Chapter IV: Part 4

He accordingly was stationed at Fort Stoddart, thirty-six miles north of the town of Mobile, in the confident expectation of sooner or later having the honor of taking possession of the disputed territory. In 1806, in addition to the duties hitherto assigned to him, Lieutenant Gaines was appointed postmaster, and also agent to the postmaster-general, with authority to suspend all postmasters and mail contractors who were in any wise aiding persons supposed to be engaged in the machinations of Colonel Burr. In the interim, he was promoted to a captaincy. Captain Gaines, as commandant of Fort Stoddart, was authorized to employ such of the United States troops as should be deemed necessary for the protection of the mail, and inspectors of the revenue between the city of Orleans and Athens, Georgia, then a wilderness of nearly six hundred miles in extent. Having performed the arduous duties of this situation to the perfect satisfaction of his government, for nearly five years, Captain Gaines determined to retire from the army, and engage in the profession of the law. But the increased probability of a war with England, for a time suspended this resolution. He at length decided upon asking for leave of absence.

In this interval he commenced the practice of law, in the counties of Washington and Baldwin, Mississippi territory; but scarcely had he completed his first year’s practice, when war was declared against Great Britain, and Captain Gaines joyfully resumed his sword, never again to abandon it as long as his country should need his services.

In the war which followed, it will be seen that our hero was among the most steadfast in the performance of every arduous duty.

In the greatest danger he was distinguished alike by the fertility of his resources, the coolness of his courage, and the amiable simplicity of his manners. In his operations on the northern frontier, his gallant conduct received the highest commendation. At the battle of Chrystler’s Fields, on the 11th of November, 1813, Colonel Gaines commanded the twenty-fifth regiment of United States infantry. He was deprived of the honor of a participation in the glory of Harrison’s victory on the Thames, by a long and serious illness; but his brave regiment was one of the most effective, on the memorable 11th, covering the retreat of our several corps, after the check received by the enemy, to their re-embarkation on the St. Lawrence.

The relative strength of the two armies, when Colonel Gaines, who had recently been promoted to the rank of Major-General, arrived at Fort Erie, and took command on the morning of the 4th of August, 1814, was as follows:--the British veteran force amounted to a fraction over three thousand six hundred officers and men, besides six hundred Canadians and Indians--making altogether an aggregate of more than four thousand two hundred. This force was opposed by only nineteen hundred United States regulars, and six hundred New York and Pennsylvania volunteers, making the aggregate strength for duty, nearly two thousand five hundred. On the following day, August 5th, commenced the first of those actions, consisting of a vigorous cannonade and bombardment, with alternate sharp conflicts between the infantry and rifle corps of the two armies, with occasional skirmishing, which were kept up with a degree of vigor, daily and successively, until the morning of the 15th. These daily conflicts were so conducted as to pave the way for the more important victory which was to follow.

Although the losses in these smaller actions amounted to considerably more than those sustained in the battle of the 15th, still they were carried on in a spirit and temper, evincing a determination on the part of every officer and soldier to maintain the old-fashioned maxim, namely, “Victory or Death.” This sanguinary battle of the 15th, with the other actions of the following fourteen days, were altogether so conducted as to secure to a moral certainty, not only the safety of the whole northwestern frontier, but to cover the war-worn division with imperishable fame, by a series of triumphs extending throughout the months of August and September, 1814, the _value_ and _moral effect_ of which, can only be rightly estimated by the statesman or soldier capable of counting the cost of blood and treasure, which must have followed the sacrifice of that division--and the consequent recombination of a British army flushed with victory--and their lately _whipt_, and, therefore, doubly ferocious _savage friends_ and _allies_--with free access to a sparsely settled and unprotected frontier of near twelve hundred miles in extent, from Buffalo to Lake Michigan, and thence to the upper Mississippi, Missouri and Arkansas: a frontier embracing an extensive section of the then suffering northwestern settlements, that had during the first fourteen months of the war been bleeding at every pore. And this deplorable catastrophe to have followed upon the heels of the fiendish and disgraceful scenes which terminated in the taking, sacking, and burning the capitol of our beloved Union. The total defeat of this crippled and maimed remnant of Brown’s heroic division, _a catastrophe which, from the night of the 25th of July, to the fourth of the following month--to many brave officers of high rank--(one of whom was at the head of a brigade,) seemed to be inevitable, without an immediate abandonment of Canada, might have prolonged the war, with its increasing horrors of the massacre and scalping of women and children, for seven years_. This mutilated remnant of our noble division, however, gallantly met and gloriously triumphed over a veteran British army of near double our numbers during twenty consecutive days, and some nights, and accomplished these triumphs before the harassed and broken down war department could send on the requisite reinforcements, to give our operations the _offensive_ in place of the _defensive_ cast, and increased vigorous character.

The great and gallant state of New York, with her Tomkins, and her Clintons, and her Porter, and her Spencer, and hosts of other master spirits of this state, Pennsylvania, and Ohio, soon devised measures to put in rapid motion the chivalry--constituting the minute-men of the volunteers around them--and these sanguinary conflicts, which commenced on the 5th, and continued until the 28th of August, under the direction of the gallant Gaines, from thence until the 5th of September, under Miller, and to the 10th, under Ripley, were brilliantly terminated on the 17th of that month, under Brown.

