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+The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Story of Isaac Brock, by Walter R. Nursey
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: The Story of Isaac Brock
+       Hero, Defender and Saviour of Upper Canada, 1812
+
+Author: Walter R. Nursey
+
+Release Date: March 20, 2006 [EBook #18025]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE STORY OF ISAAC BROCK ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Steven Gibbs, Martin Pettit and the Online
+Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+THE STORY OF
+
+ISAAC BROCK
+
+HERO, DEFENDER AND SAVIOUR OF
+
+UPPER CANADA
+
+1812
+
+BY
+
+WALTER R. NURSEY
+
+
+     "By his unrivalled skill, by great
+     And veteran service to the state,
+     By worth adored,
+     He stood, in high dignity,
+     The proudest knight of chivalry,
+     Knight of the Sword."
+             --_Coplas de Manrique._
+
+
+TORONTO:
+
+WILLIAM BRIGGS
+
+1908
+
+Copyright, Canada, 1908, by WALTER R. NURSEY.
+
+[Illustration: _Frontispiece_ PORTRAIT OF MAJOR-GENERAL
+SIR ISAAC BROCK]
+
+
+
+
+A WORD TO THE READER
+
+That Isaac Brock is entitled to rank as the foremost defender of the
+flag Western Canada has ever seen, is a statement which no one familiar
+with history can deny. Brock fought and won out when the odds were all
+against him.
+
+At a time when almost every British soldier was busy fighting Napoleon
+in Europe, upon General Brock fell the responsibility of upholding
+Britain's honour in America. He was "the man behind the gun"--the
+undismayed man--when the integrity of British America was threatened by
+a determined enemy.
+
+His success can be measured by the fact that it is only since the war of
+1812-14 that the British flag has been properly respected in the western
+hemisphere. It is also a fact that after the capture of Detroit the
+Union Jack became more firmly rooted in the affections of the Canadian
+people than ever.
+
+It must not be forgotten that the capture of this stronghold was almost
+as far-reaching in its ultimate effect as the victory of Wolfe on the
+Plains of Abraham, and was fraught with little, if any, less import to
+Canada.
+
+What with the timidity of Prevost, and the tactical blunders of both
+himself and Sheaffe, the immediate influence upon the enemy of the
+victories at Detroit and Queenston was almost nullified. Had Brock
+survived Queenston, or even had his fixed, militant policy been allowed
+to prevail from the first, it is safe to say there would have been no
+armistice, no placating of a clever, intriguing foe, and no two years'
+prolongation of the war. Had the capitulation of Detroit, the crushing
+defeat at Queenston, and the wholesale desertion of Wadsworth's cowardly
+legions at Lewiston, been followed up by the British with relentless
+assault "all along the line"--before the enemy had time to recover his
+grip--then our hero's feasible plan, which he had pleaded with Prevost
+to permit, namely, to sweep the Niagara frontier and destroy Sackett's
+Harbor--the key to American naval supremacy of the lakes--could, there
+is no good reason to doubt, have been carried out. The purpose of this
+little book is not, however, to deal in surmises.
+
+The story of Sir Isaac Brock's life should convey to the youth of Canada
+a significance similar to that which the bugle-call of the trumpeter,
+sounding the advance, conveys to the soldier in the ranks. Reiteration
+of Brock's deeds should help to develop a better appreciation of his
+work, a truer conception of his heroism, a wiser understanding of his
+sacrifice.
+
+Many a famous man owes a debt of inspiration to some other great life
+that went before him. Not until every boy in Canada is thoroughly
+familiar with "Master Isaac's" achievements will he be qualified to
+exclaim with the Indian warrior, Tecumseh,
+
+                                 "THIS IS A MAN."
+
+                                                     W. R. N.
+
+Toronto, October, 1908.
+
+
+    NOTE.--Of the hundred and more books and documents consulted in a
+    search for facts I would register my special obligations to Tupper's
+    "Life of Brock"; Auchinleck's "History of the War of 1812-14";
+    Cruikshank's "Documentary History," and Richardson's "War of 1812"
+    (edited by Casselman).
+
+
+
+
+CONTENTS
+
+
+CHAPTER                                                  PAGE
+
+     I. OUR HERO'S HOME--GUERNSEY                          11
+
+    II. SCHOOL AND PASTIMES                                16
+
+   III. FROM ENSIGN TO COLONEL                             21
+
+    IV. EGMONT-OP-ZEE AND COPENHAGEN                       27
+
+     V. BROCK IN CANADA                                    36
+
+    VI. BRIDLE-ROAD, BATTEAU AND CANOE                     40
+
+   VII. MUTINY AND DESERTION                               47
+
+  VIII. FRANCE, THE UNITED STATES AND CANADA               52
+
+    IX. FUR-TRADERS AND HABITANTS                          55
+
+     X. THE MASSACRE AT MACKINAW                           59
+
+    XI. LITTLE YORK, NIAGARA, AMHERSTBURG                  64
+
+   XII. MAJOR-GENERAL BROCK, GOVERNOR OF UPPER CANADA      72
+
+  XIII. THE WAR CLOUD                                      75
+
+   XIV. THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA DECLARES WAR          80
+
+    XV. BROCK ACCEPTS HULL'S CHALLENGE                     87
+
+   XVI. "EN AVANT, DETROIT!"                               92
+
+  XVII. OUR HERO MEETS TECUMSEH                            96
+
+ XVIII. AN INDIAN POW-WOW                                 100
+
+   XIX. THE ATTACK ON DETROIT                             105
+
+    XX. BROCK'S VICTORY                                   109
+
+   XXI. CHAGRIN IN THE UNITED STATES                      112
+
+  XXII. PREVOST'S ARMISTICE                               117
+
+ XXIII. "HERO, DEFENDER, SAVIOUR"                         121
+
+  XXIV. BROCK'S LAST COUNCIL                              128
+
+   XXV. THE MIDNIGHT GALLOP                               135
+
+  XXVI. THE ATTACK ON THE REDAN                           140
+
+ XXVII. VAN RENSSELAER'S CAMP                             144
+
+XXVIII. A FOREIGN FLAG FLIES ON THE REDAN                 147
+
+  XXIX. THE BATTLE OF QUEENSTON HEIGHTS                   152
+
+   XXX. THE DEATH OF ISAAC BROCK                          156
+
+        SUPPLEMENT--
+
+          AFTER BROCK'S DEATH                             161
+
+          SUBSEQUENT EVENTS OF THE CAMPAIGN OF 1812       165
+
+          THE CAMPAIGN OF 1813                            167
+
+          THE CAMPAIGN OF 1814                            171
+
+          WHAT OF CANADA?                                 173
+
+        APPENDIX                                          175
+
+
+
+
+LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
+
+                                                               PAGE
+
+PORTRAIT OF MAJOR-GENERAL SIR ISAAC BROCK            _Frontispiece_
+
+"VIEW OF ST. PETER'S PORT, GUERNSEY, 18 x 6"                     11
+
+NAVY HALL, REMNANT OF THE OLD "RED BARRACKS," NIAGARA, 1797      27
+
+PORTRAIT OF COLONEL JAMES FITZGIBBON                             32
+
+VIEW OF QUEENSTON ROAD, ABOUT 1824                               40
+
+RUINS OF OLD POWDER MAGAZINE, FORT GEORGE                        52
+
+BROCK'S COCKED HAT                                               64
+
+BUTLER'S BARRACKS (OFFICERS' QUARTERS), NIAGARA COMMON           75
+
+OUR HERO MEETS TECUMSEH. "THIS IS A MAN!"                        96
+
+LIEUT.-COLONEL JOHN MACDONELL                                   109
+
+VIEW OF QUEENSTON HEIGHTS AND BROCK'S MONUMENT                  117
+
+"PORTRAIT OF MAJOR-GENERAL BROCK, 18 X 6"                       121
+
+POWDER MAGAZINE, FORT GEORGE, NIAGARA                           128
+
+BROCK'S MIDNIGHT GALLOP                                         135
+
+BATTLE OF QUEENSTON HEIGHTS. From an old Print                  140
+
+DEATH OF ISAAC BROCK                                            156
+
+BROCK'S COAT, WORN AT QUEENSTON HEIGHTS                         159
+
+BATTLE OF QUEENSTON. From an old Sketch                         161
+
+PLAN OF BATTLE OF QUEENSTON                                     163
+
+TAKING OF NIAGARA, MAY 27TH, 1813. From an old Print            170
+
+CENOTAPH, QUEENSTON HEIGHTS                                     172
+
+BROCK'S MONUMENT                                                174
+
+
+     NOTE.--For full description of above illustrations, see
+     Appendix, page 175.
+
+
+
+
+THE STORY OF ISAAC BROCK
+
+[Illustration: "VIEW OF ST. PETER'S PORT, GUERNSEY, 18 x 6"]
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER I.
+
+OUR HERO'S HOME--GUERNSEY.
+
+
+Off the coast of Brittany, where the Bay of Biscay fights the white
+horses of the North Sea, the Island of Guernsey rides at anchor. Its
+black and yellow, red and purple coast-line, summer and winter, is awash
+with surf, burying the protecting reefs in a smother of foam. Between
+these drowned ridges of despair, which warn the toilers of the sea of an
+intention to engulf them, tongues of ocean pierce the grim chasms of the
+cliffs.
+
+Between this and the sister island of Alderney the teeth of the Casquets
+cradle the skeleton of many a stout ship, while above the level of the
+sea the amethyst peaks of Sark rise like phantom bergs. In the sunlight
+the rainbow-coloured slopes of Le Gouffre jut upwards a jumble of glory.
+Exposed to the full fury of an Atlantic gale, these islands are
+well-nigh obliterated in drench. From where the red gables cluster on
+the heights of Fort George, which overhang the harbour, to the thickets
+of Jerbourg, valley and plain, at the time we write of, were a gorgeous
+carpet of anemones, daffodils, primroses and poppies.
+
+These are tumultuous latitudes. Sudden hurricanes, with the
+concentrated force of the German Ocean behind them, soon scourge the sea
+into a whirlpool and extinguish every landmark in a pall of gray. For
+centuries tumult and action have been other names for the Channel
+Islands. It is no wonder that the inhabitants partake of the nature of
+their surroundings. Contact with the elements produces a love for
+combat. As this little book is largely a record of strife, and of one of
+Guernsey's greatest fighting sons, it may be well to recall the efforts
+that preceded the birth of our hero and influenced his career, and
+through which Guernsey retained its liberties.
+
+For centuries Guernsey had been whipped into strife. From the raid upon
+her independence by David Bruce, the exiled King of Scotland, early in
+1300, on through the centuries up to the seventeenth, piping times of
+peace were few and far between. The resources of the island led to
+frequent invasions from France, but while fighting and resistance did
+not impair the loyalty of the islanders, it nourished a love of freedom,
+and of hostility to any enemy who had the effrontery to assail it. As a
+rule the sojourn of these invaders was brief. When sore pressed in a
+pitched battle on the plateau above St. Peter's Port, the inhabitants
+would retreat behind the buttresses of Castle Cornet, when, as in the
+invasion by Charles V. of France, the fortress proving impregnable, the
+besiegers would collect their belongings and sail away.
+
+In the fourteenth century Henry VI. of England, in consideration of a
+red rose as annual rental, conveyed the entire group to the Duke of
+Warwick. But strange privileges were from time to time extended to these
+audacious people. Queen Elizabeth proclaimed the islands a world's
+sanctuary, and threw open the ports as free harbours of refuge in time
+of war. She authorized protection to "a distance on the ocean as far as
+the eye of man could reach." This act of grace was cancelled by George
+the Third, who regarded it as a premium on piracy. In Cromwell's time
+Admiral Blake had been instructed to raise the siege of Castle Cornet.
+He brought its commander to his senses, but only after nine years of
+assault, and not before 30,000 cannon-balls had been hurled into the
+town.
+
+Late in the fourteenth century, when the English were driven out of
+France, not a few of those deported, who had the fighting propensity
+well developed, made haste for the Channel Islands, where rare chances
+offered to handle an arquebus for the King. Among those who sought
+refuge in Guernsey there landed, not far from the Lion's Rock at Cobo,
+an English knight, Sir Hugh Brock, lately the keeper of the Castle of
+Derval in Brittany, a man "stout of figure and valiant of heart." This
+harbour of refuge was St. Peter's Port.
+
+     "Within a long recess there lies a bay,
+     An island shades it from the rolling sea,
+     And forms a port."
+
+The islet that broke the Atlantic rollers was Castle Cornet. Sir Hugh
+Brock, or Badger in the ancient Saxon time--an apt name for a tenacious
+fighter--shook hands with fate. He espied the rocky cape of St.
+Jerbourg, and ofttimes from its summit he would shape bold plans for the
+future, the maturing of which meant much to those of his race destined
+to follow.
+
+The commercial growth of the Channel Islands has been divided into five
+periods, those of fishing, knitting (the age of the garments known as
+"jerseys" and "guernseys"), privateering, smuggling, and agriculture and
+commerce. To the third period belong these records. The prosperity of
+the islands was greatest from the middle of the seventeenth century up
+to the overthrow of Napoleon at Waterloo and the close of Canada's
+successful fight against invasion in 1815. During this period the
+building of ships for the North Atlantic and Newfoundland trade opened
+new highways for commerce, but the greatest factor in this development
+was the "reputable business" of privateering, which must not be
+confounded either with buccaneering or yard-arm piracy. It was only
+permitted under regular letters of marque, was ranked as an honorable
+occupation, and those bold spirits, the wild "beggars of the sea"--who
+preferred the cutlass and a roving commission in high latitudes to
+ploughing up the cowslips in the Guernsey valleys, or knitting striped
+shirts at home--were recognized as good fighting men and acceptable
+enemies.
+
+Trade in the islands, consequent upon the smuggling that followed and
+the building of many ships, produced much wealth, creating a class of
+newly rich and with it some "social disruption."
+
+Notable in the "exclusive set," not only on account of his athletic
+figure and handsome face, but for his winning manners and ability to
+dance, though but a boy, was Isaac Brock. Isaac--a distant descendant of
+bold Sir Hugh--was the eighth son of John Brock, formerly a midshipman
+in the Royal Navy, a man of much talent and, like his son, of great
+activity. Brock, the father, did not enjoy the fruit of his industry
+long, for in 1777, in his 49th year, he died in Brittany, leaving a
+family of fourteen children. Of ten sons, Isaac, destined to become "the
+hero and defender of Upper Canada," was then a flaxen-haired boy of
+eight.
+
+Anno Domini 1769 will remain a memorable one in the history of the
+empire. Napoleon, the conqueror of Europe, and Wellington, the conqueror
+of Napoleon, were both sons of 1769. This same year Elizabeth de Lisle,
+wife of John Brock, of St. Peter's Port, bore him his eighth son, the
+Isaac referred to, also ordained to become "a man of destiny." Isaac's
+future domain was that greater, though then but little known, dominion
+beyond the seas, Canada--a territory of imperial extent, whose resources
+at that time came within the range of few men's understanding. Isaac
+Brock, as has been shown, came of good fighting stock, was of clean
+repute and connected with most of the families of high degree on the
+Island. The de Beauvoirs, Saumarez, de Lisles, Le Marchants, Careys,
+Tuppers and many others distinguished in arms or diplomacy, were his
+kith and kin. His mind saturated with the stories of the deeds of his
+ancestors, and possessed of a spirit of adventure developed by constant
+contact with soldiers and sailors, it was but natural that he became
+cast in a fighting mould and that "to be a soldier" was the height of
+his ambition.
+
+Perhaps Isaac Brock's chief charm, which he retained in a marked degree
+in after life--apart from his wonderful thews and sinews, his stature
+and athletic skill--was his extreme modesty and gentleness. The fine old
+maxim of the child being "father to the man" in his case held good.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER II.
+
+SCHOOL AND PASTIMES.
+
+
+Guernsey abounded in the natural attractions that are dear to the youth
+of robust body and adventurous nature. Isaac, though he excelled in
+field sports and was the admiration of his school-fellows, was
+sufficiently strong within himself to find profit in his own society. In
+the thickets that overlooked Houmet Bay he found solace apart from his
+companions. There he would recall the stories told him of the prowess of
+his ancestor, William de Beauvoir, that man of great courage, a Jurat of
+the royal court. Even here he did not always escape intruders. Outside
+the harbour of St. Peter's Port, separated by an arm of the sea, rose
+the Ortach Rock, between the Casquets and "Aurigny's Isle," a haunted
+spot, once the abode of a sorcerer named Jochmus. To secure quiet he
+would frequently visit this isolated place, in spite of the resident
+devil, the devil-fish, or the devil-strip of treacherous water which ran
+between.
+
+He was not ten when, to the amazement of his friends in imitation of
+Leander but without the same inducements, he swam the half mile to the
+reefs of Castle Cornet and back again, through a boiling sea and
+rip-tides that ran like mill-races. This performance he repeated again
+and again. For milder amusement he would tramp to the water-lane that
+stole through the Moulin Huet, a bower of red roses and perfume, or walk
+by moonlight to the mystic cromlechs, where the early pagans and the
+warlocks and witches of later days flitted round the ruined altars.
+
+Though Isaac was self-contained and resolute he had a restless spirit.
+Fearless, without a touch of the braggart, his courage was of the
+valiant order, the quality that accompanies a lofty soul in a strong
+body. For his constant courtesy and habit of making sacrifices for his
+friends, he was in danger of being canonized by his school-fellows.
+
+About this time, shortly after his father's death, it was suggested he
+should leave the Queen Elizabeth School on the Island and study at
+Southampton. Here he tried his best, boy though he was, to live up to
+the standard of what he had been told were his obligations as a
+gentleman, acquiring, too, a little book-learning and much every-day
+knowledge.
+
+Isaac's holidays, always spent in his beloved Guernsey, increased the
+thirst for adventure. The spirit of conquest, the controlling influence
+of his after life, grew upon him. Something accomplished, something
+done, was the daily rule. To scale an impossible cliff with the wings of
+circling sea-fowl beating in his face, to land a big conger eel without
+receiving a shock, to rescue a partridge from a falcon, to shoot a
+rabbit at fifty paces, to break a wild pony, or even to scan a
+complicated line in his syntax--these were achievements, small perhaps,
+but typical of his desire. His young soul was stirred; the blood coursed
+in his veins as the sap courses in the trees of the forest in spring;
+his mind, susceptible to the influences of nature, was strengthened and
+purified by these pursuits.
+
+In the shelter of silent trossach, on wind-swept height, or on wildest,
+ever-restless sea, he would, as the mood seized him, take his solitary
+outings. These jaunts, he told his mother, gave him time to reflect and
+resolve. It was not strange that he selected a profession that presented
+the opportunities he craved.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+England with folded arms was at peace. The Treaty of Versailles had
+terminated the disastrous war with America. The independence of the
+"Thirteen States" had been recognized. The world was drawing a long
+breath, filling its fighting lungs, awaiting the death struggle with
+Napoleon for the supremacy of Europe. Yet the spirit of war lingered in
+the air. It even drifted on the breeze across the Channel to Guernsey,
+and filtered through the trees that crowned the Lion's Rock at Cobo. It
+invaded the valleys of the Petit Bot and stirred the bulrushes in the
+marshes of Havelet. The pulse of our hero throbbed with the subtle
+infection. Not with the brute lust for other men's blood, but with the
+instinct of the true patriot to shed, if need be, his own blood to
+maintain the right. He would follow the example of his ancestors and
+fight and die, if duty called him, in defence of king and country.
+
+The sweet arrogance of youth uplifted him. Earth, air and water
+conspired to encourage him. To satisfy this unspoken craving for action
+he would, from his outlook on the Jerbourg crags--where bold Sir Hugh
+had sat for just such purpose years before--watch the Weymouth luggers
+making bad weather of it beyond the Casquets; or challenge in his own
+boat the rip-tides between Sark and Brechou, and the combers that romped
+between St. Sampson and the Isle of Herm.
+
+There was no limit to this boy's hardihood and daring. The more furious
+the gale the more congenial the task. Returning from these frequent
+baptisms of salt water, his Saxon fairness and Norman freshness aglow
+with spray, he would loiter on the beach to talk to the kelp gatherers
+raking amid the breakers, and to watch the mackerel boats, reefed down,
+flying to the harbour for shelter. The crayfish in the pools would tempt
+him, he would try his hand at sand-eeling, or watch the surf men feed a
+devil-fish to the crabs. Then up the gray benches of the furrowed
+cliffs, starred with silver lichens and stone-crop, to where ploughmen
+were leaving glistening furrows in the big parsnip fields. Then on
+through the tangle of sweet-briar, honeysuckle and wild roses, where
+birds nested in the perfumed foliage, until, the summit reached,
+surrounded by purple heather and golden gorse, he would look on the sea
+below, with Sark, like a "basking whale, burning in the sunset." Then he
+would hurry to tell his mother of the day's exploits, retiring to dream
+of strange lands and turbulent scenes, in which the roll of drums and
+roar of cannon seemed never absent.
+
+With his youthful mind possessed with the exploits of the King's
+soldiers in Europe and America, and influenced by his brother John's
+example--then captain in the 8th Regiment of the line--Isaac pleaded
+successfully to enter the army. To better prepare for this all-important
+step, and to become proficient in French, a necessary accomplishment, it
+was arranged, though he was only fifteen, to place him with a
+Protestant clergyman in Rotterdam for one year, to complete his
+education.
+
+His vacations now were few; his visits to the Island flying ones. But
+the old life still fascinated him. His physique developed as the weeks
+flew by, and he became more and more a striking personality. This was
+doubly true, for while he remained the champion swimmer, he was also the
+best boxer of his class, besides excelling in every other manly sport.
+In tugs-of-war and "uprooting the gorse" he had no equals, but a sense
+of his educational deficiencies kept him at his books.
+
+He had only passed his sixteenth birthday when, one wild March morning
+in 1785, he was handed an important-looking document. It was a parchment
+with the King's seal attached, his commission of ensign in the 8th
+Regiment. Isaac at once joined the regimental depot in England. It was
+evident that his lack of learning would prove a barrier to promotion. He
+found that much of the leisure hitherto devoted to athletic sports must
+be given to study. Behind "sported oak," while dust accumulated on
+boxing-glove and foil--neither the banter of his brother officers nor
+his love for athletics inducing him to break the resolution--he bent to
+his work with a fixity of purpose that augured well for his future.
+
+In every man's life there are milestones. Isaac Brock's life may fairly
+be divided into five periods. When he crossed the threshold of his
+Guernsey home and donned the uniform of the King he passed his _first_
+milestone.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER III.
+
+FROM ENSIGN TO COLONEL.
+
+
+In every young man's career comes a time of probation. During this
+critical period that youth is wise who enters into a truce with his
+feelings. This is the period when influences for good or bad assert
+themselves--the parting of the ways. The sign-posts are painted in
+capitals.
+
+When Brock buttoned his scarlet tunic and strapped his sword on his hip,
+as fine a specimen of a clean-bodied, clean-minded youth as ever trod
+the turnpike of life, he knew that he was at the cross-roads. The trail
+before him was well blazed, but straight or crooked, rough or smooth,
+valley or height, it mattered little so long as he kept nourished the
+bright light of purpose that burned steadily within him.
+
+Five years of uneventful service, chiefly in England, passed by, and our
+hero was celebrating his coming of age. His only inheritance was health,
+hope and courage. While neither monk nor hermit, he had so far been as
+steadfast as the Pole Star in respect to his resolutions. He had allowed
+nothing to induce him to break the rules engraved on brass that he had
+himself imposed. His mind had broadened, his spirits ran high, his
+conscience told him that he was graduating in the world's university
+with honour. His love for athletics still continued. He had the thews of
+a gladiator, and in his Guernsey stockings stood six feet two inches.
+Add to this an honest countenance, with much gentleness of manner and
+great determination, and you have a faithful picture of Isaac Brock.
+
+Upon obtaining his lieutenancy he returned to Guernsey, raised an
+independent company, and exchanged into the 49th, the Royal Berkshires,
+then stationed in Barbadoes. He now found himself looking at life under
+new conditions. While the beauties of Barbadoes enchanted him, his
+duties as a soldier were disappointing. They were limited to drill,
+dress parade, guard mounting, the erection of new fortifications, and
+patrolling the coast for vessels carrying prohibited cargoes.
+
+Under the terms of a treaty made at Paris in 1773, United States produce
+for British West Indian ports could only be carried by British subjects
+in British ships. Britain's men-of-war were also authorized to seize any
+vessel laden with produce for or from any French colony. Brock was a
+soldier, not a policeman, and coast-guard duties palled upon him. His
+great diversion was in calculating the probabilities of invasion by the
+French. In expectation of this, the refortifying of the island was in
+progress. The memory of Admiral d'Estaing's visit with his fleet from
+Toulon, and the capture of St. Vincent, sent a chill through the island.
+The great victory by the British Admiral Rodney, when he whipped a
+superior French fleet to a standstill, was yet to come. Bastions and
+earthworks grew during the night like mushrooms. While Brock chafed
+under restraint, he knew how to improve the opportunity.
+
+Fishing, shooting sea-fowl, and exploring the interior on horseback,
+were Brock's chief pastimes. He became a fearless horseman. Mount
+Hillaby rose 1,200 feet above the Caribbean Sea. The very crest of its
+almost impossible pinnacle Brock is said to have ascended on horseback.
+Between Bridgetown, in Barbadoes, and Kingston, Jamaica, he divided his
+time, and though monotonous, his life in the Windward Islands was not
+wholly void of adventure.
+
+Shortly after joining his regiment at Bridgetown our hero had his first
+affair of honour, an opportunity to display his courage under most
+trying conditions. A certain captain in the 49th was a confirmed
+duellist, with a reputation of being a dead shot at short range. Resting
+upon his evil record, this braggart had succeeded in terrorizing the
+garrison, and it was soon Brock's turn to be selected for insult. But
+Isaac could not be bullied or intimidated. He promptly challenged and
+was as promptly accepted.
+
+The fateful morning arrived. In a lonely spot, palm-sheltered, and
+within sight of the sea breaking upon the coral reefs, principals and
+seconds met. There was no question in Brock's mind as to his duty--the
+duello at that time was the recognized court of appeal. If its purpose
+as originally designed had at times been infamously abused, it was still
+the one and only arbiter through which insults had to be purged and from
+which, for the "officer and gentleman," there was no escape.
+
+Now Isaac, who was several inches taller and much bulkier than the
+scoundrel who had insulted him, declined to become a shining mark at the
+regulation twelve paces. He demanded from his fire-eating antagonist
+that the duel proceed on equal terms. Whipping out his kerchief, cool as
+a cucumber, his blue eyes steady and resolute, he insisted that _they
+both fire across it_. The fairness of the proposal staggered the bully.
+The chances were not sufficiently one-sided. If this plan was acted upon
+he might himself be killed. He refused to comply. The code of honour and
+garrison approval sustained Brock in his contention, and the refusal of
+the professional killer to fight under even chances was registered in
+the mess-room as the act of a coward, and he left the regiment by
+compulsion.
+
+In Jamaica the continued strain of inactivity under which our hero
+fretted told upon him, and he was struck down with fever, his cousin,
+Henry Brock, lieutenant in the 13th Foot, dying in Kingston of the same
+pestilence. At this time Isaac had as servant a soldier named Dobson,
+one of those faithful souls who, true as steel, once installed in their
+master's affection, remain loyal to the end. To the untiring attentions
+of this man Brock owed his life. Deep and mutual respect followed, and
+the two became inseparable. Where Brock went, there was Dobson, sharing
+his fortune and all the hard knocks of his military campaigns, a
+fellowship ending only with Dobson's death, shortly before his "beloved
+master" gave up his life on Queenston Heights.
+
+Tropical malaria is hard to shake off. Release from duty was imperative,
+and as England was now calling for recruits, the War Office summoned
+Brock, an alluring sample of a soldier, to whom was assigned the task of
+licking the fighting country bumpkin--the raw material--into shape. This
+he did, first in England, then in Guernsey and Jersey. A vision of our
+hero, glorious in his uniform, was in itself sufficient to ensnare the
+senses of any country yokel. It was a militant age.
+
+When quartered in Guernsey, and from the same heights of Jerbourg where
+but a few years before he was wont to sweep the ocean for belated
+fishing smacks, Brock saw his kinsman, Sir James Saumarez, and the white
+canvas of a small squadron, heave in sight from Plymouth Roads. The
+British sailor had been ordered to ascertain the strength of the French
+fleet. Saumarez' ships were far slower than those of the enemy, so,
+feigning the greatest desire to fight, he lured his opponent by a clever
+ruse. First he closed with him, and then, when his own capture seemed
+inevitable, hauled his wind, slipped through a maze of reefs by an
+intricate passage--long familiar to our hero--and found safety off La
+Vazon, where the Frenchmen dare not follow.
+
+In June, 1795, Brock purchased his majority, but retained his command of
+the recruits. From toes to finger-tips Isaac was a soldier, bent on
+mastering every detail of the profession of his choice. A year after the
+return of the 49th to England, on the completion of his 28th year, he
+became by purchase senior lieutenant-colonel of his regiment. High
+honour and rapid promotion, considering that for five out of seven
+years' service he had remained an ensign. He had learned to recognize
+opportunity, the earthly captain of a man's fate.
+
+     "For every day I stand outside your door,
+     And bid you wake and rise to fight and win."
+
+But Brock's position was no sinecure. The regiment was in a badly
+demoralized condition. The laxity of the late commanding officer had
+created a deplorable state of things. To restore the lost _morale_ of
+the corps was his first duty. The thoroughness of his reforms can be
+best understood by quoting the words of the Duke of York, who declared
+that "out of one of the worst regiments in the service Colonel Brock had
+made the 49th one of the best."
+
+From the Commander-in-Chief of a nation's army to a colonel--not yet
+thirty--of a marching regiment, this was an exceptional tribute.
+
+Isaac's persistent endeavours were rapidly bringing their own reward.
+
+[Illustration: NAVY HALL, REMNANT OF THE OLD "RED BARRACKS,"
+NIAGARA, 1797]
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IV.
+
+EGMONT-OP-ZEE AND COPENHAGEN.
+
+
+Meanwhile the war cloud in Europe was growing apace. Holland had been
+forced into an alliance with France. War, no longer a spectre, but a
+grim monster, stalked the Continent. Everywhere the hostile arts of
+Bonaparte were rousing the nations. The breezes that had stirred the
+marshes of Havelet and awakened in Brock a sense of impending danger,
+now a furious gale, swept the empires. The roll of drums and roar of
+cannon that Isaac had listened to in his boyhood dreams were now
+challenging in deadly earnest. The great _reveille_ that was awakening
+the world was followed by the British buglers calling to arms the
+soldiers of the King.
+
+Notwithstanding the aversion of the English prime minister, Pitt, to
+commence hostilities, war was unavoidable. One of the twelve battalions
+of infantry selected for the front was the 49th. When the orders were
+read for the regiment to join the expedition to Holland, wild excitement
+prevailed in barracks. Active service had come at last. The parting of
+Brock with his family was softened by maternal pride in his appearance.
+
+The tunic of the 49th was scarlet, with short swallow-tails. The rolling
+lapels were faced with green, the coat being laced with white, with a
+high collar. The shako, which was originally surmounted by white
+feathers with black tips, a distinction for services in the American
+war of 1776, at Bunker's Hill and Brandywine, was, at Brock's special
+request, replaced by a black plume. The officers wore their hair turned
+up behind and fastened with a black "flash." The spectacle of Master
+Isaac thus arrayed, in all the glory of epaulets and sabretache and the
+gold braid of a full colonel, reconciled the inhabitants of St. Peter's
+Port to his departure.
+
+By the end of August the first division of the British army, of which
+the 49th was a unit, was aboard the transports in the Zuyder Zee, off
+the coast of Holland, and early one morning, under the command of Sir
+Ralph Abercrombie, with blare of trumpets and standards flying, they
+effected a landing under the guns of the ships of the line, of which,
+with frigates and sloops, there were well-nigh sixty. Brock had often
+listened to the roar of shot and shell in target practice and sham
+fight, but of a cannonade of artillery, where every shrieking
+cannon-ball was probably a winged messenger of death, this was his first
+experience. He now learned that in the music of the empty shell of
+experiment and the wicked screech of the missiles of war there was an
+unpleasant difference. He did not wince, but sternly drew himself
+together, thought of home, begged God's mercy, and awaited the command
+to advance with an impatience that was physical pain.
+
+By four in the afternoon the Hilder Peninsula and its batteries had been
+taken, but with a loss to the British of a thousand men. Brock could
+scarcely believe that the enemy had retreated. This, however, was merely
+a taste of war. The second division having arrived, the whole force of
+nearly 20,000 men, under the Duke of York, started to make history. In
+the last days of a stormy September 16,000 Russian allies reached the
+scene. The fourth brigade, which included the 49th, was under the
+command of General Moore--Sir John Moore, of Corunna fame. For several
+weeks the waiting troops were encamped in the sand-hills without canvas
+and exposed to biting storms. The capture of the city of Horn without
+resistance hardly prepared our hero and his men for the stout opposition
+at the battle of Egmont-op-Zee that followed.
+
+Brock's brother, Savery, a paymaster to the brigade, though by virtue of
+his calling exempt from field service, insisted on joining the fighting
+line, acting as aide to Sir Ralph Abercrombie.
+
+Every record, every line written or in print concerning Brock, from
+first to last, all prove that the keynote of his success, the ruling
+impulse of his life, was promptness and action. So, at Egmont, no sooner
+did the bugle sound the advance than he was off with his men like a
+sprinter at the crack of the pistol. Others might follow; he would lead.
+They were part of the advance guard of a column of 10,000 men. The enemy
+was in front in superior numbers, but their weakness lay in underrating
+the courage of the British. They had been taught to consider English
+soldiers the most undisciplined rabble in the world!
+
+This was a factor unknown and unheeded by Brock. All that he knew was
+that an obstacle barred the way.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+"Steady, the 49th!"
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+The loud, clear notes of the leader rang above rasping of scabbards and
+suggestive clank of steel. The men straightened. A suppressed
+exclamation ran along the line and died to a whisper. Whispers faded
+into silence. A fraction of a second, perhaps, and then, high above the
+stillness, when British and French alike were silently appealing to the
+God of battles, over steaming dyke and yellow sand-dunes rose once more
+in trumpet tones the well-known voice, "Charge, men, and use your
+bayonets with resolution!" No rules were followed as to the order of
+going--the ground, to use Brock's words, was too rough, "like a sea in a
+heavy storm"--but the dogs of war were let loose. The quarry was at bay.
+Another instant and the air was split with yells, the clash of naked
+steel and screams of agony. Then cheer upon cheer, as the British swept
+irresistibly on, and the enemy, declining to face the glittering
+bayonets and unable to resist the impact of the English, wavered, broke
+and retreated.
+
+The shedding of men's blood by man is never an edifying spectacle. The
+motive that prompts the attack or repels it, the blind obedience that
+entails the sacrifice, the retribution that follows, are more or less
+understandable. What of the compensation? There may be times when a pure
+principle is at stake and must be upheld despite all hazards, but there
+are times when there is no principle at stake whatever. These
+considerations, however, have no place in the soldier's manual. They are
+questions for the court, not the camp, and cannot be argued on the
+battlefield. The soldier is not invited to reason why, though many an
+unanswerable question by a dying hero has been whispered in the
+trenches.
+
+There was much carnage at Egmont-op-Zee, and many a 49th grenadier "lost
+the number of his mess." Isaac directly after the fight wrote to his
+brothers that "Nothing could exceed the gallantry of his men in the
+charge." To his own wound he referred in his usual breezy and impersonal
+way. "I got knocked down," he said, "soon after the enemy began to
+retreat, but never quitted the field, and returned to my duty in less
+than half an hour."
+
+We must appeal to his brother Savery for the actual facts. "Isaac was
+wounded," said Savery, in reply to a request for particulars, "and his
+life was in all probability preserved by the stout cotton handkerchief
+which, as the air was very cold, he wore over a thick black silk cravat,
+both of which were perforated by a bullet, and which prevented it
+entering his neck. The violence of the blow, however, was so great as to
+stun and dismount him, and his holsters were also shot through."
+
+That the action had been a hot one can be best judged by the official
+returns. Out of 391 rank and file of the 49th in the field, there were
+110 casualties--30 killed, 50 wounded and 30 missing. Savery Brock
+shared the honours with his brother. Oblivious to a hurricane of
+bullets, he rode from sand-hill to sand-hill, encouraging the men until
+his truancy was noticed and he was halted by Isaac. "By the Lord Harry,
+Master Savery," shouted the colonel, loud as he could pitch his powerful
+voice, as the big paymaster strode by, his horse having been shot under
+him, "did I not order you, unless you remained with the General, to stay
+with your iron chest? Go back, sir, immediately." To which Savery
+answered, playfully, "Mind your regiment, Master Isaac. You surely would
+not have me quit the field now." Of this intrepid brother Isaac wrote,
+"Nothing could surpass Savery's activity and gallantry." Another of the
+wounded at Egmont was Lord Aylmer, afterwards Governor-General of
+British North America. The loss of the enemy was estimated at 4,000. Two
+weeks later the British troops--while suffering intensely from severe
+weather--met with a reverse in the field, to which, through a
+misunderstanding of orders, their Russian allies contributed. The Duke
+of York was ordered to evacuate the country. The campaign had resulted
+in much experience and high honour for Brock. Quick to perceive and
+learn, his powers of observation on the field had enriched his mind with
+lessons in the tactics of war never to be forgotten.
+
+[Illustration: PORTRAIT OF COLONEL JAMES FITZGIBBON]
+
+In the ranks of the 49th was a young Irishman of superior talents. Brock
+was not slow to discover his abilities, and "with a discrimination that
+honoured both," he later appointed this combative private
+sergeant-major. Still later he procured him an ensigncy in the 49th,
+finally appointing him adjutant, promotion that the ability and
+gallantry of James FitzGibbon, a Canadian veteran of 1812, and the "hero
+of Beaver Dams" (Adjutant-General of Canada, 1837, and Military Knight
+of Windsor, 1851), amply justified.
+
+If Brock was quick to appreciate merit, he was no less so in detecting
+defects. The Russian soldiers came in for scathing criticism. The type
+at Egmont impressed him most unfavourably. The clumsy Russian
+foot-soldier was his special aversion. The accuracy of his criticism has
+been confirmed by military writers, but this book is not for the purpose
+of weighing the quality of Russian valour in Holland. Six thousand of
+these Russian allies, the lateness of the season preventing their return
+home, were later quartered for six months in Guernsey.
+
+While our hero was a severe military critic, he was never an unjust one,
+neither did he spare his own men. Though not a martinet, which was
+foreign to every fibre of his nature, he was a stickler for rigid
+discipline. When the expedition was recalled, he was first quartered in
+Norwich, and then at the old familiar barracks of St. Helier, in Jersey.
+On his return to the latter place, in 1800, after leave of absence, he
+found that the junior lieutenant-colonel of the 49th--Colonel
+Sheaffe--had incurred the reasonable dislike of the men. The regiment
+was drawn up on the sands for morning parade, standing at ease. In
+company with this unpopular officer Brock appeared upon the scene. He
+was greeted with three hearty cheers. The personal honour, however, was
+lost sight of in the act of disobedience. Rebuking the men severely for
+"their most unmilitary conduct," they were marched to quarters and
+confined to barracks for a week. He would not, he explained, allow
+public exaltation of himself at the expense of another.
+
+The next year found our hero in the Baltic Sea, aboard the _Ganges_,
+detailed for active duty as second in command of the land forces that
+under Lord Nelson were ordered to the attack on Copenhagen. It was
+intended that Brock, with the 49th, should lead in storming the
+Trekroner (Three Crown) battery, in conjunction with five hundred
+seamen; but the heroic defence by the Danes rendered the attempt
+impracticable, and Brock remained on the _Ganges_, an unwilling
+spectator of bloodshed in which he took no part. Towards the close of
+the engagement--the heaviest pounding match in history--he was on the
+_Elephant_, Nelson's flagship, and saw the hero of Trafalgar write his
+celebrated letter to the Crown Prince of Denmark.
+
+As at Egmont, the irrepressible conduct of Savery Brock on the _Ganges_
+gave our hero much concern. Savery, as a former midshipman, was of
+course a gunner. While training a quarter-deck gun on the Trekroner
+battery his hat was blown from his head and he was knocked down by the
+rush of wind from a grapeshot. Seeing this, Brock exclaimed, "Ah, poor
+Savery! He is indeed dead." But, to use his own words, it was only "the
+hot air from the projectile that had 'floored' him." Previous to this he
+had driven Isaac almost demented by stating his intention of joining the
+storming party and sharing his brother's danger. "Is it not enough that
+one brother should be killed or drowned?" said Isaac. But Savery
+persisted until, at Isaac's request, the commander of the _Ganges_ kept
+the paymaster quiet by stratagem. "Master Savery," said he, "you simply
+_must_ remain with us. I appoint you captain of the gun. It will amuse
+you."
+
+The loss of the Danes at Copenhagen was placed at 6,000, including
+prisoners. The British killed and wounded numbered 943, more than fell
+at the Battle of the Nile. Part of this loss is charged to a criminal
+misconception of military etiquette. To a line officer who asked where
+his men should be stationed, the captain of the battleship replied, that
+as soldiers were no good with big guns, and as the forts were out of
+musket range, he should "send them between decks." This, said the
+infantryman, "would be eternal disgrace." In deference to this brutal
+conception of military ethics, the men were drawn up on the gangway and,
+standing at attention, were allowed to be mowed down by Danish
+grapeshot. The 49th, on its return to England from Copenhagen,
+thoroughly initiated in the cruel cult of war, was ordered to
+Colchester.
+
+Isaac Brock, with the bay-leaves of distinction on his brow, and his
+heart touched but not dismayed at the ferocity of war, had passed the
+_second_ milestone of his life.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER V.
+
+BROCK IN CANADA.
+
+
+Isaac Brock received with regret his orders to proceed with the 49th to
+Canada. Europe was still in the clutches of war. Great opportunities
+awaited the soldier of fortune in the struggle waging in the Peninsula.
+The prospect for military advancement in Canada was not encouraging.
+America was at peace. Canada was but slowly developing. While her
+exports of lumber and fish attracted the attention of the British
+merchant, her great resources were unknown except to the fur trader and
+the few United States speculators whose cupidity kept pace with their
+knowledge. Though the known sympathy of the United States for France was
+regarded as a possible excuse for hostility towards England, as yet this
+sympathy had found no official utterance, hence the outlook from a
+soldier's standpoint was far from desirable. Brock's life in the West
+Indies had created a distaste for garrison duty. While a past master in
+the details of barrack life, his career under arms had created an
+aversion for the grind of drill and parade.
+
+Life in the high latitudes of Canada would present a clean-cut contrast
+to tropical Barbadoes, but it was out of harmony with his ambition, and,
+judging by his spirits, he might have been embarking for penal servitude
+at Botany Bay rather than for the land which was to bring him lasting
+fame. Even the attentions of the devoted Dobson, who had just filled
+his pipe, did not serve to arouse him. Brock's depression was
+short-lived. His optimism and faith banished gloomy thoughts. The ship
+had hardly dropped the last headland of the Irish coast when the winds
+bred in Labrador awoke the Viking strain in him and filled his soul with
+hope. The swinging seas of this northern ocean revived thoughts of the
+long-ago exploits of Sebastian Cabot, the discoverer of Newfoundland,
+and of his own sea-dog ancestors, those rough-riders of the sea who had
+defied the banks of Sable Island and returned to St. Peter's Port with
+their rich cargoes of contraband, looking innocent as kittens, while the
+ship was bursting with fur, fin and feather. So, pipe in mouth, with the
+frigate close-hauled, watching her bows splintering the sea into a
+million jewels, he left care behind, and thenceforward his busy brain
+was forming plans that would soften his exile in that land of chilling
+promise he was approaching.
+
+He had been told to expect magnificent scenery, but was quite unprepared
+for the picture that the Gulf of St. Lawrence unfolded. The Straits of
+Belle Isle, the Magdalen Islands, the brazen bosom of the Bay of Chaleur
+that had allured Jacques Cartier 265 years before, the might of the
+noble river and the glorious vista of the citadel and frowning heights
+of Quebec, where Wolfe and Montcalm fell--the ancient Stadacona framed
+in the sunset--amazed him. A presage of coming conflict crowded his
+brain.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+"Manfully tell me the truth."
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Carr, an educated soldier of the 49th, was hesitating. Desertions had
+been frequent at Quebec, and discipline _must_ be restored. Stepping up,
+with hand clenched, the officer continued, "Don't lie! Tell the truth
+like a man. You know I have ever treated you kindly." The confession of
+intended desertion followed. "Go, then," said Colonel Brock,--"go and
+tell your deluded comrades everything that has passed here, and also
+that I will still treat every man of you with kindness, and then you may
+desert me if you please."
+
+During the three years of his command at Montreal, York, Fort George and
+Quebec, though mutiny was epidemic in both Europe and America, Brock had
+lost but one man by desertion. He had won the loyalty of the rank and
+file. FitzGibbon said of him that "he created by his judicious praise
+the never-failing interest of the men in the ranks." His accurate
+knowledge of human nature served him in the graver experiences of life
+which followed. His stay in Quebec was short. A study of the ancient
+citadel and its incomplete fortifications occupied his time. In the
+summer of 1803 he was stationed at York, a hamlet carved out of the
+backwoods, sustaining a handful of people, but famous as the
+gathering-place of many wise men. He found that desertions in Upper
+Canada had become too frequent. The temptations offered by a long line
+of frontier easy of access, and the desperate discipline in the army,
+had led to much brutality in the way of punishments.
+
+Such were the conditions in Upper Canada when Brock reached York.
+Shortly after his arrival six men, influenced by an artificer, stole a
+military batteau and started across the lake to Niagara. By midnight
+Brock, with his trusty sergeant-major and the ever-watchful Dobson, in
+another batteau with twelve men, passed out of the western gap in hot
+pursuit of the defaulters. Though the night was calm the trip was
+perilous. Before them stretched a waste of water, but our hero was in
+his element. He was living over again his daring visits to the Casquets
+through the furious seas that raced between St. Sampson and the Isle of
+Herm.
+
+The crew was divided into "watches," six taking an hour's "breather"
+while the other six rowed, hour and hour about, alternately rowing and
+resting. When the wind served they hoisted their big square sail, our
+hero at the tiller. On this occasion there was little wind, and "Master
+Isaac," for example's sake, and "to keep my biceps and fore-arm in good
+condition"--as he told the sergeant-major--took his regular spells at
+the oar. On arriving at Fort George, Colonel Hunter, Governor and
+Commandant, rebuked him for rashly venturing across the lake in an open
+boat, "a risk," he said, "never before undertaken."[1] The expedition,
+however, was successful, for the deserters were surprised on the
+American shore and made prisoners.
+
+FOOTNOTE:
+
+[1] Lake Ontario was crossed from Toronto to the wharf at the mouth of
+the Niagara River in an ordinary double-scull, lap-strake
+pleasure-skiff, by the writer and another Argonaut--Herbert
+Bartlett--one unruly morning in the summer of 1872. Though a risky row,
+and not previously attempted, it was not regarded as a remarkable feat
+by the performers.
+
+[Illustration: VIEW OF QUEENSTON ROAD, ABOUT 1824]
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VI.
+
+BRIDLE-ROAD, BATTEAU AND CANOE.
+
+
+The means for transit through Canada at this time was most primitive,
+and not the least of the questions which occupied Brock's thoughts was
+the important one of transportation. The lack of facilities for moving
+large bodies of men and supplies, in event of war, was as apparent as
+was the lack of vessels of force on lake and river.
+
+Between Quebec and Montreal, a distance of sixty leagues, the overland
+journey was divided into twenty-four stages, requiring four relays of
+horse-caleches in summer and horse-carioles in winter. The time occupied
+was three days, and the rate for travellers twenty-five cents a league.
+This rough road--which entailed numerous ferries in summer at the Ottawa
+and at Lake St. Francis, except for a break of fifty miles--led by
+Cornwall and Prescott to Kingston, along which route United Empire
+Loyalists twenty years before had established themselves.
+
+A few years prior to Brock's arrival, Governor Simcoe, with the men of
+the Queen's Rangers, had cut a roadway through the dense forest between
+Prescott and Burlington, at the head of Lake Ontario. From Ancaster, the
+then western limit of the U.E. Loyalists' settlement, this road
+traversed the picturesque region that surrounded the Mohawk village on
+the Grand River, where Joseph Brant, the famous warrior, was encamped
+with his Six Nation Indians. From this point it penetrated the rolling
+lands of the western peninsula, to the La Trenche (the Thames River),
+from whence Lake St. Clair and the Detroit outlet to the great lakes was
+reached by water. Another military road, also built by Simcoe, followed
+the old Indian trail through thirty-three miles of forest from York to
+Lake Simcoe. This shorter route to Lake Superior enabled the North-West
+Fur Company--established by Frobisher and McTavish, of Montreal, in
+1776--to avoid canoeing up the Ottawa and its tortuous tributaries. The
+batteaux were brought up the St. Lawrence, breaking bulk at certain
+"carrying places," then under sail up Lake Ontario to York. From here
+the cargoes were hauled by horses over Yonge's military road to Lake
+Simcoe, thence by river and stormy Lake Huron to Fort Michilimackinac,
+Great Turtle Island--the Mackinaw of to-day--at the head of Lake
+Michigan. By this route fifty dollars was saved on every ton of freight
+from Ottawa to the middle north. At Mackinaw the goods were reshipped by
+bark canoe to the still remoter regions in the further West, where
+Spanish pedlars on the southern tributaries of the lower Mississippi
+traded with the Akamsea Indians in British goods distributed from
+Mackinaw.
+
+The records of these trips through a wilderness of forest and stream,
+with their exhilarating hardships, had a singular fascination for Isaac
+Brock. It was not long before he had won, with his conquering ways and
+robust manhood, the allegiance of the big-hearted fur-traders in
+Montreal. Their wild legends of the great fur country rang in his ears,
+and his receptive mind was soon stored with the exploits of Radisson and
+Groseillers, Joliette, Marquette, and other famous pathfinders, with
+whose exploits a century and a half before, aided by his fluency in
+French, he became wonderfully familiar.
+
+He found the evolution of the Canadian highway a subject of absorbing
+interest. From his Caughnawaga guides he learned how the tracks made by
+lynx and beaver, rabbit and wolverine, wolf and red deer--invariably the
+safest and firmest ways--were in turn naturally followed by Indian
+voyageur and fur-trader, until the blazed trail became the bridle-road
+for the pack-horse of the pioneer. This, as the white settler drifted
+in, became the winter-road; then, as civilization stifled the call of
+the wild, there uprose from swamp and muskeg the crude corduroy,
+expanding by degrees into the half-graded highway, until the turnpike
+and toll-bar, with its despotic keeper, exacted its tribute from
+progress. This was the prelude to a still more amazing transformation,
+for the day soon came, though not in our hero's time, when the drumming
+of the partridge was silenced by the choo-choo of the locomotive as it
+shrieked through forest and beaver-meadow on its way to vaster tracks,
+further and further west, disclosing and leaving in its trail an empire
+of undreamed-of fertility. Then the redman, disturbed in his solitudes,
+was confronted with civilization, and had to accept the terms of
+conquest or seek another sanctuary in the greater wilderness beyond.
+
+The navigation of the lakes and rivers at this time was limited to three
+types of vessel, the "snow," a three-master with a try-sail abaft the
+mainmast, the schooner, the batteau and the birch canoe, and, in closely
+land-locked waters, the horse ferry. The Durham boat, a batteau on a
+larger scale with false keel, had yet to be introduced. The bark canoe,
+which for certain purposes has never been improved upon--not even
+excepting the cedar-built canoe--varied in size from nine to thirty
+feet, or, in the language of the voyageur, from one and a half to five
+fathoms. These canoes had capacity for a crew of from one to thirty men,
+or a cargo of seventy "pieces" of ninety pounds each, equal to three
+tons, exclusive of provisions for nine paddlers. In these arks of
+safety, manned by Indians or _metis_ (half-breeds), the fur-trader would
+leave Lachine, on the St. Lawrence, ascend the Ottawa, descend the
+French, cross Lake Huron--the Lake Orleans of Nicollet and Hennepin--and
+find no rest from drench or riffle until he reached Mackinaw, or more
+distant Fort Dearborn (now Chicago), on the Skunk River, at the head of
+Lake Michigan, 1,450 miles by water from Quebec.
+
+The batteaux--great, open, flat-bottomed boats, forty feet long and
+eight feet beam, pointed at stem and stern--were not unlike the York
+boats used in Lord Wolseley's Red River expedition in 1870, and would
+carry five tons of cargo. Rigged with a movable mast stepped almost
+amid-ships, and a big lug-sail, these greyhounds of the lakes were, for
+passengers in our hero's time, often the only means of water transport
+between Quebec and Little York. As important factors in the transport of
+soldiers and munitions in the war of 1812, they deserve description.
+
+While sailing well when before the wind, they yet, with their defective
+rig and keelless bottoms, carrying no weather helm, made little headway
+with the wind close abeam. On one occasion Isaac Brock left Lachine with
+a brigade of five batteaux, so that all hands could unite in making the
+portages. At the Cascades, the Milles Roches and the Cedars,
+three-quarters of the cargo had to be portaged by the packmen. At times
+these lightened boats were poled or tracked through the broken water,
+towed by the men, from such foothold as the rocky banks afforded, by
+means of a long lariat tied to the boat's bow, with loops over each
+trackman's shoulder, one man steering with a long sweep. When this
+treadmill work was impossible, owing to too steep banks, and where no
+batteau locks existed, the crew hauled the boats across the portage on a
+skidway of small rolling logs, and, so journeying, Prescott was reached.
+Here, the wind being favourable, lug-sails were hoisted and Brock's
+strange fleet started for Kingston, reaching it after twelve days' toil
+from Lachine, then coasting further along Lake Ontario to Little York
+(Toronto). When wind failed, the long oars were used, the men rising
+from the thwarts to pull, standing. Thus, alternately sitting and
+rising, pulling in unison, the light-hearted voyageurs would break into
+one of their wild French chants, quaint with catching refrain, in which
+our hero soon learned to join.
+
+At Prescott Brock sometimes took the Government schooner, paying two
+guineas for a trip, which might last a week, or caught one of the small
+"two-stickers" that carried freight between Kingston and Queenston. If
+much pressed for time, the batteau would be exchanged for a caleche--the
+stage-coach was as yet only a dream--and he would resign himself to a
+rude jolting over the colonization road through the forest that flanked
+the rugged northern shore of Lake Ontario.
+
+These trips were a never-failing source of surprise and profit. The
+skill of the canoemen, the strength and endurance of the packmen,
+excited his admiration. What wonderful raw material! Given drill and
+discipline, what might not be achieved on the frontier with such
+craftsmen! The muscles, all whipcord, of these rugged Canadians, part
+_coureur de bois_, part scout, amazed him. One thing was not so evident
+as he could have wished. Their love seemed to be more for race and
+language, home and wilderness, than for King and country. Perhaps, as he
+said, if the safety of their homes were threatened, they would develop
+patriotism of the highest type.
+
+But, after all, as to kings, "Who," they naively asked him, "was their
+king? Surely they must be under two flags and two kings. Napoleon or
+George? _Que voulez vous?_"
+
+As their hearts seemed to be as stout as their limbs, they would, he
+reflected, be unconquerable, these careless children of waste places.
+While Brock thus communed, he watched. There was little to choose
+between them--Narcisse, Baptiste, Louis, Jacques, Pierre--all strong as
+buffalo, all agile as catamounts.
+
+They would lift the "pieces" from the dripping canoe and land them on
+the slippery rock. A minute later and Narcisse perhaps would appear, a
+bit bent, to keep balanced a bag of flour, a chest of tea, a caddy of
+tobacco and sundry packages of sugar or shot that made up the load
+resting on his shoulders where body and nape of neck joined. This load
+was supported and held together by a broad moose-hide band--a
+tump-line--strapped across his forehead, his upraised hands grasping the
+narrowing moose-hide stretched on either side of his lowered head,
+between ear and shoulder. Brock would watch these packmen as, thus
+handicapped with a load weighing from two to five hundred pounds, they
+set out across the rough portage, singing, and at a dog trot, following
+each other in quick succession. There was rivalry, of course, duly
+encouraged by Brock with a promise of tobacco to the first man in, but
+it was all good-natured competition, the last man chanting his laughing
+canzonet as loudly as the first.
+
+Our hero, with his grand physique and cleverness, was not long in
+mastering the tricks of the carriers. He soon learned to build up a load
+and adjust a tump-line, after which practice made the carrying of a pack
+almost twice his own weight a not extraordinary performance.
+
+These trips afforded Brock an opportunity to study Indian character. He
+learned much from the packman and voyageur that was destined to be of
+great value to him in his career on the western frontier, among the
+outposts of civilization.
+
+Little escaped his notice. His faculties were sharpened by contact with
+these children of the wilds, whose only class-room was the forest, their
+only teacher, nature. As the crushed blade or broken twig were of
+deepest import to the Indian scout, so no incident of his life was now
+too trivial for Brock to dismiss as of no importance.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VII.
+
+MUTINY AND DESERTION.
+
+
+Brock could hardly reconcile the degree of punishment inflicted upon the
+soldiers, the poorly paid defenders of the Empire, with their casual
+offences. While he rebelled against the brutalities of some officers, he
+was powerless to prevent them. The sentencing powers conferred by
+court-martial were at that time beyond belief. A captain and two
+subalterns could order 999 lashes with a "cat" steeped in brine. It is
+on record that on one occasion a soldier was sentenced to 1,500 lashes
+for "marauding." And there were other modes of torture. This was close
+upon the heels of a period when even the slightest breaches of the civil
+law were punished out of all proportion to the offence. While insisting
+on the strictest discipline, Brock always tempered justice with mercy.
+Few men better realized the value of a pleasant word or had in such
+degree the rare tact that permitted familiarity without killing respect.
+
+A terrible incident occurred in the summer of 1803 which tested all
+Brock's fortitude and conception of duty. A conspiracy to mutiny was
+discovered at Fort George on the Niagara River. The methods of the
+commanding officer had exasperated the men until they planned mutiny on
+a large scale. This included the murder of Colonel Sheaffe and the
+incarceration of the other officers. A threatening remark by a soldier
+of the 49th was overheard. He was arrested and put in irons. A
+confession by another soldier implicated a well-known sergeant, and a
+message was sent to York begging Brock's immediate presence.
+
+Our hero landed from the schooner alone. It was dinner hour. The
+barrack-square, as Brock crossed it to the guard-house, was deserted. In
+charge of the guard he found two of the suspected ringleaders. The guard
+presented arms. "Sergeant," said the colonel of towering frame and
+commanding aspect, "come here. Lay down your pike." The order was
+promptly complied with. "Take off your sword and sash and lay them down
+also." This was done. "Corporal O'Brien," said the colonel, addressing
+the sergeant's brother-conspirator, "bring a pair of handcuffs, put them
+on this sergeant, lock him up in a cell, and bring me the key." This,
+too, was done. "Now, corporal, you come here; lay down your arms, take
+off your accoutrements, and lay them down also." He was obeyed. Turning
+to the right man of the guard, "Come here, you grenadier. Bring a pair
+of handcuffs and put them on this corporal, lock him up in another cell,
+and bring me the key." When this was done, turning to the astounded
+drummer, our hero said, "Drummer, beat to arms."
+
+The garrison was aroused. First to rush out was Lieutenant Williams,
+sword in hand. "Williams!" said the Colonel, "go instantly and secure
+Rock"--a former sergeant, recently reduced. "If he hesitates to obey,
+even for one second, cut him down." Up the stairs flew Williams, calling
+to Rock to come down. "Yes, sir," answered Rock, "when I take my arms."
+"You must come without them," said Williams. "Oh, I must have my arms,
+sir," and as Rock stretched out his hand to seize his musket in the
+arm-rack, Williams shouted, "If you lay one finger on your musket I
+will cut you down," at the same time drawing his sabre. "Now, go down
+before me." Rock obeyed, was placed in irons, and within half an hour
+Clark, O'Brien, and nine other mutineers were embarked for York on the
+schooner.
+
+What a picture rises before us. The mid-day sun, the glittering
+barrack-square, the scarlet and white tunics and polished side-arms of
+the frightened soldiers, with Brock, the embodiment of power and stern
+justice, towering above the shrinking culprits. Expiation of the offence
+had yet to follow. The appetite of the law had to be appeased. The trial
+took place at Quebec. Four mutineers and three deserters were condemned
+to death, and in the presence of the entire garrison were executed. The
+details of this are best unwritten. Through a shocking blunder, the
+firing party discharged their carbines when fifty yards distant, instead
+of advancing to within eight yards of the victims. The harrowing scene
+rent Brock's heart. That the men who had fought so bravely under him at
+Egmont and laughed at the carnage at Copenhagen should end their lives
+in this manner was inexpressibly sad. After reading the account of the
+execution of their comrades to the men on parade at Fort George, Brock
+added, "Since I have had the honour to wear the British uniform I have
+never felt grief like this." The prisoners publicly declared that had
+they continued under our hero's command they would have escaped their
+doom, "being the victims of unruly passions inflamed by vexatious
+authority."
+
+When Brock assumed command every possible privilege was extended to the
+troops at Fort George. For every request, however trivial, he knew there
+was some reason. His mind was big enough to trade in trifles.
+
+In view of these desertions, the prospect of hostilities between Canada
+and the United States became a momentous one. By close study of events
+in France and America and intercourse with prominent United States
+citizens, Brock detected the signs that precede trouble.
+
+But the grave question of desertion and the war-cloud on the horizon
+could not occupy our hero's attention to the exclusion of other demands
+upon his time. Canada's growing importance was attracting many
+travellers from over-seas. Notable among these was Thomas Moore, the
+brilliant Irish poet, who was our hero's guest at Fort George for two
+weeks in the summer of 1803. Every attraction that the peninsula
+presented was taxed for his entertainment. Of these diversions the one
+which probably left the most lasting impression on the versatile son of
+Erin was a gathering of the Tuscarora warriors, under Chief Brant, at
+the Indian encampment on the Grand River.
+
+"Here," wrote Moore, in one of his celebrated epistles, "the Mohawks
+received us in all their ancient costumes. The young men ran races for
+our amusement, and gave an exhibition game of ball, while the old men
+and the women sat in groups under the surrounding forest trees. The
+scene altogether was as beautiful as it was new to me. To Colonel Brock,
+in command of the fort, I am particularly indebted for his many
+kindnesses during the fortnight I remained with him."
+
+It was while Moore was paddling down the St. Lawrence with his
+Caughnawaga voyageurs, after leaving Niagara--where he saw the fountains
+of the great deep broken up--that he composed his celebrated boat-song:
+
+     "Faintly as tolls the evening chime,
+     Our voices keep tune and our oars keep time.
+     Soon as the woods on shore look dim,
+     We'll sing at St. Ann's our parting hymn.
+     Row, brothers, row! the stream runs fast,
+     The rapids are near, and the daylight's past!"
+
+In the fall of 1805 our hero was gazetted full colonel, and returned to
+England on leave. While he had lost none of the buoyancy of his youth,
+he was daily realizing the fullness of his responsibilities.
+
+For the better defence of Canada, he submitted to the Duke of York, the
+Commander-in-Chief, a suggestion for the forming of a veteran battalion.
+He quoted the case of the U.E. Loyalists, who after the Revolutionary
+war, had been granted small tracts in Upper Canada; contrasting their
+perfect conduct with the practices of some of the settlers ten years
+later, whose loyalty, from his own observation, would not stand the
+test. Our hero, who was warmly thanked by the Duke for his zeal, was now
+regarded as a person to be reckoned with. His abilities and charm of
+manner had won him a reputation at the Horse Guards.
+
+He returned to Guernsey to receive the congratulations of those brothers
+"who loved him so dearly," but had not time to tell the graphic story of
+his sojourn in Canada or revisit the haunts of his boyhood, for news
+arrived from the United States of so warlike a character that he
+returned before his leave expired. He overtook at Cork the _Lady
+Saumarez_, a well-manned Guernsey privateer, armed with letters of
+marque, and bound for Quebec. Leaving London on the 26th of June, 1806,
+he set sail for Canada, never to return to those to whom he had so
+endeared himself by his splendid qualities.
+
+[Illustration: RUINS OF OLD POWDER MAGAZINE, FORT GEORGE]
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VIII.
+
+FRANCE, THE UNITED STATES AND CANADA.
+
+
+Shortly after his return to Quebec, Isaac Brock succeeded to the command
+of the troops in both Upper and Lower Canada, with the pay and allowance
+of a brigadier.
+
+Though no overt act had been committed against Canada by the United
+States, relations were strained, and he found much to occupy his time.
+His humanity stirred, he set about erecting hospitals, reorganized the
+commissariat department, and engaged in an unpleasant dispute with
+President Dunn, the civil administrator of Lower Canada, regarding the
+fortifications of the Citadel. To-day deep in plans for mobilizing the
+militia and the formation of a Scotch volunteer corps of Glengarry
+settlers; to-morrow devising the best way of utilizing an Indian force
+in the event of war. In June, 1807, the affair between the British
+gunboat _Leopard_ and the American frigate _Chesapeake_ occurred. The
+former boarded the latter in search of deserters, and on being
+challenged, gave the _Chesapeake_ a broadside. While the _Leopard_ was
+clearly in the wrong, the United States Government rejected every offer
+of reparation made by Britain. Then came retaliation. French
+vessels--though France was at war with Britain--were actually allowed by
+the United States, a neutral power, full freedom of its harbours. The
+ships of Britain, a power at peace with the United States of America,
+were refused the same privilege.
+
+For a proper understanding of the position we must unroll a page of
+history. Napoleon, though he crushed the Prussians at Jena, could not
+efface the memory of his own humiliation at Trafalgar. His ears tingled.
+He was waiting to deliver a blow that would equalize the destruction of
+his fleet by Nelson. Though Britain remained mistress of the seas,
+surely, thought the "little corporal," a way could be found to humble
+her. If her sources of food supply, for instance, could be cut off, "the
+wings of her war-ships would be clipped."
+
+To this end Napoleon issued an arrogant proclamation, which was of
+far-reaching effect. It authorized the destruction of all British goods
+and all colonial produce shipped to any European port by a British
+vessel. It allowed the seizure by France of all ships, of whatever
+nation, which had even _called_ at a British port. To this the United
+States raised no objection, though it was in violation of the world's
+law in respect to nations which were at peace with each other. The
+United States' President evidently believed that British resentment at
+Napoleon's decree would sooner or later provide the United States with
+an excuse for a disagreement with Britain. He was not mistaken. Britain
+at once announced that she in her turn would prohibit the ships of other
+nations visiting French ports until they had first called at a British
+port. But two wrongs do not make a right. England also, being short of
+seamen by desertion, insisted that she had the right to search for
+British seamen on American vessels.
+
+This was a questionable proceeding, and not always carried out in the
+most amiable manner, as the _Chesapeake_ incident proves, and
+occasionally led to seizing American seamen, native-born citizens of the
+United States, in mistake for British-born deserters.
+
+Meanwhile Brock found "the military and the people of Quebec divided by
+opposing elements of dissatisfaction." His call for one thousand men for
+two months to complete the defences of the Citadel was met by the
+Provincial Government with what was practically a refusal. He persisted
+in his purpose, and despite drawbacks which would have deterred a less
+dominant nature, he erected a battery, mounting eight thirty-six pound
+guns, raised upon a cavalier bastion, in the centre of the Citadel, so
+as to command the opposite heights of Point Levis.
+
+Alive to the probability of invasion, and to the defenceless state of
+the Canadian frontier and the extreme apathy of the Quebec Government,
+Colonel Brock warned the War Office. He stated that, as the means at his
+disposal were quite inadequate to oppose an enemy in the field, with a
+provincial frontier of 500 miles, he would perforce confine himself to
+the defence of the city of Quebec. The Lower Canadians, willing to
+undergo training, had formed themselves into corps of cavalry, artillery
+and infantry, at no expense to the Government, but the Government gave
+them no encouragement.
+
+This was the state of affairs in Quebec when Lieutenant-General Sir
+James Craig arrived to take office as Governor-General of the British
+Provinces in North America as well as Commander of the Forces. Brock
+soon became the _confidant_ of the new administrator, who was not slow
+to observe the exceptional capacity of our hero. The day came all too
+quickly for the Governor when occasion arose for the presence of a
+strong man to take command in Montreal, and with great reluctance he had
+to call upon Isaac Brock to assume the office.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IX.
+
+FUR-TRADERS AND HABITANTS.
+
+
+Montreal--the Mount Royal of Jacques Cartier--was then in the heyday of
+its pioneer glory. It was the seat of government of the North-West
+Company, which exercised feudal sway over an empire of wilderness, lake
+and prairie, and whose title to monopoly was challenged only by the
+powerful Hudson's Bay Company. Since 1670 this older syndicate of
+adventurers had held the destinies of the great lone land in the farther
+North-West, its fruitful plains and pathless forests, in the hollow of
+its hand. Later, when the two companies amalgamated, their joint
+operations extended from Alaska to Rupert's Land, from Oregon to the
+Sandwich Islands, from Vancouver to Labrador, an empire embracing an
+area of 4,500,000 square miles.
+
+At Montreal Brock lived with these merchant princes on terms of close
+intimacy. He was sensible enough, as a man of the world, to enjoy the
+creature comforts of life. The blazing log-fire, with its glow and
+crackle, in contrast to the blizzard that raged outside; the dim-lighted
+splendour of spacious dining-hall, with hewn rafters and savage trophies
+of the explorers; the polished oak floor and carved ceiling, hung with
+rare fur and gaudy feathers, appealed to him.
+
+The rubber of whist over, came the fragrant _perfecto_--these traders
+ransacked the world for their tobacco--and Brock, under the influence of
+the soothing weed, would charm these wild vagrants into unlocking some
+of the strange secrets of the wilderness. From these usually silent but
+sometimes garrulous merchants he acquired during the long winter nights
+a fund of facts that greatly influenced his future actions.
+
+Being superseded at Montreal by General Drummond, he did not relish a
+return to Quebec. Separation from the 49th meant actual pain, but, as he
+said, "Soldiers must accustom themselves to frequent movements, and as
+they have no choice, it often happens they are placed in situations
+little agreeing with their wishes." His regrets were lessened by his
+promotion to the rank of brigadier-general. But he prayed for active
+service, still trying to secure a staff appointment in Portugal, and
+awaited the result of his brother Savery's efforts, hoping he might yet
+be ordered to join "the best disciplined army that ever left England."
+
+"Your Excellency," he said to the Governor-General, "I _must_ see active
+service, or had much better quit the army, for I can look for no
+advantage if I remain buried in inaction in this remote corner of the
+earth, without the least mention ever likely being made of me."
+
+Unsuspected by our hero, fate in his case was only "marking time."
+
+Day after day Brock saw British ships weigh anchor at Quebec with
+Canadian timber for the building of English vessels of war. The
+importance of these Canadian provinces to Great Britain awoke in him
+dreams of a federation of all the colonies. Cargoes of timber, that
+would require more than 400 vessels to transport, were then lying on the
+beaches of the St. Lawrence. "Bonaparte," he wrote, "coveted these vast
+colonial areas, and desired to repossess them."
+
+Brock's mind was busy trying to solve these problems. "A small French
+force of 5,000 men," he told the Governor, "could most assuredly conquer
+the Province of Quebec. In the event of French invasion, would the
+volatile Lower Canadian people, in spite of all their privileges, remain
+loyal?" A certain class of _habitant_ argued that Napoleon, who was sure
+to conquer Europe, would of course seize the Canadas, encouraged by the
+United States. "Would Englishmen," asked Brock, "if positions were
+reversed, be any more impatient to escape from possible British rule
+than were French Canadians from the possible rule of France?"
+
+"Blood, my good FitzGibbon," he declared to his _protégé_, "is thicker
+than water. You cannot expect to get men to change their nature, or the
+traditions of their race, through an act of parliament at twenty-four
+hours' notice. Old thoughts and habits die hard."
+
+Though Brock's perceptive faculties were well developed, his forecasts,
+built upon the evidences of opposition among certain Lower Canadians,
+happily proved only in part correct. Later, when his plan of campaign
+was menaced by still greater disaffection in Upper Canada, he found he
+had not reckoned on the influence of his own example, which, added to
+his power of purpose, "disconcerted the disloyal." In proof of this fact
+Detroit and Queenston Heights were splendid examples.
+
+It was this spirit of unrest among the people of Quebec that moved Sir
+James Craig to keep Brock within easy reach until the growing discord in
+Upper Canada called for the presence of a man of tact and resolution,
+one to whom all things seemed possible--and Brock knew no such word as
+"impossible." On one occasion the "faithful sergeant-major" had ventured
+to declare that a certain order was "impossible." "'Impossible!'"
+repeated Brock, "nothing should be 'impossible' to a soldier. The word
+'impossible' must not be found in a soldier's vocabulary."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER X.
+
+THE MASSACRE AT MACKINAW.
+
+
+It was while stationed in Montreal that our hero met Alexander Henry,
+ex-fur-trader and adventurer and _coureur de bois_--then a merchant and
+King's auctioneer--a notable personage and leader in many a wild exploit
+in the far West, an old though virile man after Isaac's own heart.
+
+From Henry he learned much of the Indian wars in the West, and the
+strategic value of various points on the frontier, possession of which
+in the event of war he foresaw would be worth a king's ransom. Not least
+were details respecting Michilimackinac, the Mackinaw already referred
+to. Nearly half a century before, Henry, a native of New Jersey, of
+English parents--his ambition fired by tales of the fabulous fortunes to
+be made in the fur trade--obtained from the commandant at Montreal a
+permit to proceed west as a trader. He outfitted at Albany, and the
+following summer set out for Mackinaw.
+
+Meanwhile the Indian allies, under control of the great Pontiac, were
+fighting immigration and civilization. Between Fort Pitt--Pittsburgh--
+and the Fox River, in Wisconsin, the home of the Sacs and Foxes, they
+had captured nine out of thirteen military posts, and were secretly
+planning the downfall of Fort Mackinaw. This was regarded as an
+impregnable post and vulnerable only through strategy--in Indian
+parlance another name for duplicity. Fort Mackinaw, as Brock well knew,
+was the most important trading _entrepôt_ west of Montreal. It served a
+territory extending from the Missouri in the west to the far
+Kissaskatchewan in the north.
+
+On Henry's arrival his friendship was sought by an Indian chief,
+Wawatam. Between these two men a remarkable attachment developed. They
+became brothers by mutual adoption. At this time the fort was garrisoned
+by ninety British regulars. One day, outside the walls on the
+surrounding plateau, several hundred savages were encamped, ostensibly
+for purposes of trade, some of them killing time by playing the Indian
+game of ball--the _baggatiway_ of the red-man, _la jeu de la crosse_ of
+the voyageur. Henry, acting upon a veiled warning by Wawatam, suggested
+to the officer in command extra precaution.
+
+"I told him," said he, while Brock drank in every word, "that Indian
+treachery was proverbial." Now this recital was of the deepest interest
+to our hero, for Mackinaw, then in the possession of the United States,
+held the key to the Michigan frontier and control of the upper lakes.
+While the huge log fire that roared in the chimney cast light and shadow
+on polished wall and the oak beams of the big dining-hall, Brock puffed
+away at his huge _partiga_, weighing every word that fell from the
+bearded lips of the trader.
+
+"Major Errington," continued Henry, "while thanking me, laughed at my
+forebodings. Then Wawatam urged me, as his adopted brother, to depart
+for Sault Ste. Marie. But I delayed and once more sought Errington, who
+still ridiculed my fears. While I was yet expostulating with him we
+heard the louder shouts of the Indians. They had rushed through the fort
+gateway into the enclosure within the palisades in pursuit of a lost
+ball. This was but a ruse to gain admittance, for in a moment the
+laughter and shouts changed to wild yells and warwhoops. The guard was
+overpowered in a flash, and in the attack that followed almost the
+entire garrison was tomahawked and scalped."
+
+"Ah!" said Brock, "so British lethargy and self-complaisance succumbed
+to Indian duplicity."
+
+Then his thoughts turned to Niagara. He saw the open portals of Fort
+George, and Tuscarora youths playing the Indian game of ball in the
+meadows of the Mohawk village.
+
+"Those who escaped massacre at Mackinaw," said Henry, refilling his
+stone pipe and resuming his story, "were preserved for a worse fate.
+Pontiac's allies--and you, Colonel, know something of these matters from
+the tales told you by the officers of the North-West Company--entered on
+a carnival of blood. From a garret, where a Pawnee Indian woman had
+secreted me, I saw the captured soldiers tomahawked and scalped, and
+some butchered like so many cattle, just as required for the cannibal
+feast that followed."
+
+"Tortured?" interrogated Brock.
+
+"Tortured!" repeated Henry. "Why, the diabolical devices that those men
+resorted to to inflict acute physical agony were inconceivable--
+unutterable, Colonel." He paused.... "After all, no worse, perhaps, than
+the tortures that have been inflicted by civilized fanatics in Europe."
+
+There was silence for a moment. Both men were buried deep in thought,
+the one living in the past, the other striving to forecast the future.
+
+"Through the intercession of Wennway, another friendly Indian,"
+continued Henry, "my life was spared. Preparations were made for my
+secret departure. As I shoved my canoe into the water, _en voyage_ for
+Wagoshene, the prayers of Wawatam rang in my ears as, standing on the
+yellow beach with outstretched arms, he invoked the _Gitche Manitou_,
+the Great Spirit, to conduct me in safety to the wigwams of my people."
+
+"Surely, Master Henry," commented Isaac Brock, "with all the latent
+qualities for good that seem to underlie the outward ferocity of some
+redmen, firmness and kindness are alone needed to convert them into
+faithful friends."
+
+"An Indian, or Indians collectively," said Henry, pausing before he
+answered,--"I speak from personal experience only--are faithful so long
+as you keep absolute good faith with them. In this particular they are
+no different from white people; but never deceive them, even in trifles,
+and never subject them to ridicule. Then, if you treat them with
+consideration, you can reasonably depend upon their individual loyalty.
+They expect a lot of attention. Yes! an Indian is naturally grateful,
+probably far more so than the ordinary white man, and seldom forgets a
+kindness. Should you come into closer contact with the redman, Colonel,
+as I have a presentiment you will before long, never forget that an
+Indian, by right of his mode of life, is deeply suspicious and painfully
+sensitive. He has a keen sense of humour, however, and is quick to
+discern and laugh at the weak points of others, which, until you
+understand his language, you will be slow to suspect. On the other hand,
+he won't stand being laughed at himself or placed in a foolish position.
+For that matter, who can? Occasionally you will meet a savage with
+strangely high principles. Among the redskins there is a proportion of
+good and bad, as there is in all races, but less crime, under normal
+conditions, than there is among the whites. So, summing up his vices and
+virtues, the North American Indian, allowing for heredity and
+surroundings, differs little from ourselves."
+
+"They are brave," interrupted Brock.
+
+"Oh, yes," said Henry, "splendidly reckless of life. The courage of the
+fatalist I should say. You see, they are so constantly on the war-path
+that fighting is a compulsory pastime."
+
+"Still," said Brock, "with what daring they fight for their homes."
+
+"True, Colonel," retorted Henry, "but when it comes to fighting for
+home, a hummingbird will defend its nest. Their peculiar traits are
+largely the result of a nomadic life and tribal strife, hence, their
+duplicity. Superstition influences them greatly, as it does all savage
+races. In one respect they are at least superior to some of our own
+people--I refer to their treatment of their children. Their
+lovingkindness is pathetic. Contact with civilization, as you may
+discover, develops at first all their bad qualities, for they are apt
+imitators, so when the pagan Indian meets a trader without a
+conscience--and there are some, you know--why, he is not slow to adopt
+the bad Christian's methods."
+
+[Illustration: BROCK'S COCKED HAT]
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XI.
+
+LITTLE YORK, NIAGARA, AMHERSTBURG.
+
+
+In common with most great men, Brock found distraction in trifles. For
+weeks prior to leaving Quebec all kinds of gayety prevailed. A visit
+from Governor Gore of Upper Canada, and the arrival of the fleet from
+Guernsey and two frigates from Portsmouth, gave a fillip to society.
+Races, water-parties and country picnics were the order of the day. Our
+hero's contribution consisted of a banquet and grand ball. He had his
+own troubles, however, that even the versatile Dobson could not
+overcome, and he roundly scolded his brother Irving for not sending him
+a new cocked hat.[2]
+
+"That cocked hat," he said, "has not been received; a most distressing
+circumstance, as from the enormity of my head I find the utmost
+difficulty in getting a substitute."
+
+His departure for York weighed upon him. In Quebec he had the most
+"delightful garden imaginable, with abundance of melons and other good
+things"--these, together with his new bastions and forts, he had to
+desert. Being somewhat of a philosopher, he said that since fate decreed
+the best portion of his life was to be wasted in inaction, and as
+President Jefferson, though he wanted war, was afraid to declare it, he
+supposed he should have to be pleased with the prospect of moving
+upwards.
+
+Brock had been but a few weeks at Fort George--a "most lonesome place,"
+as compared with Quebec, Montreal, Kingston, or even Little York, from
+which latter place he was cut off by forty miles of lake, or more than a
+hundred miles of dense forest and bridgeless streams--when he decided
+upon a flying trip to Detroit, where, during the French _régime_, the
+adventurous Cadillac had landed in 1701. He would inspect the western
+limit of the frontier now under his care and obtain at first hand a
+knowledge of the peninsula. "For," as he remarked to Glegg, his aide,
+"if I can read the signs aright, the two nations are rushing headlong
+into a military conflict."
+
+Two routes were open to him, one overland, the other land and water. He
+chose the latter. A vast quantity of freight now reached Queenston from
+Kingston. Vessels of over fifty tons sailed up the river, bearing
+merchandise for the North-West Company. Salt pork from Ireland and flour
+from London, Britain being the real base of supply--the remote
+North-West looking to Niagara for food and clothing--the return cargoes
+being furs and grain. To portage these goods around Niagara Falls kept
+fifty or more farmers' waggons busy every day during the summer. A team
+of horses or oxen could haul twenty "pieces," of one hundred weight
+each, for a load. The entire length of the portage from Lake Ontario to
+Lake Erie was practically a street, full of all the bustle and activity
+that a scattered country population of 12,000 conferred upon it. Two
+churches, twenty stores, a printing house, six taverns and a scholastic
+academy supplied the varied wants of Niagara's 500 citizens who
+overfilled its one hundred dwellings.
+
+From Lake Ontario, Newark, as it had been called, presented an inviting
+appearance. The brick-and-stone court-house and jail and brightly
+painted Indian council-house and cottages rose in strong contrast
+against the green forest. On the river bank was Navy Hall, a log retreat
+for seamen, and on Mississaga (Black Snake) Point a stone lighthouse
+flashed its red signal of hope to belated mariners. Nearer the lake
+shore, in isolated dignity across a mile of common, stood Fort George, a
+dilapidated structure with wooden palisades and bastions. Half-acre lots
+in the village were given gratis by the Government to anyone who would
+build, and eight acres outside for inclosures, besides a large
+"commonty" for the use of the people. A quite pretentious wharf lined
+the river, and from this, on any summer afternoon, a string of soldiers
+and idle citizens might be seen--among whom was Dobson--casting hook and
+troll for bass, trout, pickerel and herring, with which the river
+swarmed. On one occasion Brock helped to haul up a seine net in which
+were counted 1,008 whitefish of an average weight of two pounds, 6,000
+being netted in one day.
+
+Side-wheel ferries, driven by horse-power, plied between the river's
+mouth and the Queenston landing. The paddle-wheels of these were open
+double-spoke affairs, without any circular rim. A stage-coach also ran
+between Queenston and Fort Erie, the first in Upper Canada. For one
+dollar the passenger could travel twenty-five miles.
+
+At Fort Erie, at the head of the Niagara River, Brock embarked in
+mid-August in a government schooner. He wished to familiarize himself
+with the upper water-ways. He made the long trip from Quebec to York,
+and thence to Niagara, Amherstburg, Detroit, Sandwich and return
+overland to Fort George, within two months--record time. Dobson
+accompanied his master. Brock was silent as to his impressions, but
+admitted he was convinced that the water route for a military expedition
+was the only practical one, and that Mackinaw, held by the United
+States, was the portal and key to the western frontier in case of
+invasion. He crossed overland through the "bad woods" and open plains to
+the Point of Pines, where batteaux and canoes awaited him. From thence
+he proceeded along the north shore of Lake Erie until abreast of the
+Miami, a confluent of the Ohio River, on the south shore, then turned
+northward up the Detroit River, twenty-five miles farther, reaching
+Amherstburg--called Malden by the Americans--250 miles from Fort Erie.
+Here, after consulting with Colonel St. George, he inspected the battery
+at Sandwich, and with little ceremony visited Detroit--the old military
+post of Pontchartrain--on the opposite side of the river, later
+notorious as an emporium for "rum, tomahawks and gunpowder." From
+Amherstburg, a small village with an uncompleted fort and shipyard, he
+sent messengers to the remote post of St. Joseph, an island, fifty-five
+miles from Mackinaw, below Sault Ste. Marie, and started homewards
+overland.
+
+In returning, he skirted the great tributary marshes, alive with
+water-fowl of every description, whose gabble and flapping wings could
+be heard at a long distance. He camped in the vast hardwood forests that
+covered the western point of the peninsula that extends west from Lake
+Ontario to the river connecting Lake Huron with Lake Erie. He shot big
+bustards and wild turkeys in the bush, where wolves and deer were as
+thick as rabbits in a warren, and tramped the uplands, teeming with
+quail and prairie chicken. Continuing by Delaware and the Government
+road at Oxford on the Thames, and by the "Long Woods" over the Burford
+Plains to Brant's Ford, he reached the Grand River, and then by Ancaster
+and the head of the lake to Burlington, when he followed the Lake
+Ontario southern shore road to Niagara.
+
+Many of the settlers whom he met were from the Eastern States. These
+were the original Loyalists or their descendants, patriots to the core.
+Other more recent arrivals--perhaps two-thirds of the whole--came from
+Pennsylvania, New York and New Jersey, attracted by the fertility of the
+soil and freedom from taxation, or to escape militia service. These
+latter he quickly realized were not the class to rely upon in event of
+war, but he gave no public sign of distrust. It was from the pick of the
+first-mentioned stalwarts that Brock formed his loyal Canadian militia,
+his gallant supporters in the war of 1812, who made a reputation at
+Detroit and Queenston that will never die.
+
+He was more than ever sensible of the resources of the country. This
+glimpse of the west enamoured him. To his "beloved brothers"--our hero
+always thus addressed them--he described it as a "delightful country,
+far exceeding anything I have seen on this continent." The extent of
+the Great Lakes amazed him, as did their fish. From these deep cisterns
+he had seen the Indian fishermen take whitefish, the _ahtikameg_
+(deer-of-the-water), twenty pounds in weight; maskinonge--
+_matchi-kenonje_, the great pike--more than twice that size, and
+sturgeon that weighed two hundred pounds and over, and in such
+quantities that he hesitated to tell his experiences on his return.
+
+Henry's stories of five hundred whitefish taken with a scoop net at the
+rapids of Sault Ste. Marie in two hours were no longer questioned. The
+size of the red-fleshed land-locked trout (the quail-of-the-water), of
+pickerel and bass, astounded him. His travels had broadened his views.
+The chatter of his Iroquois and Algonquin friends was now easier of
+interpretation. The riddles of the wilderness were more easily read. He
+now realized how possible it was, in this continent of unsurveyed
+immensity, to journey for weeks, after leaving the white man's domain
+hundreds of miles behind, and then reach only the rim of another kingdom
+of even far greater fertility. He also realized that beyond these
+laughing lands lay a rugged world of desolation, bounded in turn by the
+rasping ice-floes of the Arctic.
+
+If Brock's mind had expanded, so had his body. He was, as he expressed
+it, as "hard as nails." The close of 1811 found "Master Isaac" a grand
+specimen of manhood. Inclined to be a little portly, he was still
+athletic. His face, though a trifle stern, had grown more attractive,
+because of the benevolent look now stamped upon it. He was still fair
+and florid, with a broad forehead, and eyes though somewhat small, yet
+full and of a grayish blue, a charming smile and splendid white teeth.
+Always the same kindly gentleman and always a soldier. His life at Fort
+George had been one of great loneliness. He read much and rapidly, and
+would memorize passages from the books that had left the deepest
+impression. History, civil and military, especially ancient authors, was
+his choice, and maps his weakness. Over these, with his devoted aides,
+he would pore late into the night, until he knew the country almost as
+well as his friend the Surveyor-General. For variety he feasted upon the
+robust beauties of Pope's "Homer," ever regretting he never had a master
+"to guide and encourage him in his tastes."
+
+With Lieutenant-Governor Gore, formerly a soldier in Guernsey, our hero
+was on intimate terms. When the grind of duty let him, he would travel
+"the worst road in the country--fit only for an Indian mail-carrier--in
+order to mix in the society of York." He periodically returned these
+hospitalities by a grand ball at Niagara--always the event of the
+season. Brock, while fond of women's society, preferred brain to beauty.
+Had his old Guernsey friends been present on these occasions they would
+not have recognized in the soldier, resplendent in a general's uniform,
+now dancing a mazurka, the handsome stripling who only a few years since
+had waltzed his way into the hearts of all the women of St. Peter's
+Port.
+
+The unrest of the Indians at Amherstburg troubled him. He had seen over
+eight hundred in camp there, receiving rations for a month while waiting
+presents of blankets, powder and shot from King George. They asked
+British support if they took the warpath against the Americans--the
+Long-knives--_Gitchi-mokohmahn_, their sworn enemies. Tecumseh, a
+Shawanese chief, had demanded from the United States the restoration of
+violated rights. This demand had not been complied with. The position
+was critical. Great tact was required to retain the friendship of the
+Indians, while not complying with their request.
+
+In Lower Canada there was still discord among the French Canadians. The
+Governor, Sir James Craig, in a dying condition, relinquished office. In
+answer to Brock's application for leave, still hoping for a staff
+appointment in Portugal, the Governor-General implored him to remain.
+
+"I must," he told him, "leave the country in the best state of security
+I can; your presence is needed here. I am sending you as a mark of my
+sincere regard my favourite horse, Alfred." This was a high-bred animal,
+and our hero's charger in the war that followed.
+
+It was not, however, until war was regarded as unavoidable, and not
+until after he was promoted to be a major-general and appointed
+President and Administrator of Upper Canada, as successor to Governor
+Gore, that Isaac Brock became reconciled to life in Canada, and with set
+purpose assumed the duties of his high calling.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Our hero had passed his _third_ milestone.
+
+FOOTNOTE:
+
+[2] Miss Carnochan, as the Curator of the Niagara Historical Society the
+custodian of many relics of the war of 1812, has in her keeping this
+identical cocked hat. It arrived "shortly after Brock's death, and was
+given by his nephew to Mr. George Ball, near whose residence the 49th
+was stationed. The hat measures twenty-four inches inside, and was used
+at the funeral obsequies of 1824 and 1853, when many old soldiers
+requested, and were permitted, to try it on." The usage that the cocked
+hat then received has not improved its appearance.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XII.
+
+MAJOR-GENERAL BROCK, GOVERNOR OF UPPER CANADA.
+
+
+The appointment of Brock--with his exceptional military attainments--to
+the chief command in Upper Canada, at the point of greatest danger, was
+a rare piece of good fortune for the colony. Of the American military
+leaders, Generals Howe, Dearborn and Wadsworth were all examples of a
+common standard; even Sir George Prevost, the new Governor-General of
+Canada and Commander-in-Chief, was tuned in a minor key.
+
+Isaac Brock was the man of the hour. His star was in the ascendant.
+Queen Victoria's father, the Duke of Kent, was anxious to meet the
+soldier whose despatches had stirred the War Office. The Duke of York
+was ready to give him a brigade under Wellington, while the Governor of
+Jamaica, the Duke of Manchester, then touring Canada, begged Brock, whom
+he looked upon as a "universal provider," to equip him with canoes and
+guides for a western pilgrimage. If Brock's promotion brought him
+distinction it also brought him work--Executive Councils,
+court-martials, reorganization of militia, reconstruction of the ruined
+forts on the Niagara frontier, the building of gunboats, the making of
+roads. Never idle. To-day he was inspecting a camp of the 49th at Three
+Rivers, near Montreal; next week at Fort Erie. Ever busy, ever buoyant.
+Whether perusing documents, scouring the muddy roads at Queenston,
+surveying the boundaries of the dreaded Black Swamp, or visiting the
+points between Fort George and Vrooman's battery on his slashing gray
+charger, he had a smile and cheery word for everyone. As for Dobson, his
+profound awe at his master's progress was only equalled by his devotion,
+that increased with the illness that threatened his life; while the
+faithful sergeant-major, now Captain FitzGibbon, in command of a company
+of the 49th, was reflecting great credit on his patron. But no matter
+what the tax on his time, Isaac never neglected the "beloved brothers."
+
+In New York there had been financial failures. Brock predicted a
+dreadful crash, and had so written to his brother Irving, who with
+William had a bank in London. He hoped they "had withheld their
+confidence in public stocks." Providence ruled otherwise. While Isaac in
+the solitude of his quarters was writing this warning, the banking house
+in London, whose vessels in the Baltic Sea had been seized by
+Bonaparte's privateers, closed its doors. The news reached him on his
+birthday. He learned that a private advance made to him by William for
+the purchase of his commissions had been entered in the bank's books by
+mistake. He was a debtor to the extent of £3,000.
+
+Brock rose to the occasion. He proved himself not only a soldier but,
+best of all, a just man with the highest sense of personal honour. His
+distress was all for his brothers. He would sell his commission, turn
+over his income as governor and surrender everything, if by doing so he
+could save the fortunes of his family. Anything that not only the law
+but the right might demand. This failure impaired the former good
+fellowship between William and Irving Brock. Isaac wrote Irving,
+beseeching him to repair the breach. "Hang the world," said he; "it is
+not worth a thought. Be generous, and find silent comfort in being so.
+Oh, my dear brother, forget the past and let us all unite in soothing
+the grief of one of the best hearts that heaven ever formed, whose wish
+was to place us all in affluence. Could tears restore him he would be
+happy."
+
+But Isaac was not permitted to know that reconciliation followed his
+prayers. While William and Irving were shaking hands, but before they
+had even heard of the capture of Detroit, Isaac, unknown to them, was at
+that moment lying cold in death within the cavalier bastion at Fort
+George.
+
+Little York was now Brock's headquarters. He built dockyards to shelter
+His Majesty's navy, which consisted of two small vessels! He planned new
+Parliament Buildings and an arsenal, prepared township maps showing
+roads and trails, fords and bridges, all of which latter were in a
+shocking condition. At York the timber and brushwood was so dense that
+travel between the garrison and town was actually by water. His mind
+made up that war with the United States was inevitable, he was
+confronted with crucial questions demanding instant solution. Chief of
+these was the defence of the frontier, 1,300 miles in length, which
+entailed repairs of the boundary forts, the raising of a reliable
+militia, the increase of the regular troops, the building of more
+gunboats, and the solving of the Indian problem.
+
+[Illustration: BUTLER'S BARRACKS (OFFICERS' QUARTERS), NIAGARA COMMON]
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIII.
+
+THE WAR CLOUD.
+
+
+A President of the United States had breezily declared that the conquest
+of Canada would be "a mere matter of marching." The final expulsion of
+England from the American continent he regarded as a matter of course.
+Cabinet ministers at Washington and rabid politicians looked upon the
+forcible annexation of Canada as a foregone conclusion.
+
+One Massachusetts general officer, a professional fire-eater, said he
+"would capture Canada by contract, raise a company of soldiers and take
+it in six weeks." Henry Clay, another statesman, "verily believed that
+the militia of Kentucky alone were competent to place Upper Canada at
+the feet of the Americans." Calhoun, also a "war-hawk," had said that
+"in four weeks from the time of the declaration of war the whole of
+Upper and part of Lower Canada would be in possession of the United
+States." All of this was only the spread-eagle bombast of amateur
+filibusters, as events proved, but good cause for Brock, who had been
+appointed janitor of Canada and been given the keys of the country, to
+ponder deeply.
+
+Canada's entire population was nearly 320,000--about the same as that of
+Toronto to-day--that of the United States was 8,000,000! To defend her
+broken frontier Canada had only 1,450 British soldiers and a militia--at
+that moment--chiefly on paper. If the Indians in the West were to be
+impressed with British supremacy--for they were making a stand against
+2,000 American soldiers on the banks of the Wabash, in Ohio, where
+eighteen years before they had been beaten by General Wayne at
+Miami--then Amherstburg must be greatly strengthened and the Americans
+deterred from attack. How was Brock to obtain troops, and how were they
+to be equipped? The stores at Fort York were empty, provisions costly,
+and no specie to be had. All the frontier posts needed heavier
+batteries. On Lake Erie the fleet consisted of the _Queen Charlotte_ and
+the small schooner _Hunter_. As to the militia, he had been advised that
+it would not be prudent to arm more than 4,000 of the 11,000 in all
+Canada prepared to bear arms.
+
+To Brock's citation of thirty pressing wants Sir George Prevost wrote
+him, "You must not be led into any measure bearing the character of
+_offence_, even should war be declared." Prevost had a fluid backbone,
+while Brock's was of finely tempered steel.
+
+While affairs were in this precarious state His Excellency the
+Lieutenant-Governor, Major-General Brock, opened the Legislature at
+York. With what pride the news was received by the good people at St.
