by his example, he advanced so far as to be surrounded by several British officers. At the moment when the sword of one of them was actually raised for his destruction, his brave bugleman fired a pistol which disabled the British officer, and saved the life of his gallant commander. Shortly after his cavalry was added to a body of horse and foot selected by General Greene, and placed under the command of Colonel Williams. Colonel Washington was happy to a degree in baffling the efforts of Cornwallis to force Greene to a battle. He took a very conspicuous part in the contest at Guildford Courthouse, where, by a spirited and daring charge, he broke the British regiment of guards, commanded by Colonel Stewart, who was killed; and with the brave Colonel Howard and his gallant Marylanders, nearly effected their entire destruction. Colonel Garden relates the following remarks made to him by an officer of distinction in the army of the enemy:--“I was near General Webster when the charge was made by Washington. The desperate situation of the guards had its effect on all around. An American officer quickly perceiving it, rode up to the British line and called aloud, ‘Surrender, gentlemen, and be certain of good quarters.’ Terrified by appearances, and concluding that defeat was inevitable, the soldiers of the regiment of De Bose were actually throwing down their arms. In the midst of the confusion, General Webster, famed for great presence of mind, exclaimed, ‘Unless that gallant fellow is taken off, we are lost.’ A field-piece at this moment was brought up, and directed to be fired into the throng where the guards now appeared to be greatly outnumbered, and did so with the happiest success; the cavalry wheeled off, the remains of the battalion rallied, and the army was saved.”

At Hobkirk Hill, Colonel Washington added another wreath to his well-earned laurels. Famous for skillful maneuvering, he cut off the rear of the British line, capturing eleven officers and two hundred men, but the early retreat of the American forces prevented his bringing more than fifty of his prisoners off the field; these, however, contained the eleven officers. At the battle of Eutaw, his repeated charges on the British light infantry were signalized by extraordinary bravery and valor. In an effort which required all his courage, his horse was shot from under him, and becoming entangled as he fell, he was taken prisoner. This was the closing scene of his military performances, which had always been characterized by ardor, bravery and decision; he knew danger only by name, and though unfortunate at last, no officer in the American revolution ever in a higher degree merited success.

He remained a prisoner until the close of the war, when he retired to his plantation at Sandy Hill, about thirty miles from Charleston, South Carolina. He served for several years as a member of the legislature, during which service he was persuaded to become a candidate for the office of governor; but this honor he respectfully declined.

He married a lady to whom he had become attached during his imprisonment. By her he had a son and daughter. After a long and tedious illness, borne by the most heroic and Christian fortitude, he died on the 6th of March, 1810.

By a resolve of Congress, 9th March, 1781, which stated that eighty cavalry and two hundred and thirty-seven infantry of the United States, and five hundred and fifty-three southern militia, obtained a complete victory over a select and well-appointed detachment of more than eleven hundred British, commanded by Lieutenant-Colonel Tarleton, a silver medal was ordered to be struck and presented to Colonel Washington, of which the following is a description:--

OCCASION.--Victory at the Cowpens, North Carolina.

DEVICE.--An officer mounted at the head of a body of cavalry, charging flying troops: Victory over the heads of the Americans, holding a laurel crown in her right hand, and a palm branch in her left.

LEGEND.--Gulielmo Washington legionis equit. Præfecto comitia Americana.

REVERSE.--Quod parva militum manu strenue prospectus hostes, virtutis ingenitæ præclarum specionen dedit in pregna ad Cowpens, 17th January, 1781. (Within a laurel crown.) (_See_ Plate I.)

MAJOR HENRY LEE.

Henry Lee, the subject of the following sketch, was born in Virginia on the 29th of January, 1756. His family was one of the most respectable among the first settlers of that state. His father was for many years a member of the provincial assembly of Virginia. Henry Lee was prepared for college by a private tutor at his father’s residence, and afterwards graduated at Princeton College, New Jersey, under the superintendence of Dr. Witherspoon, then President.

Two years after his graduation, and in the twentieth of his age, he was appointed to the command, as captain, of one of the six companies of cavalry, raised by his native state; the whole under the command of Colonel Theodoric Bland.