It may safely be left to the future statesman and soldier to decide--and to the impartial historian to record--how far these triumphs of August, 1814, may have contributed to allay the _panic_ produced by the victory of the British at Bladensburg, the capture of Alexandria and the city of Washington, with the destruction of the capitol; or to what extent they may have tended to arrest the exultation which this _victory_, and these captures produced in the ranks of the enemy; and to establish throughout the Union the moral power, and unshaken confidence reposed in the efficiency of our volunteers. They had never, before the month of August, 1814, given such indubitable evidence of their being in all respects equal to the best of veteran regulars, in an open field fight, and in the close conflict of repeated heavy charges of veteran infantry with the bayonet--in the deepest darkness of night. It is for posterity to decide (when the actors are all in the grave), how far the moral effect of those sanguinary struggles, and long-continued triumphs, may or may not have contributed to seal the fate of the enemy, from the 29th of August to the 17th of September, on the Niagara frontier, at Baltimore, at Plattsburg, and at New Orleans, in December, 1814, and January, 1815. The description of troops here referred to as so eminently distinguished at each place, had long been known to be invincible _in the woods_ against Indians and their white allies, and _behind breastworks_, against the best of British veterans. But they had never, before the month of August, 1814, afforded such incontestable proofs of their entire fitness for the close conflicts of the open field, as at that time near Fort Erie.

These triumphs were duly appreciated by the wise, the just, the virtuous Madison, as well as by the supreme judiciary of the United States; by the assembled wisdom of both houses of Congress, and by the enlightened and patriotic public authorities of the sovereign states of the Union--who promptly, and in most cases _unanimously_, testified in terms of high approbation, their sense of the value of the services rendered by that division of the army during the period here referred to.

General Gaines, in his official report to the war department, gives the following account of the battle of the 15th of August: He says, “I hasten to communicate particulars of the battle fought at this place (Fort Erie, Upper Canada), on the 15th inst., between the left wing of the second division of the northern army, under my command, and the British forces in the Peninsula of Upper Canada.

“At half past two o’clock, on the morning of the 15th, the right column of the enemy approached; and though enveloped in darkness, was distinctly heard on our left, and promptly marked by our musketry, under Major Wood, and artillery under Captain Towson. Being mounted at the moment, I repaired to the point of attack, where the sheet of fire rolling from Towson’s battery and the musketry of the left wing of the 21st infantry, under Major Wood, enabled me to see the enemy’s column, of about fifteen hundred men, approaching on that point; his advance was not checked until it approached within ten feet of our infantry; a line of loose brush, representing an abattis, only intervened; a column of the enemy attempted to pass round the abattis, through the water where it was nearly breast-deep. Apprehending that this point would be carried, I ordered a detachment of riflemen and infantry to its support; but having met with the gallant commander, Major Wood, was assured by him that he could defend his position without reinforcements. At this moment the enemy were repulsed; but instantly renewed the charge, and were again repulsed.

“My attention was now called to the right, where our batteries and lines were soon lighted by a most brilliant fire of cannon and musketry. It announced the approach of the centre and left columns of the enemy, under Colonels Drummond and Scott. The latter was received by the veteran ninth, under the command of Captain Foster and Captains Broughton and Harding’s companies of New York and Pennsylvania volunteers, and were repulsed. That of the centre, led by Colonel Drummond, was not long kept in check; it approached, at once, every available point of the fort, and, with scaling ladders, ascended the parapet, but was repulsed with dreadful carnage. The assault was twice repeated, and as often checked; but the enemy, having moved around in the ditch, covered by darkness, added to the heavy cloud of smoke which had rolled from our cannon and musketry, enveloping surrounding objects, repeated the charge, re-ascended the ladders--their pikes, bayonets and spears, fell upon our gallant artillerists. The gallant spirits of our favorite Captain Williams, and Lieutenants M’Donough and Watmough, with their brave men, were overcome--the two former, and several of their men, received deadly wounds--our bastion was lost. Lieutenant M’Donough, being severely wounded, demanded quarter. It was refused by Colonel Drummond;--the Lieutenant then seized a handspike and nobly defended himself, until he was shot down with a pistol, by the monster who had refused him quarter, who often was heard to reiterate the order, ‘_Give the damned Yankees no quarter_.’ This officer, whose bravery, had it been seasoned with virtue, would have entitled him to the admiration of every soldier; this hardened murderer soon met his fate: he was shot through the heart by ----, of the ---- regiment, while repeating the order to ‘give no quarter.’ The battle now raged with increased fury on the right; but on the left, the enemy was repulsed and put to flight; thence, and from the centre, I ordered reinforcements--they were promptly sent by Brigadier-Generals Ripley and Porter. Captain Fanning, of the corps of artillery, kept a spirited and destructive fire, with his field-pieces, on the enemy attempting to approach the fort. At this moment, every operation was arrested by the explosion of some cartridges, deposited in the end of the stone building, adjoining the contested bastion--the explosion was tremendous--it was decisive--the bastion was restored. At this moment, Captain Biddle, with his field-piece, enfiladed the exterior plain and salient glacis: although not recovered from a severe injury in the shoulder by one of the enemy’s shells, promptly served his field-piece with vivacity and effect. Captain Fanning’s battery, likewise, played upon them at this time with great effect--the enemy were, in a few moments, entirely defeated, taken, or put to flight, leaving on the field two hundred and twenty-one killed, one hundred and seventy-four wounded, and one hundred and eighty-six prisoners--total five hundred and eighty-one, including fourteen officers killed, and seven wounded and prisoners. Americans, seventeen killed, fifty-six wounded, eleven missing, total eighty-four.

