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+*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 25912 ***
+ * * * * *
+
+ +-----------------------------------------------------------+
+ | Transcriber's Note: |
+ | |
+ | Inconsistent hyphenation and spelling in the original |
+ | document have been preserved. |
+ | |
+ | Subscripts are respresented with _{} e.g.: Q_{2}. |
+ | |
+ | Obvious typographical errors have been corrected. For |
+ | a complete list, please see the end of this document. |
+ | |
+ +-----------------------------------------------------------+
+
+ * * * * *
+
+
+
+
+SEA POWER IN ITS RELATIONS
+TO THE WAR OF
+1812
+
+
+BY
+
+CAPTAIN A.T. MAHAN, D.C.L., LL.D.
+
+_United States Navy_
+
+
+AUTHOR OF "THE INFLUENCE OF SEA POWER UPON HISTORY, 1660-1783," "THE
+INFLUENCE OF SEA POWER UPON THE FRENCH REVOLUTION
+AND EMPIRE," "THE INTEREST OF AMERICA
+IN SEA POWER," ETC.
+
+
+IN TWO VOLUMES
+
+VOL. II
+
+
+LONDON
+SAMPSON LOW, MARSTON & COMPANY
+LIMITED
+
+ [Illustration: _From a Copley Print copyright 1899 by Curtis &
+ Cameron, Publishers, Boston._
+ _The Constitution_]
+
+
+
+
+CONTENTS
+
+
+CHAPTER IX
+
+THE WINTER OF 1812-1813--BAINBRIDGE'S SQUADRON: ACTIONS BETWEEN
+"CONSTITUTION" AND "JAVA," "HORNET" AND "PEACOCK"--INCREASING
+PRESSURE ON ATLANTIC COAST
+ Page
+
+Bainbridge's squadron sails 1
+
+His plans for the cruise 2
+
+The "Essex" fails to join 3
+
+Proceedings of "Constitution" and "Hornet" 3
+
+Action between "Constitution" and "Java" 4
+
+The "Constitution" returns to the United States 7
+
+Proceedings of the "Hornet" 7
+
+Action between the "Hornet" and "Peacock" 8
+
+The "Hornet" returns 9
+
+The Chesapeake and Delaware blockaded 9
+
+Subsequent extension of blockade to the whole coast south of
+ Newport 10
+
+Three periods into which the War of 1812 divides 10
+
+Difficulty of American frigates in getting to sea 11
+
+Difficulty of manning the navy 12
+
+Cruise of the "Chesapeake" 13
+
+Gradual suppression of American commerce 14
+
+Increasing stringency of the commercial blockade 15
+
+British occupation of Delaware and Chesapeake Bays 16
+
+Diminution of the coasting trade, and increase of land carriage 17
+
+Effects upon prices 18
+
+Abandoned condition of the western Atlantic 20
+
+Diminution in number of prizes taken by Americans 20
+
+Estimate of relative captures by the two belligerents 21
+
+Relative captures no indication of relative immunity 23
+
+American deprivation makes for the prosperity of Halifax and
+ Canada 23
+
+The blockade the chief offensive maritime operation of Great
+ Britain, in 1813 24
+
+No opposition longer possible to the American Navy 25
+
+Strength of the British blockading divisions 25
+
+Escape possible only by evasion 25
+
+The brunt of the British naval operations falls upon the
+ Chesapeake and Delaware 26
+
+
+CHAPTER X
+
+CAMPAIGN OF 1813 ON THE LAKE FRONTIER, TO THE BATTLE OF LAKE ERIE
+
+
+The British naval service on the lakes under Warren's
+ supervision 28
+
+Sir James Yeo appointed to the local command 29
+
+Appoints Captain Barclay to take charge of British vessels on
+ Lake Erie 29
+
+The Americans now superior on Ontario 29
+
+Montreal the true American objective 29
+
+Dearborn ordered to concentrate effort upon Lake Ontario 30
+
+Chauncey's first plan, to capture Kingston 30
+
+Dearborn and Chauncey ordered to proceed first against Kingston,
+ then Toronto, then Niagara 31
+
+Dearborn's objections 32
+
+His reports obtain change of plan from the Government 33
+
+Chauncey's new plan 33
+
+The expedition leaves Sackett's Harbor 36
+
+Capture of Toronto 36
+
+Chauncey's anxiety for Sackett's Harbor 37
+
+Capture of Fort George, and British retreat from Niagara 38
+
+Effects of the American occupation of the Niagara peninsula 40
+
+American naval vessels escape from Black Rock to Erie 41
+
+British attack upon Sackett's Harbor 42
+
+Premature firing of the naval yard and vessels 45
+
+Consequent delay in Chauncey's preparations 45
+
+Yeo takes the lake with his squadron 46
+
+American reverse at Stony Creek 46
+
+The army retreats upon Fort George 47
+
+The British re-occupy the peninsula, except Fort George 47
+
+Dearborn is relieved from command 48
+
+Paralysis of the American forces at Niagara 48
+
+Yeo in temporary control of Lake Ontario 49
+
+Chauncey sails to contest control 51
+
+Characteristics of the ensuing naval campaign 52
+
+Predominant idea of Chauncey and Yeo 52
+
+Relative powers of the two squadrons 53
+
+Their encounter of August 10, 1813 56
+
+Chauncey's extreme caution 59
+
+The engagement of September 11 60
+
+Expediency of a "general chase" under the conditions 61
+
+
+CHAPTER XI
+
+THE CAMPAIGN OF 1813 ON THE LAKES AND NORTHERN FRONTIER--THE BATTLE
+OF LAKE ERIE
+
+The American Navy on Lake Erie 62
+
+Perry's eagerness for active operations 63
+
+Coincidence of events on Lakes Erie and Ontario 64
+
+Inferiority of Perry's crews in numbers and quality 64
+
+Professional contrast between Chauncey and Perry 65
+
+Personal difficulty. Perry applies to be detached 66
+
+The Navy Department refuses 67
+
+Position of the American army on the Maumee 67
+
+Procter's attack upon Fort Meigs 68
+
+Procter and Barclay plan attack on Erie 69
+
+Re-enforcements of troops refused them 69
+
+Barclay blockades Erie 70
+
+Barclay visits Long Point 71
+
+Perry's squadron crosses the bar at Erie 72
+
+Procter attacks Fort Stephenson, and is repulsed 73
+
+Barclay retires to Malden 74
+
+Perry in control of the lake 74
+
+Destitution of provisions in the British camp and fleet 75
+
+Barclay goes out to fight 76
+
+Composition and armament of the two squadrons 76
+
+Controversy about the battle 78
+
+Dispositions of the two commanders 80
+
+Opening of the battle 81
+
+Examination of the controversy between Perry and Elliott 82
+
+Progress of the engagement 88
+
+Second stage of the battle 89
+
+The British surrender 94
+
+Meritorious conduct of Captain Barclay 94
+
+Question of credit on the American side 95
+
+Comparison of the campaigns on Erie and on Ontario 99
+
+Effect of the battle on the fate of the Northwest 99
+
+Its bearing upon the peace negotiations of the following year 100
+
+Influence of control of the water illustrated on the lakes 101
+
+
+CHAPTER XII
+
+THE CAMPAIGN OF 1813 ON THE LAKES AND NORTHERN FRONTIER, AFTER
+THE BATTLE OF LAKE ERIE
+
+Perry's victory promptly followed up 102
+
+General Harrison lands his army at Malden 103
+
+Recovery of Detroit. Battle of the Thames, October 5, 1813 103
+
+The Indians fall away from the British 103
+
+Harrison's army transferred to Niagara 104
+
+Perry detached from the lake service 104
+
+Changed American plan of campaign on Ontario 104
+
+General James Wilkinson replaces Dearborn 104
+
+The Government designates Kingston as the objective 105
+
+The embarkation begins at Niagara under cover of the navy 106
+
+Yeo's squadron appears in the neighborhood 106
+
+Encounter between the two squadrons, September 28, 1813 107
+
+Criticism of Chauncey's management 108
+
+Wilkinson's troops reach Sackett's Harbor 110
+
+The British re-enforce Kingston 110
+
+New change of American plan. The army to be directed on
+ Montreal 111
+
+Intended junction with the troops from Lake Champlain, under
+ General Hampton 111
+
+Wilkinson's army assembled within the mouth of the St. Lawrence 114
+
+It proceeds down the river 114
+
+Pursuit by a British detachment 114
+
+American reverse at Chrystler's Farm 115
+
+Hampton fails to join Wilkinson, and returns to Plattsburg 116
+
+The expedition abandoned. Wilkinson goes into winter quarters
+ at French Mills 116
+
+Chauncey returns to Sackett's Harbor from the St. Lawrence 117
+
+Transports Harrison's division from Niagara to Sackett's Harbor 117
+
+Fleets lay up for the winter 117
+
+Disastrous close of the campaign upon the Niagara 118
+
+Americans evacuate Fort George and the peninsula 120
+
+They burn Newark 120
+
+Act disavowed by the American Government 120
+
+Sir Gordon Drummond in command in Upper Canada 120
+
+The British, under General Riall, cross the Niagara and
+ capture Fort Niagara 121
+
+Lewiston, Youngstown, and Manchester burned in retaliation for
+ Newark 121
+
+Buffalo burned, and three naval vessels at Black Rock 121
+
+General failure of the campaign about Lake Ontario 122
+
+Discussion of the causes 123
+
+
+CHAPTER XIII
+
+SEABOARD MARITIME OPERATIONS, 1813
+
+
+United States on the defensive on the seaboard 126
+
+British reasons for partially relaxing severity of blockade 127
+
+Reasons do not apply to armed vessels or coasting trade 127
+
+American Navy powerless to protect commerce 127
+
+To destroy that of the enemy its principal mission 128
+
+Cruises of the "President" and "Congress" 128
+
+Efficacy of the British convoy system 130
+
+Its chief failure is near ports of arrival 131
+
+This dictates the orders to Captain Lawrence 131
+
+Importance of the service 132
+
+Imperfect preparation of the "Chesapeake" 132
+
+Efficiency of the "Shannon." Broke's professional merit 133
+
+His challenge to Lawrence. Not received 134
+
+The "Chesapeake" sails, purposely to fight 135
+
+Account of the action 136
+
+The "Chesapeake" captured 140
+
+Analysis of the engagement 141
+
+Decatur fails to get to sea with a squadron 148
+
+Driven to take refuge in New London 148
+
+Frigates confined there for the war 149
+
+Particular anxiety of the British Government about American
+ frigates 150
+
+Expectations of the Admiralty and the country from Warren's
+ fleet 151
+
+Effects of the blockade of New London on local coasting 152
+
+Evidence of the closeness of the whole blockade south of
+ New London 153
+
+Conditions at New York 154
+
+British operations in the upper Chesapeake, 1813 156
+
+Conditions in Delaware Bay 158
+
+American precautions in Chesapeake and Delaware 159
+
+Circumspect conduct of the British vessels in the Chesapeake 161
+
+Warren brings a detachment of troops from Bermuda 162
+
+Rencounters in and near Hampton Roads 163
+
+British attack upon Craney Island. Fails 164
+
+Attack upon Hampton. Ineffective 166
+
+Further movements of the British in the Chesapeake 167
+
+Movement of licensed vessels in Chesapeake Bay during these
+ operations 170
+
+Consequent recommendation of President to prohibit all
+ exports during the blockade 173
+
+Rejected by Senate. Enforced in Chesapeake by executive order 174
+
+Glaring necessity for such action 175
+
+Embargo law passed in December, 1813 176
+
+Main British fleet quits the Chesapeake. Its failure in
+ direct military operation 177
+
+Efficacy of the blockade 177
+
+Characteristics of the different sections of the United
+ States, as affecting their suffering from blockade 178
+
+Statistical evidences of its effects 181
+
+Prices of great staples: flour and sugar 184
+
+Dependence of Eastern and Southern States upon coasting,
+ greater than that of Middle States 186
+
+Captain Hull's reports on Eastern coasting 187
+
+Action between the "Boxer" and "Enterprise" 188
+
+Intermission of Eastern blockade during winter 192
+
+Its resumption in increased vigor in 1814 192
+
+Undefended conditions of the American coast 193
+
+Conditions of Southern coasting trade 195
+
+British blockade severs the mutual intercourse of the different
+ sections of the United States 198
+
+Remarks of Representative Pearson, of North Carolina 199
+
+Message of the Governor of Pennsylvania 200
+
+Rigors of the blockade shown by figures 201
+
+Momentary importance of the North Carolina coast 203
+
+Advocacy of an internal navigation system 204
+
+Evidence of privation in the rebound of prices and shipping
+ movement after peace 205
+
+Exposition of conditions, in a contemporary letter by a
+ naval officer 207
+
+The experiences of the War of 1812 now largely forgotten 208
+
+Lessons to be deduced 208
+
+Pressure upon the British Government exerted, even by the
+ puny contemporary American Navy 209
+
+Advantage of the American position 211
+
+Opinions of Presidents Washington and Adams as to the
+ international advantage of a navy 212
+
+Policy of President Jefferson 213
+
+
+CHAPTER XIV
+
+MARITIME OPERATIONS EXTERNAL TO THE WATERS OF THE UNITED STATES,
+1813-1814
+
+Commerce destruction the one offensive maritime resort left
+ open to the United States 215
+
+Respective objects of privateers and of naval vessels 216
+
+The approaches to the British islands the most fruitful
+ field for operations against commerce 216
+
+Cruise of the "Argus" 217
+
+Capture of the "Argus" by the "Pelican" 217
+
+Significance of the cruise of the "Argus" 219
+
+Great number of captures by American cruisers 220
+
+Comparatively few American merchant ships captured at sea 221
+
+Shows the large scale on which British commerce throve, and
+ the disappearance of American shipping 221
+
+Control of British Navy shown by American practice of
+ destroying prizes 222
+
+Successes of the privateers "Scourge" and "Rattlesnake"
+ in the North Sea 223
+
+The "Leo" and "Lion" off coast of Portugal 224
+
+British army in southern France incommoded by cruisers off
+ Cape Finisterre 224
+
+American cruises based on French ports 225
+
+The privateer "Yankee" on the gold-coast of Africa 226
+
+Action between the American privateer "Globe" and two British
+ packets, off Madeira 227
+
+Captures in the same neighborhood by privateers "Governor
+ Tompkins" and "America" 228
+
+The West Indies as a field for warfare on commerce 229
+
+Activity there of American cruisers 230
+
+Stringency of the Convoy Act in the West Indies. Papers captured
+ there by the "Constitution" 230
+
+Indirect effects of the warfare on commerce 231
+
+Cruise in the West Indies of the naval brigs "Rattlesnake" and
+ "Enterprise" 232
+
+Combat between the privateer "Decatur" and British war schooner
+ "Dominica" 233
+
+The "Comet" and the British ship "Hibernia" 234
+
+The "Saucy Jack" and the British ship "Pelham" 235
+
+The "Saucy Jack" with the bomb-ship "Volcano" and transport
+ "Golden Fleece" 236
+
+Remarkable seizure by the privateer "Kemp" 237
+
+The cruises of the privateer "Chasseur" 237
+
+Combat between the "Chasseur" and the British war schooner "St.
+ Lawrence" 238
+
+Contrasted motives of the ship of war and the privateer 241
+
+Relative success of American naval vessels and privateers in
+ the war upon commerce 242
+
+Cruise of the frigate "Essex" 244
+
+Arrival in Valparaiso of the "Essex," and of the British ships,
+ "Phoebe" and "Cherub" 247
+
+Action between the "Essex" and the "Phoebe" and "Cherub" 249
+
+Cruise of the "Wasp" 253
+
+Action between the "Reindeer" and "Wasp" 254
+
+Action between the "Avon" and "Wasp" 256
+
+Disappearance of the "Wasp" 257
+
+Cruise of the "Peacock" 258
+
+Action between "Epervier" and "Peacock" 259
+
+Further cruise of the "Peacock" 261
+
+Activity of American cruisers in British waters 262
+
+Agitation in Great Britain 263
+
+The effect produced due to the American people severally 265
+
+Prostration of the Government in the United States, 1814 265
+
+Determination to accept peace without relinquishment of
+ impressment by Great Britain 266
+
+Development of privateering 267
+
+Adaptation of vessels to the pursuit 268
+
+Practical considerations determining vessels to be employed 269
+
+Secretary of the Navy recommends squadrons of schooners for
+ action against commerce 270
+
+Debate in Congress 271
+
+Recommendation adopted 272
+
+
+CHAPTER XV
+
+THE NIAGARA CAMPAIGN, AND EVENTS ON THE GREAT LAKES, IN 1814
+
+
+British advantages of position on the Niagara line 274
+
+Unusual mildness of winter 1813-1814 276
+
+Effect on operations 276
+
+British project against the vessels in Put-in Bay 277
+
+Difficulty of maintaining British garrison at Mackinac 278
+
+American army abandons cantonments at French Mills 278
+
+Part goes to Lake Champlain, part to Sackett's Harbor 278
+
+American project against Kingston 279
+
+General Brown's mistake as to the Government's purpose 280
+
+Carries his army to the Niagara frontier 281
+
+Chauncey's fears for Sackett's Harbor 281
+
+Wilkinson's expedition to La Colle. Failure 282
+
+Wilkinson superseded by General Izard 283
+
+Yeo obtains momentary superiority on Ontario 283
+
+Importance of Oswego 284
+
+British capture Oswego, and destroy depots 284
+
+Yeo blockades Sackett's Harbor 285
+
+Difficulty of American situation on Ontario 285
+
+British naval disaster in attempting to intercept convoy
+ from Oswego to Sackett's Harbor 286
+
+Yeo abandons blockade of Sackett's Harbor 290
+
+American plan of operations on northern frontier 291
+
+Brown crosses the Niagara. Surrender of Fort Erie 294
+
+Advance towards Fort George 294
+
+Battle of Chippewa 295
+
+Brown advances to Queenston 298
+
+Chauncey's failure to co-operate 298
+
+Consequent anxiety of the Government 299
+
+Decatur ordered to relieve Chauncey 300
+
+Chauncey's defence of his conduct 300
+
+Discussion of his argument 301
+
+British advantage through his inaction 304
+
+Leads to the battle of Lundy's Lane 306
+
+Battle of Lundy's Lane 309
+
+Value to Americans of the battles of Chippewa and Lundy's Lane 311
+
+Improvement in the militia through association with Brown's army 312
+
+Brown unable longer to keep the field. Retires to Fort Erie 314
+
+British assault upon Fort Erie. Disastrous repulse 314
+
+British now embarrassed by Chauncey's blockade 315
+
+American successful sortie from Fort Erie 316
+
+Drummond abandons the siege, and retires to the Chippewa 317
+
+Brown unable to follow him 317
+
+Izard ordered from Lake Champlain to Brown's aid 318
+
+His march 320
+
+His corps arrives at the Niagara frontier 321
+
+Strength of the British position on the Chippewa 322
+
+Izard's hopelessness 322
+
+Blows up Fort Erie and retires across the Niagara 323
+
+Naval and military expedition against Mackinac 324
+
+Unsuccessful, except in destroying British transports 324
+
+British capture the American naval schooners "Tigress" and
+ "Scorpion" 325
+
+American schooners "Ohio" and "Somers" also captured, off
+ Fort Erie 327
+
+Loss of the "Caledonia" and "Ariel" 327
+
+The Erie fleet lays up for the winter, after the British
+ abandon the siege of Fort Erie 328
+
+
+CHAPTER XVI
+
+SEABOARD OPERATIONS IN 1814. WASHINGTON, BALTIMORE, AND MAINE
+
+
+Defensive character of the British northern campaign in 1814 329
+
+Increase of vigor in their seaboard operations 330
+
+Warren relieved by Cochrane 330
+
+Intentions of the British Government 331
+
+Retaliation for American actions in Canada 333
+
+Prevost's call upon Cochrane to retaliate 334
+
+Cochrane's orders to his vessels 334
+
+Attitude of British officers 335
+
+Early operations in Chesapeake Bay, 1814 336
+
+Relations of Barney's flotilla to the British project against
+ Washington 337
+
+Assembling of the British combined forces in the Chesapeake 340
+
+Condition of American preparations 342
+
+British advance. Destruction of Barney's flotilla 344
+
+Retreat of American forces 345
+
+American position at Bladensburg 346
+
+Battle of Bladensburg 347
+
+Burning of Washington 349
+
+Capture and ransom of Alexandria by British frigates 350
+
+Failure of British attempt on Baltimore 351
+
+British harrying of New England coast 352
+
+Occupation of Castine, in Maine 353
+
+Destruction of the American frigate "Adams" 354
+
+
+CHAPTER XVII
+
+LAKE CHAMPLAIN AND NEW ORLEANS
+
+
+Arrival of large British re-enforcements in Canada 355
+
+Objects of the British northern campaign of 1814 356
+
+Previous neglect of lake Champlain by both belligerents 357
+
+Operations on the lake in 1813 358
+
+British attempt in spring of 1814 361
+
+Macdonough in control of lake, in summer of 1814 362
+
+British "Confiance" building to contest control 362
+
+Instructions of British Government to Prevost 362
+
+Prevost in August reports approaching readiness to move 363
+
+Treasonable actions of American citizens about Lake Champlain 364
+
+Izard, with four thousand troops, leaves Plattsburg for
+ Sackett's Harbor 365
+
+Consequent destitution of the Champlain frontier 365
+
+British advance to Plattsburg 366
+
+Relative positions of American squadron and land forces 367
+
+Question of distance between squadron and land batteries 368
+
+Opinions of Izard and Yeo as to the relations of the batteries
+ to the squadron 370
+
+Proper combination for Prevost 371
+
+Backward state of "Confiance" upon Downie's taking command 372
+
+Urgent letters of Prevost to Downie 373
+
+Downie's expectations in attacking 375
+
+Macdonough's dispositions 376
+
+Downie's consequent plan of engagement 377
+
+Naval battle of Lake Champlain 377
+
+Decisive character of the American victory 381
+
+Preoccupation of the British Government with European conditions 382
+
+Episodical character of the New Orleans expedition 382
+
+Negotiations of Admiral Cochrane for the co-operation of the
+ Creek Indians 383
+
+His measures for training them, and preparations for the
+ expedition 384
+
+Objects of the British ministry 385
+
+Attack upon Fort Bowyer, Mobile Bay, by a British squadron 386
+
+Previous occupation of West Florida to the Perdido, by the
+ United States 387
+
+Pensacola, remaining in Spanish hands, utilized by British 387
+
+Seized by Jackson, and works destroyed 388
+
+Arrival of British expedition in Mississippi Sound 388
+
+Gunboat battle of Lake Borgne 390
+
+British advance corps reaches the bank of the Mississippi 391
+
+Night attack by American Navy and Jackson 391
+
+Sir Edward Pakenham arrives from England 392
+
+His preliminary movements 392
+
+Particular danger of Jackson's position 393
+
+Details of the final day of assault, January 8, 1815 394
+
+The British withdraw after repulse 396
+
+Capture of Fort Bowyer, Mobile Bay 397
+
+Final naval episodes 397
+
+Sailing of the "President." She grounds on the New York bar 398
+
+Overtaken, and is captured, by the British blockading division 398
+
+The "Constitution" captures the "Cyane" and "Levant" 404
+
+Capture of the British sloop "Penguin" by the "Hornet" 407
+
+
+CHAPTER XVIII
+
+THE PEACE NEGOTIATIONS
+
+Early overtures towards peace by the United States 409
+
+Castlereagh refuses to entertain the project of abandoning
+ impressment 410
+
+Russia, in 1812, suggests negotiations for peace under mediation
+ of the Czar 411
+
+United States accepts, but Great Britain refuses 412
+
+Great Britain, through the Czar, offers a direct negotiation,
+ 1813 412
+
+The United States accepts, and names five commissioners 413
+
+The original instructions to the American Commission, 1813 413
+
+Reduced, 1814, through pressure of the war 414
+
+Confident attitude of Great Britain at the opening of the
+ negotiations 415
+
+Hostile spirit in Great Britain towards the United States 415
+
+The instructions to the British Commission 416
+
+The demand on behalf of the Indians 417
+
+Faulty presentation of it by the British Commission 418
+
+British claim concerning the Great Lakes and boundaries 419
+
+Discussion of these propositions 419
+
+Reasons for British advocacy of the Indians 421
+
+Final reduction of British demand for the Indians and acceptance
+ by American Commission 423
+
+Concern of British ministry for the opinion of Europe 424
+
+News received of the capture of Washington 424
+
+Sanguine anticipations based upon reports from Cochrane and Ross 424
+
+The British Government suggests the _uti possidetis_ as the
+ basis of agreement 425
+
+The American Commission refuse, and offer instead the _status
+ ante bellum_ 426
+
+News arrives of the British defeat on Lake Champlain 426
+
+The political instructions to the commanders of the New Orleans
+ expedition, to be communicated for the satisfaction of the
+ continental powers 427
+
+Urgency of the European situation 428
+
+Dangerous internal state of France 428
+
+Consequent wish of the British ministry to withdraw Wellington
+ from Paris 429
+
+He is pressed to accept the American command 429
+
+Wellington thus brought into the discussion of terms 430
+
+He pronounces against the basis of _uti possidetis_ 431
+
+The British ministry accept his judgment 431
+
+The _status ante bellum_ accepted by Great Britain 431
+
+Subsequent rapid conclusion of agreement 432
+
+Terms of the Treaty 432
+
+Signed by the commissioners, December 24, 1814 434
+
+Despatched to America by a British ship of war 435
+
+Ratified by the United States, February 17, 1815 435
+
+Gallatin's opinion of the effect of the war upon the people
+ of the United States 436
+
+
+INDEX 439
+
+
+
+
+LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.
+
+VOLUME TWO.
+
+
+THE CHASE OF THE _Constitution_ _Frontispiece_
+ From the painting by S. Salisbury Tuckerman.
+
+THE QUARTERDECK OF THE _Java_ BEFORE THE SURRENDER Page 6
+ From a drawing by Henry Reuterdahl.
+
+THE NEW CARRYING TRADE Page 18
+ From a drawing by Stanley M. Arthurs.
+
+THE RETREAT OF THE BRITISH FROM SACKETT'S HARBOR Page 44
+ From a drawing by Henry Reuterdahl.
+
+THE FLEETS OF CHAUNCEY AND YEO MANOEUVRING ON LAKE CHAMPLAIN Page 52
+ From a drawing by Carlton T. Chapman.
+
+CAPTAIN ISAAC CHAUNCEY Page 60
+ From the engraving by D. Edwin, after the painting by
+ J. Woods.
+
+CAPTAIN SIR JAMES LUCAS YEO Page 60
+ From the engraving by H.R. Cook, after the painting by
+ A. Buck.
+
+CAPTAIN OLIVER HAZARD PERRY Page 66
+ From the painting by Gilbert Stuart, in the possession
+ of O.H. Perry, Esq.
+
+PERRY RECEIVING THE SURRENDER OF THE BRITISH AT THE BATTLE
+ OF LAKE ERIE Page 94
+ From a drawing by Henry Reuterdahl.
+
+CAPTAIN PHILIP BOWES VERE BROKE Page 134
+ From the mezzotint by Charles Turner, after the
+ painting by Samuel Lane, in the possession of Lady
+ Saumarez.
+
+THE CAPTURE OF THE _Chesapeake_ BY THE _Shannon_--THE
+ STRUGGLE ON THE QUARTERDECK Page 138
+ From a drawing by Henry Reuterdahl.
+
+CAPTAIN JAMES LAWRENCE Page 140
+ From the painting by Gilbert Stuart, in the possession
+ of the New Jersey Historical Society, Newark, N.J.
+
+THE BURNING OF A PRIVATEER PRIZE Page 222
+ From a drawing by Henry Reuterdahl.
+
+CAPTAIN DAVID PORTER Page 244
+ From the painting by Charles Wilson Peale, in
+ Independence Hall, Philadelphia.
+
+CAPTAIN THOMAS MACDONOUGH Page 360
+ From the painting by Gilbert Stuart, in the Century
+ Club, New York, by permission of the owner, Rodney
+ Macdonough, Esq.
+
+THE BATTLE OF LAKE CHAMPLAIN Page 380
+ From a drawing by Henry Reuterdahl.
+
+
+
+
+MAPS AND BATTLE PLANS.
+
+VOLUME TWO.
+
+
+Plan of Engagement between _Constitution_ and _Java_ Page 4
+
+Plan of Engagement between _Hornet_ and _Peacock_ Page 8
+
+Map of Niagara Peninsula Page 38
+
+Surroundings of Sackett's Harbor Page 43
+
+Plan of Chauncey's Engagement, August 10, 1813 Page 58
+
+Plan of Erie Harbor, 1814 Page 72
+
+Diagram of the Battle of Lake Erie, September 10, 1813 Page 82
+
+Chauncey and Yeo, September 28, 1813 Page 108
+
+_Chesapeake_ and _Shannon_ Page 136
+
+Outline Map of Chesapeake Bay and Rivers Page 156
+
+_Enterprise_ and _Boxer_ Page 188
+
+_Argus_ and _Pelican_ Page 218
+
+_Montague_, _Pelham_, and _Globe_ Page 228
+
+_Chasseur_ and _St. Lawrence_ Page 238
+
+_Wasp_ and _Reindeer_ Page 254
+
+Sketch of the March of the British Army, under General Ross,
+ from the 19th to the 29th August, 1814 Page 344
+
+Tracing from pencil sketch of Battle of Lake Champlain made
+ by Commodore Macdonough Page 368
+
+Battle of Lake Champlain Page 377
+
+The Landing of the British Army, its Encampments and
+ Fortifications on the Mississippi; Works they erected on
+ their Retreat; with the Encampments and Fortifications
+ of the American Army Page 392
+
+
+
+
+Sea Power in its Relations to the War of 1812
+
+
+THE WAR (_Continued_)
+
+
+CHAPTER IX
+
+THE WINTER OF 1812-1813--BAINBRIDGE'S SQUADRON: ACTIONS
+BETWEEN "CONSTITUTION" AND "JAVA," "HORNET" AND
+"PEACOCK"--INCREASING PRESSURE ON ATLANTIC COAST
+
+
+The squadron under Commodore William Bainbridge, the third which
+sailed from the United States in October, 1812, started nearly three
+weeks after the joint departure of Rodgers and Decatur. It consisted
+of the "Constitution" and sloop of war "Hornet," then in Boston, and
+of the "Essex," the only 32-gun frigate in the navy, fitting for sea
+in the Delaware. The original armament of the latter, from which she
+derived her rate, had been changed to forty 32-pounder carronades and
+six long twelves; total, forty-six guns. It is noticeable that this
+battery, which ultimately contributed not merely to her capture, but
+to her almost helplessness under the fire of an enemy able to maintain
+his distance out of carronade range, was strongly objected to by
+Captain Porter. On October 14 he applied to be transferred to the
+"Adams," giving as reasons "my insuperable dislike to carronades, and
+the bad sailing of the "Essex," which render her, in my opinion, the
+worst frigate in the service."[1] The request was not granted, and
+Porter sailed in command of the ship on October 28, the two other
+vessels having left Boston on the 26th.