During the campaigns of 1775 and 1776, there was not a single troop of horse attached to the continental army. General Washington, seeing the danger arising from this, was urgent in his applications to Congress, and consequently the Virginia regiment was received into the service of the United States.

Here, under the immediate eye of the commander-in-chief, his skill in discipline and gallant bearing rapidly acquired confidence. He was promoted to the rank of Major, with the command of a separate corps of cavalry. From his able and rigorous attention to his horses and men, he was enabled at all times to act with promptness and efficiency. Not only in attacking light parties of the enemy, but in foraging and obtaining information, he rendered most essential service to the American army.

As it was the province of Lee to lay near the British lines to discover their movements, an attempt was made to cut off both him and his troops. A body of British cavalry, amounting to about two hundred men, made a circuitous route, seizing four of his patrols, and came unexpectedly upon him in his stone house used as quarters. He had with him at the time but _ten_ men; the majority were dispersed in search of forage.

With this small but gallant band, he made such a resolute and determined defence, that the enemy hastily retreated, after having four men and several horses killed, with one officer and three men wounded. This gallant and almost miraculous affair called forth from his commander-in-chief marks of his warmest approbation. Congress also voted him their thanks and congratulations upon his fortunate escape. In the year 1779, Lee again called forth the approbation of his country, by the successful execution of a plan for the capture of the British garrison, stationed at Paulus Hook, near New York.

At the head of about three hundred men, he completely surprised the garrison, and after taking one hundred and sixty prisoners, retreated with the loss of but two men killed and three wounded.

As a reward for the “prudence, skill and bravery” shown by Major Lee in the affair of Paulus Hook, Congress ordered a gold medal to be struck, under the direction of the board of treasury, and presented to him; a description of which will be given at the end of this memoir.

Early in 1780, he returned with his legion to the south, having been previously promoted to the rank of lieutenant-colonel, to join General Greene, who was then watching the movements of Cornwallis.

At the celebrated retreat of Greene, before Cornwallis, the legion of Major Lee formed the rear-guard of the American army; and so hasty was the pursuit, that Lee, coming in contact with the dragoons of Tarleton, in a successful charge, killed eighteen, and made a captain and fifteen privates prisoners. When the safety of General Greene’s retreat was certain, Lee, with Colonel Pickins, was detached to intercept and watch the movements of Lord Cornwallis. Lee now formed a plan to surprise Tarleton, and on their way to execute the plan, they fell in with some messengers, dispatched by some loyalists to Tarleton, to apprise him of his situation. These messengers, mistaking the legion of Lee for the British, freely communicated the object of their errand, which enabled Lee to act accordingly.

He particularly distinguished himself in the battle of Guildford. Afterwards he succeeded in capturing Fort Cornwallis, and other forts.

In the battle of Eutaw Springs, which soon followed, his military talents were again exerted, and again contributed in no small degree to the successful issue of the day. Our hero was next dispatched by General Greene to lay before his commander-in-chief the exigencies of the troops under his command. Washington was then engaged in the siege of Yorktown, and Lee arrived a few days only before its surrender. He was present at that imposing and eventful ceremony, and, after having executed his commission, returned again to the south. The health of Colonel Lee had been much impaired by the fatigues and hardships he had undergone; besides, he fancied himself neglected, and his services underrated. Under the influence of these feelings, he sought and obtained permission to retire from the army. Soon after his return to Virginia, he married Matilda, the daughter of Philip Ludwell Lee, and settled at Stratford, in Westmoreland county.

In 1786, he was appointed a delegate in Congress from Virginia, in which body he remained till the constitution was adopted. In 1791, he was chosen governor of Virginia, and retained the office three years. He was a member of Congress at the death of General Washington, and was appointed by Congress to deliver an eulogy on the occasion. He retained his seat in Congress until the election of Jefferson to the chief magistracy, when he retired into private life. The last years of this gallant officer were clouded by pecuniary embarrassments. The profuse and extravagant mode of living in Virginia ruined his estate, and obliged him for some time to submit to the incarceration of a prison.