“I have the honor, &c.”

It must be remembered that General Gaines had collected and arranged the requisite papers and memorandums, such as would have enabled him to make a faithful report of every material incident of each day’s operations, from the 5th to the 28th of August. But on this last-mentioned day he was crippled; and the British bomb-shell that wounded him, demolished his writing-desk, with so many of his valuable papers, including most of the reports and memorandums just now referred to, that his detailed report fell very short of what was intended, with the exception of giving to his officers that praise which their courage and bravery deserved; this report, as before intimated, was very hastily and imperfectly thrown together amidst the cares and constant interruptions of incessant _daily action_ and _nightly vigilance and preparation for increased vigorous action_, unavoidably omitting some incidents of great interest to the service, to corps, and to individual officers and soldiers, gallantly engaged in this as well as in some of the smaller conflicts.

The official reports of the then acting Adjutant-General Jones, (now adjutant-general of the army,) and Major Hall, then acting Inspector-General, show, that in the smaller actions, before referred to, from the 5th to the 14th, the actual loss of United States regulars and volunteers, was altogether much greater than in the battle of the 15th, which, though resulting in a decided victory, in which the enemy acknowledged his loss to be greater than he sustained in any one battle during the year 1814 in America, yet this was, in truth, but one of _twenty-three days’ sharp conflicts_--all crowned with success; although Gaines’ encampment near Fort Erie, from the daily flow of blood which it exhibited, was compared by the officers to a slaughter-pen. And from the 15th to the 28th of August, was still greater; amounting in all to nearly four hundred--officers and soldiers killed and wounded. The enemy took from us but one prisoner, it is believed, during the month; the brave Lieutenant Fontaine, who was knocked down from his battery in the dark.

For his gallant conduct in this ever memorable battle, General Gaines was honored by the federal government with an unanimous vote of thanks, and a gold medal (_See_ Plate V.), whilst the three great and patriotic states of New York, Virginia and Tennessee, awarded to him unanimous resolutions of thanks, with a fine gold hilted sword, which he received from each of these states. This gallant officer is now employed in the honorable and important service of his country. We are sensible that in so brief a space allowed us in this memoir, justice cannot be done to such bravery, magnanimity and patriotism as have marked his character, through a life which has ever displayed a highly intelligent and unremitted zeal for the welfare of his country.

DESCRIPTION OF THE MEDAL.

OCCASION.--Battle of Erie.

DEVICE.--Bust of General Gaines.

LEGEND.--Major-General Edmund P. Gaines.

REVERSE.--Victory standing on a shield, under which are a stand of colors and a halbert, and holding a palm-branch in her left hand, as in the act of placing a laurel crown on the cascabel of a cannon marked R, which is fixed upright in the ground, and is surrounded with a scroll inscribed “Erie.” On one trunnion rests a stand of British colors, and from the other is suspended a broad sword. By the side of the cannon are a howitzer, helmet, and several balls. Behind the cannon is a halbert.

LEGEND.--Resolution of Congress, Nov. 3d, 1814.

EXERGUE.--Battle of Erie, Aug. 15th, 1814.

GEN. JAMES MILLER.

James Miller, late Brigadier-General in the United States army, was born in the town of Peterborough, Hillsborough county, New Hampshire, April 25th, 1776. His grandfather, Samuel Miller, came from the North of Ireland, about the year 1720, and settled in Londonderry, New Hampshire, accompanied by his wife, (whose maiden name was Mary Shearer,) and their eldest child. They had seven children; five sons, Matthew, James, William, Samuel and John; and two daughters, Mary and Jane; all of whom, except Matthew, the eldest, were born in America. The four younger sons subsequently removed from Londonderry to Peterborough and settled on a tract of wild land, which, as tradition states, had been purchased for them, and paid for in linen cloth and thread manufactured by their mother, a woman of great energy and industry. The purchase comprised an extent of four hundred acres, and includes some of the best land in Peterborough. The eldest son, Matthew, remained in Londonderry with his parents.

Of the four who went to Peterborough, James, the father of General Miller, was the twin brother of William, and for many years they improved their land in common and divided the produce. He married Catherine Gragg, the first child baptized in Peterborough. She was the daughter of Hugh Gragg, who also came to America from the north of Ireland, and settled in Groton, Massachusetts, but subsequently removed to Peterborough, when his daughter Catherine was a child of about eight or nine years of age. James Miller and his wife, Catherine Gragg, had four sons, Hugh, Samuel, James and Jacob; and three daughters, Jane, Mary and Catherine: of these, James, the subject of this memoir, was the third son. His earlier years were spent at home with his parents. Although he was of a robust constitution, and had a muscular and powerful frame, he was never a very valuable assistant in the agricultural labors of the farm, if we may be allowed to judge from the appellation by which he is said to have been familiarly designated in the family, and perhaps in the neighborhood, that of “_lazy Jem_.” The facilities for education in that part of the country were at that period very limited, but they were then, as now, free to all so far as the town or district schools were concerned. He attended one of these, such portions of the year as it was kept open; and it so happened that his earliest military as well as literary instruction was received there. One of the persons employed for a time as teacher of the school, had been a sergeant in the army of the Revolution, and had still so much of his former military taste remaining, as to render it quite as much a matter of pride and gratification to him to drill the boys (provided with wooden guns for the purpose) in the manual and company movements, at intervals between school hours and on holidays, as it was to preside over their literary progress in doors. He was, withal, a strict disciplinarian, and the event now to be related would not, in all probability, have happened during his administration. In the time of one of his successors in the school, the boys, incited perhaps by traditionary accounts of similar schoolboy doings in the old country, determined to gain a holiday, which had been refused them, by “barring out” the master and holding adverse possession of the school-house until their demand was complied with.