+
+In order to facilitate a junction, Bainbridge had sent Porter full
+details of his intended movements.[2] A summary of these will show his
+views as to a well-planned commerce-destroying cruise. Starting about
+October 25, he would steer first a course not differing greatly from
+the general direction taken by Rodgers and Decatur, to the Cape Verde
+Islands, where he would fill with water, and by November 27 sail for
+the island Fernando de Noronha, two hundred and fifty miles south of
+the Equator, and two hundred miles from the mainland of Brazil, then a
+Portuguese colony, of which the island was a dependency. The trade
+winds being fair for this passage, he hoped to leave there by December
+15, and to cruise south along the Brazilian coast as far as Rio de
+Janeiro, until January 15. In the outcome the meeting of the
+"Constitution" with the "Java" cut short her proceedings at this
+point; but Bainbridge had purposed to stay yet another month along the
+Brazilian coast, between Rio and St. Catherine's, three hundred miles
+south. Thence he would cross the South Atlantic to the neighborhood of
+St. Helena, remaining just beyond sight of it, to intercept returning
+British Indiamen, which frequently stopped there. Porter failed to
+overtake the other vessels, on account of the bad sailing of the
+"Essex." He arrived at Fernando de Noronha December 14, one day before
+that fixed by Bainbridge as his last there; but the "Constitution" and
+"Hornet" had already gone on to Bahia, on the Brazilian mainland,
+seven hundred miles to the southwest, leaving a letter for him to
+proceed off Cape Frio, sixty miles from the entrance of Rio. He
+reached this rendezvous on the 25th, but saw nothing of Bainbridge,
+who had been detained off Bahia by conditions there. The result was
+that the "Essex" never found her consorts, and finally struck out a
+career for herself, which belongs rather to a subsequent period of the
+war. We therefore leave her spending her Christmas off Cape Frio.
+
+The two other vessels had arrived off Bahia on December 13. Here was
+lying a British sloop of war, the "Bonne Citoyenne," understood to
+have on board a very large amount of specie for England. The American
+vessels blockaded her for some days, and then Captain Lawrence
+challenged her to single combat; Bainbridge acquiescing, and pledging
+his honor that the "Constitution" should remain out of the way, or at
+least not interfere. The British captain, properly enough, declined.
+That his ship and her reported value were detaining two American
+vessels from wider depredations was a reason more important than any
+fighting-cock glory to be had from an arranged encounter on equal
+terms, and should have sufficed him without expressing the doubt he
+did as to Bainbridge's good faith.[3] On the 26th the Commodore,
+leaving Lawrence alone to watch the British sloop, stood out to sea
+with the "Constitution," cruising well off shore; and thus on the
+29th, at 9 A.M., being then five miles south of the port and some
+miles from land, discovered two strange sail, which were the British
+frigate "Java," Captain Henry Lambert, going to Bahia for water, with
+an American ship, prize to her.
+
+Upon seeing the "Constitution" in the south-southwest, the British
+captain shaped his course for her, directing the prize to enter the
+harbor. Bainbridge, watching these movements, now tacked his ship,
+and at 11.30 A.M. steered away southeast under all plain sail, to draw
+the enemy well away from neutral waters; the Portuguese authorities
+having shown some sensitiveness on that score. The "Java" followed,
+running full ten miles an hour, a great speed in those days, and
+gaining rapidly. At 1.30, being now as far off shore as desired,
+Bainbridge went about and stood toward the enemy, who kept away with a
+view to rake, which the "Constitution" avoided by the usual means of
+wearing, resuming her course southeast, but under canvas much reduced.
+At 2.10 the "Java," having closed to a half mile, the "Constitution"
+fired one gun ahead of her; whereupon the British ship hoisted her
+colors, and the American then fired two broadsides. The "Java" now
+took up a position to windward of the "Constitution," on her port
+side, a little forward (2.10); "within pistol-shot," according to the
+minutes submitted by the officer who succeeded to the command; "much
+further than I wished," by Bainbridge's journal. It is not possible
+entirely to reconcile the pretty full details of further movements
+given by each;[4] but it may be said, generally, that this battle was
+not mainly an artillery duel, like those of the "Constitution" and
+"Guerrière," the "Wasp" and "Frolic," nor yet one in which a principal
+manoeuvre, by its decisive effect upon the use of artillery, played
+the determining part, as was the case with the "United States" and
+"Macedonian." Here it was a combination of the two factors, a
+succession of evolutions resembling the changes of position, the
+retreats and advances, of a fencing or boxing match, in which the
+opponents work round the ring; accompanied by a continual play of
+the guns, answering to the thrusts and blows of individual
+encounter. In this game of manoeuvres the "Constitution" was somewhat
+handicapped by her wheel being shot away at 2.30. The rudder remained
+unharmed; but working a ship by relieving tackles, the substitute for
+the wheel, is for several reasons neither as quick nor as accurate.
+
+ [Illustration: PLAN OF THE ENGAGEMENT BETWEEN CONSTITUTION AND
+ JAVA]
+
+Certain salient incidents stand out in both accounts, marking the
+progress of the engagement. Shortly before three o'clock the head of
+the "Java's" bowsprit was shot away, and with it went the jib-boom. At
+this time, the fore and main masts of the British frigate being badly
+wounded, with all the rigging cut to pieces, Captain Lambert looked
+upon the day as lost unless he could board. The sailing master having
+been sent below wounded, the first lieutenant, whose account is here
+followed, was directed to run the ship alongside the enemy; but the
+helm was hardly put up when the foremast went overboard, at five
+minutes past three, a time in which both accounts agree. The British
+narrative states that the stump of their bowsprit caught in the mizzen
+rigging of the "Constitution" (3.35). This Bainbridge does not
+mention; but, if correct, the contact did not last long, for the
+"Constitution" immediately wore across the "Java's" bow, and the
+latter's maintopmast followed the foremast. The British frigate was
+now beaten beyond recovery; nevertheless the flag was kept flying, and
+it was after this that Captain Lambert fell, mortally wounded.
+Resistance was continued until 4.05, by the American accounts; by the
+British, till 4.35. Then, the enemy's mizzenmast having fallen, and
+nothing left standing but the main lower mast, the "Constitution" shot
+ahead to repair damages. There was no more firing, but the "Java's"
+colors remained up till 5.25,--5.50 by the British times,--when they
+were hauled down as the "Constitution" returned. The American loss
+was nine killed and twenty-five wounded; that of the British, by their
+official accounts, twenty-two killed, one hundred and two wounded.
+
+The superiority in broadside weight of fire of the "Constitution" over
+the "Java" was about the same as over the "Guerrière." The "Java's"
+crew was stronger in number than that of the "Guerrière," mustering
+about four hundred, owing to having on board a hundred supernumeraries
+for the East India station, to which the ship was ultimately destined.
+On the other hand, the material of the ship's company is credibly
+stated to have been extremely inferior, a condition frequently
+complained of by British officers at this late period of the
+Napoleonic wars. It has also been said, in apparent extenuation of her
+defeat, that although six weeks out from England, having sailed
+November 12, and greater part of that time necessarily in the trade
+winds, with their usual good weather, the men had not been exercised
+in firing the guns until December 28, the day before meeting the
+"Constitution," when six broadsides of blank cartridges were
+discharged. Whatever excuse may exist in the individual instance for
+such neglect, it is scarcely receivable in bar of judgment when
+disaster follows. No particular reason is given, except "the many
+services of a newly fitted ship, lumbered with stores;" for in such
+latitudes the other allegation, "a succession of gales of wind since
+the day of departure,"[5] is incredible. On broad general grounds the
+"Java" needed no apology for being beaten by a ship so much heavier;
+and the "Constitution's" loss in killed and wounded was over double
+that suffered from the "Guerrière" four months before, when the
+American ship had substantially the same crew.[6] Further,
+Bainbridge reported to his Government that "the damage received in the
+action, but more especially the decayed state of the "Constitution,"
+made it necessary to return to the United States for repairs."
+Although Lieutenant Chads, who succeeded Lambert, was mistaken in
+supposing the American ship bound to the East Indies, he was evidently
+justified in claiming that the stout resistance of the "Java" had
+broken up the enemy's cruise, thus contributing to the protection of
+the British commerce.
+
+ [Illustration: THE QUARTERDECK OF THE _JAVA_ BEFORE THE
+ SURRENDER.
+ _Drawn by Henry Reuterdahl._]
+
+The "Java" was considered by Bainbridge too much injured to be worth
+taking to the United States. She was therefore set on fire December
+31, and the "Constitution" went back to Bahia, where the prisoners
+were landed under parole. Thence she sailed for home January 6, 1813,
+reaching Boston February 27. Before his departure the Commodore
+directed Lawrence to blockade Bahia as long as seemed advisable, but
+to beware of a British seventy-four, said to be on the coast. When it
+became expedient, he was to quit the position and move northward;
+first off Pernambuco, and thence to the coast of Cayenne, Surinam, and
+Demerara, a favorite cruising ground for American commerce-destroyers.
+The "Hornet" was to be in Boston in the first fortnight of April.
+
+In pursuance of these discretionary orders Lawrence remained off Bahia
+for eighteen days, till January 24, when the expected seventy-four,
+the "Montagu," appeared, forcing him into the harbor; but the same
+night he came out, gave her the slip, and proceeded on his cruise. On
+February 24, off the Demarara River, he encountered the British brig
+of war "Peacock," a vessel of the same class as the "Frolic," which
+was captured a few months before by the "Wasp," sister ship to the
+"Hornet." There was no substantial difference in size between these
+two approaching antagonists; but, unfortunately for the equality of
+the contest, the "Peacock" carried 24-pounder carronades, instead of
+the 32's which were her proper armament. Her battery power was
+therefore but two thirds that of the "Hornet." The vessels crossed on
+opposite tacks, exchanging broadsides within half pistol-shot, the
+"Hornet" to windward(1). The "Peacock" then wore; observing which,
+Lawrence kept off at once for her and ran on board her starboard
+quarter (2). In this position the engagement was hot for about fifteen
+minutes, when the "Peacock" surrendered, hoisting a flag union down,
+in signal of distress. She had already six feet of water in the hold.
+Being on soundings, in less than six fathoms, both anchored, and every
+effort was made to save the British vessel; but she sank, carrying
+down nine of her own crew and three of the "Hornet's." Her loss in
+action was her commander and four men killed, and twenty-nine wounded,
+of whom three died; that of the American vessel, one killed and two
+wounded. The inequality in armament detracts inevitably from glory in
+achievement; but the credit of readiness and efficiency is established
+for Lawrence and his crew by prompt action and decisive results. So,
+also, defeat is not inglorious under such odds; but it remains to the
+discredit of the British commander that his ship did no more
+execution, when well within the most effective range of her guns. In
+commenting upon this engagement, after noticing the dandy neatness of
+the "Peacock," James says, "Neglect to exercise the ship's company at
+the guns prevailed then over two thirds of the British navy; to which
+the Admiralty, by their sparing allowance of powder and shot for
+practice, were in some degree instrumental."
+
+With the survivors of the "Peacock," and prisoners from other prizes,
+Captain Lawrence found himself now with two hundred and seventy-seven
+souls on board and only thirty-four hundred gallons of water. There
+was at hand no friendly port where to deposit his captives, and
+provisions were running short. He therefore steered for the United
+States, and arrived at Holmes' Hole on March 19.[7]
+
+ [Illustration: PLAN OF ENGAGEMENT BETWEEN HORNET AND PEACOCK]
+
+The capture of the "Peacock" was the last of five naval duels, three
+between frigates and two between sloops, all favorable in issue to the
+United States, which took place in what may justly be considered the
+first of the three periods into which the War of 1812 obviously
+divides. Great Britain, long reluctant to accept the fact of war as
+irreversible, did not begin to put forth her strength, or to exercise
+the measures of repression open to her, until the winter of 1812-13
+was drawing to a close. On October 13, convinced that the mere news of
+the revocation of the Orders in Council would not induce any change in
+the American determination, the hitherto deferred authority for
+general reprisals was given; but accompanying them was an express
+provision that they were not to be understood as recalling the
+declaration which Warren had been commissioned to make, in order to
+effect a suspension of hostilities.[8] On November 27, however, hopes
+from this source having apparently disappeared, directions were sent
+the admiral to institute a rigorous commercial blockade of Delaware
+and Chesapeake bays,[9] the usual public notification of the fact to
+neutral Powers, for the information of their shipping affected by it,
+being issued December 26, three days before the action between the
+"Constitution" and "Java." On February 21, three days before the
+"Hornet" sank the "Peacock," Warren wrote that in compliance with the
+orders of November 27 this blockade had been put in force. The ship
+"Emily," from Baltimore for Lisbon, under a British license, with a
+cargo of flour, was turned back when attempting to go to sea from the
+Chesapeake, about February 5; Warren indorsing on her papers that the
+bay had been placed under rigorous blockade the day before.[10]
+Captain Stewart, the senior United States officer at Norfolk, notified
+his Government of these facts on February 10.[11] Soon after, by an
+Order in Council dated March 30, the measure was extended to New York,
+Charleston, Port Royal, Savannah, and the Mississippi River.[12] Later
+in the year Warren, by a sweeping proclamation, dated November 16,[13]
+widened its scope to cover Long Island Sound, inside of Montauk and
+Black Point; the latter being on the Connecticut shore, eight miles
+west of New London. From thence it applied not only to the ports
+named, but to all inlets whatsoever, southward, as far as the Florida
+boundary. Narragansett Bay and the rest of New England remained still
+exempt.
+
+These restrictions, together with the increase of Warren's force and
+the operations of 1813 in the Chesapeake, may be considered as
+initiating the second stage of the war, when Great Britain no longer
+cherished hopes of any other solution than by the sword, but still was
+restrained in the exercise of her power by the conflict with Napoleon.
+With the downfall of the latter, in April, 1814, began the third and
+final act, when she was more at liberty to let loose her strength, to
+terminate a conflict at once weakening and exasperating. It is not
+without significance that the treaty of peace with the restored
+Bourbon government of France was signed May 30, 1814,[14] and that on
+May 31 was issued a proclamation placing under strict and rigorous
+blockade, not merely specified places, but "all the ports, harbors,
+bays, creeks, rivers, inlets, outlets, islands, and sea-coasts of the
+United States," from the border of New Brunswick to that of
+Florida.[15] In form, this was only the public notification of a
+measure already instituted by Warren's successor, Cochrane, embracing
+Newport, Boston, and the East under restrictions heretofore limited to
+New York--including Long Island Sound--and the coast southward; but it
+was not merely the assertion of a stringent resolution. It was a clear
+defiance, in the assurance of conscious power, of a principal
+contention of the United States, that the measure of blockades against
+neutrals was not legitimately applicable to whole coasts, but only to
+specified ports closely watched by a naval force competent to its
+avowed purpose.
+
+Despite the gathering of the storm, the full force of which was to be
+expected in the spring, the United States ships of war that reached
+port in the early and middle winter of 1812-13 remained. There is,
+perhaps, an unrecognized element of "hindsight" in the surprise felt
+at this fact by a seaman of to-day, knowing the views and wishes of
+the prominent officers of the navy at that period. Decatur, with the
+"United States," reached New York in December, accompanied by the
+"Macedonian." Neither of these vessels got to sea again during the
+war. By the time they were ready, both outlets to the port were
+effectually blocked. Rodgers, with the "President" and "Congress,"
+entered Boston December 31, but did not sail again until April 23. The
+"Constellation," Captain Stewart, was reported, perhaps erroneously,
+as nearly ready for sea at Washington, November 26, waiting only for a
+few additional hands. Later in the winter she went to Annapolis, to
+examine her powder, leaving there for Hampton Roads February 1, on
+account of the ice. On the 4th, approaching her destination, she
+discovered two ships of the line, three frigates, and two smaller
+British vessels, working up from the Capes for the Roads. In the face
+of such a force there was nothing to do but to escape to Norfolk,
+where she remained effectually shut up for the rest of the war.
+Bainbridge, as already known, brought the "Constitution" back for
+repairs in February. Even from Boston she was unable to escape till
+the following December.
+
+That there were satisfactory reasons for this seeming dilatoriness is
+assured by the character of the officers. Probably the difficulty of
+keeping up the ship's companies, in competition with the superior
+attractions of privateering and the very high wages offered by the
+merchants for their hazardous but remunerative commercial voyages
+accounted for much. Hull wrote from New York, October 29, 1812, that
+the merchants fitting out their vessels gave such high wages that it
+was difficult to get either seamen or workmen.[16] Where no system of
+forced enrolment--conscription or impressment--is permitted,
+privateering has always tended to injure the regular naval service.
+Though unquestionably capable of being put by owners on a business
+basis, as a commercial undertaking, with the individual seaman the
+appeal of privateering has always been to the stimulants of chance and
+gain, which prove so attractive in the lottery. Stewart, an officer of
+great intelligence and experience in his profession, found a further
+cause in the heavy ships of the enemy. In the hostilities with France
+in 1798-1800, he said, "We had nearly four thousand able seamen in the
+navy. We could frequently man a frigate in a week. One reason was
+because the enemy we were then contending with had not afloat (with
+very few exceptions) vessels superior in rate to frigates. The enemy
+we are fighting now have ships of the line, and our sailors know the
+great difference between them and frigates, and cannot but feel a
+degree of reluctance at entering the service from the disparity of
+force."[17] The reason seems to prove too much; pressed to an extreme,
+no navy would be able to use light vessels, because the enemy had
+heavier which might--or might not--be encountered. Certain it is,
+however, that when the government in the following winter, in order to
+stop the license trade with the enemy, embargoed all vessels in home
+ports, much less difficulty was experienced in getting seamen for the
+navy.
+
+Whatever the reasons, the only frigates at sea during the first four
+months of 1813 were the "Essex" and the "Chesapeake." The former,
+after failing to meet Bainbridge, struck off boldly for the Pacific
+Ocean on Porter's own motion; and on March 15, 1813, anchored at
+Valparaiso, preparatory to entering on a very successful career of a
+year's duration in those seas. The "Chesapeake" had sailed from Boston
+December 17, making for the Cape Verde Islands. In their neighborhood
+she captured two of a British convoy, which, thinking itself beyond
+danger, had dispersed for South American destinations. The frigate
+then proceeded to her cruising ground near the equator, between
+longitudes 24° and 30° west, where she remained for about a month,
+taking only one other merchantman. Leaving this position, she was off
+the coast of Surinam from March 2 to 6, when she returned to the
+United States; passing sixty miles east of the Caribbean Islands and
+thence north of Porto Rico and Santo Domingo, as far west as longitude
+75°, whence she ran parallel to the American coast, reaching Boston
+April 9. Having seen nothing between February 5 and March 19, she then
+began to meet sails, speaking eight between the latter date and her
+arrival. Most of these were Americans, homeward bound from the Spanish
+peninsula; the others neutrals.[18] The conclusion is evident, that
+the British were keeping their trade well shepherded in convoys. If a
+ship like the "Chesapeake" struck one of them, she would probably have
+to fight the escorting vessel, as the "Wasp" did the "Frolic," while
+the merchantmen escaped; but the chances were against her seeing
+anything. Another evident conclusion, corresponding to the export
+returns already quoted, is that the enemy had not yet shut down upon
+the access of American merchant ships to their own coast.
+
+This process was gradual, but steady. It is necessary to keep in mind
+the distinction between a blockade, in the loose use of the term,
+which closes a port only to the ships of the hostile nation, and the
+commercial blockade which forbids neutrals as well. The former may be
+intermittent, for the mere fact of war authorizes the capture of the
+belligerent's shipping, wherever found; hence to intercept them at the
+mouths of their own harbors is merely a more effectual method of
+carrying out the measure. A blockade against neutrals requires the
+permanent presence, before the blockaded port, of a force adequate to
+make the attempt to enter or leave dangerous. For this many more ships
+are needed. The British ministry, desirous chiefly to compel the
+United States to peace, and embarrassed by the gigantic continental
+strife in which it was engaged, sought at the outset to inflict such
+harassment on the American coast as would cost the least diversion of
+strength from the European contest. An ordinary blockade might be
+tightened or relaxed as convenience demanded; and, moreover, there
+were as yet, in comparison with American vessels, few neutrals to be
+restrained. Normally, American shipping was adequate to American
+commerce. The first move, therefore, was to gather upon the coast of
+the United States all cruisers that could be spared from the Halifax
+and West India stations, and to dispose along the approaches to the
+principal ports those that were not needed to repress the privateers
+in the Bay of Fundy and the waters of Nova Scotia. The action of these
+privateers, strictly offensive in character, and the course of
+Commodore Rodgers in sailing with a large squadron, before explained,
+illustrate exactly how offensive operations promote defensive
+security. With numbers scanty for their work, and obliged to
+concentrate instead of scattering, the British, prior to Warren's
+arrival, had not disposable the cruisers with which greatly to harass
+even the hostile shipping, still less to institute a commercial
+blockade. The wish to stock the Spanish peninsula and the West Indies
+with provisions contributed further to mitigate the pressure.
+
+These restraining considerations gradually disappeared.
+Re-enforcements arrived. Rodgers' squadron returned and could be
+watched, its position being known. The license trade filled up Lisbon,
+Cadiz, and the West Indies. Hopes of a change of mind in the American
+Government lessened. Napoleon's disaster in Russia reversed the
+outlook in European politics. Step by step the altered conditions were
+reflected in the measures of the British ministry and navy. For
+months, only the maritime centres of the Middle States were molested.
+The senior naval officer at Charleston, South Carolina, wrote on
+October 14, four months after war was declared, "Till to-day this
+coast has been clear of enemy's cruisers; now Charleston is blockaded
+by three brigs, two very large, and they have captured nine sail
+within three miles of the bar."[19] The number was increased shortly;
+and two months later he expressed surprise that the inland navigation
+behind the sea islands had not been destroyed,[20] in consequence of
+its defenceless state. In January, 1813, the mouth of the Chesapeake
+was watched by a ship of the line, two frigates, and a sloop; the
+commercial blockade not having been yet established. The hostile
+divisions still remained outside, and American vessels continued to go
+out and in with comparative facility, both there and at Charleston. A
+lively trade had sprung up with France by letters-of-marque; that is,
+by vessels whose primary object is commerce, and which therefore carry
+cargoes, but have also guns, and a commission from the Government to
+make prizes. Without such authorization capture is piracy. By February
+12 conditions grow worse. The blockaders have entered the Chesapeake,
+the commercial blockade has been proclaimed, vessels under neutral
+flags, Spanish and Swedish, are being turned away, and two fine
+letter-of-marque schooners have been captured inside, one of them
+after a gallant struggle in which her captain was killed. Nautical
+misadventures of that kind became frequent. On April 3 three
+letters-of-marque and a privateer, which had entered the Rappahannock,
+were attacked at anchor by boats from Warren's fleet. The
+letters-of-marque, with smaller crews, offered little resistance to
+boarding; but the privateer, having near a hundred men, made a sharp
+resistance. The Americans lost six killed and ten wounded; the enemy,
+two killed and eleven wounded.[21]
+
+In like manner the lower Delaware was occupied by one or more ships of
+the line. Supported thus by a heavy squadron, hostile operations were
+pushed to the upper waters of both bays, and in various directions;
+the extensive water communications of the region offering great
+facilities for depredation. Dismay and incessant disquietude spread
+through all quarters of the waterside. Light cruisers make their way
+above Reedy Island, fifty miles from the Capes of the Delaware;
+coasting vessels are chased into the Severn River, over a hundred
+miles above Hampton Roads; and a detachment appears even at the mouth
+of the Patapsco, twelve miles from Baltimore. The destruction of bay
+craft, and interruption of water traffic, show their effects in the
+rise of marketing and fuel to double their usual prices. By May 1, all
+intercourse by water was stopped, and Philadelphia was also cut off
+from the lower Delaware. Both Philadelphia and Baltimore were now
+severed from the sea, and their commerce destroyed, not to revive till
+after the peace; while alarms, which the near future was to justify,
+were felt for the land road which connected the two cities. As this
+crossed the head waters of the Chesapeake, it was open to attack from
+ships, which was further invited by deposits of goods in transit at
+Elkton and Frenchtown. Fears for the safety of Norfolk were felt by
+Captain Stewart, senior naval officer there. "When the means and force
+of the enemy are considered, and the state of this place for defence,
+it presents but a gloomy prospect for security."[22] Commodore Murray
+from Philadelphia reports serious apprehensions, consternation among
+the citizens, a situation daily more critical, and inadequate
+provision for resistance.[23] There, as everywhere, the impotence of
+the General Government has to be supplemented by local subscription
+and local energy.
+
+At the same time, both northward and southward of these two great
+estuaries, the approach of spring brought ever increasing enemies, big
+and little, vexing the coasting trade; upon which, then as now, depended
+largely the exchange of products between different sections of the
+country. What it meant at that day to be reduced to communication by
+land may be realized from a contemporary quotation: "Four wagons loaded
+with dry goods passed to-day through Georgetown, South Carolina, for
+Charleston, _forty-six days_ from Philadelphia."[24] Under the heading
+"New Carrying Trade" a Boston paper announces on April 28 the arrival of
+"a large number of teams from New Bedford with West India produce, and
+four Pennsylvania wagons, seventeen days from Philadelphia."[25] "The
+enemy has commenced his depredations on the coasting trade of the
+Eastern States on a very extensive scale, by several ships and
+sloops-of-war, and five or six active privateers. The United States brig
+"Argus" cruises at the entrance of Long Island Sound for the protection
+of trade, latterly jeopardized;"[26] a position from which she was soon
+driven by an overwhelming force. Hull, now commanding at Portsmouth,
+reports April 9, "several privateers on the Eastern coast, which have
+been successful in cutting coasters out of several harbors east." May 7:
+"A small force is indeed needed here; the enemy appear off the harbor
+nearly every day. A few days since, a little east of this, they burnt
+twelve coasters and chased several into this port."[27] The town is
+defenceless. The Governor of Rhode Island laments to the Legislature
+"the critical and exposed situation of our fellow-citizens in Newport,
+who are frequently menaced by the ships and vessels about Point Judith";
+mentioning beside, "the burning of vessels in Narragansett Bay, and the
+destruction of our coasting trade, which deprives us of the usual and
+very necessary supplies of bread stuffs from other States."[28] The ship
+"Maddox," blockaded for two or three months in the Chesapeake, escaped
+in May, and reached Newport with five thousand barrels of flour. This is
+said to have reduced the price by $2.50 in Boston, where it was ranging
+at $17 to $18; while at Cadiz and Lisbon, thanks to British licenses
+and heavy stocking in anticipation of war, it stood at $12 to $13. The
+arrival at Machias of a captured British vessel, laden with wheat, was
+hailed "as a seasonable supply for the starving inhabitants of the
+eastward."[29]
+
+ [Illustration: THE NEW CARRYING TRADE.
+ _Drawn by Stanley M. Arthurs._]
+
+Ships returning from abroad necessarily had to pass through the
+cruisers which interrupted the coasting trade. "Many valuable vessels
+arrive, making at times hairbreadth escapes." The trade of Baltimore
+and Philadelphia is thrown back upon New York and Boston; but both of
+these, and the eastern entrance of Long Island Sound, have hostile
+squadrons before them. The letter-of-marque schooner "Ned" has
+transmitted an experience doubtless undergone by many. Bound to
+Baltimore, she arrived off the Chesapeake April 18, and was chased
+away; tried to get into the Delaware on the 19th, but was headed off;
+made for Sandy Hook, and was again chased. Finally, she tried the east
+end of the Sound, and there made her way through four or five ships of
+war, reaching New York April 24.[30] Of course, under such
+circumstances trade rapidly dwindled. Only very fast and weatherly
+vessels could hope to cope with the difficulties. Of these the
+conspicuous type was the Baltimore schooner, which also had not too
+many eggs in one basket. In the general deprivation of commerce a
+lucky voyage was proportionately remunerative; but the high prices of
+the successful venture were but the complement and reflection of
+suffering in the community. The harbors, even of New York, became
+crowded with unemployed shipping.
+
+This condition of things coastwise, supplemented by the activity of
+American privateers, induced abnormal conditions of navigation in the
+western Atlantic. The scanty success of Rodgers, Bainbridge, and the
+"Chesapeake" have been noted; and it may be observed that there was a
+great similarity in the directions taken by these and others. The Cape
+Verdes, the equator between 24° and 30° west, the Guiana coast, the
+eastern West Indies, Bermuda to Halifax, indicate a general line of
+cruising; with which coincides substantially a project submitted by
+Stewart, March 2, 1813, for a cruise by the "Constellation." These
+plans were conceived with intelligent reference to known British
+trade-routes; but, being met by the enemy with a rigid convoy system,
+it was often hard to find a sail. The scattered American traders were
+rapidly diminishing in numbers, retained in port as they arrived; and
+it is noted that a British division of four vessels, returning to
+Halifax after a four months' cruise between the Banks of Newfoundland
+and Bermuda, have captured only one American.[31] An American
+privateer, arriving at Providence after an absence of nearly four
+months, "vexing the whole Atlantic," reports not seeing a single
+enemy's merchant ship. Niles' return of prizes[32] to American
+cruisers, national as well as privateers, gives three hundred and five
+as the total for the first six months of the war; of which
+seventy-nine only seem to have been taken distant from the home
+shores. For the second six months, to June 30, 1813, the aggregate has
+fallen to one hundred and fifty-nine, of which, as far as can be
+probably inferred, ninety-one were captured in remote waters.
+Comparing with the preceding and subsequent periods, we find here
+evidently a time of transition, when American enterprise had not yet
+aroused to the fact that British precaution in the Western Hemisphere
+had made it necessary to seek prizes farther afield.
+
+In view of the incompleteness of the data it is difficult to state
+more than broad conclusions. It seems fairly safe, however, to say
+that after the winter of 1812-13 American commerce dwindled very
+rapidly, till in 1814 it was practically annihilated; but that, prior
+to Napoleon's downfall, the necessities of the British Government, and
+the importunity of the British mercantile community, promoted a
+certain collusive intercourse by licenses, or by neutrals, real or
+feigned, between the enemy and the Eastern States of the Union, for
+the exportation of American produce. This trade, from the reasons
+which prompted it, was of course exempt from British capture.
+Subsidiary to it, as a partial relief to the loss of the direct
+American market, was fostered an indirect smuggling import from Great
+Britain, by way of Halifax and Montreal, which conduced greatly to the
+prosperity of both these places during the war, as it had during the
+preceding periods of commercial restriction. It was to maintain this
+contraband traffic, as well as to foster disaffection in an important
+section of the Union, that the first extension of the commercial
+blockade, issued by Warren from Bermuda, May 26, 1813, stopped short
+of Newport; while the distinction thus drawn was emphasized, by
+turning back vessels even with British licenses seeking to sail from
+the Chesapeake. By this insidious action the commercial prosperity of
+the country, so far as any existed, was centred about the Eastern
+States. It was, however, almost purely local. Little relief reached
+the Middle and South, which besides, as before mentioned, were thus
+drained of specie, while their products lay idle in their stores.
+
+As regards relative captures made by the two belligerents, exact
+numbers cannot be affirmed; but from the lists transmitted a fairly
+correct estimate can be formed as to the comparative injury done in
+this way. It must be remembered that such losses, however grievous in
+themselves, and productive of individual suffering, have by no means
+the decisive effect produced by the stoppage of commerce, even though
+such cessation involves no more than the retention in harbor of the
+belligerent's ships, as the Americans were after 1812, or as had been
+the case during Jefferson's embargo of 1808. As that measure and its
+congeners failed in their object of bringing the British Government to
+terms, by deprivation of commerce, the pecuniary harm done the United
+States by them was much greater than that suffered in the previous
+years from the arbitrary action of Great Britain. She had seized, it
+was alleged, as many as nine hundred and seventeen American
+vessels,[33] many of which were condemned contrary to law, while the
+remainder suffered loss from detention and attendant expenses; but
+despite all this the commercial prosperity was such that the
+commercial classes were averse to resenting the insults and injury. It
+was the agricultural sections of the country, not the commercial,
+which forced on the war.