During his confinement he composed his memoirs of the southern campaign, in which he had been one of the principal actors; the events of which he had so good an opportunity of knowing. In hopes of restoring his broken health, Colonel Lee repaired to the West Indies, in order to try a warmer and more equable climate; but his hopes proved futile, and in 1818, on his return to the United States, he died on the 25th of March, at the house of Mrs. Shaw, on Cumberland Island, near St. Mary’s, Georgia, the daughter of his old friend and companion in arms, General Greene.

DESCRIPTION OF THE MEDAL.

OCCASION.--Attack on Paulus Hook.

DEVICE.--Bust of Colonel Lee.

LEGEND.--Henrico Lee, equit præfecto.

EXERGUE.--Comitia Americana.

REVERSE.--Non obstantib fluminibus, vallis astutia et virtute bellica, parva manu hostes vicit victosq. Armis humanitate devinxit. In men. pugn. ad Paulus Hook, 19th August, 1779. (_See_ Plate IV.)

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_W. L. Ormsby, sc._]

GEN. WINFIELD SCOTT.

Winfield Scott was born on the 13th of June, 1785, in the county of Dinwiddie, near Petersburg, Virginia. Designed for the profession of the law, he received a liberal education, and graduated at William and Mary College in that state. In 1806, having completed his studies, he commenced practice at the bar, with talents and acquirements which bade fair to introduce him to a very lucrative business. In 1807, the aggressions upon our defenceless commerce, by European powers, and the outrage upon the frigate Chesapeake, roused the indignant feelings of the nation. Redress was promptly called for, and the more ardent of our countrymen prepared for an immediate war. One of the first measures, at the next session of Congress, was to pass a bill for the increase of the army, and young Scott forsook the law, and was appointed a captain in a regiment of light artillery; in which capacity he remained prosecuting, with his usual zeal, his military studies, until the declaration of war in 1812, which opened a more arduous field for the exercise of his brilliant talents.

On the 6th of July, 1812, Scott was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel in the second regiment of artillery; and arrived on the Niagara frontier, with the companies of Towson and Barker, and was posted at Black Rock, to protect the navy yard at that place.

On the 13th of October, the attack upon Queenstown, under Colonel Solomon Van Rensselaer, took place.

On the day previous, Lieutenant-Colonel Scott had arrived with his regiment at Schlosser, twelve miles from Lewiston. The object of this movement was to dispossess the enemy from the fort and village of Queenstown Heights, and thus to make a lodgment for the American troops on the Canada shore, the invasion of Canada being then the leading object of the northern campaign. Anxious to be near the scene of action, Scott obtained permission to march his regiment to Lewiston, and to use his artillery as circumstances might direct. In the early part of the action which followed he bore no part; but Colonels Van Rensselaer and Fenwick having fallen severely wounded, Colonel Scott’s request to cross the river was finally acceded to. The enemy was driven from the heights, which were now in the possession of the Americans, who gallantly repulsed an attack under General Brock, who had come up with reinforcements, but was himself killed in the engagement.

On his arrival, Colonel Scott found the troops in great disorder. Announcing his name and rank, he immediately formed them into line. Colonel Scott’s attention was first directed to an eighteen pounder, which the enemy, in his retreat, had left in the hands of the Americans, after having hastily spiked it; and he proceeded in person to direct the measures for rendering the piece again useful. Returning in a short time, he was surprised to find a large body of Indians preparing to attack the American lines, while the troops, already in some confusion, were on the point of giving way. His presence soon changed the state of affairs, and the savages were compelled to make a hasty retreat. With an unanimous burst of enthusiasm, the line suddenly rallied from right to left, threw itself forward upon the enemy, putting him to precipitate flight, and leaving the ground strewed with the dead and wounded. In this manner successive conflicts were kept up, till a reinforcement of British arrived, under the command of Major General Sheaffe.