The plan was carried into effect by those who, from residing at a distance from the school-house usually remained at noon-time, (while the master and another portion of the scholars were temporarily absent,) aided by such as they had persuaded to stay with them and take part in the conspiracy. The door was accordingly shut and barricaded by those in the plot, but a window, which (in the scarcity of glass and window-frame, incident to a new settlement) was fitted only with a wooden shutter, could not be closed against the “executive” and “conservatives,” without at the same time excluding _daylight_; a deprivation to which the young conspirators felt a distaste very similar to that attributed by Homer to the Grecian Ajax. It was, besides, highly desirable that an avenue for negotiations between the parties should be kept open, through which, at the proper time, the terms of an accommodation might be settled. The defence of this important and assailable point was committed to young Miller, although one of the youngest of this juvenile band: and when at the exhortation of the master, (who, after all, was possibly at heart as little averse to a holiday as any of his pupils,) an assault on the fortress was made by the advocates of “law and order,” so resolutely did he maintain his post, that the _storming party_, headed by an older cousin of the young defender, were effectually kept at bay. A parley was now held, and the demand for a holiday having been acceded to on the part of the teacher, coupled with a stipulation for the entire immunity from punishment of all concerned, the door was once more opened and the affair terminated in a manner agreeable, doubtless, to all concerned, since all shared alike in the indulgence obtained.

He continued to attend the town schools during a portion of each season, until the autumn of his eighteenth year, when, desirous of greater facilities for education than his native town afforded, he left home for the purpose of attending the academy at that time established in Amherst, New Hampshire, some twenty-five miles distant from Peterborough. His _outfit_ on the occasion was neither very splendid nor extensive; consisting of a bundle of clothes, not at all burdensome to carry, and the sum of one dollar and twenty-five cents in money.

The “credit system” was, in those days almost a matter of necessity, and although he had no personal acquaintance in Amherst, except with one or two of the students at the academy, he found no difficulty in making an arrangement for his board in the family of one of the townspeople, and his tuition at the institution. He remained at the academy for several months, and then left for the purpose of recruiting his finances and paying off arrearages by teaching; and having done so, was enabled himself to go to school again, and then open a new account with his boarding house and learning. He went on in this manner, alternately pupil and teacher, receiving knowledge by instalments, and disbursing it very fairly as it accumulated, until after years (when, having spent a short portion of the time as a student at Williams College,) he was qualified to commence the study of law, which he pursued in the office of the late James Wilson, Esquire, then of Peterborough, and latterly of Keene, New Hampshire, a gentleman at that time of extensive and successful practice in the law. Having completed the requisite term as a law student, he was admitted to practice in the state court, at the spring term for Hillsborough County, 1803.

He removed to the town of Greenfield, adjoining Peterborough, and continued the practice of the law there until, in the year 1808, he received from President Jefferson an appointment as major, in the Fourth Regiment of United States Infantry, the highest appointment made from New Hampshire under the act of Congress for increasing the army. He was in a great measure indebted, for this appointment, to the favorable opinion and influence of the late Governor Pierce of New Hampshire, himself a distinguished officer in the revolutionary army. James Miller had previously held a commission under the state government, as captain of artillery. His commission as major of the Fourth Regiment of United States Infantry, bears date the 3d of March, 1809, taking rank from 8th of July, 1808. In June, he joined his regiment, then commanded by Col. John P. Boyd, at Fort Independence, in Boston harbor, in the spring of 1809, where he remained (with the exception of a short interval, spent on duty at Springfield, Massachusetts, and on a march from there with a detachment of troops to Newport, Rhode Island,) until the spring of 1811, when he embarked with the fourth regiment, for Philadelphia--having shortly before been commissioned as lieutenant-colonel of the fiftieth regiment. The troops arrived at Philadelphia, on the 16th of May, and on the following day proceeded on their march to Pittsburgh, where they arrived on the 21st of June.

In consequence of hostile indications on the part of the Northwestern Indians, prompted by the master spirit Tecumseh, government had determined on a military expedition into the Indian country, and Colonel Miller was, with his regiment, ordered to prepare with all possible dispatch to proceed to Vincennes and join the forces under General Harrison. The first steamboat ever launched on the western waters was then on the stocks at Pittsburgh, and of course afforded matter for much observation and comment. On the 2d of August, the troops embarked in keel boots for Vincennes. They reached Newport, Kentucky, the distance of five hundred and twenty miles, in seven days, and there landed and remained until the 30th of the same month, when they again embarked and descended the river to Jeffersonville, Indiana, in order to meet General Harrison.

At the request of General Harrison, Colonel Boyd, then in command of the regiment, left the expedition and went with General Harrison across the country to Vincennes, leaving Colonel Miller in command of the troops, with orders to proceed by water.