+
+Niles' Register has transmitted a careful contemporary compilation of
+American captures, in closing which the editor affirmed that in the
+course of the war he had examined not less than ten, perhaps twelve,
+thousand columns of ship news, rejecting all prizes not accounted for
+by arrival or destruction. It is unlikely that data complete as he
+used are now attainable, even if an increase of accuracy in this point
+were worth the trouble of the search. Up to May 1, 1813, he records
+four hundred and eleven captures, in which are included the British
+ships of war as well as merchantmen; not a very material addition. The
+British Naval Chronicle gives the prize lists of the various British
+admirals. From these may be inferred in the same period at least three
+hundred seizures of American merchant vessels. Among these are a good
+many Chesapeake Bay craft, very small. This excludes privateers, but
+not letters-of-marque, which are properly cargo ships. Both figures
+are almost certainly underestimates; but not improbably the proportion
+of four to three is nearly correct. Granting, however, that the
+Americans had seized four British ships for every three lost by
+themselves, what does the fact establish as regards the effect upon
+the commerce of the two peoples? Take the simple report of a British
+periodical in the same month of May, 1813: "We are happy to announce
+the arrival of a valuable fleet from the West Indies, consisting of
+two hundred and twenty-six sail, under convoy of the "Cumberland,"
+seventy-four, and three other ships of war."[34] This one fleet among
+many, safely entering port, numbers more than half of their total
+losses in the twelvemonth. Contrast this relative security with the
+experience of the "Ned," cited a few pages back, hunted from headland
+to headland on her home coast, and slipping in--a single ship by
+dexterous management--past foes from whom no countryman can pretend to
+shield her.
+
+Even more mortifying to Americans, because under their very eyes, in
+sharp contrast to their sufferings, was the prosperity of Halifax and
+Canada. Vexed though British commerce was by the daring activity of
+American cruisers, the main streams continued to flow; diminished in
+volume, but not interrupted. The closure of American harbors threw
+upon the two ports named the business of supplying American products
+to the British forces, the British West Indies, and in measure to
+Great Britain itself. The same reason fixed in them the deposit of
+British goods, to be illicitly conveyed into the United States by the
+smuggling that went on actively along the northern seacoast and land
+frontier; a revival of the practices under the embargo of 1808. This
+underground traffic was of course inadequate to compensate for that
+lost by the war and the blockade; but it was quite sufficient to add
+immensely to the prosperity of these places, the communications of
+which with the sea were held open and free by the British navy, and in
+which centred what was left from one of the most important branches of
+British trade in the days of peace. Halifax, from its position on the
+sea, was the chief gainer. The effects of the war on it were very
+marked. Trade was active. Prices rose. Provisions were in great
+demand, to the profit of agriculture and fisheries. Rents doubled and
+trebled. The frequent arrival of prizes, and of ships of war going and
+coming, added to the transactions, and made money plentiful.[35]
+
+Recalling the generalization already made, that the seacoast of the
+United States was strictly a defensive frontier, it will be recognized
+that the successive institution of the commercial blockades, first of
+the Chesapeake and Delaware in March, and afterward of the whole coast
+south of Newport, in May, were the offensive operations with which the
+British initiated the campaign of 1813. These blockades were
+supported, and their effects sustained and intensified, by an
+accumulation of naval force entirely beyond the competition of the
+American navy. In view of such overwhelming disparity, it was no
+longer possible, as in 1812, by assembling a squadron, to impose some
+measure of concentration upon the enemy, and thus to facilitate
+egress and ingress. The movements of the British had passed wholly
+beyond control. Their admiral was free to dispose his fleet as he
+would, having care only not to hazard a detachment weaker than that in
+the port watched. This was a condition perfectly easy of fulfilment
+with the numbers under his command. As a matter of fact, his vessels
+were distributed over the entire seacoast; and at every point, with
+the possible exception of Boston, the division stationed was so strong
+that escape was possible only by evasion, under cover of severe
+weather conditions.
+
+Under such circumstances, the larger the ship the more difficult for
+her to get out. As early as the middle of April, Captain Jones,
+formerly of the "Wasp," and now commanding the "Macedonian" in New
+York, reports that "both outlets are at present strongly blocked, but
+I believe at dark of the moon we shall be able to pass without much
+risk."[36] May 22, when a moon had come and gone, Decatur, still on
+board the "United States," in company with which the "Macedonian" was
+to sail, thinks it will be better to try the Sound route. "The last
+gale, which promised the fairest opportunity for us to get out, ended
+in light southerly winds, which continued till the blockading ships
+had regained their stations."[37] A few days later, the attempt by the
+Sound resulted in the two being driven into New London, where they
+remained to the close of the war. The only offensive operation by sea
+open to the United States, the destruction of the enemy's commerce,
+fell therefore to the smaller cruisers and privateers, the size and
+numbers of which combined to make it impossible to restrain them all.
+
+For defensive measures the seaboard depended upon such fortifications
+as existed, everywhere inadequate, but which either the laxness or the
+policy of the British commander did not attempt to overcome in the
+case of the seaports, narrowly so called. The wide-mouthed estuaries
+of the Chesapeake and Delaware, entrance to which could not thus be
+barred, bore, therefore, the full brunt of hostile occupation and
+widespread harassment. In this there may have been deliberate
+intention, as well as easy adoption of the readiest means of
+annoyance. The war, though fairly supported in the middle section of
+the Union, was essentially a Southern and Western measure. Its most
+strenuous fomenters came from those parts, and the administration was
+Virginian. The President himself had been identified with the entire
+course of Jefferson's commercial retaliation, and general policy
+toward Great Britain during twelve years past. It is impossible for
+land forces alone to defend against naval aggression a region like the
+Chesapeake, with its several great, and numerous small, streams
+penetrating the country in every direction; and matters are not helped
+when the defendants are loosely organized militia. The water in such a
+case offers a great central district, with interior lines, in the
+hands of a power to which belongs the initiative, with an overpowering
+mobile force, able at any moment to appear where it will in superior
+strength.
+
+No wonder then that the local journals of the day speak of continual
+watchfulness, which from the present organization of the militia is
+exceedingly toilsome, and of no little derangement to the private
+affairs of the people.[38] The enemy spreads in every direction; and,
+although the alarm caused much exceeds the injury done, disquietude is
+extreme and universal. "Applications from various quarters are
+constantly pouring in upon us," wrote a Governor of Maryland to the
+President; "and as far as our very limited means will enable us we are
+endeavoring to afford protection. But we have not arms and ammunition
+to supply the demands of every section of the State; the unavoidable
+expense of calling out the militia for its protection would greatly
+exceed the ability of the State government. The capital of the State
+[which was three miles from the bay, on a navigable river] has not
+sufficient force for its protection. By the Constitution of the United
+States, the common defence is committed to the National Government,
+which is to protect each State against invasion, and to defray all
+necessary expenses of a national war; and to us it is a most painful
+reflection that after every effort we have made, or can make, for the
+security of our fellow-citizens and of their property, they have
+little to rely on but the possible forbearance of the enemy."[39] The
+process of reaping what has been sowed is at times extremely
+unpleasant.
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[1] Captains' Letters. Navy Department.
+
+[2] Ibid., Bainbridge, Oct. 13, 1812.
+
+[3] Niles' Register, vol. iv. p. 25.
+
+[4] Bainbridge's report is in the Captains' Letters. Navy Department,
+Jan. 3, 1813. It will be found also in Niles' Register, vol. iii. p.
+410. Both give extracts from Bainbridge's journal, which is very full on
+the subject of manoeuvres and times. The British account will be found
+in the Naval Chronicle, vol. xxix. pp. 403-408, from which the plan of
+the battle is copied.
+
+[5] James' Naval History, edition 1824, vol. v. p. 313.
+
+[6] Bainbridge in a private letter speaks of the men looking forward to
+prize money for the "Guerrière" on their return. Niles' Register, vol.
+iii. p. 411.
+
+[7] Lawrence's Report of these transactions is in Captains' Letters,
+March 19, 1813. It will be found also in Niles' Register, vol. iv. p.
+84.
+
+[8] Naval Chronicle, vol. xxviii. p. 305.
+
+[9] Admiralty to Warren, British Records Office.
+
+[10] Niles' Register, vol. iii. p. 383.
+
+[11] Captains' Letters.
+
+[12] Niles' Register, vol. iv. p. 159. The Admiralty's letter to Warren
+to institute this blockade is dated March 25. British Records Office.
+
+[13] Niles' Register, vol. v. p. 264.
+
+[14] Naval Chronicle, vol. xxxi. p. 464.
+
+[15] Naval Chronicle, vol. xxxi. p. 475.
+
+[16] Captains' Letters.
+
+[17] American State Papers, Naval Affairs, vol. i. p. 280.
+
+[18] Captain Evans' Report, April 10, 1813. Captains' Letters.
+
+[19] Captains' Letters.
+
+[20] Ibid, Dec. 17, 1812.
+
+[21] Niles' Register, vol. iv. p. 119. Naval Chronicle, vol. xxix. p.
+501.
+
+[22] March 17, 1813. Captains' Letters.
+
+[23] March 17, 18, and 21. Ibid.
+
+[24] Niles' Register, vol. iv. p. 222.
+
+[25] Columbian Centinel.
+
+[26] Niles' Register, vol. iv. p. 117.
+
+[27] Captains' Letters.
+
+[28] Message of the Governor of Rhode Island, May 5, 1813.
+
+[29] Niles' Register, vol. iv. pp. 200, 209. There were reported in
+Cadiz at this time 160,000 barrels of flour, unsold. The Columbian
+Centinel (Feb. 17) speaks of the Lisbon market as deplorable.
+
+[30] Niles' Register, vol. iv. p. 150.
+
+[31] Niles' Register, vol. iv. p. 101.
+
+[32] Ibid., p. 117.
+
+[33] American State Papers, Foreign Relations, vol. iii. p. 584. France
+in the same period had seized five hundred and fifty-eight.
+
+[34] Naval Chronicle, vol. xxix. p. 497. The following extract from an
+American journal may have interest as indicating the extent of the
+British convoy movement. "American brig 'Hazard,' arrived at New York
+from Madeira, June 5, reports: 'April 11, arrived at Funchal the outward
+bound East India and Brazil fleets, forty sail, under convoy. Sailed
+April 12. April 21, arrived outward bound Cork fleet, one hundred and
+eighty sail convoyed by a seventy-four, a frigate, and a sloop.' April
+30, sailed from Jamaica, three hundred merchantmen, under convoy of a
+seventy-four, two frigates and a sloop." (Columbian Centinel, of Boston,
+June 9, 1813.)
+
+[35] Murdoch's History of Nova Scotia, vol. iii. p. 351.
+
+[36] Captains' Letters, April 13, 1813.
+
+[37] Ibid., May 22.
+
+[38] Niles' Register, vol. iv. p. 134.
+
+[39] Letter of Governor Winder, April 26, 1813. Niles' Register, vol.
+iv. p. 204.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER X
+
+CAMPAIGN OF 1813 ON THE LAKE FRONTIER, TO THE BATTLE OF
+LAKE ERIE
+
+
+In April, 1813, on the land frontier of the north and west, no
+substantial change had taken place in the conditions which gave to the
+United States the power of the offensive. Such modification as
+Chauncey's energy had effected was to strengthen superiority, by
+promising ultimate control of the upper and lower lakes. The British
+had not been idle; but the greater natural difficulties under which
+they labored, from less numerous population and less advanced
+development of the country and its communications, together with a
+greater severity of climate, had not been compensated by a naval
+direction similar to that exercised by the American commodore and his
+efficient second, Perry. Sir John Warren had been ordered to pay
+attention to the lakes, the naval service of which was placed under
+his charge. This added to his responsibilities, and to the drain upon
+his resources of men and materials; but, with an oversight already
+extending from Halifax to Jamaica and Barbados, he could do little for
+the lakes, beyond meeting requisitions of the local authorities and
+furnishing a draft of officers. Among those sent from his fleet was
+Captain Barclay, who commanded the British squadron in Perry's action.
+
+The Admiralty, meantime, had awaked to the necessity of placing
+preparations and operations under competent naval guidance, if command
+of the water was to be secured. For that purpose they selected Captain
+Sir James Lucas Yeo, a young officer of much distinction, just turned
+thirty, who was appointed to the general charge of the lake service,
+under Warren. Leaving England in March, accompanied by a body of
+officers and seamen, Yeo did not reach Kingston until May 15, 1813,
+when the campaign was already well under way; having been begun by
+Dearborn and Chauncey April 24. His impressions on arrival were
+discouraging. He found the squadron in a weak state, and the enemy
+superior in fact and in promise. They had just succeeded in burning at
+York a British vessel intended for thirty guns, and they had, besides,
+vessels building at Sackett's Harbor. He had set to work, however,
+getting his force ready for action, and would go out as soon as
+possible to contest the control of Ontario; for upon that depended the
+tenure of Upper Canada.[40] Barclay, upon the arrival of his superior,
+was sent on to Amherstburg, to fulfil upon Erie the same relation to
+Yeo that Perry did to Chauncey.
+
+It had been clearly recognized by the American authorities that any
+further movement for the recapture of Detroit and invasion of Canada
+would depend upon the command of Lake Erie; and that that in turn
+would depend largely upon mastery of Ontario. In fact, the nearer the
+sea control over the water communications could be established, the
+more radical and far-reaching the effect produced. For this reason,
+Montreal was the true objective of American effort, but the
+Government's attention from the first had centred upon the
+northwestern territory; upon the extremity of the enemy's power,
+instead of upon its heart. Under this prepossession, despite adequate
+warning, it had persisted in the course of which Hull's disaster was
+the outcome; and now, though aroused by this stunning humiliation, its
+understanding embraced nothing beyond the Great Lakes. Clear
+indication of this narrow outlook is to be found in the conditions on
+Lake Champlain, the natural highway to Canada. Only the scantiest
+mention is to be found of naval preparation there, because actually
+little was being done; and although the American force was momentarily
+superior, it was so simply because the British, being in Canada wholly
+on the defensive, and therefore obliged to conform to American
+initiative, contemplated no use of this lake, the mastery of which,
+nevertheless, was soon afterward thrown into their hands by a
+singularly unfortunate occurrence.
+
+Dearborn, who still remained in chief command of the armies on the New
+York frontier, was therefore directed to concentrate his effort upon
+Ontario, starting from Sackett's Harbor as a base. Chauncey, whose
+charge extended no farther than the upper rapids of the St. Lawrence,
+had of course no other interest. His first plan, transmitted to the
+Navy Department January 21, 1813,[41] had been to proceed immediately
+upon the opening of navigation, with the fleet and a land force of a
+thousand picked troops, against Kingston, the capture of which, if
+effected, would solve at a single stroke every difficulty in the upper
+territory. No other harbor was tenable as a naval station; with its
+fall, and the destruction of shipping and forts, would go the control
+of the lake, even if the place itself were not permanently held.
+Deprived thus of the water communications, the enemy could retain no
+position to the westward, because neither re-enforcements nor supplies
+could reach them. To quote Chauncey's own words, "I have no doubt we
+should succeed in taking or destroying their ships and forts, and, of
+course, preserve our ascendency on this lake."
+
+This remark, though sound, was narrow in scope; for it failed to
+recognize, what was perfectly knowable, that the British support of
+the Lake Erie stations and the upper country depended on their power
+to control, or at worst to contest, Ontario. Of this they themselves
+were conscious, as the words of Yeo and Brock alike testify. The new
+American Secretary of War, Armstrong, who was a man of correct
+strategical judgment and considerable military information, entered
+heartily into this view; and in a letter dated February 10
+communicated to Dearborn the orders of the President for his
+operations, based upon the Secretary's recommendation.[42] Four
+thousand men were to be assembled at Sackett's, and three thousand at
+Buffalo. The former, under convoy of the fleet, was to proceed first
+against Kingston, then against York (Toronto). After this the two
+corps should co-operate in an attack to be made upon the British
+Niagara frontier, which rested upon Fort George on the Ontario shore,
+and Fort Erie upon Lake Erie. This plan was adopted upon the
+assumption, which was probably correct, that the enemy's entire
+military force upon Ontario did not exceed twenty-one hundred regular
+troops, of whom six hundred were at Kingston and twelve hundred at
+Niagara. Armstrong, who recognized the paramount importance of
+Montreal, had received the exaggerated impression that there might be
+in that neighborhood eight to ten thousand regulars. There were not
+yet nearly that number in all Canada;[43] but he was perhaps correct
+in thinking that the provision for the offensive, which he had found
+upon taking office a few weeks before, was insufficient for an advance
+in that quarter.
+
+Dearborn very soon discovered objections to proceeding against
+Kingston, in his own estimates of the enemy's numbers, based upon
+remarkable reports received from sources "entitled to full credit."
+On March 3 he was satisfied that from six to eight thousand men had
+been assembled there from Quebec, Montreal, and Upper Canada; while
+the presence of Sir George Prevost, the Governor General, and
+commander-in-chief in Canada, who had seized an opportunity to make a
+hurried visit to Kingston to assure himself as to the progress of the
+ships building, convinced the American general that an attack upon
+Sackett's was contemplated.[44] From that time forward Dearborn
+realized in his own person the process of making pictures to one's
+self concerning a military situation, against which Napoleon uttered a
+warning. Chauncey was more sceptical, although he could not very well
+avoid attention to the reports brought in. He expresses himself as
+believing that a considerable number of men had been assembled in
+Kingston, but that their real object was to proceed against Harrison
+in the Far West.[45]
+
+There seems to have been no foundation for any of these alarms.
+Prevost was a soldier of good reputation, but wanting in initiative,
+audacity, and resolution, as the current war was to prove. His
+presence at Kingston at this moment was simply one incident in a rapid
+official visit to the upper military posts, extending as far as
+Niagara, and accomplished in four weeks; for, leaving Quebec February
+17, he was again writing from there on the 17th of March. As far as
+can be deduced from his correspondence, four companies of regulars had
+preceded him from Montreal to Kingston, and there may very well have
+been a gathering of local forces for inspection or otherwise; but no
+re-enforcements of regulars, other than that just mentioned, reached
+Kingston from down the river before May. Dearborn never renounced his
+belief in the meditated attack, though finally satisfied that it was
+abandoned; and his positive reports as to the enemy's numbers wrung
+from Armstrong acquiescence in a change of plan, by which York, and
+not Kingston, should be the first object of the campaign.[46]
+
+Chauncey, who had some sound military ideas, as his first plan showed,
+was also brought round to this conclusion by a process of reasoning
+which he developed in a second plan of operations, submitted March
+18,[47] but evidently long since matured. It apparently antedates
+Dearborn's apprehensions, and is not affected by them, though the two
+worked together to a common mistaken decision. The commodore's letter
+presents an interesting study, in its demonstration of how an
+erroneous first conception works out to false conclusions, and in the
+particular instance to ultimate military disaster. The capture of
+Kingston, his first plan, and its retention, which Armstrong purposed,
+would have settled the whole campaign and affected decisively the
+issue of the war. Chauncey's new project is dominated throughout by
+the view, which was that of the Government, that the great object of
+the war was to control the northwestern territory by local operations,
+instead of striking at the source of British power in its
+communication with the sea. At this moment, the end of March, the
+British naval force on Ontario was divided between York and Kingston;
+in each were vessels afloat and vessels building. An attack upon
+Kingston, Chauncey said, no doubt would be finally successful--an
+initial admission which gave away his case; but as the opposing force
+would be considerable, it would protract the general operations of the
+campaign--the reduction of the northwest--longer than would be
+advisable, particularly as large re-enforcements would probably
+arrive at Quebec in the course of two months. On the other hand, to
+proceed against York, which probably could be carried immediately,
+would result in destroying at once a large fraction of the British
+fleet, greatly weakening the whole body. Thence the combined Americans
+would turn against Fort George and the Niagara line. If successful
+here, the abandonment of Fort Erie by the British would release the
+American vessels which by its guns were confined at Black Rock. They
+would sail forth and join their consorts at Erie; which done,
+Chauncey, leaving his Ontario fleet to blockade Yeo at Kingston, would
+go to the upper lake and carry against the British the squadron thus
+concentrated there, would co-operate with the army under General
+Harrison, recover Detroit, and capture Malden. Lake Erie and its
+surroundings would thus become an American holding. After this, it
+would be but a step to reconquer Michilimackinac, thereby acquiring an
+influence over the Indians which, in conjunction with military and
+naval preponderance, would compel the enemy to forsake the upper
+country altogether, and concentrate his forces about Kingston and
+Montreal.
+
+It is interesting to see an elaborate piece of serious reasoning
+gradually culminate in a _reductio ad absurdum_; and Chauncey's
+reasoning ends in a military absurdity. The importance of Kingston is
+conceded by him, and the probability of capturing it at the first is
+admitted. Thereupon follows a long project of operation, which ends in
+compelling the enemy to concentrate all his strength at the very
+points--Kingston and Montreal--which it is most important for the
+Americans to gain; away from which, therefore, they should seek to
+keep the enemy, and not to drive him in upon them. This comes from the
+bias of the Government, and of the particular officer, regarding the
+Northwestern territory as the means whereby success was to be
+accomplished instead of merely the end to be attained. To make the
+Western territory and control of the Indians the objects of the
+campaign was a political and military motive perfectly allowable, and
+probably, in view of recent history, extremely necessary; but to make
+these things the objective of operations was to invert the order of
+proceedings, as one who, desiring to fell a tree, should procure a
+ladder and begin cutting off the outermost branches, instead of
+striking at the trunk by the ground.
+
+Eighteen months later Chauncey wrote some very wise words in this
+spirit. "It has always been my opinion that the best means to conquer
+Canada was to cut off supplies from Lower to Upper by taking and
+maintaining some position on the St. Lawrence. That would be killing
+the tree by girdling; the branches, dependent on ordinary supplies,
+die of necessity. But it is now attempted to kill the tree by lopping
+off branches" [he is speaking of the Niagara campaign of 1814]; "the
+body becomes invigorated by reducing the demands on its
+resources."[48] By this time Chauncey had been chastened by
+experience. He had seen his anticipated glory reaped on Lake Erie by
+his junior. He had seen the control of Ontario contested, and finally
+wrung from him, by vessels built at Kingston, the place which he had
+failed to take when he thought it possible. He had been blockaded
+during critical months by a superior squadron; and at the moment of
+writing, November 5, 1814, Sir James Yeo was moving, irresistible,
+back and forth over the waters of Ontario, with his flag flying in a
+ship of 102 guns, built at Kingston. In short, the Canadian tree was
+rooted in the ocean, where it was nourished by the sea power of Great
+Britain. To destroy it, failing the ocean navy which the United States
+had not, the trunk must be severed; the nearer the root the better.
+
+Demonstration of these truths was not long in coming, and will be
+supplied by the narrative of events. When Chauncey penned the plan of
+operations just analyzed, there were in York two vessels, the "Prince
+Regent" of twenty guns, the "Duke of Gloucester," sixteen, and two--by
+his information--on the stocks. On April 14 the ice in Sackett's
+Harbor broke up, though large floes still remained in the lake. On the
+19th these also had disappeared. Eighteen hundred troops were embarked
+by the squadron, and on the 24th the expedition started, but was
+driven back by heavy weather. The next day it got away finally, and on
+the early morning of the 27th appeared off York. The troops were
+landed westward of the town, and proceeded to attack, supported by the
+shipping. The enemy, inferior in number, retired; the small regular
+force making its escape, with the exception of fifty who surrendered
+with the militia present. The American loss, army and navy, was a
+little over three hundred; among whom was General Pike, an excellent
+soldier, who commanded the landing and was mortally wounded by the
+explosion of a magazine. The "Duke of Gloucester" schooner was taken,
+but the "Prince Regent" had gone to Kingston three days before; the
+weather which drove Chauncey back had enabled her to join her fleet as
+soon as released by the ice. By her escape the blow lost most of its
+effect; for York itself was indefensible, and was taken again without
+difficulty in the following July. A 30-gun vessel approaching
+completion was found on the stocks and burned, and a large quantity of
+military and naval stores were either destroyed or brought away by the
+victorious squadron. These losses were among the news that greeted
+Yeo's arrival; but, though severe, they were not irreparable, as
+Chauncey for the moment imagined. He wrote: "I believe that the enemy
+has received a blow that he cannot recover, and if we succeed in our
+next enterprise, which I see no reason to doubt, we may consider the
+upper province as conquered."[49] The mistake here was soon to be
+evident.
+
+No time was wasted at York. The work of destruction, and of loading
+what was to be carried away, was completed in three days, and on May 1
+the troops were re-embarked, to sail for Fort George on the morrow.
+The wind, which for some days had been fair and moderate from the
+eastward, then came on to blow a gale which would make landing
+impossible off Niagara, and even navigation dangerous for the small
+vessels. This lasted through the 7th, Chauncey writing on that day
+that they were still riding with two anchors ahead and lower yards
+down. So crowded were the ships that only half the soldiers could be
+below at one time; hence they were exposed to the rain, and also to
+the fresh-water waves, which made a clean breach over the schooners.
+Under such circumstances both troops and seamen sickened fast. On the
+8th, the weather moderating, the squadron stood over to Fort Niagara,
+landed the troops for refreshment, and then returned to Sackett's; it
+being thought that the opportunity for surprise had been lost, and
+that no harm could come of a short further delay, during which also
+re-enforcements might be expected.
+
+Soon after his return Chauncey sent a flag of truce to Kingston. This
+made observations as to the condition of the enemy which began to
+dispel his fair illusions.[50] His purpose to go in person to Niagara
+was postponed; and despatching thither the squadron with troops, he
+remained at Sackett's to protect the yard and the ships building, in
+co-operation with the garrison. His solicitude was not misplaced.
+Niagara being a hundred and fifty miles from Sackett's, the fleet and
+army had been committed to a relatively distant operation, depending
+upon a main line of communication,--the lake,--on the flank and rear
+of which, and close to their own inadequately protected base, was a
+hostile arsenal, Kingston, harboring a naval force quite able to
+compete with their own. The danger of such a situation is obvious to
+any military man, and even to a layman needs only to be indicated.
+Nevertheless the enterprise was launched, and there was nothing for it
+now but to proceed on the lines laid down.
+
+Chauncey accordingly sailed May 22, re-enforcements of troops for the
+defence of Sackett's having meantime arrived. He did not reach Niagara
+until the 25th. The next day was spent in reconnoissances, and other
+preparations for a landing on the lake shore, a short mile west of
+Fort George. On the 27th, at 9 A.M., the attack began, covered by the
+squadron. General Vincent, in command of the British Niagara frontier,
+moved out to meet his enemy with the entire force near Fort George,
+leaving only a small garrison of one hundred and thirty men to hold
+the post itself. There was sharp fighting at the coast-line; but
+Vincent's numbers were much inferior, and he was compelled steadily to
+give ground, until finally, seeing that the only alternatives were the
+destruction of his force or the abandonment of the position, he sent
+word to the garrison to spike the guns, destroy the ammunition, and to
+join his column as it withdrew. He retreated along the Niagara River
+toward Queenston, and thence west to Beaver Dam, about sixteen miles
+from Fort George. At the same time word was sent to the officers
+commanding at Fort Erie, and the intermediate post of Chippewa, to
+retire upon the same place, which had already been prepared in
+anticipation of such an emergency. The three divisions were thus in
+simultaneous movement, converging upon a common point of
+concentration, where they all assembled during the night; the whole,
+as reported by Vincent to his superior, now not exceeding sixteen
+hundred.[51] The casualties during the day's fighting had been
+heavy, over four hundred killed and wounded; but in the retreat no
+prisoners were lost except the garrison of the fort, which was
+intercepted. Dearborn, as before at York, had not landed with his
+troops; prevented, doubtless, by the infirmities of age increasing
+upon him. Two days later he wrote to the Department, "I had presumed
+that the enemy would confide in the strength of his position and
+venture an action, by which an opportunity would be afforded to cut
+off his retreat."[52] This guileless expectation, that the net may be
+spread not in vain before the eyes of any bird, provoked beyond
+control such measure of equanimity as Armstrong possessed. Probably
+suspecting already that his correct design upon Kingston had been
+thwarted by false information, he retorted: "I cannot disguise from
+you the _surprise_ occasioned by the _two escapes of a beaten enemy_;
+first on May 27, and again on June 1. Battles are not gained, when an
+inferior and broken enemy is not destroyed. Nothing is done, while
+anything that might have been done is omitted."[53] Vincent was unkind
+enough to disappoint his opponent. The morning after the engagement he
+retired toward a position at the head of the lake, known then as
+Burlington Heights, where the town of Hamilton now stands. Upon his
+tenure here the course of operations turned twice in the course of the
+next six months.
+
+ [Illustration: MAP OF NIAGARA PENINSULA]
+
+While Vincent was in retreat upon Burlington, Captain Barclay arrived
+at his headquarters, on the way to take charge of the Lake Erie
+squadron;[54] having had to coast the north shore of Ontario, on
+account of the American control of the water. The inopportuneness of
+the moment was prophetic of the numberless disappointments with which
+the naval officer would have to contend during the brief three months
+preceding his defeat by Perry. "The ordnance, ammunition, and other
+stores for the service on Lake Erie," wrote Prevost on July 20, with
+reference to Barclay's deficiencies, "had been deposited at York for
+the purpose of being transported to Amherstburg, but unfortunately
+were either destroyed or fell into the enemy's hands when York was
+taken by them; and the subsequent interruption to the communication,
+by their occupation of Fort George, has rendered it extremely
+difficult to afford the supplies Captain Barclay requires, which,
+however, are in readiness to forward whenever circumstances will
+permit it to be done with safety."[55] The road from Queenston to Fort
+Erie, around Niagara Falls, was the most used and the best line of
+transportation, because the shortest. To be thrown off it to that from
+Burlington to Long Point was a serious mishap for a force requiring
+much of heavy and bulky supplies. To add to these more vital
+embarrassments, the principal ship, the "Queen Charlotte," which had
+been lying at Fort Erie, had been ordered by Vincent to leave there
+when the place was evacuated, and to go to Amherstburg, thus giving
+Barclay the prospect of a land journey of two hundred miles through
+the wilderness to his destination. Fortunately for him, a vessel
+turned up at Long Point, enabling him to reach Amherstburg about June
+7.
+
+The second step in Chauncey's programme had now been successfully
+taken, and the vessels at Black Rock were free to move. With an energy
+and foresight which in administration seldom forsook him, he had
+prepared beforehand to seize even a fleeting opportunity to get them
+out. Immediately upon the fall of York, "to put nothing to hazard, I
+directed Mr. Eckford to take thirty carpenters to Black Rock, where he
+has gone to put the vessels lying there in a perfect state of repair,
+ready to leave the river for Presqu' Isle the moment we are in
+possession of the opposite shore." Perry also was on hand, being
+actively engaged in the landing at Fort George; and the same evening,
+May 27, he left for Black Rock to hasten the departure. The process
+involved great physical labor, the several vessels having to be
+dragged by oxen against the current of the Niagara, here setting
+heavily toward the falls. It was not until June 12 that they were all
+above the rapids, and even this could not have been accomplished but
+for soldiers furnished by Dearborn.[56] The circumstance shows how
+hopeless the undertaking would have been if the enemy had remained in
+Fort Erie. Nor was this the only peril in their path. Barclay, with
+commendable promptitude, had taken the lake in superior force very
+shortly after his arrival at Amherstburg, and about June 15 appeared
+off Erie [Presqu' Isle]. Having reconnoitred the place, he cruised
+between it and Black Rock, to intercept the expected division; but the
+small vessels, coasting the beach, passed their adversary unseen in a
+fog,[57] and on June 18 reached the port. As Chauncey had reported on
+May 29 that the two brigs building there were launched, affairs on
+that lake began to wear a promising aspect. The Lakes station as a
+whole, however, was still very short of men; and the commodore added
+that if none arrived before his approaching return to Sackett's, he
+would have to lay up the Ontario fleet to man that upon Erie.