+Peter's Port can be imagined. To think that this great man, gorgeous in
+a purple Windsor uniform and slender court sword, with gleaming silk
+hose and hair aglitter with silver powder, was none other than "Master
+Isaac," whom the humblest Guernsey fisherman claimed as comrade, seemed
+past belief! To think that this important gentleman, with frilled
+waistcoat and cuffs of delicate lace--actually the King's Deputy--before
+whom, as "Your Excellency," Indian and paleface, gentle and simple,
+bowed low, was the small boy who used to play "uprooting the gorse"
+with the Guernsey fisher-lads--was beyond comprehension. Probably the
+one least affected by these honours was our hero himself. While it
+gratified his honest pride, it did not in the least cloud his vision.
+His speech from the throne proves this.
+
+"It is a glorious contest in which the Empire is engaged," he said, "to
+secure the independence of Europe, but what can we think of the American
+Government, which is trying to impede her effort.... The ships of
+England," he continued, "had been refused shelter in United States
+harbours, while refuge had been extended to the ships of our inveterate
+enemies." He reminded the colonists that "insulting threats had been
+offered to the flag and hostile preparations made." He praised the
+militia, and, while wishing for peace, declared that "Canada must
+prepare for war, relying on England's support in her hour of peril." He
+asked the Legislature to assent to three things of vital importance--the
+suspension of the Habeas Corpus Act, the passage of a law to regulate
+the privileges of aliens, and an Act providing for rewards to be paid to
+the captors of deserters.
+
+It was a house divided against itself, and it turned a deaf ear to
+Brock's appeal. "To the great influence of _American settlers_ over the
+members of the Lower House," he attributed this defeat. A court-martial
+revealed the fact that one of the best known militia regiments was
+composed almost entirely of native Americans! The United Empire
+Loyalists thronged to his banner.
+
+Undaunted by the cheap prudence of Prevost, a hostile Legislature, and
+the difficulties that beset him, Brock took off his coat, rolled up his
+sleeves, and all but single-handed--"off his own bat," as Dobson
+explained it to an admiring crowd in the barrack-room--wrought like the
+hero that he was for the salvation of his country. He became a machine,
+a machine working at high pressure eighteen hours out of twenty-four. He
+had developed into a very demon for work.
+
+With an empty treasury and no hope of reinforcements--every soldier
+England could spare was fighting in Spain--he raised flank companies of
+militia to be attached to the regular regiments. The Glengarry
+sharpshooters, four hundred strong, were enlisted in three weeks. A new
+schooner was placed on the stocks. He formed a car-brigade of the young
+volunteer farmers of York and removed incompetent officers.
+
+Fort George, constructed of earthen ramparts, with honeycombed cedar
+palisades which a lighted candle could set fire to, with no tower or
+block-house, and mounting only nine-pound guns, he knew was incapable of
+resistance. It invited destruction from any battery that might be
+erected at Youngstown on the American side, while confronting it was
+Fort Niagara, built of stone, mounting over twenty heavy guns,
+containing a furnace for heating shot, and formidable with bastions,
+palisades, pickets and dry ditch. The tension at Niagara was trying. Two
+officers of the 41st were expelled for killing dull care by dissipation.
+A Canadian merchant schooner was boarded in mid-lake by an American
+brig, taken to Sackett's Harbour and stripped. The Americans were
+pouring rations and munitions of war into Detroit. If Brock's hands were
+shackled, he knew the art of sitting tight. He made another flying trip
+to Amherstburg, taking one hundred men of the 41st, in the face of
+Prevost's standing orders to "exercise the strictest economy."
+Handicapped on every side, doing his best and preparing for the worst,
+he wrote Prevost that his "situation was critical," but he "hoped to
+avert dire calamity."
+
+The river bank between Fort George and Queenston for seven miles was
+patrolled night and day. A watch was placed on Mississaga lighthouse
+from daylight to dusk, and beacon masts, supporting iron baskets filled
+with birchbark and pitch, were erected on the heights to announce, in
+event of hostilities, the call to arms.
+
+At this time one of Brock's most intimate friends--his chosen
+adviser--was Mr. Justice William Dummer Powell, later Chief Justice of
+Upper Canada, and former Speaker of the House. At the judge's house and
+at Tordarroch, the log mansion of General Æneas Shaw--another intimate,
+and Adjutant-General of Militia--Brock was wont to repair for a few
+hours' rest from official cares. It was at Tordarroch (Oak Hall), on the
+outskirts of York, that the great Duke of Kent had been a guest. When at
+Fort George our hero usually lived with Colonel Murray, of the 100th,
+and "charming Mrs. Murray," as he was fond of calling her, in their
+"pretty cottage," and if not there he was a constant visitor at the
+house of Captain John Powell, a son of the judge and son-in-law of
+General Shaw, between whose daughter, Sophia Shaw, and Isaac Brock there
+had developed a deep attachment. Here he whiled away spare moments with
+whist and cribbage, "diversions," he said, "that sharpened a man's
+wits." He would shoot wild pigeons and spruce partridges in the adjacent
+bush, or take long gallops, frequently alone, over the plains beyond the
+Heights of Queenston, ever on the lookout for new bridle-paths and
+point-to-point trails.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIV.
+
+THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA DECLARES WAR.
+
+
+It came at last! On June 18th, 1812, after weeks of preparation, placing
+an embargo on shipping, putting 100,000 militia on a war footing on the
+pretence of hostilities among the Indians, calling out the volunteers
+and raising a special public fund, Congress under President Madison
+declared war against Great Britain.
+
+This did not end Brock's suspense. Not until five weeks later did he
+receive official notice from Prevost. Despite opposition from many
+states, which declared their detestation of an alliance with Bonaparte,
+after a stormy debate behind closed doors at Washington, Congress voted
+for war against England, with Canada as the point of attack. The United
+States placed itself on record as approving of "forcible invasion of a
+neighbouring peaceful country and its rights, and of taking property on
+which it had no shadow of claim."
+
+The offensive "right of search" of American ships by British warships
+for deserters was, of course, given as the excuse for war. The United
+States Government contended that a nation's flag protected the cargoes
+of the vessels of that nation. To search for contraband or for deserters
+on such ships, President Madison declared, was a violation of
+international law. In direct violation of the United States' own
+interpretation of this decree, her war-frigate _President_ blew the
+British gunboat _Little Belt_, half her own size, almost out of the
+water because of the refusal of her commander to allow such search.
+
+It is interesting to remember that while the United States contended
+that Britain had no right to search the ships of other nations, she
+actually allowed her own officials, in the case of an American sailor
+who had become a citizen of France and an officer in the French navy, to
+search the foreign vessel upon which he served and arrest him as a
+deserter. A more flagrant violation of the principles she professed is
+difficult to imagine. She insisted that this officer was still a citizen
+of the United States, for he could not become a citizen of another
+country without the consent of the government of his native country. So,
+when it suited her purpose, and in direct defiance of her own
+proclamation, she did not hesitate to accept England's contention and
+adopt the "obnoxious doctrine"--thus practising the identical principle
+against which she had declared war. Truly glaring inconsistency.
+
+While these were the chief of the alleged reasons for war, the whole
+world knew that the real cause was the jealousy and hatred felt for
+England by a certain class of United States citizens who "were bound to
+pick a quarrel with John Bull, excuse or no excuse." That there were
+many and irritating faults on the part of England cannot be denied. In
+the light of subsequent events it is not difficult to realize that both
+governments were in the wrong. The wisdom born of bitter experience and
+the sincere friendship of the two nations to-day, sensibly founded on
+mutual respect, happily renders a repetition of such regrettable scenes
+outside the pale of possibility.
+
+Strange to say, England had revoked the objectionable Order-in-Council
+authorizing right of search of American ships for deserters by British
+men-of-war the very day _before_ war was declared by the United States.
+There was no ocean cable in those days. Had there been, this story might
+never have been written. The removal, however, of this one reason for
+_war_ was not--when letters duly arrived from England announcing the
+fact--accepted by the United States as a reason for an immediate
+declaration of _peace_. This proves that the reasons advanced by the
+United States for going to war were from first to last not genuine, but
+mere excuses. Canada was as Naboth's vineyard, and Ahab, in the person
+of the United States, coveted it. England hesitated to draw the sword on
+a people "speaking a common tongue, with institutions based upon her
+own," but she could not always be expected to "turn the other cheek to
+the smiter."
+
+The United States called out an army of 15,000 men for purposes of
+attack on the Niagara frontier, and commanded General Wadsworth--of
+course, on paper--"to feed and cherish them." How well he executed this
+command remains to be seen.
+
+What of Canada? Her yeomen forsook ploughshare and broadaxe, seized
+sword and musket, and rallied to the standard of Brock. In Upper Canada
+there was an active force of 950 regulars and marines and 550 militia.
+This little army had to defend the seven forts of Kingston, York,
+George, Erie, Chippewa, Amherstburg, and St. Joseph, not one of which
+was a fortress of strength, to patrol the lakes and protect a most
+vulnerable frontier. It was the opinion of leading military authorities
+that Canada could never be held against such an enemy.
+
+Brock was at York when the news reached him. He at once sent part of the
+41st to Niagara by lake, crossing himself with his brigade-major,
+Evans, and Macdonell and Glegg, his aides, and, as usual, in a batteau,
+with eleven men. At Fort George he bade adieu to some American officers,
+guests of the mess, and sent them across the river. He was eager to
+storm Fort Niagara, whose capture might have changed the entire
+situation, but alas! what of his instructions?
+
+He called out more militia, though he had only a few tents and many of
+the men were drilling without shoes. One hundred Tuscaroras under Chief
+Brant answered his summons. He divided his augmented Niagara force into
+four divisions--at Fort Erie 400 men, at Fort Chippewa 300, at Queenston
+300, at Fort George 500. Of these, 900 were militia.
+
+The rattle of the matchlock was as familiar as cockcrow. Every man
+became in fact, if not in deed, a volunteer. If the musket was not
+strapped to the tail of the plough, it leaned against the
+snake-fence--loaded. The goose-step, the manual and platoon took the
+place of the quadrille. Every clearing became a drill-hall, every log
+cabin an armoury. Many of the militia were crack shots, with all the
+scouting instincts of the forest ranger. In the barrack-square, in
+scarlet, white and green, the regulars drilled and went through wondrous
+evolutions with clock-work precision--fighting machinery with the
+tenacity of the bull-dog, though lacking the craft of the woods that had
+taught the volunteer the value of shelter and the wisdom of dwelling on
+his aim.
+
+Apart, stolid and silent, but interested spectators, lounged the dusky
+redmen, forever sucking at their _pwoighun-ahsin_ (stone pipes) and
+making tobacco from the inner bark of red-willow wands, watching and
+wondering. The foot soldiers carried fire-locks, flints and cartridge
+boxes. These smooth-bore flint-locks had an effective range of less than
+100 yards, and could be discharged only once a minute. Very different to
+the modern magazine rifle, which can discharge twenty-five shots in a
+minute and kill at 4,200 yards, while within 2,000 yards it is accurate
+and deadly. The mounted men were armed with sabres and ponderous
+pistols.
+
+Our hero addressed the militia. The enemy, he told them, intended to lay
+waste the country. "Let them be taught," he said, "that Canadians would
+never bow their necks to a foreign yoke." As the custodian of their
+rights, he was trying to preserve all they held dear. He looked to them
+to repel the invaders.
+
+Brock was placed in a most peculiar position, for while the passive
+Prevost was still instructing him--nearly three weeks _after_ the
+declaration of war--"to take no offensive measures, as none would be
+taken by the United States Government," General Hull, with a force of
+2,500 tried soldiers, was on his way from Ohio through the Michigan
+forests to occupy Detroit and invade Canada. Hull reached Detroit, and
+four days later, with his entire command, crossed the river and occupied
+Sandwich. But the trip was attended with serious mishap to his army, for
+Lieutenant Roulette, of the British sloop _Hunter_--a brother of the
+famous fur-trader--in a small batteau, with only six men, captured the
+United States packet _Cayuga_, with a detachment of five officers and
+thirty-three soldiers, as she was coming up the river. The _Cayuga's_
+treasure consisted not only of valuable stores and baggage, but Hull's
+official correspondence with the United States Secretary of War. The
+contents of this decided Brock, though he had no idea Hull's army was so
+strong, to attempt the reduction of Fort Detroit without a moment's
+delay.
+
+The very hour he knew that war was declared he had notified the officer
+at St. Joseph. Our hero, whose root idea of a soldier's craft was
+"secrecy in conception and vigour in execution," had no taste for
+Prevost's mad doctrine that the aggressed had to await the convenience
+of the aggressor. Brock had been taught to regard tolerance in war as an
+"evil of the first magnitude," and so had already instructed the
+commander at St. Joseph that if war was proclaimed he was to attack
+Mackinaw at once, but if attacked, "defend your post to the last."
+Prevost at the same time had ordered this officer "in case of necessity
+to effect his own retreat," never dreaming he would dare attack
+Mackinaw. What a contrast the despatches of these two men present! The
+one full of confidence, fight and resistance, the other shrinking from
+action and suggesting retreat. Brock's despatch was of later date and
+more palatable to the fighter at St. Joseph. He started at once for
+Mackinaw, fifty-five miles distant, with 45 of the 10th Royal veterans,
+180 Canadians, many of whom were traders and voyageurs, and convoyed by
+the brig _Caledonia_, owned by the North-West Fur Company.
+
+He landed before daybreak. By noon of that day the Union Jack was
+floating above the basalt cliffs of the Gibraltar of the north, and also
+over two of the enemy's vessels laden with furs. It is not on record
+that Captain Roberts was recommended by General Sir George Prevost for
+promotion! The Indians at Amherstburg were now ready to support the
+British. Foremost among these was the great Shawanese warrior, Tecumseh.
+
+General Hull, having meantime billeted himself in Colonel Baby's big
+brick house at Sandwich, issued a proclamation to the "inhabitants of
+Canada." As a sample of egotism, bluff and bombast it stands unrivalled.
+He told the inhabitants of Canada that he was in possession of their
+country, that an ocean and wilderness isolated them from England, whose
+tyranny he knew they felt. His grand army was ready to release them from
+oppression. They must choose between liberty and security, as offered by
+the United States, and war and annihilation, the penalty of refusal. He
+also threatened instant destruction to any Canadian found fighting by
+the side of an Indian, though General Dearborn, in command of the United
+States forces at Niagara, had been authorized by the United States
+Secretary of War "to organize the warriors of the Seneca Indians" _for
+active service against Canada_.
+
+The United States Secretary of War wrote to Hull, saying his action
+respecting Canadian Indians "met with the approval of the Government."
+Evidently ashamed, upon reflection, of Hull's threat, that same
+Government later instructed its commissioners at the Treaty of Ghent,
+when peace was restored, "to disown and disavow" their former Indian
+policy.
+
+Hull's extraordinary production, which proved a boomerang, was really
+the work of Colonel Lewis Cass, his Chief of Staff; but while Hull and
+Cass were "unloading their rhetoric at Sandwich," our hero was "loading
+his guns at Mackinaw."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XV.
+
+BROCK ACCEPTS HULL'S CHALLENGE.
+
+
+With the country's call for a saviour had arisen the man so sorely
+needed. Vigilant, sagacious and brave, but with most inadequate forces,
+Brock, faced by a crisis, hurried to repel the invasion by Hull. If
+Canada was to be saved, Detroit, as well as Mackinaw, must be reduced.
+The confidence also of the savages must be retained. The smallness of
+his army demanded the neutrality of the redmen, if not their active aid.
+
+The plan of his campaign was laid before his Executive Council and the
+members of his staff. As they parted at the door of the General's
+quarters at midnight, preceding the day on which their gallant leader
+issued his counter reply to Hull, his final words were: "To hold
+Amherstburg, gentlemen, is of vital importance. It is the western base
+from which we must resist attack and advance upon Detroit. It must be
+held in force."
+
+Brock's written answer to Hull's flamboyant address--edited by his wise
+adviser, Judge Powell--was eloquent and dignified. Hull's invitation to
+Canadians to seek protection from Britain under the flag of the United
+States was, he said, "an insult." He cited the advantages of British
+connection, and warned the colonists that secession meant the
+restitution of Canada to the Empire of France. This was the price to be
+paid by America for the aid given by France to the revolting States
+during the War of Independence. He reminded them of the constancy of
+their fathers. "Are you prepared to become slaves to this despot
+Napoleon, who rules Europe with a rod of iron? If not, arise, repel the
+invader and give your children no cause to reproach you with sacrificing
+the richest inheritance of earth, participation in the name, character
+and freedom of Britons."
+
+He told them not to be dismayed by the enemy's threat to "refuse them
+quarter should an Indian appear in their ranks." "Why," he continued,
+"should the brave bands of Indians which now inhabit this colony be
+prevented from defending their new homes?" These poor people, he
+reminded them, had actually been punished for their former fidelity to
+the United States, by the Government of that country taking from them
+their old homes in Ohio. The King of England had granted them a refuge
+and given them superior lands in Canada. Why were they to be denied the
+right to defend their hearths "from invasion by ferocious foes," who,
+while utilizing Indians themselves, had condemned the practice in
+others? The threat to refuse quarter to these defenders of invaded
+rights would, he said, bring about inevitable reprisal, for "the
+national character of Britain was not less distinguished for humanity
+than retributive justice."
+
+The obstacles surrounding Brock would have driven an ordinary man to
+distraction. It is not possible to recite a fraction of them. The Grand
+River Indians, having received a specious letter from Hull, refused to
+join the relief expedition for Moraviantown, on the Thames, on which
+some of Hull's freebooters were marching. Some of the militia declined
+to leave their homes, suspicious, they said, of Indian treachery. Some,
+with blood relations in the States, refused point blank to take up arms.
+Others were busy harvesting, while not a few came out openly as traitors
+and joined the ranks of Hull. Brock had no reinforcements of regular
+troops, and small chance of getting any, and, what was far worse, he
+received little moral support even from the Legislature, and none from
+other sources from which he had a right to expect it. He called an extra
+session of the House to enact laws to meet the crisis, to invest him
+with greater authority and to vote money for defence. He closed his
+Speech from the Throne with a declaration delivered in sonorous, ringing
+tones that echoed throughout the chamber:
+
+"We are engaged in an awful and eventful contest. By unanimity and
+vigour we may teach the enemy this lesson, that a country defended by
+free men, devoted to the cause of their King and constitution, can never
+be conquered."
+
+Though Brock's speech "inspired the faithful and foiled the designs of
+some of the faithless," his demands were conceded in part only, and he
+left for Fort George with heart filled with misgivings. In answer to his
+request, Prevost declined to define the extent of the authority with
+which he had himself vested him. Extreme measures, he told him, must be
+taken at his own risk. Our hero was one of those limited few who had
+sounded the depths of the truth that it was easier to do one's duty than
+to know it. His shrewdness and self-reliance came to the rescue. Seeing
+that the Niagara River would be selected as the point for invasion, he
+made it his _defensive_ frontier, while the Detroit River was the
+_offensive_ front of his campaign. These views he outlined to his staff
+on the night following the prorogation of the House.
+
+Judge Powell, after a long session of Council, the last to depart, was
+rising to leave. "Then, sir," said Colonel Macdonell, General Brock's
+new provincial aide, the young and brilliant Attorney-General of Upper
+Canada--engaged to Mary Powell, the daughter of the judge--"you really
+believe we can bombard Detroit successfully? The fort has, I understand,
+parapets twenty feet high, with four bastions, surrounded by palisades,
+a ditch and a glacis, and is capable of withstanding a long siege;
+besides which it has 2,500 fighting men to defend it."
+
+"My good Macdonell," responded our hero, interest and deep regard
+imprinted on his face, "we fortunately know from Hull's own letters that
+he has as little confidence in his army as they have confidence in him.
+I fancy he is merely whistling to keep up his courage. A bold front on
+our part, with a judicious display of our small force, will give him
+cause to reflect. Then, provided we enthuse the Indians--and if Mackinaw
+is fallen, this should not be difficult--Detroit is ours!"
+
+"How about Amherstburg and Sandwich, General?" interjected Justice
+Powell. "Their safety is essential to your plan."
+
+"As to Amherstburg," said Brock, "it is the pivot point, sir, and must
+be retained as our base. At Sandwich we already have earthworks
+completed. If destroyed by Hull they must be rebuilt, for the batteries
+there must cover our crossing and cannonade the fort while we advance
+upon it. I have already sent, as you know, a few additional men to
+Procter--every man I can steal from here. He should be able to hold his
+own at Amherstburg for a bit longer. The conditions, I admit, are far
+from satisfactory under the present command, but Chambers is on his way
+with forty of the 41st, one hundred militia with Merritt, and some of
+Brant's braves, to put backbone into the garrison."
+
+"General," said Justice Powell, the rays from a waning moon flooding the
+hall-way as the outer door was opened by Brock for the exit of his
+councillors, "having implicit confidence in your judgment and military
+ability, I believe you will overthrow Hull. Assuming that you capture
+old Fort Lernoult and seize Detroit, what then?"
+
+"What then, sir?" said Brock--emphasizing his parting words with a
+gesture of his hand--"why, Detroit taken, I shall return here, batter
+Fort Niagara--providing Prevost consents--and then by a sudden movement
+I could sweep the frontier from Buffalo to Fort Niagara and complete the
+salvation of Canada by the occupation of Sackett's Harbor. Good-night,
+gentlemen. _En avant_, Detroit!"
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVI.
+
+"EN AVANT, DETROIT!"
+
+
+Under an August moon Lake Erie shone as a shield of silver. Brock, with
+a fleet of small craft, batteaux and boats of every kind given him by
+the settlers, had pulled out from Long Point with 40 regulars and 260
+militia for the relief of Amherstburg, two hundred miles distant.
+
+The news of the fall of Mackinaw and the official declaration of war had
+only reached him as Parliament rose. He had proclaimed martial law
+before leaving York. He had also heard details of the attack by Hull's
+raiders on the Moravian settlement, sixty miles up the Thames. He knew
+of the repulse of 300 United States troops in three attempts to cross
+the Canard River bridge for an attack on Amherstburg, and of their being
+driven into the open plains, with loss, by Procter's men.
+
+It was in one of these attacks that the first scalp in the war of 1812
+was taken--not by one of Brock's terrible Indians, whose expected
+excesses had been referred to by Hull, but by a captain of Hull's spies.
+This officer--one hates to describe him as a white man--wrote his wife,
+he "had the pleasure of tearing a scalp from the head of a British
+redskin," and related at length the brutal details of his methods. They
+were those of a wild beast. "The first stroke of the tomahawk," Hull had
+stated in his proclamation, "the first attempt with the scalping-knife,
+will be the signal of a scene of desolation." Yet the first scalp taken
+in the Detroit campaign was by one of his own officers!
+
+Brock knew that the valorous Hull, dismayed at the advance of the
+British, had recrossed the river with all but 250 of his men and was
+hard at work on the defences of Fort Shelby, behind which he had
+retired. Brock also knew of the affair at Brownstown, where the Indian
+chief Tecumseh, with twenty-five warriors, had separated himself from
+Major Muir's detachment, sent to intercept a transport on its way from
+Ohio to Detroit with supplies for Hull. He had been told of the
+stratagem by which the great Shawanese warrior had ambushed the 200
+American soldiers, near the Raisin River, who had marched from Detroit
+to escort this convoy and the mails. Seven American officers were killed
+at the Raisin, twelve of all ranks wounded, and seventy reported missing
+after the fight. In addition to the provision train, Tecumseh captured
+what was of much greater importance, another batch of Hull's despondent
+despatches. It was here that swift justice overtook the scalping Captain
+McCullough, of Hull's spies, who himself met with the fate of his former
+victim--the fate he deserved.
+
+Brock also received despatches describing the daring attack by
+Lieutenant Roulette, of the provincial marine, who in a small boat with
+a handful of men had boarded and seized in the Detroit River a brigade
+of eleven batteaux! These, loaded with food, were on their way from
+Black Rock, and now carried fifty-six wounded American soldiers and two
+English prisoners. This bold feat of "cutting out" took place under the
+eyes of an armed escort of 250 American soldiers marching along the
+river bank.
+
+Messengers from Procter had also informed Brock of the fight at
+Maguagua, fourteen miles below Detroit. It was here that Muir, with 200
+regulars and militia and less than 200 Indians, instead of waiting to be
+attacked, recklessly assailed a force of 600 Americans who were halted
+on the edge of the oak forest, supported by two six-pounder guns.
+Fighting without hope against such odds, the British were outflanked,
+Muir himself wounded, and an officer killed--the second British soldier
+to fall in the war of 1812. The American loss was eighteen killed and
+sixty-three wounded. Though the difference in arms and men was greatly
+in favour of the Americans, the British were enabled to retreat to the
+river, where they regained their boats. The American force, suffering
+from greater casualties, did not attempt to follow them.
+
+Apart from the inferior strength of the British, the chief cause of
+their reverse at Maguagua was the blunder of some men of the 41st, who
+fired upon a body of Tecumseh's Indians. In rushing from the woods the
+redmen were mistaken for the enemy, and falling into a similar error
+themselves, they returned with interest the fire of the British
+soldiers. The disorder that followed created a panic. While Tecumseh
+with his own Indians fought bravely, the seventy Lake Indians under
+Caldwell suffered from "chill" and fled at the first shot. The most
+encouraging of these facts, when told to the expedition, aroused in
+Brock's followers a wild desire to meet Hull's army in battle.
+
+Our hero's trip from Long Point was full of peril and hardship. The lake
+shore in places was extremely rugged. Precipitous cliffs of red clay and
+sun-baked sand rose two hundred feet from the boulder-strewn coast.
+Scarcely a creek offered shelter. The weather was unusually stormy. A
+heavy surf boomed on the shore. Flocks of water-fowl were driven before
+the wind. The men were drenched by torrents of rain. Though thirty miles
+in twenty-four hours was considered the maximum distance for rowing a
+batteau, nothing could retard this strange armada or dampen the
+confidence of the men in their resolute leader, who in an open boat led
+the way. In this boat, which was "headquarters," were Brock and his two
+aides. A lighted flambeau at the bow acted as a beacon during the night.
+After five days of great vigilance and galley-slave work, the toilers
+reached Amherstburg. Without the help of these hardy and resourceful men
+of the Canadian militia this trip could not have been accomplished.
+
+The conduct of these bold frontiersmen aroused Brock's admiration. His
+own example had again acted as an inspiration. Shortly after leaving
+Port Talbot, his batteau, pounding in the sea, ran upon a reef that
+extended far from shore, and despite oars and pike-poles, remained fast.
+In the height of the confusion "Master Isaac" sprang overboard, and a
+moment later voyageur and raw recruit, waist deep in water, following
+the example of the hero of Castle Cornet, lifted the batteau over the
+dangerous ledge.
+
+When at midnight the boats passed up the Strait--through which the
+ambitious La Salle and Father Hennepin had passed in 1679--and grated on
+the gravel beach at Amherstburg, Brock was greeted with a volley of
+musketry by the Indians. This was contrary to his rigid rubric of war.
+Such waste of powder must not be tolerated. He turned to the Indian
+superintendent, "Do pray, Colonel Elliott," said he, "explain my reasons
+for objecting to the firing and tell the Chiefs I will talk with them
+to-morrow."
+
+[Illustration: OUR HERO MEETS TECUMSEH. "THIS IS A MAN!"]
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVII.
+
+OUR HERO MEETS TECUMSEH.
+
+
+A few minutes only had elapsed when Elliott returned. The sentry's
+challenge caused Brock to look up from the table, littered with plans
+and despatches. Another figure darkened the doorway.
+
+"This, sir," said Elliott, "is Tecumseh, the Shawanese chief of whom you
+have heard, and who desires to be presented to you."
+
+The General, who had removed the stains of travel and was in uniform,
+rose to his full height, bowed, extended his hand and explained in manly
+fashion the reason for asking that the firing be stopped. The contrast
+presented by the two men was striking. The old world and the new, face
+to face--a scene for the brush of an impressionist. Brock, tall, fair,
+big-limbed, a blue-eyed giant, imposing in scarlet coat and blue-white
+riding trousers, tasselled Hessian boots, and cocked-hat in hand. On his
+benevolent face was an irresistible smile.
+
+The Indian, though of middle height, was of most perfect proportions, an
+athlete in bronze, lithe and supple as a panther. His oval face, set in
+a frame of glistening black hair, shone like a half-polished copper
+relief. Overlooking the nose, straight as one of his own arrows, and
+from which some tinkling silver coins were suspended, a pair of
+hawk-like eyes, hazel-black and unflinching--in which the secrets of the
+world seemed slumbering--gleamed upon Brock. His dress, a hunting
+jacket of tanned deer-skin and close-fitting leggings. Fringed mocassins
+of the same material, richly embroidered in silk and porcupine quills
+dyed in divers colours, encased his feet. The light from the open log
+fire flickered fitfully, half revealing the antlered heads of moose and
+caribou and other trophies of the chase that, hanging from the rafters,
+looked down upon the group, adding weirdness to the picture.
+
+Brock briefly explained that he had come to fight the King's enemies,
+enemies who so far had never seen his back, and who were Tecumseh's
+enemies also. "Would Tecumseh maintain an honourable warfare?"
+
+Perhaps no eulogy of Brock was ever penned that so well summed up his
+qualities as did the terse, four-worded certificate of character uttered
+by the Indian before replying to the British general's appeal. Tecumseh
+looked "Master Isaac's" commanding physique up and over, over and
+down--Brock's caution as to waste of powder doubtless weighing with
+him--until eye met eye, and then, impulsively extending his thin brown
+hand, turned to his followers, exclaiming in tones of highest
+admiration:
+
+"_This_ is a man!"
+
+Assenting "Ughs" and "Ho-hos" followed in rapid succession, and in
+response to Brock's invitation the headmen, painted and plumed and in
+striped blankets, squatted on their stained reed mats and wild-beast
+skins on the basswood log floor. Questioned as to the nature of the
+country westward, Tecumseh took a roll of elm-bark and with the point of
+his scalping-knife traced on its white inner surface the features of the
+region--hills, forests, trails, rivers, muskegs and clearings. Rough,
+perhaps, but as accurate, he said, as if drawn by a pale-face
+_teebahkeè-wayninni_ (surveyor).
+
+That night, after Tecumseh's return, Brock again held council with his
+staff, proposing an attack on Detroit. Only one of his chief officers,
+the staunch colonial quartermaster, Lieutenant-Colonel Nichol, agreed
+with him. Colonel Henry Procter, from whom he had expected whole-hearted
+support, strongly objected. History teaches us that the conception of a
+daring plan is the offspring of great minds only. Procter was not of
+this class, as his subsequent record shows. Some of our hero's critics
+have described his resolve to attack Detroit as "audacious and
+desperate." Isaac Brock was, of course, nothing if not contemptuously
+daring. The greater the difficulty that faced him the more was he
+determined to challenge the obstacle, that to a less confident man would
+have been rejected as insurmountable. He had, however, resolved and
+planned not only upon taking Detroit, but, if need be, the pursuit and
+capture of Hull's entire army, compelling him to either stand and fight
+or surrender. With habitual prescience he had weighed well the issues
+and chosen the lesser alternative. His own defeat and possibly his
+death, on the one hand, against the probable salvation of half a
+continent on the other. What true soldier could hesitate?
+
+While patiently hearing objections, he brushed the most of them aside as
+mere flies on the wheel. Surely the way had been opened to him. The
+seized despatches had revealed the discord among Hull's troops and shown
+him that while the United States militia, the flower of Ohio and
+Kentucky, was of good material, the United States soldiers were not. He
+knew that the situation in Upper Canada called for extreme measures, and
+that the time to strike was now or never, for his scouts had truly
+reported that 350 United States mounted troops were pressing close upon
+his rear. They were, in fact, only a mile or two distant. If his own
+inferior force was outflanked, or his communication with the Canadian
+interior cut, it spelled utter disaster. He was in a wilderness without
+hope of reinforcements. As Colonel Cass, the United States commander,
+later reported to the President, Brock was "between two fires and with
+no hope of succour." Brock knew he must act at once or even retreat
+might be impossible. With inborn acumen he saw at a glance the peril of
+his own position, and with cool courage hastened to avert it. He
+realized that upon the "destruction or discomfiture" of Hull's forces
+"the safety of the province depended."
+
+Brock listened closely to Procter's argument--by this time he knew, of
+course, that Hull's own line of communication with his reserves had been
+cut--then rising, when all who cared to speak had finished, he said:
+"Gentlemen, I have definitely decided on crossing the river and
+attacking Fort Detroit. Instead of further advice I must beg of you to
+give me your hearty support. The general orders for to-morrow will be
+issued at once."
+
+This decision was typical of the man of action. "Prudent only where
+recklessness was a fault, and hazardous only when hesitation meant
+defeat."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVIII.
+
+AN INDIAN POW-WOW.
+
+
+It was a picturesque council of white men and Indians that was held at
+dawn in an open glade of the forest. The fragrant odours of the bush
+mingled with the pungent smoke of the red willow-bark, puffed from a
+hundred pipes. Conspicuous at this pow-wow was Tecumseh, who across his
+close-fitting buckskin hunting jacket, which descended to his knees and
+was trimmed with split leather fringe, wore a belt of wampum, made of
+the purple enamel of mussel shells--cut into lengths like sections of a
+small pipe-stem, perforated and strung on sinew. On his head he wore a
+toque of eagle plumes.
+
+"My object," said Brock, addressing the Indians, "is to assist you to
+drive the 'Long-knives' [Americans] from the frontier, and repel
+invasion of the King's country." Tecumseh, speaking for his tribesmen,
+remarked, not without sarcasm, that "their great father, King George,
+having awakened out of a long sleep, they were now ready to shed their
+last drop of blood in that father's service."
+
+"The pale faces," he continued, after an impressive pause--and the fire
+of his eloquence and his gestures swayed his hearers like the reeds on
+the river bank--"the Americans who want to fight the British are our
+enemies.... They came to us hungry and they cut off the hands of our
+brothers who gave them corn.... We gave them rivers of fish and they
+poisoned our fountains.... We gave them forest-clad mountains and
+valleys full of game, and in return what did they give our warriors and
+our women? Rum and trinkets and--a grave!... The shades of our fathers
+slaughtered on the banks of the Tippecanoe can find no rest.... Their
+eyes can see no herds on the hills of light in the hunting grounds of
+the dead!... Until our enemies are no more we must be as one man, under
+one chief, whose name is--Death!... I have spoken."
+
+Tecumseh, it should be known, bore a personal grudge against the
+Americans, especially against the 4th Regiment, then in garrison at
+Detroit, the "heroes of Tippecanoe." This was a terrible misnomer, for
+under General Harrison, with 1,000 soldiers, less than a year before,
+they had taken part in the slaughter of Tecumseh's half-armed band of
+600 men and women on the banks of the Tippecanoe River, during that
+chief's absence with many of his warriors, and had laid waste his
+village. With a perhaps pardonable spirit of vindictiveness, such as is
+shared by both redskin and white man, the human-being in him thirsted
+for revenge.
+
+Brock, perceiving Tecumseh's sagacity and influence over the savages,
+invited the Shawanese and Wawanosh, Ojebekun and the other sachems, to a
+private council. Here he unfolded his plans. Before doing this he made
+it a condition that no barbarities were to be committed. "The
+scalping-knife," said he, "must be discarded, and forbearance,
+compassion and clemency shown to the vanquished." He told them he wanted
+to restrict their military operations to the known rules of war, as far
+as was possible under the singular conditions in which they fought, and
+exacted a promise from the lofty-minded Tecumseh that his warriors
+"should not taste pernicious liquor until they had humbled the
+Big-knives." "If this resolution," remarked Brock, "is persevered in,
+you must surely conquer."
+
+Brock's rapid ascendency over the Indians was astonishing; they already
+revered him as a common father.
+
+That same afternoon our hero, moving up with his entire command to
+Sandwich, occupied the mansion of Colonel Baby, the great fur-trader,
+just evacuated by Hull. In the spacious hall hooks were nailed to the
+rafters, from which were suspended great steel-yards, by which the
+beaver packs were weighed. Scattered on the hewn floor in much profusion
+were soldiers' accoutrements, service and pack-saddles, iron-bound
+chests mixed up with bear-traps and paddles, rolls of birch-bark,
+leather hunting shirts, and the greasy blankets of voyageur and redskin.
+The room on the right became Brock's headquarters, and in this room he
+penned his first demand upon General Hull.
+
+"My force," so he wrote, "warrants my demanding the immediate surrender
+of Fort Detroit." Anxious to prevent bloodshed, and knowing Hull's dread
+of the Indians, he also played upon his fears. "The Indians," he added,
+"might get beyond my control." This summons was carried by Colonel
+Macdonell and Major Glegg, under a flag of truce, across the river.
+
+The batteries at Sandwich consisted of one eighteen-pounder, two
+twelve-pounders, and two 51/2-inch howitzers. Back of these artificial
+breastworks extended both a wilderness and the garden of Canada. Beyond
+the meadows, aflame with autumn wild-flowers, beyond the cultivated
+clearings, rose a forest of walnut, oak, basswood, birch and poplar
+trees, seared with age, of immense height and girth, festooned with wild
+honeysuckle and other creepers. In the open were broad orchards bending
+under their harvest of red and yellow fruit--apples and plums, peaches,
+nectarines and cherries--and extensive vineyards. Huge sugar maples
+challenged giant pear trees, whose gnarled trunks had resisted the
+storms of a century. To the north the floor of the forest was interlaced
+with trails, which, with the intention of deceiving Hull's spies as to
+the strength of Brock's forces, had been crossed and recrossed, and
+countermarched and doubled over, by the soldiers and Tecumseh's
+half-naked braves.
+
+The air was filled with the fragrance of orchard and forest. Facing our
+hero, flowed the river, broad, swift and deep; tufted wolf-willow,
+waving rushes and gray hazel fringing the banks. Across and beyond this
+almost mile-wide ribbon of water, the imposing walls of Fort Detroit
+confronted him. Approaching him at a rapid gait he at last espied his
+two despatch bearers, their scarlet tunics vivid against the green
+background. They reported that, after waiting upon Hull for two hours
+without being granted an interview, they were handed the following
+reply:
+
+"General Hull is prepared to meet any force brought against him, and
+accept any consequences."
+
+Brock instructed his gunners to acknowledge the receipt of this
+challenge with the thunder of their batteries, and from then, far into
+the night, shells and round-shot shrieked their way across the river,
+the answering missiles from Hull's seven twenty-four-pounders breaking
+in a sheet of flame from the very dust created by the British
+cannon-balls that exploded on the enemy's breastworks. Through the irony
+of fate, the first shot fired under Brock's personal orders in the cause
+of Canadian freedom killed a United States officer, an intimate friend
+of the British artilleryman who had trained the gun. Such are the
+arguments of war.
+
+The cannonade proving ineffective, as judged by visible results, Brock
+issued orders to cross the river at dawn, when he would make the attempt
+to take the fort by storm--and soldier and militiaman bivouacked on
+their arms.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Camp fires were extinguished, but the tireless fireflies danced in the
+blackness of the wood. The river gurgled faintly in the wind-stirred
+reeds. From out the gloom of the thicket came the weird _coco-coco_ of
+the horned owl. From the starlit sky above fell the shrill cry of the
+mosquito hawk, "_peepeegeeceese, peepeegeeceese_!" From an isolated bark
+tepee came the subdued incantation of the Indian medicine-man, while
+above the singing of the tree-tops and over all, clear and with
+clock-like regularity, floated the challenge of the sentry and answering
+picket:
+
+"Who goes there?"
+
+"A friend."
+
+"All's well."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIX.
+
+THE ATTACK ON DETROIT.
+
+
+Morning came all too slowly for Brock's impatient soldiers. At last the
+_reveille_ warned the expectant camp. The sun rose, a red-hot shell out
+of the faint August haze, huge and threatening. With its advent the
+British batteries resumed their fire, aided by the guns on the _Queen
+Charlotte_ and _Hunter_, which lay in the river, above the village known
+to-day as Windsor, to cover the embarkation of the troops in batteaux
+and canoes.
+
+Brock's entire force consisted of only 330 regulars and 400 militia,
+some of whom, acting on a happy thought, were disguised in discarded
+uniforms of the 41st. This army was supported by five pieces of
+artillery. All crossed the river in safety, landing at Spring Wells,
+four miles below. The Indians, 600 strong, under Tecumseh, in addition
+to the men of his own nation, consisted of many Sioux, Wyandottes and
+Dacotahs. The majority of these crossed under cover of the night.
+History records no instance of a determined force being stopped by a
+river. The Detroit River presented an animated picture. Edging their way
+through a maze of boats and batteaux, and in marked contrast to the
+scarlet-coated soldiers and blue-shirted sailors, bark canoes on which
+were drawn in flaring colours a variety of barbaric designs, flitted
+here and there, their crews of half-naked savages fearsome in fresh
+war-paint and gaudy feathers. Coo-ees, shrieks and shrill
+war-whoops--"Ah-oh! Ah-oo!" like the dismal yells of a pack of
+coyotes--rent the air, the discordant din ever and anon drowned by the
+thunder of the guns from the Sandwich batteries.
+
+Upon landing Brock mustered his men. The reports showed 750 of all
+ranks, including the voyageurs left in charge of the river squadron. The
+600 Indians deployed in the shelter of the woods, skirmishing to effect
+a flank movement. The column, having formed, was moved forward in
+sections, and at double distance, to lend a fictitious air of strength;
+the light artillery, of three, six, and two three-pounders, being
+immediately in rear of the advance guards, the whole preceded by
+fluttering standards and rolling drums. Three generations ago! Yet you
+can see it all to-day as plainly as Brock saw it, if you but close your
+eyes and conjure up the past.
+
+The enemy, over 2,000 strong, drawn up in line upon an overlooking rise,
+had planted in the roadway, commanding the approach to the town, two
+twenty-four pounders, each loaded with six dozen grapeshot, around which
+the gunners stood with burning fuses, challenging our hero's advance.
+
+Up and down, in front of the line, rode Isaac Brock on his gray charger,
+his brilliant uniform--khaki was unknown in those days--flashing in the
+morning sun, a shining mark. A command here, a kindly rebuke there, a
+word of encouragement to all ranks; the eyes of Britain and Canada were
+upon them; they might have to take the fort by storm,--even so, honour
+and glory awaited them.... Forward then, for King and country!
+
+The rat-a-tat-tat of the kettle-drums, the clear-cut whistle of the
+fifes, the resonant roll of the big drums, the steady tramp, tramp of
+armed men--and the human machine was in motion.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+The long grim guns on Fort Detroit and Hull's field-pieces pointed their
+black muzzles at the column. Up and down, in front of his men, rode
+Isaac Brock.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Now this was more than some flesh and blood could stand. Spurring his
+horse, acting Quartermaster-General Nichol reined up alongside his
+beloved commander. "General," he said, saluting his leader, while the
+soldiers' faces expressed dumb approval, "forgive me, but I cannot
+forbear entreating you not to expose yourself. If we lose you, we lose
+all. I pray you, allow the troops to advance, led by their own
+officers."
+
+"Master Nichol," said Brock, turning in his saddle and returning the
+salute of the gallant Quartermaster, "I fully appreciate your kindly
+advice, but I feel that, in addition to their sense of loyalty and duty,
+there are many here following me from a feeling of personal regard, and
+I will never ask them to go where I do not lead."
+
+Before him spread the plain, broken here and there with _coulees_ and
+clumps of bush. A partly fenced roadway, with some scattered houses on
+the river bank, but no barbed-wire entanglements, impeded his movements.
+The introduction of such pleasant devices was left for a higher
+civilization!
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+The column was in motion. The steady onward tramp, tramp of this thin
+red line, raw recruit and grizzly veteran shoulder to shoulder, struck
+fear into the heart of the unfortunate Hull. The prospect, though his
+troops outnumbered the British three to one, was clearly war to the
+knife. Brock's meaning was apparent. Should he or should he not accept
+the Englishman's challenge? He could extract no comfort out of that
+solid scarlet front, bristling with naked steel, now fast approaching in
+battle array with even, ominous tread.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+The siege-proof walls of the fort lay behind him. His irresolute heart
+grew faint, and in the flash of a flintlock in its pan, honour was
+sacrificed and fame cast to the winds. A brave army of martyrs, over
+2,000 strong, was rightabout faced, and drinking the cup of humiliation,
+that only men of courage can drain to the bitter dregs, this army, eager
+to lock bayonets with the British, was actually ordered to retreat into
+the shelter of Fort Detroit!
+
+[Illustration: LIEUT.-COLONEL JOHN MACDONELL]
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XX.
+
+BROCK'S VICTORY.
+
+
+Reaching a ravine, Brock ordered up his artillery and prepared to
+assault. A shell from the British battery at Sandwich roared over the
+river and crashed through an embrasure of Fort Shelby, killing four
+American officers. The Savoyard river was reached and the outlying
+tan-yard crossed. Brock's troops, keyed up, with nerves tense under the
+strain of suspense, and every moment expecting a raking discharge of
+shot and shell from the enemy's big guns, heard with grim satisfaction
+the General's orders to "prepare for assault."
+
+The field-pieces were trained upon the fort, to cover the rush of the
+besiegers. The gunners, with bated breath and burning fuses, awaited the
+final command, when lo! an officer bearing a white flag emerged from the
+fort, while a boat with another flag of truce was seen crossing the
+river to the Sandwich battery. Macdonell and Glegg galloped out to meet
+the messenger. They returned with a despatch from the American general,
+Hull, to the British general, Brock. This was the message:
+
+"The object of the flag which crossed the river was to propose a
+cessation of hostilities for an hour, for the purpose of entering into
+negotiations for the surrender of Detroit."
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+An hour later the British troops, with General Isaac Brock at their
+head, marched through the smiling fields and orchards, passed over the
+fort draw-bridge, and, surrounded by a host of fierce-looking and
+indignant militia of Ohio and "the heroes of Tippecanoe," hauled down
+the Stars and Stripes--which had waved undisturbed over Fort Lernoult
+since its voluntary evacuation by the British in 1796--and, in default
+of a British ensign, hoisted a Union Jack--which a sailor had worn as a
+body-belt--over the surrendered fortress. British sentinels now guarded
+the ramparts. The bells of old St. Anne's saluted the colors. The "Grand
+Army of the West," by which pretentious title Hull had seen fit to
+describe his invading force, melted like mist before the rising sun.
+
+Several unattached Canadians, costumed as redmen, followed Brock inside
+the fort, and, baring their white arms for Hull's especial edification,
+declared they had so disguised themselves in order to show their
+contempt for his cruel threat respecting instant death to "Indians found
+fighting."
+
+The terms of capitulation included not only one general officer and
+2,500 men of all ranks--the would-be conquerors of Canada--2,500 stand
+of arms, 33 pieces of cannon, the _Adams_ brig of war, and immense
+quantities of stores and munitions, valued at £40,000--but Fort Shelby
+and the town of Detroit and 59,700 square miles of United States
+territory. Nor were these all, for the fort standard--to the wild
+delight of Tecumseh's warriors--a highly-prized trophy, it being the
+"colours" of the 4th United States regiment, the vaunted "heroes of
+Tippecanoe," passed into the keeping of the British.
+
+Canada was saved!
+
+It was then that those officers who strongly opposed Brock's
+determination to attack became suddenly wise after the event and eager
+to share the honour. The temptation to improve the opportunity, to any
+man less strong than our hero, would have been irresistible, but there
+was no display of vainglory, no cheap boasting. The sword of the
+conquered American general was accepted with manly deference and the
+consideration due to his rank, and he was told, without solicitation on
+his part, he could return to the United States on parole. Then Brock
+hurriedly dictated a brief and modest despatch apprising Sir George
+Prevost of the "capture of this very important post," and quite
+realizing that he was merely an instrument in the hands of Providence,
+and gratitude and the happiness of those he held most dear being
+uppermost in his mind, the captor of Detroit wrote this characteristic
+letter.
+
+
+                                               "Headquarters, Detroit,
+                                                   "August 16, 1812.
+
+     "My dear Brothers and Friends,--Rejoice at my good fortune and join
+     me in prayers to heaven. I send you a copy of my hasty note to Sir
+     George. Let me know that you are all united and happy.
+
+                                                             "ISAAC."
+
+
+And so it came about that in this strange and noble fashion General
+Brock--"Master Isaac of St. Peter's Port"--overcame the enemy in the
+wilds of Michigan and passed his _fourth_ milestone.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXI.
+
+CHAGRIN IN THE UNITED STATES.
+
+
+The conduct of the Indians under Tecumseh at Detroit had been marked by
+great heroism and strict adherence to their pledges. "The instant the
+enemy submitted, his life became sacred." In recognition of Tecumseh's
+work, and in the presence of the troops formed in the fort square, Brock
+handed him his silver-mounted pistols, and taking off his sash, tied it
+round the body of the chief.
+
+A suspicion of a smile--the faint smile of elation of the well-trained
+child accepting a prize--flitted across the Indian's finely chiselled
+face as, proudly inclining his head, he silently took the crimson band.
+Then unwinding his own parti-colored, closely-woven Red River belt,
+"Would the great white _shemogonis_ (warrior)," he whispered, "accept
+the simple sash of the Shawanese in return?"
+
+To this there was a sequel. The next day, when he bade Brock farewell,
+Tecumseh wore no sash. "Roundhead," he explained, "was an older, an
+abler warrior than himself. While he was present he could not think of
+wearing such a badge of distinction." He had given the sash to the
+Wyandotte chieftain. Tecumseh proved himself a greater diplomat than
+Hull.
+
+The papers of surrender signed, Brock hastened to liberate Dean, a
+soldier of the 41st, wounded and taken prisoner at the Canard river,
+with another man, while gallantly defending the bridge against a large
+body of the enemy. In a voice broken with emotion Brock told him that he
+had "nobly upheld the traditions of the service and was an honour to his
+profession." Then he singled out Lieutenant Roulette, of the sloop
+_Hunter_, a French Canadian, who captured eighteen prizes during the war
+and was the leading spirit in many gallant events. "I watched you during
+the action," said the General. "You behaved like a lion. I will remember
+you." In the orders of that afternoon Brock praised the conduct of his
+troops. He laid stress upon the "discipline and determination that had
+decided an enemy, infinitely more numerous in men and artillery, and
+protected by a strong fortification, to propose capitulation."
+
+The effect of the news in Upper Canada was electrical. Brock became the
+idol of the people and was acclaimed "hero and saviour of Upper Canada."
+His performance was a record one. In nineteen days he had met the
+Legislature, settled important public business, transported a small army
+300 miles, 200 of which was by open boat in stormy waters, compelled the
+surrender of an enemy three times his strength, entrenched in a
+protected fort, and seized 60,000 square miles of United States mainland
+and islands.
+
+To the American people the news came as a thunder-clap. President
+Madison's chagrin was indescribable. After all the insulting remarks and
+bombastic prophecies of himself and Clay, Calhoun, Eustis and others,
+the humiliation was as gall and wormwood. Clay, the apostate, later on
+swallowed his words and signed the treaty of peace. Eustis, the
+Secretary of War, had boasted that he would "take the whole country and
+ask no favours, for God has given us the power and the means." But God
+saw fit to confound the despoiler. Hull was, of course, made a
+scapegoat. Tried by court-martial, he was found guilty of cowardice and
+neglect, and sentenced to death, but pardoned by the President. His son
+died fighting at Lundy's Lane. The officers of Hull's command, who were
+almost united in opposing surrender, as brave men felt their position
+keenly. Never let us forget that no one race holds a monopoly in
+courage, that no nation has exclusive control of the spirit of
+patriotism. Fortunate it is indeed for most of us that the loftier
+qualities of man can not be copyrighted by the individual. A share of
+these has been bestowed in wise proportion upon all members of the human
+family. To those who seek to emulate the character and deeds of the
+world's famous men, certain essential qualities of mind may even be
+acquired and developed by all, but to possess the "fullness of
+perfection" cannot be the lot of every man.
+
+Having finished "the business" that took him to Detroit, our hero did
+not waste an hour. Leaving Procter in command, he started before morning
+of the next day for Fort George, anxious to carry out his plans and
+assume the offensive on the Niagara frontier.
+
+He embarked in the _Chippewa_, a small trading schooner, with seventy of
+the Ohio Rifles as prisoners, and took, as a guard, a rifle company
+commanded by his young friend, Captain Robinson, subsequently Chief
+Justice Robinson, "again winning golden opinions from the men by his
+urbanity."
+
+On Lake Erie he met the _Lady Prevost_, of fourteen guns, the commander
+of which, after saluting the hero of Detroit with seventeen guns,
+boarded the _Chippewa_, handing him despatches that notified him of an
+_armistice_, which Sir George Prevost had actually concluded with the
+American general, Dearborn, on August 9th! Brock's mortification was
+profound. His cherished plan, to sweep the Niagara frontier and destroy
+the United States naval arsenal at Sackett's Harbour, was again
+frustrated.
+
+A diversion occurred that morning which for a time drove the
+unpardonable armistice from Brock's thoughts. A heavy mist hung over the
+water. It hid the shore. Deceived by this, the skipper of the
+_Chippewa_, who thought he was in Fort Erie harbour, discovered, as the
+fog lifted, that they were on the American side and close to Buffalo.
+The situation was perilous and dramatic. With the melting of the haze
+the wind dropped. Brock saw on the Buffalo shore, within easy hail, a
+concourse of inquisitive people trying to make out the nationality of
+his ship. Believing the skipper, was in league with the enemy, Brock
+turned upon him savagely.
+
+"You scoundrel," said he, "you have betrayed me. Let but one shot be
+fired and I will run you up at the yard-arm." Fortunately, the _Queen
+Charlotte_, in Canadian water, was seen and signalled, and, the wind
+rising, she convoyed the _Chippewa_ and her precious passenger into
+safety.
+
+The news of the armistice dumbfounded the General. Instead of battering
+Fort Niagara and attacking Sackett's Harbour, he had to order Procter to
+cancel the expedition for the relief of Fort Wayne, in the Wabash
+country, and himself hurry on to Fort George. At Chippewa he was
+received with wild welcome by the river residents and the populace from
+the countryside. A deputation of prominent men met him at Queenston,
+placed him in an open carriage, and with martial music he was escorted
+in triumph to Fort George. After receiving at Niagara the
+congratulations of the lady to whom he was engaged, Brock took schooner
+for York and Kingston. At both of these places fervid demonstrations
+were showered upon him. But "Master Isaac's" head could not be turned
+either by success or adulation. The old spirit of self-effacement
+asserted itself. "The gallant band of brave men," he said, "at whose
+head I marched against the enemy, are the proper objects of your
+gratitude. The services of the militia have been duly appreciated and
+will never be forgotten."
+
+Isaac's modesty again served to increase the homage and profound
+devotion of the people.
+
+Justice Powell voiced the views of the citizens of Upper Canada when he
+declared Brock could "boast of the most brilliant success, with the most
+inadequate means, which history records.... It was something fabulous
+that a handful of troops, supported by a few raw militia, could invade
+the country of an enemy of doubtful numbers, in his own fortress, and
+make all prisoners without the loss of a man."
+
+"If this sort of thing lasts," commented our hero to a friend, "I am
+afraid I shall do some foolish thing, for if I know myself there is no
+want of what is called courage in my nature, and I can only hope I shall
+not be led into some scrape."
+
+[Illustration: VIEW OF QUEENSTON HEIGHTS AND BROCK'S MONUMENT]
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXII.
+
+PREVOST'S ARMISTICE.
+
+
+The armistice paralyzed Brock's movements. All the moral influence and
+material advantage gained by the captures of Mackinaw and Detroit were
+nullified by this incredible blunder, for which no reason, military or
+civil, has ever been assigned. The loyal volunteers were released from
+duty. Brock's Indian allies returned to their villages. Prevost's policy
+of peace had become a mental malady. In spite of our hero's pleadings,
+and though Prevost actually knew, before the fall of Detroit, that
+President Madison would not extend the two weeks' armistice, the
+Governor-General forbade Brock attacking either Sackett's Harbour, the
+key to American supremacy on the lakes, or Fort Niagara.
+
+"War," wrote Prevost, "has never yet been declared by England. Peace is
+possible."
+
+Brock, smarting under restraint and handcuffed by red tape, was
+compelled to look on while the enemy brought up reinforcements, powder,
+shot, provisions and other munitions of war, by water to Lewiston.
+General Van Rensselaer, in command of the American forces at Lewiston,
+wrote to the President stating that by "keeping up a bold front he had
+succeeded in getting from General Sheaffe at Fort George the
+uninterrupted use of the lakes and rivers." The strategic advantage to
+the enemy of this cessation of hostilities and the privileges conceded
+was enormous. Prevost realized his error too late. The following year,
+conceiving it then to be his special mission to borrow our dead hero's
+policy, he attacked Sackett's Harbour, but his "cautious calculation"
+was, of course, rewarded by ignoble defeat, and ultimately, after the
+Plattsburg fiasco, by a court-martial. In his civil administration of
+Canada Sir George Prevost may have been a success; as a soldier he was a
+sad failure.
+
+Isaac was daily proving the truth of the precept, recognized by all men
+sooner or later, that life's values lie not so much in its victories as
+in its strife.
+
+Though Brock awoke after Detroit to find himself famous, and a hero
+whose prowess far exceeded that of his ancestor, the Jurat of the Royal
+Court of Guernsey, over whose exploits he used to ponder seated on the
+Lion's Rock at Cobo, he was still the same "Master Isaac," still the
+"beloved brother." Separation from his kinsmen only served to draw him
+closer.
+
+Crossing Lake Ontario gave him the opportunity he longed for. He wrote
+to his brothers collectively, telling them the sundry details of his
+success, "which was beyond his expectation." He hoped the affair would
+meet with recognition at the War Office. Though admitting it was a
+desperate measure, he told them "it proceeded from a cool calculation of
+the _pros_ and _cons_," and as Colonel Procter had opposed it, he was
+not surprised that envy now induced that officer "to attribute to good
+fortune what in reality was the result of my own knowledge and
+discernment." But praise and honours, though sweet to our hero, who
+after all was only mortal, were secondary to the fact that he would be
+in a position to contribute something to the comfort and happiness of
+his brothers. The value of the "treasure" captured at Detroit was placed
+at £40,000. Brock's share of this was a substantial sum.
+
+"When I returned heaven thanks," he wrote, "for my amazing success, I
+thought of you all, your late sorrows forgotten, and I felt that the
+many benefits which for a series of years I received from you were not
+unworthily bestowed." But the hope that they were reunited was always
+the dominant note. "Let me know, my dearest brothers," he pleaded, "that
+you are all again united." Then, out of his own knowledge, wrought of
+deep experience in the world's wide field, he proceeded: "The want of
+union was nearly losing this province, without even a struggle; rest
+assured, it operates in the same degree in regard to families."
+
+Brock's despatches, with the story of the capture of Detroit and the
+colours of the 4th Regiment, United States Army, the oriflamme of the
+"heroes of Tippecanoe," reached London the morning of October 6th, the
+anniversary of his birth. His brother William resided close to the city.
+A tumultuous clangour of bells and booming of guns from St. James' Park
+and the Tower of London rent the air. When asked by his wife the reason
+for the jubilation he jokingly replied, "Why, for Isaac, of course. You
+surely have not forgotten this is his birthday." But William, on
+reaching the city, learned to his amazement that his jesting words were
+true. The salvoes of artillery and peals of bells were indeed in honour
+of General Brock's victory in far-off Michigan.
+
+Neither King nor Imperial Government was slow to recognize our hero's
+achievements. The Prince Regent, who expressed his appreciation of
+Brock's "able, judicious and decisive conduct," bestowed upon him an
+_extra_ knighthood of the Order of the Bath, in consideration, so ran
+the document, "of all the difficulties with which he was surrounded
+during the invasion of the Province, and the singular judgment,
+firmness, skill and courage with which he surmounted them so
+effectually."
+
+When the glittering insignia of his new rank reached Canada, Sir Isaac
+Brock's eyes were closed in death. His inanimate body, from which one of
+the noblest souls of the century had fled, lay rigid in its
+winding-sheet at Fort George.
+
+To Major Glegg, who bore the General's despatches from Canada, the
+Prince Regent remarked that "General Brock had done more in an hour than
+could have been done in six months by negotiation." The fulfilment of
+Isaac's favourite maxim, "Say and do," was being demonstrated in a most
+remarkable manner.
+
+[Illustration: "PORTRAIT OF MAJOR-GENERAL BROCK, 18 X 6"]
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXIII.
+
+"HERO, DEFENDER, SAVIOUR."
+
+
+General Sheaffe, the only field officer available, and junior colonel of
+the 49th, of whom the reader has already heard, had been brought from
+the East to take command at Niagara in Brock's absence. Like Prevost, he
+was born in Boston, Massachusetts, in 1763, a son of the deputy
+collector of that port. There the two had been school-fellows, and both
+found it difficult to engage in vigorous diplomatic or military conflict
+with the Americans. To Sheaffe's credit, it should be said that he
+applied for another station.
+
+It was Sheaffe, however, who acceded to General Dearborn's specious
+demand that the _freedom of the lakes and rivers_ be extended to the
+United States Government during the armistice. This was done while Brock
+was in the West. Sheaffe it also was who, with hat in hand and strange
+alacrity, later agreed, despite his first terrible blunder, to repeat
+the offence. On the very afternoon that the British defeated the
+Americans at Queenston, and when the moral effect of that victory,
+followed up by vigorous attack, would have saved Canada from a
+continuance of the war, and deplorable loss of life and trade, Sheaffe
+actually agreed to another armistice. For this _second_ truce, like his
+first, "no valid reason, military or civil, has ever been assigned." As
+far as the British were concerned, neither of these two was necessary,
+but, on the contrary, directly to their disadvantage. Isaac Brock,
+alas! was not made in duplicate.
+
+Our hero remained but a few hours in Kingston. He was needed in Niagara.
+The enemy was burning to avenge Detroit. The sight of Hull's ragged
+legions passing as prisoners of war along the Canadian bank of the
+river, bound for Montreal, did not tend to soften the hearts of the
+Americans. Stores and ordnance continued to pour into Lewiston. Brock
+needed 1,000 additional regulars. He might as well have asked for the
+moon. Early in September he stated that if he could maintain his
+position six weeks longer "the campaign would end in a manner little
+expected in the States." Scores of American marines and seamen were
+marking time, waiting for the launching of the vessels which Captain
+Chauncey had been given free license to build to ensure United States
+supremacy of the lakes. Prevost's eyes were still bandaged. Brock warned
+his grenadiers of the 49th to be ready for trouble. He foresaw that the
+Niagara river would be crossed, but at what point was uncertain. Stray
+musket-balls whistled across at night as thick as whip-poor-wills in
+summer. This firing was "the unauthorized warfare between sentinels."
+The peaceful citizens of Newark, returning from dance or
+card-party--even the imminence of war did not wholly stifle their desire
+for innocent revelry--found it embarrassing.
+
+Though Van Rensselaer's force now numbered 6,300 men, he was still
+afraid to attack Brock. Invited by the United States Government to take
+up arms, 400 Seneca Indians "went upon the war-path," and performed
+ghost-dances on the streets of Lewiston. Prevost, with no proper
+conception of the doctrine of "what we have we hold," ordered Brock to
+"evacuate Detroit and the territory of Michigan." To "the man behind the
+gun," who had but just donated this 60,000 square miles of realty to the
+Empire, such instructions were hardly to his taste. Armed with powers of
+discretion, our hero declined. Meanwhile Isaac's heart was sore. The
+situation was galling. If there was to be no more fighting, why should
+he not get his release, join Wellington in Portugal, and renounce
+Canada? Unrest and vigilance best describe the order of his days, while
+waiting attack. The death of the ever-attentive Dobson, who had passed
+away before Brock's departure for Detroit, and the absence of the
+faithful sergeant-major--now Adjutant FitzGibbon--distressed him. In an
+attempt by General Brown to capture some British batteaux at Tousaint
+Island, on the St. Lawrence, the Americans had been repulsed by Brock's
+gallant protégé.
+
+Everything now pointed to an early attack by the enemy in force. General
+Van Rensselaer, with an ascertained army of at least 6,300, of which
+2,600 were militia, wrote that he "would cross the river in the rear of
+Fort George, take it by storm, carry the Heights of Queenston, destroy
+the British ships--the _Prince Regent_ and _Earl Moira_--at the mouth of
+the river, leave Brock no rallying point, appal the minds of the
+Canadians, and wipe away the past disgrace."
+
+On one of his visits to Fort George he had remarked to Brock, who had
+laughingly pointed out two beautiful brass howitzers taken from General
+Wayne, "Oh, yes, they are old friends of mine; I must take them back."
+They were not taken back in Brock's time. Even with his grand army of
+6,300, his 400 Seneca braves, and his written admission that Niagara was
+weakly garrisoned, it is certain Van Rensselaer would have still delayed
+attack, unless he had been told by his spies that Brock had returned to
+Detroit. Then, with valour oozing from his finger tips, he plucked up
+courage to attack the lair in the lion's absence.
+
+At this juncture an untoward event occurred, in the re-taking by the
+Americans of the brig _Detroit_, formerly the United States brig
+_Adams_--captured, as we know, by Roulette--and the trading brig
+_Caledonia_. They were at anchor at the head of the Niagara River, off
+Black Rock. The irregular regiments of Hull's command, under the terms
+of surrender, were on board on their way to their Ohio homes, via Lake
+Erie and Buffalo. The two vessels reached Fort Erie harbour safely, and
+being rightly regarded by the British as immune from attack, were left
+undefended, in charge of an officer and nine men only, most of whom were
+voyageurs. In addition to the prisoners, the two brigs carried great
+quantities of fur and 600 packs of deer skins. During darkness
+Lieutenant Ellis, with three armed boats and 150 United States troops
+and sailors, dropped alongside. Roulette and his nine men fought
+desperately, one being killed and four wounded, but both vessels, of
+course, fell into the enemy's hands. This attack was contrary to the
+rules of war, and a violation of the sanctity of the flag which
+"continued to float as long as there were American prisoners on board,
+awaiting to be landed on United States soil."
+
+Brock regarded this loss as a calamity. It was, he wrote to Prevost,
+"likely to reduce him to great distress." His constant fears that the
+enemy would secure control of both Lakes Erie and Ontario were well
+founded. He begged Prevost to let him destroy the vessels Chauncey, the
+American, was building on Squaw Island. Prevost, of course, besought him
+to forbear. Isaac Brock, exasperated and with tied hands, was "doomed to
+the bitterest of all griefs, to see clearly and yet be able to do
+nothing." Yet while he worked in chains his preparedness was a source of
+wonder to those behind the scenes.
+
+Even no less a critic than John Lovett, General Van Rensselaer's
+military secretary, was impressed with what he saw through his
+field-glasses from Lewiston heights. "Every three or four miles, on
+every eminence," he wrote a friend, "Brock has erected a snug battery,
+the last saucy argument of kings, poking their white noses and round
+black nostrils right upon your face, ready to spit fire and brimstone in
+your very teeth, if you were to offer to turn squatter on John Bull's
+land." Influenced by these signs of "business," the United States
+officers were ordered to "dress as much like their men as possible, so
+that at 150 yards they might not be recognized." This was probably due
+to one of the last orders issued by our hero, who warned his men that,
+when the enemy crossed the river, to withhold their musketry fire until
+he was well within range, and then, "if he lands, attack him at the
+point of the bayonet with determined resolution."
+
+With clairvoyance that would have done credit to a mind-reader, Brock
+knew that attack was imminent. To him the wind that blew across the
+river October 12th was laden with omens of war. The air seemed charged
+with the acrid smell of burnt powder. The muffled beat of drums, the
+smothered boom of artillery, the subdued clash of steel meeting steel,
+the stealthy tramp of armed men, seemed to encompass him.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Brock was at his headquarters. He gazed from the window. The storm
+outside was hurling great splashes of rain against the narrow casement.
+To and fro, over the carpeted floor, he paced that evening for an hour
+or more, uninterrupted and alone. It was thus he marshalled facts and
+weighed conclusions. Powerful brain and vigorous frame acted in concert.
+He was enjoying the fulfilment of the promise of his youth. God had been
+good. The world had been tolerant; his fellow-men--at least those who
+knew the real Isaac--loyally appreciative. The knowledge of his honours
+and fame stirred him to his soul. Not that he was any better, or abler,
+he meditated, than other men, but that when "opportunity" offered he was
+permitted to grasp it.
+
+     "For every day I stand outside your door,
+     And bid you wake and rise to fight and win."
+
+The influence of the great truth as pronounced in the now familiar
+couplet inspired him. He recognized the source whence he derived
+whatever of success had followed his efforts, and prayed for greater
+sagacity, more vigour of body and tenacity of purpose, a complete
+surrender of self to the task before him; that if his life was to be
+the price of duty, he might place it on the altar of his country without
+one shred of compunction.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+He rang the bell for Porter--his body-servant since Dobson's
+death--directed him to see that the council room was lighted, that pens,
+ink, paper and cigars were in place, as a meeting of his staff was
+slated for nine, and sought his sanctum.
+
+[Illustration: POWDER MAGAZINE, FORT GEORGE, NIAGARA]
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXIV.
+
+BROCK'S LAST COUNCIL.
+
+
+It was long past midnight on the morning of Tuesday, October 13th, 1812,
+when Brock dismissed his advisory council of staff officers. An animated
+discussion had taken place over the strength of the enemy and the spot
+he might select to cross the river, for ruses had been resorted to by
+Van Bensselaer to deceive the British.
+
+"I dare not, gentlemen," said our hero, in opening the debate, "weaken
+my flanks at Niagara and Erie, though I realize I am leaving Queenston
+not properly protected. I have just learned that General Dearborn states
+that while 'Tippecanoe' Harrison invades Canada, at Detroit, with 7,000
+men--I do not think it necessary I should point out Detroit on the map,"
+he added with a smile--"and while a United States squadron--not a
+British one, mark you--sweeps Lake Ontario from Sackett's Harbour,
+Dearborn himself will threaten Montreal from Lake Champlain. While the
+east and the west are thus being annexed by the enemy, our friend Van
+Rensselaer is to entertain us here.
+
+"An ordinary boat, as we all know, can be rowed across the river at
+Queenston in less than ten minutes. Our spies have reported that forty
+batteaux, to carry forty men each, are in readiness at Tonawanda. Evans
+and Macdonell, when they called on Van Rensselaer, saw at least a dozen
+boats moored at Lewiston, some of which could carry eighty men. During
+the deplorable armistice, as General Sheaffe is aware"--looking at that
+officer--"Van Rensselaer brought up 400 boats and batteaux from
+Ogdensburg and other points, all of his previously blockaded fleet, so
+the enemy has no lack of transport. The most effective disposition of
+our limited force is, I admit, somewhat of a problem. There is no use in
+evading the fact that in point of numbers and ordnance we are too weak,
+and as Sir George Prevost has written me not to expect any further aid,
+Colonel Talbot must send us a few of his militia."
+
+"Macdonell," he said, turning to his aide, "will you write at once,
+to-night, to Colonel Talbot, at Port Talbot, stating that I am strongly
+induced to believe I will soon be attacked, and tell him that I wish him
+to send 200 men, the militia under his command, without delay, by water
+to Fort Erie."
+
+This was Brock's last official letter dictated in council.
+
+"General Sheaffe," he said, addressing that officer, "you, perhaps, know
+better than any of us the particulars of Van Rensselaer's appointment.
+It seems that he is an amateur soldier, pitchforked into command against
+his own will, a victim of New York State politics. While this is
+probably so, we must not run away with the idea that his other officers
+are no better, for, besides Generals Dearborn and Wadsworth--both
+soldiers of national repute--his cousin, Colonel Solomon Van Rensselaer,
+his chief of staff, is a first-class soldier, a proved fighting man. The
+latter is reported to be at the head of 750 well-trained militia, 300 of
+whom are selected soldiers, and fifty are said to know every inch of the
+river. Our spies report the enemy could ferry 1,500 regulars across in
+seven trips.
+
+"The safety of our redan on the Heights has given me some concern, but
+Dennis, Williams and others report that the height is inaccessible from
+the river side. If an attack in force is made at Queenston, we will have
+to concentrate every available man there--at the risk of weakening our
+flanks. Lewiston, as you have seen, is white with tents. At Fort Gray
+the enemy has two twenty-four-pounders, waiting to silence our
+eighteen-pounder in the redan. The Americans have several mortars and
+six-pounders on the river bank below Lewiston, ready to ship to any
+point by boats specially equipped, or to cover the landing of their
+troops on our side of the river, and to drive us back if we attempt to
+dispute their passage."
+
+In district general orders prepared that night, the last official
+document signed by General Sir Isaac Brock, he directed, "in view of the
+imminence of hostilities, that no further communication be held with the
+enemy by flag of truce, or otherwise, unless by his special permission."
+
+"I cannot allow looting," he said. "Arms and other property taken from
+the enemy are to be at all times reserved for the public service."
+Brock's example might have been followed to advantage in later Canadian
+campaigns. "I am calling," he continued, "a district court-martial for
+nine o'clock to-morrow morning, October 13th, for the trial of three
+prisoners, a captain and two subalterns of the 49th and 41st regiments."
+
+That court-martial was not held.
+
+On the day before, Major Evans and Colonel Macdonell had waited upon Van
+Rensselaer, with a letter from Brock proposing "an exchange of
+prisoners of war, to be returned immediately, on parole." The fact of no
+reply having been received to this, Brock regarded as ominous.
+
+"I firmly believe, gentlemen," he proceeded, and his confidence and
+courage was infectious, "that I could at this moment, by a sudden dash,
+sweep everything before me between Fort Niagara and Buffalo, but our
+success would be transient. Disaffection and desertion is rife in the
+American camp. Only the other day we saw six poor fellows perish in
+mid-stream. To-day more deserters swam the river safely. Our own force,
+estimating even 200 Indians under Chief Brant and Captain Norton, though
+I expect less than 100 would be nearer the mark, cannot exceed 1,500 men
+of all arms. These units I have collected from Sandwich to Kingston.
+Many of our men, as no one knows better than Quartermaster Nichol, have
+received no pay, are wearing broken shoes--some have no shoes at all--no
+tents and little bedding. It is true that they bear the cold and wet
+with an admirable and truly happy content that excites my admiration,
+but it is no less a disgrace to the responsible authorities. Sir George
+Prevost, as you know, has told me 'not to expect any further aid'--the
+old parrot cry from headquarters, 'Not a man to spare.' Let me ask the
+chief of the Mohawks, who is present, how many warriors he can muster?"
+
+John Brant, or _Thayendanegea_, as he was known among the Six Nation
+Indians, was the hereditary chief. At this time he was but a youth of
+eighteen--a graceful, dauntless stripling, of surprising activity, and
+well educated. At his side sat Captain Jacobs, a swarthy, stalwart
+brave, famous for his immense strength, and Captain John Norton, an
+Englishman, and chief by adoption only, who, in consideration of Brant's
+youth, was acting as his deputy and spokesman. The latter said that
+since his return from Moraviantown, and the hunting season having
+commenced, many of his braves were absent, but he would pledge the
+Mohawks would muster, when wanted, over one hundred tried men. Thanking
+the chiefs for their assurances, Brock continued:
+
+"The enemy has an army of over 6,000. The four twelve-pounders and two
+hundred muskets captured with the _Detroit_ is a serious loss to us. If
+the _Detroit_ is lost to us, however, she is of no further use to the
+enemy. We are, I repeat, greatly outweighted and outnumbered by the
+enemy, both in siege guns and artillery, and have no forge for heating
+shot. I have, as a matter of form, written this day to Sir George
+Prevost, restating my anxiety to increase our militia to 2,000 men, but
+pointing out the difficulties I shall encounter, and the fear that I
+shall not be able to effect my object with willing, well-disposed
+characters. Of one thing, gentlemen, I am convinced, that were it not
+for the number of Americans in our ranks we might defy all the efforts
+of the enemy against this part of the Province.
+
+"As to 'forbearance,' which I am constantly urged by Sir George Prevost
+to adopt, you are entitled to my views. While forbearance may be
+productive of some good, I gravely doubt the wisdom of such a policy;
+but, let me add, I may not, perhaps, have the means of judging
+correctly. We cannot, however, disguise the fact we are standing
+alongside a loaded mine. Let us be prepared for the explosion. It may
+come at any moment. Vigilance, readiness and promptness must be our
+watchwords. Might I ask you to remember my family motto, 'He who guards
+never sleeps.' Even to-morrow may bring surprises--such stormy weather
+as we are having seems strangely suitable for covering an attack.
+
+"I think, gentlemen, if we weigh well the character of our enemy, we
+shall find him disposed to brave the impediments of nature--when they
+afford him a probability of gaining his end by _surprise_, in preference
+to the certainty of meeting British troops _ready formed for his
+reception_. But do not, because we were successful at Detroit in
+stampeding the United States troops, cherish the impression that General
+Hull is a sample of American soldiery. If we _are_ taken by surprise the
+attack will soon be known, for our range of beacons extends from the
+Sugar Loaf to Queenston, from Lundy's Lane to Pelham Heights. Signal
+guns, also, will announce any suspicious movement. One word in
+conclusion. As soldiers you know your duty, and I think you now all
+understand the position we are in--as far as I know it.
+
+"General Sheaffe," he continued, turning to that officer, "I am much
+concerned as to the fate of this town, Niagara, if its namesake fort on
+the other side of the river should be tempted to forget the rules of war
+and bombard the private buildings here with hot-shot. However, we will
+do our best to give the invaders, when they do come, a warm reception.
+There are two things, Major," looking towards Evans, his brigade-major
+and intimate friend, "that our men must not omit to observe, namely, to
+'trust God and keep their powder dry,' a most necessary precaution if
+these storms continue."
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+It is worthy of note that while Brock was in conference with his staff,
+expecting invasion any day, General Van Rensselaer, at Lewiston, was
+writing the subjoined brief historical despatch to his
+brigadier-general, Smythe:
+
+     "Sir,--To-night, October 12th, I shall attack the enemy's batteries
+     on the Heights of Queenston."
+
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+The weather was tempestuous. Rain clouds shrouded the Heights of
+Queenston in a black pall. The wind romped and rioted in the foliage.
+Brock's estimate of the character of the enemy was a masterly one. Van
+Rensselaer was about to verify our hero's prediction.
+
+[Illustration: BROCK'S MIDNIGHT GALLOP]
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXV.
+
+THE MIDNIGHT GALLOP.
+
+
+Well into the half-light of morning, long after the last of his staff,
+Evans, Glegg and Macdonell, had departed, Brock sat alone at his
+headquarters at Fort George, writing rapidly.
+
+On the oak mantel, an antique clock chimed the passing of the historic
+hours, with deep, musical strokes.
+
+Was it presentiment--a clearer understanding that comes to men of active
+brain and acute perception, during solitary vigil in the silence of
+night, when, with heart and soul stripped, they stand on the threshold
+of the great divide--that whispered to this "knight of the sword" his
+doom? Was it this clearer comprehension that caused our hero to bow his
+head as a faint message from an unseen messenger reached him? With a
+sigh of resignation he arose from the unfinished manuscript and passed
+on to his bedroom.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Boom! Boom! Boom!
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+A muffled, indistinct roar, a confusion of sounds, aroused the
+half-conscious sleeper. Brock sprang from his couch, partly dressed.
+
+The antique clock chimed one--two--three!
+
+"Listen," he muttered to himself, "that was not a signal gun. Surely it
+was the sound of sustained firing." As he unlocked the outer door,
+opening on the barrack-square, the sky above faintly aglow with the
+light of warning beacons, the low, steady roll of musketry and louder
+roar of distant cannon convinced him that this was far more serious than
+"the war between sentries."
+
+"My good Porter," he said, speaking calmly to his excited servant, who,
+himself awakened, came rushing to his master, "have Alfred saddled at
+once while I complete dressing, and inform Major Glegg and Colonel
+Macdonell that I am off up the river to Queenston."
+
+In another minute Isaac Brock was in the saddle.
+
+As he passed through the gates, thrown open by the sentry, a dragoon,
+mire from head to foot from furious riding, handed him a despatch
+announcing that the enemy had landed in force at Queenston. A second
+later, in response to the pressure of his knees, his horse was carrying
+our hero at a wild gallop across the common that separated his quarters
+from the upper village.
+
+Day was near to breaking. The earth steamed from the heavy rain. Passing
+objects rose out of the dark mists, magnified and spectral.
+
+At the residence of Captain John Powell, Brock reined up. The household
+was astir, aroused by the ominous roar of artillery carried down by the
+river from the gorge above. He stayed, without dismounting, long enough
+to take a cup of coffee brought to him by General Shaw's daughter--a
+"stirrup cup"--his last. Then, giving his charger the spur, he rode away
+to death and distinction, tenderly waving a broken good-bye to the
+sad-eyed woman at the porch. This was his betrothed, who faintly
+fluttered her kerchief in weeping farewell to the gallant lover she
+would never see again.
+
+Brushing his eyes and urging his big grey to greater speed, "Master
+Isaac," eager to reach the scene of trouble, struck across the village,
+his horse's hoof-beats bringing many a citizen to the door to "God speed
+him." Some came out to follow him, and many a good wife's face was
+pressed to the window to watch "The General! God bless and spare him,"
+as he headed his charger for the Queenston Road and Brown's Point. Among
+the more zealous hastening after Brock were Judge Ralph Clench and a few
+old half-pay officers of His Majesty's service, who hurried to Queenston
+to range themselves in the ranks of the volunteers. Others joined as the
+signal guns and the bells of the church of St. Mark's and the
+court-house spread the alarm.
+
+His road lay up hill. Seven miles back from the shore of Lake Ontario
+stretched the height of land, extending west from the river to the head
+of the lake--a gigantic natural dam, over 300 feet high and twenty miles
+through; a retaining wall of rock, the greatest original fresh-water
+_barrage_ in the world.
+
+He paused a moment at Frields to order the militia company there to
+follow. Close to Brown's Point he met another galloper, S.P. Jarvis, of
+the York volunteers, who was riding so furiously that he could not check
+his horse, but shouted as he flew by, "The Americans are crossing the
+river in force, sir." Jarvis wheeled and overtook the General, who,
+without reining up, slackened his speed sufficiently to tell the rider
+not to spare his horse, but to hurry on to Fort George and order General
+Sheaffe to bring up his entire reserve and let loose Brant's Indian
+scouts. A mile or so farther on, Jarvis met Colonel Macdonell, in hot
+pursuit of their beloved commander. The aide, in his haste, had left his
+sword behind him, and borrowed a less modern sabre from Jarvis, who
+continued his mad gallop towards Fort George, little thinking he had
+seen the last of his gallant General and the dashing aide, meeting, a
+few minutes later, Major Glegg, also riding post haste to overtake the
+General.
+
+Meanwhile our hero had halted for a moment at Brown's Point, only to
+learn that Cameron's Toronto company of volunteers had already started,
+on their own initiative, up the river. Riding hard, he overtook the
+excited militiamen. Speaking a word to the officer in charge, he wheeled
+his horse in the direction of the Heights, calling upon the detachment
+in his well-known voice, and in a way that never failed to exact
+obedience:
+
+"Now, my men, follow me."
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+The east showed signs of approaching day, and Brock, only two miles from
+Queenston, was treated to a spectacle that quickened his pulses. Shells
+were bursting on the mountain side above the village. The shadows of the
+dying night were streaked with the light from an incessant fire of
+small-arms. Grapeshot and musket-balls were ploughing up inky river and
+grim highland. At Vrooman's battery, on Scott's Point, guarded by
+Heward's volunteer company from Little York, and some of Hatt's company
+of the 5th Lincoln militia, a mile from Queenston, the twenty-four-pound
+shells from the gun, mounted _en barbette_, which commanded at long
+range both landings, were leaving behind them furrows of fire in the
+black gorge. The big gun was pouring a continuous stream of destructive
+metal upon the American boats that were attempting the passage of the
+river within the limited zone of its fire.[3]
+
+Fort Gray, above Lewiston, was fairly belching flames, to which the
+isolated eighteen-pounder on the Queenston redan was roaring an angry
+and defiant response. Brock's trained ear recognized the wicked barking
+of the brass six-pounders, under Dennis of the 49th, mingling with the
+occasional boom, of the twenty-four-pound carronade below the village.
+
+The village of Queenston consisted of a small stone-barracks and twenty
+or more scattered dwellings in the midst of gardens and orchards. To
+Brock's right a road from the landing led to St. David's, from which, at
+almost right angles, an irregular branch roadway wound up the Heights.
+The adjacent table-land west of the village was dotted with farm-houses,
+partly surrounded by snake-fences and an occasional stone wall.
+
+Above Vrooman's he was joined by his two aides. Here he met a few men,
+shockingly torn and bleeding, crawling to the houses for shelter, and
+quite a number of prisoners, and was told that the enemy was routed. All
+killed or taken prisoners! Very skeptical, but increasing his speed, our
+hero rode into the village, and, though stained and splashed with mud
+from stirrup to cockade, he was recognized, and welcomed by the men of
+the 49th with a ringing cheer.
+
+FOOTNOTE:
+
+[3] This gun is credited with having fired 160 shots during the
+engagement.
+
+[Illustration: BATTLE OF QUEENSTON HEIGHTS. From an old Print]
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXVI.
+
+THE ATTACK ON THE REDAN.
+
+
+Checking his reeking horse for a moment, Brock acknowledged with a smile
+the salute, saying to the men who had leaped to his side, "Take breath,
+my good fellows; you will need all you have, and more, in a few
+minutes," words which evoked much cheering. Then he breasted the rise at
+a canter, exposed to a galling enfilading fire of artillery, and running
+the gauntlet of the sniping of some invisible marksmen, reached the
+redan, half-way to the summit. Here he dismounted, threw his charger's
+reins to a gunner, and entered the enclosure.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+From the loftier elevation of the Heights a still more striking scene
+confronted him. He saw, in the yellow light, battalion after battalion
+drawn up in rear of the Lewiston batteries, across the river, only two
+hundred yards wide at this point, awaiting embarkation. Other soldiers
+he saw crouching in the batteaux on the river, while an unknown number
+had already crossed and were in possession of Queenston landing. Round
+and grape shot from the American batteries were searching the banks and
+scourging the village, while shells from mortars at short range came
+singing across the river. He saw a boat with fifteen American soldiers
+smashed in mid-stream by a six-pounder from Dennis's battery, and
+watched the mangled bodies drift into the gloom.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Having surveyed the position rapidly, ignorant of the concealed
+movements of the American troops, Brock at a first glance pronounced the
+situation favorable.
+
+The crest of the Heights was wooded densely. The leaves still clung to
+the trees in all the spangled glory of autumn, and the thickets afforded
+far too safe cover for the American sharpshooters. In answer to his
+inquiry, Williams, in charge of the light company of the 49th, told him
+that at least 350 United States regulars and 250 militia must already
+have been ferried over. In the chilling gray of dawn, four boats, filled
+with armed men, had been seen crossing the river, which here had a
+four-mile current. The head of a column had also been seen above the
+river bank at the Queenston landing. The soldiers from the three
+batteaux, previously landed below Hamilton's garden, had already been
+met by Dennis's men, who had killed several and captured others. Later,
+more boats had come ashore, knocked out of commission by Vrooman's big
+gun and the six-pounders. Their crews had surrendered. Some of these
+Brock had met. Many more, however, had landed safely, hidden by the
+shadows, and were doubtless then awaiting a chance to emerge from
+ambush.
+
+In answer to Brock's question as to whether there was a chance of the
+Height being scaled direct from the river, Williams repeated what he had
+already reported at the council meeting, that the scouts insisted that
+the Heights could not be climbed from the landing. The cliffs, over
+three hundred feet high, rose almost vertically from the water, and the
+denseness of the shrubs, tangle and overhanging trees, anchored in the
+clefts, rendered it impossible for any but exceptionally active and
+resolute men, and then only as a forlorn hope, to reach the summit.
+Projecting ledges of rock also blocked the way. A large body of men had
+been seen before daybreak stealing across the foot-hills, but had evaded
+pursuit. He believed they had fled to the Black Swamp, four miles
+distant.
+
+Seeing that Dennis needed every possible support at the landing, Brock
+ordered Williams and his men to proceed to his assistance, and on the
+latter's departure our hero and his aides were left alone with the eight
+gunners.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+The rain was gradually ceasing. Shafts of light from an unseen sun
+tinged the edges of the smoke-coloured clouds with amber and rose. A few
+spent musket-balls falling about the enclosure aroused Brock's
+suspicions. He was watching, from behind the earthen parapet, the flight
+of the shells discharged by the eighteen-pounder, and, seeing that they
+burst too soon, turned to the gunner.
+
+"Sergeant, you are misjudging your time and distance; we must not waste
+powder and shot. Your shells are bursting too soon. Try a longer fuse."
+
+The words were barely out of our hero's mouth when there was a rolling
+crash of musketry, accompanied by wild shouts, and a shower of bullets
+flew zipping over their heads. Shooting high is the invariable
+shortcoming of excited marksmen. A moment later the heads of a large
+force of American riflemen rose from the rocky ambuscade above and
+behind them. The next instant the enemy was in full charge, evidently
+bent on capturing both the General and the redan.
+
+Brock saw that resistance would be madness. To save the gun and escape
+capture must be the "double event." Seizing a ramrod, he ordered an
+artilleryman to spike the gun, gave the command to retreat, telling the
+men to "duck their heads," fearing another discharge, and, leading his
+horse, followed by Macdonell and Glegg and the firing squad of eight
+artillerymen, rushed down the slope.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+For a clearer understanding of the situation--a better conception even
+than our hero had when, to escape capture and save the lives of his men,
+he was compelled to abandon the redan--we must visit Van Rensselaer's
+camp at Lewiston.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXVII.
+
+VAN RENSSELAER'S CAMP.
+
+
+After midnight, on the morning of the 11th, the American general, Van
+Rensselaer, believing, as he wrote, "that Brock, with all his disposable
+forces, had left for Detroit," launched from the Lewiston landing, under
+cover of the pitch darkness, thirteen boats capable of carrying 340
+armed men.
+
+To Lieutenant Sims, "the man of the greatest skill in the American
+service," was entrusted the command. Sims entered the leading boat, and
+vanished in the gloom. Whether he had taken all the oars with him, as
+reported, or whether the furious storm and the sight of the whirling
+black waters had frozen the hearts of the troops, must remain a mystery.
+The other boats did not follow.
+
+Meanwhile, 350 additional regulars and thirty boats had arrived from
+Four Mile Creek. Flying artillery came from Fort Niagara, with still
+more regulars, and part of Smythe's brigade from Buffalo. Troops, as
+Brock's spies had truly reported, now overflowed the United States army
+headquarters--three more complete regiments from New York and another
+from Fort Schlosser. Lewiston bristled with bayonets. The entire
+expeditionary force was in command of Colonel Solomon Van Rensselaer, a
+militiaman, between whom and the officers commanding the regular troops
+much jealousy and great friction existed. Both branches of the service
+were determined to monopolize whatever credit might ensue. A storm,
+more furious than ever, prevailed for twenty-eight hours. The men sulked
+in their tents.
+
+On the night of the 12th, the storm having abated, though the sky was
+black as ink, added numbers having developed greater courage, Van
+Rensselaer resolved on another attempt. He secretly notified
+Brigade-Major Smythe, in command at Buffalo, that in accordance with the
+letter reproduced in a previous chapter, he would storm the Heights of
+Queenston that night. With experienced river men as pilots, with picked
+crews, and protected by the big guns at Fort Gray, 600 men, with two
+pieces of light artillery, in thirteen boats, in the grim darkness of
+the morning of the 13th--a sinister coincidence--drew up in silence on
+the wharf. They comprised the first detachment of 850 regulars and 300
+militia, the advance attacking party--"the flower of Wadsworth's
+army"--embarked to "carry the Heights of Queenston and appal the minds
+of Canadians."
+
+Let us trace the fulfilling of Van Rensselaer's boast.
+
+The regulars crossed first, almost out of the line of fire of the
+British batteries, and under cover of six of the enemy's field-guns that
+completely commanded the Canadian shore. Some of the boats of this
+flotilla effected, as we know, a landing above the rock, still visible
+at the water's edge, under the suspension bridge. Here they disembarked
+their fighting men--the 13th regulars and some artillery--and, under Van
+Rensselaer, attempted to form. The empty boats recrossed the river to
+ferry over more soldiers.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+A sentry of the 49th--our hero's regiment--overheard voices and tramping
+of feet. Scenting danger, he ran, without firing, to alarm the main
+guard.
+
+In a few minutes Dennis advanced upon the landing place with forty-six
+men of his own company and a few militia, and discharged a murderous
+volley, leaving Colonel Van Rensselaer, with eight officers and
+forty-five men, killed or wounded. The enemy retreated to the water's
+edge for shelter, confused and shivering. The Lewiston batteries at once
+opened fire on the redan on Queenston Heights. The position of Dennis
+being thus revealed to Dearborn's gunners, they immediately turned their
+battery of six field-pieces upon his handful of men, and the position
+proving untenable, he withdrew to the shelter of the village, on the lip
+of the hill, still continuing to fire downwards on the invaders.
+
+Vrooman's battery then opened fire, and Crowther brought his two
+"grasshoppers"--small three-pounders--to sweep the road leading to the
+river.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXVIII.
+
+A FOREIGN FLAG FLIES ON THE REDAN.
+
+
+It was the crackling of the grenadiers' muskets, the bellowing of
+Vrooman's big gun, the cannonade of the twenty-four-pounders of the
+Lewiston batteries, the roar of the eighteen-pounder in the British
+redan, and the streak of crimson light from the long line of beacons
+which rent the sky from Fort Erie to Pelham Heights, that had wakened
+the citizens of Niagara and aroused Brock from his brief repose.
+
+Captain Wool, of the 13th U.S. regulars--Van Rensselaer being wounded in
+six places--hurried his men under the shelter of the overhanging rocks,
+keeping up an intermittent fire, and waited for reinforcements. For
+almost two hours this desultory firing continued. With the cessation of
+the storm and arrival of broad daylight, six more boats attempted to
+reach the Queenston landing. One boat was sunk by a discharge of grape
+from Dennis's howitzer; another, with Colonel Fenwick, of the U.S.
+artillery, was swept below the landing to a cove where, in the attack by
+Cameron's volunteers that followed, Fenwick, terribly wounded, was, with
+most of his men, taken prisoner. Another boat drifted under Vrooman's,
+and was captured there, while others, more fortunate, landed two
+additional companies of the 13th, forty artillerymen and some militia.
+The shouts of the fighters and screams of the wounded were heard by the
+hundreds of spectators who were parading the river bank at Lewiston, all
+ready to witness "the humiliation of Canada."
+
+General Van Rensselaer had commanded that the "Heights had to be taken."
+Wool, a gallant soldier, only twenty-three, suffering from a bullet that
+had passed through both his thighs--no superior officer coming to his
+support--volunteered for the duty. He expressed his eagerness to make
+the attempt. Gansfort, a brother officer of Wool's, had been shown by a
+river guide a narrow, twisting trail, used at times by fishermen,
+leading to the summit. This he pointed out to Wool as a possible pathway
+to the Heights, where a force of determined men might gain the rear of
+the British position. Wool, at the same time, had also been informed
+that Williams, hitherto on the Heights, had been ordered to descend the
+hill to assist Dennis--which was Brock's first command on reaching the
+redan. Followed by Van Rensselaer's aide, who had orders "to shoot every
+man who faltered," Wool at once commenced the ascent, leaving one
+hundred of his men to protect the landing.
+
+Picked artillerymen led the way. Concealed by rock and thicket, and
+unobserved by the British--the trail being regarded as impassable--they
+reached the hill-top, only thirty yards in rear of the solitary gun in
+the redan. The noise of their movements was drowned by the crash of the
+batteries, which reduced Hamilton's stone house to ruins and drove
+Crowther and his small gun out of range. The shells from the enemy's
+mortars rained upon the village, and his field-pieces subjected the
+gardens and orchards of Queenston to a searching inquisition.
+
+On reaching the summit, Wool, when the last straggler had arrived,
+formed his men, without losing a minute, and emerging from ambush, fired
+a badly-aimed volley at the astonished Brock and his eight gunners, and
+with a wild shout rushed down upon the redan.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+When the United States flag was raised over the gun, which Wool, to his
+deep chagrin, found spiked, the troops at Lewiston realized that the
+battery had been taken. Their courage returning, they rushed to the
+boats below, hoping to participate in a victory which, while hitherto a
+question in their minds, now seemed beyond all doubt.
+
+Brock, on regaining the bottom of the slope, seeing that the main attack
+was to be made at Queenston, sent Captain Derenzy with a despatch to
+Sheaffe at Fort George.
+
+"Instruct Major Evans," he wrote, "to turn every available gun on Fort
+Niagara, silence its batteries, and drive out the enemy, for I require
+every fighting man here; and if you have not already done so, forward
+the battalion companies of the 41st and the flank companies of militia,
+and join me without delay."
+
+Mounting his horse, he galloped to the far end of the village. Here he
+held a hurried consultation with the few officers present, and
+despatched Macdonell to Vrooman's to bring up Heward's Little York
+volunteers at the double. He then instructed Glegg to order Dennis, with
+the light company of the 49th, less than fifty strong, and Chisholm's
+company of the York militia, to join him, and also to recall Williams
+and his detachment. When these arrived he took command.
+
+"Captain Williams," said he, "how many men do you muster?"
+
+"Seventy, sir, of all ranks," replied Williams; "forty-nine grenadiers
+and Captain Chisholm's company of volunteers."
+
+"We must make the attempt, then," said the General, "to turn the enemy's
+left flank on the Heights, and this can only be done by a round-about
+way." Then, as Dennis joined him, he said, with a shade of vexation on
+his face, "It is a waste of time lamenting mistakes, but the overlooking
+of that pathway was a serious thing. The re-taking of the redan must be
+attempted at all hazards. It is the key, you see, to our position. If we
+wait for all our reinforcements the task will only be greater, as it
+will give the enemy time to establish himself in force, and when he
+drills out the spiked gun, the odds against us will be greater still."