They descended about three hundred miles to the farther Wabash, and then made their way up that river one hundred and seventy miles more to Vincennes.

The ascending the Wabash was at that time exceedingly toilsome and harassing; the river was very low, and they had eleven large boats from fifty to seventy-five feet long to pass over the bars and shallows of the river, which were of very frequent occurrence. It sometimes required the united efforts of an hundred men to lift or drag a single boat over a rocky shallow. On the 17th of September, the day of the great solar eclipse, they were engaged in passing the grand rapids of the Wabash.

To encourage and animate the men, Colonel Miller himself frequently went into the water to assist at the boats, as did every other officer, and for several successive days, had not the opportunity of a change of dry clothes. It was to this exposure and fatigue that Colonel Miller was probably indebted for the severe illness with which he was subsequently attacked.

The boats, with the troops, reached Vincennes on the 19th and there joined the militia under General Harrison. The combined force immediately commenced drilling for Indian warfare, and on the 27th of September, marched for the Prophet’s town, in the vicinity of the Tippecanoe ground. On the 2d of October, the army reached the spot, seventy miles from Vincennes, where they halted to build Fort Harrison, which was subsequently so bravely and successfully defended against the Indians by Lieutenant, _now_ Major-General Zachary Taylor. The next day after his arrival at this place, Colonel Miller was seized with a violent bilious fever, which at once completely prostrated him, from the effects of which, and the treatment and exposure which he necessarily had to undergo, he has never entirely recovered.

Until the fort was built, he was sheltered in a tent, with a bearskin and blankets for bedding. The weather for the first few days was very warm, and then suddenly changed to cold, with snow and rain; to hasten salivation, the physicians applied mercury very freely externally, as well as administering it internally, with blisters on the neck and limbs.

He had never been confined by sickness for a single day in his life before. He received the kindest attention from General Harrison, Colonel Boyd, and other officers, particularly from Colonel Davis, of the Kentucky dragoons, who was afterwards killed at Tippecanoe.

When the army moved from Fort Harrison, on the 29th of October, Colonel Miller had so far recovered as to be able to walk a few steps with the assistance of a cane, but was utterly unable to accompany the troops. For fifteen days he had been unable to move from his hard bed without being lifted, a tent his only shelter; and the weather suddenly changed from warm to cold, sufficiently to allow the snow to remain on the ground for two days at a time. His regret at being compelled to remain behind, is thus expressed in a letter written some time after:--“I reflected that I had sailed, marched, and rowed in boats, more than two thousand miles in search of, and with the expectation of acquiring, in common with my brothers in arms, some military fame: to be brought to the ‘right about’ and obliged to halt within a few miles of the scene of action and consequent honor acquired by the glorious victory obtained--I thought my lot a hard one.” From the 4th day of May to the 18th of November, he had slept in a house but two nights. Colonel Miller was left in command of Fort Harrison, with the invalids of the army, and although thus debarred from participating in the battle which ensued, and resulted in the victory of Tippecanoe, he was fortunately able to be of essential service after the battle. For when apprised of the result, by express from General Harrison, he dispatched boats up the river, with hay in them for the reception of the wounded, and fresh provisions for the troops, to a point where the army would be likely to strike the river, on their return to Fort Harrison.

When the army left Fort Harrison, on its return to Vincennes, in the following November, although still an invalid, Colonel Miller requested to accompany them, and he was sent in command of the troops and boats, by way of the river: although it was considered the most easy way of traveling, he suffered much from exposure on the journey. He spent the following winter at Vincennes, and during that time became an inmate in the house and family of General Harrison, who with the most affectionate kindness urged this hospitality upon him. In May, 1812, he received orders to proceed with the fourth regiment to Dayton, Ohio, and from thence marched to Detroit, having joined General Hull at Urbana.

The communication with the state of Ohio being completely blocked up, thereby preventing the transportation of supplies of provisions for General Hull’s army, he saw it necessary to turn his attention to that point, and accordingly detached from the army a part of the regular troops, numbering about six hundred men, under the command of Lieutenant-Colonel James Miller, of the fourth regiment United States infantry, for this object. Colonel Miller was permitted to take two field pieces with the detachment, one six pounder and one five and a half inch howitzer, with their appendages and ammunition.

The detachment having drawn two days’ provisions, being organized and everything prepared for the march, General Wayne was chosen to lead the spies to reconnoitre the country; these were volunteer citizens of Detroit well acquainted with the route.

At five o’clock P. M., on the 8th of August, 1812, the troops being ready to march, and drawn up in line in the main street of Detroit, Colonel Miller rode to the centre and in front of the line, and addressed the troops in the following words:--“Soldiers, we are going to meet the enemy and to beat them! The blood of your brethren, spilt by savage hands on the 5th, must be avenged by their chastisement, and by the chastisement of the enemy who employs them, more savage than they! I shall lead you--I trust that no man will disgrace himself or me--every man who is seen to leave the ranks, to give way, or fall back without orders, shall instantly be put to death. My brave soldiers! you have once faced the enemy in a hard conflict, and beaten them, and gained glory to yourselves and honor to your country! Let this opportunity be improved to add another victory to that of _Tippecanoe_, and new glory to that which you gained on the _Wabash_. Soldiers, if there are any now in the ranks of this detachment, who are afraid to meet the enemy, they are now permitted to fall out and stay behind.” At which the words, “I’ll not stay,” ran through the ranks with a “huzza.”