Colonel Scott now perceiving that a crisis must be near at hand, every effort was made by the commanding officers to induce the American militia, on the opposite side of the river, to cross over to the assistance of their countrymen, but in vain. Entreaty was wasted upon them, and as all the boats were upon the American side, the little band under Scott was left to await a fate from which there was no retreat. All had now been done that was required by honor, and longer resistance would only have sacrificed in vain the lives of brave men. Terms of capitulation being agreed upon, Colonel Scott surrendered into the hands of the enemy his whole force, now reduced to one hundred and thirty-nine regulars, and one hundred and fifty-four militia; in all two hundred and ninety-three men. Thus ended the battle of Queenstown Heights; an engagement desultory in its movements, but unfortunate in its results. From Queenstown, Scott was sent to Quebec; whence, upon being exchanged, he soon after embarked for Boston. Previous to this, however, one of those scenes occurred in which the decision of character of Colonel Scott was most strikingly displayed.

When the prisoners were embarked on board the transport to be conveyed to Boston, they were first mustered on the deck by British officers, and every man whose accent betrayed his British birth, was set apart to be sent to England as a traitor, there to be tried and executed. As soon as Scott became aware of what was going on, he instantly forbade his soldiers to make further answer. Twenty-three had already been set apart for a shameful death. After the command from their Colonel, no threats from the British officer could induce the men again to speak. Scott, amidst constant interruptions from the British officer, addressed the men, encouraged them to be of good cheer, and solemnly pledged himself to them, that if a hair of the head of one of them was touched, because of their having served in the American army, retaliation should be made upon British prisoners in the hands of the Americans. These twenty-three men, all Irish, were, nevertheless, put in irons and sent to England, bearing with them the pledge of a gallant soldier, who, they knew, would not fail them. His first care, on his arrival at Boston, was to lay the whole circumstances before the secretary of war, who communicated the same to Congress. A law was passed vesting the President with the power of retaliation, and two months after, at the capture of Fort George, Scott having made many prisoners, true to his pledge, selected twenty-three of his prisoners, and confined them to abide the fate of the twenty-three naturalized Americans. In making this selection, Scott was careful not to include a single Irishman.

The British authorities saw the peril, and, it may be presumed, the injustice of the step they had taken, and not one of the prisoners was tried or harmed. The sequel to the foregoing narrative is told by his biographer, and must be read with interest. In July, 1815, when peace had been some months concluded, and Scott (then a major-general), was passing along on the East River side of the city of New York, he was attracted by loud cheers and bustle on one of the piers. He approached the scene, and great was his delight to find that it was the cheer of his old Irish friends, in whose behalf he had interfered at Quebec, and who had that moment landed in triumph, after a confinement of more than two years in English prisons! He was quickly recognized by them, hailed as their deliverer, and nearly crushed by their warm-hearted embraces! Twenty-one were present, two having died natural deaths. Scott had not then recovered from the wounds he had received in the bloody battle of the Niagara, and was about to embark on a voyage to Europe. Yet, in conformity with the promises of friendship he had made with these men, he found time to write to the departments at Washington, and solicit for them their patents for land bounties, and their long arrearages of pay. He was successful, and they were at length restored both to their adopted country and their promised rewards. Several of these brave sons of Ireland are yet alive, and can testify to the truth of this narrative.

Shortly after the capture of York, the capital of Upper Canada, in 1813, Colonel Scott joined the army at Fort Niagara. He joined in the capacity of adjutant-general, (chief of the staff,) under the command of Major-General Dearborn. Though thus engaged in staff duties, he insisted upon the right, and it was conceded, of commanding his own regiment on extraordinary occasions. On the British side of the Niagara was a peninsula, of which Fort George was the defence. This position General Dearborn was determined to carry. The first act of Colonel Scott was in leading the advanced column of the attack, which so completely succeeded that the enemy was driven from the work and the field; and but for repeated and peremptory orders, Scott would probably have captured the whole British force. Fort George, the colors of which had been taken down by Colonel Scott himself, became the head quarters of the American troops, and in command of it Colonel Scott was left, when the main body of the army went down the St. Lawrence, in the summer of that year, to attack Montreal. The whole summer passed without any attack from the British, when Scott obtained permission to turn Fort George over to General McLure, of the New York militia, and to join the main army at Sacket’s Harbor; marching to the mouth of the Genesee river, where the commander-in-chief promised that transports should meet him. It is well known that the expedition, after exciting much expectation, finally resulted in utter failure. The troops endured great fatigue, and encountered considerable danger in the difficult and perilous navigation of the St. Lawrence, without obtaining an opportunity of distinguishing themselves or benefiting their country. This unlucky campaign was, however, brilliantly redeemed by that of the following year. On the 9th of March, 1814, Colonel Scott was promoted to the rank of Brigadier-General, and he joined General Brown on his route to Niagara, in the commencement of the next month.