+
+Then, after a pause, "We must try and regain that gun without a moment's
+delay. It will be hot work, and means a sacrifice, but it is clearly our
+duty. Macdonell cannot be long. How are your men?"
+
+"Somewhat fagged, sir," replied Dennis, "and a bit hippish. We've had a
+trying time, but they are ready to follow you."
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+It has been truly said of Isaac Brock that he never allowed a thought of
+self-preservation or self-interest to affect for one instant his
+conception of duty. He was blind at this moment to all personal
+considerations. He made no effort to shelter himself behind any
+plausible excuse that would have been gratefully seized by the timid or
+calculating man, or to fence with his duty. His consistency was sublime.
+"His last moments were in clear keeping with his life and his belief."
+
+     "He who thinks In strife
+       To earn a deathless fame,
+     Must _do_, nor ever care for life."
+
+The little band of heroes fell into line, while their brother hero
+addressed them.
+
+"Men of the 49th," said Brock, "and my brave volunteers, I have heard of
+your work this morning, and the trying circumstances under which you
+have been fighting. Now, my lads, as you know, a large body of the enemy
+has stolen a march on us. They have taken our gun, it is true, but they
+will find it spiked! It is our duty to re-take it. Be prepared for
+slippery footing. Use every bit of shelter, but when we make the final
+rush give the enemy no time to think. Pour in a volley; fire low, and
+when it comes to in-fighting, use the bayonet resolutely and you have
+them beaten. I know I can depend upon you.... There is a foreign flag
+flying over a British gun. It must not stay there.... Don't cheer now,
+men, but save your breath and follow me."
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+There was a cheer, notwithstanding.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXIX.
+
+THE BATTLE OF QUEENSTON HEIGHTS.
+
+
+While these fateful and stirring scenes were being enacted at Queenston,
+a despatch rider arrived from Evans of Fort George. Without waiting for
+further instructions, he had, after Brock's departure, with the first
+glimpse of daylight, cannonaded Fort Niagara. This he did with typical
+thoroughness. His fire was returned with interest. With a license in
+direct opposition to the laws of battle, the enemy, under Captain
+Leonard, turned his guns on the village of Newark, bombarding public
+buildings and private residences with hot-shot, laying part of the town
+in ashes. This infuriated Evans, and he renewed the siege with so much
+vigour that he compelled the American garrison to evacuate. A shot from
+one of his twelve-pounders burst within the centre of Fort Niagara and
+decided Leonard to abandon his position in haste, after suffering many
+casualties.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Under a nasty crackle of musketry, galling and accurate, which harried
+the men, already chilled and strung up with suspense, the small
+detachment following the courageous Brock from the lower village soon
+reached the stone walls that surrounded a residence at the base of the
+hill. Here our hero dismounted, handed his horse to an orderly, and
+directed the men to find shelter. A moment later, taking advantage of a
+lull in the firing, he vaulted over the wall, and waving his sword above
+his head, shouted to the grenadiers a word of encouragement. They
+answered with a cheer, still following him as he led the way up the
+steep ascent towards the captured battery.
+
+Wool, within the enclosure of the redan, was closely watching the steady
+advance of the small body of resolute men breasting the Height.
+
+The purpose of these men was unmistakable. As they drew closer, scarlet
+uniform and polished bayonet blazed and flashed in the sunshine. Having
+been heavily reinforced, he detached a party of 150 picked regulars, and
+with these moved out to meet the small band of British led by Brock. A
+brief exchange of shots took place, and the Americans fell back, firing.
+
+Though the rain had ceased the trees were gemmed with drops that still
+dripped. The ground was strewn with wet leaves, slippery, and affording
+treacherous foothold. Progress was slow and laborious. As the hillside
+grew steeper, a man here and there slid, lurched and fell. To maintain
+any semblance of formation was impossible. The fire grew hotter. Ball
+and buckshot and half-ounce bullets down-poured on them from above.
+"Death crouched behind every rock and lurked in every hollow."
+
+Had Brock's handful of loyalists been able to rush headlong, spurred by
+lust of conflict, and lock bayonets with the enemy, another tale might
+have been told. But the effect of the futile struggle for foothold on
+the hillside, seamed with slippery depressions, in the teeth of a
+blizzard of lead, soon showed. The bullet-swept ascent was a cruel test
+for men already fagged and faint. As for our hero, though storm-beaten,
+stained with mud, and hungry as a wolf, he was still the same
+indomitable youth who had scaled the cut cliffs of Cobo in search of
+seagulls' eggs. His vigour and disregard of danger were magnificent. His
+example, splendid.
+
+Brock may not have been judicially precautious. Had he waited for
+reinforcements--there were none nearer than Fort George--his own life
+might possibly have been preserved. As an alternative he could perhaps
+have withdrawn and sought shelter in the village. But--apart from the
+peril to his own prestige--who would care to estimate the ulterior
+effect upon his men if such an example had been set them? These rough
+Canadian irregulars consisted, as they do to-day, of the finest fighting
+material in the world. The law of self-preservation had no place in the
+litany of Isaac Brock. He was a daily dealer in self-sacrifice. Besides,
+this was not the time or place to calculate involved issues. He was not
+a cold-blooded politician, nor was he an opportunist; he was merely a
+patriot and a soldier fighting for hearth and home, for flag and
+country. It was not an issue that could be left to arbitration in the
+hereafter, or threshed out by judge and jury. The situation called for
+instant action. To _do_ his obvious duty rather than to _know_ it,
+seemed to our hero the only honorable exit from the dilemma, even though
+it resulted in his own undoing.
+
+Not until the dead are mustered by the God of hosts--at the last
+roll-call--will this noble soldier's conception of duty and his
+sacrifice be truly appraised.
+
+God and the right was carved deep in the heart of Isaac Brock. Though he
+felt for his men, it was in a compassionate, not a weak way. War without
+bloodshed was inconceivable. He had been trained in an age and in a
+school that regarded blood-shedding in the protection of the right as
+wholly justifiable, as it was inevitable. Is there any change in respect
+to the application of this doctrine to-day? For himself he had no
+compassion whatever. His faith in the cause compelled him to fight to a
+finish. He was not of the potter's common clay of which fatalists are
+made. How many of these faithful fellows, he wondered, as his alert mind
+rapidly reviewed the present and recalled the past--Canadian and Celt,
+Irish and Anglo-Saxon, Protestant and Catholic, whom "neither politics,
+sect or creed could, in such a crisis, keep apart"--would leave their
+bodies to bleach on that hill-side? How many of them were destined to
+yield their lives for honour's sake, to die with their valour unrecorded
+in the defence--in the case of numbers of them--not of their own, but of
+their brother's rights?
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+The next second he was wondering what was doing at St. Peter's Port or
+London. It would be noon there. Were the good brothers and sister
+thinking of "Master Isaac" at that moment? Then, swifter than light, he
+was at Niagara, and the bowed figure of a woman at a porch, with pale,
+upturned face, who that morning had bade him a silent farewell, rose
+before him--surely it was years ago--the woman to whom he was betrothed.
+Then, in a flash, he turned to see some wavering figures around him,
+some of his own men--not a few wounded--who faltered and shrank from the
+screaming buckshot, and dropped to the rear.
+
+The soldier awoke.
+
+"This is the first time," he shouted, "I have ever seen the 49th turn
+their backs! Surely the heroes of Egmont will never tarnish their
+record!"
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+The rebuke stung. The panting ranks closed up.
+
+[Illustration: DEATH OF ISAAC BROCK]
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXX.
+
+THE DEATH OF ISAAC BROCK.
+
+
+At this moment Colonel Macdonell, excited and eager to participate,
+reached the foot of the mountain at the head of the supports for which
+the General had despatched him. These consisted of about thirty of
+Heward's flank company of militia and thirty of the 49th--almost
+breathless and much exhausted, having run most of the way. Brock's small
+force--those actually at his side--were Chisholm's and Cameron's
+companies of the Toronto and York volunteers--a mere handful of perhaps
+eighty all told. These, together with Macdonell's men, who were at the
+foot of the hill on the right, now numbered less than 190 of all ranks.
+
+For an instant there was a pause. Brock spoke hurriedly to his aide.
+
+"If Williams and Macdonell can but outflank the Americans on the summit
+and scale the mountain in rear of the redan on the right, nothing can
+prevent our driving them out. Our place is here."
+
+"But, General," interposed his aide, who worshipped his commanding
+officer, "I pray you, let me lead, or at least do take proper
+precautions. If you are wounded, think what may befall us."
+
+"Master Glegg," hurriedly replied Brock, "I must remain at the head of
+these men. Duty and desire compel me. Should I fall, there are others
+not less competent."
+
+A half smile, a touch of the arm, and the two men separated. A long
+separation.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Deceived by the scarlet uniforms of the militia flank companies, Wool
+believed that the attacking party was composed exclusively of regulars,
+so steady was their advance. His own force now consisted of 500 men,
+over 300 of whom were regulars. Notwithstanding his much greater
+strength and vastly superior position, being protected by artificial
+brush-shelters and logs, and the withering fire with which he met the
+dogged progress of the British, his flanks, pressed by Williams and
+Macdonell, began to shrink. The moment was a critical one for our hero.
+
+The supreme effort must be made.
+
+Glancing below, Brock, even at that instant, for a fleeting moment was
+conscious of the beauty of the country spread beneath him. Almost as far
+as eye could reach extended an immense, partly pastoral plain, studded
+with villages, groves, winding streams, cultivated farms, orchards,
+vineyards and meadows. In places a dense forest, decorated with autumn's
+mellow tints, and furrowed by the black gorge of the Niagara, stretched
+to the horizon. Across all, shadows of racing clouds gave emphasis to
+the brilliant flood of sunshine. No fairer scene ever greeted the eye of
+man. The entire landscape breathed peace. Above it, however, in detached
+masses, hung lurid billows--the smoke of battle.... The serene vision
+faded, and in its place, in brutal contrast, came cruel, imperious bugle
+calls, the metallic rattle of fire-arms, the deep thunder of artillery,
+the curdling cry of wounded men.
+
+Isaac's senses were insulted by the carnage of war.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+He now noticed that the supports, led by his plucky aide at the foot of
+the hill, were flagging. He shouted back, "Push on, York Volunteers!"
+
+Our hero's robust figure was a conspicuous object for the American
+riflemen. While telling his men to take advantage of every bit of
+shelter, he paid little attention to himself. His uniform, his position
+at the head of his men, his loud words of command, stamped him a man of
+mark, a soldier of distinction, a special target for Wool's
+sharpshooters.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+So far he had escaped the hail of shot by a miracle. Picking his
+footsteps--it was treadmill work--he sprang forward, urging on his men
+by word and gesture.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+A deflected bullet struck the wrist of his sword arm. The wound was
+slight. He again waved his sword, smiling his indifference and still
+speaking words of encouragement.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+They were getting at close quarters now. The redan was less than fifty
+yards above.
+
+He was calling to those nearest him to hold their fire a moment, to
+prepare to rush the enemy and use their bayonets, when, from a thorn
+thicket, an Ohio scout, Wilklow by name, one of Moseley's riflemen,
+stepped forward, and, singling out his victim, deliberately aimed at the
+General. Several of the 49th, noticing the man's movement, fired--but
+too late. The rifleman's bullet entered our hero's right breast, tore
+through his body on the left side, close to his heart, leaving a gaping
+wound.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+[Illustration: BROCK'S COAT, WORN AT QUEENSTON HEIGHTS]
+
+Brock sank slowly to the ground, quite sensible of his grievous fate. A
+grenadier, horribly mutilated, fell across him. To those who ran to aid
+our hero, anxious to know the nature of his injury, he murmured a few
+broken sentences and--turned to die.
+
+He tried to frame messages to loved ones, and then, more audibly, as he
+gallantly strove to raise his head to give emphasis to his last
+faltering words--the same Isaac Brock, unmindful of self and still
+mindful of duty--he said, "My fall must not be noticed, nor impede my
+brave companions from advancing to victory."
+
+And with a sigh--expired.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Thus died General Sir Isaac Brock, defender and saviour of Upper Canada.
+Died the death he would have selected, the most splendid death of
+all--that of the hero in the hour of victory, fighting for King and
+country, for you and me, and with his face to the foe.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Our hero had passed his _last_ milestone.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+For a brief space the body of Isaac Brock rested where it had fallen,
+about one hundred yards west of the road that leads through Queenston,
+and a little eastward of an aged thorn bush.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Above the dead soldier's head, clouds, sunshine and rustling foliage;
+beneath it, fallen forest leaves, moist and fragrant. About the
+motionless body swayed tussocks of tall grass and the trampled heads of
+wild-flowers. The shouts of the regulars, the clamor of the militia, the
+shrill war-cry of the Mohawks, and the organ notes of battle, were his
+requiem. Then the corpse was hurriedly borne by a few grief-stricken men
+of the 49th to a house in the village, occupied by Laura Secord--the
+future heroine of Lundy's Lane--where, concealed by blankets--owing to
+the presence of the enemy--it was allowed to remain for some hours,
+unvisited.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Later in the day Major Glegg, Brock's faithful aide--the brave
+Macdonell, in extreme agony, lay dying of his wounds--hastened to the
+spot, and finding the body of his lamented friend undisturbed, conveyed
+it to Niagara, "where it was bedewed by weeping friends whose hearts
+were agonized with bitterest sorrow."
+
+[Illustration: BATTLE OF QUEENSTON. From an old Sketch]
+
+
+
+
+SUPPLEMENT
+
+
+
+
+AFTER BROCK'S DEATH.
+
+
+The "Story of Isaac Brock" would be incomplete without an epitome of the
+events that terminated the Battle of Queenston Heights and resulted in
+an overwhelming victory for the British.
+
+General Brock was killed in action at about half-past seven on the
+morning of October 13th, 1812. His body was removed from Government
+House, Niagara, to a cavalier bastion at Fort George, for final
+sepulture. This bastion was selected by Major Glegg, it being the one
+which Brock's own genius had lately suggested--the one from which the
+range of an observer's vision covered the principal points of
+approach--and had just been finished under his daily superintendence.
+
+After he fell, the handful of men who were with him, overcome by his
+tragic end, overwhelmed by superior numbers and a hurricane of buckshot
+and bullets, wavered, and though Dennis attempted to rally them, fell
+back and retreated to the far end of Queenston village. Here, about two
+hours later, Colonel Macdonell, Brock's aide, collected and reformed the
+scattered units, and made another bold dash to rescale the heights and
+retake the redan. A detailed account of the incidents that followed in
+dramatic succession would fill a book.
+
+With the cry of "Revenge the General!" from the men of the 49th,
+Macdonell, on Brock's charger, led the forlorn attack, supported by
+Dennis. At the same moment, Williams, with his detachment, emerged from
+the thicket, shouting to his men, "Feel firmly to the right, my lads;
+advance steadily, charge them home, and they cannot stand you." The two
+detachments then combined, and Macdonell ordering a general advance,
+they once more breasted the ascent.
+
+The enemy, over four hundred strong, but without proper formation, fired
+an independent volley at the British as they approached to within thirty
+yards of the redoubt. This was responded to with vigour, and grenadiers
+and volunteers, in response to brave Macdonell's repeated calls, charged
+fiercely on Wool's men, now huddled in disorder around the
+eighteen-pounder. Some of them started to run towards the river bank.
+One American officer, Ogilvie, of the 13th regulars, thinking the
+situation hopeless, raised his handkerchief on his sword-point in token
+of surrender. Wool, a soldier of different calibre, tore it down, and a
+company of United States infantry coming at that moment to his
+assistance, he rallied his men.
+
+The momentary advantage gained by Macdonell's small band of heroes was
+lost, and in the exchange of shots that followed, Macdonell's
+horse--Brock's charger--was killed under him while he--his uniform torn
+with bullets--was thrown from the saddle as the animal plunged in its
+death struggle--receiving several ghastly bullet wounds, from which he
+died the following day, after enduring much agony. Williams, a moment
+later, fell desperately wounded; Dennis, suffering from a severe head
+wound, at first refused to quit the field, but Cameron having removed
+the sorely-stricken Macdonell, and Williams having recovered
+consciousness and escaped, the dispirited men fell back, retreated down
+the mountain at Parrott's Tavern, retiring upon Vrooman's battery. Here
+they awaited, unmolested, until two in the afternoon, the arrival of
+reinforcements from Fort George. The fight, though short, had been
+furious and deadly. Americans and British alike were glad to take
+breath.
+
+Meanwhile, unobserved, young Brant, with 120 Mohawk Indians, had scaled
+the mountain, east of St. David's, outflanking the Americans, and hemmed
+them in until Captains Derenzy, of the 41st, and Holcroft, of the
+Artillery, arrived with the car-brigade from Fort George and trained two
+field-guns and a howitzer upon the landing. Merritt, with a troop of
+mounted infantry, at the same time reached the village by the Queenston
+road. This movement, which was a ruse, deceived the enemy, who at once
+redisposed his troops in readiness for an attack from this new quarter.
+
+The American commander was ignorant of the fact that General
+Sheaffe--with four companies of the 41st, 308 strong, the same number of
+militia, and a company of negro troops from Niagara, refugee slaves from
+the United States--was at that moment approaching his rear in the rear
+of the Indians. The British advanced in crescent-shaped formation,
+hidden by mountain and bush, and were shortly joined by a few more
+regulars and by two flank companies of the 2nd regiment of militia from
+Chippewa. Indeed, many persons of all ranks of life, even veterans
+exempt by age, seized their muskets and joined the column to repel the
+invaders, "unappalled" by Dearborn's threats of conquest or by the death
+of their "beloved hero, Isaac Brock." By this movement the British
+escaped the enfilading fire of the Lewiston batteries, the steep ascent
+of the heights in the teeth of the enemy's field-works, and compelled
+him to change front. The British of all ranks numbered less than one
+thousand.
+
+[Illustration: PLAN OF BATTLE OF QUEENSTON]
+
+The United States troops, which had been heavily reinforced, consisted
+at this time of about one thousand fighting men, on and about the
+mountain. This number was slowly supplemented by fresh arrivals from
+Lewiston, encouraged when they saw the American flag planted on the
+redan. The wounded were sent across the river. Nearly all of the new
+arrivals were regulars. Colonel Winfield Scott, of Mexican fame, a tried
+soldier, six feet four in his stockings, was now in command, supported
+by a second field-piece and many sharp-shooters. Van Rensselaer,
+narrowly escaping capture, had retreated by boat to Lewiston, ostensibly
+to bring over more troops. Finding the conditions unfavourable, he did
+not do so, but sent over General Wadsworth, as a vicarious sacrifice, to
+take command. The gun in the redan had been unspiked, and the summit
+strongly entrenched, but as Scott's men betrayed strange lukewarmness,
+orders were given "to shoot any man leaving his post."
+
+Sheaffe's men having rested after their forced tramp, a few spherical
+case-shot by Holcroft drove out the American riflemen. His gunners had
+at last silenced the Lewiston batteries, and finding the river range,
+sunk almost every boat that attempted to cross. The Indians were now
+ordered to drive in the enemy's pickets slowly. Scouting the woods, they
+routed his outposts.
+
+About four p.m. Captain Bullock, with two flank companies of militia and
+150 men of the 41st, advanced, and after firing a volley in the face of
+a dense smoke, charged the enemy's right, which broke in great
+confusion. A general advance was ordered, and, with wild warwhoops by
+the Indians and white men, the heights were rushed, Wadsworth's
+veterans were stampeded, the redan retaken at the point of the bayonet,
+and Scott's command forced to the scarp of the cliff overhanging the
+river.
+
+The American soldiers, to quote United States historians, now "fled like
+sheep," and scuttled off in all directions. Some raced headlong down the
+main road, seeking shelter under the muzzles of Holcroft's guns; some
+sought refuge in the houses; others raced to the landing only to find
+the boats no longer there. Not a few, hot pressed by Brant's avenging
+Mohawks, threw themselves over the precipice, preferring suicide to the
+redman's tomahawk. Others plunged into the Niagara, essaying to swim its
+irresistible eddies, only to be blown out of the green water by
+Holcroft's grapeshot or sucked down by the river's silent whirlpools.
+
+One boat, with fifty struggling refugees, sank with its entire crew. Two
+others similarly laden were beached below the village, with only one
+dozen out of one hundred souls still living. The river presented a
+shocking scene. On the face of the water men, many maimed and wounded,
+fought and struggled for survival. This pitiful spectacle was actually
+taking place under the eyes of several thousands of American soldiers on
+the Lewiston bank, who, almost impossible to believe, and to their
+lasting disgrace, refused to join, or attempt even to succour, their
+comrades--deaf to all entreaty--allowing them to perish. Every room and
+shack at Queenston was an improvised hospital or morgue, filled with the
+mangled bodies of the quick and dead.
+
+Cruikshank says 120 wounded United States officers and men were taken,
+of whom thirty died at hospital in Queenston and Niagara, while 140 more
+were ferried across to Lewiston. Lossing, the American historian,
+solemnly records the "fact" that "less than 600 American troops of all
+ranks ever landed at Queenston," and that "of these only 300 were
+overpowered"--some of the United States histories of the colonial wars
+need drastic revision--yet 958 American soldiers were taken prisoners by
+the British; "captured by a force," so officially wrote Colonel Van
+Rensselaer, after the battle, "amounting to only about _one-third_ of
+the united number of the American troops." Captain Gist, of the U.S.
+army, placed their own killed at 400.
+
+Among those who, when defeat was certain, fled to the water's edge,
+after fighting valiantly, was Colonel Winfield Scott, General
+Wadsworth, and other United States officers. Pursued by the Indians,
+they lowered themselves from shrub to shrub. When escape was hopeless,
+Scott tied the white cravat of his comrade, Totten, on his sword point,
+and with another officer, Gibson, was hurrying to present this flag of
+truce, when two Indians confronted them on the narrow trail. Jacobs,
+Brant's powerful follower, wrenched Scott's sword away, hatchets were
+drawn, and had not a British grenadier sergeant rushed forward, Winfield
+Scott would have fared badly.
+
+General Van Rensselaer's defeat was complete and disastrous. His chagrin
+at his failure "to appal the minds of the Canadians" was so great that
+ten days later he resigned his command.
+
+The account between Canada and the United States at sundown on that day
+stood as follows: Total American force engaged, 1,600. Killed and
+wounded, or sent back across the river, during the fight, 500.
+Prisoners, 73 officers, including two generals and five colonels,
+together with 852 rank and file. Total loss, 1,425 men, besides the
+colours of the New York regiment, one six-pounder, 815 carbines and
+bayonets, and 5,950 rounds of ball and buckshot.
+
+The total British force engaged was 1,000. Of these 800 were regulars
+and militia, and 200 Indians. Killed, 14, including one major-general
+and one aide. Wounded and missing, 96. Total American loss, 1,425. Total
+British loss, 110. _The next day the British General, Sheaffe, Isaac
+Brock's successor, signed another armistice. The second armistice within
+a period of nine weeks!_
+
+Such is the story of the Battle of Queenston Heights.
+
+
+
+
+SUBSEQUENT EVENTS OF THE CAMPAIGN OF 1812.
+
+After Van Rensselaer resigned his command in favour of Brigadier-General
+Smyth, the effect of the British victory upon the United States troops
+at Lewiston was beyond belief. While the British soldiers were, with
+characteristic indifference, hard at work at Fort George cutting wood
+and threshing straw, the American soldiers across the river, according
+to their own historians, were deserting by the hundreds. Of General
+Tannehill's brigade of 1,414 of all ranks, 1,147 deserted within a few
+days. Twenty of these were officers.
+
+Had the British been allowed to profit by this demoralization of the
+enemy and followed up their brilliant successes, they could, as Brock
+predicted, have swept the frontier from Chippewa to Sackett's Harbour,
+and probably prevented a continuance of the two years' war. The
+Sheaffe-Prevost inexcusable thirty days' truce was the very respite the
+enemy had prayed for. More men and more munitions were hurriedly
+despatched to all the United States frontier forts, and renewed courage
+imparted to some of the commanders and their hesitating brigades. The
+first to waken up after the expiration of this, to the Americans,
+merciful truce, was General Dearborn, who, with 2,000 men, attacked
+Odelltown, only to be driven back to Lake Champlain by de Salaberry.
+This reverse was followed in the last days of November by an attack by
+General Smyth, with 400 of his 4,300 men, upon a four-gun battery,
+defended by sixty-five men, above Garden Island, on the Niagara River.
+Elated with his success, he took for his rallying cry, "The cannon lost
+at Detroit--or death!" and again crossed the river with thirty-two boats
+and 900 men, and descended upon Fort Erie. Meanwhile, Colonel Bisshopp
+had retaken the fort, with its American captors, and with a handful of
+regulars and militia awaited "annihilation." As Smyth's flotilla
+advanced, Bisshopp poured in a hot fire, sinking two boats. This
+reception did not accord with Smyth's views of the ethics of war, and
+forgetting all about the "lost guns," and disliking, upon reflection,
+the idea of "death," he at once turned tail. At Buffalo he was publicly
+pelted by the populace, and for his cowardice was dismissed the service
+by the United States Senate without the formality of a trial.
+Dearborn--strange to say--having for the time lost his taste for
+fighting, went into winter quarters, and Canada, in universal mourning
+for Brock, but still confident and undaunted, rested on her arms. The
+year 1812 closed without further incident.
+
+The period thus ended had been a momentous one. Brilliant reputations
+had been made and lost. The blood of many patriots had flowed freely,
+but, as regarded Canada, not in vain, for, in the words of the American
+historian, Schouler, "the war had impressed upon the people of the
+Republic the fact that Canada could not be carried by dash, nor pierced
+by an army officered by political generals and the invincibles of
+peace."
+
+
+
+
+THE CAMPAIGN OF 1813.
+
+Though it would be quite natural to suppose that the story of Isaac
+Brock would end with his death and the victory of Queenston Heights, it
+is well to remember that the _influence of his triumphs only ceased with
+the close of the war_ and the Treaty of Ghent, in December, 1814. Hence
+a _résumé_ of the events that occurred during 1813 and 1814 is
+necessary, if a just valuation of our hero's achievements is desired.
+
+Between July, 1812 and November 5th, 1814, "twelve distinct invasions of
+Canada by superior forces of the enemy were defeated." Out of fifty-six
+military and naval engagements between the British and U.S. forces,
+thirty-six were won by the British. Though the victories of 1812 were
+the direct factors that brought about a change in the national destiny
+of Canada, "Queenston Heights was not the culminating feat of arms." As
+a result of brooding over these disasters that had befallen the "Grand
+Army of the West," and the "national disgrace" of overwhelming defeat,
+the people of the United States, as a whole, independent of politics,
+"were now"--so write American chroniclers--"compelled to become
+belligerents."
+
+In consequence of this national thirst for revenge, Generals Harrison
+and Winchester started to look for trouble in January, 1813, and--were
+rewarded. Strongly stockaded at Frenchtown, on the Raisin River, with a
+seasoned army, they invited attack. Colonel Procter, with 500 soldiers
+and 800 Indians under Roundhead, accepted the challenge, and making a
+furious attack upon Winchester before daybreak, took the General and 405
+of his "Grand Army" prisoners. Brockville was then raided, and fifty-two
+citizens kidnapped by the U.S. soldiers. During the next two years raids
+of this nature were of frequent occurrence, first by one belligerent,
+then by the other, and with varying success. Major Macdonald's capture
+of Ogdensburg, when he took eleven guns and 500 U.S. soldiers, was the
+next big win for Canada.
+
+In April, to balance the account, General Pike descended upon York. The
+capital of Upper Canada at that time had a population of only 1,000, and
+was weakly garrisoned. While the enemy was advancing upon the small fort
+to the west of the village, a powder magazine exploded, killing many on
+both sides. General Sheaffe, thoroughly alarmed at the prospect,
+destroyed his stores, and, after 300 of his force had been captured,
+retreated with the remainder to Kingston--for which he was severely
+censured--and York surrendered. Then Procter, inflated by his victory at
+Frenchtown, and overrating his military skill, attacked Fort Meigs, on
+the Maumee River, was badly repulsed, and hopelessly lost all prestige.
+
+This defeat of the British was followed by Dearborn's assault upon Fort
+George. With 7,000 men behind him, aided by the guns of Chauncey's fleet
+at the river mouth, he captured the time-worn fortification, and the
+Niagara frontier--despite the dogged resistance of General Vincent, who
+had to retreat with the crippled remnant of his 1,400 men--was at last
+in the possession of the enemy. This win was made more complete by
+General Prevost's belated and, of course, futile attack upon Sackett's
+Harbour. When assured success stared him in the face, his flaccid nature
+suggested retreat, and what might have been a signal victory became a
+disgraceful failure. The position of affairs at this time was admirably
+summed up in a letter written by Quartermaster Nichol. "Alas! we are no
+longer commanded by Isaac Brock.... Confidence seems to have vanished
+from the land, and gloomy despondency in those who are at our head has
+taken its place." Brock's courage, judgment, military skill and personal
+magnetism were never so much needed.
+
+To offset these reverses, the brilliant victory of the British ship
+_Shannon_ over the American war vessel _Chesapeake_, in a naval duel
+fought outside Boston harbour, somewhat restored British complacence.
+This was the prelude to another victory on land. Vincent, after being
+bombarded out of Fort George, slowly retreated with his broken command
+towards Burlington, cleverly flirting with the enemy, and drawing him
+farther and farther inland, finally reforming his wearied men near Stony
+Creek, sixteen miles from the lake's head. Here the enemy, 3,000 strong,
+went into camp. It was here that FitzGibbon--General Brock's old-time
+sergeant-major and faithful _protégé_--now in command of a company of
+the 49th, disguised as a settler, penetrated the enemy's camp, and was
+convinced a night attack would be successful. While the advance guard of
+the enemy was driving in the British decoy pickets, 800 of Vincent's
+force, under Harvey, surprised and charged them in the darkness,
+capturing two American generals, 120 prisoners, and four cannon, without
+the loss of a man.
+
+Sheaffe was now transferred to Montreal, and De Rottenberg assumed
+military command in Upper Canada. Three weeks later an American, Colonel
+Boerstler, was ordered to surprise a small party of British at Beaver
+Dams (now Thorold). Lieutenant FitzGibbon, in command, was informed of
+the proposed attack. An heroic woman--Laura Secord--the wife of a
+wounded militiaman at Queenston, and to whose house Brock's body was
+borne after he fell, learned of the pending surprise by overhearing a
+conversation between some American officers. Her resolution was soon
+formed. Despite the fact that twenty miles through gloomy forest, filled
+with hostile Indians, lay between her home and the British camp, she
+tramped the distance unattended, though not unmolested, and reached the
+Stone House in time to warn the plucky grenadier. The wily Irishman at
+once despatched a party of Caughnawaga Indians to divert the enemy's
+attention. Advancing with a few soldiers, and finding Boerstler and his
+force drawn up in an opening of the woods, uncertain what to do, he
+boldly ordered that officer to surrender with his entire command of 540
+soldiers, though he had but forty-seven men to enforce the conditions.
+His demand was instantly complied with.
+
+To equalize in part this game of international see-saw, Chauncey again
+visited York with fourteen ships, mounting 114 guns, and plundered the
+defenceless capital.
+
+On Lake Erie, Perry, with nine ships and a total broadside of 936 pounds
+of metal, defeated Barclay's six Canadian ships, with a total broadside
+of 459 pounds. These facts must be taken into impartial consideration in
+weighing the issue. In the west, Procter, still suffering from the shock
+received at Fort Meigs, with 407 troops and 800 Indians, retreated up
+the Thames valley, neglecting to burn his bridges in his retreat, with
+General Harrison and an army of 3,500 men in hot pursuit. The American
+general brought him to bay at Moraviantown, and in the frozen swamps the
+dispirited British, having lost all confidence in their fleeing
+commander, surrendered or escaped. It was here that the gallant and
+high-minded Tecumseh met his death, under distressing circumstances. The
+story was circulated that, mortified at Procter's proposed flight, the
+Shawanese chief was only restrained from shooting that officer by the
+interference of Colonel Elliott. For his conduct and the unexplained
+disaster at Moraviantown, Procter was court-martialed, severely
+condemned, and suspended from his command for six months.
+
+[Illustration: TAKING OF NIAGARA, MAY 27TH, 1813. From an old Print]
+
+The defeat of Procter was counterbalanced, however, by Colonel de
+Salaberry's dramatic victory over General Hampton. With 350 French
+Canadian Voltigeurs he hypnotized 3,500 United States troops at
+Chateauguay. When the fight was hottest the gallant Frenchman ordered
+his buglers to sound the advance, an alarming fanfare, accompanied by
+discharges of musketry from various points of the surrounding forest,
+and the enemy, thinking he was about to be attacked and flanked by
+superior numbers, was seized with panic, stampeded, and never halted in
+his retreat until he had placed twenty-five miles of country between him
+and the "French devils." After this, occurred the historic battle of
+Chrysler's Farm, on the St. Lawrence, when 2,000 U.S. regulars under
+General Boyd, with six field-guns, were routed, with a loss of 102
+killed and 237 wounded, by a force composed of 380 regulars, militia and
+Indians, under Colonel Morrison, and driven back into American
+territory.
+
+In the second week of December, General McClure evacuated Fort George,
+but before doing so burned 149 of the public buildings and private
+houses in Newark and Queenston, by order of John Armstrong, U.S.
+Secretary of War, compelling 400 women and children to seek shelter in
+the woods, with the thermometer ranging around zero. Even Lossing, the
+American historian, condemned this as "a wanton act, contrary to the
+usages of war, and leaving a stain upon the American character." The
+outrage brought its own punishment within the week. Colonel Murray, with
+550 soldiers, captured the United States Fort Niagara, killing
+sixty-five men and taking 344 prisoners, and before the close of the
+year, with his heart on fire, the British general, Riall, crossed the
+river with 500 Indians and sacked Lewiston, Youngstown, Tuscarora and
+Manchester, only desisting from his excusable incendiarism when he had
+burned Buffalo and laid Black Rock in ashes. January 1st, 1814, was
+ushered in with the Cross of St. George floating over the battered
+ramparts of the American Fort Niagara.
+
+Thus ended the year of our Lord 1813, for ever memorable in North
+American history as a twelve months of almost incessant warfare, famous
+for its records of conspicuous courage, much military incompetence, and
+great and lamentable carnage. A year, notwithstanding its sheaf of
+blunders, that should be canonized by all true Canadians, for it was a
+year that emphasized in an astounding manner the pluck and bull-dog
+tenacity of the Canadian militiaman, disclosing his deep love for
+country that resisted unto death the lawless attacks of a wanton
+invader.
+
+
+
+
+THE CAMPAIGN OF 1814.
+
+In March, 1814, General Wilkinson again undertook the forlorn hope of
+capturing Canada, leading 5,000 men against 350 British, under Hancock,
+at Lacolle, on Lake Champlain. After five hours of red-hot fighting, he
+was compelled to fall back on Plattsburg. A month later Admiral Sir
+James Yeo and General Drummond, with 750 men, landed under the batteries
+at Oswego, and in the teeth of a sustained fire of cannon and musketry,
+"gathered in" that historic town and sixty prisoners.
+
+To and fro, like a pendulum, swayed the scene of action--to-day east,
+to-morrow west. Colonel Campbell and 500 American soldiers, with nothing
+better to do, made a bonfire of Port Dover, the incident being
+officially described by the U.S. War Department as "an error of
+judgment." Then General Brown, backed by an army of 6,000 U.S. veterans,
+swooped down like "a wolf on the fold" on Fort George, and annexed it
+and the garrison of 170 men. The British general, Riall, still
+possessing the fighting mania, and some 1,800 men, locked horns with
+General Brown and 3,000 of his veterans, and the Battle of Chippewa
+added another victory to the American record. The enemy then pillaged
+St. David's, while Riall--both sides having suffered heavily--retreated
+to the head of Lundy's Lane, a narrow roadway close to the Falls of
+Niagara, and stood at bay.
+
+Three weeks elapsed, when General Drummond, realizing Riall's danger,
+hastened from York to his assistance, reaching Lundy's Lane with 800 men
+at the moment that General Brown, with his reinforced army of over 4,000
+men, was within 600 yards of the British outposts. A moment later the
+contest was on, the bloodiest and probably the most brilliant battle of
+the whole campaign. It was a bitterly contested fight for seven hours--a
+death struggle for the survival of the fittest. During the first three
+hours the British force numbered only 1,640, until reinforced by 1,200
+additional combatants. All through the long hours of the black night the
+battle waged furiously. Charge succeeded charge, followed by the screams
+of the mutilated and the dead silence of the stricken. Over all boomed
+the muffled thunders of Niagara. The big guns, almost mouth to mouth,
+roared crimson destruction. Though bayonets were crossed, and the
+fighting was hand to hand and desperate, and sand and grass grew ghastly
+and slippery with the sheen of blood in the fitful moonlight, the
+British, notwithstanding the advantage in weight and numbers of the
+enemy, held their ground. When day was breaking, and the American
+general found his casualties exceeded one thousand, he withdrew his
+shattered army of invaders to Fort Erie. The British loss was 84 killed
+and 557 wounded. Lundy's Lane has been likened to the storming of St.
+Sebastian or the deathly duel at Quatre Bras. Both invaders and
+defenders exhibited heroism--worthy, in the case of the enemy, of a
+higher cause. General Drummond was wounded, and a son of General Hull,
+of Detroit notoriety, was among the killed.
+
+[Illustration: CENOTAPH, QUEENSTON HEIGHTS]
+
+Though the battle of Lundy's Lane, fought on July 25th, was the last
+great engagement in 1814, and practically ended the war, the campaign
+was not destined to close without an exhibition of constitutional
+timidity on the part of Prevost, the man with the liquid backbone. With
+11,000 seasoned veterans who had campaigned under Wellington, he
+advanced, September 14th, on Plattsburg, garrisoned by only 4,000
+Americans, and when victory smiled in his face, he actually ordered the
+retreat. Overcome with humiliation, his officers broke their swords,
+declaring they "could never serve again," and sullenly retraced their
+steps to the frontier. This was the crowning episode that destroyed
+Prevost's reputation. Death rescued him from the disgrace of
+court-martial.
+
+How clear-cut and free from blemish, in contrast with that of many of
+his contemporaries, stands out the brilliant record of Isaac Brock.
+
+The Treaty of Ghent--while satisfactory to the people of Canada,
+bringing as it did a cessation of hostilities, permanent peace, and
+recognition of their rights--was received with mixed satisfaction by
+both political parties in the United States, after the first flush of
+excitement had passed away. "What," the citizens asked each other,
+"have we gained by a war into which the country was dragged by President
+Madison in defence of free-trade and sailors' rights, and in opposition
+to paper blockades?"
+
+In the articles of peace, these vexed questions (as related in Chapters
+VIII. and XIV.)--questions which, as we have seen, were advanced by the
+United States Government as the _real cause for war_, were _not even
+mentioned_. Some worthy Americans, having suffered from the fighting
+qualities of the Canadian loyalists, publicly stated that the
+"declaration of peace had delivered them from great peril." In some of
+the States "the universal joy was so great," writes Gay, in his Life of
+Madison, "that Republicans and Democrats forgot their differences and
+hates and wept and laughed by turns in each others' arms, and kissed
+each other like women."
+
+Another United States historian (Johnston) writes that "peace secured
+not _one_ of the objects for which war had been declared, for, though
+Britain put a stop to the irritating ... practice of searching American
+vessels flying an American flag, she was not bound by the terms of the
+treaty to do so." In the words of another recorder (Taylor), "Britain
+ceased the practice of search, not on account of war, nor of the treaty,
+but because the necessity of doing so had passed away--the European war
+being over."
+
+
+
+
+WHAT OF CANADA?
+
+Canada, young as she was in the arts of peace and cruel practices of
+war, while honouring the memory of her heroes who had fallen in the
+splendid struggle against invasion, wasted no time in idle tears. The
+very atmosphere of her high northern latitude, the breath of life that
+rose from lake and forest, prairie and mountain, was fast developing a
+race of men with bodies enduring as iron and minds as highly tempered as
+steel. She drew another and a deeper breath, and, forecasting her
+destiny, with shoulders squared and fixed resolve, made ready to create
+an empire of industrial greatness which, under Providence, was to rank
+second to none.
+
+The influence of Brock's life, achievements and death upon the Canadian
+people was more far-reaching than boy, or even man, would suppose. It
+aroused in the people not only the questionable human desire to avenge
+his death, but an unexpressed resolve to emulate his high manliness, his
+fixity of purpose, and his well-ordered courage in defence of the right.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+It remains for the youth of Canada to proudly cherish the memory of
+Isaac Brock, and to never lose an opportunity to follow the example he
+set for them by his splendid deeds.
+
+[Illustration: BROCK'S MONUMENT]
+
+
+
+
+APPENDIX.
+
+EXPLANATORY NOTES ON THE ILLUSTRATIONS.
+
+
+NO. 1. FRONTISPIECE.
+
+_Major-General Sir Isaac Brock._
+
+Reproduction of a copy of the original water-color and chalk drawing in
+the possession of Sir Isaac Brock's great-niece, Miss Tupper, of Candee,
+Guernsey. Copied for Miss Agnes FitzGibbon, of Toronto, by Alyn
+Williams, President of the Miniature Painters' Association of Great
+Britain, 1897, and not hitherto published. Adjudged by relatives to be
+an exact facsimile of Williams' portrait. Miss FitzGibbon writes that
+"the original painting is on similar paper to that on which
+Major-General Brock's last general orders are written, the size
+corresponding to the space between the watermarks. Dated 1811." Artist
+unknown.
+
+
+NO. 2. FACING PAGE 11.
+
+"_St. Peter's Port, Guernsey, in 18×6._"
+
+By an unknown artist. (An × was frequently used for a "0" at that time.)
+The original drawing was found among a number of unframed prints in a
+collection obtained by John Naegely, Esq., who presented it to the
+Grange Club, Guernsey, in 1870. It now hangs over the mantelpiece in the
+club reception room. The original is drawn in very fine pencil and
+water-color--a style of art fashionable at that period. Photographed for
+Miss Agnes FitzGibbon in 1902. Brock's father's house, where our hero
+was born--now converted into a wholesale merchant's warehouse--stands at
+the point where two lines, drawn from the spots indicated by a cross (+)
+on the margin, would intersect. On the frame above the picture are the
+words, "_Guernsey in 18×6_"; below, "_Presented to the Grange Club by
+John Naegely, Esq., 9th March, 1870."_
+
+
+NO. 3. FACING PAGE 27.
+
+_Navy Hall, Remnant of the old "Red Barracks," Niagara, 1797._
+
+Navy Hall consisted of four buildings erected about 1787. One was
+altered in 1792 for Governor Simcoe. Another was fitted up for
+Parliament when it met at Newark (Niagara), 1792-1797. The building here
+shown was afterwards used for troops and called the "Red Barracks." From
+a photograph in possession of Miss Carnochan, Niagara.
+
+
+NO. 4. FACING PAGE 32.
+
+_Colonel James FitzGibbon._
+
+From a photograph in possession of Miss Agnes FitzGibbon, of Toronto,
+his granddaughter. Taken by his nephew, Gerald FitzGibbon, 10 Merrion
+Square, Dublin. Col. FitzGibbon was a _protégé_ of Brock's. First
+private, then the "faithful sergeant-major," then ensign, then adjutant
+of the 49th, the "hero of Beaver Dams" in the war of 1812,
+Adjutant-General of Canada, 1837, and Military Knight of Windsor, 1851.
+
+
+NO. 5. FACING PAGE 40.
+
+_Queenston Road, about 1824._
+
+Original water-color painting by Charles W. Jefferys, O.S.A., Toronto,
+from a photograph in possession of Miss Carnochan, showing the ruins of
+William Lyon Mackenzie's printing office, the _Colonial Advocate_, as it
+appeared twelve years after the battle of Queenston Heights.
+
+
+NO. 6. FACING PAGE 52.
+
+_Ruins of old Powder Magazine, Fort George._
+
+Photograph in possession of Miss Carnochan.
+
+
+NO. 7. FACING PAGE 64.
+
+_Brock's Cocked Hat._
+
+Water-color sketch by Harry Carter, Toronto, from photograph in
+possession of Miss Carnochan. (See foot-note on page 64.) Persons
+interested in military matters will observe that the white ostrich
+plumes, which show very slightly, are placed under the flaps, only the
+white edges appearing. This new style of feather display was, it is
+stated, in compliance with an order from the War Office, issued shortly
+before Brock's death. Previously the plumes were worn more
+conspicuously.
+
+
+NO. 8. FACING PAGE 75.
+
+_Butler's Barracks (Officers' Quarters), Niagara Common._
+
+View of officers' quarters. From photograph loaned by Miss Carnochan.
+
+
+NO. 9. FACING PAGE 96.
+
+_Our Hero meets Tecumseh._ "_This is a man_!"
+
+Original black and white drawing by Fergus Kyle, Toronto. See page 97.
+
+
+NO. 10. FACING PAGE 109.
+
+_Lieut.-Colonel John Macdonell._
+
+Reproduced, by permission, from A.C. Casselman's "Richardson's War of
+1812." From a silhouette in possession of John Alexander Macdonell,
+K.C., Alexandria, Ontario. Colonel Macdonell, who was provincial
+aide-de-camp to Brock, was member of Parliament for Glengarry and
+Attorney-General of Upper Canada. Died, October 14th, 1812, from wounds
+received at battle of Queenston Heights, aged 27.
+
+
+NO. 11. FACING PAGE 117.
+
+_Queenston Heights and Brock's Monument._
+
+As it appeared about 1830, excepting that the present monument has been
+substituted for the old one. Original water-color painting by C.M.
+Manly, A.R.C.A., Toronto, from a photograph in possession of Miss
+Carnochan.
+
+
+NO. 12. FACING PAGE 121.
+
+"_Major-General Brock, 18x6._"
+
+From a vignette photograph loaned by Miss FitzGibbon, Toronto, and now
+published for the first time in any Life of Brock. As doubt has been
+expressed by some admirers of Brock as to the authenticity of this
+portrait, Miss FitzGibbon's written endorsation is here quoted:
+
+"The photograph is from an original miniature portrait of Major-General
+(afterwards Sir) Isaac Brock, painted by J. Hudson, 18x6--1806--the date
+of General Brock's last visit to England. The miniature is now in
+possession of Miss S. Mickle, Toronto."
+
+This full-face vignette is of exceptional interest, all other portraits
+of Brock being in profile, and is likely to challenge preconceived
+notions.
+
+
+NO. 13. FACING PAGE 128.
+
+_Powder Magazine, Fort George, Niagara._
+
+This powder magazine was first built in 1796. Reproduced from a
+photograph in possession of Miss Carnochan, Niagara.
+
+
+NO. 14. FACING PAGE 135.
+
+_Brock's Midnight Gallop._
+
+Original water-color painting by Charles W. Jefferys, O.S.A., Toronto.
+As a matter of fact, the hour of Brock's gallop from Fort George to
+Queenston, as described in Chapter XXV., was not "midnight," but shortly
+before daybreak. It is this time, "between the lights," with sky and
+atmosphere aglow from the fire of the batteries, that the artist
+cleverly depicts.
+
+
+NO. 15. FACING PAGE 140.
+
+_Battle of Queenston Heights._
+
+Photographed in Guernsey, 1902, from a curious old print, from a sketch
+by a brother officer of Brock's--presumably Dennis. (See Explanatory
+Note to No. 18.) Loaned by Miss FitzGibbon. Original in possession of
+Miss Helen Tupper, Guernsey.
+
+
+NO. 16. FACING PAGE 156.
+
+_Death of Isaac Brock._
+
+Original water-color sketch by Charles W. Jefferys, O.S.A., Toronto.
+Shows our hero falling after being hit by the fatal bullet fired by an
+Ohio rifleman, while courageously heading the charge in the attempt to
+recapture the redan.
+
+
+NO. 17. FACING PAGE 159.
+
+_Brock's Coat, worn at Queenston Heights._
+
+From photograph, loaned by Miss FitzGibbon, of the coat worn by Brock at
+Queenston Heights, showing the hole made by the entry of the fatal
+bullet. Photographed, 1902, from the original in the possession of Miss
+Tupper, of Guernsey.
+
+
+NO. 18. FACING PAGE 161.
+
+_Battle of Queenston._
+
+Facsimile drawing by Harry Carter, Toronto, of an old sketch credited to
+Major Dennis (page 161), which appears on an early map of Upper Canada,
+published by O.G. Steele--presumably of Buffalo--in 1840. Underneath the
+original print are the following words, reproduced _verbatim_:
+
+
+     "BATTLE OF QUEENSTON.
+     AFTER A SKETCH BY MAJOR DENNIS,
+     13TH OCT., 1813,
+
+
+Which ended in a complete victory on the part of the British, having
+captured 927 men, killed or wounded about 500, taken 1,400 stand of
+arms, a six-pounder, and a stand of colors."
+
+(See, also, Explanatory Note to No. 15.)
+
+
+NO. 19. FACING PAGE 163.
+
+_Plan of Battle of Queenston._
+
+Reproduced from an historical pamphlet loaned by Mrs. Currie, of
+Niagara, showing the plan of battleground, disposition of troops, and
+topography of adjacent country.
+
+
+NO. 20. FACING PAGE 170.
+
+_Taking of Niagara, May 27th, 1813._
+
+From a sketch which appeared in the Philadelphia _Portfolio_, 1817.
+Interesting from the fact that it is the only picture known which shows
+the churches of St. Mark's and St. Andrew's, Niagara (Newark), Canadian
+side, and the lighthouse which, built in 1803, stood on the spot where
+Fort Mississauga now stands.
+
+
+NO. 21. FACING PAGE 172.
+
+_Cenotaph, Queenston Heights._
+
+Erected near the spot where Brock fell. It bears the following
+inscription:
+
+
+       "NEAR THIS SPOT
+        MAJOR-GENERAL
+    SIR ISAAC BROCK, K.C.B.,
+PROVISIONAL LIEUTENANT-GOVERNOR OF
+        UPPER CANADA,
+   FELL ON 13TH OCTOBER, 1812,
+  WHILE ADVANCING TO REPEL THE
+       INVADING ENEMY."
+
+
+
+NO. 22. FACING PAGE 174.
+
+_Brock's Monument._
+
+On October 13th, 1824, the remains of Brock and his gallant aide,
+Macdonell, were removed from the bastion at Fort George and placed in a
+vault beneath the monument which had been erected on Queenston Heights
+by the Legislature to commemorate our hero's death. On Good Friday,
+April 17th, 1840, this monument was shattered by an explosion of
+gunpowder placed within the basement by a rebel of 1837 named Lett. In
+1853 the cornerstone of a new monument, as shown at page 174, the cost
+of which was borne by the people of Canada, was erected on the same
+spot, and on October 13th, forty-one years after the British victory at
+Queenston, and the anniversary of Brock's splendid death, the remains of
+the two heroes were re-interred and deposited in two massive stone
+sarcophagi in the vault of the new monument. On the two oval silver
+plates on Brock's coffin was inscribed the following epitaph:
+
+
+  "HERE LIE THE EARTHLY REMAINS OF A BRAVE
+            AND VIRTUOUS HERO,
+      MAJOR-GENERAL SIR ISAAC BROCK,
+     COMMANDER OF THE BRITISH FORCES,
+        AND PRESIDENT ADMINISTERING
+      THE GOVERNMENT OF UPPER CANADA,
+WHO FELL WHEN GLORIOUSLY ENGAGING THE ENEMIES
+             OF HIS COUNTRY,
+    AT THE HEAD OF THE FLANK COMPANIES
+          OF THE 49TH REGIMENT,
+        IN THE TOWN OF QUEENSTON,
+  ON THE MORNING OF THE 13TH OCTOBER, 1812,
+              AGED 42 YEARS.
+
+                             J.B. GLEGG, A.D.C."
+
+
+
+
+
+
+End of Project Gutenberg's The Story of Isaac Brock, by Walter R. Nursey
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+    <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html;charset=iso-8859-1" />
+    <title>
+      The Project Gutenberg eBook of The Story Of Isaac Brock, by Walter R. Nursey
+    </title>
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+<pre>
+
+The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Story of Isaac Brock, by Walter R. Nursey
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: The Story of Isaac Brock
+       Hero, Defender and Saviour of Upper Canada, 1812
+
+Author: Walter R. Nursey
+
+Release Date: March 20, 2006 [EBook #18025]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE STORY OF ISAAC BROCK ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Steven Gibbs, Martin Pettit and the Online
+Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net
+
+
+
+
+
+
+</pre>
+
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_i" id="Page_i">[Pg i]</a></span></p>
+
+<h2>THE STORY OF</h2>
+
+<h1>ISAAC BROCK</h1>
+
+<p class="center"><a name="frontispiece.jpg" id="frontispiece.jpg"></a><img src="images/frontispiece.jpg" width='407' height='550' alt="Isaac Brock-frontispiece" /></p>
+
+<h3>HERO, DEFENDER AND SAVIOUR OF<br />UPPER CANADA<br />1812</h3>
+
+<h3>BY</h3>
+
+<h2>WALTER R. NURSEY</h2>
+
+<div class="poem">
+<div class='stanza'><div>"By his unrivalled skill, by great</div>
+<div>And veteran service to the state,</div>
+<div>By worth adored,</div>
+<div>He stood, in high dignity,</div>
+<div>The proudest knight of chivalry,</div>
+<div>Knight of the Sword."</div>
+<div class='right'>&mdash;<i>Coplas de Manrique.</i></div></div>
+</div>
+
+<h3>TORONTO:<br />WILLIAM BRIGGS<br />1908</h3>
+
+<hr />
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_ii" id="Page_ii">[Pg ii]</a></span></p>
+
+<h4>Copyright, Canada, 1908, by <span class="smcap">Walter R. Nursey</span>.</h4>
+
+<hr />
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_iii" id="Page_iii">[Pg iii]</a></span></p>
+<h2><a name="A_WORD_TO_THE_READER" id="A_WORD_TO_THE_READER"></a>A WORD TO THE READER</h2>
+
+<p>That Isaac Brock is entitled to rank as the foremost defender of the
+flag Western Canada has ever seen, is a statement which no one familiar
+with history can deny. Brock fought and won out when the odds were all
+against him.</p>
+
+<p>At a time when almost every British soldier was busy fighting Napoleon
+in Europe, upon General Brock fell the responsibility of upholding
+Britain's honour in America. He was "the man behind the gun"&mdash;the
+undismayed man&mdash;when the integrity of British America was threatened by
+a determined enemy.</p>
+
+<p>His success can be measured by the fact that it is only since the war of
+1812-14 that the British flag has been properly respected in the western
+hemisphere. It is also a fact that after the capture of Detroit the
+Union Jack became more firmly rooted in the affections of the Canadian
+people than ever.</p>
+
+<p>It must not be forgotten that the capture of this stronghold was almost
+as far-reaching in its ultimate effect as the victory of Wolfe on the
+Plains of Abraham, and was fraught with little, if any, less import to
+Canada.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_iv" id="Page_iv">[Pg iv]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>What with the timidity of Prevost, and the tactical blunders of both
+himself and Sheaffe, the immediate influence upon the enemy of the
+victories at Detroit and Queenston was almost nullified. Had Brock
+survived Queenston, or even had his fixed, militant policy been allowed
+to prevail from the first, it is safe to say there would have been no
+armistice, no placating of a clever, intriguing foe, and no two years'
+prolongation of the war. Had the capitulation of Detroit, the crushing
+defeat at Queenston, and the wholesale desertion of Wadsworth's cowardly
+legions at Lewiston, been followed up by the British with relentless
+assault "all along the line"&mdash;before the enemy had time to recover his
+grip&mdash;then our hero's feasible plan, which he had pleaded with Prevost
+to permit, namely, to sweep the Niagara frontier and destroy Sackett's
+Harbor&mdash;the key to American naval supremacy of the lakes&mdash;could, there
+is no good reason to doubt, have been carried out. The purpose of this
+little book is not, however, to deal in surmises.</p>
+
+<p>The story of Sir Isaac Brock's life should convey to the youth of Canada
+a significance similar to that which the bugle-call of the trumpeter,
+sounding the advance, conveys to the soldier in the ranks. Reiteration
+of Brock's deeds should help to develop a better appreciation of his
+work, a truer conception of his heroism, a wiser understanding of his
+sacrifice.</p>
+
+<p>Many a famous man owes a debt of inspiration to some<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_v" id="Page_v">[Pg v]</a></span> other great life
+that went before him. Not until every boy in Canada is thoroughly
+familiar with "Master Isaac's" achievements will he be qualified to
+exclaim with the Indian warrior, Tecumseh,</p>
+
+<p class='center'>"THIS IS A MAN."</p>
+
+<p class='right'>W .R. N.</p>
+
+<p>Toronto, October, 1908.</p>
+
+<p><span class="smcap">Note</span>.&mdash;Of the hundred and more books and documents consulted in
+a search for facts I would register my special obligations to Tupper's
+"Life of Brock"; Auchinleck's "History of the War of 1812-14";
+Cruikshank's "Documentary History," and Richardson's "War of 1812"
+(edited by Casselman).</p>
+
+<hr />
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_vii" id="Page_vii">[Pg vii]</a></span></p>
+<h2><a name="CONTENTS" id="CONTENTS"></a>CONTENTS</h2>
+
+<div class="index">
+<ul>
+<li><span class="mono">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</span>&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="#A_WORD_TO_THE_READER"><span class="smcap">A Word To The Reader</span></a></li>
+<li><span class="mono">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</span>&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="#LIST_OF_ILLUSTRATIONS"><span class="smcap">List Of Illustrations</span></a></li>
+<li>&nbsp;&nbsp;<span class="smcap">Chapter</span></li>
+<li><span class="mono">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="#CHAPTER_I">I.</a></span>&nbsp;&nbsp;<span class="smcap">Our Hero's Home&mdash;Guernsey</span></li>
+<li><span class="mono">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="#CHAPTER_II">II.</a></span>&nbsp;&nbsp;<span class="smcap">School and Pastimes</span></li>
+<li><span class="mono">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="#CHAPTER_III">III.</a></span>&nbsp;&nbsp;<span class="smcap">From Ensign to Colonel</span></li>
+<li><span class="mono">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="#CHAPTER_IV">IV.</a></span>&nbsp;&nbsp;<span class="smcap">Egmont-op-Zee and Copenhagen</span></li>
+<li><span class="mono">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="#CHAPTER_V">V.</a></span>&nbsp;&nbsp;<span class="smcap">Brock in Canada</span></li>
+<li><span class="mono">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="#CHAPTER_VI">VI.</a></span>&nbsp;&nbsp;<span class="smcap">Bridle-Road, Batteau and Canoe</span></li>
+<li><span class="mono">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="#CHAPTER_VII">VII.</a></span>&nbsp;&nbsp;<span class="smcap">Mutiny and Desertion</span></li>
+<li><span class="mono">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="#CHAPTER_VIII">VIII.</a></span>&nbsp;&nbsp;<span class="smcap">France, the United States and Canada</span></li>
+<li><span class="mono">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="#CHAPTER_IX">IX.</a></span>&nbsp;&nbsp;<span class="smcap">Fur-Traders and Habitants</span></li>
+<li><span class="mono">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="#CHAPTER_X">X.</a></span>&nbsp;&nbsp;<span class="smcap">The Massacre at Mackinaw</span></li>
+<li><span class="mono">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="#CHAPTER_XI">XI.</a></span>&nbsp;&nbsp;<span class="smcap">Little York, Niagara, Amherstburg</span></li>
+<li><span class="mono">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="#CHAPTER_XII">XII.</a></span>&nbsp;&nbsp;<span class="smcap">Major-General Brock, Governor of Upper Canada</span></li>
+<li><span class="mono">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="#CHAPTER_XIII">XIII.</a></span>&nbsp;&nbsp;<span class="smcap">The War Cloud</span></li>
+<li><span class="mono">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="#CHAPTER_XIV">XIV.</a></span>&nbsp;&nbsp;<span class="smcap">The United States of America Declares War</span></li>
+<li><span class="mono">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="#CHAPTER_XV">XV.</a></span>&nbsp;&nbsp;<span class="smcap">Brock Accepts Hull's Challenge</span></li>
+<li><span class="mono">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="#CHAPTER_XVI">XVI.</a></span>&nbsp;&nbsp;"<span class="smcap">En Avant, Detroit!</span>"</li>
+<li><span class="mono">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="#CHAPTER_XVII">XVII.</a></span>&nbsp;&nbsp;<span class="smcap">Our Hero Meets Tecumseh</span></li>
+<li><span class="mono">&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="#CHAPTER_XVIII">XVIII.</a></span>&nbsp;&nbsp;<span class="smcap">An Indian Pow-wow</span></li>
+<li><span class="mono">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="#CHAPTER_XIX">XIX.</a></span>&nbsp;&nbsp;<span class="smcap">The Attack on Detroit</span></li>
+<li><span class="mono">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="#CHAPTER_XX">XX.</a></span>&nbsp;&nbsp;<span class="smcap">Brock's Victory</span></li>
+<li><span class="mono">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="#CHAPTER_XXI">XXI.</a></span>&nbsp;&nbsp;<span class="smcap">Chagrin in the United States</span></li>
+<li><span class="mono">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="#CHAPTER_XXII">XXII.</a></span>&nbsp;&nbsp;<span class="smcap">Prevost's Armistice</span></li>
+<li><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_viii" id="Page_viii">[Pg viii]</a></span><span class="mono">&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="#CHAPTER_XXIII">XXIII.</a></span>&nbsp;&nbsp;"<span class="smcap">Hero, Defender, Saviour</span>"</li>
+<li><span class="mono">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="#CHAPTER_XXIV">XXIV.</a></span>&nbsp;&nbsp;<span class="smcap">Brock's Last Council</span></li>
+<li><span class="mono">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="#CHAPTER_XXV">XXV.</a></span>&nbsp;&nbsp;<span class="smcap">The Midnight Gallop</span></li>
+<li><span class="mono">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="#CHAPTER_XXVI">XXVI.</a></span>&nbsp;&nbsp;<span class="smcap">The Attack on the Redan</span></li>
+<li><span class="mono">&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="#CHAPTER_XXVII">XXVII.</a></span>&nbsp;&nbsp;<span class="smcap">Van Rensselaer's Camp</span></li>
+<li><span class="mono">&nbsp;<a href="#CHAPTER_XXVIII">XXVIII.</a></span>&nbsp;&nbsp;<span class="smcap">A Foreign Flag Flies on the Redan</span></li>
+<li><span class="mono">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="#CHAPTER_XXIX">XXIX.</a></span>&nbsp;&nbsp;<span class="smcap">The Battle of Queenston Heights</span></li>
+<li><span class="mono">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="#CHAPTER_XXX">XXX.</a></span>&nbsp;&nbsp;<span class="smcap">The Death of Isaac Brock</span></li>
+<li><span class="mono">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</span>&nbsp;&nbsp;<span class="smcap"><a href="#SUPPLEMENT">Supplement</a></span></li>
+<li><span class="mono">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</span>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<span class="smcap"><a href="#AFTER_BROCKS_DEATH">After Brock's Death</a></span></li>
+<li><span class="mono">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</span>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<span class="smcap"><a href="#SUBSEQUENT_EVENTS_OF_THE_CAMPAIGN_OF_1812">Subsequent Events of the Campaign of 1812</a></span></li>
+<li><span class="mono">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</span>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<span class="smcap"><a href="#THE_CAMPAIGN_OF_1813">The Campaign of 1813</a></span></li>
+<li><span class="mono">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</span>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<span class="smcap"><a href="#THE_CAMPAIGN_OF_1814">The Campaign of 1814</a></span></li>
+<li><span class="mono">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</span>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<span class="smcap"><a href="#WHAT_OF_CANADA">What of Canada?</a></span></li>
+<li><span class="mono">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</span>&nbsp;&nbsp;<span class="smcap"><a href="#APPENDIX">Appendix</a></span></li>
+<li><span class="mono">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</span>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<span class="smcap">Explanatory Notes on the Illustrations</span></li>
+</ul>
+</div>
+
+<hr />
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_ix" id="Page_ix">[Pg ix]</a></span></p>
+<h2><a name="LIST_OF_ILLUSTRATIONS" id="LIST_OF_ILLUSTRATIONS"></a>LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS</h2>
+
+<div class="index">
+<ul>
+<li><a href="#frontispiece.jpg"><span class="smcap">Portrait of Major-General Sir Isaac Brock</span></a></li>
+<li><a href="#fp011.jpg"><span class="smcap">"View of St. Peter's Port, Guernsey</span>, 18 x 6"</a></li>
+<li><a href="#fp027.jpg"><span class="smcap">Navy Hall, Remnant of the Old "Red Barracks," Niagara</span>, 18 x 6</a></li>
+<li><a href="#fp032.jpg"><span class="smcap">Portrait of Colonel James FitzGibbon</span></a></li>
+<li><a href="#fp040.jpg"><span class="smcap">View of Queenston Road, about</span> 1824</a></li>
+<li><a href="#fp052.jpg"><span class="smcap">Ruins of old Powder Magazine, Fort George</span></a></li>
+<li><a href="#fp064.jpg"><span class="smcap">Brock's Cocked Hat</span></a></li>
+<li><a href="#fp075.jpg"><span class="smcap">Butler's Barracks (Officers' Quarters), Niagara Common</span></a></li>
+<li><a href="#fp096.jpg"><span class="smcap">Our Hero Meets Tecumseh. "This is a Man!"</span></a></li>
+<li><a href="#fp109.jpg"><span class="smcap">Lieut.-Colonel John Macdonell</span></a></li>
+<li><a href="#fp117.jpg"><span class="smcap">View of Queenston Heights and Brock's Monument</span></a></li>
+<li><a href="#fp121.jpg"><span class="smcap">"Portrait of Major-General Brock</span>, 18 X 6"</a></li>
+<li><a href="#fp128.jpg"><span class="smcap">Powder Magazine, Fort George, Niagara</span></a></li>
+<li><a href="#fp135.jpg"><span class="smcap">Brock's Midnight Gallop</span></a></li>
+<li><a href="#fp140.jpg"><span class="smcap">Battle of Queenston Heights.</span> From an old Print</a></li>
+<li><a href="#fp156.jpg"><span class="smcap">Death of Isaac Brock</span></a></li>
+<li><a href="#fp159.jpg"><span class="smcap">Brock's Coat, worn at Queenston Heights</span></a></li>
+<li><a href="#fp161.jpg"><span class="smcap">Battle of Queenston.</span> From an old Sketch</a></li>
+<li><a href="#fp163.jpg"><span class="smcap">Plan of Battle of Queenston</span></a></li>
+<li><a href="#fp170.jpg"><span class="smcap">Taking of Niagara, May 27th, 1813.</span> From an old Print</a></li>
+<li><a href="#fp172.jpg"><span class="smcap">Cenotaph, Queenston Heights</span></a></li>
+<li><a href="#fp174.jpg"><span class="smcap">Brock's Monument</span></a></li>
+</ul>
+</div>
+
+<blockquote><p><span class="smcap">Note</span>.&mdash;For full description of above illustrations, see <a href="#APPENDIX">Appendix</a>.</p></blockquote>
+
+<hr />
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_11" id="Page_11">[Pg 11]</a></span></p>
+
+<h1>THE STORY OF ISAAC BROCK</h1>
+
+<hr />
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_I" id="CHAPTER_I"></a>CHAPTER I.</h2>
+
+<h3>OUR HERO'S HOME&mdash;GUERNSEY.</h3>
+
+<p>Off the coast of Brittany, where the Bay of Biscay fights the white
+horses of the North Sea, the Island of Guernsey rides at anchor. Its
+black and yellow, red and purple coast-line, summer and winter, is awash
+with surf, burying the protecting reefs in a smother of foam. Between
+these drowned ridges of despair, which warn the toilers of the sea of an
+intention to engulf them, tongues of ocean pierce the grim chasms of the
+cliffs.</p>
+
+<p>Between this and the sister island of Alderney the teeth of the Casquets
+cradle the skeleton of many a stout ship, while above the level of the
+sea the amethyst peaks of Sark rise like phantom bergs. In the sunlight
+the rainbow-coloured slopes of Le Gouffre jut upwards a jumble of glory.
+Exposed to the full fury of an Atlantic gale, these islands are
+well-nigh obliterated in drench. From where the red gables cluster on
+the heights of Fort George, which overhang the harbour, to the thickets
+of Jerbourg, valley and plain, at the time we write of, were a gorgeous
+carpet of anemones, daffodils, primroses and poppies.</p>
+
+<p class="center"><a name="fp011.jpg" id="fp011.jpg"></a><img src="images/fp011.jpg" width='600' height='397' alt="View of St. Peter's Port, Guernsey" /></p>
+
+<p class="center">"<span class="smcap">View of St. Peter's Port, Guernsey</span>, 18 x 6"</p>
+
+<p>These are tumultuous latitudes. Sudden hurricanes,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_12" id="Page_12">[Pg 12]</a></span> with the
+concentrated force of the German Ocean behind them, soon scourge the sea
+into a whirlpool and extinguish every landmark in a pall of gray. For
+centuries tumult and action have been other names for the Channel
+Islands. It is no wonder that the inhabitants partake of the nature of
+their surroundings. Contact with the elements produces a love for
+combat. As this little book is largely a record of strife, and of one of
+Guernsey's greatest fighting sons, it may be well to recall the efforts
+that preceded the birth of our hero and influenced his career, and
+through which Guernsey retained its liberties.</p>
+
+<p>For centuries Guernsey had been whipped into strife. From the raid upon
+her independence by David Bruce, the exiled King of Scotland, early in
+1300, on through the centuries up to the seventeenth, piping times of
+peace were few and far between. The resources of the island led to
+frequent invasions from France, but while fighting and resistance did
+not impair the loyalty of the islanders, it nourished a love of freedom,
+and of hostility to any enemy who had the effrontery to assail it. As a
+rule the sojourn of these invaders was brief. When sore pressed in a
+pitched battle on the plateau above St. Peter's Port, the inhabitants
+would retreat behind the buttresses of Castle Cornet, when, as in the
+invasion by Charles V. of France, the fortress proving impregnable, the
+besiegers would collect their belongings and sail away.</p>
+
+<p>In the fourteenth century Henry VI. of England, in consideration of a
+red rose as annual rental, conveyed the entire group to the Duke of
+Warwick. But strange privileges were from time to time extended to these
+audacious people. Queen Elizabeth proclaimed the islands a world's<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_13" id="Page_13">[Pg 13]</a></span>
+sanctuary, and threw open the ports as free harbours of refuge in time
+of war. She authorized protection to "a distance on the ocean as far as
+the eye of man could reach." This act of grace was cancelled by George
+the Third, who regarded it as a premium on piracy. In Cromwell's time
+Admiral Blake had been instructed to raise the siege of Castle Cornet.
+He brought its commander to his senses, but only after nine years of
+assault, and not before 30,000 cannon-balls had been hurled into the
+town.</p>
+
+<p>Late in the fourteenth century, when the English were driven out of
+France, not a few of those deported, who had the fighting propensity
+well developed, made haste for the Channel Islands, where rare chances
+offered to handle an arquebus for the King. Among those who sought
+refuge in Guernsey there landed, not far from the Lion's Rock at Cobo,
+an English knight, Sir Hugh Brock, lately the keeper of the Castle of
+Derval in Brittany, a man "stout of figure and valiant of heart." This
+harbour of refuge was St. Peter's Port.</p>
+
+<div class="poem">
+<div class='stanza'><div>"Within a long recess there lies a bay,</div>
+<div>An island shades it from the rolling sea,</div>
+<div>And forms a port."</div></div>
+</div>
+
+<p>The islet that broke the Atlantic rollers was Castle Cornet. Sir Hugh
+Brock, or Badger in the ancient Saxon time&mdash;an apt name for a tenacious
+fighter&mdash;shook hands with fate. He espied the rocky cape of St.
+Jerbourg, and ofttimes from its summit he would shape bold plans for the
+future, the maturing of which meant much to those of his race destined
+to follow.</p>
+
+<p>The commercial growth of the Channel Islands has been<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_14" id="Page_14">[Pg 14]</a></span> divided into five
+periods, those of fishing, knitting (the age of the garments known as
+"jerseys" and "guernseys"), privateering, smuggling, and agriculture and
+commerce. To the third period belong these records. The prosperity of
+the islands was greatest from the middle of the seventeenth century up
+to the overthrow of Napoleon at Waterloo and the close of Canada's
+successful fight against invasion in 1815. During this period the
+building of ships for the North Atlantic and Newfoundland trade opened
+new highways for commerce, but the greatest factor in this development
+was the "reputable business" of privateering, which must not be
+confounded either with buccaneering or yard-arm piracy. It was only
+permitted under regular letters of marque, was ranked as an honorable
+occupation, and those bold spirits, the wild "beggars of the sea"&mdash;who
+preferred the cutlass and a roving commission in high latitudes to
+ploughing up the cowslips in the Guernsey valleys, or knitting striped
+shirts at home&mdash;were recognized as good fighting men and acceptable
+enemies.</p>
+
+<p>Trade in the islands, consequent upon the smuggling that followed and
+the building of many ships, produced much wealth, creating a class of
+newly rich and with it some "social disruption."</p>
+
+<p>Notable in the "exclusive set," not only on account of his athletic
+figure and handsome face, but for his winning manners and ability to
+dance, though but a boy, was Isaac Brock. Isaac&mdash;a distant descendant of
+bold Sir Hugh&mdash;was the eighth son of John Brock, formerly a midshipman
+in the Royal Navy, a man of much talent and, like his son, of great
+activity. Brock, the father, did<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_15" id="Page_15">[Pg 15]</a></span> not enjoy the fruit of his industry
+long, for in 1777, in his 49th year, he died in Brittany, leaving a
+family of fourteen children. Of ten sons, Isaac, destined to become "the
+hero and defender of Upper Canada," was then a flaxen-haired boy of
+eight.</p>
+
+<p>Anno Domini 1769 will remain a memorable one in the history of the
+empire. Napoleon, the conqueror of Europe, and Wellington, the conqueror
+of Napoleon, were both sons of 1769. This same year Elizabeth de Lisle,
+wife of John Brock, of St. Peter's Port, bore him his eighth son, the
+Isaac referred to, also ordained to become "a man of destiny." Isaac's
+future domain was that greater, though then but little known, dominion
+beyond the seas, Canada&mdash;a territory of imperial extent, whose resources
+at that time came within the range of few men's understanding. Isaac
+Brock, as has been shown, came of good fighting stock, was of clean
+repute and connected with most of the families of high degree on the
+Island. The de Beauvoirs, Saumarez, de Lisles, Le Marchants, Careys,
+Tuppers and many others distinguished in arms or diplomacy, were his
+kith and kin. His mind saturated with the stories of the deeds of his
+ancestors, and possessed of a spirit of adventure developed by constant
+contact with soldiers and sailors, it was but natural that he became
+cast in a fighting mould and that "to be a soldier" was the height of
+his ambition.</p>
+
+<p>Perhaps Isaac Brock's chief charm, which he retained in a marked degree
+in after life&mdash;apart from his wonderful thews and sinews, his stature
+and athletic skill&mdash;was his extreme modesty and gentleness. The fine old
+maxim of the child being "father to the man" in his case held good.</p>
+
+<hr />
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_16" id="Page_16">[Pg 16]</a></span></p>
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_II" id="CHAPTER_II"></a>CHAPTER II.</h2>
+
+<h3>SCHOOL AND PASTIMES.</h3>
+
+<p>Guernsey abounded in the natural attractions that are dear to the youth
+of robust body and adventurous nature. Isaac, though he excelled in
+field sports and was the admiration of his school-fellows, was
+sufficiently strong within himself to find profit in his own society. In
+the thickets that overlooked Houmet Bay he found solace apart from his
+companions. There he would recall the stories told him of the prowess of
+his ancestor, William de Beauvoir, that man of great courage, a Jurat of
+the royal court. Even here he did not always escape intruders. Outside
+the harbour of St. Peter's Port, separated by an arm of the sea, rose
+the Ortach Rock, between the Casquets and "Aurigny's Isle," a haunted
+spot, once the abode of a sorcerer named Jochmus. To secure quiet he
+would frequently visit this isolated place, in spite of the resident
+devil, the devil-fish, or the devil-strip of treacherous water which ran
+between.</p>
+
+<p>He was not ten when, to the amazement of his friends in imitation of
+Leander but without the same inducements, he swam the half mile to the
+reefs of Castle Cornet and back again, through a boiling sea and
+rip-tides that ran like mill-races. This performance he repeated again
+and again. For milder amusement he would tramp to the water-lane that
+stole through the Moulin Huet, a bower of red roses and perfume, or walk
+by moonlight to<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_17" id="Page_17">[Pg 17]</a></span> the mystic cromlechs, where the early pagans and the
+warlocks and witches of later days flitted round the ruined altars.</p>
+
+<p>Though Isaac was self-contained and resolute he had a restless spirit.
+Fearless, without a touch of the braggart, his courage was of the
+valiant order, the quality that accompanies a lofty soul in a strong
+body. For his constant courtesy and habit of making sacrifices for his
+friends, he was in danger of being canonized by his school-fellows.</p>
+
+<p>About this time, shortly after his father's death, it was suggested he
+should leave the Queen Elizabeth School on the Island and study at
+Southampton. Here he tried his best, boy though he was, to live up to
+the standard of what he had been told were his obligations as a
+gentleman, acquiring, too, a little book-learning and much every-day
+knowledge.</p>
+
+<p>Isaac's holidays, always spent in his beloved Guernsey, increased the
+thirst for adventure. The spirit of conquest, the controlling influence
+of his after life, grew upon him. Something accomplished, something
+done, was the daily rule. To scale an impossible cliff with the wings of
+circling sea-fowl beating in his face, to land a big conger eel without
+receiving a shock, to rescue a partridge from a falcon, to shoot a
+rabbit at fifty paces, to break a wild pony, or even to scan a
+complicated line in his syntax&mdash;these were achievements, small perhaps,
+but typical of his desire. His young soul was stirred; the blood coursed
+in his veins as the sap courses in the trees of the forest in spring;
+his mind, susceptible to the influences of nature, was strengthened and
+purified by these pursuits.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_18" id="Page_18">[Pg 18]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>In the shelter of silent trossach, on wind-swept height, or on wildest,
+ever-restless sea, he would, as the mood seized him, take his solitary
+outings. These jaunts, he told his mother, gave him time to reflect and
+resolve. It was not strange that he selected a profession that presented
+the opportunities he craved.</p>
+
+<hr class='smler' />
+
+<p>England with folded arms was at peace. The Treaty of Versailles had
+terminated the disastrous war with America. The independence of the
+"Thirteen States" had been recognized. The world was drawing a long
+breath, filling its fighting lungs, awaiting the death struggle with
+Napoleon for the supremacy of Europe. Yet the spirit of war lingered in
+the air. It even drifted on the breeze across the Channel to Guernsey,
+and filtered through the trees that crowned the Lion's Rock at Cobo. It
+invaded the valleys of the Petit Bot and stirred the bulrushes in the
+marshes of Havelet. The pulse of our hero throbbed with the subtle
+infection. Not with the brute lust for other men's blood, but with the
+instinct of the true patriot to shed, if need be, his own blood to
+maintain the right. He would follow the example of his ancestors and
+fight and die, if duty called him, in defence of king and country.</p>
+
+<p>The sweet arrogance of youth uplifted him. Earth, air and water
+conspired to encourage him. To satisfy this unspoken craving for action
+he would, from his outlook on the Jerbourg crags&mdash;where bold Sir Hugh
+had sat for just such purpose years before&mdash;watch the Weymouth luggers
+making bad weather of it beyond the Casquets;<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_19" id="Page_19">[Pg 19]</a></span> or challenge in his own
+boat the rip-tides between Sark and Brechou, and the combers that romped
+between St. Sampson and the Isle of Herm.</p>
+
+<p>There was no limit to this boy's hardihood and daring. The more furious
+the gale the more congenial the task. Returning from these frequent
+baptisms of salt water, his Saxon fairness and Norman freshness aglow
+with spray, he would loiter on the beach to talk to the kelp gatherers
+raking amid the breakers, and to watch the mackerel boats, reefed down,
+flying to the harbour for shelter. The crayfish in the pools would tempt
+him, he would try his hand at sand-eeling, or watch the surf men feed a
+devil-fish to the crabs. Then up the gray benches of the furrowed
+cliffs, starred with silver lichens and stone-crop, to where ploughmen
+were leaving glistening furrows in the big parsnip fields. Then on
+through the tangle of sweet-briar, honeysuckle and wild roses, where
+birds nested in the perfumed foliage, until, the summit reached,
+surrounded by purple heather and golden gorse, he would look on the sea
+below, with Sark, like a "basking whale, burning in the sunset." Then he
+would hurry to tell his mother of the day's exploits, retiring to dream
+of strange lands and turbulent scenes, in which the roll of drums and
+roar of cannon seemed never absent.</p>
+
+<p>With his youthful mind possessed with the exploits of the King's
+soldiers in Europe and America, and influenced by his brother John's
+example&mdash;then captain in the 8th Regiment of the line&mdash;Isaac pleaded
+successfully to enter the army. To better prepare for this all-important
+step, and to become proficient in French, a necessary accomplishment, it
+was arranged, though he was only fifteen, to<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_20" id="Page_20">[Pg 20]</a></span> place him with a
+Protestant clergyman in Rotterdam for one year, to complete his
+education.</p>
+
+<p>His vacations now were few; his visits to the Island flying ones. But
+the old life still fascinated him. His physique developed as the weeks
+flew by, and he became more and more a striking personality. This was
+doubly true, for while he remained the champion swimmer, he was also the
+best boxer of his class, besides excelling in every other manly sport.
+In tugs-of-war and "uprooting the gorse" he had no equals, but a sense
+of his educational deficiencies kept him at his books.</p>
+
+<p>He had only passed his sixteenth birthday when, one wild March morning
+in 1785, he was handed an important-looking document. It was a parchment
+with the King's seal attached, his commission of ensign in the 8th
+Regiment. Isaac at once joined the regimental depot in England. It was
+evident that his lack of learning would prove a barrier to promotion. He
+found that much of the leisure hitherto devoted to athletic sports must
+be given to study. Behind "sported oak," while dust accumulated on
+boxing-glove and foil&mdash;neither the banter of his brother officers nor
+his love for athletics inducing him to break the resolution&mdash;he bent to
+his work with a fixity of purpose that augured well for his future.</p>
+
+<p>In every man's life there are milestones. Isaac Brock's life may fairly
+be divided into five periods. When he crossed the threshold of his
+Guernsey home and donned the uniform of the King he passed his <i>first</i>
+milestone.</p>
+
+<hr />
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_21" id="Page_21">[Pg 21]</a></span></p>
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_III" id="CHAPTER_III"></a>CHAPTER III.</h2>
+
+<h3>FROM ENSIGN TO COLONEL.</h3>
+
+<p>In every young man's career comes a time of probation. During this
+critical period that youth is wise who enters into a truce with his
+feelings. This is the period when influences for good or bad assert
+themselves&mdash;the parting of the ways. The sign-posts are painted in
+capitals.</p>
+
+<p>When Brock buttoned his scarlet tunic and strapped his sword on his hip,
+as fine a specimen of a clean-bodied, clean-minded youth as ever trod
+the turnpike of life, he knew that he was at the cross-roads. The trail
+before him was well blazed, but straight or crooked, rough or smooth,
+valley or height, it mattered little so long as he kept nourished the
+bright light of purpose that burned steadily within him.</p>
+
+<p>Five years of uneventful service, chiefly in England, passed by, and our
+hero was celebrating his coming of age. His only inheritance was health,
+hope and courage. While neither monk nor hermit, he had so far been as
+steadfast as the Pole Star in respect to his resolutions. He had allowed
+nothing to induce him to break the rules engraved on brass that he had
+himself imposed. His mind had broadened, his spirits ran high, his
+conscience told him that he was graduating in the world's university
+with honour. His love for athletics still continued. He had the thews of
+a gladiator, and in his Guernsey stockings stood six feet two inches.
+Add to this an honest counten<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_22" id="Page_22">[Pg 22]</a></span>ance, with much gentleness of manner and
+great determination, and you have a faithful picture of Isaac Brock.</p>
+
+<p>Upon obtaining his lieutenancy he returned to Guernsey, raised an
+independent company, and exchanged into the 49th, the Royal Berkshires,
+then stationed in Barbadoes. He now found himself looking at life under
+new conditions. While the beauties of Barbadoes enchanted him, his
+duties as a soldier were disappointing. They were limited to drill,
+dress parade, guard mounting, the erection of new fortifications, and
+patrolling the coast for vessels carrying prohibited cargoes.</p>
+
+<p>Under the terms of a treaty made at Paris in 1773, United States produce
+for British West Indian ports could only be carried by British subjects
+in British ships. Britain's men-of-war were also authorized to seize any
+vessel laden with produce for or from any French colony. Brock was a
+soldier, not a policeman, and coast-guard duties palled upon him. His
+great diversion was in calculating the probabilities of invasion by the
+French. In expectation of this, the refortifying of the island was in
+progress. The memory of Admiral d'Estaing's visit with his fleet from
+Toulon, and the capture of St. Vincent, sent a chill through the island.
+The great victory by the British Admiral Rodney, when he whipped a
+superior French fleet to a standstill, was yet to come. Bastions and
+earthworks grew during the night like mushrooms. While Brock chafed
+under restraint, he knew how to improve the opportunity.</p>
+
+<p>Fishing, shooting sea-fowl, and exploring the interior on horseback,
+were Brock's chief pastimes. He became a fearless horseman. Mount
+Hillaby rose 1,200 feet above<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_23" id="Page_23">[Pg 23]</a></span> the Caribbean Sea. The very crest of its
+almost impossible pinnacle Brock is said to have ascended on horseback.
+Between Bridgetown, in Barbadoes, and Kingston, Jamaica, he divided his
+time, and though monotonous, his life in the Windward Islands was not
+wholly void of adventure.</p>
+
+<p>Shortly after joining his regiment at Bridgetown our hero had his first
+affair of honour, an opportunity to display his courage under most
+trying conditions. A certain captain in the 49th was a confirmed
+duellist, with a reputation of being a dead shot at short range. Resting
+upon his evil record, this braggart had succeeded in terrorizing the
+garrison, and it was soon Brock's turn to be selected for insult. But
+Isaac could not be bullied or intimidated. He promptly challenged and
+was as promptly accepted.</p>
+
+<p>The fateful morning arrived. In a lonely spot, palm-sheltered, and
+within sight of the sea breaking upon the coral reefs, principals and
+seconds met. There was no question in Brock's mind as to his duty&mdash;the
+duello at that time was the recognized court of appeal. If its purpose
+as originally designed had at times been infamously abused, it was still
+the one and only arbiter through which insults had to be purged and from
+which, for the "officer and gentleman," there was no escape.</p>
+
+<p>Now Isaac, who was several inches taller and much bulkier than the
+scoundrel who had insulted him, declined to become a shining mark at the
+regulation twelve paces. He demanded from his fire-eating antagonist
+that the duel proceed on equal terms. Whipping out his kerchief, cool as
+a cucumber, his blue eyes steady and resolute, he insisted that <i>they
+both fire across it</i>. The fairness of the proposal<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_24" id="Page_24">[Pg 24]</a></span> staggered the bully.
+The chances were not sufficiently one-sided. If this plan was acted upon
+he might himself be killed. He refused to comply. The code of honour and
+garrison approval sustained Brock in his contention, and the refusal of
+the professional killer to fight under even chances was registered in
+the mess-room as the act of a coward, and he left the regiment by
+compulsion.</p>
+
+<p>In Jamaica the continued strain of inactivity under which our hero
+fretted told upon him, and he was struck down with fever, his cousin,
+Henry Brock, lieutenant in the 13th Foot, dying in Kingston of the same
+pestilence. At this time Isaac had as servant a soldier named Dobson,
+one of those faithful souls who, true as steel, once installed in their
+master's affection, remain loyal to the end. To the untiring attentions
+of this man Brock owed his life. Deep and mutual respect followed, and
+the two became inseparable. Where Brock went, there was Dobson, sharing
+his fortune and all the hard knocks of his military campaigns, a
+fellowship ending only with Dobson's death, shortly before his "beloved
+master" gave up his life on Queenston Heights.</p>
+
+<p>Tropical malaria is hard to shake off. Release from duty was imperative,
+and as England was now calling for recruits, the War Office summoned
+Brock, an alluring sample of a soldier, to whom was assigned the task of
+licking the fighting country bumpkin&mdash;the raw material&mdash;into shape. This
+he did, first in England, then in Guernsey and Jersey. A vision of our
+hero, glorious in his uniform, was in itself sufficient to ensnare the
+senses of any country yokel. It was a militant age.</p>
+
+<p>When quartered in Guernsey, and from the same heights<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_25" id="Page_25">[Pg 25]</a></span> of Jerbourg where
+but a few years before he was wont to sweep the ocean for belated
+fishing smacks, Brock saw his kinsman, Sir James Saumarez, and the white
+canvas of a small squadron, heave in sight from Plymouth Roads. The
+British sailor had been ordered to ascertain the strength of the French
+fleet. Saumarez' ships were far slower than those of the enemy, so,
+feigning the greatest desire to fight, he lured his opponent by a clever
+ruse. First he closed with him, and then, when his own capture seemed
+inevitable, hauled his wind, slipped through a maze of reefs by an
+intricate passage&mdash;long familiar to our hero&mdash;and found safety off La
+Vazon, where the Frenchmen dare not follow.</p>
+
+<p>In June, 1795, Brock purchased his majority, but retained his command of
+the recruits. From toes to finger-tips Isaac was a soldier, bent on
+mastering every detail of the profession of his choice. A year after the
+return of the 49th to England, on the completion of his 28th year, he
+became by purchase senior lieutenant-colonel of his regiment. High
+honour and rapid promotion, considering that for five out of seven
+years' service he had remained an ensign. He had learned to recognize
+opportunity, the earthly captain of a man's fate.</p>
+
+<div class="poem">
+<div class='stanza'><div>"For every day I stand outside your door,</div>
+<div>And bid you wake and rise to fight and win."</div></div>
+</div>
+
+<p>But Brock's position was no sinecure. The regiment was in a badly
+demoralized condition. The laxity of the late commanding officer had
+created a deplorable state of things. To restore the lost <i>morale</i> of
+the corps was his first duty.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_26" id="Page_26">[Pg 26]</a></span> The thoroughness of his reforms can be
+best understood by quoting the words of the Duke of York, who declared
+that "out of one of the worst regiments in the service Colonel Brock had
+made the 49th one of the best."</p>
+
+<p>From the Commander-in-Chief of a nation's army to a colonel&mdash;not yet
+thirty&mdash;of a marching regiment, this was an exceptional tribute.</p>
+
+<p>Isaac's persistent endeavours were rapidly bringing their own reward.</p>
+
+<hr />
+<p class="center"><a name="fp027.jpg" id="fp027.jpg"></a><img src="images/fp027.jpg" width='600' height='406' alt="Navy Hall, Remnant of the Old Red Barracks, Niagara" /></p>
+
+<p class="center">"<span class="smcap">Navy Hall, Remnant of the Old "Red Barracks," Niagara</span>, 18 x 6"</p>
+
+<hr />
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_27" id="Page_27">[Pg 27]</a></span></p>
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_IV" id="CHAPTER_IV"></a>CHAPTER IV.</h2>
+
+<h3>EGMONT-OP-ZEE AND COPENHAGEN.</h3>
+
+<p>Meanwhile the war cloud in Europe was growing apace. Holland had been
+forced into an alliance with France. War, no longer a spectre, but a
+grim monster, stalked the Continent. Everywhere the hostile arts of
+Bonaparte were rousing the nations. The breezes that had stirred the
+marshes of Havelet and awakened in Brock a sense of impending danger,
+now a furious gale, swept the empires. The roll of drums and roar of
+cannon that Isaac had listened to in his boyhood dreams were now
+challenging in deadly earnest. The great <i>reveille</i> that was awakening
+the world was followed by the British buglers calling to arms the
+soldiers of the King.</p>
+
+<p>Notwithstanding the aversion of the English prime minister, Pitt, to
+commence hostilities, war was unavoidable. One of the twelve battalions
+of infantry selected for the front was the 49th. When the orders were
+read for the regiment to join the expedition to Holland, wild excitement
+prevailed in barracks. Active service had come at last. The parting of
+Brock with his family was softened by maternal pride in his appearance.</p>
+
+<p>The tunic of the 49th was scarlet, with short swallow-tails. The rolling
+lapels were faced with green, the coat being laced with white, with a
+high collar. The shako, which was originally surmounted by white
+feathers with black tips, a distinction for services in the American
+war<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_28" id="Page_28">[Pg 28]</a></span> of 1776, at Bunker's Hill and Brandywine, was, at Brock's special
+request, replaced by a black plume. The officers wore their hair turned
+up behind and fastened with a black "flash." The spectacle of Master
+Isaac thus arrayed, in all the glory of epaulets and sabretache and the
+gold braid of a full colonel, reconciled the inhabitants of St. Peter's
+Port to his departure.</p>
+
+<p>By the end of August the first division of the British army, of which
+the 49th was a unit, was aboard the transports in the Zuyder Zee, off
+the coast of Holland, and early one morning, under the command of Sir
+Ralph Abercrombie, with blare of trumpets and standards flying, they
+effected a landing under the guns of the ships of the line, of which,
+with frigates and sloops, there were well-nigh sixty. Brock had often
+listened to the roar of shot and shell in target practice and sham
+fight, but of a cannonade of artillery, where every shrieking
+cannon-ball was probably a winged messenger of death, this was his first
+experience. He now learned that in the music of the empty shell of
+experiment and the wicked screech of the missiles of war there was an
+unpleasant difference. He did not wince, but sternly drew himself
+together, thought of home, begged God's mercy, and awaited the command
+to advance with an impatience that was physical pain.</p>
+
+<p>By four in the afternoon the Hilder Peninsula and its batteries had been
+taken, but with a loss to the British of a thousand men. Brock could
+scarcely believe that the enemy had retreated. This, however, was merely
+a taste of war. The second division having arrived, the whole force of
+nearly 20,000 men, under the Duke of York, started to make history. In
+the last days of a stormy<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_29" id="Page_29">[Pg 29]</a></span> September 16,000 Russian allies reached the
+scene. The fourth brigade, which included the 49th, was under the
+command of General Moore&mdash;Sir John Moore, of Corunna fame. For several
+weeks the waiting troops were encamped in the sand-hills without canvas
+and exposed to biting storms. The capture of the city of Horn without
+resistance hardly prepared our hero and his men for the stout opposition
+at the battle of Egmont-op-Zee that followed.</p>
+
+<p>Brock's brother, Savery, a paymaster to the brigade, though by virtue of
+his calling exempt from field service, insisted on joining the fighting
+line, acting as aide to Sir Ralph Abercrombie.</p>
+
+<p>Every record, every line written or in print concerning Brock, from
+first to last, all prove that the keynote of his success, the ruling
+impulse of his life, was promptness and action. So, at Egmont, no sooner
+did the bugle sound the advance than he was off with his men like a
+sprinter at the crack of the pistol. Others might follow; he would lead.
+They were part of the advance guard of a column of 10,000 men. The enemy
+was in front in superior numbers, but their weakness lay in underrating
+the courage of the British. They had been taught to consider English
+soldiers the most undisciplined rabble in the world!</p>
+
+<p>This was a factor unknown and unheeded by Brock. All that he knew was
+that an obstacle barred the way.</p>
+
+<hr class='smler' />
+
+<blockquote><p>"Steady, the 49th!"</p></blockquote>
+
+<hr class='smler' />
+
+<p>The loud, clear notes of the leader rang above rasping of scabbards and
+suggestive clank of steel. The men straightened. A suppressed
+exclamation ran along the line<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_30" id="Page_30">[Pg 30]</a></span> and died to a whisper. Whispers faded
+into silence. A fraction of a second, perhaps, and then, high above the
+stillness, when British and French alike were silently appealing to the
+God of battles, over steaming dyke and yellow sand-dunes rose once more
+in trumpet tones the well-known voice, "Charge, men, and use your
+bayonets with resolution!" No rules were followed as to the order of
+going&mdash;the ground, to use Brock's words, was too rough, "like a sea in a
+heavy storm"&mdash;but the dogs of war were let loose. The quarry was at bay.