The detachment then moved off in order and high spirits, and exhibited so much ardor to engage in the conflict, that the anxious citizens felt perfect confidence in the success of the enterprise. The detachment arrived at the river Rouge, six miles from Detroit, about sunset. There being no bridge and the water very deep, they were conveyed over in scows, and as two only were within reach, it was ten o’clock before the whole had crossed over. The weather being somewhat rainy and very dark, it was determined to encamp there for the night. They therefore stationed their guards and picquets, and permitted the men to rest on their arms till daylight. Accordingly, at daybreak, they commenced their march, with Colonel Miller at the head of a column of cavalry, accompanied by his aids, in the road and in a line with the heads of the columns of musketry. In this order the detachment marched from the encampment, near the river Rouge, on the morning of the 9th. They proceeded through the white settlement, which was about five miles, and entered the woods.

The country, from the river Rouge to Brownstown, is generally flat, and lies a little above the surface of the river Detroit. Indian huts and fields are interspersed through the woods; at that time the fields were covered with corn, which was grown to seven and eight feet high.

When the advanced guard had arrived at the farther edge of this wood, the spies advanced into the Indian opening; they were fired upon by a party of ten Indians, who were on horseback, and had concealed themselves behind the house of the celebrated chief, _Walk-in-the-water_.

The spies fell back. A citizen from Detroit, who accompanied them, was killed, and fell from his horse. The guard advanced quickly towards the house, and the Indians immediately fled without receiving much injury, though the guard fired upon them while they were uncovered by the house. The Indians bore away as a trophy, the citizen’s scalp whom they had shot; and the facility with which the scalp was taken, was astonishing. There scarcely appeared to have been time for the Indian to reach the spot where the man fell, before the guard arrived and found the scalp taken off, and the Indian gone. When the firing was heard by the columns, the order was given by Colonel Miller to march on with haste, but only some scattered Indians were discovered, who had been sent out by the British to watch the movements of the Americans, and to give information of their approach towards Brownstown, where the enemy, as it appeared afterwards, then lay in ambush to receive them. The position which the enemy had chosen, lay in an open oak wood, just at the declivity of a rising ground, over which the Americans had to pass. He had thrown up a breastwork of trees, logs, &c., behind which he lay concealed in force, and in order of battle. His works were thrown up in form of a _courtine_ with two flanks. The line of the _courtine_ lay across the road and perpendicularly to it. The banks formed an angle with the _courtine_ of about one hundred and twenty. The _courtine_ was lined with British regular troops, two deep of the forty-first regiment of foot, under the command of Major Muer of that regiment, who had long been in command at Malden. The flank of the _courtine_, on the enemy’s right, and American left, was lined with Canadian militia and Indians, commanded by _Walk-in-the-water_ and _Marpot_. Most of the militia were dressed and painted like their “brethren in arms,” the savages. The left flank of the courtine was lined entirely by savages, under the command of the celebrated Indian warrior Tecumseh, of the Shawnoese nation.

The number of the British regulars and militia amounted to about three hundred; about two hundred regulars. The Indians amounted to four hundred and fifty, making the enemy’s forces about seven hundred and fifty men. The position and strength of the enemy were entirely unknown to Colonel Miller and to the army at this time.

At twelve o’clock M. the detachment arrived at a large opening which contained four or five Indian houses, gardens, and orchards, and the army halted to take some refreshment, and to bury the man who had been killed; there they lay one hour. The village was deserted, and nothing of any consequence left in the houses.

At one P. M., the troops resumed their march, and soon reached the woods, near Brownstown, where some guns were heard by them. In a few seconds a volley was heard from Captain Snelling’s advance guard, and another instantly returned from a great number of pieces. The troops, by this time, were in preparation for battle, when Colonel Miller rode towards the centre at full speed, halted, and with a firm voice ordered the columns to “form the line of battle,” which was executed with that order, promptness and zeal, which he had expected; after the first volleys, the firing became incessant in front. Captain Snelling stood his ground till the lines were formed, and moved to his relief. He stood within pistol shot of the enemy’s breastworks in a shower of balls from the regular troops in his front, who showed themselves after the first fire, and set up the Indian yell.

When the first line appeared before the breastwork, they received the fire of the whole front and a part of the flanks. At this instant, Colonel Miller discovered that the enemy outflanked him, when the second line and flank guards were brought upon the flanks of the front line of the enemy.

The savages, in unison with the British troops, set up a horrid yell, and a severe conflict ensued.

The incessant firing of individual pieces soon changed to volleys, and while silence prevailed for an instant, the discharge of the six pounder burst upon the ear. At this instant, Colonel Miller was thrown from his horse which took fright at the discharge. He was supposed to be shot; those near him flew to his aid; the savages who saw him fall sprang over the breastwork to take his scalp, but were repulsed. Colonel Miller instantly remounted and returned to continue his orders. The fire from the Indians, who were screened by their breastworks, was deadly.

Another discharge of grape from the six pounder, caused the British line to yield, then to break, and the troops to fly in disorder! Tecumseh, and some Indians under his command, who had leaped over the breastwork in the full assurance of victory, were driven back at the point of the bayonet. The British and some Indians fled directly down the river, and were pursued by Colonel Miller, and that part of the troops which had opposed them. Tecumseh, with his Indians, fled directly from the river westwardly, into the wilderness, and were pursued. After the British had retreated about one mile, they came to an opening, of about half a mile in diameter; here they attempted to rally again, but on the approach of the Americans they again broke and fled into the woods down the river. Colonel Miller immediately ordered the troops to follow in further pursuit of the British.