+
+To do this would have been to abandon to the enemy the very important
+link in the communications, upon which chiefly depended the
+re-enforcement and supplies for both armies on the Niagara peninsula.
+The inherent viciousness of the plan upon which the American
+operations were proceeding was now quickly evident. At the very moment
+of the attack upon Fort George, a threatening but irresolute movement
+against Sackett's was undertaken by Prevost, with the co-operation of
+Yeo, by whom the attempt is described as a diversion, in consequence
+of the enemy's attack upon Fort George. Had the place fallen, Chauncey
+would have lost the ship then building, on which he was counting to
+control the water; he would have had nowhere to rest his foot except
+his own quarter-deck, and no means to repair his fleet or build the
+new vessels continually needed to maintain superiority. The case of
+Yeo dispossessed of Kingston would have been similar, but worse; for
+land transport in the United States was much better than in Canada.
+The issue of the war, as regarded the lakes and the Northwestern
+territory, lay in those two places. Upon them depended offensive and
+defensive action.
+
+At the time of the attack upon Sackett's only two vessels of the
+squadron were there, the senior officer of which, Lieutenant Chauncey,
+was in momentary command of the navy yard as well. The garrison
+consisted of four hundred regular troops, the coming of whom a week
+before had enabled Chauncey to leave for Niagara. Dearborn had already
+written to Major-General Jacob Brown, of the New York militia, asking
+him to take command of the station; for which his local knowledge
+particularly fitted him, as he was a resident of some years' standing.
+He had moreover manifested marked military capacity on the St.
+Lawrence line, which was under his charge. Brown, whose instincts were
+soldierly, was reluctant to supersede Colonel Backus, the officer of
+regulars in command; but a letter from the latter received on the
+27th, asking him to take charge, determined his compliance. When he
+arrived five hundred militia had assembled.
+
+The British expedition left Kingston with a fine fair wind on the
+early morning of May 27--the same day that the Americans were landing
+at Fort George. The whole fleet accompanied the movement, having
+embarked troops numbering over seven hundred; chiefly regulars. At
+noon they were off Sackett's Harbor. Prevost and Yeo stood in to
+reconnoitre; but in the course of an hour the troops, who were already
+in the boats, ready to pull to the beach, were ordered to re-embark,
+and the squadron stood out into the lake. The only result so far was
+the capture of twelve out of nineteen American barges, on their way
+from Oswego to the Harbor. The other seven gained the port.
+
+During the next thirty-six hours militia kept coming in, and Brown
+took command. Sackett's Harbor is an indentation on the south side of
+a broad bay, called Black River Bay, into which the Black River
+empties. The harbor opens eastward; that is, its back is toward the
+lake, from which it is distant a little over a mile; and its north
+side is formed by a long narrow point, called Navy Point, on which was
+the naval establishment. Where Black River Bay meets the lake, its
+south shore is prolonged to the west by a projection called Horse
+Island, connected with the land by a fordable neck. Brown expected the
+landing to be made upon this, and he decided to meet the attack at the
+water's edge of the mainland, as the enemy crossed the neck. There he
+disposed his five hundred militia, placing the regulars under Backus
+in a second line; a steadying point in case the first line of
+untrained men failed to stand firm. It was arranged that, if the enemy
+could not be resisted, Lieutenant Chauncey was to set fire to the
+naval stores and shipping, and cross with his crews to the south side
+of the harbor, east of a work called Fort Volunteer, where Brown
+proposed to make his final stand. From there, although an enemy at the
+yard could be molested, he could not certainly be prevented from
+carrying off stores or ships; hence the necessity for destruction.
+
+ [Illustration: SURROUNDINGS OF SACKETT'S HARBOR]
+
+The British landed upon Horse Island soon after daylight of May 29,
+and from there advanced. The militia met them with a volley, but then
+broke and fled, as had been foreseen by Brown, himself yet a militia
+officer. Their colonel behaved gallantly, and was killed in trying to
+rally his men; while Brown in person, collecting a hundred of the
+fugitives, worked round with them to the left flank of the approaching
+British. These, moving through the woods, now encountered Backus and
+his regulars, who made upon them an impression of overwhelming
+numbers, to which the British official report bears a vivid testimony.
+The failure to carry the place is laid by this paper upon the light
+and adverse winds, which prevented the co-operation of the squadron's
+heavy guns, to reduce the batteries and blockhouse. Without this
+assistance, it was impracticable to carry by assault the works in
+which the Americans had taken refuge. The gunboats alone could get
+within range, and their small carronades were totally inadequate to
+make any impression on the forts and blockhouses. "The troops were
+reluctantly ordered to leave a beaten enemy." Brown makes no mention
+of this retreat into the works, though it appears clear that the
+Americans fell gradually back to their support; but he justifies
+Prevost's withdrawal, bitterly criticised by writers of his own
+nation, in the words, "Had not General Prevost retreated most rapidly
+under the guns of his vessels, he would never have returned to
+Kingston."[58]
+
+In the midst of the action word was brought to Lieutenant Chauncey
+that the battle was lost, and that the yard must be fired. Brown, in
+his official report, expressly acquitted him of blame, with words of
+personal commendation. The two schooners in commission had retreated
+up Black River; but the prize "Duke of Gloucester," and the ship
+approaching completion, were fired. Fortunately, the flames were
+extinguished before serious damage was done; but when Commodore
+Chauncey returned on June 1, he found that among a large quantity of
+materials consumed were the stores and sails of the new ship. The loss
+of these he thought would delay the movements of the squadron three
+weeks; for without her Yeo's force was now superior.[59]
+
+ [Illustration: THE RETREAT OF THE BRITISH FROM SACKETT'S HARBOR.
+ _Drawn by Henry Reuterdahl._]
+
+The defence of Sackett's Harbor obtained immediately for Brown, who
+was just thirty-eight, the commission of brigadier general in the
+army; for the new Secretary, Armstrong, was looking round anxiously
+for men to put in command, and was quick to seize upon one when he
+found him. To Chauncey, on the other hand, the affair in its
+consequences and demonstration of actualities was a rude awakening, to
+which his correspondence during the succeeding six weeks bears witness
+by an evident waning of confidence, not before to be noted. On June 4
+he tells the Secretary of the Navy that he has on Ontario, exclusive
+of the new ship not yet ready, fourteen vessels of every description,
+mounting sixty-two guns; whereas Yeo has seven, which, with six
+gunboats, carry one hundred and six. "If he leave Kingston, I shall
+meet him. The result may be doubtful, but worth the trial." This
+resolution is not maintained. June 11 he hears, with truth, that Yeo
+was seen at the head of the lake on the 7th, and that the Americans at
+Fort George had taken his squadron to be Chauncey's. By the same
+channel he learns of a disastrous engagement of the army there, which
+was likewise true. His impulse is to go out to meet the British
+squadron; but he reflects that the enemy may then again find an
+opportunity to descend upon Sackett's, and perhaps succeed in burning
+the new ship. Her size and armament will, he thinks, give him the
+decisive superiority. He therefore resolves to put nothing to hazard
+till she is finished.[60]
+
+The impression produced by the late attack is obvious, and this
+decision was probably correct; but Yeo too is building, and meantime
+he has possession of the lake. On June 3 he left Kingston with a
+squadron, two ships and four schooners, carrying some three hundred
+troops for Vincent. On the evening of the 7th, about six o'clock, he
+was sighted by the American army, which was then at Forty Mile Creek
+on the Ontario shore; a position to which it had retired after a
+severe reverse inflicted by the enemy thirty-six hours before.
+Vincent's retreat had been followed as far as Stony Creek, ten miles
+west of Forty Mile Creek, and somewhat less distant from Burlington
+Heights, where the British lay. The situation of the latter was
+extremely perilous; for, though strongly placed, they were greatly
+outnumbered. In case of being driven from their lines, they must
+retreat on York by a long and difficult road; and upon the same poor
+communications they were dependent for supplies, unless their squadron
+kept control of the lake. Recognizing that desperate conditions call
+for desperate remedies, Vincent resolved to risk an attack with seven
+hundred men under Colonel Harvey, in whose suggestion the movement
+originated. These fell upon the American advance corps at two o'clock
+in the morning of June 6. An hour of fighting ensued, with severe loss
+on both sides; then Harvey, considering sufficient effect produced,
+drew off his men before daylight revealed the smallness of their
+numbers.
+
+There was in this affair nothing intrinsically decisive, scarcely more
+than a business of outposts; but by a singular coincidence both
+American generals present were captured in the confusion. The officer
+who succeeded to the command, a colonel of cavalry, modestly
+distrustful of his own powers, could think of nothing more proper than
+to return to Forty Mile Creek, sending word to Fort George. Dearborn,
+still too weak to go to the front, despatched thither General Morgan
+Lewis. On his way Lewis was overtaken by two brief messages from the
+commander-in-chief announcing the appearance of Yeo's fleet, and
+indicating apprehension that by means of it Vincent might come upon
+Fort George before the main army could fall back there. It was most
+improbable that the British general, with the command of the lake in
+doubt would thus place himself again in the position from which he had
+with difficulty escaped ten days before; but Dearborn's fears for the
+safety of the forts prevailed, and he ordered a retreat. The movement
+began by noon of June 8, and in a few days the army was back at
+Niagara River, having lost or abandoned a quantity of stores. The
+British followed to within ten miles of the fort, where they took up a
+position. They also reoccupied Beaver Dam; and a force of six hundred
+Americans sent to dislodge them, under Colonel Boerstler, was
+compelled to surrender on June 24.[61] Dearborn, who had already
+reported to the Department that he personally was "so reduced in
+strength as to be incapable of any command," attributed his
+embarrassments "to the temporary loss of command of the lake. The
+enemy has availed himself of the advantage and forwarded
+re-enforcements and supplies." The effect of controlling the water
+cannot be contested; but the conditions at Stony Creek were such that
+it should have been possible to drive Vincent away from any hold on
+the south shore of Ontario. Creditable as had been the enterprise of
+Colonel Harvey, it had accomplished no change in material conditions.
+Dearborn was soon afterward relieved. His officers, including Scott,
+joined in a letter of regret and esteem, prompted doubtless by
+sympathy for the sufferings and miscarriage of an aged officer who had
+served gallantly in his youth during the War of Independence.
+
+To Colonel Harvey's attack, on the morning of June 6, a British
+military critic has with justice assigned the turning of the tide in
+the affairs of Upper Canada.[62] It is perfectly true that that
+well-judged movement, admirable in conception and execution, checked
+the progress of the American arms at a moment most favorable to them,
+and put an end to conditions of advantage which never there recurred.
+That this effect was produced, however, is attributable to the
+inefficiency of the American officers in command. If Harvey had
+divined this, from the previous operations, and made it a part of his
+calculations, it is so much more to his credit; the competency of the
+opponent is a chief factor to be considered in a military enterprise.
+It detracts nothing from Harvey's merit to say that there was no
+occasion for the American retreat, nor for the subsequent paralysis of
+effort, which ended in expulsion from the Niagara peninsula at the end
+of the year. "For some two months after this," wrote a very competent
+eye-witness, afterward General Scott, "the army of Niagara, never less
+than four thousand strong, stood fixed in a state of ignominy, under
+Boyd, within five miles of an unintrenched enemy, with never more than
+three thousand five hundred men."[63] Scott seems not to have known
+that this inactivity was enjoined by the War Department till Chauncey
+could resume control of the lake.[64] From this time, in fact, the
+Niagara army and its plans disappear from the active operations.
+
+Yeo remained in undisputed mastery of the water. That the British at
+this time felt themselves the stronger in effective force, may be
+reasonably inferred from their continuing to keep the lake after
+Chauncey's new ship was out. She was launched June 12, and named the
+"General Pike," in honor of the officer killed at the taking of York.
+Her armament was to be twenty-six long 24-pounders, which under some
+circumstances would make her superior, not only to any single vessel,
+but to any combination of vessels then under the British flag. If it
+was still possible, by use of favoring conditions, to contend with the
+American fleet after the addition to it of this ship, by so much more
+was Yeo able to deal successfully with it before her coming. A
+comparison of the armaments of the opposing forces also demonstrates
+that, whatever Chauncey's duty might have been without such prospect,
+he was justified, having this decisive advantage within reach, in
+keeping his fleet housed waiting for its realization. The British new
+vessel, the "Wolfe," with the "Royal George"[65] and the "Melville,"
+together threw a broadside weight of nine hundred and twenty
+pounds,[66] to which the "Madison" and "Oneida" could oppose only six
+hundred; and the batteries of all five being mainly carronades, there
+are no qualifications to be made on the score of differing ranges. The
+American schooners, though much more numerous than the British, in no
+way compensated for this disparity, for reasons which will be given
+when the narrative of operations begins. Unknown to Chauncey, the
+vindication of his delay was to be found in Yeo's writing to the
+Admiralty, that he was trying to induce the enemy to come out before
+his new ship was ready.
+
+Disappointed in this endeavor, the British commodore meantime employed
+his vessels in maintaining the communications of the British and
+harassing those of the Americans, thus observing the true relation of
+the lake to the hostilities. Mention has been made of the effect upon
+Dearborn; morally, in the apprehension created, actually, in the
+strength contributed to Vincent's army. "The enemy's fleet is
+constantly hovering on the coast and interrupting our supplies," wrote
+General Lewis, during Dearborn's incapacity. Besides incidental
+mentions by American officers, Yeo himself reports the capture of two
+schooners and boats loaded with stores June 13; and between that date
+and the 19th he landed parties at the Genesee River and Great Sodus,
+capturing or destroying a quantity of provisions. Transit between
+Oswego and Sackett's was also in constant danger of an unexpected
+interference by the British squadron. On June 20 it appeared off
+Oswego, with apparent disposition to attack; but Yeo, who in his
+exercise of chief command displayed a degree of caution remarkable in
+view of his deservedly high reputation for dash acquired in less
+responsible positions, did not pass beyond threat. All the same, the
+mere uncertainty exercised a powerful influence on the maintenance of
+intercourse. "If the schooners 'Lark' and 'Fly' are not now in
+Sackett's," wrote Lieutenant Woolsey from Oswego, "they must have been
+taken yesterday by the British boats. They were loaded with powder,
+shot, and hospital stores for the army." He has also cordage, powder,
+guns, cables, to send, and boats in which to ship them; but "under
+existing circumstances I dare not take upon myself to send them
+farther than to Sandy Creek, under strong guard. I think it would be
+unsafe to venture round Stony Point [a projecting headland twelve
+miles from Sackett's] without convoy or a good guard."[67]
+
+On July 2, having ranged the lake at will since June 1, Yeo returned
+to Kingston, and Chauncey again began to hear rumors. "The fleet has
+taken on board two thousand men, and two thousand more are to embark
+in boats; an attack upon this place is the object. The plan is to make
+a desperate push at our fleet before the 'General Pike' can be got
+ready.... His real object may be to land re-enforcements near Fort
+George, to act with General Vincent against Dearborn. If this be his
+object, he will succeed in obliging our army to recross the Niagara
+River;"[68] a damaging commentary on the American plan of campaign.
+This fear, however, was excessive, for the reason that an effective
+American army on the Niagara had a land line of communication, bad but
+possible, alternative to the lake. The British had not. Moreover, the
+Niagara peninsula had for them a value, as a land link between Ontario
+and Erie, to which nothing corresponded on the United States side. Had
+Vincent been driven from Burlington Heights, not only would he have
+lost touch with the lake, and been forced back on York, but Ontario
+would for the British have been entirely cut off from Erie.
+
+The "General Pike" was ready for service on July 20, and the following
+evening Chauncey sailed. With this begins a period, extending over ten
+or twelve weeks, which has no parallel in the naval lake history of
+the war. It was unproductive of decisive results, and especially of
+the one particular result which is the object of all naval action--the
+destruction of the enemy's organized force, and the establishment of
+one's own control of the water; nevertheless, the ensuing movements of
+Yeo and Chauncey constituted a naval campaign of considerable
+interest. Nothing resembling it occurred on either Lake Champlain or
+Erie, and no similar condition recurred on Ontario. The fleets were
+frequently in presence of each other, and three times came to blows.
+On Erie and on Champlain the opposing forces met but once, and then
+without any prolonged previous attempts at manoeuvring. They fought
+immediately; the result in each case being an American victory, not
+only complete but decisive, which has kept their remembrance alive to
+this day in the national memory. On Ontario, after the close of the
+season of 1813, the struggle resolved itself into a race of
+ship-building; both parties endeavoring to maintain superiority by the
+creation of ever-increasing numbers, instead of by crushing the enemy.
+Such a contest sufficiently befits a period of peace; it is, for
+instance, at this moment the condition of the great naval nations of
+the world, each of which is endeavoring to maintain its place in the
+naval scale by the constant production and development of material. In
+war, however, the object is to put an end to a period of national
+tension and expense by destroying the enemy; and the failure of the
+commanders to effect this object calls for examination.
+
+The indecisive result on Ontario was due to the particular composition
+of the two squadrons; to the absence of strong compelling conditions,
+such as made fighting imperative on Barclay upon Erie, and perhaps
+also on Downie upon Champlain; and finally, to the extreme wariness of
+the commanders, each of whom was deeply impressed with the importance
+of preserving his own fleet, in order not to sacrifice control of the
+lake. Chauncey has depicted for us his frame of mind in instructions
+issued at this very moment--July 14--to his subordinate, Perry. "The
+first object will be to destroy or cripple the enemy's fleet; but in
+all attempts upon the fleet you ought to use great caution, for the
+loss of a single vessel may decide the fate of the campaign."[69] A
+practical commentary of singular irony was passed upon this utterance
+within two months; for by sacrificing a single ship Perry decided his
+own campaign in his own favor. Given the spirit of Chauncey's warning,
+and also two opponents with fleets so different in constitution that
+one is strong where the other is weak, and _vice versa_, and there is
+found the elements of wary and protracted fighting, with a strong
+chance that neither will be badly hurt; but also that neither will
+accomplish much. This is what happened on Ontario.
+
+ [Illustration: THE FLEETS OF CHAUNCEY AND YEO MANOEUVRING ON LAKE
+ CHAMPLAIN.
+ _Drawn by Carlton T. Chapman._]
+
+The relative powers of the two fleets need to be briefly explained;
+for they constituted, so to say, the hands in the game which each
+commander had to play. The British had six vessels, of varying sizes
+and rigs, but all built for war, and sailing fairly well together.
+They formed therefore a good manoeuvring squadron. The Americans had
+three vessels built for war, and at the beginning ten schooners also,
+not so designed, and not sailing well with the armaments they bore.
+Whatever the merits of this or that vessel, the squadron as a whole
+manoeuvred badly, and its movements were impeded by the poorer
+sailors. The contrast in armaments likewise had a very decisive
+effect. There were in those days two principal classes of naval
+cannon,--long guns, often called simply "guns," and carronades. The
+guns had long range with light weight of shot fired; the carronades
+had short range and heavy shot. Now in long guns the Americans were
+four times as strong as the British, while in carronades the British
+were twice as strong as the Americans. It follows that the American
+commodore should prefer long range to begin with; whereas the British
+would be careful not to approach within long range, unless with such a
+breeze as would carry him rapidly down to where his carronades would
+come into play.
+
+There was another controlling reason why short range favored the
+British against the Americans. The schooners of the latter, not being
+built for war, carried their guns on a deck unprotected by bulwarks.
+The men, being exposed from the feet up, could be swept away by
+canister, which is a quantity of small iron balls packed in a case and
+fired from a cannon. When discharged, these separate and spread like
+buckshot, striking many in a group. They can maim or kill a man, but
+their range is short and penetrative power small. A bulwarked vessel
+was, so to say, armored against canister; for it makes no difference
+whether the protection is six inches of wood or ten of iron, provided
+it keeps out the projectile. The American schooners were in this
+respect wholly vulnerable.
+
+Over-insistence upon details of advantage or disadvantage is often
+wearisome, and may be pushed to pettifogging; but these quoted are
+general and fundamental. To mention them is not to chaffer over
+details, but to state principles. There is one other which should be
+noted, although its value may be differently estimated. Of the great
+long-gun superiority of the Americans more than one half was in the
+unprotected schooners; distributed, that is, among several vessels not
+built for war, and not capable of acting well together, so as to
+concentrate their fire. There is no equality between ten guns in five
+such vessels and the same ten concentrated on one deck, under one
+captain. That this is not special pleading, to contravene the
+assertion advanced by James of great American superiority on Ontario,
+I may quote words of my own, written years ago with reference to a
+British officer: "An attempt was made to disparage Howe's conduct (in
+1778), and to prove that his force was even superior to that of the
+French, by adding together the guns in all his ships, disregarding
+their classes, or by combining groups of his small vessels against
+D'Estaing's larger units. For this kind of professional arithmetic
+Howe felt and expressed just and utter contempt."[70] So Nelson wrote
+to the commander of a British cruising squadron, "Your intentions of
+attacking the 'Aigle'"--a seventy-four--"with your three frigates are
+certainly very laudable, but I do not consider your force by any means
+equal to it." The new American ship, the "General Pike," possessed
+this advantage of the seventy-four. One discharge of her broadside was
+substantially equal to that of the ten schooners, and all her guns
+were long; entirely out-ranging the batteries of her antagonists.
+Under some circumstances--a good breeze and the windward position--she
+was doubtless able to encounter and beat the whole British squadron on
+Ontario. But the American schooners were mere gunboats, called to act
+in conditions unfavorable to that class of vessel, the record of which
+for efficiency is under no circumstances satisfactory.
+
+After leaving Sackett's, Chauncey showed himself off Kingston and then
+went up the lake, arriving off Niagara on the evening of July 27. An
+abortive attempt, in conjunction with the army, was made upon a
+position of the enemy at Burlington Heights, then far in rear of his
+main line; but it being found too strong, the fleet, with the troops
+still on board, bore over to York and there retaliated the injury done
+by Yeo at Genesee and Sodus. There was no opposition; many stores were
+destroyed or brought away, some military buildings burned, and the
+vessels then returned to Niagara. They were lying there at daybreak of
+August 7 when the British appeared: two ships, two brigs, and two
+large schooners. Chauncey had substantially his whole force: two
+ships, the "Pike" and "Madison," the brig "Oneida," and ten
+schooners. He got under way shortly and put out into the lake. Various
+manoeuvres followed, his principal object being to get to windward of
+the enemy; or, when the wind failed, to sweep[71] the schooners close
+enough for their long guns to reach; the only useful function they
+possessed. These efforts were unsuccessful, and night shut in with the
+two opponents sailing in parallel lines, heading north, with the wind
+at west; the Americans to leeward and in rear of the British. At two
+in the morning, in a heavy squall, two schooners upset, with the loss
+of all on board save sixteen souls. Chauncey reckoned these to be
+among his best, and, as they together mounted nineteen guns, he
+considered that "this accident gave the enemy decidedly the
+superiority"; another instance of faulty professional arithmetic,
+omitting from the account the concentration of power in the "General
+Pike."
+
+Yeo did not estimate conditions in the same way, and persisted warily
+in keeping the weather gage, watching for a chance to cut off
+schooners, or for other favoring opportunity; while Chauncey as
+diligently sought to gain the advantage of the wind, to force action
+with his heavy ships. Manoeuvring continued all day of the 8th, 9th,
+and 10th. The winds, being light and shifting, favored now one, now
+the other; but in no case for long enough to insure a meeting which
+the American with good reason desired, and his antagonist with equal
+propriety would accept only under conditions that suited him. At nine
+in the evening of August 10 the American squadron was standing
+northwest, with the wind at southwest, when the British, which was
+then following to windward, wore and stood south. Chauncey made no
+change in direction, but kept his vessels in two lines; this being the
+order of battle by which, not being able to attack himself, he hoped
+to induce Yeo to engage incautiously. The six smallest schooners, of
+the eight now left to him, were put in the weather line; therefore
+toward the enemy, if he persisted in keeping to windward. The lee
+line, abreast of the other, and six hundred yards from it, was
+composed of the "Pike," "Madison," and "Oneida," astern of which were
+the two heaviest schooners. The smaller vessels were displayed as a
+tempting bait, disposed, as it were, in such manner that the opponent
+might hope to lay hands on one or more, without coming too much under
+the "Pike's" heavy guns; for her two larger consorts, carrying
+carronades chiefly, might be neglected at the distance named. If such
+an attempt were made, the schooners' orders were to edge imperceptibly
+to leeward, enticing the enemy to follow in his eagerness; and when he
+was near enough they were to slip cleverly through the intervals in
+the lee line, leaving it to finish the business. The lure was perhaps
+a little too obvious, the enemy's innocent forgetfulness of the
+dangers to leeward too easily presumed; for a ship does not get out of
+the hold of a clear-headed captain as a mob of troops in hot pursuit
+may at times escape the control of their officers. In view, however,
+of Yeo's evident determination to keep his "fleet in being," by
+avoiding action except on his own terms, nothing better was open to
+Chauncey, unless fortune should favor him.
+
+At half-past ten the British again wore, now standing northwest after
+the American squadron, the rear vessels of which opened fire at eleven
+(A). At quarter-past eleven the cannonade became general between the
+enemy and the weather line (B). Fifteen minutes later, the four rear
+schooners of the latter, which were overmatched when once within
+carronade range, bore up and ran to leeward; two taking position on
+the other side of the main division, and two astern of it (c, c). So
+far all went according to plan; but unhappily the leading two American
+schooners, instead of keeping away in obedience to orders,
+tacked--went about towards the enemy--keeping to windward (d).
+Chauncey, seeing the risk involved for them, but prepossessed with the
+idea of luring Yeo down by the appearance of flight set by the
+schooners, made what can scarcely be considered other than the mistake
+of keeping away himself, with the heavy ships; "filled the
+maintopsail, and edged away two points, to lead the enemy down, not
+only to engage him to more advantage, but to lead him away from the
+'Growler' and 'Julia'" (C). Yeo, equally dominated by a preconceived
+purpose not to bring his ships under the guns of the "Pike," acted
+much as a squirrel would do with two nuts in sight; he went for the
+one safely distant from suspected danger. "He kept his wind," reported
+Chauncey, "until he had completely separated those two vessels from
+the rest of the squadron, exchanged a few shot with the 'Pike,' as he
+passed, without injury to us, and made sail after the two schooners"
+(e). Some time after midnight these surrendered to odds plainly
+irresistible.[72]
+
+The tacking of the two schooners was an act as ill-judged as it was
+insubordinate, for which Chauncey was in no wise responsible. His
+bearing up was certainly an error, which unfortunately lent itself to
+the statement, contemporaneously made by an American paper, that he
+retreated, leaving the two vessels to their fate. It was possible,
+therefore, for Sir James to word the transaction as he airily did: "At
+eleven we came within gunshot of their line of schooners, which opened
+a heavy fire, their ships keeping off the wind to prevent our closing.
+At half-past twelve this ship came within gunshot of the 'Pike' and
+'Madison,' when they immediately bore up, fired their stern
+chase-guns, and made sail for Niagara, leaving two of their schooners
+astern, which we captured."[73] This gives a more victorious and
+dashing air to the success than it quite deserves. As it stood, it was
+real enough, though trivial. To take two vessels from a superior
+fleet, within range of its commander-in-chief, is a handsome business,
+which should not need to be embellished by the implication that a
+greatly desired fight could not be had. To quote Marryat, "It is very
+hard to come at the real truth of this sort of thing, as I found out
+during the time that I was in his Majesty's service." Chauncey's
+version is perfectly probable. Seeing that the enemy would not follow,
+"tacked and stood after him. At twelve (midnight), finding that I must
+either separate from the rest of the squadron, or relinquish the hope
+of saving the two which had separated, I reluctantly gave up the
+pursuit." His reading of Yeo's conduct is plausible. "From what I have
+been able to discover of the movements of the enemy, he has no
+intention of engaging us, except he can get decidedly the advantage of
+wind and weather; and as his vessels in squadron sail better than our
+squadron, he can always avoid an action.... He thinks to cut off our
+small dull sailing schooners in detail." Here and always Chauncey's
+conduct reflects the caution prescribed in his instructions to Perry,
+rather than the resolute determination the latter showed to bring
+matters to an issue. On the other hand, it is to be remembered that,
+owing to the nearly equal facilities for ship-building--for replacing
+ships lost--possessed by Kingston and Sackett's, a decisive naval
+victory would not have the finality of result to be expected on Lake
+Erie. Contrary to the usual conditions of naval war, the two ports,
+not the fleets dependent on them, were the decisive elements of the
+Ontario campaign; and the ignoring of that truth was the fundamental,
+irremediable, American error.
+
+ [Illustration: PLAN OF CHAUNCEY'S ENGAGEMENT AUGUST 10, 1813]
+
+Chauncey returned to Sackett's on August 13, provisioned the squadron
+for five weeks, and sailed the same evening. On the 16th he was back
+off Niagara, and there again sighted the enemy; but a heavy westerly
+gale drove both squadrons to the lower end of the lake, where each
+entered its own harbor on the 19th. August 29 the American put out
+again, having an additional newly built schooner, named the "Sylph,"
+large and fast, carrying three or four long 32-pounders. Chauncey
+reported that he had now nine vessels with ninety-one guns, but that
+the enemy was still superior. In number of guns, possibly; but it is
+difficult to accept the statement otherwise, except in the one very
+important particular of squadron manoeuvring power. This enabled Yeo
+to avoid action, except when it suited him to fight; or unless
+Chauncey was willing to engage first with part only of his squadron,
+following it with the rest. Such advantage in manoeuvring greatly
+increases the ability of the inferior to serve his own cause, but it
+does not constitute superiority. The delusion of measuring force by
+guns, irrespective of the ships that carry them, has been explained.
+
+Yeo's intermediate movements do not appear, but on September 7 the
+antagonists again met off the Niagara River. From that day till the
+12th the American fleet endeavored to force a general action, which
+the other steadily, and properly, refused. The persistent efforts of
+the one to close, and of the other to avoid, led to a movement round
+the lake, ending by the British entering Amherst Bay, five miles west
+of Kingston. On one occasion, off the Genesee on September 11, a
+westerly breeze carried the United States squadron within
+three-quarters of a mile of the enemy, before the latter felt it. A
+cannonade and pursuit of some hours followed, but without decisive
+result. There seems traceable throughout Chauncey's account a distinct
+indisposition to what is called technically "a general chase;" to
+press on with part of the squadron, trusting to the slower vessels
+coming up soon enough to complete the work of the faster. He was
+unwilling thus to let his fleet loose. "This ship" (the "General
+Pike"), "the 'Madison,' and the 'Sylph,' have each a schooner
+constantly in tow, yet the others cannot sail as fast as the enemy's
+squadron, which gives him decidedly the advantage, and puts it in his
+power to engage me when and how he chooses." In such a situation
+success can be had only by throwing the more rapid upon the enemy as
+an advance guard, engaging as they get within range, relying upon
+their effecting such detention that the others can arrive in time to
+their support. To this recourse, though in halting fashion, Chauncey
+finally came on what proved to be his last collision with Yeo,
+September 28.
+
+ [Illustration: CAPTAIN ISAAC CHAUNCEY.
+ _From the engraving by D. Edwin after the painting by J. Woods._]
+
+ [Illustration: CAPTAIN SIR JAMES LUCAS YEO
+ _From the engraving by H.R. Cook after the Painting by A. Buck._]
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[40] Yeo to Croker, May 26, 1813. Admiralty In-Letters, Records Office.