+Another instant and the air was split with yells, the clash of naked
+steel and screams of agony. Then cheer upon cheer, as the British swept
+irresistibly on, and the enemy, declining to face the glittering
+bayonets and unable to resist the impact of the English, wavered, broke
+and retreated.</p>
+
+<p>The shedding of men's blood by man is never an edifying spectacle. The
+motive that prompts the attack or repels it, the blind obedience that
+entails the sacrifice, the retribution that follows, are more or less
+understandable. What of the compensation? There may be times when a pure
+principle is at stake and must be upheld despite all hazards, but there
+are times when there is no principle at stake whatever. These
+considerations, however, have no place in the soldier's manual. They are
+questions for the court, not the camp, and cannot be argued on the
+battlefield. The soldier is not invited to reason why, though many an
+unanswerable question by a dying hero has been whispered in the
+trenches.</p>
+
+<p>There was much carnage at Egmont-op-Zee, and many a 49th grenadier "lost
+the number of his mess." Isaac directly after the fight wrote to his
+brothers that "Noth<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_31" id="Page_31">[Pg 31]</a></span>ing could exceed the gallantry of his men in the
+charge." To his own wound he referred in his usual breezy and impersonal
+way. "I got knocked down," he said, "soon after the enemy began to
+retreat, but never quitted the field, and returned to my duty in less
+than half an hour."</p>
+
+<p>We must appeal to his brother Savery for the actual facts. "Isaac was
+wounded," said Savery, in reply to a request for particulars, "and his
+life was in all probability preserved by the stout cotton handkerchief
+which, as the air was very cold, he wore over a thick black silk cravat,
+both of which were perforated by a bullet, and which prevented it
+entering his neck. The violence of the blow, however, was so great as to
+stun and dismount him, and his holsters were also shot through."</p>
+
+<p class="center"><a name="fp032.jpg" id="fp032.jpg"></a><img src="images/fp032.jpg" width='439' height='550' alt="Portrait of Colonel James FitzGibbon" /></p>
+
+<p class="center"><span class="smcap">Portrait of Colonel James FitzGibbon</span></p>
+
+<p>That the action had been a hot one can be best judged by the official
+returns. Out of 391 rank and file of the 49th in the field, there were
+110 casualties&mdash;30 killed, 50 wounded and 30 missing. Savery Brock
+shared the honours with his brother. Oblivious to a hurricane of
+bullets, he rode from sand-hill to sand-hill, encouraging the men until
+his truancy was noticed and he was halted by Isaac. "By the Lord Harry,
+Master Savery," shouted the colonel, loud as he could pitch his powerful
+voice, as the big paymaster strode by, his horse having been shot under
+him, "did I not order you, unless you remained with the General, to stay
+with your iron chest? Go back, sir, immediately." To which Savery
+answered, playfully, "Mind your regiment, Master Isaac. You surely would
+not have me quit the field now." Of this intrepid brother Isaac wrote,
+"Nothing could surpass Savery's activity and gallantry." Another of the
+wounded at Egmont was Lord<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_32" id="Page_32">[Pg 32]</a></span> Aylmer, afterwards Governor-General of
+British North America. The loss of the enemy was estimated at 4,000. Two
+weeks later the British troops&mdash;while suffering intensely from severe
+weather&mdash;met with a reverse in the field, to which, through a
+misunderstanding of orders, their Russian allies contributed. The Duke
+of York was ordered to evacuate the country. The campaign had resulted
+in much experience and high honour for Brock. Quick to perceive and
+learn, his powers of observation on the field had enriched his mind with
+lessons in the tactics of war never to be forgotten.</p>
+
+<p>In the ranks of the 49th was a young Irishman of superior talents. Brock
+was not slow to discover his abilities, and "with a discrimination that
+honoured both," he later appointed this combative private
+sergeant-major. Still later he procured him an ensigncy in the 49th,
+finally appointing him adjutant, promotion that the ability and
+gallantry of James FitzGibbon, a Canadian veteran of 1812, and the "hero
+of Beaver Dams" (Adjutant-General of Canada, 1837, and Military Knight
+of Windsor, 1851), amply justified.</p>
+
+<p>If Brock was quick to appreciate merit, he was no less so in detecting
+defects. The Russian soldiers came in for scathing criticism. The type
+at Egmont impressed him most unfavourably. The clumsy Russian
+foot-soldier was his special aversion. The accuracy of his criticism has
+been confirmed by military writers, but this book is not for the purpose
+of weighing the quality of Russian valour in Holland. Six thousand of
+these Russian allies, the lateness of the season preventing their return
+home, were later quartered for six months in Guernsey.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_33" id="Page_33">[Pg 33]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>While our hero was a severe military critic, he was never an unjust one,
+neither did he spare his own men. Though not a martinet, which was
+foreign to every fibre of his nature, he was a stickler for rigid
+discipline. When the expedition was recalled, he was first quartered in
+Norwich, and then at the old familiar barracks of St. Helier, in Jersey.
+On his return to the latter place, in 1800, after leave of absence, he
+found that the junior lieutenant-colonel of the 49th&mdash;Colonel
+Sheaffe&mdash;had incurred the reasonable dislike of the men. The regiment
+was drawn up on the sands for morning parade, standing at ease. In
+company with this unpopular officer Brock appeared upon the scene. He
+was greeted with three hearty cheers. The personal honour, however, was
+lost sight of in the act of disobedience. Rebuking the men severely for
+"their most unmilitary conduct," they were marched to quarters and
+confined to barracks for a week. He would not, he explained, allow
+public exaltation of himself at the expense of another.</p>
+
+<p>The next year found our hero in the Baltic Sea, aboard the <i>Ganges</i>,
+detailed for active duty as second in command of the land forces that
+under Lord Nelson were ordered to the attack on Copenhagen. It was
+intended that Brock, with the 49th, should lead in storming the
+Trekroner (Three Crown) battery, in conjunction with five hundred
+seamen; but the heroic defence by the Danes rendered the attempt
+impracticable, and Brock remained on the <i>Ganges</i>, an unwilling
+spectator of bloodshed in which he took no part. Towards the close of
+the engagement&mdash;the heaviest pounding match in history&mdash;he was on the
+<i>Elephant</i>, Nelson's flagship, and saw the hero of<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_34" id="Page_34">[Pg 34]</a></span> Trafalgar write his
+celebrated letter to the Crown Prince of Denmark.</p>
+
+<p>As at Egmont, the irrepressible conduct of Savery Brock on the <i>Ganges</i>
+gave our hero much concern. Savery, as a former midshipman, was of
+course a gunner. While training a quarter-deck gun on the Trekroner
+battery his hat was blown from his head and he was knocked down by the
+rush of wind from a grapeshot. Seeing this, Brock exclaimed, "Ah, poor
+Savery! He is indeed dead." But, to use his own words, it was only "the
+hot air from the projectile that had 'floored' him." Previous to this he
+had driven Isaac almost demented by stating his intention of joining the
+storming party and sharing his brother's danger. "Is it not enough that
+one brother should be killed or drowned?" said Isaac. But Savery
+persisted until, at Isaac's request, the commander of the <i>Ganges</i> kept
+the paymaster quiet by stratagem. "Master Savery," said he, "you simply
+<i>must</i> remain with us. I appoint you captain of the gun. It will amuse
+you."</p>
+
+<p>The loss of the Danes at Copenhagen was placed at 6,000, including
+prisoners. The British killed and wounded numbered 943, more than fell
+at the Battle of the Nile. Part of this loss is charged to a criminal
+misconception of military etiquette. To a line officer who asked where
+his men should be stationed, the captain of the battleship replied, that
+as soldiers were no good with big guns, and as the forts were out of
+musket range, he should "send them between decks." This, said the
+infantryman, "would be eternal disgrace." In deference to this brutal
+conception of military ethics, the men were drawn up on the gangway and,
+standing at attention, were allowed to be<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_35" id="Page_35">[Pg 35]</a></span> mowed down by Danish
+grapeshot. The 49th, on its return to England from Copenhagen,
+thoroughly initiated in the cruel cult of war, was ordered to
+Colchester.</p>
+
+<p>Isaac Brock, with the bay-leaves of distinction on his brow, and his
+heart touched but not dismayed at the ferocity of war, had passed the
+<i>second</i> milestone of his life.</p>
+
+<hr />
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_36" id="Page_36">[Pg 36]</a></span></p>
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_V" id="CHAPTER_V"></a>CHAPTER V.</h2>
+
+<h3>BROCK IN CANADA.</h3>
+
+<p>Isaac Brock received with regret his orders to proceed with the 49th to
+Canada. Europe was still in the clutches of war. Great opportunities
+awaited the soldier of fortune in the struggle waging in the Peninsula.
+The prospect for military advancement in Canada was not encouraging.
+America was at peace. Canada was but slowly developing. While her
+exports of lumber and fish attracted the attention of the British
+merchant, her great resources were unknown except to the fur trader and
+the few United States speculators whose cupidity kept pace with their
+knowledge. Though the known sympathy of the United States for France was
+regarded as a possible excuse for hostility towards England, as yet this
+sympathy had found no official utterance, hence the outlook from a
+soldier's standpoint was far from desirable. Brock's life in the West
+Indies had created a distaste for garrison duty. While a past master in
+the details of barrack life, his career under arms had created an
+aversion for the grind of drill and parade.</p>
+
+<p>Life in the high latitudes of Canada would present a clean-cut contrast
+to tropical Barbadoes, but it was out of harmony with his ambition, and,
+judging by his spirits, he might have been embarking for penal servitude
+at Botany Bay rather than for the land which was to bring him lasting
+fame. Even the attentions of the devoted<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_37" id="Page_37">[Pg 37]</a></span> Dobson, who had just filled
+his pipe, did not serve to arouse him. Brock's depression was
+short-lived. His optimism and faith banished gloomy thoughts. The ship
+had hardly dropped the last headland of the Irish coast when the winds
+bred in Labrador awoke the Viking strain in him and filled his soul with
+hope. The swinging seas of this northern ocean revived thoughts of the
+long-ago exploits of Sebastian Cabot, the discoverer of Newfoundland,
+and of his own sea-dog ancestors, those rough-riders of the sea who had
+defied the banks of Sable Island and returned to St. Peter's Port with
+their rich cargoes of contraband, looking innocent as kittens, while the
+ship was bursting with fur, fin and feather. So, pipe in mouth, with the
+frigate close-hauled, watching her bows splintering the sea into a
+million jewels, he left care behind, and thenceforward his busy brain
+was forming plans that would soften his exile in that land of chilling
+promise he was approaching.</p>
+
+<p>He had been told to expect magnificent scenery, but was quite unprepared
+for the picture that the Gulf of St. Lawrence unfolded. The Straits of
+Belle Isle, the Magdalen Islands, the brazen bosom of the Bay of Chaleur
+that had allured Jacques Cartier 265 years before, the might of the
+noble river and the glorious vista of the citadel and frowning heights
+of Quebec, where Wolfe and Montcalm fell&mdash;the ancient Stadacona framed
+in the sunset&mdash;amazed him. A presage of coming conflict crowded his
+brain.</p>
+
+<hr class='smler' />
+
+<blockquote><p>"Manfully tell me the truth."</p></blockquote>
+
+<hr class='smler' />
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_38" id="Page_38">[Pg 38]</a></span>Carr, an educated soldier of the 49th, was hesitating. Desertions had
+been frequent at Quebec, and discipline <i>must</i> be restored. Stepping up,
+with hand clenched, the officer continued, "Don't lie! Tell the truth
+like a man. You know I have ever treated you kindly." The confession of
+intended desertion followed. "Go, then," said Colonel Brock,&mdash;"go and
+tell your deluded comrades everything that has passed here, and also
+that I will still treat every man of you with kindness, and then you may
+desert me if you please."</p>
+
+<p>During the three years of his command at Montreal, York, Fort George and
+Quebec, though mutiny was epidemic in both Europe and America, Brock had
+lost but one man by desertion. He had won the loyalty of the rank and
+file. FitzGibbon said of him that "he created by his judicious praise
+the never-failing interest of the men in the ranks." His accurate
+knowledge of human nature served him in the graver experiences of life
+which followed. His stay in Quebec was short. A study of the ancient
+citadel and its incomplete fortifications occupied his time. In the
+summer of 1803 he was stationed at York, a hamlet carved out of the
+backwoods, sustaining a handful of people, but famous as the
+gathering-place of many wise men. He found that desertions in Upper
+Canada had become too frequent. The temptations offered by a long line
+of frontier easy of access, and the desperate discipline in the army,
+had led to much brutality in the way of punishments.</p>
+
+<p>Such were the conditions in Upper Canada when Brock reached York.
+Shortly after his arrival six men, influenced by an artificer, stole a
+military batteau and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_39" id="Page_39">[Pg 39]</a></span> started across the lake to Niagara. By midnight
+Brock, with his trusty sergeant-major and the ever-watchful Dobson, in
+another batteau with twelve men, passed out of the western gap in hot
+pursuit of the defaulters. Though the night was calm the trip was
+perilous. Before them stretched a waste of water, but our hero was in
+his element. He was living over again his daring visits to the Casquets
+through the furious seas that raced between St. Sampson and the Isle of
+Herm.</p>
+
+<p>The crew was divided into "watches," six taking an hour's "breather"
+while the other six rowed, hour and hour about, alternately rowing and
+resting. When the wind served they hoisted their big square sail, our
+hero at the tiller. On this occasion there was little wind, and "Master
+Isaac," for example's sake, and "to keep my biceps and fore-arm in good
+condition"&mdash;as he told the sergeant-major&mdash;took his regular spells at
+the oar. On arriving at Fort George, Colonel Hunter, Governor and
+Commandant, rebuked him for rashly venturing across the lake in an open
+boat, "a risk," he said, "never before undertaken."<a name="FNanchor_1_1" id="FNanchor_1_1"></a><a href="#Footnote_1_1" class="fnanchor">[1]</a> The expedition,
+however, was successful, for the deserters were surprised on the
+American shore and made prisoners.</p>
+
+<div class="footnotes"><h3>FOOTNOTE:</h3>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_1_1" id="Footnote_1_1"></a><a href="#FNanchor_1_1"><span class="label">[1]</span></a> Lake Ontario was crossed from Toronto to the wharf at the
+mouth of the Niagara River in an ordinary double-scull, lap-strake
+pleasure-skiff, by the writer and another Argonaut&mdash;Herbert
+Bartlett&mdash;one unruly morning in the summer of 1872. Though a risky row,
+and not previously attempted, it was not regarded as a remarkable feat
+by the performers.</p></div>
+</div>
+
+<hr />
+<p class="center"><a name="fp040.jpg" id="fp040.jpg"></a><img src="images/fp040.jpg" width='600' height='390' alt="View of Queenston Road, about 1824" /></p>
+
+<p class="center"><span class="smcap">View of Queenston Road, about</span> 1824</p>
+
+<hr />
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_40" id="Page_40">[Pg 40]</a></span></p>
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_VI" id="CHAPTER_VI"></a>CHAPTER VI.</h2>
+
+<h3>BRIDLE-ROAD, BATTEAU AND CANOE.</h3>
+
+<p>The means for transit through Canada at this time was most primitive,
+and not the least of the questions which occupied Brock's thoughts was
+the important one of transportation. The lack of facilities for moving
+large bodies of men and supplies, in event of war, was as apparent as
+was the lack of vessels of force on lake and river.</p>
+
+<p>Between Quebec and Montreal, a distance of sixty leagues, the overland
+journey was divided into twenty-four stages, requiring four relays of
+horse-caleches in summer and horse-carioles in winter. The time occupied
+was three days, and the rate for travellers twenty-five cents a league.
+This rough road&mdash;which entailed numerous ferries in summer at the Ottawa
+and at Lake St. Francis, except for a break of fifty miles&mdash;led by
+Cornwall and Prescott to Kingston, along which route United Empire
+Loyalists twenty years before had established themselves.</p>
+
+<p>A few years prior to Brock's arrival, Governor Simcoe, with the men of
+the Queen's Rangers, had cut a roadway through the dense forest between
+Prescott and Burlington, at the head of Lake Ontario. From Ancaster, the
+then western limit of the U.E. Loyalists' settlement, this road
+traversed the picturesque region that surrounded the Mohawk village on
+the Grand River, where Joseph Brant, the famous warrior, was encamped
+with his Six Nation Indians. From this point it penetrated the roll<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_41" id="Page_41">[Pg 41]</a></span>ing
+lands of the western peninsula, to the La Trenche (the Thames River),
+from whence Lake St. Clair and the Detroit outlet to the great lakes was
+reached by water. Another military road, also built by Simcoe, followed
+the old Indian trail through thirty-three miles of forest from York to
+Lake Simcoe. This shorter route to Lake Superior enabled the North-West
+Fur Company&mdash;established by Frobisher and McTavish, of Montreal, in
+1776&mdash;to avoid canoeing up the Ottawa and its tortuous tributaries. The
+batteaux were brought up the St. Lawrence, breaking bulk at certain
+"carrying places," then under sail up Lake Ontario to York. From here
+the cargoes were hauled by horses over Yonge's military road to Lake
+Simcoe, thence by river and stormy Lake Huron to Fort Michilimackinac,
+Great Turtle Island&mdash;the Mackinaw of to-day&mdash;at the head of Lake
+Michigan. By this route fifty dollars was saved on every ton of freight
+from Ottawa to the middle north. At Mackinaw the goods were reshipped by
+bark canoe to the still remoter regions in the further West, where
+Spanish pedlars on the southern tributaries of the lower Mississippi
+traded with the Akamsea Indians in British goods distributed from
+Mackinaw.</p>
+
+<p>The records of these trips through a wilderness of forest and stream,
+with their exhilarating hardships, had a singular fascination for Isaac
+Brock. It was not long before he had won, with his conquering ways and
+robust manhood, the allegiance of the big-hearted fur-traders in
+Montreal. Their wild legends of the great fur country rang in his ears,
+and his receptive mind was soon stored with the exploits of Radisson and
+Groseillers, Joliette, Marquette, and other famous pathfinders, with
+whose<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_42" id="Page_42">[Pg 42]</a></span> exploits a century and a half before, aided by his fluency in
+French, he became wonderfully familiar.</p>
+
+<p>He found the evolution of the Canadian highway a subject of absorbing
+interest. From his Caughnawaga guides he learned how the tracks made by
+lynx and beaver, rabbit and wolverine, wolf and red deer&mdash;invariably the
+safest and firmest ways&mdash;were in turn naturally followed by Indian
+voyageur and fur-trader, until the blazed trail became the bridle-road
+for the pack-horse of the pioneer. This, as the white settler drifted
+in, became the winter-road; then, as civilization stifled the call of
+the wild, there uprose from swamp and muskeg the crude corduroy,
+expanding by degrees into the half-graded highway, until the turnpike
+and toll-bar, with its despotic keeper, exacted its tribute from
+progress. This was the prelude to a still more amazing transformation,
+for the day soon came, though not in our hero's time, when the drumming
+of the partridge was silenced by the choo-choo of the locomotive as it
+shrieked through forest and beaver-meadow on its way to vaster tracks,
+further and further west, disclosing and leaving in its trail an empire
+of undreamed-of fertility. Then the redman, disturbed in his solitudes,
+was confronted with civilization, and had to accept the terms of
+conquest or seek another sanctuary in the greater wilderness beyond.</p>
+
+<p>The navigation of the lakes and rivers at this time was limited to three
+types of vessel, the "snow," a three-master with a try-sail abaft the
+mainmast, the schooner, the batteau and the birch canoe, and, in closely
+land-locked waters, the horse ferry. The Durham boat, a batteau on a
+larger scale with false keel, had yet to be introduced. The bark<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_43" id="Page_43">[Pg 43]</a></span> canoe,
+which for certain purposes has never been improved upon&mdash;not even
+excepting the cedar-built canoe&mdash;varied in size from nine to thirty
+feet, or, in the language of the voyageur, from one and a half to five
+fathoms. These canoes had capacity for a crew of from one to thirty men,
+or a cargo of seventy "pieces" of ninety pounds each, equal to three
+tons, exclusive of provisions for nine paddlers. In these arks of
+safety, manned by Indians or <i>metis</i> (half-breeds), the fur-trader would
+leave Lachine, on the St. Lawrence, ascend the Ottawa, descend the
+French, cross Lake Huron&mdash;the Lake Orleans of Nicollet and Hennepin&mdash;and
+find no rest from drench or riffle until he reached Mackinaw, or more
+distant Fort Dearborn (now Chicago), on the Skunk River, at the head of
+Lake Michigan, 1,450 miles by water from Quebec.</p>
+
+<p>The batteaux&mdash;great, open, flat-bottomed boats, forty feet long and
+eight feet beam, pointed at stem and stern&mdash;were not unlike the York
+boats used in Lord Wolseley's Red River expedition in 1870, and would
+carry five tons of cargo. Rigged with a movable mast stepped almost
+amid-ships, and a big lug-sail, these greyhounds of the lakes were, for
+passengers in our hero's time, often the only means of water transport
+between Quebec and Little York. As important factors in the transport of
+soldiers and munitions in the war of 1812, they deserve description.</p>
+
+<p>While sailing well when before the wind, they yet, with their defective
+rig and keelless bottoms, carrying no weather helm, made little headway
+with the wind close abeam. On one occasion Isaac Brock left Lachine with
+a brigade of five batteaux, so that all hands could unite in making the
+portages. At the Cascades, the Milles Roches<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_44" id="Page_44">[Pg 44]</a></span> and the Cedars,
+three-quarters of the cargo had to be portaged by the packmen. At times
+these lightened boats were poled or tracked through the broken water,
+towed by the men, from such foothold as the rocky banks afforded, by
+means of a long lariat tied to the boat's bow, with loops over each
+trackman's shoulder, one man steering with a long sweep. When this
+treadmill work was impossible, owing to too steep banks, and where no
+batteau locks existed, the crew hauled the boats across the portage on a
+skidway of small rolling logs, and, so journeying, Prescott was reached.
+Here, the wind being favourable, lug-sails were hoisted and Brock's
+strange fleet started for Kingston, reaching it after twelve days' toil
+from Lachine, then coasting further along Lake Ontario to Little York
+(Toronto). When wind failed, the long oars were used, the men rising
+from the thwarts to pull, standing. Thus, alternately sitting and
+rising, pulling in unison, the light-hearted voyageurs would break into
+one of their wild French chants, quaint with catching refrain, in which
+our hero soon learned to join.</p>
+
+<p>At Prescott Brock sometimes took the Government schooner, paying two
+guineas for a trip, which might last a week, or caught one of the small
+"two-stickers" that carried freight between Kingston and Queenston. If
+much pressed for time, the batteau would be exchanged for a caleche&mdash;the
+stage-coach was as yet only a dream&mdash;and he would resign himself to a
+rude jolting over the colonization road through the forest that flanked
+the rugged northern shore of Lake Ontario.</p>
+
+<p>These trips were a never-failing source of surprise and profit. The
+skill of the canoemen, the strength and endur<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_45" id="Page_45">[Pg 45]</a></span>ance of the packmen,
+excited his admiration. What wonderful raw material! Given drill and
+discipline, what might not be achieved on the frontier with such
+craftsmen! The muscles, all whipcord, of these rugged Canadians, part
+<i>coureur de bois</i>, part scout, amazed him. One thing was not so evident
+as he could have wished. Their love seemed to be more for race and
+language, home and wilderness, than for King and country. Perhaps, as he
+said, if the safety of their homes were threatened, they would develop
+patriotism of the highest type.</p>
+
+<p>But, after all, as to kings, "Who," they naively asked him, "was their
+king? Surely they must be under two flags and two kings. Napoleon or
+George? <i>Que voulez vous?</i>"</p>
+
+<p>As their hearts seemed to be as stout as their limbs, they would, he
+reflected, be unconquerable, these careless children of waste places.
+While Brock thus communed, he watched. There was little to choose
+between them&mdash;Narcisse, Baptiste, Louis, Jacques, Pierre&mdash;all strong as
+buffalo, all agile as catamounts.</p>
+
+<p>They would lift the "pieces" from the dripping canoe and land them on
+the slippery rock. A minute later and Narcisse perhaps would appear, a
+bit bent, to keep balanced a bag of flour, a chest of tea, a caddy of
+tobacco and sundry packages of sugar or shot that made up the load
+resting on his shoulders where body and nape of neck joined. This load
+was supported and held together by a broad moose-hide band&mdash;a
+tump-line&mdash;strapped across his forehead, his upraised hands grasping the
+narrowing moose-hide stretched on either side of his lowered head,
+between ear and shoulder. Brock would watch these packmen as,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_46" id="Page_46">[Pg 46]</a></span> thus
+handicapped with a load weighing from two to five hundred pounds, they
+set out across the rough portage, singing, and at a dog trot, following
+each other in quick succession. There was rivalry, of course, duly
+encouraged by Brock with a promise of tobacco to the first man in, but
+it was all good-natured competition, the last man chanting his laughing
+canzonet as loudly as the first.</p>
+
+<p>Our hero, with his grand physique and cleverness, was not long in
+mastering the tricks of the carriers. He soon learned to build up a load
+and adjust a tump-line, after which practice made the carrying of a pack
+almost twice his own weight a not extraordinary performance.</p>
+
+<p>These trips afforded Brock an opportunity to study Indian character. He
+learned much from the packman and voyageur that was destined to be of
+great value to him in his career on the western frontier, among the
+outposts of civilization.</p>
+
+<p>Little escaped his notice. His faculties were sharpened by contact with
+these children of the wilds, whose only class-room was the forest, their
+only teacher, nature. As the crushed blade or broken twig were of
+deepest import to the Indian scout, so no incident of his life was now
+too trivial for Brock to dismiss as of no importance.</p>
+
+<hr />
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_47" id="Page_47">[Pg 47]</a></span></p>
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_VII" id="CHAPTER_VII"></a>CHAPTER VII.</h2>
+
+<h3>MUTINY AND DESERTION.</h3>
+
+<p>Brock could hardly reconcile the degree of punishment inflicted upon the
+soldiers, the poorly paid defenders of the Empire, with their casual
+offences. While he rebelled against the brutalities of some officers, he
+was powerless to prevent them. The sentencing powers conferred by
+court-martial were at that time beyond belief. A captain and two
+subalterns could order 999 lashes with a "cat" steeped in brine. It is
+on record that on one occasion a soldier was sentenced to 1,500 lashes
+for "marauding." And there were other modes of torture. This was close
+upon the heels of a period when even the slightest breaches of the civil
+law were punished out of all proportion to the offence. While insisting
+on the strictest discipline, Brock always tempered justice with mercy.
+Few men better realized the value of a pleasant word or had in such
+degree the rare tact that permitted familiarity without killing respect.</p>
+
+<p>A terrible incident occurred in the summer of 1803 which tested all
+Brock's fortitude and conception of duty. A conspiracy to mutiny was
+discovered at Fort George on the Niagara River. The methods of the
+commanding officer had exasperated the men until they planned mutiny on
+a large scale. This included the murder of Colonel Sheaffe and the
+incarceration of the other officers. A threatening remark by a soldier
+of the 49th was overheard. He was arrested and put in irons. A
+confession by another<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_48" id="Page_48">[Pg 48]</a></span> soldier implicated a well-known sergeant, and a
+message was sent to York begging Brock's immediate presence.</p>
+
+<p>Our hero landed from the schooner alone. It was dinner hour. The
+barrack-square, as Brock crossed it to the guard-house, was deserted. In
+charge of the guard he found two of the suspected ringleaders. The guard
+presented arms. "Sergeant," said the colonel of towering frame and
+commanding aspect, "come here. Lay down your pike." The order was
+promptly complied with. "Take off your sword and sash and lay them down
+also." This was done. "Corporal O'Brien," said the colonel, addressing
+the sergeant's brother-conspirator, "bring a pair of handcuffs, put them
+on this sergeant, lock him up in a cell, and bring me the key." This,
+too, was done. "Now, corporal, you come here; lay down your arms, take
+off your accoutrements, and lay them down also." He was obeyed. Turning
+to the right man of the guard, "Come here, you grenadier. Bring a pair
+of handcuffs and put them on this corporal, lock him up in another cell,
+and bring me the key." When this was done, turning to the astounded
+drummer, our hero said, "Drummer, beat to arms."</p>
+
+<p>The garrison was aroused. First to rush out was Lieutenant Williams,
+sword in hand. "Williams!" said the Colonel, "go instantly and secure
+Rock"&mdash;a former sergeant, recently reduced. "If he hesitates to obey,
+even for one second, cut him down." Up the stairs flew Williams, calling
+to Rock to come down. "Yes, sir," answered Rock, "when I take my arms."
+"You must come without them," said Williams. "Oh, I must have my arms,
+sir," and as Rock stretched out his hand to seize his musket in the
+arm-rack, Williams shouted, "If you lay<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_49" id="Page_49">[Pg 49]</a></span> one finger on your musket I
+will cut you down," at the same time drawing his sabre. "Now, go down
+before me." Rock obeyed, was placed in irons, and within half an hour
+Clark, O'Brien, and nine other mutineers were embarked for York on the
+schooner.</p>
+
+<p>What a picture rises before us. The mid-day sun, the glittering
+barrack-square, the scarlet and white tunics and polished side-arms of
+the frightened soldiers, with Brock, the embodiment of power and stern
+justice, towering above the shrinking culprits. Expiation of the offence
+had yet to follow. The appetite of the law had to be appeased. The trial
+took place at Quebec. Four mutineers and three deserters were condemned
+to death, and in the presence of the entire garrison were executed. The
+details of this are best unwritten. Through a shocking blunder, the
+firing party discharged their carbines when fifty yards distant, instead
+of advancing to within eight yards of the victims. The harrowing scene
+rent Brock's heart. That the men who had fought so bravely under him at
+Egmont and laughed at the carnage at Copenhagen should end their lives
+in this manner was inexpressibly sad. After reading the account of the
+execution of their comrades to the men on parade at Fort George, Brock
+added, "Since I have had the honour to wear the British uniform I have
+never felt grief like this." The prisoners publicly declared that had
+they continued under our hero's command they would have escaped their
+doom, "being the victims of unruly passions inflamed by vexatious
+authority."</p>
+
+<p>When Brock assumed command every possible privilege was extended to the
+troops at Fort George. For every request, however trivial, he knew there
+was some reason. His mind was big enough to trade in trifles.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_50" id="Page_50">[Pg 50]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>In view of these desertions, the prospect of hostilities between Canada
+and the United States became a momentous one. By close study of events
+in France and America and intercourse with prominent United States
+citizens, Brock detected the signs that precede trouble.</p>
+
+<p>But the grave question of desertion and the war-cloud on the horizon
+could not occupy our hero's attention to the exclusion of other demands
+upon his time. Canada's growing importance was attracting many
+travellers from over-seas. Notable among these was Thomas Moore, the
+brilliant Irish poet, who was our hero's guest at Fort George for two
+weeks in the summer of 1803. Every attraction that the peninsula
+presented was taxed for his entertainment. Of these diversions the one
+which probably left the most lasting impression on the versatile son of
+Erin was a gathering of the Tuscarora warriors, under Chief Brant, at
+the Indian encampment on the Grand River.</p>
+
+<p>"Here," wrote Moore, in one of his celebrated epistles, "the Mohawks
+received us in all their ancient costumes. The young men ran races for
+our amusement, and gave an exhibition game of ball, while the old men
+and the women sat in groups under the surrounding forest trees. The
+scene altogether was as beautiful as it was new to me. To Colonel Brock,
+in command of the fort, I am particularly indebted for his many
+kindnesses during the fortnight I remained with him."</p>
+
+<p>It was while Moore was paddling down the St. Lawrence with his
+Caughnawaga voyageurs, after leaving Niagara&mdash;where he saw the fountains
+of the great deep broken up&mdash;that he composed his celebrated boat-song:<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_51" id="Page_51">[Pg 51]</a></span></p>
+
+<div class="poem">
+<div class='stanza'><div>"Faintly as tolls the evening chime,</div>
+<div>Our voices keep tune and our oars keep time.</div>
+<div>Soon as the woods on shore look dim,</div>
+<div>We'll sing at St. Ann's our parting hymn.</div>
+<div>Row, brothers, row! the stream runs fast,</div>
+<div>The rapids are near, and the daylight's past!"</div></div>
+</div>
+
+<p>In the fall of 1805 our hero was gazetted full colonel, and returned to
+England on leave. While he had lost none of the buoyancy of his youth,
+he was daily realizing the fullness of his responsibilities.</p>
+
+<p>For the better defence of Canada, he submitted to the Duke of York, the
+Commander-in-Chief, a suggestion for the forming of a veteran battalion.
+He quoted the case of the U.E. Loyalists, who after the Revolutionary
+war, had been granted small tracts in Upper Canada; contrasting their
+perfect conduct with the practices of some of the settlers ten years
+later, whose loyalty, from his own observation, would not stand the
+test. Our hero, who was warmly thanked by the Duke for his zeal, was now
+regarded as a person to be reckoned with. His abilities and charm of
+manner had won him a reputation at the Horse Guards.</p>
+
+<p>He returned to Guernsey to receive the congratulations of those brothers
+"who loved him so dearly," but had not time to tell the graphic story of
+his sojourn in Canada or revisit the haunts of his boyhood, for news
+arrived from the United States of so warlike a character that he
+returned before his leave expired. He overtook at Cork the <i>Lady
+Saumarez</i>, a well-manned Guernsey privateer, armed with letters of
+marque, and bound for Quebec. Leaving London on the 26th of June, 1806,
+he set sail for Canada, never to return to those to whom he had so
+endeared himself by his splendid qualities.</p>
+
+<hr />
+<p class="center"><a name="fp052.jpg" id="fp052.jpg"></a><img src="images/fp052.jpg" width='600' height='488' alt="Ruins of old Powder Magazine, Fort George" /></p>
+
+<p class="center"><span class="smcap">Ruins of old Powder Magazine, Fort George</span></p>
+
+<hr />
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_52" id="Page_52">[Pg 52]</a></span></p>
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_VIII" id="CHAPTER_VIII"></a>CHAPTER VIII.</h2>
+
+<h3>FRANCE, THE UNITED STATES AND CANADA.</h3>
+
+<p>Shortly after his return to Quebec, Isaac Brock succeeded to the command
+of the troops in both Upper and Lower Canada, with the pay and allowance
+of a brigadier.</p>
+
+<p>Though no overt act had been committed against Canada by the United
+States, relations were strained, and he found much to occupy his time.
+His humanity stirred, he set about erecting hospitals, reorganized the
+commissariat department, and engaged in an unpleasant dispute with
+President Dunn, the civil administrator of Lower Canada, regarding the
+fortifications of the Citadel. To-day deep in plans for mobilizing the
+militia and the formation of a Scotch volunteer corps of Glengarry
+settlers; to-morrow devising the best way of utilizing an Indian force
+in the event of war. In June, 1807, the affair between the British
+gunboat <i>Leopard</i> and the American frigate <i>Chesapeake</i> occurred. The
+former boarded the latter in search of deserters, and on being
+challenged, gave the <i>Chesapeake</i> a broadside. While the <i>Leopard</i> was
+clearly in the wrong, the United States Government rejected every offer
+of reparation made by Britain. Then came retaliation. French
+vessels&mdash;though France was at war with Britain&mdash;were actually allowed by
+the United States, a neutral power, full freedom of its harbours. The
+ships of Britain, a power at peace with the United States of America,
+were refused the same privilege.</p>
+
+<p>For a proper understanding of the position we must<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_53" id="Page_53">[Pg 53]</a></span> unroll a page of
+history. Napoleon, though he crushed the Prussians at Jena, could not
+efface the memory of his own humiliation at Trafalgar. His ears tingled.
+He was waiting to deliver a blow that would equalize the destruction of
+his fleet by Nelson. Though Britain remained mistress of the seas,
+surely, thought the "little corporal," a way could be found to humble
+her. If her sources of food supply, for instance, could be cut off, "the
+wings of her war-ships would be clipped."</p>
+
+<p>To this end Napoleon issued an arrogant proclamation, which was of
+far-reaching effect. It authorized the destruction of all British goods
+and all colonial produce shipped to any European port by a British
+vessel. It allowed the seizure by France of all ships, of whatever
+nation, which had even <i>called</i> at a British port. To this the United
+States raised no objection, though it was in violation of the world's
+law in respect to nations which were at peace with each other. The
+United States' President evidently believed that British resentment at
+Napoleon's decree would sooner or later provide the United States with
+an excuse for a disagreement with Britain. He was not mistaken. Britain
+at once announced that she in her turn would prohibit the ships of other
+nations visiting French ports until they had first called at a British
+port. But two wrongs do not make a right. England also, being short of
+seamen by desertion, insisted that she had the right to search for
+British seamen on American vessels.</p>
+
+<p>This was a questionable proceeding, and not always carried out in the
+most amiable manner, as the <i>Chesapeake</i> incident proves, and
+occasionally led to seizing American seamen, native-born citizens of the
+United States, in mistake for British-born deserters.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_54" id="Page_54">[Pg 54]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>Meanwhile Brock found "the military and the people of Quebec divided by
+opposing elements of dissatisfaction." His call for one thousand men for
+two months to complete the defences of the Citadel was met by the
+Provincial Government with what was practically a refusal. He persisted
+in his purpose, and despite drawbacks which would have deterred a less
+dominant nature, he erected a battery, mounting eight thirty-six pound
+guns, raised upon a cavalier bastion, in the centre of the Citadel, so
+as to command the opposite heights of Point Levis.</p>
+
+<p>Alive to the probability of invasion, and to the defenceless state of
+the Canadian frontier and the extreme apathy of the Quebec Government,
+Colonel Brock warned the War Office. He stated that, as the means at his
+disposal were quite inadequate to oppose an enemy in the field, with a
+provincial frontier of 500 miles, he would perforce confine himself to
+the defence of the city of Quebec. The Lower Canadians, willing to
+undergo training, had formed themselves into corps of cavalry, artillery
+and infantry, at no expense to the Government, but the Government gave
+them no encouragement.</p>
+
+<p>This was the state of affairs in Quebec when Lieutenant-General Sir
+James Craig arrived to take office as Governor-General of the British
+Provinces in North America as well as Commander of the Forces. Brock
+soon became the <i>confidant</i> of the new administrator, who was not slow
+to observe the exceptional capacity of our hero. The day came all too
+quickly for the Governor when occasion arose for the presence of a
+strong man to take command in Montreal, and with great reluctance he had
+to call upon Isaac Brock to assume the office.</p>
+
+<hr />
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_55" id="Page_55">[Pg 55]</a></span></p>
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_IX" id="CHAPTER_IX"></a>CHAPTER IX.</h2>
+
+<h3>FUR-TRADERS AND HABITANTS.</h3>
+
+<p>Montreal&mdash;the Mount Royal of Jacques Cartier&mdash;was then in the heyday of
+its pioneer glory. It was the seat of government of the North-West
+Company, which exercised feudal sway over an empire of wilderness, lake
+and prairie, and whose title to monopoly was challenged only by the
+powerful Hudson's Bay Company. Since 1670 this older syndicate of
+adventurers had held the destinies of the great lone land in the farther
+North-West, its fruitful plains and pathless forests, in the hollow of
+its hand. Later, when the two companies amalgamated, their joint
+operations extended from Alaska to Rupert's Land, from Oregon to the
+Sandwich Islands, from Vancouver to Labrador, an empire embracing an
+area of 4,500,000 square miles.</p>
+
+<p>At Montreal Brock lived with these merchant princes on terms of close
+intimacy. He was sensible enough, as a man of the world, to enjoy the
+creature comforts of life. The blazing log-fire, with its glow and
+crackle, in contrast to the blizzard that raged outside; the dim-lighted
+splendour of spacious dining-hall, with hewn rafters and savage trophies
+of the explorers; the polished oak floor and carved ceiling, hung with
+rare fur and gaudy feathers, appealed to him.</p>
+
+<p>The rubber of whist over, came the fragrant <i>perfecto</i><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_56" id="Page_56">[Pg 56]</a></span>&mdash;these traders
+ransacked the world for their tobacco&mdash;and Brock, under the influence of
+the soothing weed, would charm these wild vagrants into unlocking some
+of the strange secrets of the wilderness. From these usually silent but
+sometimes garrulous merchants he acquired during the long winter nights
+a fund of facts that greatly influenced his future actions.</p>
+
+<p>Being superseded at Montreal by General Drummond, he did not relish a
+return to Quebec. Separation from the 49th meant actual pain, but, as he
+said, "Soldiers must accustom themselves to frequent movements, and as
+they have no choice, it often happens they are placed in situations
+little agreeing with their wishes." His regrets were lessened by his
+promotion to the rank of brigadier-general. But he prayed for active
+service, still trying to secure a staff appointment in Portugal, and
+awaited the result of his brother Savery's efforts, hoping he might yet
+be ordered to join "the best disciplined army that ever left England."</p>
+
+<p>"Your Excellency," he said to the Governor-General, "I <i>must</i> see active
+service, or had much better quit the army, for I can look for no
+advantage if I remain buried in inaction in this remote corner of the
+earth, without the least mention ever likely being made of me."</p>
+
+<p>Unsuspected by our hero, fate in his case was only "marking time."</p>
+
+<p>Day after day Brock saw British ships weigh anchor at Quebec with
+Canadian timber for the building of English vessels of war. The
+importance of these Canadian provinces to Great Britain awoke in him
+dreams of a federation of all the colonies. Cargoes of timber,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_57" id="Page_57">[Pg 57]</a></span> that
+would require more than 400 vessels to transport, were then lying on the
+beaches of the St. Lawrence. "Bonaparte," he wrote, "coveted these vast
+colonial areas, and desired to repossess them."</p>
+
+<p>Brock's mind was busy trying to solve these problems. "A small French
+force of 5,000 men," he told the Governor, "could most assuredly conquer
+the Province of Quebec. In the event of French invasion, would the
+volatile Lower Canadian people, in spite of all their privileges, remain
+loyal?" A certain class of <i>habitant</i> argued that Napoleon, who was sure
+to conquer Europe, would of course seize the Canadas, encouraged by the
+United States. "Would Englishmen," asked Brock, "if positions were
+reversed, be any more impatient to escape from possible British rule
+than were French Canadians from the possible rule of France?"</p>
+
+<p>"Blood, my good FitzGibbon," he declared to his <i>prot&eacute;g&eacute;</i>, "is thicker
+than water. You cannot expect to get men to change their nature, or the
+traditions of their race, through an act of parliament at twenty-four
+hours' notice. Old thoughts and habits die hard."</p>
+
+<p>Though Brock's perceptive faculties were well developed, his forecasts,
+built upon the evidences of opposition among certain Lower Canadians,
+happily proved only in part correct. Later, when his plan of campaign
+was menaced by still greater disaffection in Upper Canada, he found he
+had not reckoned on the influence of his own example, which, added to
+his power of purpose, "disconcerted the disloyal." In proof of this fact
+Detroit and Queenston Heights were splendid examples.</p>
+
+<p>It was this spirit of unrest among the people of Quebec<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_58" id="Page_58">[Pg 58]</a></span> that moved Sir
+James Craig to keep Brock within easy reach until the growing discord in
+Upper Canada called for the presence of a man of tact and resolution,
+one to whom all things seemed possible&mdash;and Brock knew no such word as
+"impossible." On one occasion the "faithful sergeant-major" had ventured
+to declare that a certain order was "impossible." "'Impossible!'"
+repeated Brock, "nothing should be 'impossible' to a soldier. The word
+'impossible' must not be found in a soldier's vocabulary."</p>
+
+<hr />
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_59" id="Page_59">[Pg 59]</a></span></p>
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_X" id="CHAPTER_X"></a>CHAPTER X.</h2>
+
+<h3>THE MASSACRE AT MACKINAW.</h3>
+
+<p>It was while stationed in Montreal that our hero met Alexander Henry,
+ex-fur-trader and adventurer and <i>coureur de bois</i>&mdash;then a merchant and
+King's auctioneer&mdash;a notable personage and leader in many a wild exploit
+in the far West, an old though virile man after Isaac's own heart.</p>
+
+<p>From Henry he learned much of the Indian wars in the West, and the
+strategic value of various points on the frontier, possession of which
+in the event of war he foresaw would be worth a king's ransom. Not least
+were details respecting Michilimackinac, the Mackinaw already referred
+to. Nearly half a century before, Henry, a native of New Jersey, of
+English parents&mdash;his ambition fired by tales of the fabulous fortunes to
+be made in the fur trade&mdash;obtained from the commandant at Montreal a
+permit to proceed west as a trader. He outfitted at Albany, and the
+following summer set out for Mackinaw.</p>
+
+<p>Meanwhile the Indian allies, under control of the great Pontiac, were
+fighting immigration and civilization. Between Fort
+Pitt&mdash;Pittsburgh&mdash;and the Fox River, in Wisconsin, the home of the Sacs
+and Foxes, they had captured nine out of thirteen military posts, and
+were secretly planning the downfall of Fort Mackinaw. This was regarded
+as an impregnable post and vulnerable only through strategy&mdash;in Indian
+parlance another name for<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_60" id="Page_60">[Pg 60]</a></span> duplicity. Fort Mackinaw, as Brock well knew,
+was the most important trading <i>entrep&ocirc;t</i> west of Montreal. It served a
+territory extending from the Missouri in the west to the far
+Kissaskatchewan in the north.</p>
+
+<p>On Henry's arrival his friendship was sought by an Indian chief,
+Wawatam. Between these two men a remarkable attachment developed. They
+became brothers by mutual adoption. At this time the fort was garrisoned
+by ninety British regulars. One day, outside the walls on the
+surrounding plateau, several hundred savages were encamped, ostensibly
+for purposes of trade, some of them killing time by playing the Indian
+game of ball&mdash;the <i>baggatiway</i> of the red-man, <i>la jeu de la crosse</i> of
+the voyageur. Henry, acting upon a veiled warning by Wawatam, suggested
+to the officer in command extra precaution.</p>
+
+<p>"I told him," said he, while Brock drank in every word, "that Indian
+treachery was proverbial." Now this recital was of the deepest interest
+to our hero, for Mackinaw, then in the possession of the United States,
+held the key to the Michigan frontier and control of the upper lakes.
+While the huge log fire that roared in the chimney cast light and shadow
+on polished wall and the oak beams of the big dining-hall, Brock puffed
+away at his huge <i>partiga</i>, weighing every word that fell from the
+bearded lips of the trader.</p>
+
+<p>"Major Errington," continued Henry, "while thanking me, laughed at my
+forebodings. Then Wawatam urged me, as his adopted brother, to depart
+for Sault Ste. Marie. But I delayed and once more sought Errington, who
+still ridiculed my fears. While I was yet expostulat<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_61" id="Page_61">[Pg 61]</a></span>ing with him we
+heard the louder shouts of the Indians. They had rushed through the fort
+gateway into the enclosure within the palisades in pursuit of a lost
+ball. This was but a ruse to gain admittance, for in a moment the
+laughter and shouts changed to wild yells and warwhoops. The guard was
+overpowered in a flash, and in the attack that followed almost the
+entire garrison was tomahawked and scalped."</p>
+
+<p>"Ah!" said Brock, "so British lethargy and self-complaisance succumbed
+to Indian duplicity."</p>
+
+<p>Then his thoughts turned to Niagara. He saw the open portals of Fort
+George, and Tuscarora youths playing the Indian game of ball in the
+meadows of the Mohawk village.</p>
+
+<p>"Those who escaped massacre at Mackinaw," said Henry, refilling his
+stone pipe and resuming his story, "were preserved for a worse fate.
+Pontiac's allies&mdash;and you, Colonel, know something of these matters from
+the tales told you by the officers of the North-West Company&mdash;entered on
+a carnival of blood. From a garret, where a Pawnee Indian woman had
+secreted me, I saw the captured soldiers tomahawked and scalped, and
+some butchered like so many cattle, just as required for the cannibal
+feast that followed."</p>
+
+<p>"Tortured?" interrogated Brock.</p>
+
+<p>"Tortured!" repeated Henry. "Why, the diabolical devices that those men
+resorted to to inflict acute physical agony were
+inconceivable&mdash;unutterable, Colonel." He paused.... "After all, no
+worse, perhaps, than the tortures that have been inflicted by civilized
+fanatics in Europe."</p>
+
+<p>There was silence for a moment. Both men were buried<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_62" id="Page_62">[Pg 62]</a></span> deep in thought,
+the one living in the past, the other striving to forecast the future.</p>
+
+<p>"Through the intercession of Wennway, another friendly Indian,"
+continued Henry, "my life was spared. Preparations were made for my
+secret departure. As I shoved my canoe into the water, <i>en voyage</i> for
+Wagoshene, the prayers of Wawatam rang in my ears as, standing on the
+yellow beach with outstretched arms, he invoked the <i>Gitche Manitou</i>,
+the Great Spirit, to conduct me in safety to the wigwams of my people."</p>
+
+<p>"Surely, Master Henry," commented Isaac Brock, "with all the latent
+qualities for good that seem to underlie the outward ferocity of some
+redmen, firmness and kindness are alone needed to convert them into
+faithful friends."</p>
+
+<p>"An Indian, or Indians collectively," said Henry, pausing before he
+answered,&mdash;"I speak from personal experience only&mdash;are faithful so long
+as you keep absolute good faith with them. In this particular they are
+no different from white people; but never deceive them, even in trifles,
+and never subject them to ridicule. Then, if you treat them with
+consideration, you can reasonably depend upon their individual loyalty.
+They expect a lot of attention. Yes! an Indian is naturally grateful,
+probably far more so than the ordinary white man, and seldom forgets a
+kindness. Should you come into closer contact with the redman, Colonel,
+as I have a presentiment you will before long, never forget that an
+Indian, by right of his mode of life, is deeply suspicious and painfully
+sensitive. He has a keen sense of humour, however, and is quick to
+discern and laugh at the weak points of others,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_63" id="Page_63">[Pg 63]</a></span> which, until you
+understand his language, you will be slow to suspect. On the other hand,
+he won't stand being laughed at himself or placed in a foolish position.
+For that matter, who can? Occasionally you will meet a savage with
+strangely high principles. Among the redskins there is a proportion of
+good and bad, as there is in all races, but less crime, under normal
+conditions, than there is among the whites. So, summing up his vices and
+virtues, the North American Indian, allowing for heredity and
+surroundings, differs little from ourselves."</p>
+
+<p>"They are brave," interrupted Brock.</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, yes," said Henry, "splendidly reckless of life. The courage of the
+fatalist I should say. You see, they are so constantly on the war-path
+that fighting is a compulsory pastime."</p>
+
+<p>"Still," said Brock, "with what daring they fight for their homes."</p>
+
+<p>"True, Colonel," retorted Henry, "but when it comes to fighting for
+home, a hummingbird will defend its nest. Their peculiar traits are
+largely the result of a nomadic life and tribal strife, hence, their
+duplicity. Superstition influences them greatly, as it does all savage
+races. In one respect they are at least superior to some of our own
+people&mdash;I refer to their treatment of their children. Their
+lovingkindness is pathetic. Contact with civilization, as you may
+discover, develops at first all their bad qualities, for they are apt
+imitators, so when the pagan Indian meets a trader without a
+conscience&mdash;and there are some, you know&mdash;why, he is not slow to adopt
+the bad Christian's methods."</p>
+
+<hr />
+<p class="center"><a name="fp064.jpg" id="fp064.jpg"></a><img src="images/fp064.jpg" width='349' height='550' alt="Brock's Cocked Hat" /></p>
+
+<p class="center"><span class="smcap">Brock's Cocked Hat</span></p>
+
+<hr />
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_64" id="Page_64">[Pg 64]</a></span></p>
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XI" id="CHAPTER_XI"></a>CHAPTER XI.</h2>
+
+<h3>LITTLE YORK, NIAGARA, AMHERSTBURG.</h3>
+
+<p>In common with most great men, Brock found distraction in trifles. For
+weeks prior to leaving Quebec all kinds of gayety prevailed. A visit
+from Governor Gore of Upper Canada, and the arrival of the fleet from
+Guernsey and two frigates from Portsmouth, gave a fillip to society.
+Races, water-parties and country picnics were the order of the day. Our
+hero's contribution consisted of a banquet and grand ball. He had his
+own troubles, however, that even the versatile Dobson could not
+overcome, and he roundly scolded his brother Irving for not sending him
+a new cocked hat.<a name="FNanchor_2_2" id="FNanchor_2_2"></a><a href="#Footnote_2_2" class="fnanchor">[2]</a></p>
+
+<p>"That cocked hat," he said, "has not been received; a most distressing
+circumstance, as from the enormity of my head I find the utmost
+difficulty in getting a substitute."</p>
+
+<p>His departure for York weighed upon him. In Quebec he had the most
+"delightful garden imaginable, with abundance of melons and other good
+things"&mdash;these,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_65" id="Page_65">[Pg 65]</a></span> together with his new bastions and forts, he had to
+desert. Being somewhat of a philosopher, he said that since fate decreed
+the best portion of his life was to be wasted in inaction, and as
+President Jefferson, though he wanted war, was afraid to declare it, he
+supposed he should have to be pleased with the prospect of moving
+upwards.</p>
+
+<p>Brock had been but a few weeks at Fort George&mdash;a "most lonesome place,"
+as compared with Quebec, Montreal, Kingston, or even Little York, from
+which latter place he was cut off by forty miles of lake, or more than a
+hundred miles of dense forest and bridgeless streams&mdash;when he decided
+upon a flying trip to Detroit, where, during the French <i>r&eacute;gime</i>, the
+adventurous Cadillac had landed in 1701. He would inspect the western
+limit of the frontier now under his care and obtain at first hand a
+knowledge of the peninsula. "For," as he remarked to Glegg, his aide,
+"if I can read the signs aright, the two nations are rushing headlong
+into a military conflict."</p>
+
+<p>Two routes were open to him, one overland, the other land and water. He
+chose the latter. A vast quantity of freight now reached Queenston from
+Kingston. Vessels of over fifty tons sailed up the river, bearing
+merchandise for the North-West Company. Salt pork from Ireland and flour
+from London, Britain being the real base of supply&mdash;the remote
+North-West looking to Niagara for food and clothing&mdash;the return cargoes
+being furs and grain. To portage these goods around Niagara Falls kept
+fifty or more farmers' waggons busy every day during the summer. A team
+of horses or oxen could haul twenty "pieces," of one hundred weight
+each, for a load. The entire length of the portage from Lake Ontario to<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_66" id="Page_66">[Pg 66]</a></span>
+Lake Erie was practically a street, full of all the bustle and activity
+that a scattered country population of 12,000 conferred upon it. Two
+churches, twenty stores, a printing house, six taverns and a scholastic
+academy supplied the varied wants of Niagara's 500 citizens who
+overfilled its one hundred dwellings.</p>
+
+<p>From Lake Ontario, Newark, as it had been called, presented an inviting
+appearance. The brick-and-stone court-house and jail and brightly
+painted Indian council-house and cottages rose in strong contrast
+against the green forest. On the river bank was Navy Hall, a log retreat
+for seamen, and on Mississaga (Black Snake) Point a stone lighthouse
+flashed its red signal of hope to belated mariners. Nearer the lake
+shore, in isolated dignity across a mile of common, stood Fort George, a
+dilapidated structure with wooden palisades and bastions. Half-acre lots
+in the village were given gratis by the Government to anyone who would
+build, and eight acres outside for inclosures, besides a large
+"commonty" for the use of the people. A quite pretentious wharf lined
+the river, and from this, on any summer afternoon, a string of soldiers
+and idle citizens might be seen&mdash;among whom was Dobson&mdash;casting hook and
+troll for bass, trout, pickerel and herring, with which the river
+swarmed. On one occasion Brock helped to haul up a seine net in which
+were counted 1,008 whitefish of an average weight of two pounds, 6,000
+being netted in one day.</p>
+
+<p>Side-wheel ferries, driven by horse-power, plied between the river's
+mouth and the Queenston landing. The paddle-wheels of these were open
+double-spoke affairs, without any circular rim. A stage-coach also ran
+between Queens<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_67" id="Page_67">[Pg 67]</a></span>ton and Fort Erie, the first in Upper Canada. For one
+dollar the passenger could travel twenty-five miles.</p>
+
+<p>At Fort Erie, at the head of the Niagara River, Brock embarked in
+mid-August in a government schooner. He wished to familiarize himself
+with the upper water-ways. He made the long trip from Quebec to York,
+and thence to Niagara, Amherstburg, Detroit, Sandwich and return
+overland to Fort George, within two months&mdash;record time. Dobson
+accompanied his master. Brock was silent as to his impressions, but
+admitted he was convinced that the water route for a military expedition
+was the only practical one, and that Mackinaw, held by the United
+States, was the portal and key to the western frontier in case of
+invasion. He crossed overland through the "bad woods" and open plains to
+the Point of Pines, where batteaux and canoes awaited him. From thence
+he proceeded along the north shore of Lake Erie until abreast of the
+Miami, a confluent of the Ohio River, on the south shore, then turned
+northward up the Detroit River, twenty-five miles farther, reaching
+Amherstburg&mdash;called Malden by the Americans&mdash;250 miles from Fort Erie.
+Here, after consulting with Colonel St. George, he inspected the battery
+at Sandwich, and with little ceremony visited Detroit&mdash;the old military
+post of Pontchartrain&mdash;on the opposite side of the river, later
+notorious as an emporium for "rum, tomahawks and gunpowder." From
+Amherstburg, a small village with an uncompleted fort and shipyard, he
+sent messengers to the remote post of St. Joseph, an island, fifty-five
+miles from Mackinaw, below Sault Ste. Marie, and started homewards
+overland.</p>
+
+<p>In returning, he skirted the great tributary marshes,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_68" id="Page_68">[Pg 68]</a></span> alive with
+water-fowl of every description, whose gabble and flapping wings could
+be heard at a long distance. He camped in the vast hardwood forests that
+covered the western point of the peninsula that extends west from Lake
+Ontario to the river connecting Lake Huron with Lake Erie. He shot big
+bustards and wild turkeys in the bush, where wolves and deer were as
+thick as rabbits in a warren, and tramped the uplands, teeming with
+quail and prairie chicken. Continuing by Delaware and the Government
+road at Oxford on the Thames, and by the "Long Woods" over the Burford
+Plains to Brant's Ford, he reached the Grand River, and then by Ancaster
+and the head of the lake to Burlington, when he followed the Lake
+Ontario southern shore road to Niagara.</p>
+
+<p>Many of the settlers whom he met were from the Eastern States. These
+were the original Loyalists or their descendants, patriots to the core.
+Other more recent arrivals&mdash;perhaps two-thirds of the whole&mdash;came from
+Pennsylvania, New York and New Jersey, attracted by the fertility of the
+soil and freedom from taxation, or to escape militia service. These
+latter he quickly realized were not the class to rely upon in event of
+war, but he gave no public sign of distrust. It was from the pick of the
+first-mentioned stalwarts that Brock formed his loyal Canadian militia,
+his gallant supporters in the war of 1812, who made a reputation at
+Detroit and Queenston that will never die.</p>
+
+<p>He was more than ever sensible of the resources of the country. This
+glimpse of the west enamoured him. To his "beloved brothers"&mdash;our hero
+always thus addressed them&mdash;he described it as a "delightful country,
+far exceed<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_69" id="Page_69">[Pg 69]</a></span>ing anything I have seen on this continent." The extent of
+the Great Lakes amazed him, as did their fish. From these deep cisterns
+he had seen the Indian fishermen take whitefish, the <i>ahtikameg</i>
+(deer-of-the-water), twenty pounds in weight;
+maskinonge&mdash;<i>matchi-kenonje</i>, the great pike&mdash;more than twice that size,
+and sturgeon that weighed two hundred pounds and over, and in such
+quantities that he hesitated to tell his experiences on his return.</p>
+
+<p>Henry's stories of five hundred whitefish taken with a scoop net at the
+rapids of Sault Ste. Marie in two hours were no longer questioned. The
+size of the red-fleshed land-locked trout (the quail-of-the-water), of
+pickerel and bass, astounded him. His travels had broadened his views.
+The chatter of his Iroquois and Algonquin friends was now easier of
+interpretation. The riddles of the wilderness were more easily read. He
+now realized how possible it was, in this continent of unsurveyed
+immensity, to journey for weeks, after leaving the white man's domain
+hundreds of miles behind, and then reach only the rim of another kingdom
+of even far greater fertility. He also realized that beyond these
+laughing lands lay a rugged world of desolation, bounded in turn by the
+rasping ice-floes of the Arctic.</p>
+
+<p>If Brock's mind had expanded, so had his body. He was, as he expressed
+it, as "hard as nails." The close of 1811 found "Master Isaac" a grand
+specimen of manhood. Inclined to be a little portly, he was still
+athletic. His face, though a trifle stern, had grown more attractive,
+because of the benevolent look now stamped upon it. He was still fair
+and florid, with a broad forehead, and eyes though somewhat small, yet
+full and of a grayish blue,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_70" id="Page_70">[Pg 70]</a></span> a charming smile and splendid white teeth.
+Always the same kindly gentleman and always a soldier. His life at Fort
+George had been one of great loneliness. He read much and rapidly, and
+would memorize passages from the books that had left the deepest
+impression. History, civil and military, especially ancient authors, was
+his choice, and maps his weakness. Over these, with his devoted aides,
+he would pore late into the night, until he knew the country almost as
+well as his friend the Surveyor-General. For variety he feasted upon the
+robust beauties of Pope's "Homer," ever regretting he never had a master
+"to guide and encourage him in his tastes."</p>
+
+<p>With Lieutenant-Governor Gore, formerly a soldier in Guernsey, our hero
+was on intimate terms. When the grind of duty let him, he would travel
+"the worst road in the country&mdash;fit only for an Indian mail-carrier&mdash;in
+order to mix in the society of York." He periodically returned these
+hospitalities by a grand ball at Niagara&mdash;always the event of the
+season. Brock, while fond of women's society, preferred brain to beauty.
+Had his old Guernsey friends been present on these occasions they would
+not have recognized in the soldier, resplendent in a general's uniform,
+now dancing a mazurka, the handsome stripling who only a few years since
+had waltzed his way into the hearts of all the women of St. Peter's
+Port.</p>
+
+<p>The unrest of the Indians at Amherstburg troubled him. He had seen over
+eight hundred in camp there, receiving rations for a month while waiting
+presents of blankets, powder and shot from King George. They asked
+British support if they took the warpath against the Americans&mdash;the
+Long-knives&mdash;<i>Gitchi-mokohmahn</i>, their sworn enemies.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_71" id="Page_71">[Pg 71]</a></span> Tecumseh, a
+Shawanese chief, had demanded from the United States the restoration of
+violated rights. This demand had not been complied with. The position
+was critical. Great tact was required to retain the friendship of the
+Indians, while not complying with their request.</p>
+
+<p>In Lower Canada there was still discord among the French Canadians. The
+Governor, Sir James Craig, in a dying condition, relinquished office. In
+answer to Brock's application for leave, still hoping for a staff
+appointment in Portugal, the Governor-General implored him to remain.</p>
+
+<p>"I must," he told him, "leave the country in the best state of security
+I can; your presence is needed here. I am sending you as a mark of my
+sincere regard my favourite horse, Alfred." This was a high-bred animal,
+and our hero's charger in the war that followed.</p>
+
+<p>It was not, however, until war was regarded as unavoidable, and not
+until after he was promoted to be a major-general and appointed
+President and Administrator of Upper Canada, as successor to Governor
+Gore, that Isaac Brock became reconciled to life in Canada, and with set
+purpose assumed the duties of his high calling.</p>
+
+<hr class='smler' />
+
+<p>Our hero had passed his <i>third</i> milestone.</p>
+
+<div class="footnotes"><h3>FOOTNOTE:</h3>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_2_2" id="Footnote_2_2"></a><a href="#FNanchor_2_2"><span class="label">[2]</span></a> Miss Carnochan, as the Curator of the Niagara Historical
+Society the custodian of many relics of the war of 1812, has in her
+keeping this identical cocked hat. It arrived "shortly after Brock's
+death, and was given by his nephew to Mr. George Ball, near whose
+residence the 49th was stationed. The hat measures twenty-four inches
+inside, and was used at the funeral obsequies of 1824 and 1853, when
+many old soldiers requested, and were permitted, to try it on." The
+usage that the cocked hat then received has not improved its
+appearance.</p></div>
+</div>
+
+<hr />
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_72" id="Page_72">[Pg 72]</a></span></p>
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XII" id="CHAPTER_XII"></a>CHAPTER XII.</h2>
+
+<h3>MAJOR-GENERAL BROCK, GOVERNOR OF UPPER CANADA.</h3>
+
+<p>The appointment of Brock&mdash;with his exceptional military attainments&mdash;to
+the chief command in Upper Canada, at the point of greatest danger, was
+a rare piece of good fortune for the colony. Of the American military
+leaders, Generals Howe, Dearborn and Wadsworth were all examples of a
+common standard; even Sir George Prevost, the new Governor-General of
+Canada and Commander-in-Chief, was tuned in a minor key.</p>
+
+<p>Isaac Brock was the man of the hour. His star was in the ascendant.
+Queen Victoria's father, the Duke of Kent, was anxious to meet the
+soldier whose despatches had stirred the War Office. The Duke of York
+was ready to give him a brigade under Wellington, while the Governor of
+Jamaica, the Duke of Manchester, then touring Canada, begged Brock, whom
+he looked upon as a "universal provider," to equip him with canoes and
+guides for a western pilgrimage. If Brock's promotion brought him
+distinction it also brought him work&mdash;Executive Councils,
+court-martials, reorganization of militia, reconstruction of the ruined
+forts on the Niagara frontier, the building of gunboats, the making of
+roads. Never idle. To-day he was inspecting a camp of the 49th at Three
+Rivers, near Montreal; next week at Fort Erie. Ever busy, ever buoyant.
+Whether perusing documents, scouring the muddy roads at Queenston,
+surveying the boundaries of the dreaded Black Swamp, or visiting the
+points between<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_73" id="Page_73">[Pg 73]</a></span> Fort George and Vrooman's battery on his slashing gray
+charger, he had a smile and cheery word for everyone. As for Dobson, his
+profound awe at his master's progress was only equalled by his devotion,
+that increased with the illness that threatened his life; while the
+faithful sergeant-major, now Captain FitzGibbon, in command of a company
+of the 49th, was reflecting great credit on his patron. But no matter
+what the tax on his time, Isaac never neglected the "beloved brothers."</p>
+
+<p>In New York there had been financial failures. Brock predicted a
+dreadful crash, and had so written to his brother Irving, who with
+William had a bank in London. He hoped they "had withheld their
+confidence in public stocks." Providence ruled otherwise. While Isaac in
+the solitude of his quarters was writing this warning, the banking house
+in London, whose vessels in the Baltic Sea had been seized by
+Bonaparte's privateers, closed its doors. The news reached him on his
+birthday. He learned that a private advance made to him by William for
+the purchase of his commissions had been entered in the bank's books by
+mistake. He was a debtor to the extent of &pound;3,000.</p>
+
+<p>Brock rose to the occasion. He proved himself not only a soldier but,
+best of all, a just man with the highest sense of personal honour. His
+distress was all for his brothers. He would sell his commission, turn
+over his income as governor and surrender everything, if by doing so he
+could save the fortunes of his family. Anything that not only the law
+but the right might demand. This failure impaired the former good
+fellowship between William and Irving Brock. Isaac wrote Irving,
+beseeching him to repair the breach. "Hang the world," said he; "it is
+not worth a thought. Be generous, and find<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_74" id="Page_74">[Pg 74]</a></span> silent comfort in being so.
+Oh, my dear brother, forget the past and let us all unite in soothing
+the grief of one of the best hearts that heaven ever formed, whose wish
+was to place us all in affluence. Could tears restore him he would be
+happy."</p>
+
+<p>But Isaac was not permitted to know that reconciliation followed his
+prayers. While William and Irving were shaking hands, but before they
+had even heard of the capture of Detroit, Isaac, unknown to them, was at
+that moment lying cold in death within the cavalier bastion at Fort
+George.</p>
+
+<p>Little York was now Brock's headquarters. He built dockyards to shelter
+His Majesty's navy, which consisted of two small vessels! He planned new
+Parliament Buildings and an arsenal, prepared township maps showing
+roads and trails, fords and bridges, all of which latter were in a
+shocking condition. At York the timber and brushwood was so dense that
+travel between the garrison and town was actually by water. His mind
+made up that war with the United States was inevitable, he was
+confronted with crucial questions demanding instant solution. Chief of
+these was the defence of the frontier, 1,300 miles in length, which
+entailed repairs of the boundary forts, the raising of a reliable
+militia, the increase of the regular troops, the building of more
+gunboats, and the solving of the Indian problem.</p>
+
+<hr />
+<p class="center"><a name="fp075.jpg" id="fp075.jpg"></a><img src="images/fp075.jpg" width='600' height='299' alt="Butler's Barracks (Officers' Quarters), Niagara Common" /></p>
+
+<p class="center"><span class="smcap">Butler's Barracks (Officers' Quarters), Niagara Common</span></p>
+
+<hr />
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_75" id="Page_75">[Pg 75]</a></span></p>
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XIII" id="CHAPTER_XIII"></a>CHAPTER XIII.</h2>
+
+<h3>THE WAR CLOUD.</h3>
+
+<p>A President of the United States had breezily declared that the conquest
+of Canada would be "a mere matter of marching." The final expulsion of
+England from the American continent he regarded as a matter of course.
+Cabinet ministers at Washington and rabid politicians looked upon the
+forcible annexation of Canada as a foregone conclusion.</p>
+
+<p>One Massachusetts general officer, a professional fire-eater, said he
+"would capture Canada by contract, raise a company of soldiers and take
+it in six weeks." Henry Clay, another statesman, "verily believed that
+the militia of Kentucky alone were competent to place Upper Canada at
+the feet of the Americans." Calhoun, also a "war-hawk," had said that
+"in four weeks from the time of the declaration of war the whole of
+Upper and part of Lower Canada would be in possession of the United
+States." All of this was only the spread-eagle bombast of amateur
+filibusters, as events proved, but good cause for Brock, who had been
+appointed janitor of Canada and been given the keys of the country, to
+ponder deeply.</p>
+
+<p>Canada's entire population was nearly 320,000&mdash;about the same as that of
+Toronto to-day&mdash;that of the United States was 8,000,000! To defend her
+broken frontier Canada had only 1,450 British soldiers and a militia&mdash;at
+that moment&mdash;chiefly on paper. If the Indians in<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_76" id="Page_76">[Pg 76]</a></span> the West were to be
+impressed with British supremacy&mdash;for they were making a stand against
+2,000 American soldiers on the banks of the Wabash, in Ohio, where
+eighteen years before they had been beaten by General Wayne at
+Miami&mdash;then Amherstburg must be greatly strengthened and the Americans
+deterred from attack. How was Brock to obtain troops, and how were they
+to be equipped? The stores at Fort York were empty, provisions costly,
+and no specie to be had. All the frontier posts needed heavier
+batteries. On Lake Erie the fleet consisted of the <i>Queen Charlotte</i> and
+the small schooner <i>Hunter</i>. As to the militia, he had been advised that
+it would not be prudent to arm more than 4,000 of the 11,000 in all
+Canada prepared to bear arms.</p>
+
+<p>To Brock's citation of thirty pressing wants Sir George Prevost wrote
+him, "You must not be led into any measure bearing the character of
+<i>offence</i>, even should war be declared." Prevost had a fluid backbone,
+while Brock's was of finely tempered steel.</p>
+
+<p>While affairs were in this precarious state His Excellency the
+Lieutenant-Governor, Major-General Brock, opened the Legislature at
+York. With what pride the news was received by the good people at St.
+Peter's Port can be imagined. To think that this great man, gorgeous in
+a purple Windsor uniform and slender court sword, with gleaming silk
+hose and hair aglitter with silver powder, was none other than "Master
+Isaac," whom the humblest Guernsey fisherman claimed as comrade, seemed
+past belief! To think that this important gentleman, with frilled
+waistcoat and cuffs of delicate lace&mdash;actually the King's Deputy&mdash;before
+whom, as "Your Excellency," Indian and paleface, gentle and simple,
+bowed low, was<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_77" id="Page_77">[Pg 77]</a></span> the small boy who used to play "uprooting the gorse"
+with the Guernsey fisher-lads&mdash;was beyond comprehension. Probably the
+one least affected by these honours was our hero himself. While it
+gratified his honest pride, it did not in the least cloud his vision.
+His speech from the throne proves this.</p>
+
+<p>"It is a glorious contest in which the Empire is engaged," he said, "to
+secure the independence of Europe, but what can we think of the American
+Government, which is trying to impede her effort.... The ships of
+England," he continued, "had been refused shelter in United States
+harbours, while refuge had been extended to the ships of our inveterate
+enemies." He reminded the colonists that "insulting threats had been
+offered to the flag and hostile preparations made." He praised the
+militia, and, while wishing for peace, declared that "Canada must
+prepare for war, relying on England's support in her hour of peril." He
+asked the Legislature to assent to three things of vital importance&mdash;the
+suspension of the Habeas Corpus Act, the passage of a law to regulate
+the privileges of aliens, and an Act providing for rewards to be paid to
+the captors of deserters.</p>
+
+<p>It was a house divided against itself, and it turned a deaf ear to
+Brock's appeal. "To the great influence of <i>American settlers</i> over the
+members of the Lower House," he attributed this defeat. A court-martial
+revealed the fact that one of the best known militia regiments was
+composed almost entirely of native Americans! The United Empire
+Loyalists thronged to his banner.</p>
+
+<p>Undaunted by the cheap prudence of Prevost, a hostile Legislature, and
+the difficulties that beset him, Brock took off his coat, rolled up his
+sleeves, and all but single-handed<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_78" id="Page_78">[Pg 78]</a></span>&mdash;"off his own bat," as Dobson
+explained it to an admiring crowd in the barrack-room&mdash;wrought like the
+hero that he was for the salvation of his country. He became a machine,
+a machine working at high pressure eighteen hours out of twenty-four. He
+had developed into a very demon for work.</p>
+
+<p>With an empty treasury and no hope of reinforcements&mdash;every soldier
+England could spare was fighting in Spain&mdash;he raised flank companies of
+militia to be attached to the regular regiments. The Glengarry
+sharpshooters, four hundred strong, were enlisted in three weeks. A new
+schooner was placed on the stocks. He formed a car-brigade of the young
+volunteer farmers of York and removed incompetent officers.</p>
+
+<p>Fort George, constructed of earthen ramparts, with honeycombed cedar
+palisades which a lighted candle could set fire to, with no tower or
+block-house, and mounting only nine-pound guns, he knew was incapable of
+resistance. It invited destruction from any battery that might be
+erected at Youngstown on the American side, while confronting it was
+Fort Niagara, built of stone, mounting over twenty heavy guns,
+containing a furnace for heating shot, and formidable with bastions,
+palisades, pickets and dry ditch. The tension at Niagara was trying. Two
+officers of the 41st were expelled for killing dull care by dissipation.
+A Canadian merchant schooner was boarded in mid-lake by an American
+brig, taken to Sackett's Harbour and stripped. The Americans were
+pouring rations and munitions of war into Detroit. If Brock's hands were
+shackled, he knew the art of sitting tight. He made another flying trip
+to Amherstburg, taking one hundred men of the 41st, in the face of
+Prevost's standing orders to "exercise the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_79" id="Page_79">[Pg 79]</a></span> strictest economy."
+Handicapped on every side, doing his best and preparing for the worst,
+he wrote Prevost that his "situation was critical," but he "hoped to
+avert dire calamity."</p>
+
+<p>The river bank between Fort George and Queenston for seven miles was
+patrolled night and day. A watch was placed on Mississaga lighthouse
+from daylight to dusk, and beacon masts, supporting iron baskets filled
+with birchbark and pitch, were erected on the heights to announce, in
+event of hostilities, the call to arms.</p>
+
+<p>At this time one of Brock's most intimate friends&mdash;his chosen
+adviser&mdash;was Mr. Justice William Dummer Powell, later Chief Justice of
+Upper Canada, and former Speaker of the House. At the judge's house and
+at Tordarroch, the log mansion of General &AElig;neas Shaw&mdash;another intimate,
+and Adjutant-General of Militia&mdash;Brock was wont to repair for a few
+hours' rest from official cares. It was at Tordarroch (Oak Hall), on the
+outskirts of York, that the great Duke of Kent had been a guest. When at
+Fort George our hero usually lived with Colonel Murray, of the 100th,
+and "charming Mrs. Murray," as he was fond of calling her, in their
+"pretty cottage," and if not there he was a constant visitor at the
+house of Captain John Powell, a son of the judge and son-in-law of
+General Shaw, between whose daughter, Sophia Shaw, and Isaac Brock there
+had developed a deep attachment. Here he whiled away spare moments with
+whist and cribbage, "diversions," he said, "that sharpened a man's
+wits." He would shoot wild pigeons and spruce partridges in the adjacent
+bush, or take long gallops, frequently alone, over the plains beyond the
+Heights of Queenston, ever on the lookout for new bridle-paths and
+point-to-point trails.</p>
+
+<hr />
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_80" id="Page_80">[Pg 80]</a></span></p>
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XIV" id="CHAPTER_XIV"></a>CHAPTER XIV.</h2>
+
+<h3>THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA DECLARES WAR.</h3>
+
+<p>It came at last! On June 18th, 1812, after weeks of preparation, placing
+an embargo on shipping, putting 100,000 militia on a war footing on the
+pretence of hostilities among the Indians, calling out the volunteers
+and raising a special public fund, Congress under President Madison
+declared war against Great Britain.</p>
+
+<p>This did not end Brock's suspense. Not until five weeks later did he
+receive official notice from Prevost. Despite opposition from many
+states, which declared their detestation of an alliance with Bonaparte,
+after a stormy debate behind closed doors at Washington, Congress voted
+for war against England, with Canada as the point of attack. The United
+States placed itself on record as approving of "forcible invasion of a
+neighbouring peaceful country and its rights, and of taking property on
+which it had no shadow of claim."</p>
+
+<p>The offensive "right of search" of American ships by British warships
+for deserters was, of course, given as the excuse for war. The United
+States Government contended that a nation's flag protected the cargoes
+of the vessels of that nation. To search for contraband or for deserters
+on such ships, President Madison declared, was a violation of
+international law. In direct violation of the United States' own
+interpretation of this decree, her war-frigate <i>President</i> blew the
+British gunboat <i>Little Belt</i>,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_81" id="Page_81">[Pg 81]</a></span> half her own size, almost out of the
+water because of the refusal of her commander to allow such search.</p>
+
+<p>It is interesting to remember that while the United States contended
+that Britain had no right to search the ships of other nations, she
+actually allowed her own officials, in the case of an American sailor
+who had become a citizen of France and an officer in the French navy, to
+search the foreign vessel upon which he served and arrest him as a
+deserter. A more flagrant violation of the principles she professed is
+difficult to imagine. She insisted that this officer was still a citizen
+of the United States, for he could not become a citizen of another
+country without the consent of the government of his native country. So,
+when it suited her purpose, and in direct defiance of her own
+proclamation, she did not hesitate to accept England's contention and
+adopt the "obnoxious doctrine"&mdash;thus practising the identical principle
+against which she had declared war. Truly glaring inconsistency.</p>
+
+<p>While these were the chief of the alleged reasons for war, the whole
+world knew that the real cause was the jealousy and hatred felt for
+England by a certain class of United States citizens who "were bound to
+pick a quarrel with John Bull, excuse or no excuse." That there were
+many and irritating faults on the part of England cannot be denied. In
+the light of subsequent events it is not difficult to realize that both
+governments were in the wrong. The wisdom born of bitter experience and
+the sincere friendship of the two nations to-day, sensibly founded on
+mutual respect, happily renders a repetition of such regrettable scenes
+outside the pale of possibility.</p>
+
+<p>Strange to say, England had revoked the objectionable Order-in-Council
+authorizing right of search of American<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_82" id="Page_82">[Pg 82]</a></span> ships for deserters by British
+men-of-war the very day <i>before</i> war was declared by the United States.
+There was no ocean cable in those days. Had there been, this story might
+never have been written. The removal, however, of this one reason for
+<i>war</i> was not&mdash;when letters duly arrived from England announcing the
+fact&mdash;accepted by the United States as a reason for an immediate
+declaration of <i>peace</i>. This proves that the reasons advanced by the
+United States for going to war were from first to last not genuine, but
+mere excuses. Canada was as Naboth's vineyard, and Ahab, in the person
+of the United States, coveted it. England hesitated to draw the sword on
+a people "speaking a common tongue, with institutions based upon her
+own," but she could not always be expected to "turn the other cheek to
+the smiter."</p>
+
+<p>The United States called out an army of 15,000 men for purposes of
+attack on the Niagara frontier, and commanded General Wadsworth&mdash;of
+course, on paper&mdash;"to feed and cherish them." How well he executed this
+command remains to be seen.</p>
+
+<p>What of Canada? Her yeomen forsook ploughshare and broadaxe, seized
+sword and musket, and rallied to the standard of Brock. In Upper Canada
+there was an active force of 950 regulars and marines and 550 militia.
+This little army had to defend the seven forts of Kingston, York,
+George, Erie, Chippewa, Amherstburg, and St. Joseph, not one of which
+was a fortress of strength, to patrol the lakes and protect a most
+vulnerable frontier. It was the opinion of leading military authorities
+that Canada could never be held against such an enemy.</p>
+
+<p>Brock was at York when the news reached him. He at once sent part of the
+41st to Niagara by lake, crossing<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_83" id="Page_83">[Pg 83]</a></span> himself with his brigade-major,
+Evans, and Macdonell and Glegg, his aides, and, as usual, in a batteau,
+with eleven men. At Fort George he bade adieu to some American officers,
+guests of the mess, and sent them across the river. He was eager to
+storm Fort Niagara, whose capture might have changed the entire
+situation, but alas! what of his instructions?</p>
+
+<p>He called out more militia, though he had only a few tents and many of
+the men were drilling without shoes. One hundred Tuscaroras under Chief
+Brant answered his summons. He divided his augmented Niagara force into
+four divisions&mdash;at Fort Erie 400 men, at Fort Chippewa 300, at Queenston
+300, at Fort George 500. Of these, 900 were militia.</p>
+
+<p>The rattle of the matchlock was as familiar as cockcrow. Every man
+became in fact, if not in deed, a volunteer. If the musket was not
+strapped to the tail of the plough, it leaned against the
+snake-fence&mdash;loaded. The goose-step, the manual and platoon took the
+place of the quadrille. Every clearing became a drill-hall, every log
+cabin an armoury. Many of the militia were crack shots, with all the
+scouting instincts of the forest ranger. In the barrack-square, in
+scarlet, white and green, the regulars drilled and went through wondrous
+evolutions with clock-work precision&mdash;fighting machinery with the
+tenacity of the bull-dog, though lacking the craft of the woods that had
+taught the volunteer the value of shelter and the wisdom of dwelling on
+his aim.</p>
+
+<p>Apart, stolid and silent, but interested spectators, lounged the dusky
+redmen, forever sucking at their <i>pwoighun-ahsin</i> (stone pipes) and
+making tobacco from<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_84" id="Page_84">[Pg 84]</a></span> the inner bark of red-willow wands, watching and
+wondering. The foot soldiers carried fire-locks, flints and cartridge
+boxes. These smooth-bore flint-locks had an effective range of less than
+100 yards, and could be discharged only once a minute. Very different to
+the modern magazine rifle, which can discharge twenty-five shots in a
+minute and kill at 4,200 yards, while within 2,000 yards it is accurate
+and deadly. The mounted men were armed with sabres and ponderous
+pistols.</p>
+
+<p>Our hero addressed the militia. The enemy, he told them, intended to lay
+waste the country. "Let them be taught," he said, "that Canadians would
+never bow their necks to a foreign yoke." As the custodian of their
+rights, he was trying to preserve all they held dear. He looked to them
+to repel the invaders.</p>
+
+<p>Brock was placed in a most peculiar position, for while the passive
+Prevost was still instructing him&mdash;nearly three weeks <i>after</i> the
+declaration of war&mdash;"to take no offensive measures, as none would be
+taken by the United States Government," General Hull, with a force of
+2,500 tried soldiers, was on his way from Ohio through the Michigan
+forests to occupy Detroit and invade Canada. Hull reached Detroit, and
+four days later, with his entire command, crossed the river and occupied
+Sandwich. But the trip was attended with serious mishap to his army, for
+Lieutenant Roulette, of the British sloop <i>Hunter</i>&mdash;a brother of the
+famous fur-trader&mdash;in a small batteau, with only six men, captured the
+United States packet <i>Cayuga</i>, with a detachment of five officers and
+thirty-three soldiers, as she was coming up the river. The <i>Cayuga's</i>
+treasure consisted not only of valuable stores and baggage,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_85" id="Page_85">[Pg 85]</a></span> but Hull's
+official correspondence with the United States Secretary of War. The
+contents of this decided Brock, though he had no idea Hull's army was so
+strong, to attempt the reduction of Fort Detroit without a moment's
+delay.</p>
+
+<p>The very hour he knew that war was declared he had notified the officer
+at St. Joseph. Our hero, whose root idea of a soldier's craft was
+"secrecy in conception and vigour in execution," had no taste for
+Prevost's mad doctrine that the aggressed had to await the convenience
+of the aggressor. Brock had been taught to regard tolerance in war as an
+"evil of the first magnitude," and so had already instructed the
+commander at St. Joseph that if war was proclaimed he was to attack
+Mackinaw at once, but if attacked, "defend your post to the last."
+Prevost at the same time had ordered this officer "in case of necessity
+to effect his own retreat," never dreaming he would dare attack
+Mackinaw. What a contrast the despatches of these two men present! The
+one full of confidence, fight and resistance, the other shrinking from
+action and suggesting retreat. Brock's despatch was of later date and
+more palatable to the fighter at St. Joseph. He started at once for
+Mackinaw, fifty-five miles distant, with 45 of the 10th Royal veterans,
+180 Canadians, many of whom were traders and voyageurs, and convoyed by
+the brig <i>Caledonia</i>, owned by the North-West Fur Company.</p>
+
+<p>He landed before daybreak. By noon of that day the Union Jack was
+floating above the basalt cliffs of the Gibraltar of the north, and also
+over two of the enemy's vessels laden with furs. It is not on record
+that Captain Roberts was recommended by General Sir George Prevost<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_86" id="Page_86">[Pg 86]</a></span> for
+promotion! The Indians at Amherstburg were now ready to support the
+British. Foremost among these was the great Shawanese warrior, Tecumseh.</p>
+
+<p>General Hull, having meantime billeted himself in Colonel Baby's big
+brick house at Sandwich, issued a proclamation to the "inhabitants of
+Canada." As a sample of egotism, bluff and bombast it stands unrivalled.
+He told the inhabitants of Canada that he was in possession of their
+country, that an ocean and wilderness isolated them from England, whose
+tyranny he knew they felt. His grand army was ready to release them from
+oppression. They must choose between liberty and security, as offered by
+the United States, and war and annihilation, the penalty of refusal. He
+also threatened instant destruction to any Canadian found fighting by
+the side of an Indian, though General Dearborn, in command of the United
+States forces at Niagara, had been authorized by the United States
+Secretary of War "to organize the warriors of the Seneca Indians" <i>for
+active service against Canada</i>.</p>
+
+<p>The United States Secretary of War wrote to Hull, saying his action
+respecting Canadian Indians "met with the approval of the Government."
+Evidently ashamed, upon reflection, of Hull's threat, that same
+Government later instructed its commissioners at the Treaty of Ghent,
+when peace was restored, "to disown and disavow" their former Indian
+policy.</p>
+
+<p>Hull's extraordinary production, which proved a boomerang, was really
+the work of Colonel Lewis Cass, his Chief of Staff; but while Hull and
+Cass were "unloading their rhetoric at Sandwich," our hero was "loading
+his guns at Mackinaw."</p>
+
+<hr />
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_87" id="Page_87">[Pg 87]</a></span></p>
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XV" id="CHAPTER_XV"></a>CHAPTER XV.</h2>
+
+<h3>BROCK ACCEPTS HULL'S CHALLENGE.</h3>
+
+<p>With the country's call for a saviour had arisen the man so sorely
+needed. Vigilant, sagacious and brave, but with most inadequate forces,
+Brock, faced by a crisis, hurried to repel the invasion by Hull. If
+Canada was to be saved, Detroit, as well as Mackinaw, must be reduced.
+The confidence also of the savages must be retained. The smallness of
+his army demanded the neutrality of the redmen, if not their active aid.</p>
+
+<p>The plan of his campaign was laid before his Executive Council and the
+members of his staff. As they parted at the door of the General's
+quarters at midnight, preceding the day on which their gallant leader
+issued his counter reply to Hull, his final words were: "To hold
+Amherstburg, gentlemen, is of vital importance. It is the western base
+from which we must resist attack and advance upon Detroit. It must be
+held in force."</p>
+
+<p>Brock's written answer to Hull's flamboyant address&mdash;edited by his wise
+adviser, Judge Powell&mdash;was eloquent and dignified. Hull's invitation to
+Canadians to seek protection from Britain under the flag of the United
+States was, he said, "an insult." He cited the advantages of British
+connection, and warned the colonists that secession meant the
+restitution of Canada to the Empire of France. This was the price to be
+paid by America for the aid given by France to the revolting States
+during<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_88" id="Page_88">[Pg 88]</a></span> the War of Independence. He reminded them of the constancy of
+their fathers. "Are you prepared to become slaves to this despot
+Napoleon, who rules Europe with a rod of iron? If not, arise, repel the
+invader and give your children no cause to reproach you with sacrificing
+the richest inheritance of earth, participation in the name, character
+and freedom of Britons."</p>
+
+<p>He told them not to be dismayed by the enemy's threat to "refuse them
+quarter should an Indian appear in their ranks." "Why," he continued,
+"should the brave bands of Indians which now inhabit this colony be
+prevented from defending their new homes?" These poor people, he
+reminded them, had actually been punished for their former fidelity to
+the United States, by the Government of that country taking from them
+their old homes in Ohio. The King of England had granted them a refuge
+and given them superior lands in Canada. Why were they to be denied the
+right to defend their hearths "from invasion by ferocious foes," who,
+while utilizing Indians themselves, had condemned the practice in
+others? The threat to refuse quarter to these defenders of invaded
+rights would, he said, bring about inevitable reprisal, for "the
+national character of Britain was not less distinguished for humanity
+than retributive justice."</p>
+
+<p>The obstacles surrounding Brock would have driven an ordinary man to
+distraction. It is not possible to recite a fraction of them. The Grand
+River Indians, having received a specious letter from Hull, refused to
+join the relief expedition for Moraviantown, on the Thames, on which
+some of Hull's freebooters were marching. Some of the militia declined
+to leave their homes, suspicious,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_89" id="Page_89">[Pg 89]</a></span> they said, of Indian treachery. Some,
+with blood relations in the States, refused point blank to take up arms.
+Others were busy harvesting, while not a few came out openly as traitors
+and joined the ranks of Hull. Brock had no reinforcements of regular
+troops, and small chance of getting any, and, what was far worse, he
+received little moral support even from the Legislature, and none from
+other sources from which he had a right to expect it. He called an extra
+session of the House to enact laws to meet the crisis, to invest him
+with greater authority and to vote money for defence. He closed his
+Speech from the Throne with a declaration delivered in sonorous, ringing
+tones that echoed throughout the chamber:</p>
+
+<p>"We are engaged in an awful and eventful contest. By unanimity and
+vigour we may teach the enemy this lesson, that a country defended by
+free men, devoted to the cause of their King and constitution, can never
+be conquered."</p>
+
+<p>Though Brock's speech "inspired the faithful and foiled the designs of
+some of the faithless," his demands were conceded in part only, and he
+left for Fort George with heart filled with misgivings. In answer to his
+request, Prevost declined to define the extent of the authority with
+which he had himself vested him. Extreme measures, he told him, must be
+taken at his own risk. Our hero was one of those limited few who had
+sounded the depths of the truth that it was easier to do one's duty than
+to know it. His shrewdness and self-reliance came to the rescue. Seeing
+that the Niagara River would be selected as the point for invasion, he
+made it his <i>defensive</i> frontier, while the Detroit River was the
+<i>offensive</i> front of his<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_90" id="Page_90">[Pg 90]</a></span> campaign. These views he outlined to his staff
+on the night following the prorogation of the House.</p>
+
+<p>Judge Powell, after a long session of Council, the last to depart, was
+rising to leave. "Then, sir," said Colonel Macdonell, General Brock's
+new provincial aide, the young and brilliant Attorney-General of Upper
+Canada&mdash;engaged to Mary Powell, the daughter of the judge&mdash;"you really
+believe we can bombard Detroit successfully? The fort has, I understand,
+parapets twenty feet high, with four bastions, surrounded by palisades,
+a ditch and a glacis, and is capable of withstanding a long siege;
+besides which it has 2,500 fighting men to defend it."</p>
+
+<p>"My good Macdonell," responded our hero, interest and deep regard
+imprinted on his face, "we fortunately know from Hull's own letters that
+he has as little confidence in his army as they have confidence in him.
+I fancy he is merely whistling to keep up his courage. A bold front on
+our part, with a judicious display of our small force, will give him
+cause to reflect. Then, provided we enthuse the Indians&mdash;and if Mackinaw
+is fallen, this should not be difficult&mdash;Detroit is ours!"</p>
+
+<p>"How about Amherstburg and Sandwich, General?" interjected Justice
+Powell. "Their safety is essential to your plan."</p>
+
+<p>"As to Amherstburg," said Brock, "it is the pivot point, sir, and must
+be retained as our base. At Sandwich we already have earthworks
+completed. If destroyed by Hull they must be rebuilt, for the batteries
+there must cover our crossing and cannonade the fort while we advance
+upon it. I have already sent, as you know, a few additional men to
+Procter&mdash;every man I can steal<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_91" id="Page_91">[Pg 91]</a></span> from here. He should be able to hold his
+own at Amherstburg for a bit longer. The conditions, I admit, are far
+from satisfactory under the present command, but Chambers is on his way
+with forty of the 41st, one hundred militia with Merritt, and some of
+Brant's braves, to put backbone into the garrison."</p>
+
+<p>"General," said Justice Powell, the rays from a waning moon flooding the
+hall-way as the outer door was opened by Brock for the exit of his
+councillors, "having implicit confidence in your judgment and military
+ability, I believe you will overthrow Hull. Assuming that you capture
+old Fort Lernoult and seize Detroit, what then?"</p>
+
+<p>"What then, sir?" said Brock&mdash;emphasizing his parting words with a
+gesture of his hand&mdash;"why, Detroit taken, I shall return here, batter
+Fort Niagara&mdash;providing Prevost consents&mdash;and then by a sudden movement
+I could sweep the frontier from Buffalo to Fort Niagara and complete the
+salvation of Canada by the occupation of Sackett's Harbor. Good-night,
+gentlemen. <i>En avant</i>, Detroit!"</p>
+
+<hr />
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_92" id="Page_92">[Pg 92]</a></span></p>
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XVI" id="CHAPTER_XVI"></a>CHAPTER XVI.</h2>
+
+<h3>"EN AVANT, DETROIT!"</h3>
+
+<p>Under an August moon Lake Erie shone as a shield of silver. Brock, with
+a fleet of small craft, batteaux and boats of every kind given him by
+the settlers, had pulled out from Long Point with 40 regulars and 260
+militia for the relief of Amherstburg, two hundred miles distant.</p>
+
+<p>The news of the fall of Mackinaw and the official declaration of war had
+only reached him as Parliament rose. He had proclaimed martial law
+before leaving York. He had also heard details of the attack by Hull's
+raiders on the Moravian settlement, sixty miles up the Thames. He knew
+of the repulse of 300 United States troops in three attempts to cross
+the Canard River bridge for an attack on Amherstburg, and of their being
+driven into the open plains, with loss, by Procter's men.</p>
+
+<p>It was in one of these attacks that the first scalp in the war of 1812
+was taken&mdash;not by one of Brock's terrible Indians, whose expected
+excesses had been referred to by Hull, but by a captain of Hull's spies.
+This officer&mdash;one hates to describe him as a white man&mdash;wrote his wife,
+he "had the pleasure of tearing a scalp from the head of a British
+redskin," and related at length the brutal details of his methods. They
+were those of a wild beast. "The first stroke of the tomahawk," Hull had
+stated in his proclamation, "the first attempt with the scalping-knife,
+will be the signal of a scene of desolation." Yet the first scalp taken
+in the Detroit campaign was by one of his own officers!<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_93" id="Page_93">[Pg 93]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>Brock knew that the valorous Hull, dismayed at the advance of the
+British, had recrossed the river with all but 250 of his men and was
+hard at work on the defences of Fort Shelby, behind which he had
+retired. Brock also knew of the affair at Brownstown, where the Indian
+chief Tecumseh, with twenty-five warriors, had separated himself from
+Major Muir's detachment, sent to intercept a transport on its way from
+Ohio to Detroit with supplies for Hull. He had been told of the
+stratagem by which the great Shawanese warrior had ambushed the 200
+American soldiers, near the Raisin River, who had marched from Detroit
+to escort this convoy and the mails. Seven American officers were killed
+at the Raisin, twelve of all ranks wounded, and seventy reported missing
+after the fight. In addition to the provision train, Tecumseh captured
+what was of much greater importance, another batch of Hull's despondent
+despatches. It was here that swift justice overtook the scalping Captain
+McCullough, of Hull's spies, who himself met with the fate of his former
+victim&mdash;the fate he deserved.</p>
+
+<p>Brock also received despatches describing the daring attack by
+Lieutenant Roulette, of the provincial marine, who in a small boat with
+a handful of men had boarded and seized in the Detroit River a brigade
+of eleven batteaux! These, loaded with food, were on their way from
+Black Rock, and now carried fifty-six wounded American soldiers and two
+English prisoners. This bold feat of "cutting out" took place under the
+eyes of an armed escort of 250 American soldiers marching along the
+river bank.</p>
+
+<p>Messengers from Procter had also informed Brock of the fight at
+Maguagua, fourteen miles below Detroit. It<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_94" id="Page_94">[Pg 94]</a></span> was here that Muir, with 200
+regulars and militia and less than 200 Indians, instead of waiting to be
+attacked, recklessly assailed a force of 600 Americans who were halted
+on the edge of the oak forest, supported by two six-pounder guns.
+Fighting without hope against such odds, the British were outflanked,
+Muir himself wounded, and an officer killed&mdash;the second British soldier
+to fall in the war of 1812. The American loss was eighteen killed and
+sixty-three wounded. Though the difference in arms and men was greatly
+in favour of the Americans, the British were enabled to retreat to the
+river, where they regained their boats. The American force, suffering
+from greater casualties, did not attempt to follow them.</p>
+
+<p>Apart from the inferior strength of the British, the chief cause of
+their reverse at Maguagua was the blunder of some men of the 41st, who
+fired upon a body of Tecumseh's Indians. In rushing from the woods the
+redmen were mistaken for the enemy, and falling into a similar error
+themselves, they returned with interest the fire of the British
+soldiers. The disorder that followed created a panic. While Tecumseh
+with his own Indians fought bravely, the seventy Lake Indians under
+Caldwell suffered from "chill" and fled at the first shot. The most
+encouraging of these facts, when told to the expedition, aroused in
+Brock's followers a wild desire to meet Hull's army in battle.</p>
+
+<p>Our hero's trip from Long Point was full of peril and hardship. The lake
+shore in places was extremely rugged. Precipitous cliffs of red clay and
+sun-baked sand rose two hundred feet from the boulder-strewn coast.