After following them through the woods for nearly half a mile, they came upon the beach of Lake Erie, and discovered the enemy all in boats, steering towards Malden, and out of reach of their shot. They had concealed their boats at this point, when they came over, for this purpose, if they should be defeated. The troops returned to the battle field, where they met the division which had returned from the pursuit of Tecumseh.

When the troops were formed in line, Colonel Miller rode in front and addressed them in the following words:--“My brave fellows! you have done well! every man has done his duty. I give you my hearty thanks for your conduct on this day; you have gained my highest esteem; you have gained fresh honor to yourselves, and to the American arms; your fellow soldiers in arms will love you, and your country will reward you. You will return to the field of battle, to collect those who have gloriously fallen; your friendly attentions to your wounded companions are required.” Detachments were sent out with wagons to search the woods, and collect all the wounded and dead, and bring them to the ground then occupied by the troops. All the Indian houses, only three or four in number, were prepared to receive them, and the surgeons were industriously employed with them, during the whole night.

The troops encamped on the bank of the river, fronting the woods, the river forming their back. The time from the attack on the vanguard to the time of forming the line on the Indian fields, after the pursuit was finally ended, was two and a half hours. During this sharp conflict the conduct of each individual officer and soldier was so uniformly and strictly military, that the commander was scarcely able to make distinctions in his brief and modest report to General Hull. The physical powers of almost every man were called into action, and severely tried.

The troops then returned to Detroit, where they were apprised of the declaration of war between England and the United States.

Colonel Miller, on hearing the above news, determined to make an attempt to land on the Canada shore, with the fourth regiment, which he still continued to command, accompanied by Colonel, now General Cass, with a regiment of militia, together with a company of artillery, under Captain Dyson; the whole, under the command of Colonel Miller, embarked at a point about a mile above Detroit, crossed the river and landed on the Canada side without opposition. Colonels Miller and Cass had, on this occasion, the honor of planting with their own hands, on the bank of the Detroit river, the first American flag carried into Canada in the last war. After remaining but a short time in Canada, they re-embarked to the American side. Colonel Miller, it appears by official reports, took an active part in nearly all the principal battles of the western frontier. In a dispatch from General Harrison, at Lower Sandusky, he observes, “the detachment led by that brave officer, Colonel Miller, did not exceed three hundred and fifty men, and it is very certain that they defeated two hundred British regulars, one hundred and fifty militia men, and four or five hundred Indians.” Again, in a letter from Major-General Brown to the secretary of war, after the battle of Bridgewater, he says, “to secure the victory, it was necessary to carry this artillery and seize the height; this duty was assigned to Colonel Miller, who advanced steadily and gallantly to his object, and carried the height and the cannon.” He also observes, “from the preceding detail, you have evidence of the distinguished gallantry of that brave officer.” In the battles of Chippewa, Niagara and Erie, he is alike distinguished. After the battle of Chippewa, Colonel Miller was promoted to the rank of Brigadier-General. Congress presented him with a gold medal (_see_ Plate V.) with the unanimous thanks of that body.

After the close of the war, General Miller retired to his estate at Peterborough, New Hampshire, where he resided for some time, enjoying the sweets of quietude and the pleasures of agricultural pursuits; subsequently he received the appointment of collector of the port at Salem, Massachusetts, where he is now living in the bosom of his family. Although nearly deprived of the powers of articulation by paralysis, he enjoys his other faculties with comfort to himself and happiness to all around him.

The kindness and affability of General Miller made him a favorite in the field, as well as in the domestic circle. Before his affliction, it was indeed difficult to be long in his society without feeling happier as well as wiser. He was blessed with a great cheerfulness of disposition, which diffused its charms on all around him. He lives, commanding universal veneration and attachment from his illustrious services as a soldier, and his social virtues and generous hospitality as a man.

DESCRIPTION OF THE MEDAL.

OCCASION.--Battles of Chippewa, Niagara, and Erie.

DEVICE.--Bust of General Miller.

LEGEND.--Brigadier-General James Miller.

EXERGUE.--I’ll try.

REVERSE.--Two armies engaged on a hill; troops advancing at a distance.

LEGEND.--Resolution of Congress, November 3d, 1814.

EXERGUE.--Battles of Chippewa, July 5th, 1814; Niagara, July 25th, 1814; Erie, September 17th, 1814.

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_W. L. Ormsby, sc._]

MAJOR-GEN. JACOB BROWN.

Jacob Brown, the subject of the following memoir, was born in Bucks county, Pennsylvania, in the year 1775, of a highly respectable family of Quakers. His father inherited a valuable and flourishing estate, but anxious still to increase it, he imprudently embarked in some commercial transactions which proved unfortunate, and his whole property was sacrificed. This happened when our hero was about sixteen years of age, and, it is said, made a great change in his character and conduct; he was determined to devote himself to something that might be a support for himself, and enable him to retrieve the broken fortunes of his family.