+
+[41] Captains' Letters, Navy Department.
+
+[42] American State Papers, Military Affairs, vol. i. p. 439.
+
+[43] Between July, 1812, and March 25, 1813, Prevost received
+re-enforcements amounting in all to 2,175 regulars. His total force
+then, for all Canada, excluding militia, was 9,177; of which 2,000 were
+provincial corps. British Records Office.
+
+[44] American State Papers, Military Affairs, vol. i. p. 441.
+
+[45] Chauncey to Navy Department, March 8, 12, and 16, 1813. Captains'
+Letters.
+
+[46] American State Papers, Military Affairs, vol. i. p. 442.
+
+[47] Captains' Letters.
+
+[48] Captains' Letters, Nov. 5, 1814.
+
+[49] Captains' Letters, May 7, 1813.
+
+[50] Ibid., May 15.
+
+[51] Canadian Archives. C. 678, p. 332.
+
+[52] American State Papers, Military Affairs, vol. i. p. 445.
+
+[53] Ibid., p. 449. Armstrong's italics.
+
+[54] Barclay's Narrative before the British Court Martial on the Battle
+of Lake Erie. British Records Office.
+
+[55] Prevost to Bathurst, Canadian Archives.
+
+[56] Mackenzie's Life of Perry, vol. i. p. 148.
+
+[57] Barclay's Narrative.
+
+[58] Brown's and Prevost's Reports of this affair may be found in Niles'
+Register, vol. iv. pp. 260, 261. That of Yeo is in the Canadian
+Archives; M. 389, 6, p. 22.
+
+[59] Captains' Letters, June 11, 1813.
+
+[60] Captains' Letters.
+
+[61] The account of these transactions is summarized from American State
+Papers, Military Affairs, vol. i. pp. 445-449. For Vincent's report of
+the Stony Creek affair see Cruikshank's Documentary History of the
+Campaign on the Niagara Frontier, 1813, Part II, p. 8.
+
+[62] Smyth's Précis of Wars in Canada, p. 137.
+
+[63] Scott's Memoirs, vol. i. p. 94.
+
+[64] American State Papers, Military Affairs, vol. i. pp. 450, 451.
+
+[65] Formerly the "Prince Regent."
+
+[66] Yeo's Report of the Vessels on the Lakes, July 15, 1813. British
+Records Office.
+
+[67] Woolsey to Chauncey, June 20 and 21, 1813. Captains' Letters.
+
+[68] Chauncey to the Department, July 5, 1813. Captains' Letters.
+
+[69] Captains' Letters. Navy Department MSS.
+
+[70] "History of the Royal Navy," edited by Sir W.L. Clowes, vol. iii.
+p. 411.
+
+[71] That is,--row
+
+[72] Chauncey's Report of this cruise is in Captains' Letters, Aug. 13,
+1813. Also, in Niles' Register, vol. iv. p. 421.
+
+[73] James, Naval Occurrences. Appendix, p. lxxiv.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XI
+
+THE CAMPAIGN OF 1813 ON THE LAKES AND NORTHERN FRONTIER.
+THE BATTLE OF LAKE ERIE
+
+
+While the movements last related in the preceding chapter were in
+progress, the contest for Lake Erie was brought to a final decision.
+After the successful transfer of the vessels from Black Rock to Erie,
+June 18, Perry remained upon the upper lake superintending all
+administrative work; but in particular pressing the equipment of the
+two brigs ordered by Chauncey the previous winter. To one of these, on
+which Perry intended to embark his own fortunes, was given the name of
+"Lawrence," the captain of the "Chesapeake," whose death, heroic in
+defeat, occurred at this period. The other was called the "Niagara."
+They were sister vessels, of five hundred tons, constructed for war,
+and brig-rigged; that is, with two masts, and carrying square sails on
+both. Their armaments also were alike; eighteen 32-pounder carronades,
+and two long 12-pounder guns. They were thus about equivalent in
+fighting force to the ocean sloops-of-war, "Wasp" and "Hornet," which,
+however, were three-masted. The remainder of the force would now be
+called a scratch lot. Three were schooner-rigged gunboats, built for
+the navy at Erie; the remainder were the vessels brought from Black
+Rock. Of these, one was the brig "Caledonia," formerly British,
+captured by Elliott the previous autumn; the others were purchased
+lake craft. When finally taking the lake, August 6, the squadron
+consisted of the two brigs, of the Black Rock division,--"Caledonia,"
+"Somers," "Tigress," "Ohio," and "Trippe,"--and of three other
+schooners,--"Ariel," "Scorpion," and "Porcupine,"--apparently those
+built at Erie; ten sail, all of which, except the "Ohio," were in the
+final decisive battle.
+
+On July 23 the vessels were rigged, armed, and ready for service, but
+there were not men enough to man them. How little exacting Perry was
+in this matter, and how eager to enter upon active operations, is
+shown by a letter from his superior, Chauncey, to the Secretary of the
+Navy, dated July 8: "I am at a loss," he says, "to account for the
+change in Captain Perry's sentiments with respect to the number of men
+required for the little fleet at Presqu' Isle; for when I parted with
+him on the last of May, we coincided in opinion perfectly as to the
+number required for each vessel, which was one hundred and eighty for
+each of the new brigs, sixty for the 'Caledonia,' and forty for each
+of the other vessels, making in all seven hundred and forty officers
+and men. But if Captain Perry can beat the enemy with half that
+number, no one will feel more happy than myself."[74] Chauncey having
+supreme control over both lakes, all re-enforcements from the seaboard
+were sent to him; and as he had his own particular enemy on Ontario to
+confront, it was evident, and natural, that Perry would be least well
+served. Hence, after successive disappointments, and being of more
+venturous temper than his superior, it is not surprising that he soon
+was willing to undertake his task with fewer men than his unbiased
+judgment would call necessary.
+
+The clash of interests between the two squadrons, having a common
+superior but separate responsibilities, is seen by a comparison of
+dates, which shows operations nearly simultaneous. On July 23 the Erie
+squadron was reported "all ready to meet the enemy the moment they are
+officered and manned;" on July 20 the "General Pike" was ready, and
+on the 21st the Ontario squadron sailed from Sackett's Harbor. On
+August 5 Perry had his vessels across the bar at Erie, and next day
+stood out into the lake. On the 7th Chauncey and Yeo met for their
+first encounter. On the 8th the two Ontario schooners, "Hamilton" and
+"Scourge," were lost with nearly all on board; and on the 10th the
+"Julia" and "Growler" were captured. After this, it may be imagined
+that Chauncey with difficulty parted with men; and in the midst of his
+second collision with Yeo the battle of Lake Erie occurred. In it, of
+the one hundred and eighty men deemed necessary by Chauncey, Perry's
+brig had one hundred and forty-two, of whom thirty were sick; while
+the squadron, with nearly all its vessels present, instead of the
+intended seven hundred and forty, had but four hundred and ninety. Of
+this total, nearly one hundred were received from the army on August
+31, only nine days before the action. For the most part these were
+strangers to shipboard. Barring them, Perry's fighting force was
+barely more than half that required by Chauncey's estimate.
+
+Indirectly, and notwithstanding Perry's disposition to make the best
+of his difficulty, this condition came near causing his withdrawal
+from the lake service; a loss which, had it occurred, might have
+reversed the issues, for in few general actions has the personality of
+the commander counted for so much, after the battle joined. In a
+letter of July 26 to Chauncey, he had written: "The men that came by
+Mr. Champlin are a motley set, blacks, soldiers, and boys. I cannot
+think you saw them after they were selected."[75] Chauncey replied,
+somewhat testily, "I regret you are not pleased with the men sent you;
+for, to my knowledge, a part of them are not surpassed by any seamen
+we have in the fleet; and I have yet to learn that the color of the
+skin, or the cut and trimmings of the coat, can affect a man's
+qualifications or usefulness." To this he added a warning not much
+short of a reproof: "As you have assured the secretary that you should
+conceive yourself equal or superior to the enemy, with a force in men
+so much less than I had deemed necessary, there will be a great deal
+expected from you by your country, and I trust they will not be
+disappointed in the high expectations formed of your gallantry and
+judgment. I will barely make an observation, which was impressed upon
+my mind by an old soldier; that is, 'Never despise your enemy.'"[76]
+
+This advice was sound, rightly weighed. Yet it is not too much to say
+that the confidence which carried Perry on to decisive victory has in
+it inevitably something of that assurance of success which is akin to
+contempt of the enemy, and that it was the precise quality in which
+Chauncey, throughout his own career on the lakes, showed himself
+deficient, and consequently failed. His plan at that moment, as he
+himself said in a letter to Perry of July 14, was "to seek a meeting
+with Sir James Yeo as soon as possible, in order to decide the fate of
+this lake, and join you immediately after." This was an intelligent
+project: to beat one enemy first, and then carry his force over to
+beat the other; but never, when in presence of his antagonist, could
+he despise him sufficiently to cut his gunboats adrift, and throw one
+or two vessels into the midst of the fire, as Perry rushed his own
+ship in, had her cut to pieces,--and won. It is even worse to respect
+your enemy too greatly than to despise him. Said Farragut, speaking of
+an officer he highly valued: "Drayton does not know fear, but he
+believes in acting as if the enemy never can be caught unprepared;
+whereas I believe in judging him by ourselves, and my motto in action
+is, '_L'audace, et encore de l'audace, et toujours de l'audace!_'"
+This described Perry in battle.
+
+Although Chauncey closed with expressions of confidence which might be
+considered conciliatory, Perry experienced an annoyance which was
+natural, though excessive. He was only twenty-eight, quick of temper,
+though amiable, and somewhat prone to see more offence than was
+intended. When the letter reached him, the squadron had just crossed
+the bar; the most critical movement of the campaign, had the enemy
+been duly watchful. Having accomplished this, he had before him only
+the common vicissitudes of naval warfare. Nevertheless, under his
+first impulse of resentment, he applied to be removed from the
+station,[77] giving as his reason, not the quality of men sent,
+concerning which indeed he had said, "I am pleased to see anything in
+the shape of a man," but that "I cannot serve under an officer who has
+been so totally regardless of my feelings." He then summarized the
+difficulties with which he had contended, and added, "The critical
+state of General Harrison was such that I took upon myself the
+responsibility of going out with the few young officers you had been
+pleased to send me," (Elliott, the second in command, did not arrive
+till the squadron was over the bar), "with the few seamen I had, and
+as many volunteers as I could muster from the militia. I did not
+shrink from this responsibility; but, Sir, at that very moment I
+surely did not anticipate the receipt of a letter in every line of
+which is an insult." He then renewed his request. "I am willing to
+forego that reward which I have considered for two months past almost
+within my grasp." Fortunately for the renown of the service, from
+which one of its finest actions might have been lost, it was
+impossible to grant his application until after the battle had made
+the question of the command on Lake Erie one of very minor
+importance. The secretary replied to him with words in which rebuke
+and appreciation were aptly blended. "A change of commander, under
+existing circumstances, is equally inadmissible as it respects the
+interest of the service and your own reputation. It is right that you
+should reap the harvest which you have sown."[78]
+
+ [Illustration: CAPTAIN OLIVER HAZARD PERRY.
+ _From the painting by Gilbert Stuart in the possession of O.H.
+ Perry, Esq._]
+
+After the Frenchtown disaster[79] of January 22, 1813, the Army of the
+Northwest under General Harrison had remained strictly on the
+defensive throughout the spring and summer. The tenure of its position
+on the Maumee River depended upon Fort Meigs, built during the winter
+just above the Rapids, some twenty miles from the lake. Thirty miles
+east of Meigs was Fort Stephenson at the mouth of the Sandusky River,
+protecting the approaches to Sandusky Bay, near which were Harrison's
+headquarters at the time Perry's squadron was ready to move. Fort
+Stephenson by its situation contributed also to secure the
+communications of the Maumee line with Central Ohio, and was an
+obstacle to an enemy's approach by land to Erie, a hundred and fifty
+miles further east. It was not, however, a work permanent in
+character, like Meigs; and neither post could be considered secure,
+because inadequately garrisoned. Fortunately, the general tenor of the
+instructions received by Procter from Prevost conspired with his own
+natural character to indispose him to energetic measures. His force of
+regulars was small; and he had not the faculty, which occasional white
+men have shown, to arouse vigorous and sustained activity in the
+Indians, of whom he had an abundance at call. The use of them in
+desultory guerilla warfare, which was prescribed to him by Prevost,
+became in his hands ineffective. Nevertheless, from the number known
+to be under his command, and the control of the water enabling him to
+land where he would, the threat of savage warfare hung over the
+frontier like a pall, until finally dissipated by Perry's victory.
+
+The danger to British control of the water, and thereby to the
+maintenance of their position in the northwest, if the American fleet
+now building should succeed in getting upon the lake, was perfectly
+apparent, and made Erie a third and principal point of interest. At
+the time of Perry's arrival, March 27, the place was entirely
+defenceless, and without any organization for defence, although the
+keels of the two brigs were laid, and the three gunboats well advanced
+in construction. By a visit to Pittsburgh he obtained from an army
+ordnance officer four small guns, with some muskets; and upon his
+application the local commander of Pennsylvania militia stationed at
+Erie five hundred men, who remained till the vessels crossed the bar.
+Under this slender protection went on the arduous work of building and
+equipping a squadron in what was substantially a wilderness, to which
+most of the mechanics and material had to be brought half a thousand
+miles from the seaboard, under the difficulties of transport in those
+days. The rapid advance in the preparations aroused the disquietude of
+the British, but Procter had not the enterprising temper to throw all
+upon the hazard, for the sake of destroying an armament which, if
+completed, might destroy him; while the British inferiority of force
+on Lake Ontario and the Niagara peninsula, together with the movement
+of Chauncey and Dearborn resulting in the capture of York, April 27,
+effectually prevented intervention from that quarter in the affairs of
+Lake Erie. At this time Procter made his first effort of the season,
+directed against Fort Meigs, which he held besieged for over a
+week,--from May 1 to May 9. Although unable to capture it, the
+mismanagement of an American relief force enabled him to inflict a
+very severe loss; a corps of eight hundred and sixty-six men being cut
+to pieces or captured, only one hundred and seventy escaping. The
+chief points of interest in this business are the demonstration of the
+weakness of the American frontier,--the principal defence of which was
+thus not merely braved but threatened,--and the effect of control of
+the water. By it Procter brought over gunboats which ascended the
+river, and guns of a weight not to be transported by land. The lake
+also secured his communications.
+
+After the failure before Meigs, Procter turned his attention more
+seriously to the situation at Erie, and demanded re-enforcements to
+enable him to attack the place.[80] Prevost, being commander-in-chief
+for all Canada, recognized the expediency of the move, and wrote him,
+June 20, that he had directed General De Rottenburg at Niagara, to
+push on re-enforcements and supplies; but Prevost was in Kingston, and
+De Rottenburg, immediately responsible for Niagara, wrote declining to
+weaken his force. He was already inferior to the United States army
+under Boyd, which was then confronting him, resting upon Fort George;
+and there was the prospect also that Chauncey might regain control of
+the lake. Instead of co-operation for offence, he transmitted
+arrangements for retreat in case of a disaster to Yeo on Ontario.
+Procter enclosed this letter to the commander-in-chief, remarking
+pathetically that he was fully confident of receiving aid from him,
+but intentions were of no avail. Had the force ordered been sent, he
+felt sure of destroying the fleet at Erie, thus securing the command
+of the lake, which would have benefited also the centre [Niagara]
+division. He should now, he said, make an attempt upon Sandusky; Erie
+was impossible without re-enforcements. At the same time, July 13,
+Captain Barclay was about to sail for Long Point, on the Canada shore
+directly opposite Erie, to embark one hundred troops, and then to
+endeavor to retain the American fleet in port until the required
+assistance could be sent. The new British ship "Detroit" was nearly
+ready for launching at Amherstburg, and could be equipped and gunned
+there; but seamen were absolutely needed.
+
+In accordance with these plans Barclay went with his squadron to Long
+Point. There the desired soldiers were refused him; and, as also no
+seamen were forthcoming, he wrote on July 16 a letter directly to Sir
+George Prevost, "lest Sir James Yeo should be on the lake,"
+representing the critical state of affairs, owing to the inadequate
+equipment of his vessels, the want of seamen, and the advanced
+preparations of the Americans to put afloat a force superior to his.
+July 20 he appeared off Erie, where Perry's fleet was still in the
+harbor, waiting for men. How imminent the exposure of the American
+flotilla at that moment, and how great the British opportunity,
+appears from the recently published memoirs of a prominent
+resident.[81] "An English fleet of five vessels of war was at that
+time cruising off the harbor, in full view. That fleet might at any
+time have sent in its boats during a dark night, and the destruction
+of the whole American fleet was almost inevitable; for Perry's force
+was totally inadequate to its defence, and the regiment of
+Pennsylvania militia, stationed at Erie expressly for the defence of
+the fleet, refused to keep guard at night on board. 'I told the boys
+to go, Captain,' said the worthless colonel of the regiment, 'but the
+boys won't go.'" Like American merchant ships, American militia obeyed
+or disobeyed as they pleased. Two hundred soldiers, loaned by Dearborn
+when the Black Rock flotilla came round, had been recalled July 10. On
+the 23d and 30th re-enforcements were received from Chauncey, in all
+one hundred and thirty men. With these, and some landsmen enlisted on
+the spot for four months, the force of the squadron, estimated to
+require seven hundred and forty men, was raised to three hundred; but
+having lately received two pressing letters from the Navy Department,
+urging General Harrison's critical need of co-operation, Perry
+determined to go out. Most opportunely for his purpose, Barclay
+disappeared on the 30th, Friday, which thus for him made good its
+title to "unlucky." He was absent until August 4, and was by the
+Americans believed to have gone to Long Point. Before his Court
+Martial he merely stated that "I blockaded as closely as I could,
+until I one morning saw the whole of the enemy's force over the bar,
+and in a most formidable state of preparation." The Court did not
+press inquiry on the point, which perhaps lay beyond its instructions;
+but the double failure, to intercept the Black Rock division on its
+way to Erie,[82] and to prevent the crossing of the bar, were serious
+strategic misadventures when confronting superior numbers. Perry's
+preparations for the passage had been for some time completed, but
+information of contemplated movements travelled so easily from shore
+to shore that he gave no indication of immediate action until Sunday.
+On that day the officers were permitted to disperse in town as usual,
+but afterwards were hastily summoned back, and the vessels moved down
+to the bar, on which the depth ordinarily was from five to seven feet,
+much less than needed for the "Lawrence" and "Niagara." This obstacle,
+hitherto a protection against naval attack, now imposed an extremely
+critical operation; for to get over, the brigs must be lightened of
+their guns and their hulls lifted upon floats. So situated, they were
+helplessly exposed to destruction, as far as their own powers went.
+
+From point to point the mouth of the harbor, where the outer bar
+occurs, was eight tenths of a mile wide. As shown by a sketch of the
+period, the distance to be travelled on the floats, from deep water
+within to deep water without, was a mile; rather less than more. On
+Monday morning, August 2, the movement of the vessels began
+simultaneously. Five of the smaller, which under usual conditions could
+pass without lightening, were ordered to cross and take positions
+outside, covering the channel; a sixth, with the "Niagara," were
+similarly posted within. The protection thus afforded was re-enforced
+by three 12-pounder long guns, mounted on the beach, abreast the bar;
+distant not over five hundred yards from the point where the channel
+issued on the lake. While these dispositions were being made, the
+"Lawrence's" guns were hoisted out, and placed in boats to be towed
+astern of her; the floats taken alongside, filled, sunk, and made fast,
+so that when pumped out their rising would lift the brig. In the course
+of these preparations it was found that the water had fallen to four
+feet, so that even the schooners had to be lightened, while the transit
+of the "Lawrence" was rendered more tedious and difficult. The weather,
+however, was propitious, with a smooth lake; and although the brig
+grounded in the shoalest spot, necessitating a second sinking of the
+burden-bearing floats,--appropriately called "camels,"--perseverance
+protracted through that night and the day of the 3d carried her
+outside. At 8 A.M. of the 4th she was fairly afloat. Guns, singly light
+in weight as hers were, were quickly hoisted on board and mounted; but
+none too soon, for the enemy appeared almost immediately. The
+"Niagara's" passage was more easily effected, and Barclay offered no
+molestation. In a letter to the Department, dated August 4, 1813, 9
+P.M., Perry reported, "I have great pleasure in informing you that I
+have succeeded in getting over the bar the United States vessels, the
+'Lawrence,' 'Niagara,' 'Caledonia,' 'Ariel,' 'Scorpion,' 'Somers,'
+'Tigress,' and 'Porcupine.'" He added, "The enemy have been in sight
+all day." The vessels named, with the schooner "Ohio" and the sloop
+"Trippe," constituted the entire squadron.
+
+ [Illustration: PLAN OF ERIE HARBOR 1814
+ Copied from Captain's Letters, 1814, vol. 3, page 23, with letter
+ from Capt. A. Sinclair. May 6, 1814. A.H.E. Verified, Chas. W.
+ Stewart.]
+
+While Perry was thus profitably employed, Procter had embarked on
+another enterprise against the magazines on the American front of
+operations. His intention, as first reported to Prevost, was to attack
+Sandusky; but the conduct of the Indians, upon the co-operation of
+whom he had to rely, compelled him to diverge to Fort Meigs. Here the
+savages began to desert, an attempt to draw the garrison into an
+ambush having failed; and when Procter, after two days' stay,
+determined to revert to Sandusky, he was accompanied by "as many
+hundred of them as there should have been thousands." The white troops
+went on by water, the Indians by the shore. They appeared before Fort
+Stephenson on Sunday, August 1. The garrison was summoned, with the
+customary intimation of the dire consequences to be apprehended from
+the savages in case of an assault. The American commander, Major
+Croghan, accepted these possibilities, and the following day, during
+which the "Lawrence" was working her way over Erie bar, the artillery
+and the guns of the gunboats were busy battering the northwest angle
+of the fort. At 4 P.M. an assault was made. It was repelled with heavy
+loss to the assailants, and little to the besieged. That night the
+baffled enemy withdrew to Malden.
+
+The American squadron having gained the lake and mounted its
+batteries, Barclay found himself like Chauncey while awaiting the
+"General Pike." His new and most powerful vessel, the ship "Detroit,"
+was approaching completion. He was now too inferior in force to risk
+action when he might expect her help so soon, and he therefore
+retired to Malden. Perry was thus left in control of Lake Erie. He put
+out on August 6; but, failing to find the enemy, he anchored again off
+Erie, to take on board provisions, and also stores to be carried to
+Sandusky for the army. While thus occupied, there came on the evening
+of the 8th the welcome news that a re-enforcement of officers and
+seamen was approaching. On the 10th, these joined him to the number of
+one hundred and two. At their head was Commander Jesse D. Elliott, an
+officer of reputation, who became second in command to Perry, and took
+charge of the "Niagara."
+
+On August 12 the squadron finally made sail for the westward, not to
+return to Erie till the campaign was decided. Its intermediate
+movements possess little interest, the battle of Lake Erie being so
+conspicuously the decisive incident as to reduce all preceding it to
+insignificance. Perry was off Malden on August 25, and again on
+September 1. The wind on the latter day favoring movement both to go
+and come, a somewhat rare circumstance, he remained all day
+reconnoitring near the harbor's mouth. The British squadron appeared
+complete in vessels and equipment; but Barclay had his own troubles
+about crews, as had his antagonist, his continual representations to
+Yeo meeting with even less attention than Perry conceived himself to
+receive from Chauncey. He was determined to postpone action until
+re-enforcements of seamen should arrive from the eastward, unless
+failure of provisions, already staring him in the face, should force
+him to battle in order to re-establish communications by the lake.
+
+The headquarters of the United States squadron was at Put-in Bay, in
+the Bass Islands, a group thirty miles southeast of Malden. The harbor
+was good, and the position suitable for watching the enemy, in case he
+should attempt to pass eastward down the lake, towards Long Point or
+elsewhere. Hither Perry returned on September 6, after a brief visit
+to Sandusky Bay, where information was received that the British
+leaders had determined that the fleet must, at all hazards, restore
+intercourse with Long Point. From official correspondence, afterwards
+captured with Procter's baggage, it appears that the Amherstburg and
+Malden district was now entirely dependent for flour upon Long Point,
+access to which had been effectually destroyed by the presence of the
+American squadron. Even cattle, though somewhat more plentiful, could
+no longer be obtained in the neighborhood in sufficient numbers, owing
+to the wasteful way in which the Indians had killed where they wanted.
+They could not be restrained without alienating them, or, worse,
+provoking them to outrage. Including warriors and their families,
+fourteen thousand were now consuming provisions. In the condition of
+the roads, only water transport could meet the requirements; and that
+not by an occasional schooner running blockade, but by the free
+transit of supplies conferred by naval control. To the decision to
+fight may have been contributed also a letter from Prevost, who had
+been drawn down from Kingston to St. David's, on the Niagara frontier,
+by his anxiety about the general situation, particularly aroused by
+Procter's repulse from Fort Stephenson. Alluding to the capture of
+Chauncey's two schooners on August 10, he wrote Procter on the 22d,
+"Yeo's experience should convince Barclay that he has only to dare and
+he will be successful."[83] It was to be Sir George's unhappy lot, a
+year later, to goad the British naval commander on Lake Champlain into
+premature action; and there was ample time for the present indiscreet
+innuendo to reach Barclay, and impel him to a step which Prevost
+afterwards condemned as hasty, because not awaiting the arrival of a
+body of fifty seamen announced to be at Kingston on their way to
+Malden.
+
+At sunrise of September 10, the lookout at the masthead of the
+"Lawrence" sighted the British squadron in the northwest. Barclay was
+on his way down the lake, intending to fight. The wind was southwest,
+fair for the British, but adverse to the Americans quitting the harbor
+by the channel leading towards the enemy. Fortunately it shifted to
+southeast, and there steadied; which not only enabled them to go out,
+but gave them the windward position throughout the engagement. The
+windward position, or weather gage, as it was commonly called,
+conferred the power of initiative; whereas the vessel or fleet to
+leeward, while it might by skill at times force action, or itself
+obtain the weather gage by manoeuvring, was commonly obliged to await
+attack and accept the distance chosen by the opponent. Where the
+principal force of a squadron, as in Perry's case, consists in two
+vessels armed almost entirely with carronades, the importance of
+getting within carronade range is apparent.
+
+Looking forward to a meeting, Perry had prearranged the disposition of
+his vessels to conform to that which he expected the enemy to assume.
+Unlike ocean fleets, all the lake squadrons, as is already known of
+Ontario, were composed of vessels very heterogeneous in character.
+This was because the most had been bought, not designed for the navy.
+It was antecedently probable, therefore, that a certain general
+principle would dictate the constitution of the three parts of the
+order of battle, the centre and two flanks, into which every military
+line divides. The French have an expression for the centre,--_corps de
+bataille_,--which was particularly appropriate to squadrons like those
+of Barclay and Perry. Each had a natural "body of battle," in vessels
+decisively stronger than all the others combined. This relatively
+powerful division would take the centre, as a cohesive force, to
+prevent the two ends--or flanks--being driven asunder by the enemy.
+Barclay's vessels of this class were the new ship, "Detroit," and the
+"Queen Charlotte;" Perry's were the "Lawrence" and "Niagara." Each had
+an intermediate vessel; the British the "Lady Prevost," the Americans
+the "Caledonia." In addition to these were the light craft, three
+British and six Americans; concerning which it is to be said that the
+latter were not only the more numerous, but individually much more
+powerfully armed.
+
+The same remark is true, vessel for vessel, of those opposed to one
+another by Perry's plan; that is, measuring the weight of shot
+discharged at a broadside, which is the usual standard of comparison,
+the "Lawrence" threw more metal than the "Detroit," the "Niagara" much
+more than the "Queen Charlotte," and the "Caledonia," than the "Lady
+Prevost." This, however, must be qualified by the consideration, more
+conspicuously noticeable on Ontario than on Erie, of the greater
+length of range of the long gun. This applies particularly to the
+principal British vessel, the "Detroit." Owing to the difficulties of
+transportation, and the demands of the Ontario squadron, her proper
+armament had not arrived. She was provided with guns from the ramparts
+of Fort Malden, and a more curiously composite battery probably never
+was mounted; but, of the total nineteen, seventeen were long guns. It
+is impossible to say what her broadside may have weighed. All her
+pieces together fired two hundred and thirty pounds, but it is
+incredible that a seaman like Barclay should not so have disposed them
+as to give more than half that amount to one broadside. That of the
+"Lawrence," was three hundred pounds; but all her guns, save two
+twelves, were carronades. Compared with the "Queen Charlotte," the
+battery of the "Niagara" was as 3 to 2; both chiefly carronades.
+
+From what has been stated, it is evident that if Perry's plan were
+carried out, opposing vessel to vessel, the Americans would have a
+superiority of at least fifty per cent. Such an advantage, in some
+quarter at least, is the aim of every capable commander; for the
+object of war is not to kill men, but to carry a point: not glory by
+fighting, but success in result. The only obvious dangers were that
+the wind might fail or be very light, which would unduly protract
+exposure to long guns before getting within carronade range; or that,
+by some vessels coming tardily into action, one or more of the others
+would suffer from concentration of the enemy's fire. It was this
+contingency, realized in fact, which gave rise to the embittered
+controversy about the battle; a controversy never settled, and
+probably now not susceptible of settlement, because the President of
+the United States, Mr. Monroe, pigeonholed the charges formulated by
+Perry against Elliott in 1818. There is thus no American sworn
+testimony to facts, searched and sifted by cross-examination; for the
+affidavits submitted on the one side and the other were _ex parte_,
+while the Court of Inquiry, asked by Elliott in 1815, neglected to
+call all accessible witnesses--notably Perry himself. In fact, there
+was not before it a single commanding officer of a vessel engaged.
+Such a procedure was manifestly inadequate to the requirement of the
+Navy Department's letter to the Court, that "a true statement of the
+facts in relation to Captain Elliott's conduct be exhibited to the
+world." Investigation seems to have been confined to an assertion in a
+British periodical, based upon the proceedings of the Court Martial
+upon Barclay, to the effect that Elliott's vessel "had not been
+engaged, and was making away,"[84] at the time when Perry "was
+obliged to leave his ship, which soon after surrendered, and hoist his
+flag on board another of his squadron." The American Court examined
+two officers of Perry's vessel, and five of Elliott's; no others. To
+the direct question, "Did the 'Niagara' at any time during the action
+attempt to make off from the British fleet?" all replied, "No." The
+Court, therefore, on the testimony before it, decided that the charge
+"made in the proceedings[85] of the British Court Martial ... was
+malicious, and unfounded in fact;" expressing besides its conviction
+"that the attempts to wrest from Captain Elliott the laurels he gained
+in that splendid victory ... ought in no wise to lessen him in the
+opinion of his fellow citizens as a brave and skilful officer." At the
+same time it regretted that "imperious duty compelled it to promulgate
+testimony which appears materially to differ in some of its most
+important points."
+
+In this state the evidence still remains, owing to the failure of the
+President to take action, probably with a benevolent desire to allay
+discord, and envelop facts under a kindly "All's well that ends well."
+Perry died a year after making his charges, which labored under the
+just imputation that he had commended Elliott in his report, and again
+immediately afterwards, though in terms that his subordinate thought
+failed to do him justice. American naval opinion divided, apparently
+in very unequal numbers. Elliott's officers stood by him, as was
+natural; for men feel themselves involved in that which concerns the
+conduct of their ship, and see incidents in that light. Perry's
+officers considered that the "Lawrence" had not been properly
+supported; owing to which, after losses almost unparalleled, she had
+to undergo the mortification of surrender. Her heroism, her losses,
+and her surrender, were truths beyond question.