+Scarcely a creek offered shelter. The weather was unusually stormy. A
+heavy surf boomed on the shore. Flocks of water-fowl<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_95" id="Page_95">[Pg 95]</a></span> were driven before
+the wind. The men were drenched by torrents of rain. Though thirty miles
+in twenty-four hours was considered the maximum distance for rowing a
+batteau, nothing could retard this strange armada or dampen the
+confidence of the men in their resolute leader, who in an open boat led
+the way. In this boat, which was "headquarters," were Brock and his two
+aides. A lighted flambeau at the bow acted as a beacon during the night.
+After five days of great vigilance and galley-slave work, the toilers
+reached Amherstburg. Without the help of these hardy and resourceful men
+of the Canadian militia this trip could not have been accomplished.</p>
+
+<p>The conduct of these bold frontiersmen aroused Brock's admiration. His
+own example had again acted as an inspiration. Shortly after leaving
+Port Talbot, his batteau, pounding in the sea, ran upon a reef that
+extended far from shore, and despite oars and pike-poles, remained fast.
+In the height of the confusion "Master Isaac" sprang overboard, and a
+moment later voyageur and raw recruit, waist deep in water, following
+the example of the hero of Castle Cornet, lifted the batteau over the
+dangerous ledge.</p>
+
+<p>When at midnight the boats passed up the Strait&mdash;through which the
+ambitious La Salle and Father Hennepin had passed in 1679&mdash;and grated on
+the gravel beach at Amherstburg, Brock was greeted with a volley of
+musketry by the Indians. This was contrary to his rigid rubric of war.
+Such waste of powder must not be tolerated. He turned to the Indian
+superintendent, "Do pray, Colonel Elliott," said he, "explain my reasons
+for objecting to the firing and tell the Chiefs I will talk with them
+to-morrow."</p>
+
+<hr />
+<p class="center"><a name="fp096.jpg" id="fp096.jpg"></a><img src="images/fp096.jpg" width='371' height='550' alt="Our Hero Meets Tecumseh. This is a Man!" /></p>
+
+<p class="center"><span class="smcap">Our Hero Meets Tecumseh. "This is a Man!"</span></p>
+
+<hr />
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_96" id="Page_96">[Pg 96]</a></span></p>
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XVII" id="CHAPTER_XVII"></a>CHAPTER XVII.</h2>
+
+<h3>OUR HERO MEETS TECUMSEH.</h3>
+
+<p>A few minutes only had elapsed when Elliott returned. The sentry's
+challenge caused Brock to look up from the table, littered with plans
+and despatches. Another figure darkened the doorway.</p>
+
+<p>"This, sir," said Elliott, "is Tecumseh, the Shawanese chief of whom you
+have heard, and who desires to be presented to you."</p>
+
+<p>The General, who had removed the stains of travel and was in uniform,
+rose to his full height, bowed, extended his hand and explained in manly
+fashion the reason for asking that the firing be stopped. The contrast
+presented by the two men was striking. The old world and the new, face
+to face&mdash;a scene for the brush of an impressionist. Brock, tall, fair,
+big-limbed, a blue-eyed giant, imposing in scarlet coat and blue-white
+riding trousers, tasselled Hessian boots, and cocked-hat in hand. On his
+benevolent face was an irresistible smile.</p>
+
+<p>The Indian, though of middle height, was of most perfect proportions, an
+athlete in bronze, lithe and supple as a panther. His oval face, set in
+a frame of glistening black hair, shone like a half-polished copper
+relief. Overlooking the nose, straight as one of his own arrows, and
+from which some tinkling silver coins were suspended, a pair of
+hawk-like eyes, hazel-black and unflinching&mdash;in which the secrets of the
+world seemed slumbering<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_97" id="Page_97">[Pg 97]</a></span>&mdash;gleamed upon Brock. His dress, a hunting
+jacket of tanned deer-skin and close-fitting leggings. Fringed mocassins
+of the same material, richly embroidered in silk and porcupine quills
+dyed in divers colours, encased his feet. The light from the open log
+fire flickered fitfully, half revealing the antlered heads of moose and
+caribou and other trophies of the chase that, hanging from the rafters,
+looked down upon the group, adding weirdness to the picture.</p>
+
+<p>Brock briefly explained that he had come to fight the King's enemies,
+enemies who so far had never seen his back, and who were Tecumseh's
+enemies also. "Would Tecumseh maintain an honourable warfare?"</p>
+
+<p>Perhaps no eulogy of Brock was ever penned that so well summed up his
+qualities as did the terse, four-worded certificate of character uttered
+by the Indian before replying to the British general's appeal. Tecumseh
+looked "Master Isaac's" commanding physique up and over, over and
+down&mdash;Brock's caution as to waste of powder doubtless weighing with
+him&mdash;until eye met eye, and then, impulsively extending his thin brown
+hand, turned to his followers, exclaiming in tones of highest
+admiration:</p>
+
+<p>"<i>This</i> is a man!"</p>
+
+<p>Assenting "Ughs" and "Ho-hos" followed in rapid succession, and in
+response to Brock's invitation the headmen, painted and plumed and in
+striped blankets, squatted on their stained reed mats and wild-beast
+skins on the basswood log floor. Questioned as to the nature of the
+country westward, Tecumseh took a roll of elm-bark and with the point of
+his scalping-knife traced on its white inner surface the features of the
+region&mdash;hills, forests, trails, rivers,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_98" id="Page_98">[Pg 98]</a></span> muskegs and clearings. Rough,
+perhaps, but as accurate, he said, as if drawn by a pale-face
+<i>teebahke&egrave;-wayninni</i> (surveyor).</p>
+
+<p>That night, after Tecumseh's return, Brock again held council with his
+staff, proposing an attack on Detroit. Only one of his chief officers,
+the staunch colonial quartermaster, Lieutenant-Colonel Nichol, agreed
+with him. Colonel Henry Procter, from whom he had expected whole-hearted
+support, strongly objected. History teaches us that the conception of a
+daring plan is the offspring of great minds only. Procter was not of
+this class, as his subsequent record shows. Some of our hero's critics
+have described his resolve to attack Detroit as "audacious and
+desperate." Isaac Brock was, of course, nothing if not contemptuously
+daring. The greater the difficulty that faced him the more was he
+determined to challenge the obstacle, that to a less confident man would
+have been rejected as insurmountable. He had, however, resolved and
+planned not only upon taking Detroit, but, if need be, the pursuit and
+capture of Hull's entire army, compelling him to either stand and fight
+or surrender. With habitual prescience he had weighed well the issues
+and chosen the lesser alternative. His own defeat and possibly his
+death, on the one hand, against the probable salvation of half a
+continent on the other. What true soldier could hesitate?</p>
+
+<p>While patiently hearing objections, he brushed the most of them aside as
+mere flies on the wheel. Surely the way had been opened to him. The
+seized despatches had revealed the discord among Hull's troops and shown
+him that while the United States militia, the flower of Ohio<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_99" id="Page_99">[Pg 99]</a></span> and
+Kentucky, was of good material, the United States soldiers were not. He
+knew that the situation in Upper Canada called for extreme measures, and
+that the time to strike was now or never, for his scouts had truly
+reported that 350 United States mounted troops were pressing close upon
+his rear. They were, in fact, only a mile or two distant. If his own
+inferior force was outflanked, or his communication with the Canadian
+interior cut, it spelled utter disaster. He was in a wilderness without
+hope of reinforcements. As Colonel Cass, the United States commander,
+later reported to the President, Brock was "between two fires and with
+no hope of succour." Brock knew he must act at once or even retreat
+might be impossible. With inborn acumen he saw at a glance the peril of
+his own position, and with cool courage hastened to avert it. He
+realized that upon the "destruction or discomfiture" of Hull's forces
+"the safety of the province depended."</p>
+
+<p>Brock listened closely to Procter's argument&mdash;by this time he knew, of
+course, that Hull's own line of communication with his reserves had been
+cut&mdash;then rising, when all who cared to speak had finished, he said:
+"Gentlemen, I have definitely decided on crossing the river and
+attacking Fort Detroit. Instead of further advice I must beg of you to
+give me your hearty support. The general orders for to-morrow will be
+issued at once."</p>
+
+<p>This decision was typical of the man of action. "Prudent only where
+recklessness was a fault, and hazardous only when hesitation meant
+defeat."</p>
+
+<hr />
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_100" id="Page_100">[Pg 100]</a></span></p>
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XVIII" id="CHAPTER_XVIII"></a>CHAPTER XVIII.</h2>
+
+<h3>AN INDIAN POW-WOW.</h3>
+
+<p>It was a picturesque council of white men and Indians that was held at
+dawn in an open glade of the forest. The fragrant odours of the bush
+mingled with the pungent smoke of the red willow-bark, puffed from a
+hundred pipes. Conspicuous at this pow-wow was Tecumseh, who across his
+close-fitting buckskin hunting jacket, which descended to his knees and
+was trimmed with split leather fringe, wore a belt of wampum, made of
+the purple enamel of mussel shells&mdash;cut into lengths like sections of a
+small pipe-stem, perforated and strung on sinew. On his head he wore a
+toque of eagle plumes.</p>
+
+<p>"My object," said Brock, addressing the Indians, "is to assist you to
+drive the 'Long-knives' [Americans] from the frontier, and repel
+invasion of the King's country." Tecumseh, speaking for his tribesmen,
+remarked, not without sarcasm, that "their great father, King George,
+having awakened out of a long sleep, they were now ready to shed their
+last drop of blood in that father's service."</p>
+
+<p>"The pale faces," he continued, after an impressive pause&mdash;and the fire
+of his eloquence and his gestures swayed his hearers like the reeds on
+the river bank&mdash;"the Americans who want to fight the British are our
+enemies.... They came to us hungry and they cut off the hands of our
+brothers who gave them corn.... We gave them rivers of fish and they
+poisoned our foun<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_101" id="Page_101">[Pg 101]</a></span>tains.... We gave them forest-clad mountains and
+valleys full of game, and in return what did they give our warriors and
+our women? Rum and trinkets and&mdash;a grave!... The shades of our fathers
+slaughtered on the banks of the Tippecanoe can find no rest.... Their
+eyes can see no herds on the hills of light in the hunting grounds of
+the dead!... Until our enemies are no more we must be as one man, under
+one chief, whose name is&mdash;Death!... I have spoken."</p>
+
+<p>Tecumseh, it should be known, bore a personal grudge against the
+Americans, especially against the 4th Regiment, then in garrison at
+Detroit, the "heroes of Tippecanoe." This was a terrible misnomer, for
+under General Harrison, with 1,000 soldiers, less than a year before,
+they had taken part in the slaughter of Tecumseh's half-armed band of
+600 men and women on the banks of the Tippecanoe River, during that
+chief's absence with many of his warriors, and had laid waste his
+village. With a perhaps pardonable spirit of vindictiveness, such as is
+shared by both redskin and white man, the human-being in him thirsted
+for revenge.</p>
+
+<p>Brock, perceiving Tecumseh's sagacity and influence over the savages,
+invited the Shawanese and Wawanosh, Ojebekun and the other sachems, to a
+private council. Here he unfolded his plans. Before doing this he made
+it a condition that no barbarities were to be committed. "The
+scalping-knife," said he, "must be discarded, and forbearance,
+compassion and clemency shown to the vanquished." He told them he wanted
+to restrict their military operations to the known rules of war, as far
+as was possible under the singular conditions in which they<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_102" id="Page_102">[Pg 102]</a></span> fought, and
+exacted a promise from the lofty-minded Tecumseh that his warriors
+"should not taste pernicious liquor until they had humbled the
+Big-knives." "If this resolution," remarked Brock, "is persevered in,
+you must surely conquer."</p>
+
+<p>Brock's rapid ascendency over the Indians was astonishing; they already
+revered him as a common father.</p>
+
+<p>That same afternoon our hero, moving up with his entire command to
+Sandwich, occupied the mansion of Colonel Baby, the great fur-trader,
+just evacuated by Hull. In the spacious hall hooks were nailed to the
+rafters, from which were suspended great steel-yards, by which the
+beaver packs were weighed. Scattered on the hewn floor in much profusion
+were soldiers' accoutrements, service and pack-saddles, iron-bound
+chests mixed up with bear-traps and paddles, rolls of birch-bark,
+leather hunting shirts, and the greasy blankets of voyageur and redskin.
+The room on the right became Brock's headquarters, and in this room he
+penned his first demand upon General Hull.</p>
+
+<p>"My force," so he wrote, "warrants my demanding the immediate surrender
+of Fort Detroit." Anxious to prevent bloodshed, and knowing Hull's dread
+of the Indians, he also played upon his fears. "The Indians," he added,
+"might get beyond my control." This summons was carried by Colonel
+Macdonell and Major Glegg, under a flag of truce, across the river.</p>
+
+<p>The batteries at Sandwich consisted of one eighteen-pounder, two
+twelve-pounders, and two 5&frac12;-inch howitzers. Back of these artificial
+breastworks extended both a wilderness and the garden of Canada. Beyond
+the meadows,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_103" id="Page_103">[Pg 103]</a></span> aflame with autumn wild-flowers, beyond the cultivated
+clearings, rose a forest of walnut, oak, basswood, birch and poplar
+trees, seared with age, of immense height and girth, festooned with wild
+honeysuckle and other creepers. In the open were broad orchards bending
+under their harvest of red and yellow fruit&mdash;apples and plums, peaches,
+nectarines and cherries&mdash;and extensive vineyards. Huge sugar maples
+challenged giant pear trees, whose gnarled trunks had resisted the
+storms of a century. To the north the floor of the forest was interlaced
+with trails, which, with the intention of deceiving Hull's spies as to
+the strength of Brock's forces, had been crossed and recrossed, and
+countermarched and doubled over, by the soldiers and Tecumseh's
+half-naked braves.</p>
+
+<p>The air was filled with the fragrance of orchard and forest. Facing our
+hero, flowed the river, broad, swift and deep; tufted wolf-willow,
+waving rushes and gray hazel fringing the banks. Across and beyond this
+almost mile-wide ribbon of water, the imposing walls of Fort Detroit
+confronted him. Approaching him at a rapid gait he at last espied his
+two despatch bearers, their scarlet tunics vivid against the green
+background. They reported that, after waiting upon Hull for two hours
+without being granted an interview, they were handed the following
+reply:</p>
+
+<p>"General Hull is prepared to meet any force brought against him, and
+accept any consequences."</p>
+
+<p>Brock instructed his gunners to acknowledge the receipt of this
+challenge with the thunder of their batteries, and from then, far into
+the night, shells and round-shot shrieked their way across the river,
+the answering missiles from<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_104" id="Page_104">[Pg 104]</a></span> Hull's seven twenty-four-pounders breaking
+in a sheet of flame from the very dust created by the British
+cannon-balls that exploded on the enemy's breastworks. Through the irony
+of fate, the first shot fired under Brock's personal orders in the cause
+of Canadian freedom killed a United States officer, an intimate friend
+of the British artilleryman who had trained the gun. Such are the
+arguments of war.</p>
+
+<p>The cannonade proving ineffective, as judged by visible results, Brock
+issued orders to cross the river at dawn, when he would make the attempt
+to take the fort by storm&mdash;and soldier and militiaman bivouacked on
+their arms.</p>
+
+<hr class='smler' />
+
+<p>Camp fires were extinguished, but the tireless fireflies danced in the
+blackness of the wood. The river gurgled faintly in the wind-stirred
+reeds. From out the gloom of the thicket came the weird <i>coco-coco</i> of
+the horned owl. From the starlit sky above fell the shrill cry of the
+mosquito hawk, "<i>peepeegeeceese, peepeegeeceese</i>!" From an isolated bark
+tepee came the subdued incantation of the Indian medicine-man, while
+above the singing of the tree-tops and over all, clear and with
+clock-like regularity, floated the challenge of the sentry and answering
+picket:</p>
+
+<p>"Who goes there?"</p>
+
+<p>"A friend."</p>
+
+<p>"All's well."</p>
+
+<hr />
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_105" id="Page_105">[Pg 105]</a></span></p>
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XIX" id="CHAPTER_XIX"></a>CHAPTER XIX.</h2>
+
+<h3>THE ATTACK ON DETROIT.</h3>
+
+<p>Morning came all too slowly for Brock's impatient soldiers. At last the
+<i>reveille</i> warned the expectant camp. The sun rose, a red-hot shell out
+of the faint August haze, huge and threatening. With its advent the
+British batteries resumed their fire, aided by the guns on the <i>Queen
+Charlotte</i> and <i>Hunter</i>, which lay in the river, above the village known
+to-day as Windsor, to cover the embarkation of the troops in batteaux
+and canoes.</p>
+
+<p>Brock's entire force consisted of only 330 regulars and 400 militia,
+some of whom, acting on a happy thought, were disguised in discarded
+uniforms of the 41st. This army was supported by five pieces of
+artillery. All crossed the river in safety, landing at Spring Wells,
+four miles below. The Indians, 600 strong, under Tecumseh, in addition
+to the men of his own nation, consisted of many Sioux, Wyandottes and
+Dacotahs. The majority of these crossed under cover of the night.
+History records no instance of a determined force being stopped by a
+river. The Detroit River presented an animated picture. Edging their way
+through a maze of boats and batteaux, and in marked contrast to the
+scarlet-coated soldiers and blue-shirted sailors, bark canoes on which
+were drawn in flaring colours a variety of barbaric designs, flitted
+here and there, their crews of half-naked savages fearsome in fresh
+war-paint and gaudy feathers. Coo-ees, shrieks and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_106" id="Page_106">[Pg 106]</a></span> shrill
+war-whoops&mdash;"Ah-oh! Ah-oo!" like the dismal yells of a pack of
+coyotes&mdash;rent the air, the discordant din ever and anon drowned by the
+thunder of the guns from the Sandwich batteries.</p>
+
+<p>Upon landing Brock mustered his men. The reports showed 750 of all
+ranks, including the voyageurs left in charge of the river squadron. The
+600 Indians deployed in the shelter of the woods, skirmishing to effect
+a flank movement. The column, having formed, was moved forward in
+sections, and at double distance, to lend a fictitious air of strength;
+the light artillery, of three, six, and two three-pounders, being
+immediately in rear of the advance guards, the whole preceded by
+fluttering standards and rolling drums. Three generations ago! Yet you
+can see it all to-day as plainly as Brock saw it, if you but close your
+eyes and conjure up the past.</p>
+
+<p>The enemy, over 2,000 strong, drawn up in line upon an overlooking rise,
+had planted in the roadway, commanding the approach to the town, two
+twenty-four pounders, each loaded with six dozen grapeshot, around which
+the gunners stood with burning fuses, challenging our hero's advance.</p>
+
+<p>Up and down, in front of the line, rode Isaac Brock on his gray charger,
+his brilliant uniform&mdash;khaki was unknown in those days&mdash;flashing in the
+morning sun, a shining mark. A command here, a kindly rebuke there, a
+word of encouragement to all ranks; the eyes of Britain and Canada were
+upon them; they might have to take the fort by storm,&mdash;even so, honour
+and glory awaited them.... Forward then, for King and country!</p>
+
+<p>The rat-a-tat-tat of the kettle-drums, the clear-cut<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_107" id="Page_107">[Pg 107]</a></span> whistle of the
+fifes, the resonant roll of the big drums, the steady tramp, tramp of
+armed men&mdash;and the human machine was in motion.</p>
+
+<hr class='smler' />
+
+<p>The long grim guns on Fort Detroit and Hull's field-pieces pointed their
+black muzzles at the column. Up and down, in front of his men, rode
+Isaac Brock.</p>
+
+<hr class='smler' />
+
+<p>Now this was more than some flesh and blood could stand. Spurring his
+horse, acting Quartermaster-General Nichol reined up alongside his
+beloved commander. "General," he said, saluting his leader, while the
+soldiers' faces expressed dumb approval, "forgive me, but I cannot
+forbear entreating you not to expose yourself. If we lose you, we lose
+all. I pray you, allow the troops to advance, led by their own
+officers."</p>
+
+<p>"Master Nichol," said Brock, turning in his saddle and returning the
+salute of the gallant Quartermaster, "I fully appreciate your kindly
+advice, but I feel that, in addition to their sense of loyalty and duty,
+there are many here following me from a feeling of personal regard, and
+I will never ask them to go where I do not lead."</p>
+
+<p>Before him spread the plain, broken here and there with <i>coulees</i> and
+clumps of bush. A partly fenced roadway, with some scattered houses on
+the river bank, but no barbed-wire entanglements, impeded his movements.
+The introduction of such pleasant devices was left for a higher
+civilization!</p>
+
+<hr class='smler' />
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_108" id="Page_108">[Pg 108]</a></span>The column was in motion. The steady onward tramp, tramp of this thin
+red line, raw recruit and grizzly veteran shoulder to shoulder, struck
+fear into the heart of the unfortunate Hull. The prospect, though his
+troops outnumbered the British three to one, was clearly war to the
+knife. Brock's meaning was apparent. Should he or should he not accept
+the Englishman's challenge? He could extract no comfort out of that
+solid scarlet front, bristling with naked steel, now fast approaching in
+battle array with even, ominous tread.</p>
+
+<hr class='smler' />
+
+<p>The siege-proof walls of the fort lay behind him. His irresolute heart
+grew faint, and in the flash of a flintlock in its pan, honour was
+sacrificed and fame cast to the winds. A brave army of martyrs, over
+2,000 strong, was rightabout faced, and drinking the cup of humiliation,
+that only men of courage can drain to the bitter dregs, this army, eager
+to lock bayonets with the British, was actually ordered to retreat into
+the shelter of Fort Detroit!</p>
+
+<hr />
+<p class="center"><a name="fp109.jpg" id="fp109.jpg"></a><img src="images/fp109.jpg" width='366' height='550' alt="Lieut.-Colonel John Macdonell" /></p>
+
+<p class="center"><span class="smcap">Lieut.-Colonel John Macdonell</span></p>
+
+<hr />
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_109" id="Page_109">[Pg 109]</a></span></p>
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XX" id="CHAPTER_XX"></a>CHAPTER XX.</h2>
+
+<h3>BROCK'S VICTORY.</h3>
+
+<p>Reaching a ravine, Brock ordered up his artillery and prepared to
+assault. A shell from the British battery at Sandwich roared over the
+river and crashed through an embrasure of Fort Shelby, killing four
+American officers. The Savoyard river was reached and the outlying
+tan-yard crossed. Brock's troops, keyed up, with nerves tense under the
+strain of suspense, and every moment expecting a raking discharge of
+shot and shell from the enemy's big guns, heard with grim satisfaction
+the General's orders to "prepare for assault."</p>
+
+<p>The field-pieces were trained upon the fort, to cover the rush of the
+besiegers. The gunners, with bated breath and burning fuses, awaited the
+final command, when lo! an officer bearing a white flag emerged from the
+fort, while a boat with another flag of truce was seen crossing the
+river to the Sandwich battery. Macdonell and Glegg galloped out to meet
+the messenger. They returned with a despatch from the American general,
+Hull, to the British general, Brock. This was the message:</p>
+
+<p>"The object of the flag which crossed the river was to propose a
+cessation of hostilities for an hour, for the purpose of entering into
+negotiations for the surrender of Detroit."</p>
+
+<hr class='smler' />
+
+<p>An hour later the British troops, with General Isaac<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_110" id="Page_110">[Pg 110]</a></span> Brock at their
+head, marched through the smiling fields and orchards, passed over the
+fort draw-bridge, and, surrounded by a host of fierce-looking and
+indignant militia of Ohio and "the heroes of Tippecanoe," hauled down
+the Stars and Stripes&mdash;which had waved undisturbed over Fort Lernoult
+since its voluntary evacuation by the British in 1796&mdash;and, in default
+of a British ensign, hoisted a Union Jack&mdash;which a sailor had worn as a
+body-belt&mdash;over the surrendered fortress. British sentinels now guarded
+the ramparts. The bells of old St. Anne's saluted the colors. The "Grand
+Army of the West," by which pretentious title Hull had seen fit to
+describe his invading force, melted like mist before the rising sun.</p>
+
+<p>Several unattached Canadians, costumed as redmen, followed Brock inside
+the fort, and, baring their white arms for Hull's especial edification,
+declared they had so disguised themselves in order to show their
+contempt for his cruel threat respecting instant death to "Indians found
+fighting."</p>
+
+<p>The terms of capitulation included not only one general officer and
+2,500 men of all ranks&mdash;the would-be conquerors of Canada&mdash;2,500 stand
+of arms, 33 pieces of cannon, the <i>Adams</i> brig of war, and immense
+quantities of stores and munitions, valued at &pound;40,000&mdash;but Fort Shelby
+and the town of Detroit and 59,700 square miles of United States
+territory. Nor were these all, for the fort standard&mdash;to the wild
+delight of Tecumseh's warriors&mdash;a highly-prized trophy, it being the
+"colours" of the 4th United States regiment, the vaunted "heroes of
+Tippecanoe," passed into the keeping of the British.</p>
+
+<p>Canada was saved!<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_111" id="Page_111">[Pg 111]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>It was then that those officers who strongly opposed Brock's
+determination to attack became suddenly wise after the event and eager
+to share the honour. The temptation to improve the opportunity, to any
+man less strong than our hero, would have been irresistible, but there
+was no display of vainglory, no cheap boasting. The sword of the
+conquered American general was accepted with manly deference and the
+consideration due to his rank, and he was told, without solicitation on
+his part, he could return to the United States on parole. Then Brock
+hurriedly dictated a brief and modest despatch apprising Sir George
+Prevost of the "capture of this very important post," and quite
+realizing that he was merely an instrument in the hands of Providence,
+and gratitude and the happiness of those he held most dear being
+uppermost in his mind, the captor of Detroit wrote this characteristic
+letter.</p>
+
+<blockquote><p class='right'>"Headquarters, Detroit,<br />"August 16, 1812.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</p>
+
+<p>"My dear Brothers and Friends,&mdash;Rejoice at my good fortune and join
+me in prayers to heaven. I send you a copy of my hasty note to Sir
+George. Let me know that you are all united and happy.</p>
+
+<p class='right'>"<span class="smcap">Isaac.</span>"</p></blockquote>
+
+<p>And so it came about that in this strange and noble fashion General
+Brock&mdash;"Master Isaac of St. Peter's Port"&mdash;overcame the enemy in the
+wilds of Michigan and passed his <i>fourth</i> milestone.</p>
+
+<hr />
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_112" id="Page_112">[Pg 112]</a></span></p>
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XXI" id="CHAPTER_XXI"></a>CHAPTER XXI.</h2>
+
+<h3>CHAGRIN IN THE UNITED STATES.</h3>
+
+<p>The conduct of the Indians under Tecumseh at Detroit had been marked by
+great heroism and strict adherence to their pledges. "The instant the
+enemy submitted, his life became sacred." In recognition of Tecumseh's
+work, and in the presence of the troops formed in the fort square, Brock
+handed him his silver-mounted pistols, and taking off his sash, tied it
+round the body of the chief.</p>
+
+<p>A suspicion of a smile&mdash;the faint smile of elation of the well-trained
+child accepting a prize&mdash;flitted across the Indian's finely chiselled
+face as, proudly inclining his head, he silently took the crimson band.
+Then unwinding his own parti-colored, closely-woven Red River belt,
+"Would the great white <i>shemogonis</i> (warrior)," he whispered, "accept
+the simple sash of the Shawanese in return?"</p>
+
+<p>To this there was a sequel. The next day, when he bade Brock farewell,
+Tecumseh wore no sash. "Roundhead," he explained, "was an older, an
+abler warrior than himself. While he was present he could not think of
+wearing such a badge of distinction." He had given the sash to the
+Wyandotte chieftain. Tecumseh proved himself a greater diplomat than
+Hull.</p>
+
+<p>The papers of surrender signed, Brock hastened to liberate Dean, a
+soldier of the 41st, wounded and taken prisoner at the Canard river,
+with another man, while<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_113" id="Page_113">[Pg 113]</a></span> gallantly defending the bridge against a large
+body of the enemy. In a voice broken with emotion Brock told him that he
+had "nobly upheld the traditions of the service and was an honour to his
+profession." Then he singled out Lieutenant Roulette, of the sloop
+<i>Hunter</i>, a French Canadian, who captured eighteen prizes during the war
+and was the leading spirit in many gallant events. "I watched you during
+the action," said the General. "You behaved like a lion. I will remember
+you." In the orders of that afternoon Brock praised the conduct of his
+troops. He laid stress upon the "discipline and determination that had
+decided an enemy, infinitely more numerous in men and artillery, and
+protected by a strong fortification, to propose capitulation."</p>
+
+<p>The effect of the news in Upper Canada was electrical. Brock became the
+idol of the people and was acclaimed "hero and saviour of Upper Canada."
+His performance was a record one. In nineteen days he had met the
+Legislature, settled important public business, transported a small army
+300 miles, 200 of which was by open boat in stormy waters, compelled the
+surrender of an enemy three times his strength, entrenched in a
+protected fort, and seized 60,000 square miles of United States mainland
+and islands.</p>
+
+<p>To the American people the news came as a thunder-clap. President
+Madison's chagrin was indescribable. After all the insulting remarks and
+bombastic prophecies of himself and Clay, Calhoun, Eustis and others,
+the humiliation was as gall and wormwood. Clay, the apostate, later on
+swallowed his words and signed the treaty of peace. Eustis, the
+Secretary of War, had boasted that<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_114" id="Page_114">[Pg 114]</a></span> he would "take the whole country and
+ask no favours, for God has given us the power and the means." But God
+saw fit to confound the despoiler. Hull was, of course, made a
+scapegoat. Tried by court-martial, he was found guilty of cowardice and
+neglect, and sentenced to death, but pardoned by the President. His son
+died fighting at Lundy's Lane. The officers of Hull's command, who were
+almost united in opposing surrender, as brave men felt their position
+keenly. Never let us forget that no one race holds a monopoly in
+courage, that no nation has exclusive control of the spirit of
+patriotism. Fortunate it is indeed for most of us that the loftier
+qualities of man can not be copyrighted by the individual. A share of
+these has been bestowed in wise proportion upon all members of the human
+family. To those who seek to emulate the character and deeds of the
+world's famous men, certain essential qualities of mind may even be
+acquired and developed by all, but to possess the "fullness of
+perfection" cannot be the lot of every man.</p>
+
+<p>Having finished "the business" that took him to Detroit, our hero did
+not waste an hour. Leaving Procter in command, he started before morning
+of the next day for Fort George, anxious to carry out his plans and
+assume the offensive on the Niagara frontier.</p>
+
+<p>He embarked in the <i>Chippewa</i>, a small trading schooner, with seventy of
+the Ohio Rifles as prisoners, and took, as a guard, a rifle company
+commanded by his young friend, Captain Robinson, subsequently Chief
+Justice Robinson, "again winning golden opinions from the men by his
+urbanity."</p>
+
+<p>On Lake Erie he met the <i>Lady Prevost</i>, of fourteen<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_115" id="Page_115">[Pg 115]</a></span> guns, the commander
+of which, after saluting the hero of Detroit with seventeen guns,
+boarded the <i>Chippewa</i>, handing him despatches that notified him of an
+<i>armistice</i>, which Sir George Prevost had actually concluded with the
+American general, Dearborn, on August 9th! Brock's mortification was
+profound. His cherished plan, to sweep the Niagara frontier and destroy
+the United States naval arsenal at Sackett's Harbour, was again
+frustrated.</p>
+
+<p>A diversion occurred that morning which for a time drove the
+unpardonable armistice from Brock's thoughts. A heavy mist hung over the
+water. It hid the shore. Deceived by this, the skipper of the
+<i>Chippewa</i>, who thought he was in Fort Erie harbour, discovered, as the
+fog lifted, that they were on the American side and close to Buffalo.
+The situation was perilous and dramatic. With the melting of the haze
+the wind dropped. Brock saw on the Buffalo shore, within easy hail, a
+concourse of inquisitive people trying to make out the nationality of
+his ship. Believing the skipper, was in league with the enemy, Brock
+turned upon him savagely.</p>
+
+<p>"You scoundrel," said he, "you have betrayed me. Let but one shot be
+fired and I will run you up at the yard-arm." Fortunately, the <i>Queen
+Charlotte</i>, in Canadian water, was seen and signalled, and, the wind
+rising, she convoyed the <i>Chippewa</i> and her precious passenger into
+safety.</p>
+
+<p>The news of the armistice dumbfounded the General. Instead of battering
+Fort Niagara and attacking Sackett's Harbour, he had to order Procter to
+cancel the expedition for the relief of Fort Wayne, in the Wabash
+country, and himself hurry on to Fort George. At Chippewa he was<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_116" id="Page_116">[Pg 116]</a></span>
+received with wild welcome by the river residents and the populace from
+the countryside. A deputation of prominent men met him at Queenston,
+placed him in an open carriage, and with martial music he was escorted
+in triumph to Fort George. After receiving at Niagara the
+congratulations of the lady to whom he was engaged, Brock took schooner
+for York and Kingston. At both of these places fervid demonstrations
+were showered upon him. But "Master Isaac's" head could not be turned
+either by success or adulation. The old spirit of self-effacement
+asserted itself. "The gallant band of brave men," he said, "at whose
+head I marched against the enemy, are the proper objects of your
+gratitude. The services of the militia have been duly appreciated and
+will never be forgotten."</p>
+
+<p>Isaac's modesty again served to increase the homage and profound
+devotion of the people.</p>
+
+<p>Justice Powell voiced the views of the citizens of Upper Canada when he
+declared Brock could "boast of the most brilliant success, with the most
+inadequate means, which history records.... It was something fabulous
+that a handful of troops, supported by a few raw militia, could invade
+the country of an enemy of doubtful numbers, in his own fortress, and
+make all prisoners without the loss of a man."</p>
+
+<p>"If this sort of thing lasts," commented our hero to a friend, "I am
+afraid I shall do some foolish thing, for if I know myself there is no
+want of what is called courage in my nature, and I can only hope I shall
+not be led into some scrape."</p>
+
+<hr />
+<p class="center"><a name="fp117.jpg" id="fp117.jpg"></a><img src="images/fp117.jpg" width='600' height='398' alt="View of Queenston Heights and Brock's Monument" /></p>
+
+<p class="center"><span class="smcap">View of Queenston Heights and Brock's Monument</span></p>
+
+<hr />
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_117" id="Page_117">[Pg 117]</a></span></p>
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XXII" id="CHAPTER_XXII"></a>CHAPTER XXII.</h2>
+
+<h3>PREVOST'S ARMISTICE.</h3>
+
+<p>The armistice paralyzed Brock's movements. All the moral influence and
+material advantage gained by the captures of Mackinaw and Detroit were
+nullified by this incredible blunder, for which no reason, military or
+civil, has ever been assigned. The loyal volunteers were released from
+duty. Brock's Indian allies returned to their villages. Prevost's policy
+of peace had become a mental malady. In spite of our hero's pleadings,
+and though Prevost actually knew, before the fall of Detroit, that
+President Madison would not extend the two weeks' armistice, the
+Governor-General forbade Brock attacking either Sackett's Harbour, the
+key to American supremacy on the lakes, or Fort Niagara.</p>
+
+<p>"War," wrote Prevost, "has never yet been declared by England. Peace is
+possible."</p>
+
+<p>Brock, smarting under restraint and handcuffed by red tape, was
+compelled to look on while the enemy brought up reinforcements, powder,
+shot, provisions and other munitions of war, by water to Lewiston.
+General Van Rensselaer, in command of the American forces at Lewiston,
+wrote to the President stating that by "keeping up a bold front he had
+succeeded in getting from General Sheaffe at Fort George the
+uninterrupted use of the lakes and rivers." The strategic advantage to
+the enemy of this cessation of hostilities and the privileges conceded<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_118" id="Page_118">[Pg 118]</a></span>
+was enormous. Prevost realized his error too late. The following year,
+conceiving it then to be his special mission to borrow our dead hero's
+policy, he attacked Sackett's Harbour, but his "cautious calculation"
+was, of course, rewarded by ignoble defeat, and ultimately, after the
+Plattsburg fiasco, by a court-martial. In his civil administration of
+Canada Sir George Prevost may have been a success; as a soldier he was a
+sad failure.</p>
+
+<p>Isaac was daily proving the truth of the precept, recognized by all men
+sooner or later, that life's values lie not so much in its victories as
+in its strife.</p>
+
+<p>Though Brock awoke after Detroit to find himself famous, and a hero
+whose prowess far exceeded that of his ancestor, the Jurat of the Royal
+Court of Guernsey, over whose exploits he used to ponder seated on the
+Lion's Rock at Cobo, he was still the same "Master Isaac," still the
+"beloved brother." Separation from his kinsmen only served to draw him
+closer.</p>
+
+<p>Crossing Lake Ontario gave him the opportunity he longed for. He wrote
+to his brothers collectively, telling them the sundry details of his
+success, "which was beyond his expectation." He hoped the affair would
+meet with recognition at the War Office. Though admitting it was a
+desperate measure, he told them "it proceeded from a cool calculation of
+the <i>pros</i> and <i>cons</i>," and as Colonel Procter had opposed it, he was
+not surprised that envy now induced that officer "to attribute to good
+fortune what in reality was the result of my own knowledge and
+discernment." But praise and honours, though sweet to our hero, who
+after all was only mortal, were secondary to the fact that he would be
+in a position to contribute<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_119" id="Page_119">[Pg 119]</a></span> something to the comfort and happiness of
+his brothers. The value of the "treasure" captured at Detroit was placed
+at &pound;40,000. Brock's share of this was a substantial sum.</p>
+
+<p>"When I returned heaven thanks," he wrote, "for my amazing success, I
+thought of you all, your late sorrows forgotten, and I felt that the
+many benefits which for a series of years I received from you were not
+unworthily bestowed." But the hope that they were reunited was always
+the dominant note. "Let me know, my dearest brothers," he pleaded, "that
+you are all again united." Then, out of his own knowledge, wrought of
+deep experience in the world's wide field, he proceeded: "The want of
+union was nearly losing this province, without even a struggle; rest
+assured, it operates in the same degree in regard to families."</p>
+
+<p>Brock's despatches, with the story of the capture of Detroit and the
+colours of the 4th Regiment, United States Army, the oriflamme of the
+"heroes of Tippecanoe," reached London the morning of October 6th, the
+anniversary of his birth. His brother William resided close to the city.
+A tumultuous clangour of bells and booming of guns from St. James' Park
+and the Tower of London rent the air. When asked by his wife the reason
+for the jubilation he jokingly replied, "Why, for Isaac, of course. You
+surely have not forgotten this is his birthday." But William, on
+reaching the city, learned to his amazement that his jesting words were
+true. The salvoes of artillery and peals of bells were indeed in honour
+of General Brock's victory in far-off Michigan.</p>
+
+<p>Neither King nor Imperial Government was slow to<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_120" id="Page_120">[Pg 120]</a></span> recognize our hero's
+achievements. The Prince Regent, who expressed his appreciation of
+Brock's "able, judicious and decisive conduct," bestowed upon him an
+<i>extra</i> knighthood of the Order of the Bath, in consideration, so ran
+the document, "of all the difficulties with which he was surrounded
+during the invasion of the Province, and the singular judgment,
+firmness, skill and courage with which he surmounted them so
+effectually."</p>
+
+<p>When the glittering insignia of his new rank reached Canada, Sir Isaac
+Brock's eyes were closed in death. His inanimate body, from which one of
+the noblest souls of the century had fled, lay rigid in its
+winding-sheet at Fort George.</p>
+
+<p>To Major Glegg, who bore the General's despatches from Canada, the
+Prince Regent remarked that "General Brock had done more in an hour than
+could have been done in six months by negotiation." The fulfilment of
+Isaac's favourite maxim, "Say and do," was being demonstrated in a most
+remarkable manner.</p>
+
+<hr />
+<p class="center"><a name="fp121.jpg" id="fp121.jpg"></a><img src="images/fp121.jpg" width='458' height='550' alt="Portrait of Major-General Brock, 18 X 6" /></p>
+
+<p class="center"><span class="smcap">"Portrait of Major-General Brock, 18 x 6"</span></p>
+
+<hr />
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_121" id="Page_121">[Pg 121]</a></span></p>
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XXIII" id="CHAPTER_XXIII"></a>CHAPTER XXIII.</h2>
+
+<h3>"HERO, DEFENDER, SAVIOUR."</h3>
+
+<p>General Sheaffe, the only field officer available, and junior colonel of
+the 49th, of whom the reader has already heard, had been brought from
+the East to take command at Niagara in Brock's absence. Like Prevost, he
+was born in Boston, Massachusetts, in 1763, a son of the deputy
+collector of that port. There the two had been school-fellows, and both
+found it difficult to engage in vigorous diplomatic or military conflict
+with the Americans. To Sheaffe's credit, it should be said that he
+applied for another station.</p>
+
+<p>It was Sheaffe, however, who acceded to General Dearborn's specious
+demand that the <i>freedom of the lakes and rivers</i> be extended to the
+United States Government during the armistice. This was done while Brock
+was in the West. Sheaffe it also was who, with hat in hand and strange
+alacrity, later agreed, despite his first terrible blunder, to repeat
+the offence. On the very afternoon that the British defeated the
+Americans at Queenston, and when the moral effect of that victory,
+followed up by vigorous attack, would have saved Canada from a
+continuance of the war, and deplorable loss of life and trade, Sheaffe
+actually agreed to another armistice. For this <i>second</i> truce, like his
+first, "no valid reason, military or civil, has ever been assigned." As
+far as the British were concerned, neither of these two was necessary,
+but, on the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_122" id="Page_122">[Pg 122]</a></span> contrary, directly to their disadvantage. Isaac Brock,
+alas! was not made in duplicate.</p>
+
+<p>Our hero remained but a few hours in Kingston. He was needed in Niagara.
+The enemy was burning to avenge Detroit. The sight of Hull's ragged
+legions passing as prisoners of war along the Canadian bank of the
+river, bound for Montreal, did not tend to soften the hearts of the
+Americans. Stores and ordnance continued to pour into Lewiston. Brock
+needed 1,000 additional regulars. He might as well have asked for the
+moon. Early in September he stated that if he could maintain his
+position six weeks longer "the campaign would end in a manner little
+expected in the States." Scores of American marines and seamen were
+marking time, waiting for the launching of the vessels which Captain
+Chauncey had been given free license to build to ensure United States
+supremacy of the lakes. Prevost's eyes were still bandaged. Brock warned
+his grenadiers of the 49th to be ready for trouble. He foresaw that the
+Niagara river would be crossed, but at what point was uncertain. Stray
+musket-balls whistled across at night as thick as whip-poor-wills in
+summer. This firing was "the unauthorized warfare between sentinels."
+The peaceful citizens of Newark, returning from dance or
+card-party&mdash;even the imminence of war did not wholly stifle their desire
+for innocent revelry&mdash;found it embarrassing.</p>
+
+<p>Though Van Rensselaer's force now numbered 6,300 men, he was still
+afraid to attack Brock. Invited by the United States Government to take
+up arms, 400 Seneca Indians "went upon the war-path," and performed
+ghost-dances on the streets of Lewiston. Prevost, with no pro<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_123" id="Page_123">[Pg 123]</a></span>per
+conception of the doctrine of "what we have we hold," ordered Brock to
+"evacuate Detroit and the territory of Michigan." To "the man behind the
+gun," who had but just donated this 60,000 square miles of realty to the
+Empire, such instructions were hardly to his taste. Armed with powers of
+discretion, our hero declined. Meanwhile Isaac's heart was sore. The
+situation was galling. If there was to be no more fighting, why should
+he not get his release, join Wellington in Portugal, and renounce
+Canada? Unrest and vigilance best describe the order of his days, while
+waiting attack. The death of the ever-attentive Dobson, who had passed
+away before Brock's departure for Detroit, and the absence of the
+faithful sergeant-major&mdash;now Adjutant FitzGibbon&mdash;distressed him. In an
+attempt by General Brown to capture some British batteaux at Tousaint
+Island, on the St. Lawrence, the Americans had been repulsed by Brock's
+gallant prot&eacute;g&eacute;.</p>
+
+<p>Everything now pointed to an early attack by the enemy in force. General
+Van Rensselaer, with an ascertained army of at least 6,300, of which
+2,600 were militia, wrote that he "would cross the river in the rear of
+Fort George, take it by storm, carry the Heights of Queenston, destroy
+the British ships&mdash;the <i>Prince Regent</i> and <i>Earl Moira</i>&mdash;at the mouth of
+the river, leave Brock no rallying point, appal the minds of the
+Canadians, and wipe away the past disgrace."</p>
+
+<p>On one of his visits to Fort George he had remarked to Brock, who had
+laughingly pointed out two beautiful brass howitzers taken from General
+Wayne, "Oh, yes, they are old friends of mine; I must take them back."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_124" id="Page_124">[Pg 124]</a></span>
+They were not taken back in Brock's time. Even with his grand army of
+6,300, his 400 Seneca braves, and his written admission that Niagara was
+weakly garrisoned, it is certain Van Rensselaer would have still delayed
+attack, unless he had been told by his spies that Brock had returned to
+Detroit. Then, with valour oozing from his finger tips, he plucked up
+courage to attack the lair in the lion's absence.</p>
+
+<p>At this juncture an untoward event occurred, in the re-taking by the
+Americans of the brig <i>Detroit</i>, formerly the United States brig
+<i>Adams</i>&mdash;captured, as we know, by Roulette&mdash;and the trading brig
+<i>Caledonia</i>. They were at anchor at the head of the Niagara River, off
+Black Rock. The irregular regiments of Hull's command, under the terms
+of surrender, were on board on their way to their Ohio homes, via Lake
+Erie and Buffalo. The two vessels reached Fort Erie harbour safely, and
+being rightly regarded by the British as immune from attack, were left
+undefended, in charge of an officer and nine men only, most of whom were
+voyageurs. In addition to the prisoners, the two brigs carried great
+quantities of fur and 600 packs of deer skins. During darkness
+Lieutenant Ellis, with three armed boats and 150 United States troops
+and sailors, dropped alongside. Roulette and his nine men fought
+desperately, one being killed and four wounded, but both vessels, of
+course, fell into the enemy's hands. This attack was contrary to the
+rules of war, and a violation of the sanctity of the flag which
+"continued to float as long as there were American prisoners on board,
+awaiting to be landed on United States soil."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_125" id="Page_125">[Pg 125]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>Brock regarded this loss as a calamity. It was, he wrote to Prevost,
+"likely to reduce him to great distress." His constant fears that the
+enemy would secure control of both Lakes Erie and Ontario were well
+founded. He begged Prevost to let him destroy the vessels Chauncey, the
+American, was building on Squaw Island. Prevost, of course, besought him
+to forbear. Isaac Brock, exasperated and with tied hands, was "doomed to
+the bitterest of all griefs, to see clearly and yet be able to do
+nothing." Yet while he worked in chains his preparedness was a source of
+wonder to those behind the scenes.</p>
+
+<p>Even no less a critic than John Lovett, General Van Rensselaer's
+military secretary, was impressed with what he saw through his
+field-glasses from Lewiston heights. "Every three or four miles, on
+every eminence," he wrote a friend, "Brock has erected a snug battery,
+the last saucy argument of kings, poking their white noses and round
+black nostrils right upon your face, ready to spit fire and brimstone in
+your very teeth, if you were to offer to turn squatter on John Bull's
+land." Influenced by these signs of "business," the United States
+officers were ordered to "dress as much like their men as possible, so
+that at 150 yards they might not be recognized." This was probably due
+to one of the last orders issued by our hero, who warned his men that,
+when the enemy crossed the river, to withhold their musketry fire until
+he was well within range, and then, "if he lands, attack him at the
+point of the bayonet with determined resolution."</p>
+
+<p>With clairvoyance that would have done credit to a mind-reader, Brock
+knew that attack was imminent. To him the wind that blew across the
+river October 12th was<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_126" id="Page_126">[Pg 126]</a></span> laden with omens of war. The air seemed charged
+with the acrid smell of burnt powder. The muffled beat of drums, the
+smothered boom of artillery, the subdued clash of steel meeting steel,
+the stealthy tramp of armed men, seemed to encompass him.</p>
+
+<hr class='smler' />
+
+<p>Brock was at his headquarters. He gazed from the window. The storm
+outside was hurling great splashes of rain against the narrow casement.
+To and fro, over the carpeted floor, he paced that evening for an hour
+or more, uninterrupted and alone. It was thus he marshalled facts and
+weighed conclusions. Powerful brain and vigorous frame acted in concert.
+He was enjoying the fulfilment of the promise of his youth. God had been
+good. The world had been tolerant; his fellow-men&mdash;at least those who
+knew the real Isaac&mdash;loyally appreciative. The knowledge of his honours
+and fame stirred him to his soul. Not that he was any better, or abler,
+he meditated, than other men, but that when "opportunity" offered he was
+permitted to grasp it.</p>
+
+<div class="poem">
+<div class='stanza'><div>"For every day I stand outside your door,</div>
+<div>And bid you wake and rise to fight and win."</div></div>
+</div>
+
+<p>The influence of the great truth as pronounced in the now familiar
+couplet inspired him. He recognized the source whence he derived
+whatever of success had followed his efforts, and prayed for greater
+sagacity, more vigour of body and tenacity of purpose, a complete
+surrender of self to the task before him; that if his life was<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_127" id="Page_127">[Pg 127]</a></span> to be
+the price of duty, he might place it on the altar of his country without
+one shred of compunction.</p>
+
+<hr class='smler' />
+
+<p>He rang the bell for Porter&mdash;his body-servant since Dobson's
+death&mdash;directed him to see that the council room was lighted, that pens,
+ink, paper and cigars were in place, as a meeting of his staff was
+slated for nine, and sought his sanctum.</p>
+
+<hr />
+<p class="center"><a name="fp128.jpg" id="fp128.jpg"></a><img src="images/fp128.jpg" width='600' height='404' alt="Powder Magazine, Fort George, Niagara" /></p>
+
+<p class="center"><span class="smcap">Powder Magazine, Fort George, Niagara</span></p>
+
+<hr />
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_128" id="Page_128">[Pg 128]</a></span></p>
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XXIV" id="CHAPTER_XXIV"></a>CHAPTER XXIV.</h2>
+
+<h3>BROCK'S LAST COUNCIL.</h3>
+
+<p>It was long past midnight on the morning of Tuesday, October 13th, 1812,
+when Brock dismissed his advisory council of staff officers. An animated
+discussion had taken place over the strength of the enemy and the spot
+he might select to cross the river, for ruses had been resorted to by
+Van Bensselaer to deceive the British.</p>
+
+<p>"I dare not, gentlemen," said our hero, in opening the debate, "weaken
+my flanks at Niagara and Erie, though I realize I am leaving Queenston
+not properly protected. I have just learned that General Dearborn states
+that while 'Tippecanoe' Harrison invades Canada, at Detroit, with 7,000
+men&mdash;I do not think it necessary I should point out Detroit on the map,"
+he added with a smile&mdash;"and while a United States squadron&mdash;not a
+British one, mark you&mdash;sweeps Lake Ontario from Sackett's Harbour,
+Dearborn himself will threaten Montreal from Lake Champlain. While the
+east and the west are thus being annexed by the enemy, our friend Van
+Rensselaer is to entertain us here.</p>
+
+<p>"An ordinary boat, as we all know, can be rowed across the river at
+Queenston in less than ten minutes. Our spies have reported that forty
+batteaux, to carry forty men each, are in readiness at Tonawanda. Evans
+and Macdonell, when they called on Van Rensselaer, saw at least a dozen
+boats moored at Lewiston, some of which<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_129" id="Page_129">[Pg 129]</a></span> could carry eighty men. During
+the deplorable armistice, as General Sheaffe is aware"&mdash;looking at that
+officer&mdash;"Van Rensselaer brought up 400 boats and batteaux from
+Ogdensburg and other points, all of his previously blockaded fleet, so
+the enemy has no lack of transport. The most effective disposition of
+our limited force is, I admit, somewhat of a problem. There is no use in
+evading the fact that in point of numbers and ordnance we are too weak,
+and as Sir George Prevost has written me not to expect any further aid,
+Colonel Talbot must send us a few of his militia."</p>
+
+<p>"Macdonell," he said, turning to his aide, "will you write at once,
+to-night, to Colonel Talbot, at Port Talbot, stating that I am strongly
+induced to believe I will soon be attacked, and tell him that I wish him
+to send 200 men, the militia under his command, without delay, by water
+to Fort Erie."</p>
+
+<p>This was Brock's last official letter dictated in council.</p>
+
+<p>"General Sheaffe," he said, addressing that officer, "you, perhaps, know
+better than any of us the particulars of Van Rensselaer's appointment.
+It seems that he is an amateur soldier, pitchforked into command against
+his own will, a victim of New York State politics. While this is
+probably so, we must not run away with the idea that his other officers
+are no better, for, besides Generals Dearborn and Wadsworth&mdash;both
+soldiers of national repute&mdash;his cousin, Colonel Solomon Van Rensselaer,
+his chief of staff, is a first-class soldier, a proved fighting man. The
+latter is reported to be at the head of 750 well-trained militia, 300 of
+whom are selected soldiers, and fifty are said to know every inch of the
+river. Our<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_130" id="Page_130">[Pg 130]</a></span> spies report the enemy could ferry 1,500 regulars across in
+seven trips.</p>
+
+<p>"The safety of our redan on the Heights has given me some concern, but
+Dennis, Williams and others report that the height is inaccessible from
+the river side. If an attack in force is made at Queenston, we will have
+to concentrate every available man there&mdash;at the risk of weakening our
+flanks. Lewiston, as you have seen, is white with tents. At Fort Gray
+the enemy has two twenty-four-pounders, waiting to silence our
+eighteen-pounder in the redan. The Americans have several mortars and
+six-pounders on the river bank below Lewiston, ready to ship to any
+point by boats specially equipped, or to cover the landing of their
+troops on our side of the river, and to drive us back if we attempt to
+dispute their passage."</p>
+
+<p>In district general orders prepared that night, the last official
+document signed by General Sir Isaac Brock, he directed, "in view of the
+imminence of hostilities, that no further communication be held with the
+enemy by flag of truce, or otherwise, unless by his special permission."</p>
+
+<p>"I cannot allow looting," he said. "Arms and other property taken from
+the enemy are to be at all times reserved for the public service."
+Brock's example might have been followed to advantage in later Canadian
+campaigns. "I am calling," he continued, "a district court-martial for
+nine o'clock to-morrow morning, October 13th, for the trial of three
+prisoners, a captain and two subalterns of the 49th and 41st regiments."</p>
+
+<p>That court-martial was not held.</p>
+
+<p>On the day before, Major Evans and Colonel Macdonell had waited upon Van
+Rensselaer, with a letter from<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_131" id="Page_131">[Pg 131]</a></span> Brock proposing "an exchange of
+prisoners of war, to be returned immediately, on parole." The fact of no
+reply having been received to this, Brock regarded as ominous.</p>
+
+<p>"I firmly believe, gentlemen," he proceeded, and his confidence and
+courage was infectious, "that I could at this moment, by a sudden dash,
+sweep everything before me between Fort Niagara and Buffalo, but our
+success would be transient. Disaffection and desertion is rife in the
+American camp. Only the other day we saw six poor fellows perish in
+mid-stream. To-day more deserters swam the river safely. Our own force,
+estimating even 200 Indians under Chief Brant and Captain Norton, though
+I expect less than 100 would be nearer the mark, cannot exceed 1,500 men
+of all arms. These units I have collected from Sandwich to Kingston.
+Many of our men, as no one knows better than Quartermaster Nichol, have
+received no pay, are wearing broken shoes&mdash;some have no shoes at all&mdash;no
+tents and little bedding. It is true that they bear the cold and wet
+with an admirable and truly happy content that excites my admiration,
+but it is no less a disgrace to the responsible authorities. Sir George
+Prevost, as you know, has told me 'not to expect any further aid'&mdash;the
+old parrot cry from headquarters, 'Not a man to spare.' Let me ask the
+chief of the Mohawks, who is present, how many warriors he can muster?"</p>
+
+<p>John Brant, or <i>Thayendanegea</i>, as he was known among the Six Nation
+Indians, was the hereditary chief. At this time he was but a youth of
+eighteen&mdash;a graceful, dauntless stripling, of surprising activity, and
+well educated. At his side sat Captain Jacobs, a swarthy, stalwart
+brave,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_132" id="Page_132">[Pg 132]</a></span> famous for his immense strength, and Captain John Norton, an
+Englishman, and chief by adoption only, who, in consideration of Brant's
+youth, was acting as his deputy and spokesman. The latter said that
+since his return from Moraviantown, and the hunting season having
+commenced, many of his braves were absent, but he would pledge the
+Mohawks would muster, when wanted, over one hundred tried men. Thanking
+the chiefs for their assurances, Brock continued:</p>
+
+<p>"The enemy has an army of over 6,000. The four twelve-pounders and two
+hundred muskets captured with the <i>Detroit</i> is a serious loss to us. If
+the <i>Detroit</i> is lost to us, however, she is of no further use to the
+enemy. We are, I repeat, greatly outweighted and outnumbered by the
+enemy, both in siege guns and artillery, and have no forge for heating
+shot. I have, as a matter of form, written this day to Sir George
+Prevost, restating my anxiety to increase our militia to 2,000 men, but
+pointing out the difficulties I shall encounter, and the fear that I
+shall not be able to effect my object with willing, well-disposed
+characters. Of one thing, gentlemen, I am convinced, that were it not
+for the number of Americans in our ranks we might defy all the efforts
+of the enemy against this part of the Province.</p>
+
+<p>"As to 'forbearance,' which I am constantly urged by Sir George Prevost
+to adopt, you are entitled to my views. While forbearance may be
+productive of some good, I gravely doubt the wisdom of such a policy;
+but, let me add, I may not, perhaps, have the means of judging
+correctly. We cannot, however, disguise the fact we are standing
+alongside a loaded mine. Let us be prepared<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_133" id="Page_133">[Pg 133]</a></span> for the explosion. It may
+come at any moment. Vigilance, readiness and promptness must be our
+watchwords. Might I ask you to remember my family motto, 'He who guards
+never sleeps.' Even to-morrow may bring surprises&mdash;such stormy weather
+as we are having seems strangely suitable for covering an attack.</p>
+
+<p>"I think, gentlemen, if we weigh well the character of our enemy, we
+shall find him disposed to brave the impediments of nature&mdash;when they
+afford him a probability of gaining his end by <i>surprise</i>, in preference
+to the certainty of meeting British troops <i>ready formed for his
+reception</i>. But do not, because we were successful at Detroit in
+stampeding the United States troops, cherish the impression that General
+Hull is a sample of American soldiery. If we <i>are</i> taken by surprise the
+attack will soon be known, for our range of beacons extends from the
+Sugar Loaf to Queenston, from Lundy's Lane to Pelham Heights. Signal
+guns, also, will announce any suspicious movement. One word in
+conclusion. As soldiers you know your duty, and I think you now all
+understand the position we are in&mdash;as far as I know it.</p>
+
+<p>"General Sheaffe," he continued, turning to that officer, "I am much
+concerned as to the fate of this town, Niagara, if its namesake fort on
+the other side of the river should be tempted to forget the rules of war
+and bombard the private buildings here with hot-shot. However, we will
+do our best to give the invaders, when they do come, a warm reception.
+There are two things, Major," looking towards Evans, his brigade-major
+and intimate friend, "that our men must not omit to observe, namely, to<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_134" id="Page_134">[Pg 134]</a></span>
+'trust God and keep their powder dry,' a most necessary precaution if
+these storms continue."</p>
+
+<hr class='smler' />
+
+<p>It is worthy of note that while Brock was in conference with his staff,
+expecting invasion any day, General Van Rensselaer, at Lewiston, was
+writing the subjoined brief historical despatch to his
+brigadier-general, Smythe:</p>
+
+<blockquote><p>"Sir,&mdash;To-night, October 12th, I shall attack the enemy's batteries
+on the Heights of Queenston."</p></blockquote>
+
+<hr class='smler' />
+
+<p>The weather was tempestuous. Rain clouds shrouded the Heights of
+Queenston in a black pall. The wind romped and rioted in the foliage.
+Brock's estimate of the character of the enemy was a masterly one. Van
+Rensselaer was about to verify our hero's prediction.</p>
+
+<hr />
+<p class="center"><a name="fp135.jpg" id="fp135.jpg"></a><img src="images/fp135.jpg" width='600' height='390' alt="Brock's Midnight Gallop" /></p>
+
+<p class="center"><span class="smcap">Brock's Midnight Gallop</span></p>
+
+<hr />
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_135" id="Page_135">[Pg 135]</a></span></p>
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XXV" id="CHAPTER_XXV"></a>CHAPTER XXV.</h2>
+
+<h3>THE MIDNIGHT GALLOP.</h3>
+
+<p>Well into the half-light of morning, long after the last of his staff,
+Evans, Glegg and Macdonell, had departed, Brock sat alone at his
+headquarters at Fort George, writing rapidly.</p>
+
+<p>On the oak mantel, an antique clock chimed the passing of the historic
+hours, with deep, musical strokes.</p>
+
+<p>Was it presentiment&mdash;a clearer understanding that comes to men of active
+brain and acute perception, during solitary vigil in the silence of
+night, when, with heart and soul stripped, they stand on the threshold
+of the great divide&mdash;that whispered to this "knight of the sword" his
+doom? Was it this clearer comprehension that caused our hero to bow his
+head as a faint message from an unseen messenger reached him? With a
+sigh of resignation he arose from the unfinished manuscript and passed
+on to his bedroom.</p>
+
+<hr class='smler' />
+
+<p>Boom! Boom! Boom!</p>
+
+<hr class='smler' />
+
+<p>A muffled, indistinct roar, a confusion of sounds, aroused the
+half-conscious sleeper. Brock sprang from his couch, partly dressed.</p>
+
+<p>The antique clock chimed one&mdash;two&mdash;three!</p>
+
+<p>"Listen," he muttered to himself, "that was not a<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_136" id="Page_136">[Pg 136]</a></span> signal gun. Surely it
+was the sound of sustained firing." As he unlocked the outer door,
+opening on the barrack-square, the sky above faintly aglow with the
+light of warning beacons, the low, steady roll of musketry and louder
+roar of distant cannon convinced him that this was far more serious than
+"the war between sentries."</p>
+
+<p>"My good Porter," he said, speaking calmly to his excited servant, who,
+himself awakened, came rushing to his master, "have Alfred saddled at
+once while I complete dressing, and inform Major Glegg and Colonel
+Macdonell that I am off up the river to Queenston."</p>
+
+<p>In another minute Isaac Brock was in the saddle.</p>
+
+<p>As he passed through the gates, thrown open by the sentry, a dragoon,
+mire from head to foot from furious riding, handed him a despatch
+announcing that the enemy had landed in force at Queenston. A second
+later, in response to the pressure of his knees, his horse was carrying
+our hero at a wild gallop across the common that separated his quarters
+from the upper village.</p>
+
+<p>Day was near to breaking. The earth steamed from the heavy rain. Passing
+objects rose out of the dark mists, magnified and spectral.</p>
+
+<p>At the residence of Captain John Powell, Brock reined up. The household
+was astir, aroused by the ominous roar of artillery carried down by the
+river from the gorge above. He stayed, without dismounting, long enough
+to take a cup of coffee brought to him by General Shaw's daughter&mdash;a
+"stirrup cup"&mdash;his last. Then, giving his charger the spur, he rode away
+to death and distinction, tenderly waving a broken good-bye to the
+sad-eyed woman at the porch. This was his betrothed, who faintly
+fluttered<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_137" id="Page_137">[Pg 137]</a></span> her kerchief in weeping farewell to the gallant lover she
+would never see again.</p>
+
+<p>Brushing his eyes and urging his big grey to greater speed, "Master
+Isaac," eager to reach the scene of trouble, struck across the village,
+his horse's hoof-beats bringing many a citizen to the door to "God speed
+him." Some came out to follow him, and many a good wife's face was
+pressed to the window to watch "The General! God bless and spare him,"
+as he headed his charger for the Queenston Road and Brown's Point. Among
+the more zealous hastening after Brock were Judge Ralph Clench and a few
+old half-pay officers of His Majesty's service, who hurried to Queenston
+to range themselves in the ranks of the volunteers. Others joined as the
+signal guns and the bells of the church of St. Mark's and the
+court-house spread the alarm.</p>
+
+<p>His road lay up hill. Seven miles back from the shore of Lake Ontario
+stretched the height of land, extending west from the river to the head
+of the lake&mdash;a gigantic natural dam, over 300 feet high and twenty miles
+through; a retaining wall of rock, the greatest original fresh-water
+<i>barrage</i> in the world.</p>
+
+<p>He paused a moment at Frields to order the militia company there to
+follow. Close to Brown's Point he met another galloper, S.P. Jarvis, of
+the York volunteers, who was riding so furiously that he could not check
+his horse, but shouted as he flew by, "The Americans are crossing the
+river in force, sir." Jarvis wheeled and overtook the General, who,
+without reining up, slackened his speed sufficiently to tell the rider
+not to spare his horse, but to hurry on to Fort George and order General
+Sheaffe to bring up<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_138" id="Page_138">[Pg 138]</a></span> his entire reserve and let loose Brant's Indian
+scouts. A mile or so farther on, Jarvis met Colonel Macdonell, in hot
+pursuit of their beloved commander. The aide, in his haste, had left his
+sword behind him, and borrowed a less modern sabre from Jarvis, who
+continued his mad gallop towards Fort George, little thinking he had
+seen the last of his gallant General and the dashing aide, meeting, a
+few minutes later, Major Glegg, also riding post haste to overtake the
+General.</p>
+
+<p>Meanwhile our hero had halted for a moment at Brown's Point, only to
+learn that Cameron's Toronto company of volunteers had already started,
+on their own initiative, up the river. Riding hard, he overtook the
+excited militiamen. Speaking a word to the officer in charge, he wheeled
+his horse in the direction of the Heights, calling upon the detachment
+in his well-known voice, and in a way that never failed to exact
+obedience:</p>
+
+<p>"Now, my men, follow me."</p>
+
+<hr class='smler' />
+
+<p>The east showed signs of approaching day, and Brock, only two miles from
+Queenston, was treated to a spectacle that quickened his pulses. Shells
+were bursting on the mountain side above the village. The shadows of the
+dying night were streaked with the light from an incessant fire of
+small-arms. Grapeshot and musket-balls were ploughing up inky river and
+grim highland. At Vrooman's battery, on Scott's Point, guarded by
+Heward's volunteer company from Little York, and some of Hatt's company
+of the 5th Lincoln militia, a mile from Queenston, the twenty-four-pound
+shells from the gun, mounted <i>en barbette</i>, which commanded at long
+range both landings,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_139" id="Page_139">[Pg 139]</a></span> were leaving behind them furrows of fire in the
+black gorge. The big gun was pouring a continuous stream of destructive
+metal upon the American boats that were attempting the passage of the
+river within the limited zone of its fire.<a name="FNanchor_3_3" id="FNanchor_3_3"></a><a href="#Footnote_3_3" class="fnanchor">[3]</a></p>
+
+<p>Fort Gray, above Lewiston, was fairly belching flames, to which the
+isolated eighteen-pounder on the Queenston redan was roaring an angry
+and defiant response. Brock's trained ear recognized the wicked barking
+of the brass six-pounders, under Dennis of the 49th, mingling with the
+occasional boom, of the twenty-four-pound carronade below the village.</p>
+
+<p>The village of Queenston consisted of a small stone-barracks and twenty
+or more scattered dwellings in the midst of gardens and orchards. To
+Brock's right a road from the landing led to St. David's, from which, at
+almost right angles, an irregular branch roadway wound up the Heights.
+The adjacent table-land west of the village was dotted with farm-houses,
+partly surrounded by snake-fences and an occasional stone wall.</p>
+
+<p>Above Vrooman's he was joined by his two aides. Here he met a few men,
+shockingly torn and bleeding, crawling to the houses for shelter, and
+quite a number of prisoners, and was told that the enemy was routed. All
+killed or taken prisoners! Very skeptical, but increasing his speed, our
+hero rode into the village, and, though stained and splashed with mud
+from stirrup to cockade, he was recognized, and welcomed by the men of
+the 49th with a ringing cheer.</p>
+
+<div class="footnotes"><h3>FOOTNOTE:</h3>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_3_3" id="Footnote_3_3"></a><a href="#FNanchor_3_3"><span class="label">[3]</span></a> This gun is credited with having fired 160 shots during the
+engagement.</p></div>
+</div>
+
+<hr />
+<p class="center"><a name="fp140.jpg" id="fp140.jpg"></a><img src="images/fp140.jpg" width='600' height='398' alt="Battle of Queenston Heights. From an old Print" /></p>
+
+<p class="center"><span class="smcap">Battle of Queenston Heights.</span> From an old Print</p>
+
+<hr />
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_140" id="Page_140">[Pg 140]</a></span></p>
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XXVI" id="CHAPTER_XXVI"></a>CHAPTER XXVI.</h2>
+
+<h3>THE ATTACK ON THE REDAN.</h3>
+
+<p>Checking his reeking horse for a moment, Brock acknowledged with a smile
+the salute, saying to the men who had leaped to his side, "Take breath,
+my good fellows; you will need all you have, and more, in a few
+minutes," words which evoked much cheering. Then he breasted the rise at
+a canter, exposed to a galling enfilading fire of artillery, and running
+the gauntlet of the sniping of some invisible marksmen, reached the
+redan, half-way to the summit. Here he dismounted, threw his charger's
+reins to a gunner, and entered the enclosure.</p>
+
+<hr class='smler' />
+
+<p>From the loftier elevation of the Heights a still more striking scene
+confronted him. He saw, in the yellow light, battalion after battalion
+drawn up in rear of the Lewiston batteries, across the river, only two
+hundred yards wide at this point, awaiting embarkation. Other soldiers
+he saw crouching in the batteaux on the river, while an unknown number
+had already crossed and were in possession of Queenston landing. Round
+and grape shot from the American batteries were searching the banks and
+scourging the village, while shells from mortars at short range came
+singing across the river. He saw a boat with fifteen American soldiers
+smashed in mid-stream by a six-pounder from Dennis's battery, and
+watched the mangled bodies drift into the gloom.</p>
+
+<hr class='smler' />
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_141" id="Page_141">[Pg 141]</a></span>Having surveyed the position rapidly, ignorant of the concealed
+movements of the American troops, Brock at a first glance pronounced the
+situation favorable.</p>
+
+<p>The crest of the Heights was wooded densely. The leaves still clung to
+the trees in all the spangled glory of autumn, and the thickets afforded
+far too safe cover for the American sharpshooters. In answer to his
+inquiry, Williams, in charge of the light company of the 49th, told him
+that at least 350 United States regulars and 250 militia must already
+have been ferried over. In the chilling gray of dawn, four boats, filled
+with armed men, had been seen crossing the river, which here had a
+four-mile current. The head of a column had also been seen above the
+river bank at the Queenston landing. The soldiers from the three
+batteaux, previously landed below Hamilton's garden, had already been
+met by Dennis's men, who had killed several and captured others. Later,
+more boats had come ashore, knocked out of commission by Vrooman's big
+gun and the six-pounders. Their crews had surrendered. Some of these
+Brock had met. Many more, however, had landed safely, hidden by the
+shadows, and were doubtless then awaiting a chance to emerge from
+ambush.</p>
+
+<p>In answer to Brock's question as to whether there was a chance of the
+Height being scaled direct from the river, Williams repeated what he had
+already reported at the council meeting, that the scouts insisted that
+the Heights could not be climbed from the landing. The cliffs, over
+three hundred feet high, rose almost vertically from the water, and the
+denseness of the shrubs, tangle and overhanging trees, anchored in the
+clefts, rendered it impos<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_142" id="Page_142">[Pg 142]</a></span>sible for any but exceptionally active and
+resolute men, and then only as a forlorn hope, to reach the summit.
+Projecting ledges of rock also blocked the way. A large body of men had
+been seen before daybreak stealing across the foot-hills, but had evaded
+pursuit. He believed they had fled to the Black Swamp, four miles
+distant.</p>
+
+<p>Seeing that Dennis needed every possible support at the landing, Brock
+ordered Williams and his men to proceed to his assistance, and on the
+latter's departure our hero and his aides were left alone with the eight
+gunners.</p>
+
+<hr class='smler' />
+
+<p>The rain was gradually ceasing. Shafts of light from an unseen sun
+tinged the edges of the smoke-coloured clouds with amber and rose. A few
+spent musket-balls falling about the enclosure aroused Brock's
+suspicions. He was watching, from behind the earthen parapet, the flight
+of the shells discharged by the eighteen-pounder, and, seeing that they
+burst too soon, turned to the gunner.</p>
+
+<p>"Sergeant, you are misjudging your time and distance; we must not waste
+powder and shot. Your shells are bursting too soon. Try a longer fuse."</p>
+
+<p>The words were barely out of our hero's mouth when there was a rolling
+crash of musketry, accompanied by wild shouts, and a shower of bullets
+flew zipping over their heads. Shooting high is the invariable
+shortcoming of excited marksmen. A moment later the heads of a large
+force of American riflemen rose from the rocky ambuscade above and
+behind them. The next instant the enemy was in full charge, evidently
+bent on capturing both the General and the redan.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_143" id="Page_143">[Pg 143]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>Brock saw that resistance would be madness. To save the gun and escape
+capture must be the "double event." Seizing a ramrod, he ordered an
+artilleryman to spike the gun, gave the command to retreat, telling the
+men to "duck their heads," fearing another discharge, and, leading his
+horse, followed by Macdonell and Glegg and the firing squad of eight
+artillerymen, rushed down the slope.</p>
+
+<hr class='smler' />
+
+<p>For a clearer understanding of the situation&mdash;a better conception even
+than our hero had when, to escape capture and save the lives of his men,
+he was compelled to abandon the redan&mdash;we must visit Van Rensselaer's
+camp at Lewiston.</p>
+
+<hr />
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_144" id="Page_144">[Pg 144]</a></span></p>
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XXVII" id="CHAPTER_XXVII"></a>CHAPTER XXVII.</h2>
+
+<h3>VAN RENSSELAER'S CAMP.</h3>
+
+<p>After midnight, on the morning of the 11th, the American general, Van
+Rensselaer, believing, as he wrote, "that Brock, with all his disposable
+forces, had left for Detroit," launched from the Lewiston landing, under
+cover of the pitch darkness, thirteen boats capable of carrying 340
+armed men.</p>
+
+<p>To Lieutenant Sims, "the man of the greatest skill in the American
+service," was entrusted the command. Sims entered the leading boat, and
+vanished in the gloom. Whether he had taken all the oars with him, as
+reported, or whether the furious storm and the sight of the whirling
+black waters had frozen the hearts of the troops, must remain a mystery.
+The other boats did not follow.</p>
+
+<p>Meanwhile, 350 additional regulars and thirty boats had arrived from
+Four Mile Creek. Flying artillery came from Fort Niagara, with still
+more regulars, and part of Smythe's brigade from Buffalo. Troops, as
+Brock's spies had truly reported, now overflowed the United States army
+headquarters&mdash;three more complete regiments from New York and another
+from Fort Schlosser. Lewiston bristled with bayonets. The entire
+expeditionary force was in command of Colonel Solomon Van Rensselaer, a
+militiaman, between whom and the officers commanding the regular troops
+much jealousy and great friction existed. Both branches of the service
+were determined<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_145" id="Page_145">[Pg 145]</a></span> to monopolize whatever credit might ensue. A storm,
+more furious than ever, prevailed for twenty-eight hours. The men sulked
+in their tents.</p>
+
+<p>On the night of the 12th, the storm having abated, though the sky was
+black as ink, added numbers having developed greater courage, Van
+Rensselaer resolved on another attempt. He secretly notified
+Brigade-Major Smythe, in command at Buffalo, that in accordance with the
+letter reproduced in a previous chapter, he would storm the Heights of
+Queenston that night. With experienced river men as pilots, with picked
+crews, and protected by the big guns at Fort Gray, 600 men, with two
+pieces of light artillery, in thirteen boats, in the grim darkness of
+the morning of the 13th&mdash;a sinister coincidence&mdash;drew up in silence on
+the wharf. They comprised the first detachment of 850 regulars and 300
+militia, the advance attacking party&mdash;"the flower of Wadsworth's
+army"&mdash;embarked to "carry the Heights of Queenston and appal the minds
+of Canadians."</p>
+
+<p>Let us trace the fulfilling of Van Rensselaer's boast.</p>
+
+<p>The regulars crossed first, almost out of the line of fire of the
+British batteries, and under cover of six of the enemy's field-guns that
+completely commanded the Canadian shore. Some of the boats of this
+flotilla effected, as we know, a landing above the rock, still visible
+at the water's edge, under the suspension bridge. Here they disembarked
+their fighting men&mdash;the 13th regulars and some artillery&mdash;and, under Van
+Rensselaer, attempted to form. The empty boats recrossed the river to
+ferry over more soldiers.</p>
+
+<hr class='smler' />
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_146" id="Page_146">[Pg 146]</a></span>A sentry of the 49th&mdash;our hero's regiment&mdash;overheard voices and tramping
+of feet. Scenting danger, he ran, without firing, to alarm the main
+guard.</p>
+
+<p>In a few minutes Dennis advanced upon the landing place with forty-six
+men of his own company and a few militia, and discharged a murderous
+volley, leaving Colonel Van Rensselaer, with eight officers and
+forty-five men, killed or wounded. The enemy retreated to the water's
+edge for shelter, confused and shivering. The Lewiston batteries at once
+opened fire on the redan on Queenston Heights. The position of Dennis
+being thus revealed to Dearborn's gunners, they immediately turned their
+battery of six field-pieces upon his handful of men, and the position
+proving untenable, he withdrew to the shelter of the village, on the lip
+of the hill, still continuing to fire downwards on the invaders.</p>
+
+<p>Vrooman's battery then opened fire, and Crowther brought his two
+"grasshoppers"&mdash;small three-pounders&mdash;to sweep the road leading to the
+river.</p>
+
+<hr />
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_147" id="Page_147">[Pg 147]</a></span></p>
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XXVIII" id="CHAPTER_XXVIII"></a>CHAPTER XXVIII.</h2>
+
+<h3>A FOREIGN FLAG FLIES ON THE REDAN.</h3>
+
+<p>It was the crackling of the grenadiers' muskets, the bellowing of
+Vrooman's big gun, the cannonade of the twenty-four-pounders of the
+Lewiston batteries, the roar of the eighteen-pounder in the British
+redan, and the streak of crimson light from the long line of beacons
+which rent the sky from Fort Erie to Pelham Heights, that had wakened
+the citizens of Niagara and aroused Brock from his brief repose.</p>
+
+<p>Captain Wool, of the 13th U.S. regulars&mdash;Van Rensselaer being wounded in
+six places&mdash;hurried his men under the shelter of the overhanging rocks,
+keeping up an intermittent fire, and waited for reinforcements. For
+almost two hours this desultory firing continued. With the cessation of
+the storm and arrival of broad daylight, six more boats attempted to
+reach the Queenston landing. One boat was sunk by a discharge of grape
+from Dennis's howitzer; another, with Colonel Fenwick, of the U.S.
+artillery, was swept below the landing to a cove where, in the attack by
+Cameron's volunteers that followed, Fenwick, terribly wounded, was, with
+most of his men, taken prisoner. Another boat drifted under Vrooman's,
+and was captured there, while others, more fortunate, landed two
+additional companies of the 13th, forty artillerymen and some militia.
+The shouts of the fighters and screams of the wounded were heard by the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_148" id="Page_148">[Pg 148]</a></span>
+hundreds of spectators who were parading the river bank at Lewiston, all
+ready to witness "the humiliation of Canada."</p>
+
+<p>General Van Rensselaer had commanded that the "Heights had to be taken."
+Wool, a gallant soldier, only twenty-three, suffering from a bullet that
+had passed through both his thighs&mdash;no superior officer coming to his
+support&mdash;volunteered for the duty. He expressed his eagerness to make
+the attempt. Gansfort, a brother officer of Wool's, had been shown by a
+river guide a narrow, twisting trail, used at times by fishermen,
+leading to the summit. This he pointed out to Wool as a possible pathway
+to the Heights, where a force of determined men might gain the rear of
+the British position. Wool, at the same time, had also been informed
+that Williams, hitherto on the Heights, had been ordered to descend the
+hill to assist Dennis&mdash;which was Brock's first command on reaching the
+redan. Followed by Van Rensselaer's aide, who had orders "to shoot every
+man who faltered," Wool at once commenced the ascent, leaving one
+hundred of his men to protect the landing.</p>
+
+<p>Picked artillerymen led the way. Concealed by rock and thicket, and
+unobserved by the British&mdash;the trail being regarded as impassable&mdash;they
+reached the hill-top, only thirty yards in rear of the solitary gun in
+the redan. The noise of their movements was drowned by the crash of the
+batteries, which reduced Hamilton's stone house to ruins and drove
+Crowther and his small gun out of range. The shells from the enemy's
+mortars rained upon the village, and his field-pieces subjected the
+gardens and orchards of Queenston to a searching inquisition.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_149" id="Page_149">[Pg 149]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>On reaching the summit, Wool, when the last straggler had arrived,
+formed his men, without losing a minute, and emerging from ambush, fired
+a badly-aimed volley at the astonished Brock and his eight gunners, and
+with a wild shout rushed down upon the redan.</p>
+
+<hr class='smler' />
+
+<p>When the United States flag was raised over the gun, which Wool, to his
+deep chagrin, found spiked, the troops at Lewiston realized that the
+battery had been taken. Their courage returning, they rushed to the
+boats below, hoping to participate in a victory which, while hitherto a
+question in their minds, now seemed beyond all doubt.</p>
+
+<p>Brock, on regaining the bottom of the slope, seeing that the main attack
+was to be made at Queenston, sent Captain Derenzy with a despatch to
+Sheaffe at Fort George.</p>
+
+<p>"Instruct Major Evans," he wrote, "to turn every available gun on Fort
+Niagara, silence its batteries, and drive out the enemy, for I require
+every fighting man here; and if you have not already done so, forward
+the battalion companies of the 41st and the flank companies of militia,
+and join me without delay."</p>
+
+<p>Mounting his horse, he galloped to the far end of the village. Here he
+held a hurried consultation with the few officers present, and
+despatched Macdonell to Vrooman's to bring up Heward's Little York
+volunteers at the double. He then instructed Glegg to order Dennis, with
+the light company of the 49th, less than fifty strong, and Chisholm's
+company of the York militia, to join him, and also to recall Williams
+and his detachment. When these arrived he took command.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_150" id="Page_150">[Pg 150]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"Captain Williams," said he, "how many men do you muster?"</p>
+
+<p>"Seventy, sir, of all ranks," replied Williams; "forty-nine grenadiers
+and Captain Chisholm's company of volunteers."</p>
+
+<p>"We must make the attempt, then," said the General, "to turn the enemy's
+left flank on the Heights, and this can only be done by a round-about
+way." Then, as Dennis joined him, he said, with a shade of vexation on
+his face, "It is a waste of time lamenting mistakes, but the overlooking
+of that pathway was a serious thing. The re-taking of the redan must be
+attempted at all hazards. It is the key, you see, to our position. If we
+wait for all our reinforcements the task will only be greater, as it
+will give the enemy time to establish himself in force, and when he
+drills out the spiked gun, the odds against us will be greater still."</p>
+
+<p>Then, after a pause, "We must try and regain that gun without a moment's
+delay. It will be hot work, and means a sacrifice, but it is clearly our
+duty. Macdonell cannot be long. How are your men?"</p>
+
+<p>"Somewhat fagged, sir," replied Dennis, "and a bit hippish. We've had a
+trying time, but they are ready to follow you."</p>
+
+<hr class='smler' />
+
+<p>It has been truly said of Isaac Brock that he never allowed a thought of
+self-preservation or self-interest to affect for one instant his
+conception of duty. He was blind at this moment to all personal
+considerations. He made no effort to shelter himself behind any
+plausible<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_151" id="Page_151">[Pg 151]</a></span> excuse that would have been gratefully seized by the timid or
+calculating man, or to fence with his duty. His consistency was sublime.
+"His last moments were in clear keeping with his life and his belief."</p>
+
+<div class="poem">
+<div class='stanza'><div>"He who thinks In strife</div>
+<div class='i2'>To earn a deathless fame,</div>
+<div>Must <i>do</i>, nor ever care for life."</div></div>
+</div>
+
+<p>The little band of heroes fell into line, while their brother hero
+addressed them.</p>
+
+<p>"Men of the 49th," said Brock, "and my brave volunteers, I have heard of
+your work this morning, and the trying circumstances under which you
+have been fighting. Now, my lads, as you know, a large body of the enemy
+has stolen a march on us. They have taken our gun, it is true, but they
+will find it spiked! It is our duty to re-take it. Be prepared for
+slippery footing. Use every bit of shelter, but when we make the final
+rush give the enemy no time to think. Pour in a volley; fire low, and
+when it comes to in-fighting, use the bayonet resolutely and you have
+them beaten. I know I can depend upon you.... There is a foreign flag
+flying over a British gun. It must not stay there.... Don't cheer now,
+men, but save your breath and follow me."</p>
+
+<hr class='smler' />
+
+<p>There was a cheer, notwithstanding.</p>
+
+<hr />
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_152" id="Page_152">[Pg 152]</a></span></p>
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XXIX" id="CHAPTER_XXIX"></a>CHAPTER XXIX.</h2>
+
+<h3>THE BATTLE OF QUEENSTON HEIGHTS.</h3>
+
+<p>While these fateful and stirring scenes were being enacted at Queenston,
+a despatch rider arrived from Evans of Fort George. Without waiting for
+further instructions, he had, after Brock's departure, with the first
+glimpse of daylight, cannonaded Fort Niagara. This he did with typical
+thoroughness. His fire was returned with interest. With a license in
+direct opposition to the laws of battle, the enemy, under Captain
+Leonard, turned his guns on the village of Newark, bombarding public
+buildings and private residences with hot-shot, laying part of the town
+in ashes. This infuriated Evans, and he renewed the siege with so much
+vigour that he compelled the American garrison to evacuate. A shot from
+one of his twelve-pounders burst within the centre of Fort Niagara and
+decided Leonard to abandon his position in haste, after suffering many
+casualties.</p>
+
+<hr class='smler' />
+
+<p>Under a nasty crackle of musketry, galling and accurate, which harried
+the men, already chilled and strung up with suspense, the small
+detachment following the courageous Brock from the lower village soon
+reached the stone walls that surrounded a residence at the base of the
+hill. Here our hero dismounted, handed his horse to an orderly, and
+directed the men to find shelter. A moment later, taking advantage of a
+lull in the firing, he vaulted over the wall, and waving his sword above
+his head, shouted to the grenadiers a word of encouragement. They
+answered with a cheer, still following him as he led the way up the
+steep ascent towards the captured battery.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_153" id="Page_153">[Pg 153]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>Wool, within the enclosure of the redan, was closely watching the steady
+advance of the small body of resolute men breasting the Height.</p>
+
+<p>The purpose of these men was unmistakable. As they drew closer, scarlet
+uniform and polished bayonet blazed and flashed in the sunshine. Having
+been heavily reinforced, he detached a party of 150 picked regulars, and
+with these moved out to meet the small band of British led by Brock. A
+brief exchange of shots took place, and the Americans fell back, firing.</p>
+
+<p>Though the rain had ceased the trees were gemmed with drops that still
+dripped. The ground was strewn with wet leaves, slippery, and affording
+treacherous foothold. Progress was slow and laborious. As the hillside
+grew steeper, a man here and there slid, lurched and fell. To maintain
+any semblance of formation was impossible. The fire grew hotter. Ball
+and buckshot and half-ounce bullets down-poured on them from above.
+"Death crouched behind every rock and lurked in every hollow."</p>
+
+<p>Had Brock's handful of loyalists been able to rush headlong, spurred by
+lust of conflict, and lock bayonets with the enemy, another tale might
+have been told. But the effect of the futile struggle for foothold on
+the hillside, seamed with slippery depressions, in the teeth of a
+blizzard of lead, soon showed. The bullet-swept ascent was a cruel test
+for men already fagged and faint. As for our hero, though storm-beaten,
+stained with mud, and hungry as a wolf, he was still the same
+indomitable youth who had scaled the cut cliffs of Cobo in search of
+seagulls' eggs. His vigour and disregard of danger were magnificent. His
+example, splendid.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_154" id="Page_154">[Pg 154]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>Brock may not have been judicially precautious. Had he waited for
+reinforcements&mdash;there were none nearer than Fort George&mdash;his own life
+might possibly have been preserved. As an alternative he could perhaps
+have withdrawn and sought shelter in the village. But&mdash;apart from the
+peril to his own prestige&mdash;who would care to estimate the ulterior
+effect upon his men if such an example had been set them? These rough
+Canadian irregulars consisted, as they do to-day, of the finest fighting
+material in the world. The law of self-preservation had no place in the
+litany of Isaac Brock. He was a daily dealer in self-sacrifice. Besides,
+this was not the time or place to calculate involved issues. He was not
+a cold-blooded politician, nor was he an opportunist; he was merely a
+patriot and a soldier fighting for hearth and home, for flag and
+country. It was not an issue that could be left to arbitration in the
+hereafter, or threshed out by judge and jury. The situation called for
+instant action. To <i>do</i> his obvious duty rather than to <i>know</i> it,
+seemed to our hero the only honorable exit from the dilemma, even though
+it resulted in his own undoing.</p>
+
+<p>Not until the dead are mustered by the God of hosts&mdash;at the last
+roll-call&mdash;will this noble soldier's conception of duty and his
+sacrifice be truly appraised.</p>
+
+<p>God and the right was carved deep in the heart of Isaac Brock. Though he
+felt for his men, it was in a compassionate, not a weak way. War without
+bloodshed was inconceivable. He had been trained in an age and in a
+school that regarded blood-shedding in the protection of the right as
+wholly justifiable, as it was inevitable. Is there any change in respect
+to the application of this<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_155" id="Page_155">[Pg 155]</a></span> doctrine to-day? For himself he had no
+compassion whatever. His faith in the cause compelled him to fight to a
+finish. He was not of the potter's common clay of which fatalists are
+made. How many of these faithful fellows, he wondered, as his alert mind
+rapidly reviewed the present and recalled the past&mdash;Canadian and Celt,
+Irish and Anglo-Saxon, Protestant and Catholic, whom "neither politics,
+sect or creed could, in such a crisis, keep apart"&mdash;would leave their
+bodies to bleach on that hill-side? How many of them were destined to
+yield their lives for honour's sake, to die with their valour unrecorded
+in the defence&mdash;in the case of numbers of them&mdash;not of their own, but of
+their brother's rights?</p>
+
+<hr class='smler' />
+
+<p>The next second he was wondering what was doing at St. Peter's Port or
+London. It would be noon there. Were the good brothers and sister
+thinking of "Master Isaac" at that moment? Then, swifter than light, he
+was at Niagara, and the bowed figure of a woman at a porch, with pale,
+upturned face, who that morning had bade him a silent farewell, rose
+before him&mdash;surely it was years ago&mdash;the woman to whom he was betrothed.
+Then, in a flash, he turned to see some wavering figures around him,
+some of his own men&mdash;not a few wounded&mdash;who faltered and shrank from the
+screaming buckshot, and dropped to the rear.</p>
+
+<p>The soldier awoke.</p>
+
+<p>"This is the first time," he shouted, "I have ever seen the 49th turn
+their backs! Surely the heroes of Egmont will never tarnish their
+record!"</p>
+
+<hr class='smler' />
+
+<p>The rebuke stung. The panting ranks closed up.</p>
+
+<hr />
+<p class="center"><a name="fp156.jpg" id="fp156.jpg"></a><img src="images/fp156.jpg" width='600' height='403' alt="Death of Isaac Brock" /></p>
+
+<p class="center"><span class="smcap">Death of Isaac Brock</span></p>
+
+<hr />
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_156" id="Page_156">[Pg 156]</a></span></p>
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XXX" id="CHAPTER_XXX"></a>CHAPTER XXX.</h2>
+
+<h3>THE DEATH OF ISAAC BROCK.</h3>
+
+<p>At this moment Colonel Macdonell, excited and eager to participate,
+reached the foot of the mountain at the head of the supports for which
+the General had despatched him. These consisted of about thirty of
+Heward's flank company of militia and thirty of the 49th&mdash;almost
+breathless and much exhausted, having run most of the way. Brock's small
+force&mdash;those actually at his side&mdash;were Chisholm's and Cameron's
+companies of the Toronto and York volunteers&mdash;a mere handful of perhaps
+eighty all told. These, together with Macdonell's men, who were at the
+foot of the hill on the right, now numbered less than 190 of all ranks.</p>
+
+<p>For an instant there was a pause. Brock spoke hurriedly to his aide.</p>
+
+<p>"If Williams and Macdonell can but outflank the Americans on the summit
+and scale the mountain in rear of the redan on the right, nothing can
+prevent our driving them out. Our place is here."</p>
+
+<p>"But, General," interposed his aide, who worshipped his commanding
+officer, "I pray you, let me lead, or at least do take proper
+precautions. If you are wounded, think what may befall us."</p>
+
+<p>"Master Glegg," hurriedly replied Brock, "I must remain at the head of
+these men. Duty and desire compel me. Should I fall, there are others
+not less competent."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_157" id="Page_157">[Pg 157]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>A half smile, a touch of the arm, and the two men separated. A long
+separation.</p>
+
+<hr class='smler' />
+
+<p>Deceived by the scarlet uniforms of the militia flank companies, Wool
+believed that the attacking party was composed exclusively of regulars,
+so steady was their advance. His own force now consisted of 500 men,
+over 300 of whom were regulars. Notwithstanding his much greater
+strength and vastly superior position, being protected by artificial
+brush-shelters and logs, and the withering fire with which he met the
+dogged progress of the British, his flanks, pressed by Williams and
+Macdonell, began to shrink. The moment was a critical one for our hero.</p>
+
+<p>The supreme effort must be made.</p>
+
+<p>Glancing below, Brock, even at that instant, for a fleeting moment was
+conscious of the beauty of the country spread beneath him. Almost as far
+as eye could reach extended an immense, partly pastoral plain, studded
+with villages, groves, winding streams, cultivated farms, orchards,
+vineyards and meadows. In places a dense forest, decorated with autumn's
+mellow tints, and furrowed by the black gorge of the Niagara, stretched
+to the horizon. Across all, shadows of racing clouds gave emphasis to
+the brilliant flood of sunshine. No fairer scene ever greeted the eye of
+man. The entire landscape breathed peace. Above it, however, in detached
+masses, hung lurid billows&mdash;the smoke of battle.... The serene vision
+faded, and in its place, in brutal contrast, came cruel, imperious bugle
+calls, the metallic rattle of fire-arms, the deep thunder of artillery,
+the curdling cry of wounded men.</p>
+
+<p>Isaac's senses were insulted by the carnage of war.</p>
+
+<hr class='smler' />
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_158" id="Page_158">[Pg 158]</a></span>He now noticed that the supports, led by his plucky aide at the foot of
+the hill, were flagging. He shouted back, "Push on, York Volunteers!"</p>
+
+<p>Our hero's robust figure was a conspicuous object for the American
+riflemen. While telling his men to take advantage of every bit of
+shelter, he paid little attention to himself. His uniform, his position
+at the head of his men, his loud words of command, stamped him a man of
+mark, a soldier of distinction, a special target for Wool's
+sharpshooters.</p>
+
+<hr class='smler' />
+
+<p>So far he had escaped the hail of shot by a miracle. Picking his
+footsteps&mdash;it was treadmill work&mdash;he sprang forward, urging on his men
+by word and gesture.</p>
+
+<hr class='smler' />
+
+<p>A deflected bullet struck the wrist of his sword arm. The wound was
+slight. He again waved his sword, smiling his indifference and still
+speaking words of encouragement.</p>
+
+<hr class='smler' />
+
+<p>They were getting at close quarters now. The redan was less than fifty
+yards above.</p>
+
+<p>He was calling to those nearest him to hold their fire a moment, to
+prepare to rush the enemy and use their bayonets, when, from a thorn
+thicket, an Ohio scout, Wilklow by name, one of Moseley's riflemen,
+stepped forward, and, singling out his victim, deliberately aimed at the
+General. Several of the 49th, noticing the man's movement, fired&mdash;but
+too late. The rifleman's bullet entered our hero's right breast, tore
+through his body on the left side, close to his heart, leaving a gaping
+wound.</p>
+
+<hr class='smler' />
+
+<p class="center"><a name="fp159.jpg" id="fp159.jpg"></a><img src="images/fp159.jpg" width='394' height='550' alt="Brock's Coat, worn at Queenston Heights" /></p>
+
+<p class="center"><span class="smcap">Brock's Coat, worn at Queenston Heights</span></p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_159" id="Page_159">[Pg 159]</a></span>Brock sank slowly to the ground, quite sensible of his grievous fate. A
+grenadier, horribly mutilated, fell across him. To those who ran to aid
+our hero, anxious to know the nature of his injury, he murmured a few
+broken sentences and&mdash;turned to die.</p>
+
+<p>He tried to frame messages to loved ones, and then, more audibly, as he
+gallantly strove to raise his head to give emphasis to his last
+faltering words&mdash;the same Isaac Brock, unmindful of self and still
+mindful of duty&mdash;he said, "My fall must not be noticed, nor impede my
+brave companions from advancing to victory."</p>
+
+<p>And with a sigh&mdash;expired.</p>
+
+<hr class='smler' />
+
+<p>Thus died General Sir Isaac Brock, defender and saviour of Upper Canada.