At the age of eighteen he took charge of a large and respectable school at Crosswicks, New Jersey; at the same time endeavoring, by close study, to improve his own mind for future labors. At the age of twenty-two, he was employed in surveying and laying out lands, in that section of country now the state of Ohio. He also became agent for M. Le Roy de Chaumont, a distinguished Frenchman, who owned a large tract of that country, and was industrious in obtaining settlers. In 1798 he removed to the city of New York, where, by the urgent solicitations of his friends, he was induced again to take charge of a school; this, after a time, became irksome, and he commenced the study of law, but soon abandoned it as uncongenial with his active and adventurous pursuits. Having acquired a small property by his exertions in Ohio, he made a purchase of some land on the borders of Lake Ontario and the river St. Lawrence, now Jefferson county, in the state of New York. Here he built the first human dwelling within thirty miles of the lake, and after effecting some necessary improvements, he removed his parents to his new abode; and to the close of his life devoted himself to their happiness and comfort.

Brown, through his early life, had much to contend with. Thrown upon his own resources for subsistence and education, and the poverty of his beloved parents on his mind, he was repeatedly discouraged; but his energy never forsook him; his firmness and perseverance seemed to overcome every obstacle that surrounded him. In 1809, he was appointed a colonel of militia; and in the year following, he was promoted to the rank of brigadier-general. At the commencement of the war in 1812, he was appointed to defend the frontier of Lake Ontario and the river St. Lawrence, from Oswego to Lake St. Francis, an extent of coast reaching two hundred miles. He fixed his head-quarters at Ogdensburg, where he was attacked by a British force much superior to his own in numbers; but in this affair no one received the least injury, while the enemy lost several men in killed and wounded. In 1813, General Brown joined Colonel Backus, of the dragoons, stationed at Sacket’s Harbor, a demonstration against the post having been made by a British force from Kingston, under the command of Sir George Prevost and Sir James Yeo. General Brown had hardly time to arrive and dispose his brigade, before the enemy commenced the attack, which for a time was fierce and successful; but after a series of skillful and spirited movements, the British forces were completely vanquished, and retreated precipitately in their boats. The loss of the enemy was four hundred and fifty, while that of the Americans was one hundred and fifty-six. Among the slain was the gallant Backus, who fell while exciting his men by his own bravery. The same year General Brown was appointed a brigadier-general in the regular army of the United States, and soon after planned the expedition against Montreal, which, by a want of concert between the generals of the northern army, was entirely frustrated.

Early in 1814, General Brown was placed in command of the northern division of the army at French Mills, with the rank of major-general. The reputation of the military was at this time rather low; many enterprises had proved abortive, and a feeling of disappointment was fast spreading through the country, and unfavorable impressions against the military capacity of the generals, were gaining ground. General Brown was determined, with the aid of able coadjutors, to endeavor to retrieve the reputation of the army; to these arduous exertions are to be ascribed the brilliant triumphs which were subsequently achieved.

In the Spring of 1814, he crossed the Niagara river and carried Fort Erie, which surrendered without any resistance.

On the 5th of July, 1814, was fought the battle of Chippewa, the first in that series of battles by which the American army so eminently distinguished itself. The British commander made a rapid advance, supposing the American forces not prepared for the attack he was about to make. In this he found himself mistaken, for hardly had he formed his line, when the gallant Scott made an attack. The conflict was severe on both sides, and for some time seemed about even, when, on the approach of a second brigade, under General Ripley, the British made a precipitate retreat under cover of their works on the Chippewa creek. News having reached General Brown that the British were intending to cross the Strait at Niagara, for the purpose of seizing the depot of the American army, and cutting off supplies of ammunition and subsistence, he accordingly advanced General Scott, with his brigade, to divert the enemy from his purpose, and on the 25th instant General Scott came in sight of the enemy, and shortly after made an attack. General Brown was also on the field in a few minutes, and immediately after General Ripley with his brigade. The combat now became obstinate and bloody beyond all parallel: like the battle of Chippewa it was fought on an open field; but here, as at Chippewa, the American army was completely victorious.

Although the enemy had chosen his own ground, on a commanding position, sheltered by heights, superior in numbers, and flanked by numerous artillery, he was driven from his position at the point of the bayonet, his cannon captured, and completely routed. Being reinforced by additional troops, the enemy made three unsuccessful attempts to regain his former position, by charges on the American line; the two last of which are described as the most desperate in the whole history of the war, being decided entirely at the point of the bayonet. General Brown, although he had received two severe wounds, and was so much exhausted by loss of blood, that at one time he was obliged to be supported on his horse by members of his staff, evinced through the whole, coolness and intrepidity, seemingly determined to maintain his position with his last drop of blood, till the victory was complete. General Brown was born to excel in his military profession. A stranger to surprise or intimidation, he met every emergency with a moral courage, his safeguard on the most trying occasions. When dangers were greatest, his coolness and resolution shone most conspicuous. His plans, which were never rash or imprudent, were distinguished for energy and vigor.

History informs us, that no enterprise undertaken by General Brown ever failed, or which he caused to be executed under the direction of others. It was not until the beginning of September, that General Brown was sufficiently convalescent from his wounds to resume his command. Our hero then commenced making secret preparations, and on the 17th of September, made a sortie, drove the besiegers from their entrenchments, and either destroyed or rendered their works wholly unserviceable; the loss of the enemy was one thousand, that of the American army five hundred. On the 21st, the enemy abandoned his position, and retreated beyond the Chippewa.