+
+The historian to-day thus finds himself in the dilemma that the
+American testimony is in two categories, distinctly contradictory and
+mutually destructive; yet to be tested only by his own capacity to
+cross-examine the record, and by reference to the British accounts.
+The latter are impartial, as between the American parties; their only
+bias is to constitute a fair case for Barclay, by establishing the
+surrender of the American flagship and the hesitancy of the "Niagara"
+to enter into action. This would indicate victory so far, changed to
+defeat by the use Perry made of the vessel preserved to him intact by
+the over-caution of his second. Waiving motives, these claims are
+substantially correct, and constitute the analysis of the battle as
+fought and won.
+
+Barclay, finding the wind to head him and place him to leeward,
+arranged his fleet to await attack in the following order, from van to
+rear: The schooner "Chippewa," "Detroit," "Hunter," "Queen Charlotte,"
+"Lady Prevost," "Little Belt."[86] This, he said in his official
+letter, was "according to a given plan, so that each ship [that is,
+the "Detroit" and "Queen Charlotte"] might be supported against the
+superior force of the two brigs opposed to them." The British vessels
+lay in column, in each other's wake, by the wind on the port tack,
+hove-to (stopped) with a topsail to the mast, heading to the southwest
+(position 1). Perry now modified some details of his disposition. It
+had been expected that the "Queen Charlotte" would precede the
+"Detroit," and the American commander had therefore placed the
+"Niagara" leading, as designated to fight the "Charlotte," the
+"Lawrence" following the "Niagara." This order was now reversed, and
+the "Caledonia" interposed between the two; the succession being
+"Lawrence," "Caledonia," "Niagara." Having more schooners than the
+enemy, he placed in the van two of the best, the "Scorpion" and the
+"Ariel"; the other four behind the "Niagara." His centre, therefore,
+the "Lawrence," "Caledonia," and "Niagara," were opposed to the
+"Detroit," "Hunter," and "Queen Charlotte." The long guns of the
+"Ariel," "Scorpion," and "Caledonia" supplied in measure the
+deficiency of gun power in the "Lawrence," while standing down outside
+of carronade range; the "Caledonia," with the rear schooners, giving a
+like support to the "Niagara." The "Ariel," and perhaps also the
+"Scorpion," was ordered to keep a little to windward of the
+"Lawrence." This was a not uncommon use of van vessels, making more
+hazardous any attempt of the opponent to tack and pass to windward, in
+order to gain the weather gage with its particular advantages
+(position 1).
+
+The rear four schooners, as is frequently the case in long columns,
+were straggling somewhat at the time the signal to bear down was made;
+and they had difficulty in getting into action, being compelled to
+resort to the sweeps because the wind was light. It is not uncommon to
+see small vessels with low sails thus retarded, while larger are being
+urged forward by their lofty light canvas. The line otherwise having
+been formed, Perry stood down without regard to them. At quarter
+before noon the "Detroit" opened upon the "Lawrence" with her long
+guns. Ten minutes later the Americans began to reply. Finding the
+British fire at this range more destructive than he had anticipated,
+Perry made more sail upon the Lawrence. Word had already been passed
+by hail of trumpet to close up in the line, and for each vessel to
+come into action against her opponent, before designated. The
+"Lawrence" continued thus to approach obliquely, using her own long
+twelves, and backed by the long guns of the vessels ahead and astern,
+till she was within "canister range," apparently about two hundred and
+fifty yards, when she turned her side to the wind on the weather
+quarter of the "Detroit," bringing her carronade battery to bear
+(position 2). This distance was greater than desirable for carronades;
+but with a very light breeze, little more than two miles an hour,
+there was a limit to the time during which it was prudent to allow an
+opponent's raking fire to play, unaffected in aim by any reply.
+Moreover, much of her rigging was already shot away, and she was
+becoming unmanageable. The battle was thus joined by the
+commander-in-chief; but, while supported to his satisfaction by the
+"Scorpion" and "Ariel" ahead, and "Caledonia" astern, with their long
+guns, the "Niagara" did not come up, and her carronades failed to do
+their share. The captain of her opponent, the "Queen Charlotte,"
+finding that his own carronades would not reach her, made sail ahead,
+passed the "Hunter," and brought his battery to the support of the
+"Detroit" in her contest with the "Lawrence" (Q_{2}). Perry's vessel
+thus found herself under the combined fire of the "Detroit," "Queen
+Charlotte," and in some measure of the "Hunter"; the armament of the
+last, however, was too trivial to count for much.
+
+Elliott's first placing of the "Niagara" may, or may not, have been
+judicious as regards his particular opponent. The "Queen Charlotte's"
+twenty-fours would not reach him; and it may be quite proper to take a
+range where your own guns can tell and your enemy's cannot.
+Circumstance must determine. The precaution applicable in a naval duel
+may cease to be so when friends are in need of assistance; and when
+the British captain, seeing how the case stood, properly and
+promptly carried his ship forward to support his commander,
+concentrating two vessels upon Perry's one, the situation was entirely
+changed. The plea set up by Cooper, who fought Elliott's battle
+conscientiously, but with characteristic bitterness as well as
+shrewdness, that the "Niagara's" position, assigned in the line behind
+the "Caledonia," could not properly be left without signal,
+practically surrenders the case. It is applying the dry-rot system of
+fleet tactics in the middle of the eighteenth century to the days
+after Rodney and Nelson, and is further effectually disposed of by the
+consentient statement of several of the American captains, that their
+commander's dispositions were made with reference to the enemy's
+order; that is, that he assigned a special enemy's ship to a special
+American, and particularly the "Detroit" to the "Lawrence," and the
+"Queen Charlotte" to the "Niagara." The vessels of both fleets being
+so heterogeneous, it was not wise to act as with units nearly
+homogeneous, by laying down an order, the governing principle of which
+was mutual support by a line based upon its own intrinsic qualities.
+The considerations dictating Perry's dispositions were external to his
+fleet, not internal; in the enemy's order, not in his own. This was
+emphasized by his changing the previously arranged stations of the
+"Lawrence" and the "Niagara," when he saw Barclay's line. Lastly, he
+re-enforced all this by quoting to his subordinates Nelson's words,
+that no captain could go very far wrong who placed his vessel close
+alongside those of the enemy.
+
+ [Illustration: DIAGRAM OF THE BATTLE OF LAKE ERIE SEPTEMBER 10,
+ 1813]
+
+Cooper, the ablest of Elliott's champions, has insisted so strongly
+upon the obligation of keeping the station _in the line_, as laid
+down, that it is necessary to examine the facts in the particular
+case. He rests the certainty of his contention on general principles,
+then long exploded, and further upon a sentence in Perry's charges,
+preferred in 1818, that "the commanding officer [Perry] issued, 1st,
+an order directing in what manner the line of battle should be formed
+... and enjoined upon the commanders to preserve their stations in the
+line" thus laid down.[87] This is correct; but Cooper omits to give
+the words immediately following in the specification: "and in all
+cases to keep as near the commanding officer's vessel [the "Lawrence"]
+as possible."[88] Cooper also omits that which next succeeds: "2d, An
+order of attack, in which the 'Lawrence' was designated to attack the
+enemy's new ship (afterwards ascertained to have been named the
+'Detroit'), and the 'Niagara' designated to attack the 'Queen
+Charlotte,' which orders were then communicated to all the commanders,
+including the said Captain Elliott, who for that purpose ... were by
+signal called together by the said commanding officer ... and
+expressly instructed that 'if, in the expected engagement, they laid
+their vessels close alongside of those of the enemy, they could not be
+out of the way.'"[89] An officer, if at once gallant and intelligent,
+finding himself behind a dull sailing vessel, as Cooper tells us the
+"Caledonia" was, could hardly desire clearer authority than the above
+to imitate his commanding officer when he made sail to close the
+enemy:--"Keep close to him," and follow up the ship which "the
+'Niagara' was designated to attack."
+
+Charges preferred are not technical legal proof, but, if duly
+scrutinized, they are statements equivalent in value to many that
+history rightly accepts; and, at all events, that which Cooper quotes
+is not duly scrutinized if that which he does not quote is omitted. He
+does indeed express a gloss upon them, in the words: "Though the
+'Niagara' was ordered to direct her fire at the 'Queen Charlotte,' it
+could only be done from her station astern of the 'Caledonia,' ...
+without violating the primary order to preserve the line."[90] This
+does not correctly construe the natural meaning of Perry's full
+instructions. It is clear that, while he laid down a primary
+formation, "a line of battle," he also most properly qualified it by a
+contingent instruction, an "order of attack," designed to meet the
+emergency likely to occur in every fleet engagement, and which
+occurred here, when a slavish adherence to the line of battle would
+prevent intelligent support to the main effort. If he knew naval
+history, as his quotation from Nelson indicates, he also knew how many
+a battle had been discreditably lost by "keeping the line."
+
+With regard to the line, however, it is apt to remark that in fleet
+battle, unless otherwise specially directed, the line of the assailant
+was supposed to be parallel to that of the defence, for the obvious
+reason that the attacking vessels should all be substantially at the
+same effective range. This distance, equal for all in fleets as
+usually constituted, would naturally be set, and in practice was set,
+by the commander-in-chief; his ship forming the point through which
+should be drawn the line parallel to the enemy. This rule, well
+established under Rodney, who died in 1792, was rigidly applicable
+between vessels of the same force, such as the "Lawrence" and
+"Niagara;" and whatever deductions might be made for the case of a
+light-framed vessel, armed with long guns, like the "Caledonia,"
+keeping out of carronade distance of an opponent with heavy scantling,
+would not in the least apply to the "Niagara." For her, the standard
+of position was not, as Cooper insists, a half-cable's length from her
+next ahead, the "Caledonia;" but abreast her designated opponent, at
+the same distance as the "Lawrence" from the enemy's line. Repeated
+mishaps had established the rule that position was to be taken from
+the centre,--that is, from the commander-in-chief. Ships in line of
+battle, bearing down upon an enemy in like order, did not steer in
+each other's wake, unless specially ordered; and there is something
+difficult to understand in the "Niagara" with her topsail sharp aback
+to keep from running on board the "Caledonia," although the fact is in
+evidence. The expression in Perry's report of the action, "at 10 A.M.
+... formed the line and bore up," would by a person familiar with
+naval battles be understood to mean that the line was first formed
+parallel to the enemy, the vessels following one another, after which
+they steered down for him, changing course together; they would then
+no longer be in each other's wake, but in echelon, or as the naval
+phrase then went, in bow and quarter line. Barclay confirms this, "At
+10 the enemy bore up under easy sail, in a line abreast."[91] Thus,
+when the distance desired by the commander-in-chief was reached,--a
+fact more often indicated by his example than by signal,--the helm
+would bring them again in line of battle, their broadsides bearing
+upon the enemy.
+
+The technical point at issue is whether Perry, finding the long-gun
+fire of the "Detroit" more destructive than he had anticipated, and
+determining in consequence to shorten the period of its duration by
+changing his original plan, increasing sail beyond the speed of such
+slower vessels as the "Caledonia," had a right to expect that his
+subordinates would follow his example. In the opinion of the writer,
+he had, in the then condition of the theory and practice of fleet
+battles; his transfer of his own position transferred the line of
+battle in its entirety to the distance relative to the enemy which he
+himself was seeking to assume. Were other authority lacking, his
+action was warrant to his captains; but the expression in his report,
+"I made sail, and directed the other vessels to follow, for the
+purpose of closing with the enemy," causes increased regret that the
+exact facts were not ascertained by cross-examination before a
+Court-Martial.
+
+Elliott's place therefore was alongside the "Queen Charlotte," so to
+engage her that she could attend to nothing else. This he did not do,
+and for failure the only possible excuse was inability, through lack
+of wind. The wind was light throughout, yet not so light but that the
+"Lawrence" closed with the "Detroit," and the "Queen Charlotte" with
+her flagship when she wished. None of Elliott's witnesses before the
+Court of Inquiry state that he made sail before the middle of the
+action, but they attribute the failure to get down to the lightness of
+the wind. They do state that, after the "Lawrence" was disabled, a
+breeze springing up, sail was made; which indicates that previously it
+had not been. Again, it is alleged by the testimony in favor of
+Elliott that much of the time the maintopsail was sharp aback, to keep
+from running into the "Caledonia;" a circumstance upon which Cooper
+dwells triumphantly, as showing that the "Niagara" was not by the wind
+and was in her place, close astern of the "Caledonia." Accepting the
+statements, they would show there was wind enough to fan the "Niagara"
+to--what was really her place--her commodore's aid; for in those days
+the distance between under fire and out of fire for efficient action
+was a matter of half a mile.[92] Perry's formulated charge, addressed
+to the Navy Department, and notified to Elliott, but never brought to
+trial, was that when coming into action an order was passed by trumpet
+for the vessels astern to close up in the line; that a few moments
+previously to the enemy's opening fire the "Niagara" had been within
+hail of the "Lawrence," and nevertheless she was allowed to drop
+astern, and for two hours to remain at such distance from the enemy as
+to render useless all her battery except the two long guns. Perry
+himself made sail at the time the hail by trumpet was passed. The
+"Niagara" did not.
+
+There is little reason for doubt that the tenor of Perry's
+instructions required Elliott to follow the "Queen Charlotte," and no
+doubt whatever that military propriety imperiously demanded it of him.
+The question of wind must be matter of inference from the incidents
+above stated: the movement of the "Lawrence" and "Queen Charlotte,"
+and the bracing aback of the "Niagara's" topsail. A sentence in
+Perry's report apparently, but only apparently, attenuates the force
+of these. He said, "At half-past two, the wind springing up, Captain
+Elliott was enabled to bring his vessel, the 'Niagara,' gallantly into
+close action." Alluding to, without insisting on, Perry's subsequent
+statement that he endeavored to give as favorable a color as possible
+to Elliott's course, it is clear enough that these words simply state
+that Captain Elliott at 2.30 reached the range at which the "Lawrence"
+had fought since a little after noon.
+
+Quitting now the discussion of proprieties, the order of events seems
+to have been as follows: Perry having taken the initiative of bearing
+down, under increased sail, Elliott remained behind, governed by, or
+availing himself of--two very different motives, not lightly to be
+determined, or assumed, by the historian--the technical point, long
+before abandoned in practice, that he could not leave his place in the
+line without a signal. Thus his action was controlled by the position
+of his next ahead in the line, the dull-sailing "Caledonia," a vessel
+differing radically from his own in armament, having two long and for
+that day heavy guns, quite equal in range and efficiency to the best
+of the "Detroit's,"[93] and therefore capable of good service, though
+possibly not of their best, from the distance at which Perry changed
+his speed. Elliott's battery was the same as Perry's. He thus
+continued until it became evident that, the "Queen Charlotte" having
+gone to the support of the "Detroit," the "Lawrence" was heavily
+overpowered. Then, not earlier than an hour after Perry bore down, he
+realized that his commander-in-chief would be destroyed under his
+eyes, unless he went to his support, and he himself would rest under
+the imputation of an inefficient spectator. He ordered the "Caledonia"
+to bear up, in order that he might pass (position 3; C_{1}, C_{2}).
+Though not demonstrably certain, it seems probable that the wind,
+light throughout, was now so fallen as to impede the retrieval of his
+position; the opportunity to close, used by Perry, had passed away. At
+all events it was not till between 2 and 2.30 that the "Niagara"
+arrived on the scene, within effective range of the carronades which
+constituted nine tenths of her battery.
+
+With this began the second stage of the battle (3). Perry's bearing
+down, receiving only the support of the long guns of the "Caledonia"
+and of the schooners ahead of him, had brought the "Lawrence" into hot
+engagement with the "Detroit," supported a half hour later by the
+"Queen Charlotte." By a little after two o'clock both flagships were
+well-nigh disabled, hull and battery; the "Lawrence" most so, having
+but one gun left out of ten on the broadside. "At 2.30," wrote
+Barclay, "the Detroit was a perfect wreck, principally from the raking
+fire of the gunboats." Which gunboats? Evidently the "Ariel" and
+"Scorpion," for all agree that the rear four were at this hour still
+far astern, though not absolutely out of range. To these last was
+probably due the crippling of the "Lady Prevost," which by now had
+gone to leeward with her rudder injured. Up to this time, when the
+first scene closed, what had been the general course of the action?
+and what now the situation? Assuming, as is very probable, that
+Barclay did not open with his long 24's until Perry was a mile, two
+thousand yards, from him,--that distance requiring six degrees
+elevation for those guns,--an estimate of speeds and courses, as
+indicated by the evidence, would put the "Lawrence" in action, at two
+hundred and fifty yards, at 12.10. This calculation, made
+independently, received subsequent confirmation in consulting
+Barclay's report, which says 12.15.[94] The same time, for the duller
+"Caledonia" and the "Niagara," would place them one thousand yards
+from the British line. This range, for the 32-pounder carronades of
+the "Niagara," and the 24's of the "Queen Charlotte," required an
+elevation of from four to six degrees. Coupling this with the British
+statement, that the carronades of the "Charlotte" could not reach the
+"Niagara," we obtain probable positions, two hundred and fifty yards
+and one thousand yards, for the principal two American vessels at
+quarter-past noon.
+
+From the general lightness and occasional failure of the wind up to 2
+P.M., it is more than likely that no great change took place before
+that hour. What air there was might touch all alike, but would affect
+least the "Lawrence," "Detroit," and "Queen Charlotte," because their
+sails were being rent; and also they were in the centre of the
+cannonade, which is believed usually to kill the breeze. The tendency
+of the "Caledonia," "Niagara," and American vessels in rear of them,
+between 12.30 and 2 P.M., during which period, to use Barclay's
+report, "the action continued with great fury," would therefore be to
+approach slowly the scene where the "Lawrence," supported by the long
+guns of the "Ariel," "Scorpion," and "Caledonia," maintained the day
+against the "Detroit" and "Queen Charlotte," backed by the schooner
+"Chippewa" and the 6 and 4 pounder pop-guns of the "Hunter." How near
+they drew is a mere matter of estimate. Taking all together, it may be
+inferred that the "Niagara" had then been carried as close as five
+hundred to six hundred yards to the British line, but it would appear
+also towards its rear; rather, probably, that the British had advanced
+relatively to her, owing to her course being oblique to theirs.
+
+The situation then was as follows: The "Lawrence," disabled, was
+dropping astern of the "Detroit," "Queen Charlotte," and "Hunter."
+More than half her ship's company lay dead or wounded on her decks.
+Her loss, 83 killed and wounded out of a total of 142,--sick
+included,[95]--was mostly incurred before this. With only one gun
+left, she was a beaten ship, although her colors were up. The
+"Detroit" lay in the British line almost equally mauled. On her lee
+quarter,--that is, behind, but on the lee side,--and close to her, was
+the "Queen Charlotte." Her captain, second to Barclay, had been
+killed,--the first man hit on board,--and her first lieutenant
+knocked senseless; being succeeded in command by an officer whom
+Barclay described as of little experience. The first lieutenant of the
+"Detroit" was also wounded mortally; and Barclay himself, who already
+had been once hit in the thigh, was now a second time so severely
+injured,--being his eighth wound in battle, though now only
+thirty-two,--that he was forced at this critical instant to go below,
+leaving the deck with the second lieutenant. The "Hunter" was astern
+of her two consorts. The "Lady Prevost," fifth in the British order,
+had fallen to leeward with her rudder crippled. The position of the
+leading and rear British schooners is not mentioned, and is not
+important; the reliance of each being one long 9-pounder gun.
+
+Before this, taking advantage of the breeze freshening, the "Niagara"
+had gone clear of the "Caledonia," on her windward side, and had stood
+to the southwest, towards the "Detroit." She had not at first either
+foresail or topgallantsails set; and since she passed the "Lawrence"
+to windward, she was then almost certainly over two hundred and fifty
+yards from the British line, for there is no conclusive proof that the
+"Lawrence" was nearer than that. Combining the narrative of the
+British commodore with that of his second lieutenant, who now took
+charge, it appears that Barclay, before going below, saw a boat
+passing from the "Lawrence" to the "Niagara," and that the second
+lieutenant, Inglis, after relieving him, found the "Niagara" on the
+weather beam of the "Detroit." Perry, seeing the "Lawrence" incapable
+of further offensive action, had decided to leave her and go on board
+the "Niagara," and in this brief interval was making his passage from
+one vessel to the other. After leaving the "Lawrence" astern, the
+"Niagara" had made sail; the foresail having been set, and the
+topgallantsails "in the act of being set, before Captain Perry came
+on board."[96] This necessarily prolonged the time of his passage,
+and may have given rise to the opprobrious British report that she was
+making off. Her making sail as she did indicated that she had suffered
+little aloft; she had been out of carronade range, while her consort,
+still in fighting condition, was bearing the brunt; it was natural to
+conclude that she would not alone renew the action, now that the
+"Lawrence" was hopelessly disabled. The wish, too, may possibly have
+helped the thought. The "Lawrence," in fact, having kept her colors
+flying till Perry reached the "Niagara," struck immediately
+afterwards. Had she surrendered while he was on board, he could not
+honorably have quitted her; and the record was clearer by his reaching
+a fresh ship while the flag of the one he left was still up.
+
+What next happened is under no doubt so far as the movements of the
+"Niagara" are concerned, though there is irreconcilable difference as
+to who initiated the action. Immediately after Perry came on board,
+Elliott left her, to urge forward the rear gunboats. Her helm was put
+up, and she bore down ahead of the "Detroit" to rake her; supported in
+so doing by the small vessels, presumably the "Ariel," "Scorpion," and
+"Caledonia." The British ship tried to wear, both to avoid being raked
+and to get her starboard battery into action; many of the guns on the
+broadside heretofore engaged being disabled. The "Charlotte" being on
+her lee quarter, and ranging ahead, the two fell foul, and so remained
+for some time. This condition gave free play to the American guns,
+which were soon after re-enforced by those of the rear gunboats;
+enabled, like the "Niagara," to close with the freshening breeze.
+After the two British vessels got clear, another attempt was made to
+bring their batteries to bear; but the end was inevitable, and is
+best told in the words of the officer upon whom devolved the duty of
+surrendering the "Detroit." "The ship lying completely unmanageable,
+every brace cut away, the mizzen-topmast and gaff down, all the other
+masts badly wounded, not a stay left forward, hull shattered very
+much, a number of guns disabled, and the enemy's squadron raking both
+ships ahead and astern, none of our own in a position to support us, I
+was under the painful necessity of answering the enemy to say we had
+struck, the 'Queen Charlotte' having previously done so."[97] A
+Canadian officer taken prisoner at the battle of the Thames saw the
+"Detroit," a month later, at Put-in Bay. "It would be impossible," he
+wrote, "to place a hand upon that broadside which had been exposed to
+the enemy's fire without covering some portion of a wound, either from
+grape, round, canister, or chain shot."[98] Her loss in men was never
+specifically given. Barclay reported that of the squadron as a whole
+to be forty-one killed, ninety-four wounded. He had lost an arm at
+Trafalgar; and on this occasion, besides other injuries, the one
+remaining to him was so shattered as to be still in bandages a year
+later, when he appeared before the Court Martial which emphatically
+acquitted him of blame. The loss of the American squadron was
+twenty-seven killed, ninety-six wounded; of whom twenty-two killed and
+sixty-one wounded were on board the "Lawrence."
+
+ [Illustration: PERRY RECEIVING THE SURRENDER OF THE BRITISH AT
+ THE BATTLE OF LAKE ERIE.
+ _Drawn by Henry Reuterdahl._]
+
+Thus was the battle of Lake Erie fought and won. Captain Barclay not
+only had borne himself gallantly and tenaciously against a superior
+force,--favored in so doing by the enemy attacking in detail,--but the
+testimony on his trial showed that he had labored diligently during
+the brief period of his command, amid surroundings of extreme
+difficulty, to equip his squadron, and to train to discipline and
+efficiency the heterogeneous material of which his crews were
+composed. The only point not satisfactorily covered is his absence
+when Perry was crossing the bar. In his defence his allusion to this
+incident is very casual,--resembles somewhat gliding rapidly over thin
+ice; but the Court raised no question, satisfied, probably, with the
+certainty that the honor of the flag had not suffered in the action.
+On the American side, since the history of a country is not merely the
+narrative of principal transactions, but the record also of honor
+reflected upon the nation by the distinguished men it produces, it is
+proper to consider the question of credit, which has been raised in
+this instance. There can be no doubt that opportunity must be seized
+as it is offered; for accident or chance may prevent its recurrence.
+Constituted as Perry's squadron was, the opportunity presented to him
+could be seized only by standing down as he did, trusting that the
+other vessels would follow the example of their commander. The
+shifting of the wind in the morning, and its failure during the
+engagement, alike testify to the urgency of taking the tide as it
+serves. There was no lagging, like Chauncey's, to fetch up heavy
+schooners; and the campaign was decided in a month, instead of
+remaining at the end of three months a drawn contest, to lapse
+thenceforth into a race of ship-building. Had the "Niagara" followed
+closely, there could have been no doubling on the "Lawrence"; and
+Perry's confidence would have been justified as well as his conduct.
+The latter needs no apology. Without the help of the "Niagara," the
+"Detroit" was reduced to a "defenceless state," and a "perfect
+wreck,"[99] by the carronades of the "Lawrence," supported by the
+raking fire of the "Ariel" and "Scorpion." Both the expressions quoted
+are applied by the heroic Barclay to her condition at 2.30, when, as
+he also says, the "Niagara" was perfectly fresh. Not only was the
+"Detroit" thus put out of action, but the "Charlotte" was so damaged
+that she surrendered before her. To this the "Caledonia's" two long
+twenty-fours had contributed effectively. The first lieutenant of the
+"Queen Charlotte" testified that up to the time he was disabled, an
+hour or an hour and a quarter after the action began, the vessel was
+still manageable; that "the 'Niagara' engaged us on our quarter, out
+of carronade range, with what long guns she had; but our principal
+injury was from the 'Caledonia,' who laid on our beam, with two long
+24-pounders on pivots, also out of carronade-shot distance."[100]
+
+Is it to Perry, or to Elliott, that is due the credit of the
+"Niagara's" action in bearing up across the bows of the "Detroit"?
+This is the second stage of the battle; the bringing up the reserves.
+An absolute reply is impossible in the face of the evidence, sworn but
+not cross-examined. A probable inference, which in the present writer
+amounts to conviction, is attainable. Before the Court of Inquiry, in
+1815, Captain Elliott put the question to several of his witnesses,
+"Was not the 'Niagara's' helm up and she standing direct for the
+'Detroit' when Captain Perry came on board?" They replied, "Yes." All
+these were midshipmen. By a singular fatality most of the "Niagara's"
+responsible officers were already dead, and the one surviving
+lieutenant had been below, stunned, when Perry reached the deck. It
+may very possibly be that this answer applied only to the first change
+of course, when Elliott decided to leave his position behind the
+"Caledonia"; but if it is claimed as covering also the subsequent
+bearing up eight points (at right angles), to cross the bows of the
+"Detroit," it is to be observed that no mention of this very important
+movement is made in a letter addressed to the Secretary of the Navy,
+October 13, 1813, one month after the battle, drawn up for the
+express purpose of vindicating Elliott, and signed by all the
+lieutenants of the "Niagara," and by the purser, who formerly had been
+a lieutenant in the navy. Their account was that Perry, on reaching
+the ship, said he feared the day was lost; that Elliott replied it was
+not, that he would repair on board the rear schooners, and bring them
+up; that he did so, and "_the consequence was_ that in ten minutes the
+'Detroit' and 'Queen Charlotte' with the 'Lady Prevost,' struck to us,
+and soon after the whole of the enemy's squadron followed their
+example."[101] This attributes the victory to the half-dozen long guns
+of the four schooners, mostly inferior in caliber to the nine
+carronades on board a single vessel, the "Niagara," raking within
+pistol-shot of antagonists already in the condition described by
+Barclay. Such a conclusion traverses all experience of the tactical
+advantage of guns massed under one captain over a like number
+distributed in several commands, and also contravenes the particular
+superiority of carronades at close quarters. An officer of the
+"Detroit," who was on deck throughout, testified that the "Lawrence"
+had engaged at musket-shot, the "Niagara," when she bore down under
+Perry, at pistol-shot. Barclay, and his surviving lieutenant, Inglis,
+both lay most weight upon this action of the "Niagara," from which
+arose also the fouling of the two largest British ships.
+
+Perry's charges of 1818 against Elliott formulated deliberate
+statements, under the responsible expectation of cross-examination
+under oath. This is his account: "When the commanding officer [Perry]
+went on board the 'Niagara,' Captain Elliott was keeping her on a
+course by the wind, which would in a few minutes have carried said
+vessel entirely out of action, to prevent which, and in order to bring
+the said vessel into close action with the enemy, the said commanding
+officer was under the necessity of heaving-to, stopping and
+immediately wearing said vessel, and altering her course at least
+eight points"; that is, perpendicular to the direction before steered.
+Against this solemn and serious charge is unquestionably to be placed
+the commendatory mention and letter given by Perry to Elliott
+immediately after the battle. Upon these also he had to expect the
+sharpest interrogation, to the mortification attendant upon which he
+could only oppose evidence extenuative of, but in no case justifying,
+undeniable self-contradiction. If the formal charge was true, no
+excuse can be admitted for the previous explicit commendation. As a
+matter of historical inquiry, however, such contradictions have to be
+met, and must be weighed in the light of all the testimony. The
+author's conclusion upon the whole is that, as Perry's action in first
+standing down insured decisive action, so by him was imparted to the
+"Niagara" the final direction which determined victory. The influence
+of the rear gunboats brought up by Elliott was contributive, but not
+decisive.
+
+In short, the campaign of Lake Erie was brought to an immediate
+successful issue by the ready initiative taken by Perry when he found
+the British distant fire more destructive than he expected, and by his
+instant acceptance of necessary risk, in standing down exposed to a
+raking cannonade to which he for a long while could not reply. If, as
+the author holds, he was entitled to expect prompt imitation by the
+"Niagara," the risk was actual, but not undue. As it was, though the
+"Lawrence" surrendered, it was not until she had, with the help of
+gunboats stationed by Perry for that object, so damaged both her
+opponents that they were incapable of further resistance. In the
+tactical management of the "Lawrence" and her supports was no mere
+headlong dash, but preparation adequate to conditions. Had the
+"Niagara" followed, the "Lawrence" need never have struck. The
+contemporary incidents on Erie and Ontario afford an instructive
+commentary upon Napoleon's incisive irony, that "War cannot be waged
+without running risks." There has been sufficient quotation from
+Chauncey to indicate why the campaign on Ontario dragged through two
+seasons, and then left the enemy in control. Small as the scale and
+the theatre of these naval operations, they illustrate the unvarying
+lesson that only in offensive action can defensive security be found.
+
+The destruction of the British naval force decided the campaign in the
+Northwest by transferring the control of the water. Its general
+military results were in this respect final. Nothing occurred to
+modify them during the rest of the war. Detroit and Michigan territory
+fell back into the hands of the United States; and the allegiance of
+the Indians to the British cause, procured by Brock's sagacious daring
+a twelvemonth before, but rudely shaken by the events narrated, was
+destroyed by the death of their great leader, Tecumseh, a month later
+in the battle of the Thames, itself the direct consequence of Perry's
+success. The frontier was henceforth free from the Indian terror,
+which had hitherto disquieted it from the Maumee to Cleveland.
+
+A more far-reaching political issue was also here definitely settled.