+Died the death he would have selected, the most splendid death of
+all&mdash;that of the hero in the hour of victory, fighting for King and
+country, for you and me, and with his face to the foe.</p>
+
+<hr class='smler' />
+
+<p>Our hero had passed his <i>last</i> milestone.</p>
+
+<hr class='smler' />
+
+<p>For a brief space the body of Isaac Brock rested where it had fallen,
+about one hundred yards west of the road that leads through Queenston,
+and a little eastward of an aged thorn bush.</p>
+
+<hr class='smler' />
+
+<p>Above the dead soldier's head, clouds, sunshine and rustling foliage;
+beneath it, fallen forest leaves, moist and fragrant. About the
+motionless body swayed tussocks<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_160" id="Page_160">[Pg 160]</a></span> of tall grass and the trampled heads of
+wild-flowers. The shouts of the regulars, the clamor of the militia, the
+shrill war-cry of the Mohawks, and the organ notes of battle, were his
+requiem. Then the corpse was hurriedly borne by a few grief-stricken men
+of the 49th to a house in the village, occupied by Laura Secord&mdash;the
+future heroine of Lundy's Lane&mdash;where, concealed by blankets&mdash;owing to
+the presence of the enemy&mdash;it was allowed to remain for some hours,
+unvisited.</p>
+
+<hr class='smler' />
+
+<p>Later in the day Major Glegg, Brock's faithful aide&mdash;the brave
+Macdonell, in extreme agony, lay dying of his wounds&mdash;hastened to the
+spot, and finding the body of his lamented friend undisturbed, conveyed
+it to Niagara, "where it was bedewed by weeping friends whose hearts
+were agonized with bitterest sorrow."</p>
+
+<hr />
+<p class="center"><a name="fp161.jpg" id="fp161.jpg"></a><img src="images/fp161.jpg" width='600' height='400' alt="Battle of Queenston. From an old Sketch" /></p>
+
+<p class="center"><span class="smcap">Battle of Queenston.</span> From an old Sketch</p>
+
+<hr />
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_161" id="Page_161">[Pg 161]</a></span></p>
+<h2><a name="SUPPLEMENT" id="SUPPLEMENT"></a>SUPPLEMENT</h2>
+
+<hr class='smler' />
+<h3><a name="AFTER_BROCKS_DEATH" id="AFTER_BROCKS_DEATH"></a>AFTER BROCK'S DEATH.</h3>
+
+<p>The "Story of Isaac Brock" would be incomplete without an epitome of the
+events that terminated the Battle of Queenston Heights and resulted in
+an overwhelming victory for the British.</p>
+
+<p>General Brock was killed in action at about half-past seven on the
+morning of October 13th, 1812. His body was removed from Government
+House, Niagara, to a cavalier bastion at Fort George, for final
+sepulture. This bastion was selected by Major Glegg, it being the one
+which Brock's own genius had lately suggested&mdash;the one from which the
+range of an observer's vision covered the principal points of
+approach&mdash;and had just been finished under his daily superintendence.</p>
+
+<p>After he fell, the handful of men who were with him, overcome by his
+tragic end, overwhelmed by superior numbers and a hurricane of buckshot
+and bullets, wavered, and though Dennis attempted to rally them, fell
+back and retreated to the far end of Queenston village. Here, about two
+hours later, Colonel Macdonell, Brock's aide, collected and reformed the
+scattered units, and made another bold dash to rescale the heights and
+retake the redan. A detailed account of the incidents that followed in
+dramatic succession would fill a book.</p>
+
+<p>With the cry of "Revenge the General!" from the men of the 49th,
+Macdonell, on Brock's charger, led the forlorn attack, supported by
+Dennis. At the same moment, Williams, with his detachment, emerged from
+the thicket, shouting to his men, "Feel firmly to the right, my lads;
+advance steadily, charge them home, and they cannot stand you." The two
+detachments then combined, and Macdonell ordering a general advance,
+they once more breasted the ascent.</p>
+
+<p>The enemy, over four hundred strong, but without proper formation, fired
+an independent volley at the British as they approached to within thirty
+yards of the redoubt. This was<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_162" id="Page_162">[Pg 162]</a></span> responded to with vigour, and grenadiers
+and volunteers, in response to brave Macdonell's repeated calls, charged
+fiercely on Wool's men, now huddled in disorder around the
+eighteen-pounder. Some of them started to run towards the river bank.
+One American officer, Ogilvie, of the 13th regulars, thinking the
+situation hopeless, raised his handkerchief on his sword-point in token
+of surrender. Wool, a soldier of different calibre, tore it down, and a
+company of United States infantry coming at that moment to his
+assistance, he rallied his men.</p>
+
+<p>The momentary advantage gained by Macdonell's small band of heroes was
+lost, and in the exchange of shots that followed, Macdonell's
+horse&mdash;Brock's charger&mdash;was killed under him while he&mdash;his uniform torn
+with bullets&mdash;was thrown from the saddle as the animal plunged in its
+death struggle&mdash;receiving several ghastly bullet wounds, from which he
+died the following day, after enduring much agony. Williams, a moment
+later, fell desperately wounded; Dennis, suffering from a severe head
+wound, at first refused to quit the field, but Cameron having removed
+the sorely-stricken Macdonell, and Williams having recovered
+consciousness and escaped, the dispirited men fell back, retreated down
+the mountain at Parrott's Tavern, retiring upon Vrooman's battery. Here
+they awaited, unmolested, until two in the afternoon, the arrival of
+reinforcements from Fort George. The fight, though short, had been
+furious and deadly. Americans and British alike were glad to take
+breath.</p>
+
+<p>Meanwhile, unobserved, young Brant, with 120 Mohawk Indians, had scaled
+the mountain, east of St. David's, outflanking the Americans, and hemmed
+them in until Captains Derenzy, of the 41st, and Holcroft, of the
+Artillery, arrived with the car-brigade from Fort George and trained two
+field-guns and a howitzer upon the landing. Merritt, with a troop of
+mounted infantry, at the same time reached the village by the Queenston
+road. This movement, which was a ruse, deceived the enemy, who at once
+redisposed his troops in readiness for an attack from this new quarter.</p>
+
+<p class="center"><a name="fp163.jpg" id="fp163.jpg"></a><img src="images/fp163.jpg" width='392' height='550' alt="Plan of Battle of Queenston" /></p>
+
+<p class="center"><span class="smcap">Plan of Battle of Queenston</span></p>
+
+<p>The American commander was ignorant of the fact that General
+Sheaffe&mdash;with four companies of the 41st, 308 strong, the same number of
+militia, and a company of negro troops from Niagara, refugee slaves from
+the United States&mdash;was at that moment approaching his rear in the rear
+of the Indians. The British<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_163" id="Page_163">[Pg 163]</a></span> advanced in crescent-shaped formation,
+hidden by mountain and bush, and were shortly joined by a few more
+regulars and by two flank companies of the 2nd regiment of militia from
+Chippewa. Indeed, many persons of all ranks of life, even veterans
+exempt by age, seized their muskets and joined the column to repel the
+invaders, "unappalled" by Dearborn's threats of conquest or by the death
+of their "beloved hero, Isaac Brock." By this movement the British
+escaped the enfilading fire of the Lewiston batteries, the steep ascent
+of the heights in the teeth of the enemy's field-works, and compelled
+him to change front. The British of all ranks numbered less than one
+thousand.</p>
+
+<p>The United States troops, which had been heavily reinforced, consisted
+at this time of about one thousand fighting men, on and about the
+mountain. This number was slowly supplemented by fresh arrivals from
+Lewiston, encouraged when they saw the American flag planted on the
+redan. The wounded were sent across the river. Nearly all of the new
+arrivals were regulars. Colonel Winfield Scott, of Mexican fame, a tried
+soldier, six feet four in his stockings, was now in command, supported
+by a second field-piece and many sharp-shooters. Van Rensselaer,
+narrowly escaping capture, had retreated by boat to Lewiston, ostensibly
+to bring over more troops. Finding the conditions unfavourable, he did
+not do so, but sent over General Wadsworth, as a vicarious sacrifice, to
+take command. The gun in the redan had been unspiked, and the summit
+strongly entrenched, but as Scott's men betrayed strange lukewarmness,
+orders were given "to shoot any man leaving his post."</p>
+
+<p>Sheaffe's men having rested after their forced tramp, a few spherical
+case-shot by Holcroft drove out the American riflemen. His gunners had
+at last silenced the Lewiston batteries, and finding the river range,
+sunk almost every boat that attempted to cross. The Indians were now
+ordered to drive in the enemy's pickets slowly. Scouting the woods, they
+routed his outposts.</p>
+
+<p>About four p.m. Captain Bullock, with two flank companies of militia and
+150 men of the 41st, advanced, and after firing a volley in the face of
+a dense smoke, charged the enemy's right, which broke in great
+confusion. A general advance was ordered, and, with wild warwhoops by
+the Indians and white men, the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_164" id="Page_164">[Pg 164]</a></span> heights were rushed, Wadsworth's
+veterans were stampeded, the redan retaken at the point of the bayonet,
+and Scott's command forced to the scarp of the cliff overhanging the
+river.</p>
+
+<p>The American soldiers, to quote United States historians, now "fled like
+sheep," and scuttled off in all directions. Some raced headlong down the
+main road, seeking shelter under the muzzles of Holcroft's guns; some
+sought refuge in the houses; others raced to the landing only to find
+the boats no longer there. Not a few, hot pressed by Brant's avenging
+Mohawks, threw themselves over the precipice, preferring suicide to the
+redman's tomahawk. Others plunged into the Niagara, essaying to swim its
+irresistible eddies, only to be blown out of the green water by
+Holcroft's grapeshot or sucked down by the river's silent whirlpools.</p>
+
+<p>One boat, with fifty struggling refugees, sank with its entire crew. Two
+others similarly laden were beached below the village, with only one
+dozen out of one hundred souls still living. The river presented a
+shocking scene. On the face of the water men, many maimed and wounded,
+fought and struggled for survival. This pitiful spectacle was actually
+taking place under the eyes of several thousands of American soldiers on
+the Lewiston bank, who, almost impossible to believe, and to their
+lasting disgrace, refused to join, or attempt even to succour, their
+comrades&mdash;deaf to all entreaty&mdash;allowing them to perish. Every room and
+shack at Queenston was an improvised hospital or morgue, filled with the
+mangled bodies of the quick and dead.</p>
+
+<p>Cruikshank says 120 wounded United States officers and men were taken,
+of whom thirty died at hospital in Queenston and Niagara, while 140 more
+were ferried across to Lewiston. Lossing, the American historian,
+solemnly records the "fact" that "less than 600 American troops of all
+ranks ever landed at Queenston," and that "of these only 300 were
+overpowered"&mdash;some of the United States histories of the colonial wars
+need drastic revision&mdash;yet 958 American soldiers were taken prisoners by
+the British; "captured by a force," so officially wrote Colonel Van
+Rensselaer, after the battle, "amounting to only about <i>one-third</i> of
+the united number of the American troops." Captain Gist, of the U.S.
+army, placed their own killed at 400.</p>
+
+<p>Among those who, when defeat was certain, fled to the water's edge,
+after fighting valiantly, was Colonel Winfield Scott, General<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_165" id="Page_165">[Pg 165]</a></span>
+Wadsworth, and other United States officers. Pursued by the Indians,
+they lowered themselves from shrub to shrub. When escape was hopeless,
+Scott tied the white cravat of his comrade, Totten, on his sword point,
+and with another officer, Gibson, was hurrying to present this flag of
+truce, when two Indians confronted them on the narrow trail. Jacobs,
+Brant's powerful follower, wrenched Scott's sword away, hatchets were
+drawn, and had not a British grenadier sergeant rushed forward, Winfield
+Scott would have fared badly.</p>
+
+<p>General Van Rensselaer's defeat was complete and disastrous. His chagrin
+at his failure "to appal the minds of the Canadians" was so great that
+ten days later he resigned his command.</p>
+
+<p>The account between Canada and the United States at sundown on that day
+stood as follows: Total American force engaged, 1,600. Killed and
+wounded, or sent back across the river, during the fight, 500.
+Prisoners, 73 officers, including two generals and five colonels,
+together with 852 rank and file. Total loss, 1,425 men, besides the
+colours of the New York regiment, one six-pounder, 815 carbines and
+bayonets, and 5,950 rounds of ball and buckshot.</p>
+
+<p>The total British force engaged was 1,000. Of these 800 were regulars
+and militia, and 200 Indians. Killed, 14, including one major-general
+and one aide. Wounded and missing, 96. Total American loss, 1,425. Total
+British loss, 110. <i>The next day the British General, Sheaffe, Isaac
+Brock's successor, signed another armistice. The second armistice within
+a period of nine weeks!</i></p>
+
+<p>Such is the story of the Battle of Queenston Heights.</p>
+
+<p><br /></p>
+<h3><a name="SUBSEQUENT_EVENTS_OF_THE_CAMPAIGN_OF_1812" id="SUBSEQUENT_EVENTS_OF_THE_CAMPAIGN_OF_1812"></a>SUBSEQUENT EVENTS OF THE CAMPAIGN OF 1812.</h3>
+
+<p>After Van Rensselaer resigned his command in favour of Brigadier-General
+Smyth, the effect of the British victory upon the United States troops
+at Lewiston was beyond belief. While the British soldiers were, with
+characteristic indifference, hard at work at Fort George cutting wood
+and threshing straw, the American soldiers across the river, according
+to their own historians, were deserting by the hundreds. Of General
+Tannehill's brigade of 1,414 of all ranks, 1,147 deserted within a few
+days. Twenty of these were officers.</p>
+
+<p>Had the British been allowed to profit by this demoralization<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_166" id="Page_166">[Pg 166]</a></span> of the
+enemy and followed up their brilliant successes, they could, as Brock
+predicted, have swept the frontier from Chippewa to Sackett's Harbour,
+and probably prevented a continuance of the two years' war. The
+Sheaffe-Prevost inexcusable thirty days' truce was the very respite the
+enemy had prayed for. More men and more munitions were hurriedly
+despatched to all the United States frontier forts, and renewed courage
+imparted to some of the commanders and their hesitating brigades. The
+first to waken up after the expiration of this, to the Americans,
+merciful truce, was General Dearborn, who, with 2,000 men, attacked
+Odelltown, only to be driven back to Lake Champlain by de Salaberry.
+This reverse was followed in the last days of November by an attack by
+General Smyth, with 400 of his 4,300 men, upon a four-gun battery,
+defended by sixty-five men, above Garden Island, on the Niagara River.
+Elated with his success, he took for his rallying cry, "The cannon lost
+at Detroit&mdash;or death!" and again crossed the river with thirty-two boats
+and 900 men, and descended upon Fort Erie. Meanwhile, Colonel Bisshopp
+had retaken the fort, with its American captors, and with a handful of
+regulars and militia awaited "annihilation." As Smyth's flotilla
+advanced, Bisshopp poured in a hot fire, sinking two boats. This
+reception did not accord with Smyth's views of the ethics of war, and
+forgetting all about the "lost guns," and disliking, upon reflection,
+the idea of "death," he at once turned tail. At Buffalo he was publicly
+pelted by the populace, and for his cowardice was dismissed the service
+by the United States Senate without the formality of a trial.
+Dearborn&mdash;strange to say&mdash;having for the time lost his taste for
+fighting, went into winter quarters, and Canada, in universal mourning
+for Brock, but still confident and undaunted, rested on her arms. The
+year 1812 closed without further incident.</p>
+
+<p>The period thus ended had been a momentous one. Brilliant reputations
+had been made and lost. The blood of many patriots had flowed freely,
+but, as regarded Canada, not in vain, for, in the words of the American
+historian, Schouler, "the war had impressed upon the people of the
+Republic the fact that Canada could not be carried by dash, nor pierced
+by an army officered by political generals and the invincibles of
+peace."</p>
+
+<p><br /><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_167" id="Page_167">[Pg 167]</a></span></p>
+<h3><a name="THE_CAMPAIGN_OF_1813" id="THE_CAMPAIGN_OF_1813"></a>THE CAMPAIGN OF 1813.</h3>
+
+<p>Though it would be quite natural to suppose that the story of Isaac
+Brock would end with his death and the victory of Queenston Heights, it
+is well to remember that the <i>influence of his triumphs only ceased with
+the close of the war</i> and the Treaty of Ghent, in December, 1814. Hence
+a <i>r&eacute;sum&eacute;</i> of the events that occurred during 1813 and 1814 is
+necessary, if a just valuation of our hero's achievements is desired.</p>
+
+<p>Between July, 1812 and November 5th, 1814, "twelve distinct invasions of
+Canada by superior forces of the enemy were defeated." Out of fifty-six
+military and naval engagements between the British and U.S. forces,
+thirty-six were won by the British. Though the victories of 1812 were
+the direct factors that brought about a change in the national destiny
+of Canada, "Queenston Heights was not the culminating feat of arms." As
+a result of brooding over these disasters that had befallen the "Grand
+Army of the West," and the "national disgrace" of overwhelming defeat,
+the people of the United States, as a whole, independent of politics,
+"were now"&mdash;so write American chroniclers&mdash;"compelled to become
+belligerents."</p>
+
+<p>In consequence of this national thirst for revenge, Generals Harrison
+and Winchester started to look for trouble in January, 1813, and&mdash;were
+rewarded. Strongly stockaded at Frenchtown, on the Raisin River, with a
+seasoned army, they invited attack. Colonel Procter, with 500 soldiers
+and 800 Indians under Roundhead, accepted the challenge, and making a
+furious attack upon Winchester before daybreak, took the General and 405
+of his "Grand Army" prisoners. Brockville was then raided, and fifty-two
+citizens kidnapped by the U.S. soldiers. During the next two years raids
+of this nature were of frequent occurrence, first by one belligerent,
+then by the other, and with varying success. Major Macdonald's capture
+of Ogdensburg, when he took eleven guns and 500 U.S. soldiers, was the
+next big win for Canada.</p>
+
+<p>In April, to balance the account, General Pike descended upon York. The
+capital of Upper Canada at that time had a population of only 1,000, and
+was weakly garrisoned. While the enemy was advancing upon the small fort
+to the west of the village, a powder magazine exploded, killing many on<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_168" id="Page_168">[Pg 168]</a></span>
+both sides. General Sheaffe, thoroughly alarmed at the prospect,
+destroyed his stores, and, after 300 of his force had been captured,
+retreated with the remainder to Kingston&mdash;for which he was severely
+censured&mdash;and York surrendered. Then Procter, inflated by his victory at
+Frenchtown, and overrating his military skill, attacked Fort Meigs, on
+the Maumee River, was badly repulsed, and hopelessly lost all prestige.</p>
+
+<p>This defeat of the British was followed by Dearborn's assault upon Fort
+George. With 7,000 men behind him, aided by the guns of Chauncey's fleet
+at the river mouth, he captured the time-worn fortification, and the
+Niagara frontier&mdash;despite the dogged resistance of General Vincent, who
+had to retreat with the crippled remnant of his 1,400 men&mdash;was at last
+in the possession of the enemy. This win was made more complete by
+General Prevost's belated and, of course, futile attack upon Sackett's
+Harbour. When assured success stared him in the face, his flaccid nature
+suggested retreat, and what might have been a signal victory became a
+disgraceful failure. The position of affairs at this time was admirably
+summed up in a letter written by Quartermaster Nichol. "Alas! we are no
+longer commanded by Isaac Brock.... Confidence seems to have vanished
+from the land, and gloomy despondency in those who are at our head has
+taken its place." Brock's courage, judgment, military skill and personal
+magnetism were never so much needed.</p>
+
+<p>To offset these reverses, the brilliant victory of the British ship
+<i>Shannon</i> over the American war vessel <i>Chesapeake</i>, in a naval duel
+fought outside Boston harbour, somewhat restored British complacence.
+This was the prelude to another victory on land. Vincent, after being
+bombarded out of Fort George, slowly retreated with his broken command
+towards Burlington, cleverly flirting with the enemy, and drawing him
+farther and farther inland, finally reforming his wearied men near Stony
+Creek, sixteen miles from the lake's head. Here the enemy, 3,000 strong,
+went into camp. It was here that FitzGibbon&mdash;General Brock's old-time
+sergeant-major and faithful <i>prot&eacute;g&eacute;</i>&mdash;now in command of a company of
+the 49th, disguised as a settler, penetrated the enemy's camp, and was
+convinced a night attack would be successful. While the advance guard of
+the enemy was driving in the British decoy pickets, 800 of Vincent's
+force,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_169" id="Page_169">[Pg 169]</a></span> under Harvey, surprised and charged them in the darkness,
+capturing two American generals, 120 prisoners, and four cannon, without
+the loss of a man.</p>
+
+<p>Sheaffe was now transferred to Montreal, and De Rottenberg assumed
+military command in Upper Canada. Three weeks later an American, Colonel
+Boerstler, was ordered to surprise a small party of British at Beaver
+Dams (now Thorold). Lieutenant FitzGibbon, in command, was informed of
+the proposed attack. An heroic woman&mdash;Laura Secord&mdash;the wife of a
+wounded militiaman at Queenston, and to whose house Brock's body was
+borne after he fell, learned of the pending surprise by overhearing a
+conversation between some American officers. Her resolution was soon
+formed. Despite the fact that twenty miles through gloomy forest, filled
+with hostile Indians, lay between her home and the British camp, she
+tramped the distance unattended, though not unmolested, and reached the
+Stone House in time to warn the plucky grenadier. The wily Irishman at
+once despatched a party of Caughnawaga Indians to divert the enemy's
+attention. Advancing with a few soldiers, and finding Boerstler and his
+force drawn up in an opening of the woods, uncertain what to do, he
+boldly ordered that officer to surrender with his entire command of 540
+soldiers, though he had but forty-seven men to enforce the conditions.
+His demand was instantly complied with.</p>
+
+<p>To equalize in part this game of international see-saw, Chauncey again
+visited York with fourteen ships, mounting 114 guns, and plundered the
+defenceless capital.</p>
+
+<p>On Lake Erie, Perry, with nine ships and a total broadside of 936 pounds
+of metal, defeated Barclay's six Canadian ships, with a total broadside
+of 459 pounds. These facts must be taken into impartial consideration in
+weighing the issue. In the west, Procter, still suffering from the shock
+received at Fort Meigs, with 407 troops and 800 Indians, retreated up
+the Thames valley, neglecting to burn his bridges in his retreat, with
+General Harrison and an army of 3,500 men in hot pursuit. The American
+general brought him to bay at Moraviantown, and in the frozen swamps the
+dispirited British, having lost all confidence in their fleeing
+commander, surrendered or escaped. It was here that the gallant and
+high-minded Tecumseh met his death, under distressing circumstances. The
+story was circulated that, mortified at Procter's proposed flight, the
+Shawanese chief was<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_170" id="Page_170">[Pg 170]</a></span> only restrained from shooting that officer by the
+interference of Colonel Elliott. For his conduct and the unexplained
+disaster at Moraviantown, Procter was court-martialed, severely
+condemned, and suspended from his command for six months.</p>
+
+<p class="center"><a name="fp170.jpg" id="fp170.jpg"></a><img src="images/fp170.jpg" width='600' height='383' alt="Taking of Niagara, May 27th, 1813. From an old Print" /></p>
+
+<p class="center"><span class="smcap">Taking of Niagara, May 27th, 1813.</span> From an old Print</p>
+
+<p>The defeat of Procter was counterbalanced, however, by Colonel de
+Salaberry's dramatic victory over General Hampton. With 350 French
+Canadian Voltigeurs he hypnotized 3,500 United States troops at
+Chateauguay. When the fight was hottest the gallant Frenchman ordered
+his buglers to sound the advance, an alarming fanfare, accompanied by
+discharges of musketry from various points of the surrounding forest,
+and the enemy, thinking he was about to be attacked and flanked by
+superior numbers, was seized with panic, stampeded, and never halted in
+his retreat until he had placed twenty-five miles of country between him
+and the "French devils." After this, occurred the historic battle of
+Chrysler's Farm, on the St. Lawrence, when 2,000 U.S. regulars under
+General Boyd, with six field-guns, were routed, with a loss of 102
+killed and 237 wounded, by a force composed of 380 regulars, militia and
+Indians, under Colonel Morrison, and driven back into American
+territory.</p>
+
+<p>In the second week of December, General McClure evacuated Fort George,
+but before doing so burned 149 of the public buildings and private
+houses in Newark and Queenston, by order of John Armstrong, U.S.
+Secretary of War, compelling 400 women and children to seek shelter in
+the woods, with the thermometer ranging around zero. Even Lossing, the
+American historian, condemned this as "a wanton act, contrary to the
+usages of war, and leaving a stain upon the American character." The
+outrage brought its own punishment within the week. Colonel Murray, with
+550 soldiers, captured the United States Fort Niagara, killing
+sixty-five men and taking 344 prisoners, and before the close of the
+year, with his heart on fire, the British general, Riall, crossed the
+river with 500 Indians and sacked Lewiston, Youngstown, Tuscarora and
+Manchester, only desisting from his excusable incendiarism when he had
+burned Buffalo and laid Black Rock in ashes. January 1st, 1814, was
+ushered in with the Cross of St. George floating over the battered
+ramparts of the American Fort Niagara.</p>
+
+<p>Thus ended the year of our Lord 1813, for ever memorable in North
+American history as a twelve months of almost inces<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_171" id="Page_171">[Pg 171]</a></span>sant warfare, famous
+for its records of conspicuous courage, much military incompetence, and
+great and lamentable carnage. A year, notwithstanding its sheaf of
+blunders, that should be canonized by all true Canadians, for it was a
+year that emphasized in an astounding manner the pluck and bull-dog
+tenacity of the Canadian militiaman, disclosing his deep love for
+country that resisted unto death the lawless attacks of a wanton
+invader.</p>
+
+<p><br /></p>
+<h3><a name="THE_CAMPAIGN_OF_1814" id="THE_CAMPAIGN_OF_1814"></a>THE CAMPAIGN OF 1814.</h3>
+
+<p>In March, 1814, General Wilkinson again undertook the forlorn hope of
+capturing Canada, leading 5,000 men against 350 British, under Hancock,
+at Lacolle, on Lake Champlain. After five hours of red-hot fighting, he
+was compelled to fall back on Plattsburg. A month later Admiral Sir
+James Yeo and General Drummond, with 750 men, landed under the batteries
+at Oswego, and in the teeth of a sustained fire of cannon and musketry,
+"gathered in" that historic town and sixty prisoners.</p>
+
+<p>To and fro, like a pendulum, swayed the scene of action&mdash;to-day east,
+to-morrow west. Colonel Campbell and 500 American soldiers, with nothing
+better to do, made a bonfire of Port Dover, the incident being
+officially described by the U.S. War Department as "an error of
+judgment." Then General Brown, backed by an army of 6,000 U.S. veterans,
+swooped down like "a wolf on the fold" on Fort George, and annexed it
+and the garrison of 170 men. The British general, Riall, still
+possessing the fighting mania, and some 1,800 men, locked horns with
+General Brown and 3,000 of his veterans, and the Battle of Chippewa
+added another victory to the American record. The enemy then pillaged
+St. David's, while Riall&mdash;both sides having suffered heavily&mdash;retreated
+to the head of Lundy's Lane, a narrow roadway close to the Falls of
+Niagara, and stood at bay.</p>
+
+<p class="center"><a name="fp172.jpg" id="fp172.jpg"></a><img src="images/fp172.jpg" width='600' height='400' alt="Cenotaph, Queenston Heights" /></p>
+
+<p class="center"><span class="smcap">Cenotaph, Queenston Heights</span></p>
+
+<p>Three weeks elapsed, when General Drummond, realizing Riall's danger,
+hastened from York to his assistance, reaching Lundy's Lane with 800 men
+at the moment that General Brown, with his reinforced army of over 4,000
+men, was within 600 yards of the British outposts. A moment later the
+contest was on, the bloodiest and probably the most brilliant battle of
+the whole campaign. It was a bitterly contested fight for seven hours&mdash;a
+death struggle for the survival of the fittest. During the first<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_172" id="Page_172">[Pg 172]</a></span> three
+hours the British force numbered only 1,640, until reinforced by 1,200
+additional combatants. All through the long hours of the black night the
+battle waged furiously. Charge succeeded charge, followed by the screams
+of the mutilated and the dead silence of the stricken. Over all boomed
+the muffled thunders of Niagara. The big guns, almost mouth to mouth,
+roared crimson destruction. Though bayonets were crossed, and the
+fighting was hand to hand and desperate, and sand and grass grew ghastly
+and slippery with the sheen of blood in the fitful moonlight, the
+British, notwithstanding the advantage in weight and numbers of the
+enemy, held their ground. When day was breaking, and the American
+general found his casualties exceeded one thousand, he withdrew his
+shattered army of invaders to Fort Erie. The British loss was 84 killed
+and 557 wounded. Lundy's Lane has been likened to the storming of St.
+Sebastian or the deathly duel at Quatre Bras. Both invaders and
+defenders exhibited heroism&mdash;worthy, in the case of the enemy, of a
+higher cause. General Drummond was wounded, and a son of General Hull,
+of Detroit notoriety, was among the killed.</p>
+
+<p>Though the battle of Lundy's Lane, fought on July 25th, was the last
+great engagement in 1814, and practically ended the war, the campaign
+was not destined to close without an exhibition of constitutional
+timidity on the part of Prevost, the man with the liquid backbone. With
+11,000 seasoned veterans who had campaigned under Wellington, he
+advanced, September 14th, on Plattsburg, garrisoned by only 4,000
+Americans, and when victory smiled in his face, he actually ordered the
+retreat. Overcome with humiliation, his officers broke their swords,
+declaring they "could never serve again," and sullenly retraced their
+steps to the frontier. This was the crowning episode that destroyed
+Prevost's reputation. Death rescued him from the disgrace of
+court-martial.</p>
+
+<p>How clear-cut and free from blemish, in contrast with that of many of
+his contemporaries, stands out the brilliant record of Isaac Brock.</p>
+
+<p>The Treaty of Ghent&mdash;while satisfactory to the people of Canada,
+bringing as it did a cessation of hostilities, permanent peace, and
+recognition of their rights&mdash;was received with mixed satisfaction by
+both political parties in the United States, after the first flush of
+excitement had passed away. "What," the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_173" id="Page_173">[Pg 173]</a></span> citizens asked each other,
+"have we gained by a war into which the country was dragged by President
+Madison in defence of free-trade and sailors' rights, and in opposition
+to paper blockades?"</p>
+
+<p>In the articles of peace, these vexed questions (as related in Chapters
+VIII. and XIV.)&mdash;questions which, as we have seen, were advanced by the
+United States Government as the <i>real cause for war</i>, were <i>not even
+mentioned</i>. Some worthy Americans, having suffered from the fighting
+qualities of the Canadian loyalists, publicly stated that the
+"declaration of peace had delivered them from great peril." In some of
+the States "the universal joy was so great," writes Gay, in his Life of
+Madison, "that Republicans and Democrats forgot their differences and
+hates and wept and laughed by turns in each others' arms, and kissed
+each other like women."</p>
+
+<p>Another United States historian (Johnston) writes that "peace secured
+not <i>one</i> of the objects for which war had been declared, for, though
+Britain put a stop to the irritating ... practice of searching American
+vessels flying an American flag, she was not bound by the terms of the
+treaty to do so." In the words of another recorder (Taylor), "Britain
+ceased the practice of search, not on account of war, nor of the treaty,
+but because the necessity of doing so had passed away&mdash;the European war
+being over."</p>
+
+<p class="center"><a name="fp174.jpg" id="fp174.jpg"></a><img src="images/fp174.jpg" width='340' height='550' alt="Brock's Monument" /></p>
+
+<p class="center"><span class="smcap">Brock's Monument</span></p>
+
+<p><br /></p>
+<h3><a name="WHAT_OF_CANADA" id="WHAT_OF_CANADA"></a>WHAT OF CANADA?</h3>
+
+<p>Canada, young as she was in the arts of peace and cruel practices of
+war, while honouring the memory of her heroes who had fallen in the
+splendid struggle against invasion, wasted no time in idle tears. The
+very atmosphere of her high northern latitude, the breath of life that
+rose from lake and forest, prairie and mountain, was fast developing a
+race of men with bodies enduring as iron and minds as highly tempered as
+steel. She drew another and a deeper breath, and, forecasting her
+destiny, with shoulders squared and fixed resolve, made ready to create
+an empire of industrial greatness which, under Providence, was to rank
+second to none.</p>
+
+<p>The influence of Brock's life, achievements and death upon the Canadian
+people was more far-reaching than boy, or even man, would suppose. It
+aroused in the people not only the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_174" id="Page_174">[Pg 174]</a></span> questionable human desire to avenge
+his death, but an unexpressed resolve to emulate his high manliness, his
+fixity of purpose, and his well-ordered courage in defence of the right.</p>
+
+<hr class='smler' />
+
+<p>It remains for the youth of Canada to proudly cherish the memory of
+Isaac Brock, and to never lose an opportunity to follow the example he
+set for them by his splendid deeds.</p>
+
+<hr />
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_175" id="Page_175">[Pg 175]</a></span></p>
+<h2><a name="APPENDIX" id="APPENDIX"></a>APPENDIX.</h2>
+
+<h3>EXPLANATORY NOTES ON THE ILLUSTRATIONS.</h3>
+
+<h4><span class="smcap">No. 1. Frontispiece.</span></h4>
+
+<h4><i>Major-General Sir Isaac Brock.</i></h4>
+
+<p>Reproduction of a copy of the original water-color and chalk drawing in
+the possession of Sir Isaac Brock's great-niece, Miss Tupper, of Candee,
+Guernsey. Copied for Miss Agnes FitzGibbon, of Toronto, by Alyn
+Williams, President of the Miniature Painters' Association of Great
+Britain, 1897, and not hitherto published. Adjudged by relatives to be
+an exact facsimile of Williams' portrait. Miss FitzGibbon writes that
+"the original painting is on similar paper to that on which
+Major-General Brock's last general orders are written, the size
+corresponding to the space between the watermarks. Dated 1811." Artist
+unknown.</p>
+
+
+<h4><span class="smcap">No. 2. Facing Page 11.</span></h4>
+
+<h4>"<i>St. Peter's Port, Guernsey, in 18&times;6.</i>"</h4>
+
+<p>By an unknown artist. (An &times; was frequently used for a "0" at that time.)
+The original drawing was found among a number of unframed prints in a
+collection obtained by John Naegely, Esq., who presented it to the
+Grange Club, Guernsey, in 1870. It now hangs over the mantelpiece in the
+club reception room. The original is drawn in very fine pencil and
+water-color&mdash;a style of art fashionable at that period. Photographed for
+Miss Agnes FitzGibbon in 1902. Brock's father's house, where our hero
+was born&mdash;now converted into a wholesale merchant's warehouse&mdash;stands at
+the point where two lines, drawn from the spots indicated by a cross (+)
+on the margin, would intersect. On the frame above the picture are the
+words, "<i>Guernsey in 18&times;6</i>"; below, "<i>Presented to the Grange Club by
+John Naegely, Esq., 9th March, 1870.</i>"</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_176" id="Page_176">[Pg 176]</a></span></p>
+<h4><span class="smcap">No. 3. Facing Page 27.</span></h4>
+
+<h4><i>Navy Hall, Remnant of the old "Red Barracks," Niagara, 1797.</i></h4>
+
+<p>Navy Hall consisted of four buildings erected about 1787. One was
+altered in 1792 for Governor Simcoe. Another was fitted up for
+Parliament when it met at Newark (Niagara), 1792-1797. The building here
+shown was afterwards used for troops and called the "Red Barracks." From
+a photograph in possession of Miss Carnochan, Niagara.</p>
+
+<h4><span class="smcap">No. 4. Facing Page 32.</span></h4>
+
+<h4><i>Colonel James FitzGibbon.</i></h4>
+
+<p>From a photograph in possession of Miss Agnes FitzGibbon, of Toronto,
+his granddaughter. Taken by his nephew, Gerald FitzGibbon, 10 Merrion
+Square, Dublin. Col. FitzGibbon was a <i>prot&eacute;g&eacute;</i> of Brock's. First
+private, then the "faithful sergeant-major," then ensign, then adjutant
+of the 49th, the "hero of Beaver Dams" in the war of 1812,
+Adjutant-General of Canada, 1837, and Military Knight of Windsor, 1851.</p>
+
+<h4><span class="smcap">No. 5. Facing Page 40.</span></h4>
+
+<h4><i>Queenston Road, about 1824.</i></h4>
+
+<p>Original water-color painting by Charles W. Jefferys, O.S.A., Toronto,
+from a photograph in possession of Miss Carnochan, showing the ruins of
+William Lyon Mackenzie's printing office, the <i>Colonial Advocate</i>, as it
+appeared twelve years after the battle of Queenston Heights.</p>
+
+<h4><span class="smcap">No. 6. Facing Page 52.</span></h4>
+
+<h4><i>Ruins of old Powder Magazine, Fort George.</i></h4>
+
+<p>Photograph in possession of Miss Carnochan.</p>
+
+<h4><span class="smcap">No. 7. Facing Page 64.</span></h4>
+
+<h4><i>Brock's Cocked Hat.</i></h4>
+
+<p>Water-color sketch by Harry Carter, Toronto, from photograph in
+possession of Miss Carnochan. (See foot-note on page 64.)<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_177" id="Page_177">[Pg 177]</a></span> Persons
+interested in military matters will observe that the white ostrich
+plumes, which show very slightly, are placed under the flaps, only the
+white edges appearing. This new style of feather display was, it is
+stated, in compliance with an order from the War Office, issued shortly
+before Brock's death. Previously the plumes were worn more
+conspicuously.</p>
+
+<h4><span class="smcap">No. 8. Facing Page 75.</span></h4>
+
+<h4><i>Butler's Barracks (Officers' Quarters), Niagara Common.</i></h4>
+
+<p>View of officers' quarters. From photograph loaned by Miss Carnochan.</p>
+
+<h4><span class="smcap">No. 9. Facing Page 96.</span></h4>
+
+<h4><i>Our Hero meets Tecumseh.</i> "<i>This is a man</i>!"</h4>
+
+<p>Original black and white drawing by Fergus Kyle, Toronto. See page 97.</p>
+
+<h4><span class="smcap">No. 10. Facing Page 109.</span></h4>
+
+<h4><i>Lieut.-Colonel John Macdonell.</i></h4>
+
+<p>Reproduced, by permission, from A.C. Casselman's "Richardson's War of
+1812." From a silhouette in possession of John Alexander Macdonell,
+K.C., Alexandria, Ontario. Colonel Macdonell, who was provincial
+aide-de-camp to Brock, was member of Parliament for Glengarry and
+Attorney-General of Upper Canada. Died, October 14th, 1812, from wounds
+received at battle of Queenston Heights, aged 27.</p>
+
+<h4><span class="smcap">No. 11. Facing Page 117.</span></h4>
+
+<h4><i>Queenston Heights and Brock's Monument.</i></h4>
+
+<p>As it appeared about 1830, excepting that the present monument has been
+substituted for the old one. Original water-color painting by C.M.
+Manly, A.R.C.A., Toronto, from a photograph in possession of Miss
+Carnochan.</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_178" id="Page_178">[Pg 178]</a></span></p>
+<h4><span class="smcap">No. 12. Facing Page 121.</span></h4>
+
+<h4>"<i>Major-General Brock, 18x6.</i>"</h4>
+
+<p>From a vignette photograph loaned by Miss FitzGibbon, Toronto, and now
+published for the first time in any Life of Brock. As doubt has been
+expressed by some admirers of Brock as to the authenticity of this
+portrait, Miss FitzGibbon's written endorsation is here quoted:</p>
+
+<p>"The photograph is from an original miniature portrait of Major-General
+(afterwards Sir) Isaac Brock, painted by J. Hudson, 18x6&mdash;1806&mdash;the date
+of General Brock's last visit to England. The miniature is now in
+possession of Miss S. Mickle, Toronto."</p>
+
+<p>This full-face vignette is of exceptional interest, all other portraits
+of Brock being in profile, and is likely to challenge preconceived
+notions.</p>
+
+<h4><span class="smcap">No. 13. Facing Page 128.</span></h4>
+
+<h4><i>Powder Magazine, Fort George, Niagara.</i></h4>
+
+<p>This powder magazine was first built in 1796. Reproduced from a
+photograph in possession of Miss Carnochan, Niagara.</p>
+
+<h4><span class="smcap">No. 14. Facing Page 135.</span></h4>
+
+<h4><i>Brock's Midnight Gallop.</i></h4>
+
+<p>Original water-color painting by Charles W. Jefferys, O.S.A., Toronto.
+As a matter of fact, the hour of Brock's gallop from Fort George to
+Queenston, as described in Chapter XXV., was not "midnight," but shortly
+before daybreak. It is this time, "between the lights," with sky and
+atmosphere aglow from the fire of the batteries, that the artist
+cleverly depicts.</p>
+
+<h4><span class="smcap">No. 15. Facing Page 140.</span></h4>
+
+<h4><i>Battle of Queenston Heights.</i></h4>
+
+<p>Photographed in Guernsey, 1902, from a curious old print, from a sketch
+by a brother officer of Brock's&mdash;presumably Dennis. (See Explanatory
+Note to No. 18.) Loaned by Miss FitzGibbon. Original in possession of
+Miss Helen Tupper, Guernsey.</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_179" id="Page_179">[Pg 179]</a></span></p>
+<h4><span class="smcap">No. 16. Facing Page 156.</span></h4>
+
+<h4><i>Death of Isaac Brock.</i></h4>
+
+<p>Original water-color sketch by Charles W. Jefferys, O.S.A., Toronto.
+Shows our hero falling after being hit by the fatal bullet fired by an
+Ohio rifleman, while courageously heading the charge in the attempt to
+recapture the redan.</p>
+
+<h4><span class="smcap">No. 17. Facing Page 159.</span></h4>
+
+<h4><i>Brock's Coat, worn at Queenston Heights.</i></h4>
+
+<p>From photograph, loaned by Miss FitzGibbon, of the coat worn by Brock at
+Queenston Heights, showing the hole made by the entry of the fatal
+bullet. Photographed, 1902, from the original in the possession of Miss
+Tupper, of Guernsey.</p>
+
+<h4><span class="smcap">No. 18. Facing Page 161.</span></h4>
+
+<h4><i>Battle of Queenston.</i></h4>
+
+<p>Facsimile drawing by Harry Carter, Toronto, of an old sketch credited to
+Major Dennis (page 161), which appears on an early map of Upper Canada,
+published by O.G. Steele&mdash;presumably of Buffalo&mdash;in 1840. Underneath the
+original print are the following words, reproduced <i>verbatim</i>:</p>
+
+<p class='center'><span class="smcap">Battle of Queenston.<br />
+After a Sketch by Major Dennis,<br />
+13th Oct., 1813</span>,</p>
+
+<blockquote><p>Which ended in a complete victory on the part of the British, having
+captured 927 men, killed or wounded about 500, taken 1,400 stand of
+arms, a six-pounder, and a stand of colors."</p></blockquote>
+
+<p>(See, also, Explanatory Note to No. 15.)</p>
+
+<h4><span class="smcap">No. 19. Facing Page 163.</span></h4>
+
+<h4><i>Plan of Battle of Queenston.</i></h4>
+
+<p>Reproduced from an historical pamphlet loaned by Mrs. Currie, of
+Niagara, showing the plan of battleground, disposition of troops, and
+topography of adjacent country.</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_180" id="Page_180">[Pg 180]</a></span></p>
+<h4><span class="smcap">No. 20. Facing Page 170.</span></h4>
+
+<h4><i>Taking of Niagara, May 27th, 1813.</i></h4>
+
+<p>From a sketch which appeared in the Philadelphia <i>Portfolio</i>, 1817.
+Interesting from the fact that it is the only picture known which shows
+the churches of St. Mark's and St. Andrew's, Niagara (Newark), Canadian
+side, and the lighthouse which, built in 1803, stood on the spot where
+Fort Mississauga now stands.</p>
+
+<h4><span class="smcap">No. 21. Facing Page 172.</span></h4>
+
+<h4><i>Cenotaph, Queenston Heights.</i></h4>
+
+<p>Erected near the spot where Brock fell. It bears the following
+inscription:</p>
+
+<p class='center'>"<span class="smcap">Near this Spot<br />Major-General<br />
+Sir Isaac Brock, K.C.B.,<br />Provisional Lieutenant-Governor of<br />Upper Canada,<br />
+Fell on 13th October, 1812,<br />While advancing to repel the<br />invading Enemy</span>."</p>
+
+<h4><span class="smcap">No. 22. Facing Page 174.</span></h4>
+
+<h4><i>Brock's Monument.</i></h4>
+
+<p>On October 13th, 1824, the remains of Brock and his gallant aide,
+Macdonell, were removed from the bastion at Fort George and placed in a
+vault beneath the monument which had been erected on Queenston Heights
+by the Legislature to commemorate our hero's death. On Good Friday,
+April 17th, 1840, this monument was shattered by an explosion of
+gunpowder placed within the basement by a rebel of 1837 named Lett. In
+1853 the cornerstone of a new monument, as shown at page 174, the cost
+of which was borne by the people of Canada, was erected on the same
+spot, and on October 13th, forty-one years after the British victory at
+Queenston, and the anniversary of Brock's splendid death, the remains of
+the two heroes were re-interred and deposited in two massive stone
+sarcophagi in the vault of the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_181" id="Page_181">[Pg 181]</a></span> new monument. On the two oval silver
+plates on Brock's coffin was inscribed the following epitaph:</p>
+
+<p class='center'>"<span class="smcap">Here lie the earthly remains of a brave<br />
+and virtuous hero,<br />
+Major-General Sir Isaac Brock,<br />
+Commander of the British Forces,<br />
+and President Administering<br />
+the Government of Upper Canada,<br />
+Who fell when gloriously engaging the Enemies<br />
+of his Country,<br />
+at the head of the Flank Companies<br />
+of the 49th Regiment,<br />
+in the Town of Queenston,<br />
+on the morning of the 13th October, 1812,<br />
+aged 42 Years.</span></p>
+
+<p class='right'><span class="smcap">J.B. Glegg, A.D.C.</span>"</p>
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+<pre>
+
+
+
+
+
+End of Project Gutenberg's The Story of Isaac Brock, by Walter R. Nursey
+
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+The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Story of Isaac Brock, by Walter R. Nursey
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: The Story of Isaac Brock
+       Hero, Defender and Saviour of Upper Canada, 1812
+
+Author: Walter R. Nursey
+
+Release Date: March 20, 2006 [EBook #18025]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ASCII
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE STORY OF ISAAC BROCK ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Steven Gibbs, Martin Pettit and the Online
+Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+THE STORY OF
+
+ISAAC BROCK
+
+HERO, DEFENDER AND SAVIOUR OF
+
+UPPER CANADA
+
+1812
+
+BY
+
+WALTER R. NURSEY
+
+
+     "By his unrivalled skill, by great
+     And veteran service to the state,
+     By worth adored,
+     He stood, in high dignity,
+     The proudest knight of chivalry,
+     Knight of the Sword."
+             --_Coplas de Manrique._
+
+
+TORONTO:
+
+WILLIAM BRIGGS
+
+1908
+
+Copyright, Canada, 1908, by WALTER R. NURSEY.
+
+[Illustration: _Frontispiece_ PORTRAIT OF MAJOR-GENERAL
+SIR ISAAC BROCK]
+
+
+
+
+A WORD TO THE READER
+
+That Isaac Brock is entitled to rank as the foremost defender of the
+flag Western Canada has ever seen, is a statement which no one familiar
+with history can deny. Brock fought and won out when the odds were all
+against him.
+
+At a time when almost every British soldier was busy fighting Napoleon
+in Europe, upon General Brock fell the responsibility of upholding
+Britain's honour in America. He was "the man behind the gun"--the
+undismayed man--when the integrity of British America was threatened by
+a determined enemy.
+
+His success can be measured by the fact that it is only since the war of
+1812-14 that the British flag has been properly respected in the western
+hemisphere. It is also a fact that after the capture of Detroit the
+Union Jack became more firmly rooted in the affections of the Canadian
+people than ever.
+
+It must not be forgotten that the capture of this stronghold was almost
+as far-reaching in its ultimate effect as the victory of Wolfe on the
+Plains of Abraham, and was fraught with little, if any, less import to
+Canada.
+
+What with the timidity of Prevost, and the tactical blunders of both
+himself and Sheaffe, the immediate influence upon the enemy of the
+victories at Detroit and Queenston was almost nullified. Had Brock
+survived Queenston, or even had his fixed, militant policy been allowed
+to prevail from the first, it is safe to say there would have been no
+armistice, no placating of a clever, intriguing foe, and no two years'
+prolongation of the war. Had the capitulation of Detroit, the crushing
+defeat at Queenston, and the wholesale desertion of Wadsworth's cowardly
+legions at Lewiston, been followed up by the British with relentless
+assault "all along the line"--before the enemy had time to recover his
+grip--then our hero's feasible plan, which he had pleaded with Prevost
+to permit, namely, to sweep the Niagara frontier and destroy Sackett's
+Harbor--the key to American naval supremacy of the lakes--could, there
+is no good reason to doubt, have been carried out. The purpose of this
+little book is not, however, to deal in surmises.
+
+The story of Sir Isaac Brock's life should convey to the youth of Canada
+a significance similar to that which the bugle-call of the trumpeter,
+sounding the advance, conveys to the soldier in the ranks. Reiteration
+of Brock's deeds should help to develop a better appreciation of his
+work, a truer conception of his heroism, a wiser understanding of his
+sacrifice.
+
+Many a famous man owes a debt of inspiration to some other great life
+that went before him. Not until every boy in Canada is thoroughly
+familiar with "Master Isaac's" achievements will he be qualified to
+exclaim with the Indian warrior, Tecumseh,
+
+                                 "THIS IS A MAN."
+
+                                                     W. R. N.
+
+Toronto, October, 1908.
+
+
+    NOTE.--Of the hundred and more books and documents consulted in a
+    search for facts I would register my special obligations to Tupper's
+    "Life of Brock"; Auchinleck's "History of the War of 1812-14";
+    Cruikshank's "Documentary History," and Richardson's "War of 1812"
+    (edited by Casselman).
+
+
+
+
+CONTENTS
+
+
+CHAPTER                                                  PAGE
+
+     I. OUR HERO'S HOME--GUERNSEY                          11
+
+    II. SCHOOL AND PASTIMES                                16
+
+   III. FROM ENSIGN TO COLONEL                             21
+
+    IV. EGMONT-OP-ZEE AND COPENHAGEN                       27
+
+     V. BROCK IN CANADA                                    36
+
+    VI. BRIDLE-ROAD, BATTEAU AND CANOE                     40
+
+   VII. MUTINY AND DESERTION                               47
+
+  VIII. FRANCE, THE UNITED STATES AND CANADA               52
+
+    IX. FUR-TRADERS AND HABITANTS                          55
+
+     X. THE MASSACRE AT MACKINAW                           59
+
+    XI. LITTLE YORK, NIAGARA, AMHERSTBURG                  64
+
+   XII. MAJOR-GENERAL BROCK, GOVERNOR OF UPPER CANADA      72
+
+  XIII. THE WAR CLOUD                                      75
+
+   XIV. THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA DECLARES WAR          80
+
+    XV. BROCK ACCEPTS HULL'S CHALLENGE                     87
+
+   XVI. "EN AVANT, DETROIT!"                               92
+
+  XVII. OUR HERO MEETS TECUMSEH                            96
+
+ XVIII. AN INDIAN POW-WOW                                 100
+
+   XIX. THE ATTACK ON DETROIT                             105
+
+    XX. BROCK'S VICTORY                                   109
+
+   XXI. CHAGRIN IN THE UNITED STATES                      112
+
+  XXII. PREVOST'S ARMISTICE                               117
+
+ XXIII. "HERO, DEFENDER, SAVIOUR"                         121
+
+  XXIV. BROCK'S LAST COUNCIL                              128
+
+   XXV. THE MIDNIGHT GALLOP                               135
+
+  XXVI. THE ATTACK ON THE REDAN                           140
+
+ XXVII. VAN RENSSELAER'S CAMP                             144
+
+XXVIII. A FOREIGN FLAG FLIES ON THE REDAN                 147
+
+  XXIX. THE BATTLE OF QUEENSTON HEIGHTS                   152
+
+   XXX. THE DEATH OF ISAAC BROCK                          156
+
+        SUPPLEMENT--
+
+          AFTER BROCK'S DEATH                             161
+
+          SUBSEQUENT EVENTS OF THE CAMPAIGN OF 1812       165
+
+          THE CAMPAIGN OF 1813                            167
+
+          THE CAMPAIGN OF 1814                            171
+
+          WHAT OF CANADA?                                 173
+
+        APPENDIX                                          175
+
+
+
+
+LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
+
+                                                               PAGE
+
+PORTRAIT OF MAJOR-GENERAL SIR ISAAC BROCK            _Frontispiece_
+
+"VIEW OF ST. PETER'S PORT, GUERNSEY, 18 x 6"                     11
+
+NAVY HALL, REMNANT OF THE OLD "RED BARRACKS," NIAGARA, 1797      27
+
+PORTRAIT OF COLONEL JAMES FITZGIBBON                             32
+
+VIEW OF QUEENSTON ROAD, ABOUT 1824                               40
+
+RUINS OF OLD POWDER MAGAZINE, FORT GEORGE                        52
+
+BROCK'S COCKED HAT                                               64
+
+BUTLER'S BARRACKS (OFFICERS' QUARTERS), NIAGARA COMMON           75
+
+OUR HERO MEETS TECUMSEH. "THIS IS A MAN!"                        96
+
+LIEUT.-COLONEL JOHN MACDONELL                                   109
+
+VIEW OF QUEENSTON HEIGHTS AND BROCK'S MONUMENT                  117
+
+"PORTRAIT OF MAJOR-GENERAL BROCK, 18 X 6"                       121
+
+POWDER MAGAZINE, FORT GEORGE, NIAGARA                           128
+
+BROCK'S MIDNIGHT GALLOP                                         135
+
+BATTLE OF QUEENSTON HEIGHTS. From an old Print                  140
+
+DEATH OF ISAAC BROCK                                            156
+
+BROCK'S COAT, WORN AT QUEENSTON HEIGHTS                         159
+
+BATTLE OF QUEENSTON. From an old Sketch                         161
+
+PLAN OF BATTLE OF QUEENSTON                                     163
+
+TAKING OF NIAGARA, MAY 27TH, 1813. From an old Print            170
+
+CENOTAPH, QUEENSTON HEIGHTS                                     172
+
+BROCK'S MONUMENT                                                174
+
+
+     NOTE.--For full description of above illustrations, see
+     Appendix, page 175.
+
+
+
+
+THE STORY OF ISAAC BROCK
+
+[Illustration: "VIEW OF ST. PETER'S PORT, GUERNSEY, 18 x 6"]
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER I.
+
+OUR HERO'S HOME--GUERNSEY.
+
+
+Off the coast of Brittany, where the Bay of Biscay fights the white
+horses of the North Sea, the Island of Guernsey rides at anchor. Its
+black and yellow, red and purple coast-line, summer and winter, is awash
+with surf, burying the protecting reefs in a smother of foam. Between
+these drowned ridges of despair, which warn the toilers of the sea of an
+intention to engulf them, tongues of ocean pierce the grim chasms of the
+cliffs.
+
+Between this and the sister island of Alderney the teeth of the Casquets
+cradle the skeleton of many a stout ship, while above the level of the
+sea the amethyst peaks of Sark rise like phantom bergs. In the sunlight
+the rainbow-coloured slopes of Le Gouffre jut upwards a jumble of glory.
+Exposed to the full fury of an Atlantic gale, these islands are
+well-nigh obliterated in drench. From where the red gables cluster on
+the heights of Fort George, which overhang the harbour, to the thickets
+of Jerbourg, valley and plain, at the time we write of, were a gorgeous
+carpet of anemones, daffodils, primroses and poppies.
+
+These are tumultuous latitudes. Sudden hurricanes, with the
+concentrated force of the German Ocean behind them, soon scourge the sea
+into a whirlpool and extinguish every landmark in a pall of gray. For
+centuries tumult and action have been other names for the Channel
+Islands. It is no wonder that the inhabitants partake of the nature of
+their surroundings. Contact with the elements produces a love for
+combat. As this little book is largely a record of strife, and of one of
+Guernsey's greatest fighting sons, it may be well to recall the efforts
+that preceded the birth of our hero and influenced his career, and
+through which Guernsey retained its liberties.
+
+For centuries Guernsey had been whipped into strife. From the raid upon
+her independence by David Bruce, the exiled King of Scotland, early in
+1300, on through the centuries up to the seventeenth, piping times of
+peace were few and far between. The resources of the island led to
+frequent invasions from France, but while fighting and resistance did
+not impair the loyalty of the islanders, it nourished a love of freedom,
+and of hostility to any enemy who had the effrontery to assail it. As a
+rule the sojourn of these invaders was brief. When sore pressed in a
+pitched battle on the plateau above St. Peter's Port, the inhabitants
+would retreat behind the buttresses of Castle Cornet, when, as in the
+invasion by Charles V. of France, the fortress proving impregnable, the
+besiegers would collect their belongings and sail away.
+
+In the fourteenth century Henry VI. of England, in consideration of a
+red rose as annual rental, conveyed the entire group to the Duke of
+Warwick. But strange privileges were from time to time extended to these
+audacious people. Queen Elizabeth proclaimed the islands a world's
+sanctuary, and threw open the ports as free harbours of refuge in time
+of war. She authorized protection to "a distance on the ocean as far as
+the eye of man could reach." This act of grace was cancelled by George
+the Third, who regarded it as a premium on piracy. In Cromwell's time
+Admiral Blake had been instructed to raise the siege of Castle Cornet.
+He brought its commander to his senses, but only after nine years of
+assault, and not before 30,000 cannon-balls had been hurled into the
+town.
+
+Late in the fourteenth century, when the English were driven out of
+France, not a few of those deported, who had the fighting propensity
+well developed, made haste for the Channel Islands, where rare chances
+offered to handle an arquebus for the King. Among those who sought
+refuge in Guernsey there landed, not far from the Lion's Rock at Cobo,
+an English knight, Sir Hugh Brock, lately the keeper of the Castle of
+Derval in Brittany, a man "stout of figure and valiant of heart." This
+harbour of refuge was St. Peter's Port.
+
+     "Within a long recess there lies a bay,
+     An island shades it from the rolling sea,
+     And forms a port."
+
+The islet that broke the Atlantic rollers was Castle Cornet. Sir Hugh
+Brock, or Badger in the ancient Saxon time--an apt name for a tenacious
+fighter--shook hands with fate. He espied the rocky cape of St.
+Jerbourg, and ofttimes from its summit he would shape bold plans for the
+future, the maturing of which meant much to those of his race destined
+to follow.
+
+The commercial growth of the Channel Islands has been divided into five
+periods, those of fishing, knitting (the age of the garments known as
+"jerseys" and "guernseys"), privateering, smuggling, and agriculture and
+commerce. To the third period belong these records. The prosperity of
+the islands was greatest from the middle of the seventeenth century up
+to the overthrow of Napoleon at Waterloo and the close of Canada's
+successful fight against invasion in 1815. During this period the
+building of ships for the North Atlantic and Newfoundland trade opened
+new highways for commerce, but the greatest factor in this development
+was the "reputable business" of privateering, which must not be
+confounded either with buccaneering or yard-arm piracy. It was only
+permitted under regular letters of marque, was ranked as an honorable
+occupation, and those bold spirits, the wild "beggars of the sea"--who
+preferred the cutlass and a roving commission in high latitudes to
+ploughing up the cowslips in the Guernsey valleys, or knitting striped
+shirts at home--were recognized as good fighting men and acceptable
+enemies.
+
+Trade in the islands, consequent upon the smuggling that followed and
+the building of many ships, produced much wealth, creating a class of
+newly rich and with it some "social disruption."
+
+Notable in the "exclusive set," not only on account of his athletic
+figure and handsome face, but for his winning manners and ability to
+dance, though but a boy, was Isaac Brock. Isaac--a distant descendant of
+bold Sir Hugh--was the eighth son of John Brock, formerly a midshipman
+in the Royal Navy, a man of much talent and, like his son, of great
+activity. Brock, the father, did not enjoy the fruit of his industry
+long, for in 1777, in his 49th year, he died in Brittany, leaving a
+family of fourteen children. Of ten sons, Isaac, destined to become "the
+hero and defender of Upper Canada," was then a flaxen-haired boy of
+eight.
+
+Anno Domini 1769 will remain a memorable one in the history of the
+empire. Napoleon, the conqueror of Europe, and Wellington, the conqueror
+of Napoleon, were both sons of 1769. This same year Elizabeth de Lisle,
+wife of John Brock, of St. Peter's Port, bore him his eighth son, the
+Isaac referred to, also ordained to become "a man of destiny." Isaac's
+future domain was that greater, though then but little known, dominion
+beyond the seas, Canada--a territory of imperial extent, whose resources
+at that time came within the range of few men's understanding. Isaac
+Brock, as has been shown, came of good fighting stock, was of clean
+repute and connected with most of the families of high degree on the
+Island. The de Beauvoirs, Saumarez, de Lisles, Le Marchants, Careys,
+Tuppers and many others distinguished in arms or diplomacy, were his
+kith and kin. His mind saturated with the stories of the deeds of his
+ancestors, and possessed of a spirit of adventure developed by constant
+contact with soldiers and sailors, it was but natural that he became
+cast in a fighting mould and that "to be a soldier" was the height of
+his ambition.
+
+Perhaps Isaac Brock's chief charm, which he retained in a marked degree
+in after life--apart from his wonderful thews and sinews, his stature
+and athletic skill--was his extreme modesty and gentleness. The fine old
+maxim of the child being "father to the man" in his case held good.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER II.
+
+SCHOOL AND PASTIMES.
+
+
+Guernsey abounded in the natural attractions that are dear to the youth
+of robust body and adventurous nature. Isaac, though he excelled in
+field sports and was the admiration of his school-fellows, was
+sufficiently strong within himself to find profit in his own society. In
+the thickets that overlooked Houmet Bay he found solace apart from his
+companions. There he would recall the stories told him of the prowess of
+his ancestor, William de Beauvoir, that man of great courage, a Jurat of
+the royal court. Even here he did not always escape intruders. Outside
+the harbour of St. Peter's Port, separated by an arm of the sea, rose
+the Ortach Rock, between the Casquets and "Aurigny's Isle," a haunted
+spot, once the abode of a sorcerer named Jochmus. To secure quiet he
+would frequently visit this isolated place, in spite of the resident
+devil, the devil-fish, or the devil-strip of treacherous water which ran
+between.
+
+He was not ten when, to the amazement of his friends in imitation of
+Leander but without the same inducements, he swam the half mile to the
+reefs of Castle Cornet and back again, through a boiling sea and
+rip-tides that ran like mill-races. This performance he repeated again
+and again. For milder amusement he would tramp to the water-lane that
+stole through the Moulin Huet, a bower of red roses and perfume, or walk
+by moonlight to the mystic cromlechs, where the early pagans and the
+warlocks and witches of later days flitted round the ruined altars.
+
+Though Isaac was self-contained and resolute he had a restless spirit.
+Fearless, without a touch of the braggart, his courage was of the
+valiant order, the quality that accompanies a lofty soul in a strong
+body. For his constant courtesy and habit of making sacrifices for his
+friends, he was in danger of being canonized by his school-fellows.
+
+About this time, shortly after his father's death, it was suggested he
+should leave the Queen Elizabeth School on the Island and study at
+Southampton. Here he tried his best, boy though he was, to live up to
+the standard of what he had been told were his obligations as a
+gentleman, acquiring, too, a little book-learning and much every-day
+knowledge.
+
+Isaac's holidays, always spent in his beloved Guernsey, increased the
+thirst for adventure. The spirit of conquest, the controlling influence
+of his after life, grew upon him. Something accomplished, something
+done, was the daily rule. To scale an impossible cliff with the wings of
+circling sea-fowl beating in his face, to land a big conger eel without
+receiving a shock, to rescue a partridge from a falcon, to shoot a
+rabbit at fifty paces, to break a wild pony, or even to scan a
+complicated line in his syntax--these were achievements, small perhaps,
+but typical of his desire. His young soul was stirred; the blood coursed
+in his veins as the sap courses in the trees of the forest in spring;
+his mind, susceptible to the influences of nature, was strengthened and
+purified by these pursuits.
+
+In the shelter of silent trossach, on wind-swept height, or on wildest,
+ever-restless sea, he would, as the mood seized him, take his solitary
+outings. These jaunts, he told his mother, gave him time to reflect and
+resolve. It was not strange that he selected a profession that presented
+the opportunities he craved.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+England with folded arms was at peace. The Treaty of Versailles had
+terminated the disastrous war with America. The independence of the
+"Thirteen States" had been recognized. The world was drawing a long
+breath, filling its fighting lungs, awaiting the death struggle with
+Napoleon for the supremacy of Europe. Yet the spirit of war lingered in
+the air. It even drifted on the breeze across the Channel to Guernsey,
+and filtered through the trees that crowned the Lion's Rock at Cobo. It
+invaded the valleys of the Petit Bot and stirred the bulrushes in the
+marshes of Havelet. The pulse of our hero throbbed with the subtle
+infection. Not with the brute lust for other men's blood, but with the
+instinct of the true patriot to shed, if need be, his own blood to
+maintain the right. He would follow the example of his ancestors and
+fight and die, if duty called him, in defence of king and country.
+
+The sweet arrogance of youth uplifted him. Earth, air and water
+conspired to encourage him. To satisfy this unspoken craving for action
+he would, from his outlook on the Jerbourg crags--where bold Sir Hugh
+had sat for just such purpose years before--watch the Weymouth luggers
+making bad weather of it beyond the Casquets; or challenge in his own
+boat the rip-tides between Sark and Brechou, and the combers that romped
+between St. Sampson and the Isle of Herm.
+
+There was no limit to this boy's hardihood and daring. The more furious
+the gale the more congenial the task. Returning from these frequent
+baptisms of salt water, his Saxon fairness and Norman freshness aglow
+with spray, he would loiter on the beach to talk to the kelp gatherers
+raking amid the breakers, and to watch the mackerel boats, reefed down,
+flying to the harbour for shelter. The crayfish in the pools would tempt
+him, he would try his hand at sand-eeling, or watch the surf men feed a
+devil-fish to the crabs. Then up the gray benches of the furrowed
+cliffs, starred with silver lichens and stone-crop, to where ploughmen
+were leaving glistening furrows in the big parsnip fields. Then on
+through the tangle of sweet-briar, honeysuckle and wild roses, where
+birds nested in the perfumed foliage, until, the summit reached,
+surrounded by purple heather and golden gorse, he would look on the sea
+below, with Sark, like a "basking whale, burning in the sunset." Then he
+would hurry to tell his mother of the day's exploits, retiring to dream
+of strange lands and turbulent scenes, in which the roll of drums and
+roar of cannon seemed never absent.
+
+With his youthful mind possessed with the exploits of the King's
+soldiers in Europe and America, and influenced by his brother John's
+example--then captain in the 8th Regiment of the line--Isaac pleaded
+successfully to enter the army. To better prepare for this all-important
+step, and to become proficient in French, a necessary accomplishment, it
+was arranged, though he was only fifteen, to place him with a
+Protestant clergyman in Rotterdam for one year, to complete his
+education.
+
+His vacations now were few; his visits to the Island flying ones. But
+the old life still fascinated him. His physique developed as the weeks
+flew by, and he became more and more a striking personality. This was
+doubly true, for while he remained the champion swimmer, he was also the
+best boxer of his class, besides excelling in every other manly sport.
+In tugs-of-war and "uprooting the gorse" he had no equals, but a sense
+of his educational deficiencies kept him at his books.
+
+He had only passed his sixteenth birthday when, one wild March morning
+in 1785, he was handed an important-looking document. It was a parchment
+with the King's seal attached, his commission of ensign in the 8th
+Regiment. Isaac at once joined the regimental depot in England. It was
+evident that his lack of learning would prove a barrier to promotion. He
+found that much of the leisure hitherto devoted to athletic sports must
+be given to study. Behind "sported oak," while dust accumulated on
+boxing-glove and foil--neither the banter of his brother officers nor
+his love for athletics inducing him to break the resolution--he bent to
+his work with a fixity of purpose that augured well for his future.
+
+In every man's life there are milestones. Isaac Brock's life may fairly
+be divided into five periods. When he crossed the threshold of his
+Guernsey home and donned the uniform of the King he passed his _first_
+milestone.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER III.
+
+FROM ENSIGN TO COLONEL.
+
+
+In every young man's career comes a time of probation. During this
+critical period that youth is wise who enters into a truce with his
+feelings. This is the period when influences for good or bad assert
+themselves--the parting of the ways. The sign-posts are painted in
+capitals.
+
+When Brock buttoned his scarlet tunic and strapped his sword on his hip,
+as fine a specimen of a clean-bodied, clean-minded youth as ever trod
+the turnpike of life, he knew that he was at the cross-roads. The trail
+before him was well blazed, but straight or crooked, rough or smooth,
+valley or height, it mattered little so long as he kept nourished the
+bright light of purpose that burned steadily within him.
+
+Five years of uneventful service, chiefly in England, passed by, and our
+hero was celebrating his coming of age. His only inheritance was health,
+hope and courage. While neither monk nor hermit, he had so far been as
+steadfast as the Pole Star in respect to his resolutions. He had allowed
+nothing to induce him to break the rules engraved on brass that he had
+himself imposed. His mind had broadened, his spirits ran high, his
+conscience told him that he was graduating in the world's university
+with honour. His love for athletics still continued. He had the thews of
+a gladiator, and in his Guernsey stockings stood six feet two inches.
+Add to this an honest countenance, with much gentleness of manner and
+great determination, and you have a faithful picture of Isaac Brock.
+
+Upon obtaining his lieutenancy he returned to Guernsey, raised an
+independent company, and exchanged into the 49th, the Royal Berkshires,
+then stationed in Barbadoes. He now found himself looking at life under
+new conditions. While the beauties of Barbadoes enchanted him, his
+duties as a soldier were disappointing. They were limited to drill,
+dress parade, guard mounting, the erection of new fortifications, and
+patrolling the coast for vessels carrying prohibited cargoes.
+
+Under the terms of a treaty made at Paris in 1773, United States produce
+for British West Indian ports could only be carried by British subjects
+in British ships. Britain's men-of-war were also authorized to seize any
+vessel laden with produce for or from any French colony. Brock was a
+soldier, not a policeman, and coast-guard duties palled upon him. His
+great diversion was in calculating the probabilities of invasion by the
+French. In expectation of this, the refortifying of the island was in
+progress. The memory of Admiral d'Estaing's visit with his fleet from
+Toulon, and the capture of St. Vincent, sent a chill through the island.
+The great victory by the British Admiral Rodney, when he whipped a
+superior French fleet to a standstill, was yet to come. Bastions and
+earthworks grew during the night like mushrooms. While Brock chafed
+under restraint, he knew how to improve the opportunity.
+
+Fishing, shooting sea-fowl, and exploring the interior on horseback,
+were Brock's chief pastimes. He became a fearless horseman. Mount
+Hillaby rose 1,200 feet above the Caribbean Sea. The very crest of its
+almost impossible pinnacle Brock is said to have ascended on horseback.
+Between Bridgetown, in Barbadoes, and Kingston, Jamaica, he divided his
+time, and though monotonous, his life in the Windward Islands was not
+wholly void of adventure.
+
+Shortly after joining his regiment at Bridgetown our hero had his first
+affair of honour, an opportunity to display his courage under most
+trying conditions. A certain captain in the 49th was a confirmed
+duellist, with a reputation of being a dead shot at short range. Resting
+upon his evil record, this braggart had succeeded in terrorizing the
+garrison, and it was soon Brock's turn to be selected for insult. But
+Isaac could not be bullied or intimidated. He promptly challenged and
+was as promptly accepted.
+
+The fateful morning arrived. In a lonely spot, palm-sheltered, and
+within sight of the sea breaking upon the coral reefs, principals and
+seconds met. There was no question in Brock's mind as to his duty--the
+duello at that time was the recognized court of appeal. If its purpose
+as originally designed had at times been infamously abused, it was still
+the one and only arbiter through which insults had to be purged and from
+which, for the "officer and gentleman," there was no escape.
+
+Now Isaac, who was several inches taller and much bulkier than the
+scoundrel who had insulted him, declined to become a shining mark at the
+regulation twelve paces. He demanded from his fire-eating antagonist
+that the duel proceed on equal terms. Whipping out his kerchief, cool as
+a cucumber, his blue eyes steady and resolute, he insisted that _they
+both fire across it_. The fairness of the proposal staggered the bully.
+The chances were not sufficiently one-sided. If this plan was acted upon
+he might himself be killed. He refused to comply. The code of honour and
+garrison approval sustained Brock in his contention, and the refusal of
+the professional killer to fight under even chances was registered in
+the mess-room as the act of a coward, and he left the regiment by
+compulsion.
+
+In Jamaica the continued strain of inactivity under which our hero
+fretted told upon him, and he was struck down with fever, his cousin,
+Henry Brock, lieutenant in the 13th Foot, dying in Kingston of the same
+pestilence. At this time Isaac had as servant a soldier named Dobson,
+one of those faithful souls who, true as steel, once installed in their
+master's affection, remain loyal to the end. To the untiring attentions
+of this man Brock owed his life. Deep and mutual respect followed, and
+the two became inseparable. Where Brock went, there was Dobson, sharing
+his fortune and all the hard knocks of his military campaigns, a
+fellowship ending only with Dobson's death, shortly before his "beloved
+master" gave up his life on Queenston Heights.
+
+Tropical malaria is hard to shake off. Release from duty was imperative,
+and as England was now calling for recruits, the War Office summoned
+Brock, an alluring sample of a soldier, to whom was assigned the task of
+licking the fighting country bumpkin--the raw material--into shape. This
+he did, first in England, then in Guernsey and Jersey. A vision of our
+hero, glorious in his uniform, was in itself sufficient to ensnare the
+senses of any country yokel. It was a militant age.
+
+When quartered in Guernsey, and from the same heights of Jerbourg where
+but a few years before he was wont to sweep the ocean for belated
+fishing smacks, Brock saw his kinsman, Sir James Saumarez, and the white
+canvas of a small squadron, heave in sight from Plymouth Roads. The
+British sailor had been ordered to ascertain the strength of the French
+fleet. Saumarez' ships were far slower than those of the enemy, so,
+feigning the greatest desire to fight, he lured his opponent by a clever
+ruse. First he closed with him, and then, when his own capture seemed
+inevitable, hauled his wind, slipped through a maze of reefs by an
+intricate passage--long familiar to our hero--and found safety off La
+Vazon, where the Frenchmen dare not follow.
+
+In June, 1795, Brock purchased his majority, but retained his command of
+the recruits. From toes to finger-tips Isaac was a soldier, bent on
+mastering every detail of the profession of his choice. A year after the
+return of the 49th to England, on the completion of his 28th year, he
+became by purchase senior lieutenant-colonel of his regiment. High
+honour and rapid promotion, considering that for five out of seven
+years' service he had remained an ensign. He had learned to recognize
+opportunity, the earthly captain of a man's fate.
+
+     "For every day I stand outside your door,
+     And bid you wake and rise to fight and win."
+
+But Brock's position was no sinecure. The regiment was in a badly
+demoralized condition. The laxity of the late commanding officer had
+created a deplorable state of things. To restore the lost _morale_ of
+the corps was his first duty. The thoroughness of his reforms can be
+best understood by quoting the words of the Duke of York, who declared
+that "out of one of the worst regiments in the service Colonel Brock had
+made the 49th one of the best."
+
+From the Commander-in-Chief of a nation's army to a colonel--not yet
+thirty--of a marching regiment, this was an exceptional tribute.
+
+Isaac's persistent endeavours were rapidly bringing their own reward.
+
+[Illustration: NAVY HALL, REMNANT OF THE OLD "RED BARRACKS,"
+NIAGARA, 1797]
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IV.
+
+EGMONT-OP-ZEE AND COPENHAGEN.
+
+
+Meanwhile the war cloud in Europe was growing apace. Holland had been
+forced into an alliance with France. War, no longer a spectre, but a
+grim monster, stalked the Continent. Everywhere the hostile arts of
+Bonaparte were rousing the nations. The breezes that had stirred the
+marshes of Havelet and awakened in Brock a sense of impending danger,
+now a furious gale, swept the empires. The roll of drums and roar of
+cannon that Isaac had listened to in his boyhood dreams were now
+challenging in deadly earnest. The great _reveille_ that was awakening
+the world was followed by the British buglers calling to arms the
+soldiers of the King.
+
+Notwithstanding the aversion of the English prime minister, Pitt, to
+commence hostilities, war was unavoidable. One of the twelve battalions
+of infantry selected for the front was the 49th. When the orders were
+read for the regiment to join the expedition to Holland, wild excitement
+prevailed in barracks. Active service had come at last. The parting of
+Brock with his family was softened by maternal pride in his appearance.
+
+The tunic of the 49th was scarlet, with short swallow-tails. The rolling
+lapels were faced with green, the coat being laced with white, with a
+high collar. The shako, which was originally surmounted by white
+feathers with black tips, a distinction for services in the American
+war of 1776, at Bunker's Hill and Brandywine, was, at Brock's special
+request, replaced by a black plume. The officers wore their hair turned
+up behind and fastened with a black "flash." The spectacle of Master
+Isaac thus arrayed, in all the glory of epaulets and sabretache and the
+gold braid of a full colonel, reconciled the inhabitants of St. Peter's
+Port to his departure.
+
+By the end of August the first division of the British army, of which
+the 49th was a unit, was aboard the transports in the Zuyder Zee, off
+the coast of Holland, and early one morning, under the command of Sir
+Ralph Abercrombie, with blare of trumpets and standards flying, they
+effected a landing under the guns of the ships of the line, of which,
+with frigates and sloops, there were well-nigh sixty. Brock had often
+listened to the roar of shot and shell in target practice and sham
+fight, but of a cannonade of artillery, where every shrieking
+cannon-ball was probably a winged messenger of death, this was his first
+experience. He now learned that in the music of the empty shell of
+experiment and the wicked screech of the missiles of war there was an
+unpleasant difference. He did not wince, but sternly drew himself
+together, thought of home, begged God's mercy, and awaited the command
+to advance with an impatience that was physical pain.
+
+By four in the afternoon the Hilder Peninsula and its batteries had been
+taken, but with a loss to the British of a thousand men. Brock could
+scarcely believe that the enemy had retreated. This, however, was merely
+a taste of war. The second division having arrived, the whole force of
+nearly 20,000 men, under the Duke of York, started to make history. In
+the last days of a stormy September 16,000 Russian allies reached the
+scene. The fourth brigade, which included the 49th, was under the
+command of General Moore--Sir John Moore, of Corunna fame. For several
+weeks the waiting troops were encamped in the sand-hills without canvas
+and exposed to biting storms. The capture of the city of Horn without
+resistance hardly prepared our hero and his men for the stout opposition
+at the battle of Egmont-op-Zee that followed.
+
+Brock's brother, Savery, a paymaster to the brigade, though by virtue of
+his calling exempt from field service, insisted on joining the fighting
+line, acting as aide to Sir Ralph Abercrombie.
+
+Every record, every line written or in print concerning Brock, from
+first to last, all prove that the keynote of his success, the ruling
+impulse of his life, was promptness and action. So, at Egmont, no sooner
+did the bugle sound the advance than he was off with his men like a
+sprinter at the crack of the pistol. Others might follow; he would lead.
+They were part of the advance guard of a column of 10,000 men. The enemy
+was in front in superior numbers, but their weakness lay in underrating
+the courage of the British. They had been taught to consider English
+soldiers the most undisciplined rabble in the world!
+
+This was a factor unknown and unheeded by Brock. All that he knew was
+that an obstacle barred the way.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+"Steady, the 49th!"
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+The loud, clear notes of the leader rang above rasping of scabbards and
+suggestive clank of steel. The men straightened. A suppressed
+exclamation ran along the line and died to a whisper. Whispers faded
+into silence. A fraction of a second, perhaps, and then, high above the
+stillness, when British and French alike were silently appealing to the
+God of battles, over steaming dyke and yellow sand-dunes rose once more
+in trumpet tones the well-known voice, "Charge, men, and use your
+bayonets with resolution!" No rules were followed as to the order of
+going--the ground, to use Brock's words, was too rough, "like a sea in a
+heavy storm"--but the dogs of war were let loose. The quarry was at bay.
+Another instant and the air was split with yells, the clash of naked
+steel and screams of agony. Then cheer upon cheer, as the British swept
+irresistibly on, and the enemy, declining to face the glittering
+bayonets and unable to resist the impact of the English, wavered, broke
+and retreated.
+
+The shedding of men's blood by man is never an edifying spectacle. The
+motive that prompts the attack or repels it, the blind obedience that
+entails the sacrifice, the retribution that follows, are more or less
+understandable. What of the compensation? There may be times when a pure
+principle is at stake and must be upheld despite all hazards, but there
+are times when there is no principle at stake whatever. These
+considerations, however, have no place in the soldier's manual. They are
+questions for the court, not the camp, and cannot be argued on the
+battlefield. The soldier is not invited to reason why, though many an
+unanswerable question by a dying hero has been whispered in the
+trenches.
+
+There was much carnage at Egmont-op-Zee, and many a 49th grenadier "lost
+the number of his mess." Isaac directly after the fight wrote to his
+brothers that "Nothing could exceed the gallantry of his men in the
+charge." To his own wound he referred in his usual breezy and impersonal
+way. "I got knocked down," he said, "soon after the enemy began to
+retreat, but never quitted the field, and returned to my duty in less
+than half an hour."
+
+We must appeal to his brother Savery for the actual facts. "Isaac was
+wounded," said Savery, in reply to a request for particulars, "and his
+life was in all probability preserved by the stout cotton handkerchief
+which, as the air was very cold, he wore over a thick black silk cravat,
+both of which were perforated by a bullet, and which prevented it
+entering his neck. The violence of the blow, however, was so great as to
+stun and dismount him, and his holsters were also shot through."
+
+That the action had been a hot one can be best judged by the official
+returns. Out of 391 rank and file of the 49th in the field, there were
+110 casualties--30 killed, 50 wounded and 30 missing. Savery Brock
+shared the honours with his brother. Oblivious to a hurricane of
+bullets, he rode from sand-hill to sand-hill, encouraging the men until
+his truancy was noticed and he was halted by Isaac. "By the Lord Harry,
+Master Savery," shouted the colonel, loud as he could pitch his powerful
+voice, as the big paymaster strode by, his horse having been shot under
+him, "did I not order you, unless you remained with the General, to stay
+with your iron chest? Go back, sir, immediately." To which Savery
+answered, playfully, "Mind your regiment, Master Isaac. You surely would
+not have me quit the field now." Of this intrepid brother Isaac wrote,
+"Nothing could surpass Savery's activity and gallantry." Another of the
+wounded at Egmont was Lord Aylmer, afterwards Governor-General of
+British North America. The loss of the enemy was estimated at 4,000. Two
+weeks later the British troops--while suffering intensely from severe
+weather--met with a reverse in the field, to which, through a
+misunderstanding of orders, their Russian allies contributed. The Duke
+of York was ordered to evacuate the country. The campaign had resulted
+in much experience and high honour for Brock. Quick to perceive and
+learn, his powers of observation on the field had enriched his mind with
+lessons in the tactics of war never to be forgotten.
+
+[Illustration: PORTRAIT OF COLONEL JAMES FITZGIBBON]
+
+In the ranks of the 49th was a young Irishman of superior talents. Brock
+was not slow to discover his abilities, and "with a discrimination that
+honoured both," he later appointed this combative private
+sergeant-major. Still later he procured him an ensigncy in the 49th,
+finally appointing him adjutant, promotion that the ability and
+gallantry of James FitzGibbon, a Canadian veteran of 1812, and the "hero
+of Beaver Dams" (Adjutant-General of Canada, 1837, and Military Knight
+of Windsor, 1851), amply justified.
+
+If Brock was quick to appreciate merit, he was no less so in detecting
+defects. The Russian soldiers came in for scathing criticism. The type
+at Egmont impressed him most unfavourably. The clumsy Russian
+foot-soldier was his special aversion. The accuracy of his criticism has
+been confirmed by military writers, but this book is not for the purpose
+of weighing the quality of Russian valour in Holland. Six thousand of
+these Russian allies, the lateness of the season preventing their return
+home, were later quartered for six months in Guernsey.
+
+While our hero was a severe military critic, he was never an unjust one,
+neither did he spare his own men. Though not a martinet, which was
+foreign to every fibre of his nature, he was a stickler for rigid
+discipline. When the expedition was recalled, he was first quartered in
+Norwich, and then at the old familiar barracks of St. Helier, in Jersey.
+On his return to the latter place, in 1800, after leave of absence, he
+found that the junior lieutenant-colonel of the 49th--Colonel
+Sheaffe--had incurred the reasonable dislike of the men. The regiment
+was drawn up on the sands for morning parade, standing at ease. In
+company with this unpopular officer Brock appeared upon the scene. He
+was greeted with three hearty cheers. The personal honour, however, was
+lost sight of in the act of disobedience. Rebuking the men severely for
+"their most unmilitary conduct," they were marched to quarters and
+confined to barracks for a week. He would not, he explained, allow
+public exaltation of himself at the expense of another.
+
+The next year found our hero in the Baltic Sea, aboard the _Ganges_,
+detailed for active duty as second in command of the land forces that
+under Lord Nelson were ordered to the attack on Copenhagen. It was
+intended that Brock, with the 49th, should lead in storming the
+Trekroner (Three Crown) battery, in conjunction with five hundred
+seamen; but the heroic defence by the Danes rendered the attempt
+impracticable, and Brock remained on the _Ganges_, an unwilling
+spectator of bloodshed in which he took no part. Towards the close of
+the engagement--the heaviest pounding match in history--he was on the
+_Elephant_, Nelson's flagship, and saw the hero of Trafalgar write his
+celebrated letter to the Crown Prince of Denmark.
+
+As at Egmont, the irrepressible conduct of Savery Brock on the _Ganges_
+gave our hero much concern. Savery, as a former midshipman, was of
+course a gunner. While training a quarter-deck gun on the Trekroner
+battery his hat was blown from his head and he was knocked down by the
+rush of wind from a grapeshot. Seeing this, Brock exclaimed, "Ah, poor
+Savery! He is indeed dead." But, to use his own words, it was only "the
+hot air from the projectile that had 'floored' him." Previous to this he
+had driven Isaac almost demented by stating his intention of joining the
+storming party and sharing his brother's danger. "Is it not enough that
+one brother should be killed or drowned?" said Isaac. But Savery
+persisted until, at Isaac's request, the commander of the _Ganges_ kept
+the paymaster quiet by stratagem. "Master Savery," said he, "you simply
+_must_ remain with us. I appoint you captain of the gun. It will amuse
+you."
+
+The loss of the Danes at Copenhagen was placed at 6,000, including
+prisoners. The British killed and wounded numbered 943, more than fell
+at the Battle of the Nile. Part of this loss is charged to a criminal
+misconception of military etiquette. To a line officer who asked where
+his men should be stationed, the captain of the battleship replied, that
+as soldiers were no good with big guns, and as the forts were out of
+musket range, he should "send them between decks." This, said the
+infantryman, "would be eternal disgrace." In deference to this brutal
+conception of military ethics, the men were drawn up on the gangway and,
+standing at attention, were allowed to be mowed down by Danish
+grapeshot. The 49th, on its return to England from Copenhagen,
+thoroughly initiated in the cruel cult of war, was ordered to
+Colchester.
+
+Isaac Brock, with the bay-leaves of distinction on his brow, and his
+heart touched but not dismayed at the ferocity of war, had passed the
+_second_ milestone of his life.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER V.
+
+BROCK IN CANADA.
+
+
+Isaac Brock received with regret his orders to proceed with the 49th to
+Canada. Europe was still in the clutches of war. Great opportunities
+awaited the soldier of fortune in the struggle waging in the Peninsula.
+The prospect for military advancement in Canada was not encouraging.
+America was at peace. Canada was but slowly developing. While her
+exports of lumber and fish attracted the attention of the British
+merchant, her great resources were unknown except to the fur trader and
+the few United States speculators whose cupidity kept pace with their
+knowledge. Though the known sympathy of the United States for France was
+regarded as a possible excuse for hostility towards England, as yet this
+sympathy had found no official utterance, hence the outlook from a
+soldier's standpoint was far from desirable. Brock's life in the West
+Indies had created a distaste for garrison duty. While a past master in
+the details of barrack life, his career under arms had created an
+aversion for the grind of drill and parade.
+
+Life in the high latitudes of Canada would present a clean-cut contrast
+to tropical Barbadoes, but it was out of harmony with his ambition, and,
+judging by his spirits, he might have been embarking for penal servitude
+at Botany Bay rather than for the land which was to bring him lasting
+fame. Even the attentions of the devoted Dobson, who had just filled
+his pipe, did not serve to arouse him. Brock's depression was
+short-lived. His optimism and faith banished gloomy thoughts. The ship
+had hardly dropped the last headland of the Irish coast when the winds
+bred in Labrador awoke the Viking strain in him and filled his soul with
+hope. The swinging seas of this northern ocean revived thoughts of the
+long-ago exploits of Sebastian Cabot, the discoverer of Newfoundland,
+and of his own sea-dog ancestors, those rough-riders of the sea who had
+defied the banks of Sable Island and returned to St. Peter's Port with
+their rich cargoes of contraband, looking innocent as kittens, while the
+ship was bursting with fur, fin and feather. So, pipe in mouth, with the
+frigate close-hauled, watching her bows splintering the sea into a
+million jewels, he left care behind, and thenceforward his busy brain
+was forming plans that would soften his exile in that land of chilling
+promise he was approaching.
+
+He had been told to expect magnificent scenery, but was quite unprepared
+for the picture that the Gulf of St. Lawrence unfolded. The Straits of
+Belle Isle, the Magdalen Islands, the brazen bosom of the Bay of Chaleur
+that had allured Jacques Cartier 265 years before, the might of the
+noble river and the glorious vista of the citadel and frowning heights
+of Quebec, where Wolfe and Montcalm fell--the ancient Stadacona framed
+in the sunset--amazed him. A presage of coming conflict crowded his
+brain.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+"Manfully tell me the truth."
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Carr, an educated soldier of the 49th, was hesitating. Desertions had
+been frequent at Quebec, and discipline _must_ be restored. Stepping up,
+with hand clenched, the officer continued, "Don't lie! Tell the truth
+like a man. You know I have ever treated you kindly." The confession of
+intended desertion followed. "Go, then," said Colonel Brock,--"go and
+tell your deluded comrades everything that has passed here, and also
+that I will still treat every man of you with kindness, and then you may
+desert me if you please."
+
+During the three years of his command at Montreal, York, Fort George and
+Quebec, though mutiny was epidemic in both Europe and America, Brock had
+lost but one man by desertion. He had won the loyalty of the rank and
+file. FitzGibbon said of him that "he created by his judicious praise
+the never-failing interest of the men in the ranks." His accurate
+knowledge of human nature served him in the graver experiences of life
+which followed. His stay in Quebec was short. A study of the ancient
+citadel and its incomplete fortifications occupied his time. In the
+summer of 1803 he was stationed at York, a hamlet carved out of the
+backwoods, sustaining a handful of people, but famous as the
+gathering-place of many wise men. He found that desertions in Upper
+Canada had become too frequent. The temptations offered by a long line
+of frontier easy of access, and the desperate discipline in the army,
+had led to much brutality in the way of punishments.
+
+Such were the conditions in Upper Canada when Brock reached York.
+Shortly after his arrival six men, influenced by an artificer, stole a
+military batteau and started across the lake to Niagara. By midnight
+Brock, with his trusty sergeant-major and the ever-watchful Dobson, in
+another batteau with twelve men, passed out of the western gap in hot
+pursuit of the defaulters. Though the night was calm the trip was
+perilous. Before them stretched a waste of water, but our hero was in
+his element. He was living over again his daring visits to the Casquets
+through the furious seas that raced between St. Sampson and the Isle of
+Herm.
+
+The crew was divided into "watches," six taking an hour's "breather"
+while the other six rowed, hour and hour about, alternately rowing and
+resting. When the wind served they hoisted their big square sail, our
+hero at the tiller. On this occasion there was little wind, and "Master
+Isaac," for example's sake, and "to keep my biceps and fore-arm in good
+condition"--as he told the sergeant-major--took his regular spells at
+the oar. On arriving at Fort George, Colonel Hunter, Governor and
+Commandant, rebuked him for rashly venturing across the lake in an open
+boat, "a risk," he said, "never before undertaken."[1] The expedition,
+however, was successful, for the deserters were surprised on the
+American shore and made prisoners.
+
+FOOTNOTE:
+
+[1] Lake Ontario was crossed from Toronto to the wharf at the mouth of
+the Niagara River in an ordinary double-scull, lap-strake
+pleasure-skiff, by the writer and another Argonaut--Herbert
+Bartlett--one unruly morning in the summer of 1872. Though a risky row,
+and not previously attempted, it was not regarded as a remarkable feat
+by the performers.
+
+[Illustration: VIEW OF QUEENSTON ROAD, ABOUT 1824]
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VI.
+
+BRIDLE-ROAD, BATTEAU AND CANOE.
+
+
+The means for transit through Canada at this time was most primitive,
+and not the least of the questions which occupied Brock's thoughts was
+the important one of transportation. The lack of facilities for moving
+large bodies of men and supplies, in event of war, was as apparent as
+was the lack of vessels of force on lake and river.
+
+Between Quebec and Montreal, a distance of sixty leagues, the overland
+journey was divided into twenty-four stages, requiring four relays of
+horse-caleches in summer and horse-carioles in winter. The time occupied
+was three days, and the rate for travellers twenty-five cents a league.
+This rough road--which entailed numerous ferries in summer at the Ottawa
+and at Lake St. Francis, except for a break of fifty miles--led by
+Cornwall and Prescott to Kingston, along which route United Empire
+Loyalists twenty years before had established themselves.
+
+A few years prior to Brock's arrival, Governor Simcoe, with the men of
+the Queen's Rangers, had cut a roadway through the dense forest between
+Prescott and Burlington, at the head of Lake Ontario. From Ancaster, the
+then western limit of the U.E. Loyalists' settlement, this road
+traversed the picturesque region that surrounded the Mohawk village on
+the Grand River, where Joseph Brant, the famous warrior, was encamped
+with his Six Nation Indians. From this point it penetrated the rolling
+lands of the western peninsula, to the La Trenche (the Thames River),
+from whence Lake St. Clair and the Detroit outlet to the great lakes was
+reached by water. Another military road, also built by Simcoe, followed
+the old Indian trail through thirty-three miles of forest from York to
+Lake Simcoe. This shorter route to Lake Superior enabled the North-West
+Fur Company--established by Frobisher and McTavish, of Montreal, in
+1776--to avoid canoeing up the Ottawa and its tortuous tributaries. The
+batteaux were brought up the St. Lawrence, breaking bulk at certain
+"carrying places," then under sail up Lake Ontario to York. From here
+the cargoes were hauled by horses over Yonge's military road to Lake
+Simcoe, thence by river and stormy Lake Huron to Fort Michilimackinac,
+Great Turtle Island--the Mackinaw of to-day--at the head of Lake
+Michigan. By this route fifty dollars was saved on every ton of freight
+from Ottawa to the middle north. At Mackinaw the goods were reshipped by
+bark canoe to the still remoter regions in the further West, where
+Spanish pedlars on the southern tributaries of the lower Mississippi
+traded with the Akamsea Indians in British goods distributed from
+Mackinaw.
+
+The records of these trips through a wilderness of forest and stream,
+with their exhilarating hardships, had a singular fascination for Isaac
+Brock. It was not long before he had won, with his conquering ways and
+robust manhood, the allegiance of the big-hearted fur-traders in
+Montreal. Their wild legends of the great fur country rang in his ears,
+and his receptive mind was soon stored with the exploits of Radisson and
+Groseillers, Joliette, Marquette, and other famous pathfinders, with
+whose exploits a century and a half before, aided by his fluency in
+French, he became wonderfully familiar.
+
+He found the evolution of the Canadian highway a subject of absorbing
+interest. From his Caughnawaga guides he learned how the tracks made by
+lynx and beaver, rabbit and wolverine, wolf and red deer--invariably the
+safest and firmest ways--were in turn naturally followed by Indian
+voyageur and fur-trader, until the blazed trail became the bridle-road
+for the pack-horse of the pioneer. This, as the white settler drifted
+in, became the winter-road; then, as civilization stifled the call of
+the wild, there uprose from swamp and muskeg the crude corduroy,
+expanding by degrees into the half-graded highway, until the turnpike
+and toll-bar, with its despotic keeper, exacted its tribute from
+progress. This was the prelude to a still more amazing transformation,
+for the day soon came, though not in our hero's time, when the drumming
+of the partridge was silenced by the choo-choo of the locomotive as it
+shrieked through forest and beaver-meadow on its way to vaster tracks,
+further and further west, disclosing and leaving in its trail an empire
+of undreamed-of fertility. Then the redman, disturbed in his solitudes,
+was confronted with civilization, and had to accept the terms of
+conquest or seek another sanctuary in the greater wilderness beyond.