Soon after General Brown was called to Sacket’s Harbor, and the command, in consequence, devolved upon General Scott, who immediately assembled the army and established a camp of instruction. His whole attention was now given to perfecting the discipline of the troops, to give them that celerity and combination of movement, which in modern times has made war a science, and rendered individual prowess of so little avail. For two months and a half the troops were drilled daily, from seven to nine hours each day, until finally they exhibited a perfection of discipline never before attained in our army. They were now prepared to meet on terms of equality the veteran troops of the enemy, and they soon had an opportunity of showing the advantages they had derived from their instruction. In June, Major General Brown reached Buffalo with reinforcements, and in the commencement of the next month the campaign was opened.

The Niagara was passed on the 3d of July in two brigades, Scott’s and Ripley’s, the former below, the latter above Fort Erie, which almost immediately surrendered. On the morning of the 4th, the army moved towards Chippewa, General Scott’s brigade being in advance; and on the evening of the same day, took up a position on the bank of Street’s Creek, about two miles distant from the British encampment. The stream was in front of the American position, having beyond it an extensive plain; its right rested upon the Niagara, and its left upon a wood. On the following day the British militia and the Indians having occupied the wood, commenced annoying the American piquets from it, until Brigadier General Porter, at the head of his brigade of militia and friendly Indians, drove the enemy from the wood back upon the Chippewa. The British regulars being here supported by their whole army, drawn out in line and advancing to the attack, General Porter, in his turn, was compelled to give way. The heaviness of the firing informed General Brown of the advance of the main body of the enemy. It was now about four o’clock in the afternoon. General Scott was at this moment advancing with his brigade to drill upon the plain, on which the battle was afterwards fought. On the march he met General Brown, who said to him, “The enemy is advancing. You will have a fight.” Beyond this brief remark, Scott received no further orders during the day. General Brown passed to the rear, to put Ripley’s brigade in motion, and to reassemble the light troops behind Street’s Creek. It was not till he arrived at the bridge over Street’s Creek, two hundred yards to the right of his camp of the night before, that Scott saw the enemy.

The army of Riall had crossed the bridge over Chippewa, and displayed itself on the plain before described. It was composed of the one hundredth regiment, under Lieutenant-Colonel, the Marquis of Tweedale; the first, or Royal Scots, under Lieutenant-Colonel Gordon; a portion of the eighth, or King’s own regiment; a detachment of the royal artillery; a detachment of the royal nineteenth light dragoons; and a portion of Canada militia and Indians. The main body of these troops were among the best in the British army. This force was supported by a heavy battery of nine pieces, within point blank range of the American troops. Under the fire of this battery, the corps of General Scott passed the bridge in perfect order, but with some loss. His first and second battalions, under Majors Leavenworth and McNeil, after crossing, formed a line to the front, which brought them opposed respectively to the left and centre of the enemy. The third battalion under Major, (now General) Jessup, obliqued in column to the left, and advanced to attack the right of the enemy, which extended into the wood. Captain (now General) Towson with his artillery, was stationed on the right, resting in the Chippewa road. General Scott soon perceived that, although there were no intervals in the British line, yet their right wing outflanked his left.