+A sense of having betrayed the Indian interests in the previous
+treaties of 1783 and 1794 was prevalent in British official circles,
+and in their counsels a scheme had been circulated for constituting an
+independent Indian territory, under joint guarantee of the two
+nations, between their several dominions. This would be locally within
+the boundaries of the United States; the sole jurisdiction of which
+was thus to be limited and trammelled, because open to continual
+British representation and reclamation, based upon treaty
+stipulations.[102] This infringement upon the perfect sovereignty of
+the nation inside its own borders, in favor of savage communities and
+under foreign guarantee, was one of the propositions formally brought
+forward as a _sine quâ non_ by the British negotiators at Ghent.
+Although by that time the United States stood alone face to face with
+Great Britain, at whose full disposal were now the veterans of the
+Peninsular War, and the gigantic navy, which the abdication of
+Napoleon had released from all other opponents, the American
+commissioners refused with dignity to receive the proposition even for
+reference. "It is not necessary," they replied, "to refer such demands
+to the American Government for its instructions. They will only be a
+fit subject for deliberation when it becomes necessary to decide upon
+the expediency of an absolute surrender of national independence."[103]
+
+The envoys of the United States were able to be firm, because secure
+of indignant support by their people; but it is beyond question that
+two naval victories had arrayed upon their side, at the moment, the
+preponderance of military argument, which weighs so heavily in
+treaties of peace. New Orleans was yet in the future, with adverse
+chances apparent; but, owing to the victory of Perry, the United
+States was in firm military tenure of the territory, the virtual
+cession of which was thus demanded. A year after Perry, McDonough's
+equally complete success on Lake Champlain, by insuring control of the
+water route for invasion, rolled back the army of Peninsular veterans
+under Prevost, at a season of the year which forbade all hope of
+renewing the enterprise until another spring. Great Britain was too
+eager to end twenty years of continued war to brook further delay. The
+lake campaigns of 1813 and 1814 thus emphasized the teaching of
+history as to the influence of control of the water upon the course of
+events; and they illustrate also the too often forgotten truth, that
+it is not by brilliant individual feats of gallantry or skill, by
+ships or men, but by the massing of superior forces, that military
+issues are decided. For, although on a small scale, the lakes were
+oceans, and the forces which met on them were fleets; and as, on a
+wider field and in more tremendous issues, the fleets of Great Britain
+saved their country and determined the fortunes of Europe, so Perry
+and McDonough averted from the United States, without further
+fighting, a rectification of frontier--as it is euphemistically
+styled,--the effecting of which is one of the most fruitful causes and
+frequent results of war in every continent and at every period.
+
+ NOTE.--For the battle of Lake Erie, the most important original
+ data are the Court Martial upon Barclay (British Records
+ Office), and the Court of Inquiry held at Elliott's request, in
+ April, 1815. The proceedings and testimony of the latter are
+ published in the appendix to a "Biographical Notice of Commodore
+ Jesse D. Elliott," by Russell Jarvis, Philadelphia, 1835.
+ Perry's Report of the battle, Sept. 13, 1813, is in American
+ State Papers, Naval Affairs, vol. i. p. 295. Barclay's report is
+ in Naval Chronicle, vol. xxxi. pp. 250-253, as well as in the
+ record of the Court. Jarvis, and Mackenzie's Life of Perry (5th
+ edition), give a large number of affidavits by officers present
+ in the engagement, and Mackenzie gives also a copy of the
+ charges preferred by Perry in 1818 against Elliott. In the
+ controversy which arose over the battle, Mackenzie, in the
+ appendix to the fifth edition of Perry's Life, Duer, and Tristam
+ Burges, Battle of Lake Erie (Boston, 1839), are the principal
+ champions on Perry's side; Jarvis (as above) and J. Fenimore
+ Cooper, Battle of Lake Erie, on the side of Elliott; but the
+ latter himself published several vindications of his conduct.
+ The usual naval histories, American and British, may be
+ consulted, and there are also incidental mentions and reports in
+ Niles' Register and the British Naval Chronicle, which will be
+ found useful.
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[74] Captains' Letters, Navy Department MSS.
+
+[75] Mackenzie's Life of Perry, vol. i. p. 166.
+
+[76] Mackenzie's Life of Perry, vol. i. p. 186.
+
+[77] Perry to the Secretary of the Navy, Aug. 10, 1813. Mackenzie's Life
+of Perry, vol. i. p. 191.
+
+[78] Secretary's Letters, Aug. 18, 1813. Navy Department MSS.
+
+[79] Otherwise known by the name of the River Raisin. Ante, vol. i. p.
+370.
+
+[80] The data of this paragraph are taken from the Report on Canadian
+Archives, 1896, Lower Canada, pp. 132, 138-140. Barclay in his Defence
+before the Court Martial mentions the designs on Erie.
+
+[81] Harm Jan Huidekoper, by Nina Moore Tiffany and Francis Tiffany.
+1904. p. 187. Mr. Huidekoper speaks admiringly of the unfaltering
+composure and cheerfulness which under these circumstances accompanied
+Perry's energy.
+
+[82] See ante, p. 41.
+
+[83] Report on Canadian Archives, 1896. Lower Canada, p. 133.
+
+[84] This statement appeared in the course of a _summary_ of the
+evidence before the British Court, given by the Naval Chronicle, vol.
+xxxii. pp. 241-242. The only support to it in the evidence, as recorded,
+is Barclay's official letter, which he appears to have confirmed under
+oath, that the "Niagara" kept out of carronade range, and "was perfectly
+fresh at 2.30," when Perry went on board her. The first lieutenant of
+the "Queen Charlotte," who remained in command, the captain being
+killed, corroborated Barclay as to her distance.
+
+[85] In the finding--or verdict--of the British Court, as in the
+evidence, there is no expression of a charge that the "Niagara" was
+making away. The finding restricted itself to the matter before the
+Court, namely, Barclay's official conduct.
+
+[86] There was a question whether the "Hunter" was ahead or astern of
+the "Queen Charlotte." In the author's opinion the balance of evidence
+is as stated in the text. Perry rearranged his line with reference to
+the British, upon seeing their array. Had the "Charlotte" been next the
+"Detroit," as James puts her, it seems probable he would have placed the
+"Niagara" next the "Lawrence."
+
+[87] Cooper, Battle of Lake Erie, p. 63.
+
+[88] See Mackenzie's Life of Perry, 5th edition, vol. ii. pp. 251-252.
+Perry's charges against Elliott, dated Aug. 8, 1818, are there given in
+full.
+
+[89] See Mackenzie's Life of Perry, 5th edition, vol. ii. pp. 251-252.
+
+[90] Cooper's Battle of Lake Erie, p. 63.
+
+[91] Barclay's Report, Naval Chronicle, vol. xxxi. p. 251.
+
+[92] The range of a 32 pdr. carronade, with which the "Niagara" was
+armed, throwing one solid shot, with ¼ degree elevation,--substantially
+point-blank,--was 260 yards; at 5 degrees, 1260 yards. The difference,
+1000 yards, is just half a sea mile. A British professional writer of
+that day, criticising their commander's choice of position at Lake
+Champlain, says: "At 1000 or 1100 yards the elevation necessary to be
+given a carronade would have been so great that none but chance shots
+[from the Americans] could have taken effect; whereas, in closing, he
+gave up this advantage." Naval Chronicle, vol. xxxiii. p. 132.
+
+[93] The "Caledonia" had two long 24-pounders, and one other lighter
+gun, variously stated. The "Detroit's" heaviest were also two long 24's;
+she had besides one long 18, six long 12's, etc.
+
+[94] With reference to times, always very difficult to establish, and
+often very important as bases of calculation, the following extract from
+the Diary of Dr. Usher Parsons, surgeon of the "Lawrence," possesses
+value; the more so as it is believed to have been copied from the log of
+the vessel, which afterwards disappeared. The phraseology is that of a
+log and a seaman, not of a physician. "At 10 called all hands to
+quarters. A quarter before meridian the enemy began action at one mile
+distance. In a half hour came within musket-shot of the enemy's new
+ship.... At 1.30, so entirely disabled we could work the brig no longer.
+At 2 P.M., most of the guns were dismounted, breechings gone, or
+carriages knocked to pieces. At half-past two, when not another gun
+could be worked or fired, Captain Perry hauled down the fighting flag
+[not the national flag], which bore this motto 'Don't give up the ship,'
+and repaired on board the 'Niagara,' where he raised it again. In ten
+minutes after we struck." Publications of the Rhode Island Historical
+Society, vol. vii. p. 244. This was called to the author's attention
+after the account in the text was written.
+
+[95] Mackenzie's Life of Perry, vol. ii. p. 283.
+
+[96] Evidence of Midshipman Montgomery of the "Niagara," before the
+Court of Inquiry.
+
+[97] Naval Chronicle, vol. xxxi. p. 252.
+
+[98] Richardson, War of 1812, p. 243.
+
+[99] Barclay's Report.
+
+[100] British Court Martial Record.
+
+[101] Navy Department, MSS. Miscellaneous Letters. My italics.
+
+[102] This scheme appears outlined in a letter of Oct. 5, 1812, to Lord
+Bathurst from Sir George Prevost, who in support of it adduces Brock's
+opinion (Canadian Archives MSS). Bathurst replied, Dec. 9, 1812, "I so
+entirely concur in the expediency of the suggestions contained in your
+despatch, as to the necessity of securing the territories of the Indians
+from encroachment, that I have submitted it to His Majesty's Secretary
+for Foreign Affairs, in order that whenever negotiations for peace may
+be entered into, the security of their possessions may not be either
+compromised or forgotten." (British Colonial Office Records). Prevost
+transmitted a copy of the letter to Admiral Warren, in his early
+diplomatic capacity as a peace envoy. Gordon Drummond, the successor of
+Brock, and later of Prevost, expressed the same interest (Canadian
+Archives MSS., April 2, 1814).
+
+[103] American State Papers, Foreign Affairs, vol. iii. pp. 710-713.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XII
+
+THE CAMPAIGN OF 1813 ON THE LAKES AND NORTHERN FRONTIER,
+AFTER THE BATTLE OF LAKE ERIE
+
+
+Perry's victory was promptly followed up by himself and Harrison.
+Besides its ultimate influence on the general course of events,
+already mentioned, it produced immediate military consequences, the
+effect of which was felt throughout the lake frontier, from Detroit to
+Champlain. That success elsewhere did not follow was due to other
+causes than remissness on their part to improve the occasion. Although
+the "Lawrence" had to be sent back to Erie for extensive repairs, and
+the "Detroit" and "Queen Charlotte" rolled their masts overboard at
+anchor in Put-in Bay on the third day after the battle, Perry within a
+week had his squadron and four of the prizes sufficiently in repair to
+undertake the transport of the army. This timely facility, which
+betrayed the enemy's expectations, was due largely to the "Lawrence"
+having borne the brunt of the action. Had the injuries been more
+distributed, the delay of repairs must have been greater. The British
+Adjutant General at Niagara, Harvey, the hero of Stoney Creek, wrote
+on hearing of the battle, "After an action of three hours and a half,
+the enemy's vessels must have received so much damage as not to be in
+a situation to undertake anything for some time."[104] By September 26
+Harrison had assembled his forces at an island in the lake, called
+Middle Sister, twelve miles from Malden. On the 27th they were
+conveyed to Malden, partly in vessels and partly in boats, the weather
+being fine. By September 30 Sandwich and Detroit were occupied;
+Procter retreating eastward up the valley of the Thames. Harrison
+pursued, and on October 5 overtook the British and Indians at a
+settlement called Moravian Town. Here they made a stand and were
+defeated, with the destruction or dispersal of the entire body, in an
+action known to Americans as the battle of the Thames. Procter
+himself, with some two hundred men, fled eastward and reached the
+lines at Burlington Heights, at the head of Ontario, whither Vincent
+had again retreated on October 9, immediately upon receiving news of
+the disaster at Moravian Town.
+
+After this the Western Indians fell wholly away from the British
+alliance, and Harrison returned to Detroit, satisfied that it was
+useless to pursue the enemy by land. The season was thought now too
+far advanced for operations against Michilimackinac, which was
+believed also to be so effectually isolated, by the tenure of Lake
+Erie, as to prevent its receiving supplies. This was a mistake, there
+being a route, practicable though difficult, from Toronto to Georgian
+Bay, on Lake Huron, by which necessary stores were hurried through
+before the winter closed in. Mackinac remained in British hands to the
+end of the war.
+
+At Detroit Harrison and Perry received orders to transport a body of
+troops down Lake Erie, to re-enforce the army on the general scene of
+operations centring round Lake Ontario. By the control of the Niagara
+peninsula, consequent upon Vincent's necessary retreat after the
+battle of the Thames, the American communications were complete and
+secure throughout from Detroit to Sackett's Harbor, permitting free
+movement from end to end. The two officers embarked together, taking
+with them thirteen hundred men in seven vessels. October 24 they
+reached Buffalo. Harrison went on to Niagara, but Perry was here
+detached from the lake service, and returned to the seaboard, leaving
+Elliott to command on Erie. In acknowledging the order for Perry's
+removal, Chauncey regretted the granting of his application as a bad
+precedent; and further took occasion to remark that when he himself
+was sent to the lakes the only vessel on them owned by the United
+States was the brig "Oneida." "Since then two fleets have been
+created, one of which has covered itself with glory: the other, though
+less fortunate, has not been less industrious." It may be questioned
+whether the evident difference of achievement was to be charged to
+fortune, or to relative quickness to seize opportunity, when offered.
+
+The successes on Lake Erie had come very appositely for a change
+recently introduced into the plans of the Government, and then in
+process of accomplishment. Since the middle of the summer the
+Secretary of War, Armstrong, who at this time guided the military
+counsels, had become disgusted by the fruitlessness of the movements
+at the west end of Ontario, and had reverted to his earlier and
+sounder prepossession in favor of an attack upon either Kingston or
+Montreal. It had now been for some time in contemplation to transfer
+to Sackett's Harbor all the troops that could be spared from Niagara,
+leaving there only sufficient to hold Fort George, with Fort Niagara
+on the American side, as supports to a defensive attitude upon that
+frontier. Assured command of the lake was essential to the safety and
+rapidity of the concentration at Sackett's, and this led to the next
+meeting of the squadrons.
+
+General James Wilkinson, an officer advanced in years, of extremely
+poor reputation, personal as well as professional, and of broken
+constitution, had been either selected by, or forced upon,[105] the
+Secretary of War to replace Dearborn in command of the New York
+frontier and conduct of the proposed operations. To his suggested
+doubts as to the direction of effort, whether westward or eastward,
+Armstrong had replied definitely and finally on August 8: "Operations
+westward of Kingston, if successful, leave the strength of the enemy
+unbroken. It is the great depot of his resources. So long as he
+retains this, and keeps open his communication with the sea, he will
+not want the means of multiplying his naval and other defences, and of
+re-enforcing or renewing the war in the West." He then explained that
+there were two ways of reducing the place; by direct attack, or,
+indirectly, by cutting its communications with the lower river. To
+accomplish the latter, a demonstration of direct attack should be made
+by part of the troops, while the main body should move rapidly down
+the St. Lawrence to Madrid (or Hamilton),[106] in New York, and cross
+there to the Canadian side, seizing and fortifying a bluff on the
+north bank to control the road and river. This done, the rest of the
+force should march upon Montreal. The army division on Champlain was
+to co-operate by a simultaneous movement and subsequent junction. The
+project, in general outline, had been approved by the President. In
+transmitting it Armstrong wrote to Wilkinson, "After this exposition,
+it is unnecessary to add, that, in conducting the present campaign,
+you will make Kingston your _primary object_, and that you will
+_choose_ (as circumstances may warrant), between a _direct_ and
+_indirect_ attack upon that post."[107]
+
+Contemporary and subsequent movements are to be regarded in their
+bearing on this plan. The first object was the concentration at
+Sackett's, for which some three thousand troops were to be withdrawn
+from the Niagara frontier. Wilkinson arrived at Sackett's from
+Washington, August 20. Chauncey was then in port, after the gale which
+had driven both him and Yeo down the lake. He sailed on the 29th.
+Wilkinson followed shortly, reaching Fort George September 4. On the
+5th, Armstrong himself came to Sackett's, having established the War
+Department in northern New York for the campaign. On the 10th Perry
+destroyed the British squadron on Lake Erie, opening the way for
+Harrison's victorious entry to Upper Canada and subsequent transfer to
+Niagara.
+
+Some days before the battle of the Thames the embarkation from Niagara
+for Sackett's Harbor took place under cover of the naval operations.
+After Yeo had gone into Amherst Bay on September 12, as already
+mentioned,[108] Chauncey remained cruising in the neighborhood till
+the 17th, when he went to Sackett's, the enemy having got into
+Kingston. On the 19th he sailed again for Niagara, to support the
+movement of the army. He arrived on the 24th, and found there a report
+of Perry's victory, which had been received on the 22d. On the 25th
+embarkation began, and Wilkinson hoped that the whole body, three
+thousand strong, would start on their coasting voyage along the south
+shore of the lake on the 27th; but after dark, to conceal the
+direction taken. At this juncture, on September 26, Chauncey heard
+that the British fleet was at York, which was confirmed by a lookout
+vessel despatched by him. As Yeo, unless checked, might molest the
+transportation of the troops, it became necessary first to seek him;
+but owing to a head wind the American squadron could not leave the
+river till the evening of the 27th.
+
+As the schooner gun-vessels sailed badly, the "Pike," the "Madison,"
+and the "Sylph" each took one in tow on the morning of the 28th,
+steering for York, where the British fleet was soon after sighted. As
+the Americans stood in, the British quitted the bay to gain the open
+lake; for their better manoeuvring powers as a squadron would have
+scope clear of the land. They formed on the port tack, running south
+with the wind fresh at east (Positions 1). When about three miles
+distant, to windward, Chauncey put his fleet on the same tack as the
+enemy and edged down towards him (Positions 2). At ten minutes past
+noon, the Americans threatening to cut off the rearmost two of the
+British, Yeo tacked his column in succession, beginning with his own
+ship, the leader (a), heading north toward his endangered vessels,
+between them and the opponents. When round, he opened fire on the
+"General Pike." As this movement, if continued, would bring the
+leading and strongest British ships upon the weaker Americans astern,
+Chauncey put his helm up and steered for the "Wolfe" (b), as soon as
+the "General Pike" came abreast of her; the American column following
+in his wake. The "Wolfe" then kept away, and a sharp encounter
+followed between the two leaders, in which the rest of the squadrons
+took some share (Positions 3).
+
+At the end of twenty minutes the "Wolfe" lost her main and mizzen
+topmasts, and main yard. With all her after sail gone, there was
+nothing to do but to keep before the wind, which was fair for the
+British posts at the head of the bay (Positions 4). The American
+squadron followed; but the "Madison," the next heaviest ship to the
+"Pike," superior in battery power to the "Wasp" and "Hornet" of the
+ocean navy, and substantially equal to the second British ship, the
+"Royal George," "having a heavy schooner in tow, prevented her
+commander from closing near enough to do any execution with her
+carronades."[109] The explanation requires explanation, which is not
+forthcoming. Concern at such instants for heavy schooners in tow is
+not the spirit in which battles are won or campaigns decided; and it
+must be admitted that Commodore Chauncey's solicitude to keep his
+schooners up with his real fighting vessels, to conform, at critical
+moments, the action of ships of eight hundred and six hundred tons,
+like the "Pike" and "Madison," to those of lake craft of under one
+hundred, is not creditable to his military instincts. He threw out a
+signal, true, for the fleet to make all sail; but as he held on to the
+schooner he had in tow, neither the "Madison" nor "Sylph" dropped
+hers. His flagship, individually, appears to have been well fought;
+but anxiety to keep a squadron united needs to be tempered with
+discretion of a kind somewhat more eager than the quality commonly
+thus named, and which on occasion can drop a schooner, or other small
+craft, in order to get at the enemy. As the dismasted "Wolfe" ran to
+leeward, "the 'Royal George,'" says the American naval historian
+Cooper, "luffed up in noble style across her stern to cover the
+English commodore" (c), and "kept yawing athwart her stern, delivering
+her broadsides in a manner to extort exclamations of delight from the
+American fleet (Positions 5). She was commanded by Captain Mulcaster."
+Her fighting mate, the "Madison," had a heavy schooner in tow. This
+interposition of the "Royal George" was especially timely if, as Yeo
+states, Chauncey was holding at a distance whence his long
+twenty-fours told, while the "Wolfe's" carronades did not reach.
+
+At quarter before three Chauncey relinquished pursuit. Both squadrons
+were then about six miles from the head of the lake, running towards
+it before a wind which had increased to a gale, with a heavy sea.
+Ahead of them was a lee shore, and for the Americans a hostile coast.
+"Though we might succeed in driving him on shore, the probability was
+we should go on shore also, he amongst his friends, we amongst our
+enemies; and after the gale abated, if he could get off one or two
+vessels out of the two fleets, it would give him as completely the
+command of the lake as if he had twenty vessels. Moreover, he was
+covered at his anchorage by part of his army and several small
+batteries thrown up for the purpose." For these reasons, the commodore
+"without hesitation relinquished the opportunity then presenting
+itself of acquiring individual reputation at the expense of my
+country." The British squadron anchored without driving ashore. The
+American returned to Niagara, having received a certain amount of
+damage aloft, and one of the purchased schooners having lost her
+foremast; but the killed and wounded by the enemy amounted to only
+five, all on board the "General Pike." That vessel lost also
+twenty-two men by the bursting of a gun.
+
+ [Illustration: CHAUNCEY AND YEO, SEPTEMBER 28, 1813]
+
+Chauncey had been in consultation with Armstrong at Sackett's, and
+understood perfectly the plans of the Government. On his return to
+Niagara he was requested by Wilkinson to keep watch over the hostile
+squadron in its present position under Burlington Heights, so as to
+cover the eastward movement of the troops, which began October 1. On
+the 2d the last transport had gone, and Wilkinson himself set out for
+Sackett's; bringing, as he reported, thirty-five hundred men. On the
+3d the British fleet was seen well towards the west end of the lake;
+but on the 4th a vessel sent especially to reconnoitre came back with
+the report that it was no longer there. This proved to be a mistake;
+but, as it came from a careful and competent officer, Chauncey
+inferred that the enemy had given him the slip and gone to the
+eastward. He therefore ran down the lake, to cover the arrival of the
+troops as he had their departure. On the afternoon of the 5th, near
+Kingston, he captured six out of seven transports bound thither with
+re-enforcements. Of these, two were the schooners taken by Yeo in the
+engagement of August 10, which the British had not thought fit to add
+to their fleet, but used simply as carriers; mounting their guns on
+the fortifications of Kingston. Cooper justly remarks, "This
+sufficiently proves the equivocal advantage enjoyed by the possession
+of these craft." Chauncey himself, at the end of the campaign,
+recommended the building of "one vessel of the size of the
+'Sylph,'"--three hundred and forty tons,--"in lieu of all the heavy
+schooners; for really they are of no manner of service, except to
+carry troops or use as gunboats."[110] The reflection is
+inevitable,--Why, then, had he allowed them so to hamper his
+movements? It is to be feared that the long ascendency of the gunboat
+policy in the councils of the Government had sapped the professional
+intelligence even of some naval officers.
+
+The capture of the detachment going from York to Kingston showed that
+the British had divined the general character of the American plans.
+In fact, as early as October 2, Major General de Rottenburg, who after
+an interval had succeeded to Brock's place in Upper Canada, as
+lieutenant governor and commander of the forces, had started with two
+regiments to re-enforce Kingston, leaving the Niagara peninsula again
+under the command of General Vincent. On October 6 Chauncey's squadron
+entered Sackett's, where Wilkinson had arrived on the 4th. The general
+began at once to remonstrate strenuously with Armstrong against an
+attempt upon Kingston, as delaying and possibly frustrating what he
+saw fit to style the chief object of the campaign, the capture of
+Montreal. The Secretary listened patiently, but overruled him.[111]
+Kingston had been the principal object from the beginning, and still
+so continued; but, if the garrison should be largely re-enforced, if
+the British fleet should enter the harbor, or if the weather should
+make navigation of the lake dangerous for the transports, then the
+troops should proceed direct for Montreal by the river. Yeo apparently
+returned to Kingston soon after this; but when Chauncey left port on
+October 16, to bring forward from the Genesee River a detachment under
+Colonel Winfield Scott, he still had the understanding that Kingston
+was first to be attacked.
+
+On October 19, however, the Secretary reconsidered his decision. The
+concentration of the army at Sackett's had not been effected until the
+18th. On the 16th de Rottenburg, having coasted the north shore of the
+lake, reached Kingston with his two regiments, reckoned by Armstrong
+at fifteen hundred men. These raised to twenty-two hundred the
+garrison previously estimated at seven to eight hundred.[112] The
+numbers of the Americans were diminishing by sickness, and no further
+re-enforcement was to be expected, excepting by uniting with the
+Champlain division. This had been on the move from Plattsburg since
+September 19, and was now at Chateaugay, on the Chateaugay River; a
+local centre, whence roads running northeast, to the river's junction
+with the St. Lawrence, immediately opposite the island of Montreal,
+and west to St. Regis on the St. Lawrence, forty miles higher up, gave
+facilities for moving in either direction to meet Wilkinson's advance.
+By a letter of October 12 from its commander, General Wade Hampton,
+this corps numbered "four thousand effective infantry, with a
+well-appointed train." To bring it by land to Sackett's, over a
+hundred miles distant, was considered too protracted and laborious in
+the state of the roads; better utilize the current of the St. Lawrence
+to carry Wilkinson down to it. In view of these circumstances, and of
+the supposed increased strength of Kingston, Armstrong decided to
+abandon the attack upon the latter and to move against Montreal, which
+was believed to be much weaker, as well as strategically more
+important.[113] The movement was hazardous; for, as planned, ultimate
+success depended upon junction with another corps, which had natural
+difficulties of its own to contend with, while both were open to
+obstruction by an active enemy. As a distinguished military critic has
+said, "The Americans committed upon this occasion the same error that
+the British Government did in their plan for Burgoyne's march from the
+head of Champlain to Albany,--that of making the desired result of an
+important operation depend upon the success of all its constituent or
+component parts." It is one of the most common of blunders in war.
+Wilkinson and Hampton did not meet. Both moved, but one had retreated
+before the other arrived.
+
+In fact, while Montreal, as the most important point in Canada for the
+British, except Quebec, and at the same time the one most accessible
+to the United States, was the true objective of the latter,
+concentration against it should have been made in territory entirely
+under American control, about Lake Champlain, and the advance begun
+early in the season. By its own choice the Government had relinquished
+this obvious and natural course, and throughout the summer had
+directed its efforts to the westward. When the change of operations
+from Niagara to the lower end of the lake was initiated, in the
+beginning of October, it was already too late to do more than attack
+Kingston, the strength of which appears to have been gravely
+over-estimated. Armstrong had good military ideas; but at this
+critical moment he seems to have faltered in the presence of an
+immediate difficulty, and to have sought escape from it by a hasty
+consent to a side measure, contrary to the soundest teachings of war.
+
+Not the least of objections was the risk to which Sackett's Harbor,
+the naval base, was to be exposed. After October 16, Chauncey had
+remained cruising between there and Kingston, covering the approaches
+to the St. Lawrence. His intended trip to Genesee, to bring up Scott's
+eight hundred regulars, had been abandoned at the urgent demand of
+Wilkinson, who, while the troops were being transferred from Sackett's
+to Grenadier Island, at the outlet of the lake to the river, "would
+not allow any part of the fleet to be absent four days without
+throwing the responsibility, in case of a failure of his expedition,
+wholly on the navy."[114] The commodore did not learn of the new
+scheme until October 30, ten days after its adoption, when he was
+asked to cover the rear of the army from pursuit by water, by taking
+position inside the St. Lawrence. While objecting strongly to the
+change of plan, he of course consented to afford all the co-operation
+in his power; but he wrote to the Navy Department, "If Sir James Yeo
+knows the defenceless situation of Sackett's, he can take advantage of
+a westerly wind while I am in the river, run over and burn it; for to
+the best of my knowledge there are no troops left there except sick
+and invalids, nor are there more than three guns mounted."[115]
+
+After many delays by rough water, Wilkinson's troops were assembled at
+Grenadier Island towards the end of October. On November 1 they began
+entering the river by detachments, collecting at French Creek, on the
+American side, fifteen miles from the lake. Being here immediately
+opposite one of the points considered suitable for advance on
+Kingston, the object of the movement remained still doubtful to the
+enemy. The detachments first arriving were cannonaded by four of Yeo's
+vessels that had come through the channel north of Long Island, which
+here divides the stream. On November 2 Chauncey anchored near by,
+preventing the recurrence of this annoyance. On the 4th the entire
+force was assembled, and next day started down the river with fine
+weather, which lasted until the 11th. Up to this date no serious
+difficulty was encountered; but immediately that the departure from
+French Creek proclaimed the real direction of the movement, de
+Rottenburg despatched a body of six hundred regular troops, under
+Lieutenant Colonel Morrison, accompanied by some gunboats under
+Captain Mulcaster, to harass the rear. For the purpose of being on
+hand to fall upon the American flotilla, should the attempt be made to
+cross the river to the north bank, Sir James Yeo on the 5th came out
+from Kingston with his fleet. He anchored on the north side of Long
+Island, only five miles from the American squadron, but separated by a
+reef, over which the "General Pike" could not pass without being
+lightened.[116] Steps were taken to effect this, and to buoy a
+channel; but on the 6th Yeo retired to Kingston. Chauncey's letters
+make no mention of Mulcaster's division, and after Yeo's withdrawal he
+moved down to Carleton Island.
+
+Morrison and Mulcaster on the 8th reached Fort Wellington, opposite
+Ogdensburg. Here they paused and received re-enforcements from the
+garrison, raising their numbers to eight hundred, who continued to
+follow, by water and by land, until the 11th. Then they were turned
+upon by the rearguard of an American division, marching on the north
+bank to suppress the harassment to which the flotilla otherwise was
+liable in its advance. An action followed, known as that of
+Chrystler's Farm, in which the Americans were the assailants and in
+much superior numbers; but they were worsted and driven back, having
+lost one hundred and two killed and two hundred and thirty-seven
+wounded, besides one hundred prisoners. The troops engaged then
+embarked, and passed down the Long Saut Rapids to Cornwall, which is
+one hundred and twenty miles from Kingston and eighty-two from
+Montreal. Here they were rejoined on the 12th by the vanguard of the
+division, which had met little resistance in its progress.
+
+At this time and place Wilkinson received a letter from General
+Hampton, to whom he had written that the provisions of his army were
+insufficient, and requested him to send "two or three months' supply
+by the safest route in a direction to the proposed scene of
+action."[117] He also instructed him to join the advance at St. Regis,
+opposite Cornwall, the point which had now been reached. As the two
+bodies were co-operating, and Wilkinson was senior, these instructions
+had the force of orders. In his reply, dated November 8,[118] Hampton
+said, "The idea of meeting at St. Regis was most pleasing, until I
+came to the disclosure of the amount of your supplies of provision."
+Actually, the disclosure about the supplies preceded in the letter the
+appointment to meet at St. Regis, which was the last subject
+mentioned. "It would be impossible," Hampton continued, "for me to
+bring more than each man could carry on his back; and when I reflected
+that, in throwing myself upon your scanty means, I should be weakening
+you in your most vulnerable point, I did not hesitate to adopt the
+opinion that by throwing myself back upon my main depot [Plattsburg],
+where all means of transportation had gone, and falling upon the
+enemy's flank, and straining every effort to open a communication from
+Plattsburg to ... the St. Lawrence, I should more effectually
+contribute to your success than by the junction at St. Regis."