+
+The navigation of the lakes and rivers at this time was limited to three
+types of vessel, the "snow," a three-master with a try-sail abaft the
+mainmast, the schooner, the batteau and the birch canoe, and, in closely
+land-locked waters, the horse ferry. The Durham boat, a batteau on a
+larger scale with false keel, had yet to be introduced. The bark canoe,
+which for certain purposes has never been improved upon--not even
+excepting the cedar-built canoe--varied in size from nine to thirty
+feet, or, in the language of the voyageur, from one and a half to five
+fathoms. These canoes had capacity for a crew of from one to thirty men,
+or a cargo of seventy "pieces" of ninety pounds each, equal to three
+tons, exclusive of provisions for nine paddlers. In these arks of
+safety, manned by Indians or _metis_ (half-breeds), the fur-trader would
+leave Lachine, on the St. Lawrence, ascend the Ottawa, descend the
+French, cross Lake Huron--the Lake Orleans of Nicollet and Hennepin--and
+find no rest from drench or riffle until he reached Mackinaw, or more
+distant Fort Dearborn (now Chicago), on the Skunk River, at the head of
+Lake Michigan, 1,450 miles by water from Quebec.
+
+The batteaux--great, open, flat-bottomed boats, forty feet long and
+eight feet beam, pointed at stem and stern--were not unlike the York
+boats used in Lord Wolseley's Red River expedition in 1870, and would
+carry five tons of cargo. Rigged with a movable mast stepped almost
+amid-ships, and a big lug-sail, these greyhounds of the lakes were, for
+passengers in our hero's time, often the only means of water transport
+between Quebec and Little York. As important factors in the transport of
+soldiers and munitions in the war of 1812, they deserve description.
+
+While sailing well when before the wind, they yet, with their defective
+rig and keelless bottoms, carrying no weather helm, made little headway
+with the wind close abeam. On one occasion Isaac Brock left Lachine with
+a brigade of five batteaux, so that all hands could unite in making the
+portages. At the Cascades, the Milles Roches and the Cedars,
+three-quarters of the cargo had to be portaged by the packmen. At times
+these lightened boats were poled or tracked through the broken water,
+towed by the men, from such foothold as the rocky banks afforded, by
+means of a long lariat tied to the boat's bow, with loops over each
+trackman's shoulder, one man steering with a long sweep. When this
+treadmill work was impossible, owing to too steep banks, and where no
+batteau locks existed, the crew hauled the boats across the portage on a
+skidway of small rolling logs, and, so journeying, Prescott was reached.
+Here, the wind being favourable, lug-sails were hoisted and Brock's
+strange fleet started for Kingston, reaching it after twelve days' toil
+from Lachine, then coasting further along Lake Ontario to Little York
+(Toronto). When wind failed, the long oars were used, the men rising
+from the thwarts to pull, standing. Thus, alternately sitting and
+rising, pulling in unison, the light-hearted voyageurs would break into
+one of their wild French chants, quaint with catching refrain, in which
+our hero soon learned to join.
+
+At Prescott Brock sometimes took the Government schooner, paying two
+guineas for a trip, which might last a week, or caught one of the small
+"two-stickers" that carried freight between Kingston and Queenston. If
+much pressed for time, the batteau would be exchanged for a caleche--the
+stage-coach was as yet only a dream--and he would resign himself to a
+rude jolting over the colonization road through the forest that flanked
+the rugged northern shore of Lake Ontario.
+
+These trips were a never-failing source of surprise and profit. The
+skill of the canoemen, the strength and endurance of the packmen,
+excited his admiration. What wonderful raw material! Given drill and
+discipline, what might not be achieved on the frontier with such
+craftsmen! The muscles, all whipcord, of these rugged Canadians, part
+_coureur de bois_, part scout, amazed him. One thing was not so evident
+as he could have wished. Their love seemed to be more for race and
+language, home and wilderness, than for King and country. Perhaps, as he
+said, if the safety of their homes were threatened, they would develop
+patriotism of the highest type.
+
+But, after all, as to kings, "Who," they naively asked him, "was their
+king? Surely they must be under two flags and two kings. Napoleon or
+George? _Que voulez vous?_"
+
+As their hearts seemed to be as stout as their limbs, they would, he
+reflected, be unconquerable, these careless children of waste places.
+While Brock thus communed, he watched. There was little to choose
+between them--Narcisse, Baptiste, Louis, Jacques, Pierre--all strong as
+buffalo, all agile as catamounts.
+
+They would lift the "pieces" from the dripping canoe and land them on
+the slippery rock. A minute later and Narcisse perhaps would appear, a
+bit bent, to keep balanced a bag of flour, a chest of tea, a caddy of
+tobacco and sundry packages of sugar or shot that made up the load
+resting on his shoulders where body and nape of neck joined. This load
+was supported and held together by a broad moose-hide band--a
+tump-line--strapped across his forehead, his upraised hands grasping the
+narrowing moose-hide stretched on either side of his lowered head,
+between ear and shoulder. Brock would watch these packmen as, thus
+handicapped with a load weighing from two to five hundred pounds, they
+set out across the rough portage, singing, and at a dog trot, following
+each other in quick succession. There was rivalry, of course, duly
+encouraged by Brock with a promise of tobacco to the first man in, but
+it was all good-natured competition, the last man chanting his laughing
+canzonet as loudly as the first.
+
+Our hero, with his grand physique and cleverness, was not long in
+mastering the tricks of the carriers. He soon learned to build up a load
+and adjust a tump-line, after which practice made the carrying of a pack
+almost twice his own weight a not extraordinary performance.
+
+These trips afforded Brock an opportunity to study Indian character. He
+learned much from the packman and voyageur that was destined to be of
+great value to him in his career on the western frontier, among the
+outposts of civilization.
+
+Little escaped his notice. His faculties were sharpened by contact with
+these children of the wilds, whose only class-room was the forest, their
+only teacher, nature. As the crushed blade or broken twig were of
+deepest import to the Indian scout, so no incident of his life was now
+too trivial for Brock to dismiss as of no importance.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VII.
+
+MUTINY AND DESERTION.
+
+
+Brock could hardly reconcile the degree of punishment inflicted upon the
+soldiers, the poorly paid defenders of the Empire, with their casual
+offences. While he rebelled against the brutalities of some officers, he
+was powerless to prevent them. The sentencing powers conferred by
+court-martial were at that time beyond belief. A captain and two
+subalterns could order 999 lashes with a "cat" steeped in brine. It is
+on record that on one occasion a soldier was sentenced to 1,500 lashes
+for "marauding." And there were other modes of torture. This was close
+upon the heels of a period when even the slightest breaches of the civil
+law were punished out of all proportion to the offence. While insisting
+on the strictest discipline, Brock always tempered justice with mercy.
+Few men better realized the value of a pleasant word or had in such
+degree the rare tact that permitted familiarity without killing respect.
+
+A terrible incident occurred in the summer of 1803 which tested all
+Brock's fortitude and conception of duty. A conspiracy to mutiny was
+discovered at Fort George on the Niagara River. The methods of the
+commanding officer had exasperated the men until they planned mutiny on
+a large scale. This included the murder of Colonel Sheaffe and the
+incarceration of the other officers. A threatening remark by a soldier
+of the 49th was overheard. He was arrested and put in irons. A
+confession by another soldier implicated a well-known sergeant, and a
+message was sent to York begging Brock's immediate presence.
+
+Our hero landed from the schooner alone. It was dinner hour. The
+barrack-square, as Brock crossed it to the guard-house, was deserted. In
+charge of the guard he found two of the suspected ringleaders. The guard
+presented arms. "Sergeant," said the colonel of towering frame and
+commanding aspect, "come here. Lay down your pike." The order was
+promptly complied with. "Take off your sword and sash and lay them down
+also." This was done. "Corporal O'Brien," said the colonel, addressing
+the sergeant's brother-conspirator, "bring a pair of handcuffs, put them
+on this sergeant, lock him up in a cell, and bring me the key." This,
+too, was done. "Now, corporal, you come here; lay down your arms, take
+off your accoutrements, and lay them down also." He was obeyed. Turning
+to the right man of the guard, "Come here, you grenadier. Bring a pair
+of handcuffs and put them on this corporal, lock him up in another cell,
+and bring me the key." When this was done, turning to the astounded
+drummer, our hero said, "Drummer, beat to arms."
+
+The garrison was aroused. First to rush out was Lieutenant Williams,
+sword in hand. "Williams!" said the Colonel, "go instantly and secure
+Rock"--a former sergeant, recently reduced. "If he hesitates to obey,
+even for one second, cut him down." Up the stairs flew Williams, calling
+to Rock to come down. "Yes, sir," answered Rock, "when I take my arms."
+"You must come without them," said Williams. "Oh, I must have my arms,
+sir," and as Rock stretched out his hand to seize his musket in the
+arm-rack, Williams shouted, "If you lay one finger on your musket I
+will cut you down," at the same time drawing his sabre. "Now, go down
+before me." Rock obeyed, was placed in irons, and within half an hour
+Clark, O'Brien, and nine other mutineers were embarked for York on the
+schooner.
+
+What a picture rises before us. The mid-day sun, the glittering
+barrack-square, the scarlet and white tunics and polished side-arms of
+the frightened soldiers, with Brock, the embodiment of power and stern
+justice, towering above the shrinking culprits. Expiation of the offence
+had yet to follow. The appetite of the law had to be appeased. The trial
+took place at Quebec. Four mutineers and three deserters were condemned
+to death, and in the presence of the entire garrison were executed. The
+details of this are best unwritten. Through a shocking blunder, the
+firing party discharged their carbines when fifty yards distant, instead
+of advancing to within eight yards of the victims. The harrowing scene
+rent Brock's heart. That the men who had fought so bravely under him at
+Egmont and laughed at the carnage at Copenhagen should end their lives
+in this manner was inexpressibly sad. After reading the account of the
+execution of their comrades to the men on parade at Fort George, Brock
+added, "Since I have had the honour to wear the British uniform I have
+never felt grief like this." The prisoners publicly declared that had
+they continued under our hero's command they would have escaped their
+doom, "being the victims of unruly passions inflamed by vexatious
+authority."
+
+When Brock assumed command every possible privilege was extended to the
+troops at Fort George. For every request, however trivial, he knew there
+was some reason. His mind was big enough to trade in trifles.
+
+In view of these desertions, the prospect of hostilities between Canada
+and the United States became a momentous one. By close study of events
+in France and America and intercourse with prominent United States
+citizens, Brock detected the signs that precede trouble.
+
+But the grave question of desertion and the war-cloud on the horizon
+could not occupy our hero's attention to the exclusion of other demands
+upon his time. Canada's growing importance was attracting many
+travellers from over-seas. Notable among these was Thomas Moore, the
+brilliant Irish poet, who was our hero's guest at Fort George for two
+weeks in the summer of 1803. Every attraction that the peninsula
+presented was taxed for his entertainment. Of these diversions the one
+which probably left the most lasting impression on the versatile son of
+Erin was a gathering of the Tuscarora warriors, under Chief Brant, at
+the Indian encampment on the Grand River.
+
+"Here," wrote Moore, in one of his celebrated epistles, "the Mohawks
+received us in all their ancient costumes. The young men ran races for
+our amusement, and gave an exhibition game of ball, while the old men
+and the women sat in groups under the surrounding forest trees. The
+scene altogether was as beautiful as it was new to me. To Colonel Brock,
+in command of the fort, I am particularly indebted for his many
+kindnesses during the fortnight I remained with him."
+
+It was while Moore was paddling down the St. Lawrence with his
+Caughnawaga voyageurs, after leaving Niagara--where he saw the fountains
+of the great deep broken up--that he composed his celebrated boat-song:
+
+     "Faintly as tolls the evening chime,
+     Our voices keep tune and our oars keep time.
+     Soon as the woods on shore look dim,
+     We'll sing at St. Ann's our parting hymn.
+     Row, brothers, row! the stream runs fast,
+     The rapids are near, and the daylight's past!"
+
+In the fall of 1805 our hero was gazetted full colonel, and returned to
+England on leave. While he had lost none of the buoyancy of his youth,
+he was daily realizing the fullness of his responsibilities.
+
+For the better defence of Canada, he submitted to the Duke of York, the
+Commander-in-Chief, a suggestion for the forming of a veteran battalion.
+He quoted the case of the U.E. Loyalists, who after the Revolutionary
+war, had been granted small tracts in Upper Canada; contrasting their
+perfect conduct with the practices of some of the settlers ten years
+later, whose loyalty, from his own observation, would not stand the
+test. Our hero, who was warmly thanked by the Duke for his zeal, was now
+regarded as a person to be reckoned with. His abilities and charm of
+manner had won him a reputation at the Horse Guards.
+
+He returned to Guernsey to receive the congratulations of those brothers
+"who loved him so dearly," but had not time to tell the graphic story of
+his sojourn in Canada or revisit the haunts of his boyhood, for news
+arrived from the United States of so warlike a character that he
+returned before his leave expired. He overtook at Cork the _Lady
+Saumarez_, a well-manned Guernsey privateer, armed with letters of
+marque, and bound for Quebec. Leaving London on the 26th of June, 1806,
+he set sail for Canada, never to return to those to whom he had so
+endeared himself by his splendid qualities.
+
+[Illustration: RUINS OF OLD POWDER MAGAZINE, FORT GEORGE]
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VIII.
+
+FRANCE, THE UNITED STATES AND CANADA.
+
+
+Shortly after his return to Quebec, Isaac Brock succeeded to the command
+of the troops in both Upper and Lower Canada, with the pay and allowance
+of a brigadier.
+
+Though no overt act had been committed against Canada by the United
+States, relations were strained, and he found much to occupy his time.
+His humanity stirred, he set about erecting hospitals, reorganized the
+commissariat department, and engaged in an unpleasant dispute with
+President Dunn, the civil administrator of Lower Canada, regarding the
+fortifications of the Citadel. To-day deep in plans for mobilizing the
+militia and the formation of a Scotch volunteer corps of Glengarry
+settlers; to-morrow devising the best way of utilizing an Indian force
+in the event of war. In June, 1807, the affair between the British
+gunboat _Leopard_ and the American frigate _Chesapeake_ occurred. The
+former boarded the latter in search of deserters, and on being
+challenged, gave the _Chesapeake_ a broadside. While the _Leopard_ was
+clearly in the wrong, the United States Government rejected every offer
+of reparation made by Britain. Then came retaliation. French
+vessels--though France was at war with Britain--were actually allowed by
+the United States, a neutral power, full freedom of its harbours. The
+ships of Britain, a power at peace with the United States of America,
+were refused the same privilege.
+
+For a proper understanding of the position we must unroll a page of
+history. Napoleon, though he crushed the Prussians at Jena, could not
+efface the memory of his own humiliation at Trafalgar. His ears tingled.
+He was waiting to deliver a blow that would equalize the destruction of
+his fleet by Nelson. Though Britain remained mistress of the seas,
+surely, thought the "little corporal," a way could be found to humble
+her. If her sources of food supply, for instance, could be cut off, "the
+wings of her war-ships would be clipped."
+
+To this end Napoleon issued an arrogant proclamation, which was of
+far-reaching effect. It authorized the destruction of all British goods
+and all colonial produce shipped to any European port by a British
+vessel. It allowed the seizure by France of all ships, of whatever
+nation, which had even _called_ at a British port. To this the United
+States raised no objection, though it was in violation of the world's
+law in respect to nations which were at peace with each other. The
+United States' President evidently believed that British resentment at
+Napoleon's decree would sooner or later provide the United States with
+an excuse for a disagreement with Britain. He was not mistaken. Britain
+at once announced that she in her turn would prohibit the ships of other
+nations visiting French ports until they had first called at a British
+port. But two wrongs do not make a right. England also, being short of
+seamen by desertion, insisted that she had the right to search for
+British seamen on American vessels.
+
+This was a questionable proceeding, and not always carried out in the
+most amiable manner, as the _Chesapeake_ incident proves, and
+occasionally led to seizing American seamen, native-born citizens of the
+United States, in mistake for British-born deserters.
+
+Meanwhile Brock found "the military and the people of Quebec divided by
+opposing elements of dissatisfaction." His call for one thousand men for
+two months to complete the defences of the Citadel was met by the
+Provincial Government with what was practically a refusal. He persisted
+in his purpose, and despite drawbacks which would have deterred a less
+dominant nature, he erected a battery, mounting eight thirty-six pound
+guns, raised upon a cavalier bastion, in the centre of the Citadel, so
+as to command the opposite heights of Point Levis.
+
+Alive to the probability of invasion, and to the defenceless state of
+the Canadian frontier and the extreme apathy of the Quebec Government,
+Colonel Brock warned the War Office. He stated that, as the means at his
+disposal were quite inadequate to oppose an enemy in the field, with a
+provincial frontier of 500 miles, he would perforce confine himself to
+the defence of the city of Quebec. The Lower Canadians, willing to
+undergo training, had formed themselves into corps of cavalry, artillery
+and infantry, at no expense to the Government, but the Government gave
+them no encouragement.
+
+This was the state of affairs in Quebec when Lieutenant-General Sir
+James Craig arrived to take office as Governor-General of the British
+Provinces in North America as well as Commander of the Forces. Brock
+soon became the _confidant_ of the new administrator, who was not slow
+to observe the exceptional capacity of our hero. The day came all too
+quickly for the Governor when occasion arose for the presence of a
+strong man to take command in Montreal, and with great reluctance he had
+to call upon Isaac Brock to assume the office.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IX.
+
+FUR-TRADERS AND HABITANTS.
+
+
+Montreal--the Mount Royal of Jacques Cartier--was then in the heyday of
+its pioneer glory. It was the seat of government of the North-West
+Company, which exercised feudal sway over an empire of wilderness, lake
+and prairie, and whose title to monopoly was challenged only by the
+powerful Hudson's Bay Company. Since 1670 this older syndicate of
+adventurers had held the destinies of the great lone land in the farther
+North-West, its fruitful plains and pathless forests, in the hollow of
+its hand. Later, when the two companies amalgamated, their joint
+operations extended from Alaska to Rupert's Land, from Oregon to the
+Sandwich Islands, from Vancouver to Labrador, an empire embracing an
+area of 4,500,000 square miles.
+
+At Montreal Brock lived with these merchant princes on terms of close
+intimacy. He was sensible enough, as a man of the world, to enjoy the
+creature comforts of life. The blazing log-fire, with its glow and
+crackle, in contrast to the blizzard that raged outside; the dim-lighted
+splendour of spacious dining-hall, with hewn rafters and savage trophies
+of the explorers; the polished oak floor and carved ceiling, hung with
+rare fur and gaudy feathers, appealed to him.
+
+The rubber of whist over, came the fragrant _perfecto_--these traders
+ransacked the world for their tobacco--and Brock, under the influence of
+the soothing weed, would charm these wild vagrants into unlocking some
+of the strange secrets of the wilderness. From these usually silent but
+sometimes garrulous merchants he acquired during the long winter nights
+a fund of facts that greatly influenced his future actions.
+
+Being superseded at Montreal by General Drummond, he did not relish a
+return to Quebec. Separation from the 49th meant actual pain, but, as he
+said, "Soldiers must accustom themselves to frequent movements, and as
+they have no choice, it often happens they are placed in situations
+little agreeing with their wishes." His regrets were lessened by his
+promotion to the rank of brigadier-general. But he prayed for active
+service, still trying to secure a staff appointment in Portugal, and
+awaited the result of his brother Savery's efforts, hoping he might yet
+be ordered to join "the best disciplined army that ever left England."
+
+"Your Excellency," he said to the Governor-General, "I _must_ see active
+service, or had much better quit the army, for I can look for no
+advantage if I remain buried in inaction in this remote corner of the
+earth, without the least mention ever likely being made of me."
+
+Unsuspected by our hero, fate in his case was only "marking time."
+
+Day after day Brock saw British ships weigh anchor at Quebec with
+Canadian timber for the building of English vessels of war. The
+importance of these Canadian provinces to Great Britain awoke in him
+dreams of a federation of all the colonies. Cargoes of timber, that
+would require more than 400 vessels to transport, were then lying on the
+beaches of the St. Lawrence. "Bonaparte," he wrote, "coveted these vast
+colonial areas, and desired to repossess them."
+
+Brock's mind was busy trying to solve these problems. "A small French
+force of 5,000 men," he told the Governor, "could most assuredly conquer
+the Province of Quebec. In the event of French invasion, would the
+volatile Lower Canadian people, in spite of all their privileges, remain
+loyal?" A certain class of _habitant_ argued that Napoleon, who was sure
+to conquer Europe, would of course seize the Canadas, encouraged by the
+United States. "Would Englishmen," asked Brock, "if positions were
+reversed, be any more impatient to escape from possible British rule
+than were French Canadians from the possible rule of France?"
+
+"Blood, my good FitzGibbon," he declared to his _protege_, "is thicker
+than water. You cannot expect to get men to change their nature, or the
+traditions of their race, through an act of parliament at twenty-four
+hours' notice. Old thoughts and habits die hard."
+
+Though Brock's perceptive faculties were well developed, his forecasts,
+built upon the evidences of opposition among certain Lower Canadians,
+happily proved only in part correct. Later, when his plan of campaign
+was menaced by still greater disaffection in Upper Canada, he found he
+had not reckoned on the influence of his own example, which, added to
+his power of purpose, "disconcerted the disloyal." In proof of this fact
+Detroit and Queenston Heights were splendid examples.
+
+It was this spirit of unrest among the people of Quebec that moved Sir
+James Craig to keep Brock within easy reach until the growing discord in
+Upper Canada called for the presence of a man of tact and resolution,
+one to whom all things seemed possible--and Brock knew no such word as
+"impossible." On one occasion the "faithful sergeant-major" had ventured
+to declare that a certain order was "impossible." "'Impossible!'"
+repeated Brock, "nothing should be 'impossible' to a soldier. The word
+'impossible' must not be found in a soldier's vocabulary."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER X.
+
+THE MASSACRE AT MACKINAW.
+
+
+It was while stationed in Montreal that our hero met Alexander Henry,
+ex-fur-trader and adventurer and _coureur de bois_--then a merchant and
+King's auctioneer--a notable personage and leader in many a wild exploit
+in the far West, an old though virile man after Isaac's own heart.
+
+From Henry he learned much of the Indian wars in the West, and the
+strategic value of various points on the frontier, possession of which
+in the event of war he foresaw would be worth a king's ransom. Not least
+were details respecting Michilimackinac, the Mackinaw already referred
+to. Nearly half a century before, Henry, a native of New Jersey, of
+English parents--his ambition fired by tales of the fabulous fortunes to
+be made in the fur trade--obtained from the commandant at Montreal a
+permit to proceed west as a trader. He outfitted at Albany, and the
+following summer set out for Mackinaw.
+
+Meanwhile the Indian allies, under control of the great Pontiac, were
+fighting immigration and civilization. Between Fort Pitt--Pittsburgh--
+and the Fox River, in Wisconsin, the home of the Sacs and Foxes, they
+had captured nine out of thirteen military posts, and were secretly
+planning the downfall of Fort Mackinaw. This was regarded as an
+impregnable post and vulnerable only through strategy--in Indian
+parlance another name for duplicity. Fort Mackinaw, as Brock well knew,
+was the most important trading _entrepot_ west of Montreal. It served a
+territory extending from the Missouri in the west to the far
+Kissaskatchewan in the north.
+
+On Henry's arrival his friendship was sought by an Indian chief,
+Wawatam. Between these two men a remarkable attachment developed. They
+became brothers by mutual adoption. At this time the fort was garrisoned
+by ninety British regulars. One day, outside the walls on the
+surrounding plateau, several hundred savages were encamped, ostensibly
+for purposes of trade, some of them killing time by playing the Indian
+game of ball--the _baggatiway_ of the red-man, _la jeu de la crosse_ of
+the voyageur. Henry, acting upon a veiled warning by Wawatam, suggested
+to the officer in command extra precaution.
+
+"I told him," said he, while Brock drank in every word, "that Indian
+treachery was proverbial." Now this recital was of the deepest interest
+to our hero, for Mackinaw, then in the possession of the United States,
+held the key to the Michigan frontier and control of the upper lakes.
+While the huge log fire that roared in the chimney cast light and shadow
+on polished wall and the oak beams of the big dining-hall, Brock puffed
+away at his huge _partiga_, weighing every word that fell from the
+bearded lips of the trader.
+
+"Major Errington," continued Henry, "while thanking me, laughed at my
+forebodings. Then Wawatam urged me, as his adopted brother, to depart
+for Sault Ste. Marie. But I delayed and once more sought Errington, who
+still ridiculed my fears. While I was yet expostulating with him we
+heard the louder shouts of the Indians. They had rushed through the fort
+gateway into the enclosure within the palisades in pursuit of a lost
+ball. This was but a ruse to gain admittance, for in a moment the
+laughter and shouts changed to wild yells and warwhoops. The guard was
+overpowered in a flash, and in the attack that followed almost the
+entire garrison was tomahawked and scalped."
+
+"Ah!" said Brock, "so British lethargy and self-complaisance succumbed
+to Indian duplicity."
+
+Then his thoughts turned to Niagara. He saw the open portals of Fort
+George, and Tuscarora youths playing the Indian game of ball in the
+meadows of the Mohawk village.
+
+"Those who escaped massacre at Mackinaw," said Henry, refilling his
+stone pipe and resuming his story, "were preserved for a worse fate.
+Pontiac's allies--and you, Colonel, know something of these matters from
+the tales told you by the officers of the North-West Company--entered on
+a carnival of blood. From a garret, where a Pawnee Indian woman had
+secreted me, I saw the captured soldiers tomahawked and scalped, and
+some butchered like so many cattle, just as required for the cannibal
+feast that followed."
+
+"Tortured?" interrogated Brock.
+
+"Tortured!" repeated Henry. "Why, the diabolical devices that those men
+resorted to to inflict acute physical agony were inconceivable--
+unutterable, Colonel." He paused.... "After all, no worse, perhaps, than
+the tortures that have been inflicted by civilized fanatics in Europe."
+
+There was silence for a moment. Both men were buried deep in thought,
+the one living in the past, the other striving to forecast the future.
+
+"Through the intercession of Wennway, another friendly Indian,"
+continued Henry, "my life was spared. Preparations were made for my
+secret departure. As I shoved my canoe into the water, _en voyage_ for
+Wagoshene, the prayers of Wawatam rang in my ears as, standing on the
+yellow beach with outstretched arms, he invoked the _Gitche Manitou_,
+the Great Spirit, to conduct me in safety to the wigwams of my people."
+
+"Surely, Master Henry," commented Isaac Brock, "with all the latent
+qualities for good that seem to underlie the outward ferocity of some
+redmen, firmness and kindness are alone needed to convert them into
+faithful friends."
+
+"An Indian, or Indians collectively," said Henry, pausing before he
+answered,--"I speak from personal experience only--are faithful so long
+as you keep absolute good faith with them. In this particular they are
+no different from white people; but never deceive them, even in trifles,
+and never subject them to ridicule. Then, if you treat them with
+consideration, you can reasonably depend upon their individual loyalty.
+They expect a lot of attention. Yes! an Indian is naturally grateful,
+probably far more so than the ordinary white man, and seldom forgets a
+kindness. Should you come into closer contact with the redman, Colonel,
+as I have a presentiment you will before long, never forget that an
+Indian, by right of his mode of life, is deeply suspicious and painfully
+sensitive. He has a keen sense of humour, however, and is quick to
+discern and laugh at the weak points of others, which, until you
+understand his language, you will be slow to suspect. On the other hand,
+he won't stand being laughed at himself or placed in a foolish position.
+For that matter, who can? Occasionally you will meet a savage with
+strangely high principles. Among the redskins there is a proportion of
+good and bad, as there is in all races, but less crime, under normal
+conditions, than there is among the whites. So, summing up his vices and
+virtues, the North American Indian, allowing for heredity and
+surroundings, differs little from ourselves."
+
+"They are brave," interrupted Brock.
+
+"Oh, yes," said Henry, "splendidly reckless of life. The courage of the
+fatalist I should say. You see, they are so constantly on the war-path
+that fighting is a compulsory pastime."
+
+"Still," said Brock, "with what daring they fight for their homes."
+
+"True, Colonel," retorted Henry, "but when it comes to fighting for
+home, a hummingbird will defend its nest. Their peculiar traits are
+largely the result of a nomadic life and tribal strife, hence, their
+duplicity. Superstition influences them greatly, as it does all savage
+races. In one respect they are at least superior to some of our own
+people--I refer to their treatment of their children. Their
+lovingkindness is pathetic. Contact with civilization, as you may
+discover, develops at first all their bad qualities, for they are apt
+imitators, so when the pagan Indian meets a trader without a
+conscience--and there are some, you know--why, he is not slow to adopt
+the bad Christian's methods."
+
+[Illustration: BROCK'S COCKED HAT]
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XI.
+
+LITTLE YORK, NIAGARA, AMHERSTBURG.
+
+
+In common with most great men, Brock found distraction in trifles. For
+weeks prior to leaving Quebec all kinds of gayety prevailed. A visit
+from Governor Gore of Upper Canada, and the arrival of the fleet from
+Guernsey and two frigates from Portsmouth, gave a fillip to society.
+Races, water-parties and country picnics were the order of the day. Our
+hero's contribution consisted of a banquet and grand ball. He had his
+own troubles, however, that even the versatile Dobson could not
+overcome, and he roundly scolded his brother Irving for not sending him
+a new cocked hat.[2]
+
+"That cocked hat," he said, "has not been received; a most distressing
+circumstance, as from the enormity of my head I find the utmost
+difficulty in getting a substitute."
+
+His departure for York weighed upon him. In Quebec he had the most
+"delightful garden imaginable, with abundance of melons and other good
+things"--these, together with his new bastions and forts, he had to
+desert. Being somewhat of a philosopher, he said that since fate decreed
+the best portion of his life was to be wasted in inaction, and as
+President Jefferson, though he wanted war, was afraid to declare it, he
+supposed he should have to be pleased with the prospect of moving
+upwards.
+
+Brock had been but a few weeks at Fort George--a "most lonesome place,"
+as compared with Quebec, Montreal, Kingston, or even Little York, from
+which latter place he was cut off by forty miles of lake, or more than a
+hundred miles of dense forest and bridgeless streams--when he decided
+upon a flying trip to Detroit, where, during the French _regime_, the
+adventurous Cadillac had landed in 1701. He would inspect the western
+limit of the frontier now under his care and obtain at first hand a
+knowledge of the peninsula. "For," as he remarked to Glegg, his aide,
+"if I can read the signs aright, the two nations are rushing headlong
+into a military conflict."
+
+Two routes were open to him, one overland, the other land and water. He
+chose the latter. A vast quantity of freight now reached Queenston from
+Kingston. Vessels of over fifty tons sailed up the river, bearing
+merchandise for the North-West Company. Salt pork from Ireland and flour
+from London, Britain being the real base of supply--the remote
+North-West looking to Niagara for food and clothing--the return cargoes
+being furs and grain. To portage these goods around Niagara Falls kept
+fifty or more farmers' waggons busy every day during the summer. A team
+of horses or oxen could haul twenty "pieces," of one hundred weight
+each, for a load. The entire length of the portage from Lake Ontario to
+Lake Erie was practically a street, full of all the bustle and activity
+that a scattered country population of 12,000 conferred upon it. Two
+churches, twenty stores, a printing house, six taverns and a scholastic
+academy supplied the varied wants of Niagara's 500 citizens who
+overfilled its one hundred dwellings.
+
+From Lake Ontario, Newark, as it had been called, presented an inviting
+appearance. The brick-and-stone court-house and jail and brightly
+painted Indian council-house and cottages rose in strong contrast
+against the green forest. On the river bank was Navy Hall, a log retreat
+for seamen, and on Mississaga (Black Snake) Point a stone lighthouse
+flashed its red signal of hope to belated mariners. Nearer the lake
+shore, in isolated dignity across a mile of common, stood Fort George, a
+dilapidated structure with wooden palisades and bastions. Half-acre lots
+in the village were given gratis by the Government to anyone who would
+build, and eight acres outside for inclosures, besides a large
+"commonty" for the use of the people. A quite pretentious wharf lined
+the river, and from this, on any summer afternoon, a string of soldiers
+and idle citizens might be seen--among whom was Dobson--casting hook and
+troll for bass, trout, pickerel and herring, with which the river
+swarmed. On one occasion Brock helped to haul up a seine net in which
+were counted 1,008 whitefish of an average weight of two pounds, 6,000
+being netted in one day.
+
+Side-wheel ferries, driven by horse-power, plied between the river's
+mouth and the Queenston landing. The paddle-wheels of these were open
+double-spoke affairs, without any circular rim. A stage-coach also ran
+between Queenston and Fort Erie, the first in Upper Canada. For one
+dollar the passenger could travel twenty-five miles.
+
+At Fort Erie, at the head of the Niagara River, Brock embarked in
+mid-August in a government schooner. He wished to familiarize himself
+with the upper water-ways. He made the long trip from Quebec to York,
+and thence to Niagara, Amherstburg, Detroit, Sandwich and return
+overland to Fort George, within two months--record time. Dobson
+accompanied his master. Brock was silent as to his impressions, but
+admitted he was convinced that the water route for a military expedition
+was the only practical one, and that Mackinaw, held by the United
+States, was the portal and key to the western frontier in case of
+invasion. He crossed overland through the "bad woods" and open plains to
+the Point of Pines, where batteaux and canoes awaited him. From thence
+he proceeded along the north shore of Lake Erie until abreast of the
+Miami, a confluent of the Ohio River, on the south shore, then turned
+northward up the Detroit River, twenty-five miles farther, reaching
+Amherstburg--called Malden by the Americans--250 miles from Fort Erie.
+Here, after consulting with Colonel St. George, he inspected the battery
+at Sandwich, and with little ceremony visited Detroit--the old military
+post of Pontchartrain--on the opposite side of the river, later
+notorious as an emporium for "rum, tomahawks and gunpowder." From
+Amherstburg, a small village with an uncompleted fort and shipyard, he
+sent messengers to the remote post of St. Joseph, an island, fifty-five
+miles from Mackinaw, below Sault Ste. Marie, and started homewards
+overland.
+
+In returning, he skirted the great tributary marshes, alive with
+water-fowl of every description, whose gabble and flapping wings could
+be heard at a long distance. He camped in the vast hardwood forests that
+covered the western point of the peninsula that extends west from Lake
+Ontario to the river connecting Lake Huron with Lake Erie. He shot big
+bustards and wild turkeys in the bush, where wolves and deer were as
+thick as rabbits in a warren, and tramped the uplands, teeming with
+quail and prairie chicken. Continuing by Delaware and the Government
+road at Oxford on the Thames, and by the "Long Woods" over the Burford
+Plains to Brant's Ford, he reached the Grand River, and then by Ancaster
+and the head of the lake to Burlington, when he followed the Lake
+Ontario southern shore road to Niagara.
+
+Many of the settlers whom he met were from the Eastern States. These
+were the original Loyalists or their descendants, patriots to the core.
+Other more recent arrivals--perhaps two-thirds of the whole--came from
+Pennsylvania, New York and New Jersey, attracted by the fertility of the
+soil and freedom from taxation, or to escape militia service. These
+latter he quickly realized were not the class to rely upon in event of
+war, but he gave no public sign of distrust. It was from the pick of the
+first-mentioned stalwarts that Brock formed his loyal Canadian militia,
+his gallant supporters in the war of 1812, who made a reputation at
+Detroit and Queenston that will never die.
+
+He was more than ever sensible of the resources of the country. This
+glimpse of the west enamoured him. To his "beloved brothers"--our hero
+always thus addressed them--he described it as a "delightful country,
+far exceeding anything I have seen on this continent." The extent of
+the Great Lakes amazed him, as did their fish. From these deep cisterns
+he had seen the Indian fishermen take whitefish, the _ahtikameg_
+(deer-of-the-water), twenty pounds in weight; maskinonge--
+_matchi-kenonje_, the great pike--more than twice that size, and
+sturgeon that weighed two hundred pounds and over, and in such
+quantities that he hesitated to tell his experiences on his return.
+
+Henry's stories of five hundred whitefish taken with a scoop net at the
+rapids of Sault Ste. Marie in two hours were no longer questioned. The
+size of the red-fleshed land-locked trout (the quail-of-the-water), of
+pickerel and bass, astounded him. His travels had broadened his views.
+The chatter of his Iroquois and Algonquin friends was now easier of
+interpretation. The riddles of the wilderness were more easily read. He
+now realized how possible it was, in this continent of unsurveyed
+immensity, to journey for weeks, after leaving the white man's domain
+hundreds of miles behind, and then reach only the rim of another kingdom
+of even far greater fertility. He also realized that beyond these
+laughing lands lay a rugged world of desolation, bounded in turn by the
+rasping ice-floes of the Arctic.
+
+If Brock's mind had expanded, so had his body. He was, as he expressed
+it, as "hard as nails." The close of 1811 found "Master Isaac" a grand
+specimen of manhood. Inclined to be a little portly, he was still
+athletic. His face, though a trifle stern, had grown more attractive,
+because of the benevolent look now stamped upon it. He was still fair
+and florid, with a broad forehead, and eyes though somewhat small, yet
+full and of a grayish blue, a charming smile and splendid white teeth.
+Always the same kindly gentleman and always a soldier. His life at Fort
+George had been one of great loneliness. He read much and rapidly, and
+would memorize passages from the books that had left the deepest
+impression. History, civil and military, especially ancient authors, was
+his choice, and maps his weakness. Over these, with his devoted aides,
+he would pore late into the night, until he knew the country almost as
+well as his friend the Surveyor-General. For variety he feasted upon the
+robust beauties of Pope's "Homer," ever regretting he never had a master
+"to guide and encourage him in his tastes."
+
+With Lieutenant-Governor Gore, formerly a soldier in Guernsey, our hero
+was on intimate terms. When the grind of duty let him, he would travel
+"the worst road in the country--fit only for an Indian mail-carrier--in
+order to mix in the society of York." He periodically returned these
+hospitalities by a grand ball at Niagara--always the event of the
+season. Brock, while fond of women's society, preferred brain to beauty.
+Had his old Guernsey friends been present on these occasions they would
+not have recognized in the soldier, resplendent in a general's uniform,
+now dancing a mazurka, the handsome stripling who only a few years since
+had waltzed his way into the hearts of all the women of St. Peter's
+Port.
+
+The unrest of the Indians at Amherstburg troubled him. He had seen over
+eight hundred in camp there, receiving rations for a month while waiting
+presents of blankets, powder and shot from King George. They asked
+British support if they took the warpath against the Americans--the
+Long-knives--_Gitchi-mokohmahn_, their sworn enemies. Tecumseh, a
+Shawanese chief, had demanded from the United States the restoration of
+violated rights. This demand had not been complied with. The position
+was critical. Great tact was required to retain the friendship of the
+Indians, while not complying with their request.
+
+In Lower Canada there was still discord among the French Canadians. The
+Governor, Sir James Craig, in a dying condition, relinquished office. In
+answer to Brock's application for leave, still hoping for a staff
+appointment in Portugal, the Governor-General implored him to remain.
+
+"I must," he told him, "leave the country in the best state of security
+I can; your presence is needed here. I am sending you as a mark of my
+sincere regard my favourite horse, Alfred." This was a high-bred animal,
+and our hero's charger in the war that followed.
+
+It was not, however, until war was regarded as unavoidable, and not
+until after he was promoted to be a major-general and appointed
+President and Administrator of Upper Canada, as successor to Governor
+Gore, that Isaac Brock became reconciled to life in Canada, and with set
+purpose assumed the duties of his high calling.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Our hero had passed his _third_ milestone.
+
+FOOTNOTE:
+
+[2] Miss Carnochan, as the Curator of the Niagara Historical Society the
+custodian of many relics of the war of 1812, has in her keeping this
+identical cocked hat. It arrived "shortly after Brock's death, and was
+given by his nephew to Mr. George Ball, near whose residence the 49th
+was stationed. The hat measures twenty-four inches inside, and was used
+at the funeral obsequies of 1824 and 1853, when many old soldiers
+requested, and were permitted, to try it on." The usage that the cocked
+hat then received has not improved its appearance.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XII.
+
+MAJOR-GENERAL BROCK, GOVERNOR OF UPPER CANADA.
+
+
+The appointment of Brock--with his exceptional military attainments--to
+the chief command in Upper Canada, at the point of greatest danger, was
+a rare piece of good fortune for the colony. Of the American military
+leaders, Generals Howe, Dearborn and Wadsworth were all examples of a
+common standard; even Sir George Prevost, the new Governor-General of
+Canada and Commander-in-Chief, was tuned in a minor key.
+
+Isaac Brock was the man of the hour. His star was in the ascendant.
+Queen Victoria's father, the Duke of Kent, was anxious to meet the
+soldier whose despatches had stirred the War Office. The Duke of York
+was ready to give him a brigade under Wellington, while the Governor of
+Jamaica, the Duke of Manchester, then touring Canada, begged Brock, whom
+he looked upon as a "universal provider," to equip him with canoes and
+guides for a western pilgrimage. If Brock's promotion brought him
+distinction it also brought him work--Executive Councils,
+court-martials, reorganization of militia, reconstruction of the ruined
+forts on the Niagara frontier, the building of gunboats, the making of
+roads. Never idle. To-day he was inspecting a camp of the 49th at Three
+Rivers, near Montreal; next week at Fort Erie. Ever busy, ever buoyant.
+Whether perusing documents, scouring the muddy roads at Queenston,
+surveying the boundaries of the dreaded Black Swamp, or visiting the
+points between Fort George and Vrooman's battery on his slashing gray
+charger, he had a smile and cheery word for everyone. As for Dobson, his
+profound awe at his master's progress was only equalled by his devotion,
+that increased with the illness that threatened his life; while the
+faithful sergeant-major, now Captain FitzGibbon, in command of a company
+of the 49th, was reflecting great credit on his patron. But no matter
+what the tax on his time, Isaac never neglected the "beloved brothers."
+
+In New York there had been financial failures. Brock predicted a
+dreadful crash, and had so written to his brother Irving, who with
+William had a bank in London. He hoped they "had withheld their
+confidence in public stocks." Providence ruled otherwise. While Isaac in
+the solitude of his quarters was writing this warning, the banking house
+in London, whose vessels in the Baltic Sea had been seized by
+Bonaparte's privateers, closed its doors. The news reached him on his
+birthday. He learned that a private advance made to him by William for
+the purchase of his commissions had been entered in the bank's books by
+mistake. He was a debtor to the extent of L3,000.
+
+Brock rose to the occasion. He proved himself not only a soldier but,
+best of all, a just man with the highest sense of personal honour. His
+distress was all for his brothers. He would sell his commission, turn
+over his income as governor and surrender everything, if by doing so he
+could save the fortunes of his family. Anything that not only the law
+but the right might demand. This failure impaired the former good
+fellowship between William and Irving Brock. Isaac wrote Irving,
+beseeching him to repair the breach. "Hang the world," said he; "it is
+not worth a thought. Be generous, and find silent comfort in being so.
+Oh, my dear brother, forget the past and let us all unite in soothing
+the grief of one of the best hearts that heaven ever formed, whose wish
+was to place us all in affluence. Could tears restore him he would be
+happy."
+
+But Isaac was not permitted to know that reconciliation followed his
+prayers. While William and Irving were shaking hands, but before they
+had even heard of the capture of Detroit, Isaac, unknown to them, was at
+that moment lying cold in death within the cavalier bastion at Fort
+George.
+
+Little York was now Brock's headquarters. He built dockyards to shelter
+His Majesty's navy, which consisted of two small vessels! He planned new
+Parliament Buildings and an arsenal, prepared township maps showing
+roads and trails, fords and bridges, all of which latter were in a
+shocking condition. At York the timber and brushwood was so dense that
+travel between the garrison and town was actually by water. His mind
+made up that war with the United States was inevitable, he was
+confronted with crucial questions demanding instant solution. Chief of
+these was the defence of the frontier, 1,300 miles in length, which
+entailed repairs of the boundary forts, the raising of a reliable
+militia, the increase of the regular troops, the building of more
+gunboats, and the solving of the Indian problem.
+
+[Illustration: BUTLER'S BARRACKS (OFFICERS' QUARTERS), NIAGARA COMMON]
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIII.
+
+THE WAR CLOUD.
+
+
+A President of the United States had breezily declared that the conquest
+of Canada would be "a mere matter of marching." The final expulsion of
+England from the American continent he regarded as a matter of course.
+Cabinet ministers at Washington and rabid politicians looked upon the
+forcible annexation of Canada as a foregone conclusion.
+
+One Massachusetts general officer, a professional fire-eater, said he
+"would capture Canada by contract, raise a company of soldiers and take
+it in six weeks." Henry Clay, another statesman, "verily believed that
+the militia of Kentucky alone were competent to place Upper Canada at
+the feet of the Americans." Calhoun, also a "war-hawk," had said that
+"in four weeks from the time of the declaration of war the whole of
+Upper and part of Lower Canada would be in possession of the United
+States." All of this was only the spread-eagle bombast of amateur
+filibusters, as events proved, but good cause for Brock, who had been
+appointed janitor of Canada and been given the keys of the country, to
+ponder deeply.
+
+Canada's entire population was nearly 320,000--about the same as that of
+Toronto to-day--that of the United States was 8,000,000! To defend her
+broken frontier Canada had only 1,450 British soldiers and a militia--at
+that moment--chiefly on paper. If the Indians in the West were to be
+impressed with British supremacy--for they were making a stand against
+2,000 American soldiers on the banks of the Wabash, in Ohio, where
+eighteen years before they had been beaten by General Wayne at
+Miami--then Amherstburg must be greatly strengthened and the Americans
+deterred from attack. How was Brock to obtain troops, and how were they
+to be equipped? The stores at Fort York were empty, provisions costly,
+and no specie to be had. All the frontier posts needed heavier
+batteries. On Lake Erie the fleet consisted of the _Queen Charlotte_ and
+the small schooner _Hunter_. As to the militia, he had been advised that
+it would not be prudent to arm more than 4,000 of the 11,000 in all
+Canada prepared to bear arms.
+
+To Brock's citation of thirty pressing wants Sir George Prevost wrote
+him, "You must not be led into any measure bearing the character of
+_offence_, even should war be declared." Prevost had a fluid backbone,
+while Brock's was of finely tempered steel.
+
+While affairs were in this precarious state His Excellency the
+Lieutenant-Governor, Major-General Brock, opened the Legislature at
+York. With what pride the news was received by the good people at St.
+Peter's Port can be imagined. To think that this great man, gorgeous in
+a purple Windsor uniform and slender court sword, with gleaming silk
+hose and hair aglitter with silver powder, was none other than "Master
+Isaac," whom the humblest Guernsey fisherman claimed as comrade, seemed
+past belief! To think that this important gentleman, with frilled
+waistcoat and cuffs of delicate lace--actually the King's Deputy--before
+whom, as "Your Excellency," Indian and paleface, gentle and simple,
+bowed low, was the small boy who used to play "uprooting the gorse"
+with the Guernsey fisher-lads--was beyond comprehension. Probably the
+one least affected by these honours was our hero himself. While it
+gratified his honest pride, it did not in the least cloud his vision.
+His speech from the throne proves this.
+
+"It is a glorious contest in which the Empire is engaged," he said, "to
+secure the independence of Europe, but what can we think of the American
+Government, which is trying to impede her effort.... The ships of
+England," he continued, "had been refused shelter in United States
+harbours, while refuge had been extended to the ships of our inveterate
+enemies." He reminded the colonists that "insulting threats had been
+offered to the flag and hostile preparations made." He praised the
+militia, and, while wishing for peace, declared that "Canada must
+prepare for war, relying on England's support in her hour of peril." He
+asked the Legislature to assent to three things of vital importance--the
+suspension of the Habeas Corpus Act, the passage of a law to regulate
+the privileges of aliens, and an Act providing for rewards to be paid to
+the captors of deserters.
+
+It was a house divided against itself, and it turned a deaf ear to
+Brock's appeal. "To the great influence of _American settlers_ over the
+members of the Lower House," he attributed this defeat. A court-martial
+revealed the fact that one of the best known militia regiments was
+composed almost entirely of native Americans! The United Empire
+Loyalists thronged to his banner.
+
+Undaunted by the cheap prudence of Prevost, a hostile Legislature, and
+the difficulties that beset him, Brock took off his coat, rolled up his
+sleeves, and all but single-handed--"off his own bat," as Dobson
+explained it to an admiring crowd in the barrack-room--wrought like the
+hero that he was for the salvation of his country. He became a machine,
+a machine working at high pressure eighteen hours out of twenty-four. He
+had developed into a very demon for work.
+
+With an empty treasury and no hope of reinforcements--every soldier
+England could spare was fighting in Spain--he raised flank companies of
+militia to be attached to the regular regiments. The Glengarry
+sharpshooters, four hundred strong, were enlisted in three weeks. A new
+schooner was placed on the stocks. He formed a car-brigade of the young
+volunteer farmers of York and removed incompetent officers.
+
+Fort George, constructed of earthen ramparts, with honeycombed cedar
+palisades which a lighted candle could set fire to, with no tower or
+block-house, and mounting only nine-pound guns, he knew was incapable of
+resistance. It invited destruction from any battery that might be
+erected at Youngstown on the American side, while confronting it was
+Fort Niagara, built of stone, mounting over twenty heavy guns,
+containing a furnace for heating shot, and formidable with bastions,
+palisades, pickets and dry ditch. The tension at Niagara was trying. Two
+officers of the 41st were expelled for killing dull care by dissipation.
+A Canadian merchant schooner was boarded in mid-lake by an American
+brig, taken to Sackett's Harbour and stripped. The Americans were
+pouring rations and munitions of war into Detroit. If Brock's hands were
+shackled, he knew the art of sitting tight. He made another flying trip
+to Amherstburg, taking one hundred men of the 41st, in the face of
+Prevost's standing orders to "exercise the strictest economy."
+Handicapped on every side, doing his best and preparing for the worst,
+he wrote Prevost that his "situation was critical," but he "hoped to
+avert dire calamity."
+
+The river bank between Fort George and Queenston for seven miles was
+patrolled night and day. A watch was placed on Mississaga lighthouse
+from daylight to dusk, and beacon masts, supporting iron baskets filled
+with birchbark and pitch, were erected on the heights to announce, in
+event of hostilities, the call to arms.
+
+At this time one of Brock's most intimate friends--his chosen
+adviser--was Mr. Justice William Dummer Powell, later Chief Justice of
+Upper Canada, and former Speaker of the House. At the judge's house and
+at Tordarroch, the log mansion of General AEneas Shaw--another intimate,
+and Adjutant-General of Militia--Brock was wont to repair for a few
+hours' rest from official cares. It was at Tordarroch (Oak Hall), on the
+outskirts of York, that the great Duke of Kent had been a guest. When at
+Fort George our hero usually lived with Colonel Murray, of the 100th,
+and "charming Mrs. Murray," as he was fond of calling her, in their
+"pretty cottage," and if not there he was a constant visitor at the
+house of Captain John Powell, a son of the judge and son-in-law of
+General Shaw, between whose daughter, Sophia Shaw, and Isaac Brock there
+had developed a deep attachment. Here he whiled away spare moments with
+whist and cribbage, "diversions," he said, "that sharpened a man's
+wits." He would shoot wild pigeons and spruce partridges in the adjacent
+bush, or take long gallops, frequently alone, over the plains beyond the
+Heights of Queenston, ever on the lookout for new bridle-paths and
+point-to-point trails.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIV.
+
+THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA DECLARES WAR.
+
+
+It came at last! On June 18th, 1812, after weeks of preparation, placing
+an embargo on shipping, putting 100,000 militia on a war footing on the
+pretence of hostilities among the Indians, calling out the volunteers
+and raising a special public fund, Congress under President Madison
+declared war against Great Britain.
+
+This did not end Brock's suspense. Not until five weeks later did he
+receive official notice from Prevost. Despite opposition from many
+states, which declared their detestation of an alliance with Bonaparte,
+after a stormy debate behind closed doors at Washington, Congress voted
+for war against England, with Canada as the point of attack. The United
+States placed itself on record as approving of "forcible invasion of a
+neighbouring peaceful country and its rights, and of taking property on
+which it had no shadow of claim."
+
+The offensive "right of search" of American ships by British warships
+for deserters was, of course, given as the excuse for war. The United
+States Government contended that a nation's flag protected the cargoes
+of the vessels of that nation. To search for contraband or for deserters
+on such ships, President Madison declared, was a violation of
+international law. In direct violation of the United States' own
+interpretation of this decree, her war-frigate _President_ blew the
+British gunboat _Little Belt_, half her own size, almost out of the
+water because of the refusal of her commander to allow such search.
+
+It is interesting to remember that while the United States contended
+that Britain had no right to search the ships of other nations, she
+actually allowed her own officials, in the case of an American sailor
+who had become a citizen of France and an officer in the French navy, to
+search the foreign vessel upon which he served and arrest him as a
+deserter. A more flagrant violation of the principles she professed is
+difficult to imagine. She insisted that this officer was still a citizen
+of the United States, for he could not become a citizen of another
+country without the consent of the government of his native country. So,
+when it suited her purpose, and in direct defiance of her own
+proclamation, she did not hesitate to accept England's contention and
+adopt the "obnoxious doctrine"--thus practising the identical principle
+against which she had declared war. Truly glaring inconsistency.
+
+While these were the chief of the alleged reasons for war, the whole
+world knew that the real cause was the jealousy and hatred felt for
+England by a certain class of United States citizens who "were bound to
+pick a quarrel with John Bull, excuse or no excuse." That there were
+many and irritating faults on the part of England cannot be denied. In
+the light of subsequent events it is not difficult to realize that both
+governments were in the wrong. The wisdom born of bitter experience and
+the sincere friendship of the two nations to-day, sensibly founded on
+mutual respect, happily renders a repetition of such regrettable scenes
+outside the pale of possibility.
+
+Strange to say, England had revoked the objectionable Order-in-Council
+authorizing right of search of American ships for deserters by British
+men-of-war the very day _before_ war was declared by the United States.
+There was no ocean cable in those days. Had there been, this story might
+never have been written. The removal, however, of this one reason for
+_war_ was not--when letters duly arrived from England announcing the
+fact--accepted by the United States as a reason for an immediate
+declaration of _peace_. This proves that the reasons advanced by the
+United States for going to war were from first to last not genuine, but
+mere excuses. Canada was as Naboth's vineyard, and Ahab, in the person
+of the United States, coveted it. England hesitated to draw the sword on
+a people "speaking a common tongue, with institutions based upon her
+own," but she could not always be expected to "turn the other cheek to
+the smiter."
+
+The United States called out an army of 15,000 men for purposes of
+attack on the Niagara frontier, and commanded General Wadsworth--of
+course, on paper--"to feed and cherish them." How well he executed this
+command remains to be seen.
+
+What of Canada? Her yeomen forsook ploughshare and broadaxe, seized
+sword and musket, and rallied to the standard of Brock. In Upper Canada
+there was an active force of 950 regulars and marines and 550 militia.
+This little army had to defend the seven forts of Kingston, York,
+George, Erie, Chippewa, Amherstburg, and St. Joseph, not one of which
+was a fortress of strength, to patrol the lakes and protect a most
+vulnerable frontier. It was the opinion of leading military authorities
+that Canada could never be held against such an enemy.
+
+Brock was at York when the news reached him. He at once sent part of the
+41st to Niagara by lake, crossing himself with his brigade-major,
+Evans, and Macdonell and Glegg, his aides, and, as usual, in a batteau,
+with eleven men. At Fort George he bade adieu to some American officers,
+guests of the mess, and sent them across the river. He was eager to
+storm Fort Niagara, whose capture might have changed the entire
+situation, but alas! what of his instructions?
+
+He called out more militia, though he had only a few tents and many of
+the men were drilling without shoes. One hundred Tuscaroras under Chief
+Brant answered his summons. He divided his augmented Niagara force into
+four divisions--at Fort Erie 400 men, at Fort Chippewa 300, at Queenston
+300, at Fort George 500. Of these, 900 were militia.
+
+The rattle of the matchlock was as familiar as cockcrow. Every man
+became in fact, if not in deed, a volunteer. If the musket was not
+strapped to the tail of the plough, it leaned against the
+snake-fence--loaded. The goose-step, the manual and platoon took the
+place of the quadrille. Every clearing became a drill-hall, every log
+cabin an armoury. Many of the militia were crack shots, with all the
+scouting instincts of the forest ranger. In the barrack-square, in
+scarlet, white and green, the regulars drilled and went through wondrous
+evolutions with clock-work precision--fighting machinery with the
+tenacity of the bull-dog, though lacking the craft of the woods that had
+taught the volunteer the value of shelter and the wisdom of dwelling on
+his aim.
+
+Apart, stolid and silent, but interested spectators, lounged the dusky
+redmen, forever sucking at their _pwoighun-ahsin_ (stone pipes) and
+making tobacco from the inner bark of red-willow wands, watching and
+wondering. The foot soldiers carried fire-locks, flints and cartridge
+boxes. These smooth-bore flint-locks had an effective range of less than
+100 yards, and could be discharged only once a minute. Very different to
+the modern magazine rifle, which can discharge twenty-five shots in a
+minute and kill at 4,200 yards, while within 2,000 yards it is accurate
+and deadly. The mounted men were armed with sabres and ponderous
+pistols.
+
+Our hero addressed the militia. The enemy, he told them, intended to lay
+waste the country. "Let them be taught," he said, "that Canadians would
+never bow their necks to a foreign yoke." As the custodian of their
+rights, he was trying to preserve all they held dear. He looked to them
+to repel the invaders.
+
+Brock was placed in a most peculiar position, for while the passive
+Prevost was still instructing him--nearly three weeks _after_ the
+declaration of war--"to take no offensive measures, as none would be
+taken by the United States Government," General Hull, with a force of
+2,500 tried soldiers, was on his way from Ohio through the Michigan
+forests to occupy Detroit and invade Canada. Hull reached Detroit, and
+four days later, with his entire command, crossed the river and occupied
+Sandwich. But the trip was attended with serious mishap to his army, for
+Lieutenant Roulette, of the British sloop _Hunter_--a brother of the
+famous fur-trader--in a small batteau, with only six men, captured the
+United States packet _Cayuga_, with a detachment of five officers and
+thirty-three soldiers, as she was coming up the river. The _Cayuga's_
+treasure consisted not only of valuable stores and baggage, but Hull's
+official correspondence with the United States Secretary of War. The
+contents of this decided Brock, though he had no idea Hull's army was so
+strong, to attempt the reduction of Fort Detroit without a moment's
+delay.
+
+The very hour he knew that war was declared he had notified the officer
+at St. Joseph. Our hero, whose root idea of a soldier's craft was
+"secrecy in conception and vigour in execution," had no taste for
+Prevost's mad doctrine that the aggressed had to await the convenience
+of the aggressor. Brock had been taught to regard tolerance in war as an
+"evil of the first magnitude," and so had already instructed the
+commander at St. Joseph that if war was proclaimed he was to attack
+Mackinaw at once, but if attacked, "defend your post to the last."
+Prevost at the same time had ordered this officer "in case of necessity
+to effect his own retreat," never dreaming he would dare attack
+Mackinaw. What a contrast the despatches of these two men present! The
+one full of confidence, fight and resistance, the other shrinking from
+action and suggesting retreat. Brock's despatch was of later date and
+more palatable to the fighter at St. Joseph. He started at once for
+Mackinaw, fifty-five miles distant, with 45 of the 10th Royal veterans,
+180 Canadians, many of whom were traders and voyageurs, and convoyed by
+the brig _Caledonia_, owned by the North-West Fur Company.
+
+He landed before daybreak. By noon of that day the Union Jack was
+floating above the basalt cliffs of the Gibraltar of the north, and also
+over two of the enemy's vessels laden with furs. It is not on record
+that Captain Roberts was recommended by General Sir George Prevost for
+promotion! The Indians at Amherstburg were now ready to support the
+British. Foremost among these was the great Shawanese warrior, Tecumseh.
+
+General Hull, having meantime billeted himself in Colonel Baby's big
+brick house at Sandwich, issued a proclamation to the "inhabitants of
+Canada." As a sample of egotism, bluff and bombast it stands unrivalled.
+He told the inhabitants of Canada that he was in possession of their
+country, that an ocean and wilderness isolated them from England, whose
+tyranny he knew they felt. His grand army was ready to release them from
+oppression. They must choose between liberty and security, as offered by
+the United States, and war and annihilation, the penalty of refusal. He
+also threatened instant destruction to any Canadian found fighting by
+the side of an Indian, though General Dearborn, in command of the United
+States forces at Niagara, had been authorized by the United States
+Secretary of War "to organize the warriors of the Seneca Indians" _for
+active service against Canada_.
+
+The United States Secretary of War wrote to Hull, saying his action
+respecting Canadian Indians "met with the approval of the Government."
+Evidently ashamed, upon reflection, of Hull's threat, that same
+Government later instructed its commissioners at the Treaty of Ghent,
+when peace was restored, "to disown and disavow" their former Indian
+policy.
+
+Hull's extraordinary production, which proved a boomerang, was really
+the work of Colonel Lewis Cass, his Chief of Staff; but while Hull and
+Cass were "unloading their rhetoric at Sandwich," our hero was "loading
+his guns at Mackinaw."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XV.
+
+BROCK ACCEPTS HULL'S CHALLENGE.
+
+
+With the country's call for a saviour had arisen the man so sorely
+needed. Vigilant, sagacious and brave, but with most inadequate forces,
+Brock, faced by a crisis, hurried to repel the invasion by Hull. If
+Canada was to be saved, Detroit, as well as Mackinaw, must be reduced.
+The confidence also of the savages must be retained. The smallness of
+his army demanded the neutrality of the redmen, if not their active aid.
+
+The plan of his campaign was laid before his Executive Council and the
+members of his staff. As they parted at the door of the General's
+quarters at midnight, preceding the day on which their gallant leader
+issued his counter reply to Hull, his final words were: "To hold
+Amherstburg, gentlemen, is of vital importance. It is the western base
+from which we must resist attack and advance upon Detroit. It must be
+held in force."
+
+Brock's written answer to Hull's flamboyant address--edited by his wise
+adviser, Judge Powell--was eloquent and dignified. Hull's invitation to
+Canadians to seek protection from Britain under the flag of the United
+States was, he said, "an insult." He cited the advantages of British
+connection, and warned the colonists that secession meant the
+restitution of Canada to the Empire of France. This was the price to be
+paid by America for the aid given by France to the revolting States
+during the War of Independence. He reminded them of the constancy of
+their fathers. "Are you prepared to become slaves to this despot
+Napoleon, who rules Europe with a rod of iron? If not, arise, repel the
+invader and give your children no cause to reproach you with sacrificing
+the richest inheritance of earth, participation in the name, character
+and freedom of Britons."
+
+He told them not to be dismayed by the enemy's threat to "refuse them
+quarter should an Indian appear in their ranks." "Why," he continued,
+"should the brave bands of Indians which now inhabit this colony be
+prevented from defending their new homes?" These poor people, he
+reminded them, had actually been punished for their former fidelity to
+the United States, by the Government of that country taking from them
+their old homes in Ohio. The King of England had granted them a refuge
+and given them superior lands in Canada. Why were they to be denied the
+right to defend their hearths "from invasion by ferocious foes," who,
+while utilizing Indians themselves, had condemned the practice in
+others? The threat to refuse quarter to these defenders of invaded
+rights would, he said, bring about inevitable reprisal, for "the
+national character of Britain was not less distinguished for humanity
+than retributive justice."
+
+The obstacles surrounding Brock would have driven an ordinary man to
+distraction. It is not possible to recite a fraction of them. The Grand
+River Indians, having received a specious letter from Hull, refused to
+join the relief expedition for Moraviantown, on the Thames, on which
+some of Hull's freebooters were marching. Some of the militia declined
+to leave their homes, suspicious, they said, of Indian treachery. Some,
+with blood relations in the States, refused point blank to take up arms.
+Others were busy harvesting, while not a few came out openly as traitors
+and joined the ranks of Hull. Brock had no reinforcements of regular
+troops, and small chance of getting any, and, what was far worse, he
+received little moral support even from the Legislature, and none from
+other sources from which he had a right to expect it. He called an extra
+session of the House to enact laws to meet the crisis, to invest him
+with greater authority and to vote money for defence. He closed his
+Speech from the Throne with a declaration delivered in sonorous, ringing
+tones that echoed throughout the chamber:
+
+"We are engaged in an awful and eventful contest. By unanimity and
+vigour we may teach the enemy this lesson, that a country defended by
+free men, devoted to the cause of their King and constitution, can never
+be conquered."
+
+Though Brock's speech "inspired the faithful and foiled the designs of
+some of the faithless," his demands were conceded in part only, and he
+left for Fort George with heart filled with misgivings. In answer to his
+request, Prevost declined to define the extent of the authority with
+which he had himself vested him. Extreme measures, he told him, must be
+taken at his own risk. Our hero was one of those limited few who had
+sounded the depths of the truth that it was easier to do one's duty than
+to know it. His shrewdness and self-reliance came to the rescue. Seeing
+that the Niagara River would be selected as the point for invasion, he
+made it his _defensive_ frontier, while the Detroit River was the
+_offensive_ front of his campaign. These views he outlined to his staff
+on the night following the prorogation of the House.
+
+Judge Powell, after a long session of Council, the last to depart, was
+rising to leave. "Then, sir," said Colonel Macdonell, General Brock's
+new provincial aide, the young and brilliant Attorney-General of Upper
+Canada--engaged to Mary Powell, the daughter of the judge--"you really
+believe we can bombard Detroit successfully? The fort has, I understand,
+parapets twenty feet high, with four bastions, surrounded by palisades,
+a ditch and a glacis, and is capable of withstanding a long siege;
+besides which it has 2,500 fighting men to defend it."
+
+"My good Macdonell," responded our hero, interest and deep regard
+imprinted on his face, "we fortunately know from Hull's own letters that
+he has as little confidence in his army as they have confidence in him.
+I fancy he is merely whistling to keep up his courage. A bold front on
+our part, with a judicious display of our small force, will give him
+cause to reflect. Then, provided we enthuse the Indians--and if Mackinaw
+is fallen, this should not be difficult--Detroit is ours!"
+
+"How about Amherstburg and Sandwich, General?" interjected Justice
+Powell. "Their safety is essential to your plan."
+
+"As to Amherstburg," said Brock, "it is the pivot point, sir, and must
+be retained as our base. At Sandwich we already have earthworks
+completed. If destroyed by Hull they must be rebuilt, for the batteries
+there must cover our crossing and cannonade the fort while we advance
+upon it. I have already sent, as you know, a few additional men to
+Procter--every man I can steal from here. He should be able to hold his
+own at Amherstburg for a bit longer. The conditions, I admit, are far
+from satisfactory under the present command, but Chambers is on his way
+with forty of the 41st, one hundred militia with Merritt, and some of
+Brant's braves, to put backbone into the garrison."
+
+"General," said Justice Powell, the rays from a waning moon flooding the
+hall-way as the outer door was opened by Brock for the exit of his
+councillors, "having implicit confidence in your judgment and military
+ability, I believe you will overthrow Hull. Assuming that you capture
+old Fort Lernoult and seize Detroit, what then?"
+
+"What then, sir?" said Brock--emphasizing his parting words with a
+gesture of his hand--"why, Detroit taken, I shall return here, batter
+Fort Niagara--providing Prevost consents--and then by a sudden movement
+I could sweep the frontier from Buffalo to Fort Niagara and complete the
+salvation of Canada by the occupation of Sackett's Harbor. Good-night,
+gentlemen. _En avant_, Detroit!"
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVI.
+
+"EN AVANT, DETROIT!"
+
+
+Under an August moon Lake Erie shone as a shield of silver. Brock, with
+a fleet of small craft, batteaux and boats of every kind given him by
+the settlers, had pulled out from Long Point with 40 regulars and 260
+militia for the relief of Amherstburg, two hundred miles distant.
+
+The news of the fall of Mackinaw and the official declaration of war had
+only reached him as Parliament rose. He had proclaimed martial law
+before leaving York. He had also heard details of the attack by Hull's
+raiders on the Moravian settlement, sixty miles up the Thames. He knew
+of the repulse of 300 United States troops in three attempts to cross
+the Canard River bridge for an attack on Amherstburg, and of their being
+driven into the open plains, with loss, by Procter's men.
+
+It was in one of these attacks that the first scalp in the war of 1812
+was taken--not by one of Brock's terrible Indians, whose expected
+excesses had been referred to by Hull, but by a captain of Hull's spies.
+This officer--one hates to describe him as a white man--wrote his wife,
+he "had the pleasure of tearing a scalp from the head of a British
+redskin," and related at length the brutal details of his methods. They
+were those of a wild beast. "The first stroke of the tomahawk," Hull had
+stated in his proclamation, "the first attempt with the scalping-knife,
+will be the signal of a scene of desolation." Yet the first scalp taken
+in the Detroit campaign was by one of his own officers!
+
+Brock knew that the valorous Hull, dismayed at the advance of the
+British, had recrossed the river with all but 250 of his men and was
+hard at work on the defences of Fort Shelby, behind which he had
+retired. Brock also knew of the affair at Brownstown, where the Indian
+chief Tecumseh, with twenty-five warriors, had separated himself from
+Major Muir's detachment, sent to intercept a transport on its way from
+Ohio to Detroit with supplies for Hull. He had been told of the
+stratagem by which the great Shawanese warrior had ambushed the 200
+American soldiers, near the Raisin River, who had marched from Detroit
+to escort this convoy and the mails. Seven American officers were killed
+at the Raisin, twelve of all ranks wounded, and seventy reported missing
+after the fight. In addition to the provision train, Tecumseh captured
+what was of much greater importance, another batch of Hull's despondent
+despatches. It was here that swift justice overtook the scalping Captain
+McCullough, of Hull's spies, who himself met with the fate of his former
+victim--the fate he deserved.
+
+Brock also received despatches describing the daring attack by
+Lieutenant Roulette, of the provincial marine, who in a small boat with
+a handful of men had boarded and seized in the Detroit River a brigade
+of eleven batteaux! These, loaded with food, were on their way from
+Black Rock, and now carried fifty-six wounded American soldiers and two
+English prisoners. This bold feat of "cutting out" took place under the
+eyes of an armed escort of 250 American soldiers marching along the
+river bank.
+
+Messengers from Procter had also informed Brock of the fight at
+Maguagua, fourteen miles below Detroit. It was here that Muir, with 200
+regulars and militia and less than 200 Indians, instead of waiting to be
+attacked, recklessly assailed a force of 600 Americans who were halted
+on the edge of the oak forest, supported by two six-pounder guns.
+Fighting without hope against such odds, the British were outflanked,
+Muir himself wounded, and an officer killed--the second British soldier
+to fall in the war of 1812. The American loss was eighteen killed and
+sixty-three wounded. Though the difference in arms and men was greatly
+in favour of the Americans, the British were enabled to retreat to the
+river, where they regained their boats. The American force, suffering
+from greater casualties, did not attempt to follow them.
+
+Apart from the inferior strength of the British, the chief cause of
+their reverse at Maguagua was the blunder of some men of the 41st, who
+fired upon a body of Tecumseh's Indians. In rushing from the woods the
+redmen were mistaken for the enemy, and falling into a similar error
+themselves, they returned with interest the fire of the British
+soldiers. The disorder that followed created a panic. While Tecumseh
+with his own Indians fought bravely, the seventy Lake Indians under
+Caldwell suffered from "chill" and fled at the first shot. The most
+encouraging of these facts, when told to the expedition, aroused in
+Brock's followers a wild desire to meet Hull's army in battle.
+
+Our hero's trip from Long Point was full of peril and hardship. The lake
+shore in places was extremely rugged. Precipitous cliffs of red clay and
+sun-baked sand rose two hundred feet from the boulder-strewn coast.
+Scarcely a creek offered shelter. The weather was unusually stormy. A
+heavy surf boomed on the shore. Flocks of water-fowl were driven before
+the wind. The men were drenched by torrents of rain. Though thirty miles
+in twenty-four hours was considered the maximum distance for rowing a
+batteau, nothing could retard this strange armada or dampen the
+confidence of the men in their resolute leader, who in an open boat led
+the way. In this boat, which was "headquarters," were Brock and his two
+aides. A lighted flambeau at the bow acted as a beacon during the night.
+After five days of great vigilance and galley-slave work, the toilers
+reached Amherstburg. Without the help of these hardy and resourceful men
+of the Canadian militia this trip could not have been accomplished.
+
+The conduct of these bold frontiersmen aroused Brock's admiration. His
+own example had again acted as an inspiration. Shortly after leaving
+Port Talbot, his batteau, pounding in the sea, ran upon a reef that
+extended far from shore, and despite oars and pike-poles, remained fast.
+In the height of the confusion "Master Isaac" sprang overboard, and a
+moment later voyageur and raw recruit, waist deep in water, following
+the example of the hero of Castle Cornet, lifted the batteau over the
+dangerous ledge.
+
+When at midnight the boats passed up the Strait--through which the
+ambitious La Salle and Father Hennepin had passed in 1679--and grated on
+the gravel beach at Amherstburg, Brock was greeted with a volley of
+musketry by the Indians. This was contrary to his rigid rubric of war.
+Such waste of powder must not be tolerated. He turned to the Indian
+superintendent, "Do pray, Colonel Elliott," said he, "explain my reasons
+for objecting to the firing and tell the Chiefs I will talk with them
+to-morrow."
+
+[Illustration: OUR HERO MEETS TECUMSEH. "THIS IS A MAN!"]
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVII.
+
+OUR HERO MEETS TECUMSEH.
+
+
+A few minutes only had elapsed when Elliott returned. The sentry's
+challenge caused Brock to look up from the table, littered with plans
+and despatches. Another figure darkened the doorway.
+
+"This, sir," said Elliott, "is Tecumseh, the Shawanese chief of whom you
+have heard, and who desires to be presented to you."
+
+The General, who had removed the stains of travel and was in uniform,
+rose to his full height, bowed, extended his hand and explained in manly
+fashion the reason for asking that the firing be stopped. The contrast
+presented by the two men was striking. The old world and the new, face
+to face--a scene for the brush of an impressionist. Brock, tall, fair,
+big-limbed, a blue-eyed giant, imposing in scarlet coat and blue-white
+riding trousers, tasselled Hessian boots, and cocked-hat in hand. On his
+benevolent face was an irresistible smile.
+
+The Indian, though of middle height, was of most perfect proportions, an
+athlete in bronze, lithe and supple as a panther. His oval face, set in
+a frame of glistening black hair, shone like a half-polished copper
+relief. Overlooking the nose, straight as one of his own arrows, and
+from which some tinkling silver coins were suspended, a pair of
+hawk-like eyes, hazel-black and unflinching--in which the secrets of the
+world seemed slumbering--gleamed upon Brock. His dress, a hunting
+jacket of tanned deer-skin and close-fitting leggings. Fringed mocassins
+of the same material, richly embroidered in silk and porcupine quills
+dyed in divers colours, encased his feet. The light from the open log
+fire flickered fitfully, half revealing the antlered heads of moose and
+caribou and other trophies of the chase that, hanging from the rafters,
+looked down upon the group, adding weirdness to the picture.
+
+Brock briefly explained that he had come to fight the King's enemies,
+enemies who so far had never seen his back, and who were Tecumseh's
+enemies also. "Would Tecumseh maintain an honourable warfare?"
+
+Perhaps no eulogy of Brock was ever penned that so well summed up his
+qualities as did the terse, four-worded certificate of character uttered
+by the Indian before replying to the British general's appeal. Tecumseh
+looked "Master Isaac's" commanding physique up and over, over and
+down--Brock's caution as to waste of powder doubtless weighing with
+him--until eye met eye, and then, impulsively extending his thin brown
+hand, turned to his followers, exclaiming in tones of highest
+admiration:
+
+"_This_ is a man!"
+
+Assenting "Ughs" and "Ho-hos" followed in rapid succession, and in
+response to Brock's invitation the headmen, painted and plumed and in
+striped blankets, squatted on their stained reed mats and wild-beast
+skins on the basswood log floor. Questioned as to the nature of the
+country westward, Tecumseh took a roll of elm-bark and with the point of
+his scalping-knife traced on its white inner surface the features of the
+region--hills, forests, trails, rivers, muskegs and clearings. Rough,
+perhaps, but as accurate, he said, as if drawn by a pale-face
+_teebahkee-wayninni_ (surveyor).
+
+That night, after Tecumseh's return, Brock again held council with his
+staff, proposing an attack on Detroit. Only one of his chief officers,
+the staunch colonial quartermaster, Lieutenant-Colonel Nichol, agreed
+with him. Colonel Henry Procter, from whom he had expected whole-hearted
+support, strongly objected. History teaches us that the conception of a
+daring plan is the offspring of great minds only. Procter was not of
+this class, as his subsequent record shows. Some of our hero's critics
+have described his resolve to attack Detroit as "audacious and
+desperate." Isaac Brock was, of course, nothing if not contemptuously
+daring. The greater the difficulty that faced him the more was he
+determined to challenge the obstacle, that to a less confident man would
+have been rejected as insurmountable. He had, however, resolved and
+planned not only upon taking Detroit, but, if need be, the pursuit and
+capture of Hull's entire army, compelling him to either stand and fight
+or surrender. With habitual prescience he had weighed well the issues
+and chosen the lesser alternative. His own defeat and possibly his
+death, on the one hand, against the probable salvation of half a
+continent on the other. What true soldier could hesitate?
+
+While patiently hearing objections, he brushed the most of them aside as
+mere flies on the wheel. Surely the way had been opened to him. The
+seized despatches had revealed the discord among Hull's troops and shown
+him that while the United States militia, the flower of Ohio and
+Kentucky, was of good material, the United States soldiers were not. He
+knew that the situation in Upper Canada called for extreme measures, and
+that the time to strike was now or never, for his scouts had truly
+reported that 350 United States mounted troops were pressing close upon
+his rear. They were, in fact, only a mile or two distant. If his own
+inferior force was outflanked, or his communication with the Canadian
+interior cut, it spelled utter disaster. He was in a wilderness without
+hope of reinforcements. As Colonel Cass, the United States commander,
+later reported to the President, Brock was "between two fires and with
+no hope of succour." Brock knew he must act at once or even retreat
+might be impossible. With inborn acumen he saw at a glance the peril of
+his own position, and with cool courage hastened to avert it. He
+realized that upon the "destruction or discomfiture" of Hull's forces
+"the safety of the province depended."
+
+Brock listened closely to Procter's argument--by this time he knew, of
+course, that Hull's own line of communication with his reserves had been
+cut--then rising, when all who cared to speak had finished, he said:
+"Gentlemen, I have definitely decided on crossing the river and
+attacking Fort Detroit. Instead of further advice I must beg of you to
+give me your hearty support. The general orders for to-morrow will be
+issued at once."
+
+This decision was typical of the man of action. "Prudent only where
+recklessness was a fault, and hazardous only when hesitation meant
+defeat."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVIII.
+
+AN INDIAN POW-WOW.
+
+
+It was a picturesque council of white men and Indians that was held at
+dawn in an open glade of the forest. The fragrant odours of the bush
+mingled with the pungent smoke of the red willow-bark, puffed from a
+hundred pipes. Conspicuous at this pow-wow was Tecumseh, who across his
+close-fitting buckskin hunting jacket, which descended to his knees and
+was trimmed with split leather fringe, wore a belt of wampum, made of
+the purple enamel of mussel shells--cut into lengths like sections of a
+small pipe-stem, perforated and strung on sinew. On his head he wore a
+toque of eagle plumes.
+
+"My object," said Brock, addressing the Indians, "is to assist you to
+drive the 'Long-knives' [Americans] from the frontier, and repel
+invasion of the King's country." Tecumseh, speaking for his tribesmen,
+remarked, not without sarcasm, that "their great father, King George,
+having awakened out of a long sleep, they were now ready to shed their
+last drop of blood in that father's service."
+
+"The pale faces," he continued, after an impressive pause--and the fire
+of his eloquence and his gestures swayed his hearers like the reeds on
+the river bank--"the Americans who want to fight the British are our
+enemies.... They came to us hungry and they cut off the hands of our
+brothers who gave them corn.... We gave them rivers of fish and they
+poisoned our fountains.... We gave them forest-clad mountains and
+valleys full of game, and in return what did they give our warriors and
+our women? Rum and trinkets and--a grave!... The shades of our fathers
+slaughtered on the banks of the Tippecanoe can find no rest.... Their
+eyes can see no herds on the hills of light in the hunting grounds of
+the dead!... Until our enemies are no more we must be as one man, under
+one chief, whose name is--Death!... I have spoken."
+
+Tecumseh, it should be known, bore a personal grudge against the
+Americans, especially against the 4th Regiment, then in garrison at
+Detroit, the "heroes of Tippecanoe." This was a terrible misnomer, for
+under General Harrison, with 1,000 soldiers, less than a year before,
+they had taken part in the slaughter of Tecumseh's half-armed band of
+600 men and women on the banks of the Tippecanoe River, during that
+chief's absence with many of his warriors, and had laid waste his
+village. With a perhaps pardonable spirit of vindictiveness, such as is
+shared by both redskin and white man, the human-being in him thirsted
+for revenge.
+
+Brock, perceiving Tecumseh's sagacity and influence over the savages,
+invited the Shawanese and Wawanosh, Ojebekun and the other sachems, to a
+private council. Here he unfolded his plans. Before doing this he made
+it a condition that no barbarities were to be committed. "The
+scalping-knife," said he, "must be discarded, and forbearance,
+compassion and clemency shown to the vanquished." He told them he wanted
+to restrict their military operations to the known rules of war, as far
+as was possible under the singular conditions in which they fought, and
+exacted a promise from the lofty-minded Tecumseh that his warriors
+"should not taste pernicious liquor until they had humbled the
+Big-knives." "If this resolution," remarked Brock, "is persevered in,
+you must surely conquer."
+
+Brock's rapid ascendency over the Indians was astonishing; they already
+revered him as a common father.
+
+That same afternoon our hero, moving up with his entire command to
+Sandwich, occupied the mansion of Colonel Baby, the great fur-trader,
+just evacuated by Hull. In the spacious hall hooks were nailed to the
+rafters, from which were suspended great steel-yards, by which the
+beaver packs were weighed. Scattered on the hewn floor in much profusion
+were soldiers' accoutrements, service and pack-saddles, iron-bound
+chests mixed up with bear-traps and paddles, rolls of birch-bark,
+leather hunting shirts, and the greasy blankets of voyageur and redskin.
+The room on the right became Brock's headquarters, and in this room he
+penned his first demand upon General Hull.
+
+"My force," so he wrote, "warrants my demanding the immediate surrender
+of Fort Detroit." Anxious to prevent bloodshed, and knowing Hull's dread
+of the Indians, he also played upon his fears. "The Indians," he added,
+"might get beyond my control." This summons was carried by Colonel
+Macdonell and Major Glegg, under a flag of truce, across the river.
+
+The batteries at Sandwich consisted of one eighteen-pounder, two
+twelve-pounders, and two 51/2-inch howitzers. Back of these artificial
+breastworks extended both a wilderness and the garden of Canada. Beyond
+the meadows, aflame with autumn wild-flowers, beyond the cultivated
+clearings, rose a forest of walnut, oak, basswood, birch and poplar
+trees, seared with age, of immense height and girth, festooned with wild
+honeysuckle and other creepers. In the open were broad orchards bending
+under their harvest of red and yellow fruit--apples and plums, peaches,
+nectarines and cherries--and extensive vineyards. Huge sugar maples
+challenged giant pear trees, whose gnarled trunks had resisted the
+storms of a century. To the north the floor of the forest was interlaced
+with trails, which, with the intention of deceiving Hull's spies as to
+the strength of Brock's forces, had been crossed and recrossed, and
+countermarched and doubled over, by the soldiers and Tecumseh's
+half-naked braves.
+
+The air was filled with the fragrance of orchard and forest. Facing our
+hero, flowed the river, broad, swift and deep; tufted wolf-willow,
+waving rushes and gray hazel fringing the banks. Across and beyond this
+almost mile-wide ribbon of water, the imposing walls of Fort Detroit
+confronted him. Approaching him at a rapid gait he at last espied his
+two despatch bearers, their scarlet tunics vivid against the green
+background. They reported that, after waiting upon Hull for two hours
+without being granted an interview, they were handed the following
+reply:
+
+"General Hull is prepared to meet any force brought against him, and
+accept any consequences."
+
+Brock instructed his gunners to acknowledge the receipt of this
+challenge with the thunder of their batteries, and from then, far into
+the night, shells and round-shot shrieked their way across the river,
+the answering missiles from Hull's seven twenty-four-pounders breaking
+in a sheet of flame from the very dust created by the British
+cannon-balls that exploded on the enemy's breastworks. Through the irony
+of fate, the first shot fired under Brock's personal orders in the cause
+of Canadian freedom killed a United States officer, an intimate friend
+of the British artilleryman who had trained the gun. Such are the
+arguments of war.
+
+The cannonade proving ineffective, as judged by visible results, Brock
+issued orders to cross the river at dawn, when he would make the attempt
+to take the fort by storm--and soldier and militiaman bivouacked on
+their arms.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Camp fires were extinguished, but the tireless fireflies danced in the
+blackness of the wood. The river gurgled faintly in the wind-stirred
+reeds. From out the gloom of the thicket came the weird _coco-coco_ of
+the horned owl. From the starlit sky above fell the shrill cry of the
+mosquito hawk, "_peepeegeeceese, peepeegeeceese_!" From an isolated bark
+tepee came the subdued incantation of the Indian medicine-man, while
+above the singing of the tree-tops and over all, clear and with
+clock-like regularity, floated the challenge of the sentry and answering
+picket:
+
+"Who goes there?"
+
+"A friend."
+
+"All's well."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIX.
+
+THE ATTACK ON DETROIT.
+
+
+Morning came all too slowly for Brock's impatient soldiers. At last the
+_reveille_ warned the expectant camp. The sun rose, a red-hot shell out
+of the faint August haze, huge and threatening. With its advent the
+British batteries resumed their fire, aided by the guns on the _Queen
+Charlotte_ and _Hunter_, which lay in the river, above the village known
+to-day as Windsor, to cover the embarkation of the troops in batteaux
+and canoes.
+
+Brock's entire force consisted of only 330 regulars and 400 militia,
+some of whom, acting on a happy thought, were disguised in discarded
+uniforms of the 41st. This army was supported by five pieces of
+artillery. All crossed the river in safety, landing at Spring Wells,
+four miles below. The Indians, 600 strong, under Tecumseh, in addition
+to the men of his own nation, consisted of many Sioux, Wyandottes and
+Dacotahs. The majority of these crossed under cover of the night.
+History records no instance of a determined force being stopped by a
+river. The Detroit River presented an animated picture. Edging their way
+through a maze of boats and batteaux, and in marked contrast to the
+scarlet-coated soldiers and blue-shirted sailors, bark canoes on which
+were drawn in flaring colours a variety of barbaric designs, flitted
+here and there, their crews of half-naked savages fearsome in fresh
+war-paint and gaudy feathers. Coo-ees, shrieks and shrill
+war-whoops--"Ah-oh! Ah-oo!" like the dismal yells of a pack of
+coyotes--rent the air, the discordant din ever and anon drowned by the
+thunder of the guns from the Sandwich batteries.
+
+Upon landing Brock mustered his men. The reports showed 750 of all
+ranks, including the voyageurs left in charge of the river squadron. The
+600 Indians deployed in the shelter of the woods, skirmishing to effect
+a flank movement. The column, having formed, was moved forward in
+sections, and at double distance, to lend a fictitious air of strength;
+the light artillery, of three, six, and two three-pounders, being
+immediately in rear of the advance guards, the whole preceded by
+fluttering standards and rolling drums. Three generations ago! Yet you
+can see it all to-day as plainly as Brock saw it, if you but close your
+eyes and conjure up the past.
+
+The enemy, over 2,000 strong, drawn up in line upon an overlooking rise,
+had planted in the roadway, commanding the approach to the town, two
+twenty-four pounders, each loaded with six dozen grapeshot, around which
+the gunners stood with burning fuses, challenging our hero's advance.
+
+Up and down, in front of the line, rode Isaac Brock on his gray charger,
+his brilliant uniform--khaki was unknown in those days--flashing in the
+morning sun, a shining mark. A command here, a kindly rebuke there, a
+word of encouragement to all ranks; the eyes of Britain and Canada were
+upon them; they might have to take the fort by storm,--even so, honour
+and glory awaited them.... Forward then, for King and country!
+
+The rat-a-tat-tat of the kettle-drums, the clear-cut whistle of the
+fifes, the resonant roll of the big drums, the steady tramp, tramp of
+armed men--and the human machine was in motion.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+The long grim guns on Fort Detroit and Hull's field-pieces pointed their
+black muzzles at the column. Up and down, in front of his men, rode
+Isaac Brock.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Now this was more than some flesh and blood could stand. Spurring his
+horse, acting Quartermaster-General Nichol reined up alongside his
+beloved commander. "General," he said, saluting his leader, while the
+soldiers' faces expressed dumb approval, "forgive me, but I cannot
+forbear entreating you not to expose yourself. If we lose you, we lose
+all. I pray you, allow the troops to advance, led by their own
+officers."
+
+"Master Nichol," said Brock, turning in his saddle and returning the
+salute of the gallant Quartermaster, "I fully appreciate your kindly
+advice, but I feel that, in addition to their sense of loyalty and duty,
+there are many here following me from a feeling of personal regard, and
+I will never ask them to go where I do not lead."
+
+Before him spread the plain, broken here and there with _coulees_ and
+clumps of bush. A partly fenced roadway, with some scattered houses on
+the river bank, but no barbed-wire entanglements, impeded his movements.
+The introduction of such pleasant devices was left for a higher
+civilization!
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+The column was in motion. The steady onward tramp, tramp of this thin
+red line, raw recruit and grizzly veteran shoulder to shoulder, struck
+fear into the heart of the unfortunate Hull. The prospect, though his
+troops outnumbered the British three to one, was clearly war to the
+knife. Brock's meaning was apparent. Should he or should he not accept
+the Englishman's challenge? He could extract no comfort out of that
+solid scarlet front, bristling with naked steel, now fast approaching in
+battle array with even, ominous tread.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+The siege-proof walls of the fort lay behind him. His irresolute heart
+grew faint, and in the flash of a flintlock in its pan, honour was
+sacrificed and fame cast to the winds. A brave army of martyrs, over
+2,000 strong, was rightabout faced, and drinking the cup of humiliation,
+that only men of courage can drain to the bitter dregs, this army, eager
+to lock bayonets with the British, was actually ordered to retreat into
+the shelter of Fort Detroit!
+
+[Illustration: LIEUT.-COLONEL JOHN MACDONELL]
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XX.
+
+BROCK'S VICTORY.
+
+
+Reaching a ravine, Brock ordered up his artillery and prepared to
+assault. A shell from the British battery at Sandwich roared over the
+river and crashed through an embrasure of Fort Shelby, killing four
+American officers. The Savoyard river was reached and the outlying
+tan-yard crossed. Brock's troops, keyed up, with nerves tense under the
+strain of suspense, and every moment expecting a raking discharge of
+shot and shell from the enemy's big guns, heard with grim satisfaction
+the General's orders to "prepare for assault."
+
+The field-pieces were trained upon the fort, to cover the rush of the
+besiegers. The gunners, with bated breath and burning fuses, awaited the
+final command, when lo! an officer bearing a white flag emerged from the
+fort, while a boat with another flag of truce was seen crossing the
+river to the Sandwich battery. Macdonell and Glegg galloped out to meet
+the messenger. They returned with a despatch from the American general,
+Hull, to the British general, Brock. This was the message:
+
+"The object of the flag which crossed the river was to propose a
+cessation of hostilities for an hour, for the purpose of entering into
+negotiations for the surrender of Detroit."
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+An hour later the British troops, with General Isaac Brock at their
+head, marched through the smiling fields and orchards, passed over the
+fort draw-bridge, and, surrounded by a host of fierce-looking and
+indignant militia of Ohio and "the heroes of Tippecanoe," hauled down
+the Stars and Stripes--which had waved undisturbed over Fort Lernoult
+since its voluntary evacuation by the British in 1796--and, in default
+of a British ensign, hoisted a Union Jack--which a sailor had worn as a
+body-belt--over the surrendered fortress. British sentinels now guarded
+the ramparts. The bells of old St. Anne's saluted the colors. The "Grand
+Army of the West," by which pretentious title Hull had seen fit to
+describe his invading force, melted like mist before the rising sun.
+
+Several unattached Canadians, costumed as redmen, followed Brock inside
+the fort, and, baring their white arms for Hull's especial edification,
+declared they had so disguised themselves in order to show their
+contempt for his cruel threat respecting instant death to "Indians found
+fighting."
+
+The terms of capitulation included not only one general officer and
+2,500 men of all ranks--the would-be conquerors of Canada--2,500 stand
+of arms, 33 pieces of cannon, the _Adams_ brig of war, and immense
+quantities of stores and munitions, valued at L40,000--but Fort Shelby
+and the town of Detroit and 59,700 square miles of United States
+territory. Nor were these all, for the fort standard--to the wild
+delight of Tecumseh's warriors--a highly-prized trophy, it being the
+"colours" of the 4th United States regiment, the vaunted "heroes of
+Tippecanoe," passed into the keeping of the British.
+
+Canada was saved!
+
+It was then that those officers who strongly opposed Brock's
+determination to attack became suddenly wise after the event and eager
+to share the honour. The temptation to improve the opportunity, to any
+man less strong than our hero, would have been irresistible, but there
+was no display of vainglory, no cheap boasting. The sword of the
+conquered American general was accepted with manly deference and the
+consideration due to his rank, and he was told, without solicitation on
+his part, he could return to the United States on parole. Then Brock
+hurriedly dictated a brief and modest despatch apprising Sir George
+Prevost of the "capture of this very important post," and quite
+realizing that he was merely an instrument in the hands of Providence,
+and gratitude and the happiness of those he held most dear being
+uppermost in his mind, the captor of Detroit wrote this characteristic
+letter.
+
+
+                                               "Headquarters, Detroit,
+                                                   "August 16, 1812.
+
+     "My dear Brothers and Friends,--Rejoice at my good fortune and join
+     me in prayers to heaven. I send you a copy of my hasty note to Sir
+     George. Let me know that you are all united and happy.
+
+                                                             "ISAAC."
+
+
+And so it came about that in this strange and noble fashion General
+Brock--"Master Isaac of St. Peter's Port"--overcame the enemy in the
+wilds of Michigan and passed his _fourth_ milestone.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXI.
+
+CHAGRIN IN THE UNITED STATES.
+
+
+The conduct of the Indians under Tecumseh at Detroit had been marked by
+great heroism and strict adherence to their pledges. "The instant the
+enemy submitted, his life became sacred." In recognition of Tecumseh's
+work, and in the presence of the troops formed in the fort square, Brock
+handed him his silver-mounted pistols, and taking off his sash, tied it
+round the body of the chief.
+
+A suspicion of a smile--the faint smile of elation of the well-trained
+child accepting a prize--flitted across the Indian's finely chiselled
+face as, proudly inclining his head, he silently took the crimson band.
+Then unwinding his own parti-colored, closely-woven Red River belt,
+"Would the great white _shemogonis_ (warrior)," he whispered, "accept
+the simple sash of the Shawanese in return?"
+
+To this there was a sequel. The next day, when he bade Brock farewell,
+Tecumseh wore no sash. "Roundhead," he explained, "was an older, an
+abler warrior than himself. While he was present he could not think of
+wearing such a badge of distinction." He had given the sash to the
+Wyandotte chieftain. Tecumseh proved himself a greater diplomat than
+Hull.
+
+The papers of surrender signed, Brock hastened to liberate Dean, a
+soldier of the 41st, wounded and taken prisoner at the Canard river,
+with another man, while gallantly defending the bridge against a large
+body of the enemy. In a voice broken with emotion Brock told him that he
+had "nobly upheld the traditions of the service and was an honour to his
+profession." Then he singled out Lieutenant Roulette, of the sloop
+_Hunter_, a French Canadian, who captured eighteen prizes during the war
+and was the leading spirit in many gallant events. "I watched you during
+the action," said the General. "You behaved like a lion. I will remember
+you." In the orders of that afternoon Brock praised the conduct of his
+troops. He laid stress upon the "discipline and determination that had
+decided an enemy, infinitely more numerous in men and artillery, and
+protected by a strong fortification, to propose capitulation."
+
+The effect of the news in Upper Canada was electrical. Brock became the
+idol of the people and was acclaimed "hero and saviour of Upper Canada."
+His performance was a record one. In nineteen days he had met the
+Legislature, settled important public business, transported a small army
+300 miles, 200 of which was by open boat in stormy waters, compelled the
+surrender of an enemy three times his strength, entrenched in a
+protected fort, and seized 60,000 square miles of United States mainland
+and islands.
+
+To the American people the news came as a thunder-clap. President
+Madison's chagrin was indescribable. After all the insulting remarks and
+bombastic prophecies of himself and Clay, Calhoun, Eustis and others,
+the humiliation was as gall and wormwood. Clay, the apostate, later on
+swallowed his words and signed the treaty of peace. Eustis, the
+Secretary of War, had boasted that he would "take the whole country and
+ask no favours, for God has given us the power and the means." But God
+saw fit to confound the despoiler. Hull was, of course, made a
+scapegoat. Tried by court-martial, he was found guilty of cowardice and
+neglect, and sentenced to death, but pardoned by the President. His son
+died fighting at Lundy's Lane. The officers of Hull's command, who were
+almost united in opposing surrender, as brave men felt their position
+keenly. Never let us forget that no one race holds a monopoly in
+courage, that no nation has exclusive control of the spirit of
+patriotism. Fortunate it is indeed for most of us that the loftier
+qualities of man can not be copyrighted by the individual. A share of
+these has been bestowed in wise proportion upon all members of the human
+family. To those who seek to emulate the character and deeds of the
+world's famous men, certain essential qualities of mind may even be
+acquired and developed by all, but to possess the "fullness of
+perfection" cannot be the lot of every man.
+
+Having finished "the business" that took him to Detroit, our hero did
+not waste an hour. Leaving Procter in command, he started before morning
+of the next day for Fort George, anxious to carry out his plans and
+assume the offensive on the Niagara frontier.