To remedy this difficulty, the movement of Jessup was caused, and the interval between the battalions of Leavenworth and McNeil on the plain, was greatly enlarged. These evolutions were executed rapidly and with great precision, under the fire of both musketry and artillery. The action soon became general; Jessup, having engaged and broken off the right wing of the enemy, while their main body continued to advance, gave their army a new flank. Taking advantage of this circumstance, and assisted by the enlarged interval between the battalions of Leavenworth and McNeil, General Scott threw the battalion of the latter forward upon its right flank, so as to stand obliquely to the charge of the enemy, outflanking them upon the right. This movement, executed with precision, together with the steadiness of our troops and the heavy fire from the artillery, decided the fate of the day. The British army retreated a short distance in good order, then broke, and fled in confusion to their entrenchments, beyond the Chippewa. Thus was the whole British line fairly routed, in a field action, on an open plain. They fled to their entrenchments beyond the Chippewa, hotly pursued by Scott, to the distance of half-musket shot of Chippewa bridge. He took many prisoners, leaving the plain strewed with the dead and wounded of both nations. Justly, indeed, did General Brown, in his official report of the battle, say:--“Brigadier-General Scott is entitled to the highest praise our country can bestow: to him, more than to any other man, I am indebted for the victory of the 5th of July.”

The fight was fierce and bloody in an unwonted degree, the killed on both sides amounting to eight hundred and thirty, out of about four thousand engaged--more than one in five. This gallant action was followed in just three weeks by another yet more decisive of the courage and discipline of the American army--that at Lundy’s Lane.

General Riall, unknown to General Brown, had been largely reinforced by General Drummond from below; and when, on the morning of the 26th of July, General Scott, in advance, was on a march to attack General Riall’s forces, he suddenly came upon the British troops, which, reinforced that very day by Drummond, were themselves bent on attack. Scott had with him but four small battalions, commanded by Brady, Jessup, Leavenworth and McNeil; and Towson’s artillery, with Captain Harris’ detachment of regular and irregular cavalry. The whole column did not exceed one thousand three hundred men. With this small force, Scott found himself in the presence of a superior body. His position was critical, but it was one of those where promptness and decision of action must supply the want of battalions.

Dispatching officers to the rear to apprise General Brown that the whole British army was before him, General Scott at once engaged the enemy, who all the while believed they had to do with the whole of General Brown’s army, not at all expecting that a mere detachment of it would venture upon the apparently desperate course of encountering such greatly superior numbers as the British knew they had in the field. The battle began about half an hour before sunset. The armies were drawn out near the shores of that rapid river whose current mingles lake with lake; and as his able biographer beautifully observes:--“Hard by was the CATARACT, whose world of waters rushes over the precipice, and rushing, roars into the gulf below! The ceaseless spray rises up, like incense, to the Eternal FATHER! The beams of sun, and moon, and stars, fall ceaselessly on that spray, and are sent back in many-colored hues to the source of light! So it was when, wheeling into the field of battle, the slant beams of the setting sun, returning from the spray, encircled the advancing column with rainbow colors! The sun went down, to many an eye, no more to rise on earth! With the darkness came the greater rage of battle--charge after charge was made. For a time the faint beams of the moon struggled with the smoke, and gave a little light to the combatants; but it was but little. The moon itself became obscured, and no light, save the rapid flashes of musket and cannon, pierced the heavy clouds. The fight raged in the darkness of the night. From the height on the ridge, the battery of the enemy still poured its deadly fire. It was then the gallant Miller said, ‘I WILL TRY.’ It was then that Scott piloted his column through darkness to Lundy’s Lane. It was then that brave regiment charged to the cannon’s mouth. The battery was taken. The victory rests with the American army.”

Twice had Scott charged through the British lines--two horses had been killed under him--he was wounded in the side--and about eleven o’clock at night, on foot, and yet fighting, he was finally disabled by a shot which shattered the left shoulder, and he was borne away about midnight from the battle--his commander, General Brown, having been previously, in like manner, carried away wounded from the field. The wounds of General Scott, which were severe, confined him for a long time; nor had he again an opportunity of distinguishing himself before the conclusion of peace put an end to all active service in the field. In the mean time his sufferings were alleviated by the testimonials of the approbation and gratitude of his countrymen. Congress ordered a vote of thanks, and a gold medal (_See_ Plate V.). Virginia and New York each presented valuable swords. He was also elected an honorary member of the Cincinnati, and numberless states named new counties after him. In the long interval of comparative inaction which followed the close of the war, General Scott’s services were made available to the general government,--first, in that most painful task of reducing the army to a peace establishment, which necessarily imposed on the general great responsibility. The next important benefit rendered, and which, perhaps, was not the least of all the many he was capable of rendering, was to translate from the French, prepare, digest, and adapt to our service, a complete system of military tactics. In the execution of this trust, his previous military studies gave him great facilities and advantages over his brother officers.