+
+He embarked in the _Chippewa_, a small trading schooner, with seventy of
+the Ohio Rifles as prisoners, and took, as a guard, a rifle company
+commanded by his young friend, Captain Robinson, subsequently Chief
+Justice Robinson, "again winning golden opinions from the men by his
+urbanity."
+
+On Lake Erie he met the _Lady Prevost_, of fourteen guns, the commander
+of which, after saluting the hero of Detroit with seventeen guns,
+boarded the _Chippewa_, handing him despatches that notified him of an
+_armistice_, which Sir George Prevost had actually concluded with the
+American general, Dearborn, on August 9th! Brock's mortification was
+profound. His cherished plan, to sweep the Niagara frontier and destroy
+the United States naval arsenal at Sackett's Harbour, was again
+frustrated.
+
+A diversion occurred that morning which for a time drove the
+unpardonable armistice from Brock's thoughts. A heavy mist hung over the
+water. It hid the shore. Deceived by this, the skipper of the
+_Chippewa_, who thought he was in Fort Erie harbour, discovered, as the
+fog lifted, that they were on the American side and close to Buffalo.
+The situation was perilous and dramatic. With the melting of the haze
+the wind dropped. Brock saw on the Buffalo shore, within easy hail, a
+concourse of inquisitive people trying to make out the nationality of
+his ship. Believing the skipper, was in league with the enemy, Brock
+turned upon him savagely.
+
+"You scoundrel," said he, "you have betrayed me. Let but one shot be
+fired and I will run you up at the yard-arm." Fortunately, the _Queen
+Charlotte_, in Canadian water, was seen and signalled, and, the wind
+rising, she convoyed the _Chippewa_ and her precious passenger into
+safety.
+
+The news of the armistice dumbfounded the General. Instead of battering
+Fort Niagara and attacking Sackett's Harbour, he had to order Procter to
+cancel the expedition for the relief of Fort Wayne, in the Wabash
+country, and himself hurry on to Fort George. At Chippewa he was
+received with wild welcome by the river residents and the populace from
+the countryside. A deputation of prominent men met him at Queenston,
+placed him in an open carriage, and with martial music he was escorted
+in triumph to Fort George. After receiving at Niagara the
+congratulations of the lady to whom he was engaged, Brock took schooner
+for York and Kingston. At both of these places fervid demonstrations
+were showered upon him. But "Master Isaac's" head could not be turned
+either by success or adulation. The old spirit of self-effacement
+asserted itself. "The gallant band of brave men," he said, "at whose
+head I marched against the enemy, are the proper objects of your
+gratitude. The services of the militia have been duly appreciated and
+will never be forgotten."
+
+Isaac's modesty again served to increase the homage and profound
+devotion of the people.
+
+Justice Powell voiced the views of the citizens of Upper Canada when he
+declared Brock could "boast of the most brilliant success, with the most
+inadequate means, which history records.... It was something fabulous
+that a handful of troops, supported by a few raw militia, could invade
+the country of an enemy of doubtful numbers, in his own fortress, and
+make all prisoners without the loss of a man."
+
+"If this sort of thing lasts," commented our hero to a friend, "I am
+afraid I shall do some foolish thing, for if I know myself there is no
+want of what is called courage in my nature, and I can only hope I shall
+not be led into some scrape."
+
+[Illustration: VIEW OF QUEENSTON HEIGHTS AND BROCK'S MONUMENT]
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXII.
+
+PREVOST'S ARMISTICE.
+
+
+The armistice paralyzed Brock's movements. All the moral influence and
+material advantage gained by the captures of Mackinaw and Detroit were
+nullified by this incredible blunder, for which no reason, military or
+civil, has ever been assigned. The loyal volunteers were released from
+duty. Brock's Indian allies returned to their villages. Prevost's policy
+of peace had become a mental malady. In spite of our hero's pleadings,
+and though Prevost actually knew, before the fall of Detroit, that
+President Madison would not extend the two weeks' armistice, the
+Governor-General forbade Brock attacking either Sackett's Harbour, the
+key to American supremacy on the lakes, or Fort Niagara.
+
+"War," wrote Prevost, "has never yet been declared by England. Peace is
+possible."
+
+Brock, smarting under restraint and handcuffed by red tape, was
+compelled to look on while the enemy brought up reinforcements, powder,
+shot, provisions and other munitions of war, by water to Lewiston.
+General Van Rensselaer, in command of the American forces at Lewiston,
+wrote to the President stating that by "keeping up a bold front he had
+succeeded in getting from General Sheaffe at Fort George the
+uninterrupted use of the lakes and rivers." The strategic advantage to
+the enemy of this cessation of hostilities and the privileges conceded
+was enormous. Prevost realized his error too late. The following year,
+conceiving it then to be his special mission to borrow our dead hero's
+policy, he attacked Sackett's Harbour, but his "cautious calculation"
+was, of course, rewarded by ignoble defeat, and ultimately, after the
+Plattsburg fiasco, by a court-martial. In his civil administration of
+Canada Sir George Prevost may have been a success; as a soldier he was a
+sad failure.
+
+Isaac was daily proving the truth of the precept, recognized by all men
+sooner or later, that life's values lie not so much in its victories as
+in its strife.
+
+Though Brock awoke after Detroit to find himself famous, and a hero
+whose prowess far exceeded that of his ancestor, the Jurat of the Royal
+Court of Guernsey, over whose exploits he used to ponder seated on the
+Lion's Rock at Cobo, he was still the same "Master Isaac," still the
+"beloved brother." Separation from his kinsmen only served to draw him
+closer.
+
+Crossing Lake Ontario gave him the opportunity he longed for. He wrote
+to his brothers collectively, telling them the sundry details of his
+success, "which was beyond his expectation." He hoped the affair would
+meet with recognition at the War Office. Though admitting it was a
+desperate measure, he told them "it proceeded from a cool calculation of
+the _pros_ and _cons_," and as Colonel Procter had opposed it, he was
+not surprised that envy now induced that officer "to attribute to good
+fortune what in reality was the result of my own knowledge and
+discernment." But praise and honours, though sweet to our hero, who
+after all was only mortal, were secondary to the fact that he would be
+in a position to contribute something to the comfort and happiness of
+his brothers. The value of the "treasure" captured at Detroit was placed
+at L40,000. Brock's share of this was a substantial sum.
+
+"When I returned heaven thanks," he wrote, "for my amazing success, I
+thought of you all, your late sorrows forgotten, and I felt that the
+many benefits which for a series of years I received from you were not
+unworthily bestowed." But the hope that they were reunited was always
+the dominant note. "Let me know, my dearest brothers," he pleaded, "that
+you are all again united." Then, out of his own knowledge, wrought of
+deep experience in the world's wide field, he proceeded: "The want of
+union was nearly losing this province, without even a struggle; rest
+assured, it operates in the same degree in regard to families."
+
+Brock's despatches, with the story of the capture of Detroit and the
+colours of the 4th Regiment, United States Army, the oriflamme of the
+"heroes of Tippecanoe," reached London the morning of October 6th, the
+anniversary of his birth. His brother William resided close to the city.
+A tumultuous clangour of bells and booming of guns from St. James' Park
+and the Tower of London rent the air. When asked by his wife the reason
+for the jubilation he jokingly replied, "Why, for Isaac, of course. You
+surely have not forgotten this is his birthday." But William, on
+reaching the city, learned to his amazement that his jesting words were
+true. The salvoes of artillery and peals of bells were indeed in honour
+of General Brock's victory in far-off Michigan.
+
+Neither King nor Imperial Government was slow to recognize our hero's
+achievements. The Prince Regent, who expressed his appreciation of
+Brock's "able, judicious and decisive conduct," bestowed upon him an
+_extra_ knighthood of the Order of the Bath, in consideration, so ran
+the document, "of all the difficulties with which he was surrounded
+during the invasion of the Province, and the singular judgment,
+firmness, skill and courage with which he surmounted them so
+effectually."
+
+When the glittering insignia of his new rank reached Canada, Sir Isaac
+Brock's eyes were closed in death. His inanimate body, from which one of
+the noblest souls of the century had fled, lay rigid in its
+winding-sheet at Fort George.
+
+To Major Glegg, who bore the General's despatches from Canada, the
+Prince Regent remarked that "General Brock had done more in an hour than
+could have been done in six months by negotiation." The fulfilment of
+Isaac's favourite maxim, "Say and do," was being demonstrated in a most
+remarkable manner.
+
+[Illustration: "PORTRAIT OF MAJOR-GENERAL BROCK, 18 X 6"]
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXIII.
+
+"HERO, DEFENDER, SAVIOUR."
+
+
+General Sheaffe, the only field officer available, and junior colonel of
+the 49th, of whom the reader has already heard, had been brought from
+the East to take command at Niagara in Brock's absence. Like Prevost, he
+was born in Boston, Massachusetts, in 1763, a son of the deputy
+collector of that port. There the two had been school-fellows, and both
+found it difficult to engage in vigorous diplomatic or military conflict
+with the Americans. To Sheaffe's credit, it should be said that he
+applied for another station.
+
+It was Sheaffe, however, who acceded to General Dearborn's specious
+demand that the _freedom of the lakes and rivers_ be extended to the
+United States Government during the armistice. This was done while Brock
+was in the West. Sheaffe it also was who, with hat in hand and strange
+alacrity, later agreed, despite his first terrible blunder, to repeat
+the offence. On the very afternoon that the British defeated the
+Americans at Queenston, and when the moral effect of that victory,
+followed up by vigorous attack, would have saved Canada from a
+continuance of the war, and deplorable loss of life and trade, Sheaffe
+actually agreed to another armistice. For this _second_ truce, like his
+first, "no valid reason, military or civil, has ever been assigned." As
+far as the British were concerned, neither of these two was necessary,
+but, on the contrary, directly to their disadvantage. Isaac Brock,
+alas! was not made in duplicate.
+
+Our hero remained but a few hours in Kingston. He was needed in Niagara.
+The enemy was burning to avenge Detroit. The sight of Hull's ragged
+legions passing as prisoners of war along the Canadian bank of the
+river, bound for Montreal, did not tend to soften the hearts of the
+Americans. Stores and ordnance continued to pour into Lewiston. Brock
+needed 1,000 additional regulars. He might as well have asked for the
+moon. Early in September he stated that if he could maintain his
+position six weeks longer "the campaign would end in a manner little
+expected in the States." Scores of American marines and seamen were
+marking time, waiting for the launching of the vessels which Captain
+Chauncey had been given free license to build to ensure United States
+supremacy of the lakes. Prevost's eyes were still bandaged. Brock warned
+his grenadiers of the 49th to be ready for trouble. He foresaw that the
+Niagara river would be crossed, but at what point was uncertain. Stray
+musket-balls whistled across at night as thick as whip-poor-wills in
+summer. This firing was "the unauthorized warfare between sentinels."
+The peaceful citizens of Newark, returning from dance or
+card-party--even the imminence of war did not wholly stifle their desire
+for innocent revelry--found it embarrassing.
+
+Though Van Rensselaer's force now numbered 6,300 men, he was still
+afraid to attack Brock. Invited by the United States Government to take
+up arms, 400 Seneca Indians "went upon the war-path," and performed
+ghost-dances on the streets of Lewiston. Prevost, with no proper
+conception of the doctrine of "what we have we hold," ordered Brock to
+"evacuate Detroit and the territory of Michigan." To "the man behind the
+gun," who had but just donated this 60,000 square miles of realty to the
+Empire, such instructions were hardly to his taste. Armed with powers of
+discretion, our hero declined. Meanwhile Isaac's heart was sore. The
+situation was galling. If there was to be no more fighting, why should
+he not get his release, join Wellington in Portugal, and renounce
+Canada? Unrest and vigilance best describe the order of his days, while
+waiting attack. The death of the ever-attentive Dobson, who had passed
+away before Brock's departure for Detroit, and the absence of the
+faithful sergeant-major--now Adjutant FitzGibbon--distressed him. In an
+attempt by General Brown to capture some British batteaux at Tousaint
+Island, on the St. Lawrence, the Americans had been repulsed by Brock's
+gallant protege.
+
+Everything now pointed to an early attack by the enemy in force. General
+Van Rensselaer, with an ascertained army of at least 6,300, of which
+2,600 were militia, wrote that he "would cross the river in the rear of
+Fort George, take it by storm, carry the Heights of Queenston, destroy
+the British ships--the _Prince Regent_ and _Earl Moira_--at the mouth of
+the river, leave Brock no rallying point, appal the minds of the
+Canadians, and wipe away the past disgrace."
+
+On one of his visits to Fort George he had remarked to Brock, who had
+laughingly pointed out two beautiful brass howitzers taken from General
+Wayne, "Oh, yes, they are old friends of mine; I must take them back."
+They were not taken back in Brock's time. Even with his grand army of
+6,300, his 400 Seneca braves, and his written admission that Niagara was
+weakly garrisoned, it is certain Van Rensselaer would have still delayed
+attack, unless he had been told by his spies that Brock had returned to
+Detroit. Then, with valour oozing from his finger tips, he plucked up
+courage to attack the lair in the lion's absence.
+
+At this juncture an untoward event occurred, in the re-taking by the
+Americans of the brig _Detroit_, formerly the United States brig
+_Adams_--captured, as we know, by Roulette--and the trading brig
+_Caledonia_. They were at anchor at the head of the Niagara River, off
+Black Rock. The irregular regiments of Hull's command, under the terms
+of surrender, were on board on their way to their Ohio homes, via Lake
+Erie and Buffalo. The two vessels reached Fort Erie harbour safely, and
+being rightly regarded by the British as immune from attack, were left
+undefended, in charge of an officer and nine men only, most of whom were
+voyageurs. In addition to the prisoners, the two brigs carried great
+quantities of fur and 600 packs of deer skins. During darkness
+Lieutenant Ellis, with three armed boats and 150 United States troops
+and sailors, dropped alongside. Roulette and his nine men fought
+desperately, one being killed and four wounded, but both vessels, of
+course, fell into the enemy's hands. This attack was contrary to the
+rules of war, and a violation of the sanctity of the flag which
+"continued to float as long as there were American prisoners on board,
+awaiting to be landed on United States soil."
+
+Brock regarded this loss as a calamity. It was, he wrote to Prevost,
+"likely to reduce him to great distress." His constant fears that the
+enemy would secure control of both Lakes Erie and Ontario were well
+founded. He begged Prevost to let him destroy the vessels Chauncey, the
+American, was building on Squaw Island. Prevost, of course, besought him
+to forbear. Isaac Brock, exasperated and with tied hands, was "doomed to
+the bitterest of all griefs, to see clearly and yet be able to do
+nothing." Yet while he worked in chains his preparedness was a source of
+wonder to those behind the scenes.
+
+Even no less a critic than John Lovett, General Van Rensselaer's
+military secretary, was impressed with what he saw through his
+field-glasses from Lewiston heights. "Every three or four miles, on
+every eminence," he wrote a friend, "Brock has erected a snug battery,
+the last saucy argument of kings, poking their white noses and round
+black nostrils right upon your face, ready to spit fire and brimstone in
+your very teeth, if you were to offer to turn squatter on John Bull's
+land." Influenced by these signs of "business," the United States
+officers were ordered to "dress as much like their men as possible, so
+that at 150 yards they might not be recognized." This was probably due
+to one of the last orders issued by our hero, who warned his men that,
+when the enemy crossed the river, to withhold their musketry fire until
+he was well within range, and then, "if he lands, attack him at the
+point of the bayonet with determined resolution."
+
+With clairvoyance that would have done credit to a mind-reader, Brock
+knew that attack was imminent. To him the wind that blew across the
+river October 12th was laden with omens of war. The air seemed charged
+with the acrid smell of burnt powder. The muffled beat of drums, the
+smothered boom of artillery, the subdued clash of steel meeting steel,
+the stealthy tramp of armed men, seemed to encompass him.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Brock was at his headquarters. He gazed from the window. The storm
+outside was hurling great splashes of rain against the narrow casement.
+To and fro, over the carpeted floor, he paced that evening for an hour
+or more, uninterrupted and alone. It was thus he marshalled facts and
+weighed conclusions. Powerful brain and vigorous frame acted in concert.
+He was enjoying the fulfilment of the promise of his youth. God had been
+good. The world had been tolerant; his fellow-men--at least those who
+knew the real Isaac--loyally appreciative. The knowledge of his honours
+and fame stirred him to his soul. Not that he was any better, or abler,
+he meditated, than other men, but that when "opportunity" offered he was
+permitted to grasp it.
+
+     "For every day I stand outside your door,
+     And bid you wake and rise to fight and win."
+
+The influence of the great truth as pronounced in the now familiar
+couplet inspired him. He recognized the source whence he derived
+whatever of success had followed his efforts, and prayed for greater
+sagacity, more vigour of body and tenacity of purpose, a complete
+surrender of self to the task before him; that if his life was to be
+the price of duty, he might place it on the altar of his country without
+one shred of compunction.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+He rang the bell for Porter--his body-servant since Dobson's
+death--directed him to see that the council room was lighted, that pens,
+ink, paper and cigars were in place, as a meeting of his staff was
+slated for nine, and sought his sanctum.
+
+[Illustration: POWDER MAGAZINE, FORT GEORGE, NIAGARA]
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXIV.
+
+BROCK'S LAST COUNCIL.
+
+
+It was long past midnight on the morning of Tuesday, October 13th, 1812,
+when Brock dismissed his advisory council of staff officers. An animated
+discussion had taken place over the strength of the enemy and the spot
+he might select to cross the river, for ruses had been resorted to by
+Van Bensselaer to deceive the British.
+
+"I dare not, gentlemen," said our hero, in opening the debate, "weaken
+my flanks at Niagara and Erie, though I realize I am leaving Queenston
+not properly protected. I have just learned that General Dearborn states
+that while 'Tippecanoe' Harrison invades Canada, at Detroit, with 7,000
+men--I do not think it necessary I should point out Detroit on the map,"
+he added with a smile--"and while a United States squadron--not a
+British one, mark you--sweeps Lake Ontario from Sackett's Harbour,
+Dearborn himself will threaten Montreal from Lake Champlain. While the
+east and the west are thus being annexed by the enemy, our friend Van
+Rensselaer is to entertain us here.
+
+"An ordinary boat, as we all know, can be rowed across the river at
+Queenston in less than ten minutes. Our spies have reported that forty
+batteaux, to carry forty men each, are in readiness at Tonawanda. Evans
+and Macdonell, when they called on Van Rensselaer, saw at least a dozen
+boats moored at Lewiston, some of which could carry eighty men. During
+the deplorable armistice, as General Sheaffe is aware"--looking at that
+officer--"Van Rensselaer brought up 400 boats and batteaux from
+Ogdensburg and other points, all of his previously blockaded fleet, so
+the enemy has no lack of transport. The most effective disposition of
+our limited force is, I admit, somewhat of a problem. There is no use in
+evading the fact that in point of numbers and ordnance we are too weak,
+and as Sir George Prevost has written me not to expect any further aid,
+Colonel Talbot must send us a few of his militia."
+
+"Macdonell," he said, turning to his aide, "will you write at once,
+to-night, to Colonel Talbot, at Port Talbot, stating that I am strongly
+induced to believe I will soon be attacked, and tell him that I wish him
+to send 200 men, the militia under his command, without delay, by water
+to Fort Erie."
+
+This was Brock's last official letter dictated in council.
+
+"General Sheaffe," he said, addressing that officer, "you, perhaps, know
+better than any of us the particulars of Van Rensselaer's appointment.
+It seems that he is an amateur soldier, pitchforked into command against
+his own will, a victim of New York State politics. While this is
+probably so, we must not run away with the idea that his other officers
+are no better, for, besides Generals Dearborn and Wadsworth--both
+soldiers of national repute--his cousin, Colonel Solomon Van Rensselaer,
+his chief of staff, is a first-class soldier, a proved fighting man. The
+latter is reported to be at the head of 750 well-trained militia, 300 of
+whom are selected soldiers, and fifty are said to know every inch of the
+river. Our spies report the enemy could ferry 1,500 regulars across in
+seven trips.
+
+"The safety of our redan on the Heights has given me some concern, but
+Dennis, Williams and others report that the height is inaccessible from
+the river side. If an attack in force is made at Queenston, we will have
+to concentrate every available man there--at the risk of weakening our
+flanks. Lewiston, as you have seen, is white with tents. At Fort Gray
+the enemy has two twenty-four-pounders, waiting to silence our
+eighteen-pounder in the redan. The Americans have several mortars and
+six-pounders on the river bank below Lewiston, ready to ship to any
+point by boats specially equipped, or to cover the landing of their
+troops on our side of the river, and to drive us back if we attempt to
+dispute their passage."
+
+In district general orders prepared that night, the last official
+document signed by General Sir Isaac Brock, he directed, "in view of the
+imminence of hostilities, that no further communication be held with the
+enemy by flag of truce, or otherwise, unless by his special permission."
+
+"I cannot allow looting," he said. "Arms and other property taken from
+the enemy are to be at all times reserved for the public service."
+Brock's example might have been followed to advantage in later Canadian
+campaigns. "I am calling," he continued, "a district court-martial for
+nine o'clock to-morrow morning, October 13th, for the trial of three
+prisoners, a captain and two subalterns of the 49th and 41st regiments."
+
+That court-martial was not held.
+
+On the day before, Major Evans and Colonel Macdonell had waited upon Van
+Rensselaer, with a letter from Brock proposing "an exchange of
+prisoners of war, to be returned immediately, on parole." The fact of no
+reply having been received to this, Brock regarded as ominous.
+
+"I firmly believe, gentlemen," he proceeded, and his confidence and
+courage was infectious, "that I could at this moment, by a sudden dash,
+sweep everything before me between Fort Niagara and Buffalo, but our
+success would be transient. Disaffection and desertion is rife in the
+American camp. Only the other day we saw six poor fellows perish in
+mid-stream. To-day more deserters swam the river safely. Our own force,
+estimating even 200 Indians under Chief Brant and Captain Norton, though
+I expect less than 100 would be nearer the mark, cannot exceed 1,500 men
+of all arms. These units I have collected from Sandwich to Kingston.
+Many of our men, as no one knows better than Quartermaster Nichol, have
+received no pay, are wearing broken shoes--some have no shoes at all--no
+tents and little bedding. It is true that they bear the cold and wet
+with an admirable and truly happy content that excites my admiration,
+but it is no less a disgrace to the responsible authorities. Sir George
+Prevost, as you know, has told me 'not to expect any further aid'--the
+old parrot cry from headquarters, 'Not a man to spare.' Let me ask the
+chief of the Mohawks, who is present, how many warriors he can muster?"
+
+John Brant, or _Thayendanegea_, as he was known among the Six Nation
+Indians, was the hereditary chief. At this time he was but a youth of
+eighteen--a graceful, dauntless stripling, of surprising activity, and
+well educated. At his side sat Captain Jacobs, a swarthy, stalwart
+brave, famous for his immense strength, and Captain John Norton, an
+Englishman, and chief by adoption only, who, in consideration of Brant's
+youth, was acting as his deputy and spokesman. The latter said that
+since his return from Moraviantown, and the hunting season having
+commenced, many of his braves were absent, but he would pledge the
+Mohawks would muster, when wanted, over one hundred tried men. Thanking
+the chiefs for their assurances, Brock continued:
+
+"The enemy has an army of over 6,000. The four twelve-pounders and two
+hundred muskets captured with the _Detroit_ is a serious loss to us. If
+the _Detroit_ is lost to us, however, she is of no further use to the
+enemy. We are, I repeat, greatly outweighted and outnumbered by the
+enemy, both in siege guns and artillery, and have no forge for heating
+shot. I have, as a matter of form, written this day to Sir George
+Prevost, restating my anxiety to increase our militia to 2,000 men, but
+pointing out the difficulties I shall encounter, and the fear that I
+shall not be able to effect my object with willing, well-disposed
+characters. Of one thing, gentlemen, I am convinced, that were it not
+for the number of Americans in our ranks we might defy all the efforts
+of the enemy against this part of the Province.
+
+"As to 'forbearance,' which I am constantly urged by Sir George Prevost
+to adopt, you are entitled to my views. While forbearance may be
+productive of some good, I gravely doubt the wisdom of such a policy;
+but, let me add, I may not, perhaps, have the means of judging
+correctly. We cannot, however, disguise the fact we are standing
+alongside a loaded mine. Let us be prepared for the explosion. It may
+come at any moment. Vigilance, readiness and promptness must be our
+watchwords. Might I ask you to remember my family motto, 'He who guards
+never sleeps.' Even to-morrow may bring surprises--such stormy weather
+as we are having seems strangely suitable for covering an attack.
+
+"I think, gentlemen, if we weigh well the character of our enemy, we
+shall find him disposed to brave the impediments of nature--when they
+afford him a probability of gaining his end by _surprise_, in preference
+to the certainty of meeting British troops _ready formed for his
+reception_. But do not, because we were successful at Detroit in
+stampeding the United States troops, cherish the impression that General
+Hull is a sample of American soldiery. If we _are_ taken by surprise the
+attack will soon be known, for our range of beacons extends from the
+Sugar Loaf to Queenston, from Lundy's Lane to Pelham Heights. Signal
+guns, also, will announce any suspicious movement. One word in
+conclusion. As soldiers you know your duty, and I think you now all
+understand the position we are in--as far as I know it.
+
+"General Sheaffe," he continued, turning to that officer, "I am much
+concerned as to the fate of this town, Niagara, if its namesake fort on
+the other side of the river should be tempted to forget the rules of war
+and bombard the private buildings here with hot-shot. However, we will
+do our best to give the invaders, when they do come, a warm reception.
+There are two things, Major," looking towards Evans, his brigade-major
+and intimate friend, "that our men must not omit to observe, namely, to
+'trust God and keep their powder dry,' a most necessary precaution if
+these storms continue."
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+It is worthy of note that while Brock was in conference with his staff,
+expecting invasion any day, General Van Rensselaer, at Lewiston, was
+writing the subjoined brief historical despatch to his
+brigadier-general, Smythe:
+
+     "Sir,--To-night, October 12th, I shall attack the enemy's batteries
+     on the Heights of Queenston."
+
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+The weather was tempestuous. Rain clouds shrouded the Heights of
+Queenston in a black pall. The wind romped and rioted in the foliage.
+Brock's estimate of the character of the enemy was a masterly one. Van
+Rensselaer was about to verify our hero's prediction.
+
+[Illustration: BROCK'S MIDNIGHT GALLOP]
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXV.
+
+THE MIDNIGHT GALLOP.
+
+
+Well into the half-light of morning, long after the last of his staff,
+Evans, Glegg and Macdonell, had departed, Brock sat alone at his
+headquarters at Fort George, writing rapidly.
+
+On the oak mantel, an antique clock chimed the passing of the historic
+hours, with deep, musical strokes.
+
+Was it presentiment--a clearer understanding that comes to men of active
+brain and acute perception, during solitary vigil in the silence of
+night, when, with heart and soul stripped, they stand on the threshold
+of the great divide--that whispered to this "knight of the sword" his
+doom? Was it this clearer comprehension that caused our hero to bow his
+head as a faint message from an unseen messenger reached him? With a
+sigh of resignation he arose from the unfinished manuscript and passed
+on to his bedroom.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Boom! Boom! Boom!
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+A muffled, indistinct roar, a confusion of sounds, aroused the
+half-conscious sleeper. Brock sprang from his couch, partly dressed.
+
+The antique clock chimed one--two--three!
+
+"Listen," he muttered to himself, "that was not a signal gun. Surely it
+was the sound of sustained firing." As he unlocked the outer door,
+opening on the barrack-square, the sky above faintly aglow with the
+light of warning beacons, the low, steady roll of musketry and louder
+roar of distant cannon convinced him that this was far more serious than
+"the war between sentries."
+
+"My good Porter," he said, speaking calmly to his excited servant, who,
+himself awakened, came rushing to his master, "have Alfred saddled at
+once while I complete dressing, and inform Major Glegg and Colonel
+Macdonell that I am off up the river to Queenston."
+
+In another minute Isaac Brock was in the saddle.
+
+As he passed through the gates, thrown open by the sentry, a dragoon,
+mire from head to foot from furious riding, handed him a despatch
+announcing that the enemy had landed in force at Queenston. A second
+later, in response to the pressure of his knees, his horse was carrying
+our hero at a wild gallop across the common that separated his quarters
+from the upper village.
+
+Day was near to breaking. The earth steamed from the heavy rain. Passing
+objects rose out of the dark mists, magnified and spectral.
+
+At the residence of Captain John Powell, Brock reined up. The household
+was astir, aroused by the ominous roar of artillery carried down by the
+river from the gorge above. He stayed, without dismounting, long enough
+to take a cup of coffee brought to him by General Shaw's daughter--a
+"stirrup cup"--his last. Then, giving his charger the spur, he rode away
+to death and distinction, tenderly waving a broken good-bye to the
+sad-eyed woman at the porch. This was his betrothed, who faintly
+fluttered her kerchief in weeping farewell to the gallant lover she
+would never see again.
+
+Brushing his eyes and urging his big grey to greater speed, "Master
+Isaac," eager to reach the scene of trouble, struck across the village,
+his horse's hoof-beats bringing many a citizen to the door to "God speed
+him." Some came out to follow him, and many a good wife's face was
+pressed to the window to watch "The General! God bless and spare him,"
+as he headed his charger for the Queenston Road and Brown's Point. Among
+the more zealous hastening after Brock were Judge Ralph Clench and a few
+old half-pay officers of His Majesty's service, who hurried to Queenston
+to range themselves in the ranks of the volunteers. Others joined as the
+signal guns and the bells of the church of St. Mark's and the
+court-house spread the alarm.
+
+His road lay up hill. Seven miles back from the shore of Lake Ontario
+stretched the height of land, extending west from the river to the head
+of the lake--a gigantic natural dam, over 300 feet high and twenty miles
+through; a retaining wall of rock, the greatest original fresh-water
+_barrage_ in the world.
+
+He paused a moment at Frields to order the militia company there to
+follow. Close to Brown's Point he met another galloper, S.P. Jarvis, of
+the York volunteers, who was riding so furiously that he could not check
+his horse, but shouted as he flew by, "The Americans are crossing the
+river in force, sir." Jarvis wheeled and overtook the General, who,
+without reining up, slackened his speed sufficiently to tell the rider
+not to spare his horse, but to hurry on to Fort George and order General
+Sheaffe to bring up his entire reserve and let loose Brant's Indian
+scouts. A mile or so farther on, Jarvis met Colonel Macdonell, in hot
+pursuit of their beloved commander. The aide, in his haste, had left his
+sword behind him, and borrowed a less modern sabre from Jarvis, who
+continued his mad gallop towards Fort George, little thinking he had
+seen the last of his gallant General and the dashing aide, meeting, a
+few minutes later, Major Glegg, also riding post haste to overtake the
+General.
+
+Meanwhile our hero had halted for a moment at Brown's Point, only to
+learn that Cameron's Toronto company of volunteers had already started,
+on their own initiative, up the river. Riding hard, he overtook the
+excited militiamen. Speaking a word to the officer in charge, he wheeled
+his horse in the direction of the Heights, calling upon the detachment
+in his well-known voice, and in a way that never failed to exact
+obedience:
+
+"Now, my men, follow me."
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+The east showed signs of approaching day, and Brock, only two miles from
+Queenston, was treated to a spectacle that quickened his pulses. Shells
+were bursting on the mountain side above the village. The shadows of the
+dying night were streaked with the light from an incessant fire of
+small-arms. Grapeshot and musket-balls were ploughing up inky river and
+grim highland. At Vrooman's battery, on Scott's Point, guarded by
+Heward's volunteer company from Little York, and some of Hatt's company
+of the 5th Lincoln militia, a mile from Queenston, the twenty-four-pound
+shells from the gun, mounted _en barbette_, which commanded at long
+range both landings, were leaving behind them furrows of fire in the
+black gorge. The big gun was pouring a continuous stream of destructive
+metal upon the American boats that were attempting the passage of the
+river within the limited zone of its fire.[3]
+
+Fort Gray, above Lewiston, was fairly belching flames, to which the
+isolated eighteen-pounder on the Queenston redan was roaring an angry
+and defiant response. Brock's trained ear recognized the wicked barking
+of the brass six-pounders, under Dennis of the 49th, mingling with the
+occasional boom, of the twenty-four-pound carronade below the village.
+
+The village of Queenston consisted of a small stone-barracks and twenty
+or more scattered dwellings in the midst of gardens and orchards. To
+Brock's right a road from the landing led to St. David's, from which, at
+almost right angles, an irregular branch roadway wound up the Heights.
+The adjacent table-land west of the village was dotted with farm-houses,
+partly surrounded by snake-fences and an occasional stone wall.
+
+Above Vrooman's he was joined by his two aides. Here he met a few men,
+shockingly torn and bleeding, crawling to the houses for shelter, and
+quite a number of prisoners, and was told that the enemy was routed. All
+killed or taken prisoners! Very skeptical, but increasing his speed, our
+hero rode into the village, and, though stained and splashed with mud
+from stirrup to cockade, he was recognized, and welcomed by the men of
+the 49th with a ringing cheer.
+
+FOOTNOTE:
+
+[3] This gun is credited with having fired 160 shots during the
+engagement.
+
+[Illustration: BATTLE OF QUEENSTON HEIGHTS. From an old Print]
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXVI.
+
+THE ATTACK ON THE REDAN.
+
+
+Checking his reeking horse for a moment, Brock acknowledged with a smile
+the salute, saying to the men who had leaped to his side, "Take breath,
+my good fellows; you will need all you have, and more, in a few
+minutes," words which evoked much cheering. Then he breasted the rise at
+a canter, exposed to a galling enfilading fire of artillery, and running
+the gauntlet of the sniping of some invisible marksmen, reached the
+redan, half-way to the summit. Here he dismounted, threw his charger's
+reins to a gunner, and entered the enclosure.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+From the loftier elevation of the Heights a still more striking scene
+confronted him. He saw, in the yellow light, battalion after battalion
+drawn up in rear of the Lewiston batteries, across the river, only two
+hundred yards wide at this point, awaiting embarkation. Other soldiers
+he saw crouching in the batteaux on the river, while an unknown number
+had already crossed and were in possession of Queenston landing. Round
+and grape shot from the American batteries were searching the banks and
+scourging the village, while shells from mortars at short range came
+singing across the river. He saw a boat with fifteen American soldiers
+smashed in mid-stream by a six-pounder from Dennis's battery, and
+watched the mangled bodies drift into the gloom.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Having surveyed the position rapidly, ignorant of the concealed
+movements of the American troops, Brock at a first glance pronounced the
+situation favorable.
+
+The crest of the Heights was wooded densely. The leaves still clung to
+the trees in all the spangled glory of autumn, and the thickets afforded
+far too safe cover for the American sharpshooters. In answer to his
+inquiry, Williams, in charge of the light company of the 49th, told him
+that at least 350 United States regulars and 250 militia must already
+have been ferried over. In the chilling gray of dawn, four boats, filled
+with armed men, had been seen crossing the river, which here had a
+four-mile current. The head of a column had also been seen above the
+river bank at the Queenston landing. The soldiers from the three
+batteaux, previously landed below Hamilton's garden, had already been
+met by Dennis's men, who had killed several and captured others. Later,
+more boats had come ashore, knocked out of commission by Vrooman's big
+gun and the six-pounders. Their crews had surrendered. Some of these
+Brock had met. Many more, however, had landed safely, hidden by the
+shadows, and were doubtless then awaiting a chance to emerge from
+ambush.
+
+In answer to Brock's question as to whether there was a chance of the
+Height being scaled direct from the river, Williams repeated what he had
+already reported at the council meeting, that the scouts insisted that
+the Heights could not be climbed from the landing. The cliffs, over
+three hundred feet high, rose almost vertically from the water, and the
+denseness of the shrubs, tangle and overhanging trees, anchored in the
+clefts, rendered it impossible for any but exceptionally active and
+resolute men, and then only as a forlorn hope, to reach the summit.
+Projecting ledges of rock also blocked the way. A large body of men had
+been seen before daybreak stealing across the foot-hills, but had evaded
+pursuit. He believed they had fled to the Black Swamp, four miles
+distant.
+
+Seeing that Dennis needed every possible support at the landing, Brock
+ordered Williams and his men to proceed to his assistance, and on the
+latter's departure our hero and his aides were left alone with the eight
+gunners.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+The rain was gradually ceasing. Shafts of light from an unseen sun
+tinged the edges of the smoke-coloured clouds with amber and rose. A few
+spent musket-balls falling about the enclosure aroused Brock's
+suspicions. He was watching, from behind the earthen parapet, the flight
+of the shells discharged by the eighteen-pounder, and, seeing that they
+burst too soon, turned to the gunner.
+
+"Sergeant, you are misjudging your time and distance; we must not waste
+powder and shot. Your shells are bursting too soon. Try a longer fuse."
+
+The words were barely out of our hero's mouth when there was a rolling
+crash of musketry, accompanied by wild shouts, and a shower of bullets
+flew zipping over their heads. Shooting high is the invariable
+shortcoming of excited marksmen. A moment later the heads of a large
+force of American riflemen rose from the rocky ambuscade above and
+behind them. The next instant the enemy was in full charge, evidently
+bent on capturing both the General and the redan.
+
+Brock saw that resistance would be madness. To save the gun and escape
+capture must be the "double event." Seizing a ramrod, he ordered an
+artilleryman to spike the gun, gave the command to retreat, telling the
+men to "duck their heads," fearing another discharge, and, leading his
+horse, followed by Macdonell and Glegg and the firing squad of eight
+artillerymen, rushed down the slope.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+For a clearer understanding of the situation--a better conception even
+than our hero had when, to escape capture and save the lives of his men,
+he was compelled to abandon the redan--we must visit Van Rensselaer's
+camp at Lewiston.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXVII.
+
+VAN RENSSELAER'S CAMP.
+
+
+After midnight, on the morning of the 11th, the American general, Van
+Rensselaer, believing, as he wrote, "that Brock, with all his disposable
+forces, had left for Detroit," launched from the Lewiston landing, under
+cover of the pitch darkness, thirteen boats capable of carrying 340
+armed men.
+
+To Lieutenant Sims, "the man of the greatest skill in the American
+service," was entrusted the command. Sims entered the leading boat, and
+vanished in the gloom. Whether he had taken all the oars with him, as
+reported, or whether the furious storm and the sight of the whirling
+black waters had frozen the hearts of the troops, must remain a mystery.
+The other boats did not follow.
+
+Meanwhile, 350 additional regulars and thirty boats had arrived from
+Four Mile Creek. Flying artillery came from Fort Niagara, with still
+more regulars, and part of Smythe's brigade from Buffalo. Troops, as
+Brock's spies had truly reported, now overflowed the United States army
+headquarters--three more complete regiments from New York and another
+from Fort Schlosser. Lewiston bristled with bayonets. The entire
+expeditionary force was in command of Colonel Solomon Van Rensselaer, a
+militiaman, between whom and the officers commanding the regular troops
+much jealousy and great friction existed. Both branches of the service
+were determined to monopolize whatever credit might ensue. A storm,
+more furious than ever, prevailed for twenty-eight hours. The men sulked
+in their tents.
+
+On the night of the 12th, the storm having abated, though the sky was
+black as ink, added numbers having developed greater courage, Van
+Rensselaer resolved on another attempt. He secretly notified
+Brigade-Major Smythe, in command at Buffalo, that in accordance with the
+letter reproduced in a previous chapter, he would storm the Heights of
+Queenston that night. With experienced river men as pilots, with picked
+crews, and protected by the big guns at Fort Gray, 600 men, with two
+pieces of light artillery, in thirteen boats, in the grim darkness of
+the morning of the 13th--a sinister coincidence--drew up in silence on
+the wharf. They comprised the first detachment of 850 regulars and 300
+militia, the advance attacking party--"the flower of Wadsworth's
+army"--embarked to "carry the Heights of Queenston and appal the minds
+of Canadians."
+
+Let us trace the fulfilling of Van Rensselaer's boast.
+
+The regulars crossed first, almost out of the line of fire of the
+British batteries, and under cover of six of the enemy's field-guns that
+completely commanded the Canadian shore. Some of the boats of this
+flotilla effected, as we know, a landing above the rock, still visible
+at the water's edge, under the suspension bridge. Here they disembarked
+their fighting men--the 13th regulars and some artillery--and, under Van
+Rensselaer, attempted to form. The empty boats recrossed the river to
+ferry over more soldiers.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+A sentry of the 49th--our hero's regiment--overheard voices and tramping
+of feet. Scenting danger, he ran, without firing, to alarm the main
+guard.
+
+In a few minutes Dennis advanced upon the landing place with forty-six
+men of his own company and a few militia, and discharged a murderous
+volley, leaving Colonel Van Rensselaer, with eight officers and
+forty-five men, killed or wounded. The enemy retreated to the water's
+edge for shelter, confused and shivering. The Lewiston batteries at once
+opened fire on the redan on Queenston Heights. The position of Dennis
+being thus revealed to Dearborn's gunners, they immediately turned their
+battery of six field-pieces upon his handful of men, and the position
+proving untenable, he withdrew to the shelter of the village, on the lip
+of the hill, still continuing to fire downwards on the invaders.
+
+Vrooman's battery then opened fire, and Crowther brought his two
+"grasshoppers"--small three-pounders--to sweep the road leading to the
+river.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXVIII.
+
+A FOREIGN FLAG FLIES ON THE REDAN.
+
+
+It was the crackling of the grenadiers' muskets, the bellowing of
+Vrooman's big gun, the cannonade of the twenty-four-pounders of the
+Lewiston batteries, the roar of the eighteen-pounder in the British
+redan, and the streak of crimson light from the long line of beacons
+which rent the sky from Fort Erie to Pelham Heights, that had wakened
+the citizens of Niagara and aroused Brock from his brief repose.
+
+Captain Wool, of the 13th U.S. regulars--Van Rensselaer being wounded in
+six places--hurried his men under the shelter of the overhanging rocks,
+keeping up an intermittent fire, and waited for reinforcements. For
+almost two hours this desultory firing continued. With the cessation of
+the storm and arrival of broad daylight, six more boats attempted to
+reach the Queenston landing. One boat was sunk by a discharge of grape
+from Dennis's howitzer; another, with Colonel Fenwick, of the U.S.
+artillery, was swept below the landing to a cove where, in the attack by
+Cameron's volunteers that followed, Fenwick, terribly wounded, was, with
+most of his men, taken prisoner. Another boat drifted under Vrooman's,
+and was captured there, while others, more fortunate, landed two
+additional companies of the 13th, forty artillerymen and some militia.
+The shouts of the fighters and screams of the wounded were heard by the
+hundreds of spectators who were parading the river bank at Lewiston, all
+ready to witness "the humiliation of Canada."
+
+General Van Rensselaer had commanded that the "Heights had to be taken."
+Wool, a gallant soldier, only twenty-three, suffering from a bullet that
+had passed through both his thighs--no superior officer coming to his
+support--volunteered for the duty. He expressed his eagerness to make
+the attempt. Gansfort, a brother officer of Wool's, had been shown by a
+river guide a narrow, twisting trail, used at times by fishermen,
+leading to the summit. This he pointed out to Wool as a possible pathway
+to the Heights, where a force of determined men might gain the rear of
+the British position. Wool, at the same time, had also been informed
+that Williams, hitherto on the Heights, had been ordered to descend the
+hill to assist Dennis--which was Brock's first command on reaching the
+redan. Followed by Van Rensselaer's aide, who had orders "to shoot every
+man who faltered," Wool at once commenced the ascent, leaving one
+hundred of his men to protect the landing.
+
+Picked artillerymen led the way. Concealed by rock and thicket, and
+unobserved by the British--the trail being regarded as impassable--they
+reached the hill-top, only thirty yards in rear of the solitary gun in
+the redan. The noise of their movements was drowned by the crash of the
+batteries, which reduced Hamilton's stone house to ruins and drove
+Crowther and his small gun out of range. The shells from the enemy's
+mortars rained upon the village, and his field-pieces subjected the
+gardens and orchards of Queenston to a searching inquisition.
+
+On reaching the summit, Wool, when the last straggler had arrived,
+formed his men, without losing a minute, and emerging from ambush, fired
+a badly-aimed volley at the astonished Brock and his eight gunners, and
+with a wild shout rushed down upon the redan.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+When the United States flag was raised over the gun, which Wool, to his
+deep chagrin, found spiked, the troops at Lewiston realized that the
+battery had been taken. Their courage returning, they rushed to the
+boats below, hoping to participate in a victory which, while hitherto a
+question in their minds, now seemed beyond all doubt.
+
+Brock, on regaining the bottom of the slope, seeing that the main attack
+was to be made at Queenston, sent Captain Derenzy with a despatch to
+Sheaffe at Fort George.
+
+"Instruct Major Evans," he wrote, "to turn every available gun on Fort
+Niagara, silence its batteries, and drive out the enemy, for I require
+every fighting man here; and if you have not already done so, forward
+the battalion companies of the 41st and the flank companies of militia,
+and join me without delay."
+
+Mounting his horse, he galloped to the far end of the village. Here he
+held a hurried consultation with the few officers present, and
+despatched Macdonell to Vrooman's to bring up Heward's Little York
+volunteers at the double. He then instructed Glegg to order Dennis, with
+the light company of the 49th, less than fifty strong, and Chisholm's
+company of the York militia, to join him, and also to recall Williams
+and his detachment. When these arrived he took command.
+
+"Captain Williams," said he, "how many men do you muster?"
+
+"Seventy, sir, of all ranks," replied Williams; "forty-nine grenadiers
+and Captain Chisholm's company of volunteers."
+
+"We must make the attempt, then," said the General, "to turn the enemy's
+left flank on the Heights, and this can only be done by a round-about
+way." Then, as Dennis joined him, he said, with a shade of vexation on
+his face, "It is a waste of time lamenting mistakes, but the overlooking
+of that pathway was a serious thing. The re-taking of the redan must be
+attempted at all hazards. It is the key, you see, to our position. If we
+wait for all our reinforcements the task will only be greater, as it
+will give the enemy time to establish himself in force, and when he
+drills out the spiked gun, the odds against us will be greater still."
+
+Then, after a pause, "We must try and regain that gun without a moment's
+delay. It will be hot work, and means a sacrifice, but it is clearly our
+duty. Macdonell cannot be long. How are your men?"
+
+"Somewhat fagged, sir," replied Dennis, "and a bit hippish. We've had a
+trying time, but they are ready to follow you."
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+It has been truly said of Isaac Brock that he never allowed a thought of
+self-preservation or self-interest to affect for one instant his
+conception of duty. He was blind at this moment to all personal
+considerations. He made no effort to shelter himself behind any
+plausible excuse that would have been gratefully seized by the timid or
+calculating man, or to fence with his duty. His consistency was sublime.
+"His last moments were in clear keeping with his life and his belief."
+
+     "He who thinks In strife
+       To earn a deathless fame,
+     Must _do_, nor ever care for life."
+
+The little band of heroes fell into line, while their brother hero
+addressed them.
+
+"Men of the 49th," said Brock, "and my brave volunteers, I have heard of
+your work this morning, and the trying circumstances under which you
+have been fighting. Now, my lads, as you know, a large body of the enemy
+has stolen a march on us. They have taken our gun, it is true, but they
+will find it spiked! It is our duty to re-take it. Be prepared for
+slippery footing. Use every bit of shelter, but when we make the final
+rush give the enemy no time to think. Pour in a volley; fire low, and
+when it comes to in-fighting, use the bayonet resolutely and you have
+them beaten. I know I can depend upon you.... There is a foreign flag
+flying over a British gun. It must not stay there.... Don't cheer now,
+men, but save your breath and follow me."
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+There was a cheer, notwithstanding.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXIX.
+
+THE BATTLE OF QUEENSTON HEIGHTS.
+
+
+While these fateful and stirring scenes were being enacted at Queenston,
+a despatch rider arrived from Evans of Fort George. Without waiting for
+further instructions, he had, after Brock's departure, with the first
+glimpse of daylight, cannonaded Fort Niagara. This he did with typical
+thoroughness. His fire was returned with interest. With a license in
+direct opposition to the laws of battle, the enemy, under Captain
+Leonard, turned his guns on the village of Newark, bombarding public
+buildings and private residences with hot-shot, laying part of the town
+in ashes. This infuriated Evans, and he renewed the siege with so much
+vigour that he compelled the American garrison to evacuate. A shot from
+one of his twelve-pounders burst within the centre of Fort Niagara and
+decided Leonard to abandon his position in haste, after suffering many
+casualties.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Under a nasty crackle of musketry, galling and accurate, which harried
+the men, already chilled and strung up with suspense, the small
+detachment following the courageous Brock from the lower village soon
+reached the stone walls that surrounded a residence at the base of the
+hill. Here our hero dismounted, handed his horse to an orderly, and
+directed the men to find shelter. A moment later, taking advantage of a
+lull in the firing, he vaulted over the wall, and waving his sword above
+his head, shouted to the grenadiers a word of encouragement. They
+answered with a cheer, still following him as he led the way up the
+steep ascent towards the captured battery.
+
+Wool, within the enclosure of the redan, was closely watching the steady
+advance of the small body of resolute men breasting the Height.
+
+The purpose of these men was unmistakable. As they drew closer, scarlet
+uniform and polished bayonet blazed and flashed in the sunshine. Having
+been heavily reinforced, he detached a party of 150 picked regulars, and
+with these moved out to meet the small band of British led by Brock. A
+brief exchange of shots took place, and the Americans fell back, firing.
+
+Though the rain had ceased the trees were gemmed with drops that still
+dripped. The ground was strewn with wet leaves, slippery, and affording
+treacherous foothold. Progress was slow and laborious. As the hillside
+grew steeper, a man here and there slid, lurched and fell. To maintain
+any semblance of formation was impossible. The fire grew hotter. Ball
+and buckshot and half-ounce bullets down-poured on them from above.
+"Death crouched behind every rock and lurked in every hollow."
+
+Had Brock's handful of loyalists been able to rush headlong, spurred by
+lust of conflict, and lock bayonets with the enemy, another tale might
+have been told. But the effect of the futile struggle for foothold on
+the hillside, seamed with slippery depressions, in the teeth of a
+blizzard of lead, soon showed. The bullet-swept ascent was a cruel test
+for men already fagged and faint. As for our hero, though storm-beaten,
+stained with mud, and hungry as a wolf, he was still the same
+indomitable youth who had scaled the cut cliffs of Cobo in search of
+seagulls' eggs. His vigour and disregard of danger were magnificent. His
+example, splendid.
+
+Brock may not have been judicially precautious. Had he waited for
+reinforcements--there were none nearer than Fort George--his own life
+might possibly have been preserved. As an alternative he could perhaps
+have withdrawn and sought shelter in the village. But--apart from the
+peril to his own prestige--who would care to estimate the ulterior
+effect upon his men if such an example had been set them? These rough
+Canadian irregulars consisted, as they do to-day, of the finest fighting
+material in the world. The law of self-preservation had no place in the
+litany of Isaac Brock. He was a daily dealer in self-sacrifice. Besides,
+this was not the time or place to calculate involved issues. He was not
+a cold-blooded politician, nor was he an opportunist; he was merely a
+patriot and a soldier fighting for hearth and home, for flag and
+country. It was not an issue that could be left to arbitration in the
+hereafter, or threshed out by judge and jury. The situation called for
+instant action. To _do_ his obvious duty rather than to _know_ it,
+seemed to our hero the only honorable exit from the dilemma, even though
+it resulted in his own undoing.
+
+Not until the dead are mustered by the God of hosts--at the last
+roll-call--will this noble soldier's conception of duty and his
+sacrifice be truly appraised.
+
+God and the right was carved deep in the heart of Isaac Brock. Though he
+felt for his men, it was in a compassionate, not a weak way. War without
+bloodshed was inconceivable. He had been trained in an age and in a
+school that regarded blood-shedding in the protection of the right as
+wholly justifiable, as it was inevitable. Is there any change in respect
+to the application of this doctrine to-day? For himself he had no
+compassion whatever. His faith in the cause compelled him to fight to a
+finish. He was not of the potter's common clay of which fatalists are
+made. How many of these faithful fellows, he wondered, as his alert mind
+rapidly reviewed the present and recalled the past--Canadian and Celt,
+Irish and Anglo-Saxon, Protestant and Catholic, whom "neither politics,
+sect or creed could, in such a crisis, keep apart"--would leave their
+bodies to bleach on that hill-side? How many of them were destined to
+yield their lives for honour's sake, to die with their valour unrecorded
+in the defence--in the case of numbers of them--not of their own, but of
+their brother's rights?
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+The next second he was wondering what was doing at St. Peter's Port or
+London. It would be noon there. Were the good brothers and sister
+thinking of "Master Isaac" at that moment? Then, swifter than light, he
+was at Niagara, and the bowed figure of a woman at a porch, with pale,
+upturned face, who that morning had bade him a silent farewell, rose
+before him--surely it was years ago--the woman to whom he was betrothed.
+Then, in a flash, he turned to see some wavering figures around him,
+some of his own men--not a few wounded--who faltered and shrank from the
+screaming buckshot, and dropped to the rear.
+
+The soldier awoke.
+
+"This is the first time," he shouted, "I have ever seen the 49th turn
+their backs! Surely the heroes of Egmont will never tarnish their
+record!"
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+The rebuke stung. The panting ranks closed up.
+
+[Illustration: DEATH OF ISAAC BROCK]
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXX.
+
+THE DEATH OF ISAAC BROCK.
+
+
+At this moment Colonel Macdonell, excited and eager to participate,
+reached the foot of the mountain at the head of the supports for which
+the General had despatched him. These consisted of about thirty of
+Heward's flank company of militia and thirty of the 49th--almost
+breathless and much exhausted, having run most of the way. Brock's small
+force--those actually at his side--were Chisholm's and Cameron's
+companies of the Toronto and York volunteers--a mere handful of perhaps
+eighty all told. These, together with Macdonell's men, who were at the
+foot of the hill on the right, now numbered less than 190 of all ranks.
+
+For an instant there was a pause. Brock spoke hurriedly to his aide.
+
+"If Williams and Macdonell can but outflank the Americans on the summit
+and scale the mountain in rear of the redan on the right, nothing can
+prevent our driving them out. Our place is here."
+
+"But, General," interposed his aide, who worshipped his commanding
+officer, "I pray you, let me lead, or at least do take proper
+precautions. If you are wounded, think what may befall us."
+
+"Master Glegg," hurriedly replied Brock, "I must remain at the head of
+these men. Duty and desire compel me. Should I fall, there are others
+not less competent."
+
+A half smile, a touch of the arm, and the two men separated. A long
+separation.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Deceived by the scarlet uniforms of the militia flank companies, Wool
+believed that the attacking party was composed exclusively of regulars,
+so steady was their advance. His own force now consisted of 500 men,
+over 300 of whom were regulars. Notwithstanding his much greater
+strength and vastly superior position, being protected by artificial
+brush-shelters and logs, and the withering fire with which he met the
+dogged progress of the British, his flanks, pressed by Williams and
+Macdonell, began to shrink. The moment was a critical one for our hero.
+
+The supreme effort must be made.
+
+Glancing below, Brock, even at that instant, for a fleeting moment was
+conscious of the beauty of the country spread beneath him. Almost as far
+as eye could reach extended an immense, partly pastoral plain, studded
+with villages, groves, winding streams, cultivated farms, orchards,
+vineyards and meadows. In places a dense forest, decorated with autumn's
+mellow tints, and furrowed by the black gorge of the Niagara, stretched
+to the horizon. Across all, shadows of racing clouds gave emphasis to
+the brilliant flood of sunshine. No fairer scene ever greeted the eye of
+man. The entire landscape breathed peace. Above it, however, in detached
+masses, hung lurid billows--the smoke of battle.... The serene vision
+faded, and in its place, in brutal contrast, came cruel, imperious bugle
+calls, the metallic rattle of fire-arms, the deep thunder of artillery,
+the curdling cry of wounded men.
+
+Isaac's senses were insulted by the carnage of war.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+He now noticed that the supports, led by his plucky aide at the foot of
+the hill, were flagging. He shouted back, "Push on, York Volunteers!"
+
+Our hero's robust figure was a conspicuous object for the American
+riflemen. While telling his men to take advantage of every bit of
+shelter, he paid little attention to himself. His uniform, his position
+at the head of his men, his loud words of command, stamped him a man of
+mark, a soldier of distinction, a special target for Wool's
+sharpshooters.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+So far he had escaped the hail of shot by a miracle. Picking his
+footsteps--it was treadmill work--he sprang forward, urging on his men
+by word and gesture.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+A deflected bullet struck the wrist of his sword arm. The wound was
+slight. He again waved his sword, smiling his indifference and still
+speaking words of encouragement.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+They were getting at close quarters now. The redan was less than fifty
+yards above.
+
+He was calling to those nearest him to hold their fire a moment, to
+prepare to rush the enemy and use their bayonets, when, from a thorn
+thicket, an Ohio scout, Wilklow by name, one of Moseley's riflemen,
+stepped forward, and, singling out his victim, deliberately aimed at the
+General. Several of the 49th, noticing the man's movement, fired--but
+too late. The rifleman's bullet entered our hero's right breast, tore
+through his body on the left side, close to his heart, leaving a gaping
+wound.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+[Illustration: BROCK'S COAT, WORN AT QUEENSTON HEIGHTS]
+
+Brock sank slowly to the ground, quite sensible of his grievous fate. A
+grenadier, horribly mutilated, fell across him. To those who ran to aid
+our hero, anxious to know the nature of his injury, he murmured a few
+broken sentences and--turned to die.
+
+He tried to frame messages to loved ones, and then, more audibly, as he
+gallantly strove to raise his head to give emphasis to his last
+faltering words--the same Isaac Brock, unmindful of self and still
+mindful of duty--he said, "My fall must not be noticed, nor impede my
+brave companions from advancing to victory."
+
+And with a sigh--expired.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Thus died General Sir Isaac Brock, defender and saviour of Upper Canada.
+Died the death he would have selected, the most splendid death of
+all--that of the hero in the hour of victory, fighting for King and
+country, for you and me, and with his face to the foe.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Our hero had passed his _last_ milestone.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+For a brief space the body of Isaac Brock rested where it had fallen,
+about one hundred yards west of the road that leads through Queenston,
+and a little eastward of an aged thorn bush.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Above the dead soldier's head, clouds, sunshine and rustling foliage;
+beneath it, fallen forest leaves, moist and fragrant. About the
+motionless body swayed tussocks of tall grass and the trampled heads of
+wild-flowers. The shouts of the regulars, the clamor of the militia, the
+shrill war-cry of the Mohawks, and the organ notes of battle, were his
+requiem. Then the corpse was hurriedly borne by a few grief-stricken men
+of the 49th to a house in the village, occupied by Laura Secord--the
+future heroine of Lundy's Lane--where, concealed by blankets--owing to
+the presence of the enemy--it was allowed to remain for some hours,
+unvisited.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Later in the day Major Glegg, Brock's faithful aide--the brave
+Macdonell, in extreme agony, lay dying of his wounds--hastened to the
+spot, and finding the body of his lamented friend undisturbed, conveyed
+it to Niagara, "where it was bedewed by weeping friends whose hearts
+were agonized with bitterest sorrow."
+
+[Illustration: BATTLE OF QUEENSTON. From an old Sketch]
+
+
+
+
+SUPPLEMENT
+
+
+
+
+AFTER BROCK'S DEATH.
+
+
+The "Story of Isaac Brock" would be incomplete without an epitome of the
+events that terminated the Battle of Queenston Heights and resulted in
+an overwhelming victory for the British.
+
+General Brock was killed in action at about half-past seven on the
+morning of October 13th, 1812. His body was removed from Government
+House, Niagara, to a cavalier bastion at Fort George, for final
+sepulture. This bastion was selected by Major Glegg, it being the one
+which Brock's own genius had lately suggested--the one from which the
+range of an observer's vision covered the principal points of
+approach--and had just been finished under his daily superintendence.
+
+After he fell, the handful of men who were with him, overcome by his
+tragic end, overwhelmed by superior numbers and a hurricane of buckshot
+and bullets, wavered, and though Dennis attempted to rally them, fell
+back and retreated to the far end of Queenston village. Here, about two
+hours later, Colonel Macdonell, Brock's aide, collected and reformed the
+scattered units, and made another bold dash to rescale the heights and
+retake the redan. A detailed account of the incidents that followed in
+dramatic succession would fill a book.
+
+With the cry of "Revenge the General!" from the men of the 49th,
+Macdonell, on Brock's charger, led the forlorn attack, supported by
+Dennis. At the same moment, Williams, with his detachment, emerged from
+the thicket, shouting to his men, "Feel firmly to the right, my lads;
+advance steadily, charge them home, and they cannot stand you." The two
+detachments then combined, and Macdonell ordering a general advance,
+they once more breasted the ascent.
+
+The enemy, over four hundred strong, but without proper formation, fired
+an independent volley at the British as they approached to within thirty
+yards of the redoubt. This was responded to with vigour, and grenadiers
+and volunteers, in response to brave Macdonell's repeated calls, charged
+fiercely on Wool's men, now huddled in disorder around the
+eighteen-pounder. Some of them started to run towards the river bank.
+One American officer, Ogilvie, of the 13th regulars, thinking the
+situation hopeless, raised his handkerchief on his sword-point in token
+of surrender. Wool, a soldier of different calibre, tore it down, and a
+company of United States infantry coming at that moment to his
+assistance, he rallied his men.
+
+The momentary advantage gained by Macdonell's small band of heroes was
+lost, and in the exchange of shots that followed, Macdonell's
+horse--Brock's charger--was killed under him while he--his uniform torn
+with bullets--was thrown from the saddle as the animal plunged in its
+death struggle--receiving several ghastly bullet wounds, from which he
+died the following day, after enduring much agony. Williams, a moment
+later, fell desperately wounded; Dennis, suffering from a severe head
+wound, at first refused to quit the field, but Cameron having removed
+the sorely-stricken Macdonell, and Williams having recovered
+consciousness and escaped, the dispirited men fell back, retreated down
+the mountain at Parrott's Tavern, retiring upon Vrooman's battery. Here
+they awaited, unmolested, until two in the afternoon, the arrival of
+reinforcements from Fort George. The fight, though short, had been
+furious and deadly. Americans and British alike were glad to take
+breath.
+
+Meanwhile, unobserved, young Brant, with 120 Mohawk Indians, had scaled
+the mountain, east of St. David's, outflanking the Americans, and hemmed
+them in until Captains Derenzy, of the 41st, and Holcroft, of the
+Artillery, arrived with the car-brigade from Fort George and trained two
+field-guns and a howitzer upon the landing. Merritt, with a troop of
+mounted infantry, at the same time reached the village by the Queenston
+road. This movement, which was a ruse, deceived the enemy, who at once
+redisposed his troops in readiness for an attack from this new quarter.
+
+The American commander was ignorant of the fact that General
+Sheaffe--with four companies of the 41st, 308 strong, the same number of
+militia, and a company of negro troops from Niagara, refugee slaves from
+the United States--was at that moment approaching his rear in the rear
+of the Indians. The British advanced in crescent-shaped formation,
+hidden by mountain and bush, and were shortly joined by a few more
+regulars and by two flank companies of the 2nd regiment of militia from
+Chippewa. Indeed, many persons of all ranks of life, even veterans
+exempt by age, seized their muskets and joined the column to repel the
+invaders, "unappalled" by Dearborn's threats of conquest or by the death
+of their "beloved hero, Isaac Brock." By this movement the British
+escaped the enfilading fire of the Lewiston batteries, the steep ascent
+of the heights in the teeth of the enemy's field-works, and compelled
+him to change front. The British of all ranks numbered less than one
+thousand.
+
+[Illustration: PLAN OF BATTLE OF QUEENSTON]
+
+The United States troops, which had been heavily reinforced, consisted
+at this time of about one thousand fighting men, on and about the
+mountain. This number was slowly supplemented by fresh arrivals from
+Lewiston, encouraged when they saw the American flag planted on the
+redan. The wounded were sent across the river. Nearly all of the new
+arrivals were regulars. Colonel Winfield Scott, of Mexican fame, a tried
+soldier, six feet four in his stockings, was now in command, supported
+by a second field-piece and many sharp-shooters. Van Rensselaer,
+narrowly escaping capture, had retreated by boat to Lewiston, ostensibly
+to bring over more troops. Finding the conditions unfavourable, he did
+not do so, but sent over General Wadsworth, as a vicarious sacrifice, to
+take command. The gun in the redan had been unspiked, and the summit
+strongly entrenched, but as Scott's men betrayed strange lukewarmness,
+orders were given "to shoot any man leaving his post."
+
+Sheaffe's men having rested after their forced tramp, a few spherical
+case-shot by Holcroft drove out the American riflemen. His gunners had
+at last silenced the Lewiston batteries, and finding the river range,
+sunk almost every boat that attempted to cross. The Indians were now
+ordered to drive in the enemy's pickets slowly. Scouting the woods, they
+routed his outposts.
+
+About four p.m. Captain Bullock, with two flank companies of militia and
+150 men of the 41st, advanced, and after firing a volley in the face of
+a dense smoke, charged the enemy's right, which broke in great
+confusion. A general advance was ordered, and, with wild warwhoops by
+the Indians and white men, the heights were rushed, Wadsworth's
+veterans were stampeded, the redan retaken at the point of the bayonet,
+and Scott's command forced to the scarp of the cliff overhanging the
+river.
+
+The American soldiers, to quote United States historians, now "fled like
+sheep," and scuttled off in all directions. Some raced headlong down the
+main road, seeking shelter under the muzzles of Holcroft's guns; some
+sought refuge in the houses; others raced to the landing only to find
+the boats no longer there. Not a few, hot pressed by Brant's avenging
+Mohawks, threw themselves over the precipice, preferring suicide to the
+redman's tomahawk. Others plunged into the Niagara, essaying to swim its
+irresistible eddies, only to be blown out of the green water by
+Holcroft's grapeshot or sucked down by the river's silent whirlpools.
+
+One boat, with fifty struggling refugees, sank with its entire crew. Two
+others similarly laden were beached below the village, with only one
+dozen out of one hundred souls still living. The river presented a
+shocking scene. On the face of the water men, many maimed and wounded,
+fought and struggled for survival. This pitiful spectacle was actually
+taking place under the eyes of several thousands of American soldiers on
+the Lewiston bank, who, almost impossible to believe, and to their
+lasting disgrace, refused to join, or attempt even to succour, their
+comrades--deaf to all entreaty--allowing them to perish. Every room and
+shack at Queenston was an improvised hospital or morgue, filled with the
+mangled bodies of the quick and dead.
+
+Cruikshank says 120 wounded United States officers and men were taken,
+of whom thirty died at hospital in Queenston and Niagara, while 140 more
+were ferried across to Lewiston. Lossing, the American historian,
+solemnly records the "fact" that "less than 600 American troops of all
+ranks ever landed at Queenston," and that "of these only 300 were
+overpowered"--some of the United States histories of the colonial wars
+need drastic revision--yet 958 American soldiers were taken prisoners by
+the British; "captured by a force," so officially wrote Colonel Van
+Rensselaer, after the battle, "amounting to only about _one-third_ of
+the united number of the American troops." Captain Gist, of the U.S.
+army, placed their own killed at 400.
+
+Among those who, when defeat was certain, fled to the water's edge,
+after fighting valiantly, was Colonel Winfield Scott, General
+Wadsworth, and other United States officers. Pursued by the Indians,
+they lowered themselves from shrub to shrub. When escape was hopeless,
+Scott tied the white cravat of his comrade, Totten, on his sword point,
+and with another officer, Gibson, was hurrying to present this flag of
+truce, when two Indians confronted them on the narrow trail. Jacobs,
+Brant's powerful follower, wrenched Scott's sword away, hatchets were
+drawn, and had not a British grenadier sergeant rushed forward, Winfield
+Scott would have fared badly.
+
+General Van Rensselaer's defeat was complete and disastrous. His chagrin
+at his failure "to appal the minds of the Canadians" was so great that
+ten days later he resigned his command.
+
+The account between Canada and the United States at sundown on that day
+stood as follows: Total American force engaged, 1,600. Killed and
+wounded, or sent back across the river, during the fight, 500.
+Prisoners, 73 officers, including two generals and five colonels,
+together with 852 rank and file. Total loss, 1,425 men, besides the
+colours of the New York regiment, one six-pounder, 815 carbines and
+bayonets, and 5,950 rounds of ball and buckshot.
+
+The total British force engaged was 1,000. Of these 800 were regulars
+and militia, and 200 Indians. Killed, 14, including one major-general
+and one aide. Wounded and missing, 96. Total American loss, 1,425. Total
+British loss, 110. _The next day the British General, Sheaffe, Isaac
+Brock's successor, signed another armistice. The second armistice within
+a period of nine weeks!_
+
+Such is the story of the Battle of Queenston Heights.
+
+
+
+
+SUBSEQUENT EVENTS OF THE CAMPAIGN OF 1812.
+
+After Van Rensselaer resigned his command in favour of Brigadier-General
+Smyth, the effect of the British victory upon the United States troops
+at Lewiston was beyond belief. While the British soldiers were, with
+characteristic indifference, hard at work at Fort George cutting wood
+and threshing straw, the American soldiers across the river, according
+to their own historians, were deserting by the hundreds. Of General
+Tannehill's brigade of 1,414 of all ranks, 1,147 deserted within a few
+days. Twenty of these were officers.
+
+Had the British been allowed to profit by this demoralization of the
+enemy and followed up their brilliant successes, they could, as Brock
+predicted, have swept the frontier from Chippewa to Sackett's Harbour,
+and probably prevented a continuance of the two years' war. The
+Sheaffe-Prevost inexcusable thirty days' truce was the very respite the
+enemy had prayed for. More men and more munitions were hurriedly
+despatched to all the United States frontier forts, and renewed courage
+imparted to some of the commanders and their hesitating brigades. The
+first to waken up after the expiration of this, to the Americans,
+merciful truce, was General Dearborn, who, with 2,000 men, attacked
+Odelltown, only to be driven back to Lake Champlain by de Salaberry.
+This reverse was followed in the last days of November by an attack by
+General Smyth, with 400 of his 4,300 men, upon a four-gun battery,
+defended by sixty-five men, above Garden Island, on the Niagara River.
+Elated with his success, he took for his rallying cry, "The cannon lost
+at Detroit--or death!" and again crossed the river with thirty-two boats
+and 900 men, and descended upon Fort Erie. Meanwhile, Colonel Bisshopp
+had retaken the fort, with its American captors, and with a handful of
+regulars and militia awaited "annihilation." As Smyth's flotilla
+advanced, Bisshopp poured in a hot fire, sinking two boats. This
+reception did not accord with Smyth's views of the ethics of war, and
+forgetting all about the "lost guns," and disliking, upon reflection,
+the idea of "death," he at once turned tail. At Buffalo he was publicly
+pelted by the populace, and for his cowardice was dismissed the service
+by the United States Senate without the formality of a trial.
+Dearborn--strange to say--having for the time lost his taste for
+fighting, went into winter quarters, and Canada, in universal mourning
+for Brock, but still confident and undaunted, rested on her arms. The
+year 1812 closed without further incident.
+
+The period thus ended had been a momentous one. Brilliant reputations
+had been made and lost. The blood of many patriots had flowed freely,
+but, as regarded Canada, not in vain, for, in the words of the American
+historian, Schouler, "the war had impressed upon the people of the
+Republic the fact that Canada could not be carried by dash, nor pierced
+by an army officered by political generals and the invincibles of
+peace."
+
+
+
+
+THE CAMPAIGN OF 1813.
+
+Though it would be quite natural to suppose that the story of Isaac
+Brock would end with his death and the victory of Queenston Heights, it
+is well to remember that the _influence of his triumphs only ceased with
+the close of the war_ and the Treaty of Ghent, in December, 1814. Hence
+a _resume_ of the events that occurred during 1813 and 1814 is
+necessary, if a just valuation of our hero's achievements is desired.
+
+Between July, 1812 and November 5th, 1814, "twelve distinct invasions of
+Canada by superior forces of the enemy were defeated." Out of fifty-six
+military and naval engagements between the British and U.S. forces,
+thirty-six were won by the British. Though the victories of 1812 were
+the direct factors that brought about a change in the national destiny
+of Canada, "Queenston Heights was not the culminating feat of arms." As
+a result of brooding over these disasters that had befallen the "Grand
+Army of the West," and the "national disgrace" of overwhelming defeat,
+the people of the United States, as a whole, independent of politics,
+"were now"--so write American chroniclers--"compelled to become
+belligerents."
+
+In consequence of this national thirst for revenge, Generals Harrison
+and Winchester started to look for trouble in January, 1813, and--were
+rewarded. Strongly stockaded at Frenchtown, on the Raisin River, with a
+seasoned army, they invited attack. Colonel Procter, with 500 soldiers
+and 800 Indians under Roundhead, accepted the challenge, and making a
+furious attack upon Winchester before daybreak, took the General and 405
+of his "Grand Army" prisoners. Brockville was then raided, and fifty-two
+citizens kidnapped by the U.S. soldiers. During the next two years raids
+of this nature were of frequent occurrence, first by one belligerent,
+then by the other, and with varying success. Major Macdonald's capture
+of Ogdensburg, when he took eleven guns and 500 U.S. soldiers, was the
+next big win for Canada.
+
+In April, to balance the account, General Pike descended upon York. The
+capital of Upper Canada at that time had a population of only 1,000, and
+was weakly garrisoned. While the enemy was advancing upon the small fort
+to the west of the village, a powder magazine exploded, killing many on
+both sides. General Sheaffe, thoroughly alarmed at the prospect,
+destroyed his stores, and, after 300 of his force had been captured,
+retreated with the remainder to Kingston--for which he was severely
+censured--and York surrendered. Then Procter, inflated by his victory at
+Frenchtown, and overrating his military skill, attacked Fort Meigs, on
+the Maumee River, was badly repulsed, and hopelessly lost all prestige.
+
+This defeat of the British was followed by Dearborn's assault upon Fort
+George. With 7,000 men behind him, aided by the guns of Chauncey's fleet
+at the river mouth, he captured the time-worn fortification, and the
+Niagara frontier--despite the dogged resistance of General Vincent, who
+had to retreat with the crippled remnant of his 1,400 men--was at last
+in the possession of the enemy. This win was made more complete by
+General Prevost's belated and, of course, futile attack upon Sackett's
+Harbour. When assured success stared him in the face, his flaccid nature
+suggested retreat, and what might have been a signal victory became a
+disgraceful failure. The position of affairs at this time was admirably
+summed up in a letter written by Quartermaster Nichol. "Alas! we are no
+longer commanded by Isaac Brock.... Confidence seems to have vanished
+from the land, and gloomy despondency in those who are at our head has
+taken its place." Brock's courage, judgment, military skill and personal
+magnetism were never so much needed.
+
+To offset these reverses, the brilliant victory of the British ship
+_Shannon_ over the American war vessel _Chesapeake_, in a naval duel
+fought outside Boston harbour, somewhat restored British complacence.
+This was the prelude to another victory on land. Vincent, after being
+bombarded out of Fort George, slowly retreated with his broken command
+towards Burlington, cleverly flirting with the enemy, and drawing him
+farther and farther inland, finally reforming his wearied men near Stony
+Creek, sixteen miles from the lake's head. Here the enemy, 3,000 strong,
+went into camp. It was here that FitzGibbon--General Brock's old-time
+sergeant-major and faithful _protege_--now in command of a company of
+the 49th, disguised as a settler, penetrated the enemy's camp, and was
+convinced a night attack would be successful. While the advance guard of
+the enemy was driving in the British decoy pickets, 800 of Vincent's
+force, under Harvey, surprised and charged them in the darkness,
+capturing two American generals, 120 prisoners, and four cannon, without
+the loss of a man.
+
+Sheaffe was now transferred to Montreal, and De Rottenberg assumed
+military command in Upper Canada. Three weeks later an American, Colonel
+Boerstler, was ordered to surprise a small party of British at Beaver
+Dams (now Thorold). Lieutenant FitzGibbon, in command, was informed of
+the proposed attack. An heroic woman--Laura Secord--the wife of a
+wounded militiaman at Queenston, and to whose house Brock's body was
+borne after he fell, learned of the pending surprise by overhearing a
+conversation between some American officers. Her resolution was soon
+formed. Despite the fact that twenty miles through gloomy forest, filled
+with hostile Indians, lay between her home and the British camp, she
+tramped the distance unattended, though not unmolested, and reached the
+Stone House in time to warn the plucky grenadier. The wily Irishman at
+once despatched a party of Caughnawaga Indians to divert the enemy's
+attention. Advancing with a few soldiers, and finding Boerstler and his
+force drawn up in an opening of the woods, uncertain what to do, he
+boldly ordered that officer to surrender with his entire command of 540
+soldiers, though he had but forty-seven men to enforce the conditions.
+His demand was instantly complied with.
+
+To equalize in part this game of international see-saw, Chauncey again
+visited York with fourteen ships, mounting 114 guns, and plundered the
+defenceless capital.
+
+On Lake Erie, Perry, with nine ships and a total broadside of 936 pounds
+of metal, defeated Barclay's six Canadian ships, with a total broadside
+of 459 pounds. These facts must be taken into impartial consideration in
+weighing the issue. In the west, Procter, still suffering from the shock
+received at Fort Meigs, with 407 troops and 800 Indians, retreated up
+the Thames valley, neglecting to burn his bridges in his retreat, with
+General Harrison and an army of 3,500 men in hot pursuit. The American
+general brought him to bay at Moraviantown, and in the frozen swamps the
+dispirited British, having lost all confidence in their fleeing
+commander, surrendered or escaped. It was here that the gallant and
+high-minded Tecumseh met his death, under distressing circumstances. The
+story was circulated that, mortified at Procter's proposed flight, the
+Shawanese chief was only restrained from shooting that officer by the
+interference of Colonel Elliott. For his conduct and the unexplained
+disaster at Moraviantown, Procter was court-martialed, severely
+condemned, and suspended from his command for six months.
+
+[Illustration: TAKING OF NIAGARA, MAY 27TH, 1813. From an old Print]
+
+The defeat of Procter was counterbalanced, however, by Colonel de
+Salaberry's dramatic victory over General Hampton. With 350 French
+Canadian Voltigeurs he hypnotized 3,500 United States troops at
+Chateauguay. When the fight was hottest the gallant Frenchman ordered
+his buglers to sound the advance, an alarming fanfare, accompanied by
+discharges of musketry from various points of the surrounding forest,
+and the enemy, thinking he was about to be attacked and flanked by
+superior numbers, was seized with panic, stampeded, and never halted in
+his retreat until he had placed twenty-five miles of country between him
+and the "French devils." After this, occurred the historic battle of
+Chrysler's Farm, on the St. Lawrence, when 2,000 U.S. regulars under
+General Boyd, with six field-guns, were routed, with a loss of 102
+killed and 237 wounded, by a force composed of 380 regulars, militia and
+Indians, under Colonel Morrison, and driven back into American
+territory.
+
+In the second week of December, General McClure evacuated Fort George,
+but before doing so burned 149 of the public buildings and private
+houses in Newark and Queenston, by order of John Armstrong, U.S.
+Secretary of War, compelling 400 women and children to seek shelter in
+the woods, with the thermometer ranging around zero. Even Lossing, the
+American historian, condemned this as "a wanton act, contrary to the
+usages of war, and leaving a stain upon the American character." The
+outrage brought its own punishment within the week. Colonel Murray, with
+550 soldiers, captured the United States Fort Niagara, killing
+sixty-five men and taking 344 prisoners, and before the close of the
+year, with his heart on fire, the British general, Riall, crossed the
+river with 500 Indians and sacked Lewiston, Youngstown, Tuscarora and
+Manchester, only desisting from his excusable incendiarism when he had
+burned Buffalo and laid Black Rock in ashes. January 1st, 1814, was
+ushered in with the Cross of St. George floating over the battered
+ramparts of the American Fort Niagara.
+
+Thus ended the year of our Lord 1813, for ever memorable in North
+American history as a twelve months of almost incessant warfare, famous
+for its records of conspicuous courage, much military incompetence, and
+great and lamentable carnage. A year, notwithstanding its sheaf of
+blunders, that should be canonized by all true Canadians, for it was a
+year that emphasized in an astounding manner the pluck and bull-dog
+tenacity of the Canadian militiaman, disclosing his deep love for
+country that resisted unto death the lawless attacks of a wanton
+invader.
+
+
+
+
+THE CAMPAIGN OF 1814.
+
+In March, 1814, General Wilkinson again undertook the forlorn hope of
+capturing Canada, leading 5,000 men against 350 British, under Hancock,
+at Lacolle, on Lake Champlain. After five hours of red-hot fighting, he
+was compelled to fall back on Plattsburg. A month later Admiral Sir
+James Yeo and General Drummond, with 750 men, landed under the batteries
+at Oswego, and in the teeth of a sustained fire of cannon and musketry,
+"gathered in" that historic town and sixty prisoners.
+
+To and fro, like a pendulum, swayed the scene of action--to-day east,
+to-morrow west. Colonel Campbell and 500 American soldiers, with nothing
+better to do, made a bonfire of Port Dover, the incident being
+officially described by the U.S. War Department as "an error of
+judgment." Then General Brown, backed by an army of 6,000 U.S. veterans,
+swooped down like "a wolf on the fold" on Fort George, and annexed it
+and the garrison of 170 men. The British general, Riall, still
+possessing the fighting mania, and some 1,800 men, locked horns with
+General Brown and 3,000 of his veterans, and the Battle of Chippewa
+added another victory to the American record. The enemy then pillaged
+St. David's, while Riall--both sides having suffered heavily--retreated
+to the head of Lundy's Lane, a narrow roadway close to the Falls of
+Niagara, and stood at bay.
+
+Three weeks elapsed, when General Drummond, realizing Riall's danger,
+hastened from York to his assistance, reaching Lundy's Lane with 800 men
+at the moment that General Brown, with his reinforced army of over 4,000
+men, was within 600 yards of the British outposts. A moment later the
+contest was on, the bloodiest and probably the most brilliant battle of
+the whole campaign. It was a bitterly contested fight for seven hours--a
+death struggle for the survival of the fittest. During the first three
+hours the British force numbered only 1,640, until reinforced by 1,200
+additional combatants. All through the long hours of the black night the
+battle waged furiously. Charge succeeded charge, followed by the screams
+of the mutilated and the dead silence of the stricken. Over all boomed
+the muffled thunders of Niagara. The big guns, almost mouth to mouth,
+roared crimson destruction. Though bayonets were crossed, and the
+fighting was hand to hand and desperate, and sand and grass grew ghastly
+and slippery with the sheen of blood in the fitful moonlight, the
+British, notwithstanding the advantage in weight and numbers of the
+enemy, held their ground. When day was breaking, and the American
+general found his casualties exceeded one thousand, he withdrew his
+shattered army of invaders to Fort Erie. The British loss was 84 killed
+and 557 wounded. Lundy's Lane has been likened to the storming of St.
+Sebastian or the deathly duel at Quatre Bras. Both invaders and
+defenders exhibited heroism--worthy, in the case of the enemy, of a
+higher cause. General Drummond was wounded, and a son of General Hull,
+of Detroit notoriety, was among the killed.
+
+[Illustration: CENOTAPH, QUEENSTON HEIGHTS]
+
+Though the battle of Lundy's Lane, fought on July 25th, was the last
+great engagement in 1814, and practically ended the war, the campaign
+was not destined to close without an exhibition of constitutional
+timidity on the part of Prevost, the man with the liquid backbone. With
+11,000 seasoned veterans who had campaigned under Wellington, he
+advanced, September 14th, on Plattsburg, garrisoned by only 4,000
+Americans, and when victory smiled in his face, he actually ordered the
+retreat. Overcome with humiliation, his officers broke their swords,
+declaring they "could never serve again," and sullenly retraced their
+steps to the frontier. This was the crowning episode that destroyed
+Prevost's reputation. Death rescued him from the disgrace of
+court-martial.
+
+How clear-cut and free from blemish, in contrast with that of many of
+his contemporaries, stands out the brilliant record of Isaac Brock.
+
+The Treaty of Ghent--while satisfactory to the people of Canada,
+bringing as it did a cessation of hostilities, permanent peace, and
+recognition of their rights--was received with mixed satisfaction by
+both political parties in the United States, after the first flush of
+excitement had passed away. "What," the citizens asked each other,
+"have we gained by a war into which the country was dragged by President
+Madison in defence of free-trade and sailors' rights, and in opposition
+to paper blockades?"
+
+In the articles of peace, these vexed questions (as related in Chapters
+VIII. and XIV.)--questions which, as we have seen, were advanced by the
+United States Government as the _real cause for war_, were _not even
+mentioned_. Some worthy Americans, having suffered from the fighting
+qualities of the Canadian loyalists, publicly stated that the
+"declaration of peace had delivered them from great peril." In some of
+the States "the universal joy was so great," writes Gay, in his Life of
+Madison, "that Republicans and Democrats forgot their differences and
+hates and wept and laughed by turns in each others' arms, and kissed
+each other like women."
+
+Another United States historian (Johnston) writes that "peace secured
+not _one_ of the objects for which war had been declared, for, though
+Britain put a stop to the irritating ... practice of searching American
+vessels flying an American flag, she was not bound by the terms of the
+treaty to do so." In the words of another recorder (Taylor), "Britain
+ceased the practice of search, not on account of war, nor of the treaty,
+but because the necessity of doing so had passed away--the European war
+being over."
+
+
+
+
+WHAT OF CANADA?
+
+Canada, young as she was in the arts of peace and cruel practices of
+war, while honouring the memory of her heroes who had fallen in the
+splendid struggle against invasion, wasted no time in idle tears. The
+very atmosphere of her high northern latitude, the breath of life that
+rose from lake and forest, prairie and mountain, was fast developing a
+race of men with bodies enduring as iron and minds as highly tempered as
+steel. She drew another and a deeper breath, and, forecasting her
+destiny, with shoulders squared and fixed resolve, made ready to create
+an empire of industrial greatness which, under Providence, was to rank
+second to none.
+
+The influence of Brock's life, achievements and death upon the Canadian
+people was more far-reaching than boy, or even man, would suppose. It
+aroused in the people not only the questionable human desire to avenge
+his death, but an unexpressed resolve to emulate his high manliness, his
+fixity of purpose, and his well-ordered courage in defence of the right.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+It remains for the youth of Canada to proudly cherish the memory of
+Isaac Brock, and to never lose an opportunity to follow the example he
+set for them by his splendid deeds.
+
+[Illustration: BROCK'S MONUMENT]
+
+
+
+
+APPENDIX.
+
+EXPLANATORY NOTES ON THE ILLUSTRATIONS.
+
+
+NO. 1. FRONTISPIECE.
+
+_Major-General Sir Isaac Brock._
+
+Reproduction of a copy of the original water-color and chalk drawing in
+the possession of Sir Isaac Brock's great-niece, Miss Tupper, of Candee,
+Guernsey. Copied for Miss Agnes FitzGibbon, of Toronto, by Alyn
+Williams, President of the Miniature Painters' Association of Great
+Britain, 1897, and not hitherto published. Adjudged by relatives to be
+an exact facsimile of Williams' portrait. Miss FitzGibbon writes that
+"the original painting is on similar paper to that on which
+Major-General Brock's last general orders are written, the size
+corresponding to the space between the watermarks. Dated 1811." Artist
+unknown.
+
+
+NO. 2. FACING PAGE 11.
+
+"_St. Peter's Port, Guernsey, in 18x6._"
+
+By an unknown artist. (An x was frequently used for a "0" at that time.)
+The original drawing was found among a number of unframed prints in a
+collection obtained by John Naegely, Esq., who presented it to the
+Grange Club, Guernsey, in 1870. It now hangs over the mantelpiece in the
+club reception room. The original is drawn in very fine pencil and
+water-color--a style of art fashionable at that period. Photographed for
+Miss Agnes FitzGibbon in 1902. Brock's father's house, where our hero
+was born--now converted into a wholesale merchant's warehouse--stands at
+the point where two lines, drawn from the spots indicated by a cross (+)
+on the margin, would intersect. On the frame above the picture are the
+words, "_Guernsey in 18x6_"; below, "_Presented to the Grange Club by
+John Naegely, Esq., 9th March, 1870."_
+
+
+NO. 3. FACING PAGE 27.
+
+_Navy Hall, Remnant of the old "Red Barracks," Niagara, 1797._
+
+Navy Hall consisted of four buildings erected about 1787. One was
+altered in 1792 for Governor Simcoe. Another was fitted up for
+Parliament when it met at Newark (Niagara), 1792-1797. The building here
+shown was afterwards used for troops and called the "Red Barracks." From
+a photograph in possession of Miss Carnochan, Niagara.
+
+
+NO. 4. FACING PAGE 32.
+
+_Colonel James FitzGibbon._
+
+From a photograph in possession of Miss Agnes FitzGibbon, of Toronto,
+his granddaughter. Taken by his nephew, Gerald FitzGibbon, 10 Merrion
+Square, Dublin. Col. FitzGibbon was a _protege_ of Brock's. First
+private, then the "faithful sergeant-major," then ensign, then adjutant
+of the 49th, the "hero of Beaver Dams" in the war of 1812,
+Adjutant-General of Canada, 1837, and Military Knight of Windsor, 1851.
+
+
+NO. 5. FACING PAGE 40.
+
+_Queenston Road, about 1824._
+
+Original water-color painting by Charles W. Jefferys, O.S.A., Toronto,
+from a photograph in possession of Miss Carnochan, showing the ruins of
+William Lyon Mackenzie's printing office, the _Colonial Advocate_, as it
+appeared twelve years after the battle of Queenston Heights.
+
+
+NO. 6. FACING PAGE 52.
+
+_Ruins of old Powder Magazine, Fort George._
+
+Photograph in possession of Miss Carnochan.
+
+
+NO. 7. FACING PAGE 64.
+
+_Brock's Cocked Hat._
+
+Water-color sketch by Harry Carter, Toronto, from photograph in
+possession of Miss Carnochan. (See foot-note on page 64.) Persons
+interested in military matters will observe that the white ostrich
+plumes, which show very slightly, are placed under the flaps, only the
+white edges appearing. This new style of feather display was, it is
+stated, in compliance with an order from the War Office, issued shortly
+before Brock's death. Previously the plumes were worn more
+conspicuously.
+
+
+NO. 8. FACING PAGE 75.
+
+_Butler's Barracks (Officers' Quarters), Niagara Common._
+
+View of officers' quarters. From photograph loaned by Miss Carnochan.
+
+
+NO. 9. FACING PAGE 96.
+
+_Our Hero meets Tecumseh._ "_This is a man_!"
+
+Original black and white drawing by Fergus Kyle, Toronto. See page 97.
+
+
+NO. 10. FACING PAGE 109.
+
+_Lieut.-Colonel John Macdonell._
+
+Reproduced, by permission, from A.C. Casselman's "Richardson's War of
+1812." From a silhouette in possession of John Alexander Macdonell,
+K.C., Alexandria, Ontario. Colonel Macdonell, who was provincial
+aide-de-camp to Brock, was member of Parliament for Glengarry and
+Attorney-General of Upper Canada. Died, October 14th, 1812, from wounds
+received at battle of Queenston Heights, aged 27.
+
+
+NO. 11. FACING PAGE 117.
+
+_Queenston Heights and Brock's Monument._
+
+As it appeared about 1830, excepting that the present monument has been
+substituted for the old one. Original water-color painting by C.M.
+Manly, A.R.C.A., Toronto, from a photograph in possession of Miss
+Carnochan.
+
+
+NO. 12. FACING PAGE 121.
+
+"_Major-General Brock, 18x6._"
+
+From a vignette photograph loaned by Miss FitzGibbon, Toronto, and now
+published for the first time in any Life of Brock. As doubt has been
+expressed by some admirers of Brock as to the authenticity of this
+portrait, Miss FitzGibbon's written endorsation is here quoted:
+
+"The photograph is from an original miniature portrait of Major-General
+(afterwards Sir) Isaac Brock, painted by J. Hudson, 18x6--1806--the date
+of General Brock's last visit to England. The miniature is now in
+possession of Miss S. Mickle, Toronto."
+
+This full-face vignette is of exceptional interest, all other portraits
+of Brock being in profile, and is likely to challenge preconceived
+notions.
+
+
+NO. 13. FACING PAGE 128.
+
+_Powder Magazine, Fort George, Niagara._
+
+This powder magazine was first built in 1796. Reproduced from a
+photograph in possession of Miss Carnochan, Niagara.
+
+
+NO. 14. FACING PAGE 135.
+
+_Brock's Midnight Gallop._
+
+Original water-color painting by Charles W. Jefferys, O.S.A., Toronto.
+As a matter of fact, the hour of Brock's gallop from Fort George to
+Queenston, as described in Chapter XXV., was not "midnight," but shortly
+before daybreak. It is this time, "between the lights," with sky and
+atmosphere aglow from the fire of the batteries, that the artist
+cleverly depicts.
+
+
+NO. 15. FACING PAGE 140.
+
+_Battle of Queenston Heights._
+
+Photographed in Guernsey, 1902, from a curious old print, from a sketch
+by a brother officer of Brock's--presumably Dennis. (See Explanatory
+Note to No. 18.) Loaned by Miss FitzGibbon. Original in possession of
+Miss Helen Tupper, Guernsey.
+
+
+NO. 16. FACING PAGE 156.
+
+_Death of Isaac Brock._
+
+Original water-color sketch by Charles W. Jefferys, O.S.A., Toronto.
+Shows our hero falling after being hit by the fatal bullet fired by an
+Ohio rifleman, while courageously heading the charge in the attempt to
+recapture the redan.
+
+
+NO. 17. FACING PAGE 159.
+
+_Brock's Coat, worn at Queenston Heights._
+
+From photograph, loaned by Miss FitzGibbon, of the coat worn by Brock at
+Queenston Heights, showing the hole made by the entry of the fatal
+bullet. Photographed, 1902, from the original in the possession of Miss
+Tupper, of Guernsey.
+
+
+NO. 18. FACING PAGE 161.
+
+_Battle of Queenston._
+
+Facsimile drawing by Harry Carter, Toronto, of an old sketch credited to
+Major Dennis (page 161), which appears on an early map of Upper Canada,
+published by O.G. Steele--presumably of Buffalo--in 1840. Underneath the
+original print are the following words, reproduced _verbatim_:
+
+
+     "BATTLE OF QUEENSTON.
+     AFTER A SKETCH BY MAJOR DENNIS,
+     13TH OCT., 1813,
+
+
+Which ended in a complete victory on the part of the British, having
+captured 927 men, killed or wounded about 500, taken 1,400 stand of
+arms, a six-pounder, and a stand of colors."
+
+(See, also, Explanatory Note to No. 15.)
+
+
+NO. 19. FACING PAGE 163.
+
+_Plan of Battle of Queenston._
+
+Reproduced from an historical pamphlet loaned by Mrs. Currie, of
+Niagara, showing the plan of battleground, disposition of troops, and
+topography of adjacent country.
+
+
+NO. 20. FACING PAGE 170.
+
+_Taking of Niagara, May 27th, 1813._
+
+From a sketch which appeared in the Philadelphia _Portfolio_, 1817.
+Interesting from the fact that it is the only picture known which shows
+the churches of St. Mark's and St. Andrew's, Niagara (Newark), Canadian
+side, and the lighthouse which, built in 1803, stood on the spot where
+Fort Mississauga now stands.
+
+
+NO. 21. FACING PAGE 172.
+
+_Cenotaph, Queenston Heights._
+
+Erected near the spot where Brock fell. It bears the following
+inscription:
+
+
+       "NEAR THIS SPOT
+        MAJOR-GENERAL
+    SIR ISAAC BROCK, K.C.B.,
+PROVISIONAL LIEUTENANT-GOVERNOR OF
+        UPPER CANADA,
+   FELL ON 13TH OCTOBER, 1812,
+  WHILE ADVANCING TO REPEL THE
+       INVADING ENEMY."
+
+
+
+NO. 22. FACING PAGE 174.
+
+_Brock's Monument._
+
+On October 13th, 1824, the remains of Brock and his gallant aide,
+Macdonell, were removed from the bastion at Fort George and placed in a
+vault beneath the monument which had been erected on Queenston Heights
+by the Legislature to commemorate our hero's death. On Good Friday,
+April 17th, 1840, this monument was shattered by an explosion of
+gunpowder placed within the basement by a rebel of 1837 named Lett. In
+1853 the cornerstone of a new monument, as shown at page 174, the cost
+of which was borne by the people of Canada, was erected on the same
+spot, and on October 13th, forty-one years after the British victory at
+Queenston, and the anniversary of Brock's splendid death, the remains of
+the two heroes were re-interred and deposited in two massive stone
+sarcophagi in the vault of the new monument. On the two oval silver
+plates on Brock's coffin was inscribed the following epitaph:
+
+
+  "HERE LIE THE EARTHLY REMAINS OF A BRAVE
+            AND VIRTUOUS HERO,
+      MAJOR-GENERAL SIR ISAAC BROCK,
+     COMMANDER OF THE BRITISH FORCES,
+        AND PRESIDENT ADMINISTERING
+      THE GOVERNMENT OF UPPER CANADA,
+WHO FELL WHEN GLORIOUSLY ENGAGING THE ENEMIES
+             OF HIS COUNTRY,
+    AT THE HEAD OF THE FLANK COMPANIES
+          OF THE 49TH REGIMENT,
+        IN THE TOWN OF QUEENSTON,
+  ON THE MORNING OF THE 13TH OCTOBER, 1812,
+              AGED 42 YEARS.
+
+                             J.B. GLEGG, A.D.C."
+
+
+
+
+
+
+End of Project Gutenberg's The Story of Isaac Brock, by Walter R. Nursey
+
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