In March, 1817, General Scott was married to Miss Maria Mayo, daughter of John Mayo, Esq., of Richmond, Virginia--a lady whose charms and accomplishments are much admired both in this country and in Europe. They have had several daughters, but no living son.

Such is the brief memoir of General Winfield Scott, extracted from his life, so ably portrayed by Edward D. Mansfield, Esq. General Scott is now in the sixty-second year of his age, and retains, to a remarkable degree, all the vigor and buoyancy of youth. At the head of our armies at war with a neighboring republic, all eyes are directed to him as the chief of that gallant band upon whom must depend the honor and success of our arms.

DESCRIPTION OF THE MEDAL PRESENTED TO GENERAL SCOTT.

OCCASION.--Battles of Chippewa and Niagara.

DEVICE.--Bust of General Scott.

LEGEND.--Major General Winfield Scott.

REVERSE.--Resolution of Congress, November 3d, 1814. Battles of Chippewa, July 5th, 1814; Niagara, July 25th, 1814. Surrounded by a wreath of laurel and palm entwining a snake.

GEN. E. P. GAINES.

Edmund Pendleton Gaines was born in the county of Culpepper, Virginia, on the 20th of March, 1777. His father, James Gaines, served in the latter part of the revolutionary war at the head of a company of volunteers, and having removed with his family to the north-west border of North Carolina, he was soon after chosen a member of the legislature of that state. He was the nephew of Edmund Pendleton, for many years presiding judge of the Court of Appeals, in Virginia, and one of those illustrious statesmen whose services were most prominent in the cause which produced a Washington, and enrolled the names of Jefferson, Madison, Randolph and Mason, among the most distinguished in the annals of American history. To the early affectionate solicitude and pious care of a highly gifted mother, may be imputed the strict integrity, and devoted sense of duty, which have always distinguished the subject of this memoir; to whose prudence and excellent example he acknowledges himself indebted for the high sense of honor and rectitude which have been his support amid the trying and eventful scenes of his life.

At the close of the war of independence, his father returned to his estate in North Carolina, consisting of some hundred acres. He, like most of his neighbors, had lost his money in the form of valueless continental bills. In these circumstances, at this period, all classes were more or less involved.

Edmund, now in his thirteenth year, assisted his father in the toils of agriculture. His heart became early imbued with the pleasures which result from the performance of duties, and his health invigorated by such wholesome exercise.

About this period, his father removed his family to Sullivan county, (afterwards the eastern part of Tennessee,) in the immediate vicinity of which the Cherokee Indians were constantly committing depredations. With these Indians the United States were at that time, and continued to be for several years afterwards, at war. Surrounded by hostilities, our hero’s thoughts now actually turned to arms, and he employed his leisure hours in the study of such military works as were within his reach. By the time he was fourteen, he had acquired such skill in the management of the rifle, as to excel most of his young associates. At the age of eighteen, he was elected lieutenant of a rifle company of volunteers, which was raised at that time as a terror to the Cherokees, who were a continual annoyance to the neighborhood. In January, 1799, he was appointed an ensign, and attached to the sixth United States regiment, and ordered on duty in the recruiting service. In the following year the sixth regiment was disbanded, and Ensign Gaines was transferred to the fourth infantry, as second lieutenant.

In 1801, Colonel Butler, who commanded the fourth regiment, was instructed to select the subalterns of that regiment best qualified for making a topographical survey from Nashville to Natchez, for the location of a military road.

He appointed Lieutenant Gaines, who, in the performance of this duty, and in the survey of certain Indian boundary lines, near the Choctaw nation, was engaged until the winter of 1804. In that year, Spain having refused to withdraw her troops from the military posts of Mobile and Baton Rouge, and deliver up the country lying between the island of Orleans and the rivers Iberville, Mississippi and Perdido, as a part of Louisiana, the President of the United States determined to appoint a military collector of the customs, for the district of Mobile, and appointed Lieutenant Gaines to that office.