+
+Hampton then retired to Plattsburg, in the direction opposite from St.
+Regis. Wilkinson, upon receiving his letter, held a council of war and
+decided that "the attack on Montreal should be abandoned for the
+present season." The army accordingly crossed to the American side and
+went into winter quarters at French Mills, just within the New York
+boundary; on the Salmon River, which enters the St. Lawrence thirteen
+miles below St. Regis. Wilkinson was writing from there November 17,
+twelve days after he started from French Creek to capture Montreal.
+Thus two divisions, of eight thousand and four thousand respectively,
+both fell back helplessly, when within a few days of a junction which
+the enemy could not have prevented, even though he might successfully
+have opposed their joint attack upon Montreal.
+
+It is a delicate matter to judge the discretion of a general officer
+in Hampton's position; but the fact remains, as to provisions, that he
+was in a country where, by his own statement of a month before, "we
+have, and can have, an unlimited supply of good beef cattle."[119] A
+British commissary at Prescott wrote two months later, January 5,
+1814, "Our supplies for sixteen hundred men are all drawn from the
+American side of the river. They drive droves of cattle from the
+interior under pretence of supplying their army at Salmon River, and
+so are allowed to pass the guards, and at night to cross them over to
+our side,"--the river being frozen. He adds, "I shall be also under
+the necessity of getting most of my flour from their side."[120] It is
+not necessary greatly to respect Wilkinson in order to think that in
+such a region Hampton might safely have waited for his superior to
+join, and to decide upon the movements of the whole. He was acting
+conjointly, and the junior.[121] Under all the circumstances there can
+be no reasonable doubt that his independent action was precipitate,
+unnecessary, contrary to orders, and therefore militarily culpable. It
+gave Wilkinson the excuse, probably much desired, for abruptly closing
+a campaign which had been ludicrously inefficient from the first, and
+under his leadership might well have ended in a manner even more
+mortifying.
+
+Chauncey remained within the St. Lawrence until November 10, the day
+before the engagement at Chrystler's Farm. He was troubled with fears
+as to what might happen in his rear; the defenceless condition of
+Sackett's, and the possibility that the enemy by taking possession of
+Carleton Island, below him, might prevent the squadron's getting
+out.[122] None of these things occurred, and it would seem that the
+British had not force to attempt them. On the 11th the squadron
+returned to the Harbor, where was found a letter from Armstrong,
+requesting conveyance to Sackett's for the brigade of Harrison's army,
+which Perry had brought to Niagara, and which the Secretary destined
+to replace the garrison gone down stream with Wilkinson. The execution
+of this service closed the naval operations on Ontario for the year
+1813. On November 21 Chauncey wrote that he had transported Harrison
+with eleven hundred troops. On the night of December 2 the harbor
+froze over, and a few days later the commodore learned that Yeo had
+laid up his ships for the winter.
+
+There remains yet to tell the close of the campaign upon the Niagara
+peninsula, control of which had been a leading motive in the opening
+operations. Its disastrous ending supplies a vivid illustration of the
+military truth that positions are in themselves of but little value,
+if the organized forces of the enemy, armies or fleets, remain
+unimpaired. The regular troops were all withdrawn for Wilkinson's
+expedition; the last to go being the garrison of Fort George, eight
+hundred men under Colonel Winfield Scott, which left on October 13.
+The command of the frontier was turned over to Brigadier General
+George M'Clure of the New York Militia. Scott reported that Fort
+George, "as a field work, might be considered as complete at that
+period. It was garnished with ten pieces of artillery, which number
+might have been increased from the spare ordnance of the opposite
+fort"[123]--Niagara. The latter, on the American side, was garrisoned
+by two companies of regular artillery and "such of M'Clure's brigade
+as had refused to cross the river."
+
+It was immediately before Scott's departure that the British forces
+under General Vincent, upon receipt of news of the battle of the
+Thames, had retreated precipitately to Burlington Heights, burning all
+their stores, and abandoning the rest of the peninsula. This was on
+October 9; a week after de Rottenburg had started for Kingston with
+two regiments, leaving only ten or twelve hundred regulars. De
+Rottenburg sent word for these also to retire upon York, and thence to
+Kingston; but the lateness of the season, the condition of the roads,
+and the necessity in such action to abandon sick and stores, decided
+Vincent, in the exercise of his discretion, to hold on. This
+resolution was as fortunate for his side as it proved unfortunate to
+the Americans. M'Clure's force, as stated by himself, was then about
+one thousand effective militia in Fort George, and two hundred and
+fifty Indians. Concerning the latter he wrote, "An exhibition of two
+or three hundred of them will strike more terror into the British than
+a thousand militia."[124] From time to time there were also bodies of
+"volunteers," who assembled on call and were subject to the orders of
+the national government for the period of their service. With such
+numbers, so constituted, it was as impossible for M'Clure to trouble
+Vincent as it was inexpedient for Vincent to attack Fort George.
+
+A gleam of hope appeared for the American commander when Perry brought
+down the thirteen hundred of Harrison's victorious army, with the
+general himself. The latter, who was senior to M'Clure, lent a
+favorable ear to his suggestion that the two forces should be combined
+to attack Vincent's lines. Some four hundred additional volunteers
+gathered for this purpose; but, before the project could take effect,
+Chauncey arrived to carry Harrison's men to Sackett's, stripped of
+troops for Wilkinson's expedition. The urgency was real, and Chauncey
+pressing, on account both of Sackett's and the season. In reply to a
+very aggrieved remonstrance from M'Clure, Harrison expressed extreme
+sympathy with his disappointment and that of the volunteers, but said
+no material disadvantage was incurred, for he was convinced the
+British were removing as fast as they could from the head of the lake,
+and that an expedition thither would find them gone. Therewith, on
+November 16, he embarked and sailed.
+
+The period of service for which the militia were "draughted" would
+expire December 9. To M'Clure's representations the national
+government, which was responsible for the general defence, replied
+impotently by renewing its draught on the state government for another
+thousand militia. But, wrote Armstrong, if you cannot raise
+volunteers, "what are you to expect from militia draughts, with their
+constitutional scruples?"--about leaving their state. Armstrong was
+not personally responsible for the lack of organized power in the
+nation; but as the representative of the Government, which by a dozen
+years of inefficiency and neglect had laid open this and other
+frontiers, the fling was unbecoming. On December 10, the garrison of
+Fort George was reduced to "sixty effective regulars and probably
+forty volunteers. The militia have recrossed the river almost to a
+man."[125] M'Clure also learned "that the enemy were advancing in
+force." That night he abandoned the works, retiring to Fort Niagara,
+and carrying off such stores as he could; but in addition he committed
+the grave error of setting fire to the adjacent Canadian village of
+Newark, which was burned to the ground.
+
+For this step M'Clure alleged the authority of the Secretary of War,
+who on October 4 had written him, "Understanding that the defence of
+the post committed to your charge may render it proper to destroy the
+town of Newark, you are directed to apprise its inhabitants of this
+circumstance, and to invite them to remove themselves and their
+effects to some place of greater safety." The general construed this
+to justify destruction in order to deprive the hostile troops of
+shelter near Fort George. "The enemy are now completely shut out from
+any hopes or means of wintering in the vicinity of Fort George." The
+exigency was insufficient to justify the measure, which was promptly
+disavowed by the United States Government; but the act imparted
+additional bitterness to the war, and was taken by the enemy as a
+justification and incentive to the retaliatory violence with which the
+campaign closed.
+
+The civil and military government of Upper Canada at this time passed
+into the hands of Sir Gordon Drummond. For the moment he sent to
+Niagara General Riall, who took over the command from Vincent. On
+December 13, M'Clure reported the enemy appearing in force on the
+opposite shore; but, "having deprived them of shelter, they are
+marching up to Queenston." This alone showed the futility of burning
+Newark, but more decisive demonstration was to be given. Early on the
+19th the British and Indians crossed the river before dawn, surprised
+Fort Niagara, and carried it at the point of the bayonet; meeting,
+indeed, but weak and disorganized resistance. At the same time a
+detachment of militia at Lewiston was attacked and driven in, and that
+village, with its neighbors, Youngstown and Manchester, were reduced
+to ashes, in revenge for Newark. On December 30 the British again
+crossed, burned Buffalo, and destroyed at Black Rock three small
+vessels of the Erie flotilla; two of which, the "Ariel" and "Trippe,"
+had been in Perry's squadron on September 10, while the third, the
+"Little Belt," was a prize taken in that action. Two thousand militia
+had been officially reported assembled on the frontier on December 26,
+summoned after the first alarm; but, "overpowered by the numbers and
+discipline of the enemy," wrote their commander, "they gave way and
+fled on every side. Every attempt to rally them was ineffectual."[126]
+
+With this may be said to have terminated the northern campaign of
+1813. The British had regained full control of the Niagara peninsula,
+and they continued to hold Fort Niagara, in the state of New York,
+till peace was concluded. The only substantial gain on the whole
+frontier, from the extreme east to the extreme west, was the
+destruction of the British fleet on Lake Erie, and the consequent
+transfer of power in the west to the United States. This was the left
+flank of the American position. Had the same result been accomplished
+on the right flank,--as it might have been,--at Montreal, or even at
+Kingston, the centre and left must have fallen also. For the
+misdirection of effort to Niagara, the local commanders, Dearborn and
+Chauncey, are primarily responsible; for Armstrong yielded his own
+correct perceptions to the representations of the first as to the
+enemy's force, supported by the arguments of the naval officer
+favoring the diversion of effort from Kingston to Toronto. Whether
+Chauncey ever formally admitted to himself this fundamental mistake,
+which wrecked the summer's work upon Lake Ontario, does not appear;
+but that he had learned from experience is shown by a letter to the
+Secretary of the Navy,[127] when the squadrons had been laid up. In
+this he recognized the uselessness of the heavy sailing schooners when
+once a cruising force of ships for war had been created, thereby
+condemning much of his individual management of the campaign; and he
+added: "If it is determined to prosecute the war offensively, and
+secure our conquests in Upper Canada, Kingston ought unquestionably to
+be the first object of attack, and that so early in the spring as to
+prevent the enemy from using the whole of the naval force that he is
+preparing."
+
+In the three chapters which here end, the Ontario operations have been
+narrated consecutively and at length, without interruption by other
+issues,--except the immediately related Lake Erie campaign,--because
+upon them turned, and upon them by the dispositions of the Government
+this year were wrecked the fortunes of the war. The year 1813, from
+the opening of the spring to the closing in of winter, was for several
+reasons the period when conditions were most propitious to the
+American cause. In 1812 war was not begun until June, and then with
+little antecedent preparation; and it was waged halfheartedly, both
+governments desiring to nip hostilities. In 1814, on the other hand,
+when the season opened, Napoleon had fallen, and the United States no
+longer had an informal ally to divert the efforts of Great Britain.
+But in the intervening year, 1813, although the pressure upon the
+seaboard, the defensive frontier, was undoubtedly greater than before,
+and much vexation and harassment was inflicted, no serious injury was
+done beyond the suppression of commerce, inevitable in any event. In
+the north, on the lakes frontier, the offensive and the initiative
+continued in the hands of the United States. No substantial
+re-enforcements reached Canada until long after the ice broke up, and
+then in insufficient numbers. British naval preparations had been on
+an inadequate scale, receiving no proper professional supervision. The
+American Government, on the contrary, had had the whole winter to
+prepare, and the services of a very competent naval organizer. It had
+also the same period to get ready its land forces; while incompetent
+Secretaries of War and of the Navy gave place in January to capable
+men in both situations.
+
+With all this in its favor, and despite certain gratifying successes,
+the general outcome was a complete failure, the full measure of which
+could be realized only when the downfall of Napoleon revealed what
+disaster may result from neglect to seize opportunity while it exists.
+The tide then ebbed, and never again flowed. For this many causes may
+be alleged. The imbecile ideas concerning military and naval
+preparation which had prevailed since the opening of the century
+doubtless counted for much. The intrusting of chief command to
+broken-down men like Dearborn and Wilkinson was enough to ruin the
+best conceived schemes. But, despite these very serious drawbacks, the
+strategic misdirection of effort was the most fatal cause of failure.
+
+There is a simple but very fruitful remark of a Swiss military writer,
+that every military line may be conceived as having three parts, the
+middle and the two ends, or flanks. As sound principle requires that
+military effort should not be distributed along the whole of an
+enemy's position,--unless in the unusual case of overwhelming
+superiority,--but that distinctly superior numbers should be
+concentrated upon a limited portion of it, this idea of a threefold
+division aids materially in considering any given situation. One
+third, or two thirds, of an enemy's line may be assailed, but very
+seldom the whole; and everything may depend upon the choice made for
+attack. Now the British frontier, which the United States was to
+assail, extended from Montreal on the east to Detroit on the west. Its
+three parts were: Montreal and the St. Lawrence on the east, or left
+flank; Ontario in the middle, centring at Kingston; and Erie on the
+right; the strength of the British position in the last named section
+being at Detroit and Malden, because they commanded the straits upon,
+which the Indian tribes depended for access to the east. Over against
+the British positions named lay those of the United States. Given in
+the same order, these were: Lake Champlain, and the shores of Ontario
+and of Erie, centring respectively in the naval stations at Sackett's
+Harbor and Presqu' Isle.
+
+Accepting these definitions, which are too obvious to admit of
+dispute, what considerations should have dictated to the United States
+the direction of attack; the one, or two, parts out of the three, on
+which effort should be concentrated? The reply, as a matter of
+abstract, accepted, military principle, is certain. Unless very urgent
+reasons to the contrary exist, strike at one end rather than at the
+middle, because both ends can come up to help the middle against you
+quicker than one end can get to help the other; and, as between the
+two ends, strike at the one upon which the enemy most depends for
+re-enforcements and supplies to maintain his strength. Sometimes this
+decision presents difficulties. Before Waterloo, Wellington had his
+own army as a centre of interest; on his right flank the sea, whence
+came supplies and re-enforcements from England; on his left the
+Prussian army, support by which was imminently necessary. On which
+flank would Napoleon throw the weight of his attack? Wellington
+reasoned, perhaps through national bias, intensified by years of
+official dependence upon sea support, that the blow would fall upon
+his right, and he strengthened it with a body of men sorely needed
+when the enemy came upon his left, in overwhelming numbers, seeking to
+separate him from the Prussians.
+
+No such doubt was possible as to Canada in 1813. It depended wholly
+upon the sea, and it touched the sea at Montreal. The United States,
+with its combined naval and military strength, crude as the latter
+was, was at the beginning of 1813 quite able in material power to
+grapple two out of the three parts,--Montreal and Kingston. Had they
+been gained, Lake Erie would have fallen; as is demonstrated by the
+fact that the whole Erie region went down like a house of cards the
+moment Perry triumphed on the lake. His victory was decisive, simply
+because it destroyed the communications of Malden with the sea. The
+same result would have been achieved, with effect over a far wider
+region, by a similar success in the east.
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[104] Canadian Archives MSS.
+
+[105] Scott says, "The selection of this unprincipled imbecile was not
+the blunder of Secretary Armstrong." Memoirs, vol. i. p. 94, note.
+
+[106] Both these names are used, confusingly, by Armstrong. Madrid was
+the township, Hamilton a village on the St. Lawrence, fifteen to twenty
+miles below the present Ogdensburg.
+
+[107] American State Papers, Military Affairs, vol. i. p. 464.
+Armstrong's italics.
+
+[108] Ante, p. 60.
+
+[109] Chauncey's report, Oct. 1, 1813, Niles' Register, vol. v. p. 134.
+The extract has been verified from the original in the Captains'
+Letters. The report of Sir James Yeo (British Records Office) agrees
+substantially with Chauncey's accounts of the movements, but adds that
+upon the fall of the "Wolfe's" topmasts the "Pike" immediately took a
+distance out of carronade range, whence her long 24's would tell. "I can
+assure you, Sir, that the great advantage the enemy have over us from
+their long 24-pounders almost precludes the possibility of success,
+unless we can force them to close action, which they have ever avoided
+with the most studied circumspection."
+
+[110] Chauncey to Navy Department, Dec. 17, 1813. Captains' Letters.
+
+[111] Armstrong, Oct. 5, 1813. American State Papers, Military Affairs,
+vol. i. p. 470.
+
+[112] Ibid., p. 471.
+
+[113] Armstrong, Oct. 20, 1813. American State Papers, Military Affairs,
+vol. i. p. 473.
+
+[114] Scott's Memoirs, vol. i. p. 106. In consequence, though Scott
+personally succeeded in joining the movement from which so much was
+expected, this considerable number of regulars were withdrawn from it.
+They ultimately reached Sackett's, forming the nucleus of a garrison.
+
+[115] Captains' Letters, Oct. 30, 1813.
+
+[116] Chauncey to the Navy Department, Nov. 11, 1813. Captains' Letters.
+
+[117] Wilkinson to Hampton. American State Papers, Military Affairs,
+vol. i. p. 462.
+
+[118] Ibid.
+
+[119] Hampton's Letters during this movement are in American State
+Papers, Military Affairs, vol. i. pp. 458-463.
+
+[120] Ridout, Ten Years in Upper Canada, p. 269.
+
+[121] American State Papers, Military Affairs, vol. i. p. 465.
+
+[122] Chauncey to Navy Department, Nov. 11. Captains' Letters.
+
+[123] American State Papers, Military Affairs, vol. i. p. 483.
+
+[124] American State Papers, Military Affairs, vol. i. p. 484.
+
+[125] American State Papers, Military Affairs, vol. i. p. 486.
+
+[126] Report of General A. Hall, Niles' Register, vol. v. p. 394.
+
+[127] December 17, 1813. Captains' Letters, Navy Department.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIII
+
+SEABOARD MARITIME OPERATIONS
+
+
+Upon the Canada frontier the conditions of 1813 had permitted the
+United States an ample field for offensive operations, with good
+prospect of success. What use was made of the opportunity has now been
+narrated. Upon the seaboard, continuous illustration was afforded that
+there the country was widely open to attack, thrown wholly on the
+defensive, with the exception of preying upon the enemy's commerce by
+numerous small cruisers. As a secondary operation of war this has
+always possessed value, and better use of it perhaps never was made
+than by the American people at this time; but it is not determinative
+of great issues, and the achievements of the public and private armed
+vessels of the United States, energetic and successful as they were at
+this period, constituted no exception to the universal experience.
+Control of the highways of the ocean by great fleets destroys an
+enemy's commerce, root and branch. The depredations of scattered
+cruisers may inflict immense vexation, and even embarrassment; but
+they neither kill nor mortally wound, they merely harass. Co-operating
+with other influences, they may induce yielding in a maritime enemy;
+but singly they never have done so, and probably never can. In 1814 no
+commerce was left to the United States; and that conditions remained
+somewhat better during 1813 was due to collusion of the enemy, not to
+national power.
+
+The needs of the British armies in the Spanish Peninsula and in
+Canada, and the exigencies of the West India colonies, induced the
+enemy to wink at, and even to uphold, a considerable clandestine
+export trade from the United States. Combined with this was the hope
+of embarrassing the general government by the disaffection of New
+England, and of possibly detaching that section of the country from
+the Union. For these reasons, the eastern coast was not included in
+the commercial blockade in 1813. But no motive existed for permitting
+the egress of armed vessels, or the continuance of the coasting trade,
+by which always, now as then, much of the intercourse between
+different parts of the country must be maintained, and upon which in
+1812 it depended almost altogether. With the approach of spring in
+1813, therefore, not only was the commercial blockade extended to
+embrace New York and all south of it, together with the Mississippi
+River, but the naval constriction upon the shore line became so severe
+as practically to annihilate the coasting trade, considered as a means
+of commercial exchange. It is not possible for deep-sea cruisers
+wholly to suppress the movement of small vessels, skirting the beaches
+from headland to headland; but their operations can be so much
+embarrassed as to reduce their usefulness to a bare alleviation of
+social necessities, inadequate to any scale of interchange deserving
+the name of commerce.
+
+"I doubt not," wrote Captain Broke, when challenging Lawrence to a
+ship duel, "that you will feel convinced that it is only by repeated
+triumphs in even combat that your little navy can now hope to console
+your country for the loss of that trade it cannot protect."[128] The
+taunt, doubtless intended to further the object of the letter by the
+provocation involved, was applicable as well to coasting as to
+deep-sea commerce. It ignored, however, the consideration, necessarily
+predominant with American officers, that the conditions of the war
+imposed commerce destruction as the principal mission of their navy.
+They were not indeed to shun combat, when it offered as an incident,
+but neither were they to seek it as a mere means of glory,
+irrespective of advantage to be gained. Lawrence, whom Broke's letter
+did not reach, was perhaps not sufficiently attentive to this motive.
+
+The British blockade, military and commercial, the coastwise
+operations of their navy, and the careers of American cruisers
+directed to the destruction of British commerce, are then the three
+heads under which the ocean activities of 1813 divide. Although this
+chapter is devoted to the first two of these subjects, brief mention
+should be made here of the distant cruises of two American vessels,
+because, while detached from any connection with other events, they
+are closely linked, in time and place, with the disastrous seaboard
+engagement between the "Chesapeake" and "Shannon," with which the
+account of sea-coast maritime operations opens. On April 30 Captain
+John Rodgers put to sea from Boston in the frigate "President,"
+accompanied by the frigate "Congress," Captain John Smith. Head winds
+immediately after sailing detained them inside of Cape Cod until May
+3, and it was not till near George's Bank that any of the blockading
+squadron was seen. As, by the Admiralty's instructions, one of the
+blockaders was usually a ship of the line, the American vessels very
+properly evaded them. The two continued together until May 8, when
+they separated, some six hundred miles east of Delaware Bay. Rodgers
+kept along northward to the Banks of Newfoundland, hoping, at that
+junction of commercial highways, to fall in with a West India convoy,
+or vessels bound into Halifax or the St. Lawrence. Nothing, however,
+was seen, and he thence steered to the Azores with equal bad fortune.
+Obtaining thereabouts information of a homeward-bound convoy from the
+West Indies, he went in pursuit to the northeast, but failed to find
+it. Not till June 9 did he make three captures, in quick succession.
+Being then two thirds of the way to the English Channel, he determined
+to try the North Sea, shaping his course to intercept vessels bound
+either by the north or south of Ireland. Not a sail was met until the
+Shetland Islands were reached, and there were found only Danes, which,
+though Denmark was in hostility with Great Britain, were trading under
+British licenses. The "President" remained in the North Sea until the
+end of July, but made only two prizes, although she lay in wait for
+convoys of whose sailing accounts were received. Having renewed her
+supply of water at Bergen, in Norway, she returned to the Atlantic,
+made three captures off the north coast of Ireland, and thence beat
+back to the Banks, where two stray homeward-bound West Indiamen were
+at last caught. From there the ship made her way, still with a
+constant head wind, to Nantucket, off which was captured a British
+man-of-war schooner, tender to the admiral. On September 27 she
+anchored in Narragansett Bay, having been absent almost five months,
+and made twelve prizes, few of which were valuable. One, however, was
+a mail packet to Halifax, the capture of which, as of its
+predecessors, was noted by Prevost.[129]
+
+The "Congress" was still less successful in material result. She
+followed a course which had hitherto been a favorite with American
+captains, and which Rodgers had suggested as alternative to his own;
+southeast, passing near the Cape Verde Islands, to the equator between
+longitudes 24° and 31° west; thence to the coast of Brazil, and so
+home, by a route which carried her well clear of the West India
+Islands. She entered Portsmouth, New Hampshire, December 14, having
+spent seven months making this wide sweep; in the course of which
+three prizes only were taken.[130] It will be remembered that the
+"Chesapeake," which had returned only a month before the "Congress"
+sailed, had taken much the same direction with similar slight result.
+
+These cruises were primarily commerce-destroying, and were pursued in
+that spirit, although with the full purpose of fighting should
+occasion arise. The paucity of result is doubtless to be attributed to
+the prey being sought chiefly on the high seas, too far away from the
+points of arrival and departure. The convoy system, rigidly enforced,
+as captured British correspondence shows, cleared the seas of British
+vessels, except in the spots where they were found congested,
+concentrated, by the operation of the system itself. It may be noted
+that the experience of all these vessels showed that nowhere was the
+system so rigidly operative as in the West Indies and Western
+Atlantic. Doubtless, too, the naval officers in command took pains to
+guide the droves of vessels entrusted to them over unusual courses,
+with a view to elude pursuers. As the home port was neared, the common
+disposition to relax tension of effort as the moment of relief draws
+nigh, co-operated with the gradual drawing together of convoys from
+all parts of the world to make the approaches to the English Channel
+the most probable scene of success for the pursuer. There the greatest
+number were to be found, and there presumption of safety tended to
+decrease carefulness. This was to be amply proved by subsequent
+experience. It had been predicted by Rodgers himself, although he
+apparently did not think wise to hazard in such close quarters so fine
+and large a frigate as the "President." "It is very generally
+believed," he had written, "that the coasts of England, Ireland, and
+Scotland are always swarming with British men of war, and that their
+commerce would be found amply protected. This, however, I well know
+by experience, in my voyages when a youth, to be incorrect; and that
+it has always been their policy to keep their enemies as far distant
+from their shores as possible, by stationing their ships at the
+commencement of a war on the enemy's coasts, and in such other distant
+situations, ... and thereby be enabled to protect their own commerce
+in a twofold degree. This, however, they have been enabled to do,
+owing as well to the inactivity of the enemy, as to the local
+advantages derived from their relative situations."[131]
+
+The same tendency was observable at other points of arrival, and
+recognition of this dictated the instructions issued to Captain
+Lawrence for the cruise of the "Chesapeake," frustrated through her
+capture by the "Shannon." Lawrence was appointed to the ship on May 6;
+the sailing orders issued to Captain Evans being transferred to him on
+that date. He was to go to the mouth of the Gulf of St. Lawrence,
+seeking there to intercept the military store-ships, and transports
+with troops, destined to Quebec and Upper Canada. "The enemy," wrote
+the Secretary, "will not in all probability anticipate our taking this
+ground with our public ships of war; and as his convoys generally
+separate between Cape Race and Halifax, leaving the trade of the St.
+Lawrence to proceed without convoy, the chance of captures upon an
+extensive scale is very flattering." He added the just remark, that
+"it is impossible to conceive a naval service of a higher order in a
+national point of view than the destruction of the enemy's vessels,
+with supplies for his army in Canada and his fleets on this
+station."[132]
+
+Lawrence took command of the "Chesapeake" at Boston on May 20. The
+ship had returned from her last cruise April 9, and had been so far
+prepared for sea by her former commander that, as has been seen, her
+sailing orders were issued May 6. It would appear from the statement
+of the British naval historian James,[133] based upon a paper captured
+in the ship, that the enlistments of her crew expired in April.
+Although there were many reshipments, and a nucleus of naval seamen,
+there was a large infusion of new and untrained men, amounting to a
+reconstitution of the ship's company. More important still was the
+fact that both the captain and first lieutenant were just appointed;
+her former first lying fatally ill at the time she sailed. The third
+and fourth lieutenants were also strange to her, and in a manner to
+their positions; being in fact midshipmen, to whom acting appointments
+as lieutenants were issued at Lawrence's request, by Commodore
+Bainbridge of the navy yard, on May 27, five days before the action.
+The third took charge of his division for the first time the day of
+the battle, and the men were personally unknown to him. The first
+lieutenant himself was extremely young.
+
+The bearing of these facts is not to excuse the defeat, but to enforce
+the lesson that a grave military enterprise is not to be hazarded on a
+side issue, or on a point of pride, without adequate preparation. The
+"Chesapeake" was ordered to a service of very particular importance at
+the moment--May, 1813--when the Canada campaign was about to open. She
+was to act against the communications of the enemy; and while it is
+upon the whole more expedient, for the _morale_ of a service, that
+battle with an equal should not be declined, quite as necessarily
+action should not be sought when it will materially interfere with the
+discharge of a duty intrinsically of greater consequence. The capture
+of a single enemy's frigate is not to be confounded with, or inflated
+to, that destruction of an enemy's organized force which is the prime
+object of all military effort. Indeed, the very purpose to which the
+"Chesapeake" was designated was to cripple the organized force of the
+British, either the army in Canada, or the navy on the lakes. The
+chance of a disabling blow by unexpected action in the St. Lawrence
+much exceeded any gain to be anticipated, even by a victorious ship
+duel, which would not improbably entail return to port to refit; while
+officers new to their duties, and unknown to their men, detracted
+greatly from the chances of success, should momentary disaster or
+confusion occur.
+
+The blockade of Boston Harbor at this moment was conducted by Captain
+Philip Vere Broke of the "Shannon", a 38-gun frigate, which he had
+then commanded for seven years. His was one of those cases where
+singular merit as an officer, and an attention to duty altogether
+exceptional, had not yet obtained opportunity for distinction. It
+would probably be safe to say that no more thoroughly efficient ship
+of her class had been seen in the British navy during the twenty
+years' war with France, then drawing towards its close; but after
+Trafalgar Napoleon's policy, while steadily directed towards
+increasing the number of his ships, had more and more tended to
+husbanding them against a future occasion, which in the end never
+came. The result was a great diminution in naval combats. Hence, the
+outbreak of the American war, followed by three frigate actions in
+rapid succession, opened out a new prospect, which was none the less
+stimulative because of the British reverses suffered. Captain Broke
+was justly confident in his own leadership and in the efficiency of a
+ship's company, which, whatever individual changes it may have
+undergone, had retained its identity of organization through so many
+years of his personal and energetic supervision. He now reasonably
+hoped to demonstrate what could be done by officers and men so
+carefully trained. Captain Pechell of the "Santo Domingo," the
+flagship on the American station, wrote: "The 'Shannon's' men were
+better trained, and understood gunnery better, than any men I ever
+saw;" nevertheless, he added, "In the action with the 'Chesapeake' the
+guns were all laid by Captain Broke's directions, consequently the
+fire was all thrown in one horizontal line, not a shot going over the
+'Chesapeake.'"[134]
+
+The escape of the "President" and "Congress" early in May, while the
+"Shannon" and her consort, the "Tenedos," were temporarily off shore
+in consequence of easterly weather, put Broke still more upon his
+mettle; and, fearing a similar mishap with the "Chesapeake," he sent
+Lawrence a challenge.[135] It has been said, by both Americans and
+English, that this letter was a model of courtesy. Undoubtedly it was
+in all respects such as a gentleman might write; but the courtesy was
+that of the French duellist, nervously anxious lest he should misplace
+an accent in the name of the man whom he intended to force into fight,
+and to kill. It was provocative to the last degree, which, for the end
+in view, it was probably meant to be. In it Broke showed himself as
+adroit with his pen--the adroitness of Canning--as he was to prove
+himself in battle. Not to speak of other points of irritation, the
+underlining of the words, "even combat," involved an imputation, none
+the less stinging because founded in truth, upon the previous frigate
+actions, and upon Lawrence's own capture of the "Peacock." In guns,
+the "Chesapeake" and "Shannon" were practically of equal force; but in
+the engagement the American frigate carried fifty more men than her
+adversary. To an invitation couched as was Broke's Lawrence was doubly
+vulnerable, for only six months had elapsed since he himself had sent
+a challenge to the "Bonne Citoyenne." With his temperament he could
+scarcely have resisted the innuendo, had he received the letter; but
+this he did not. It passed him on the way out and was delivered to
+Bainbridge, by whom it was forwarded to the Navy Department.
+
+ [Illustration: CAPTAIN PHILIP BOWES VERE BROKE.
+ _From the mezzotint by Charles Turner after the painting by
+ Samuel Lane in the possession of Lady Saumarez._]
+
+Although Broke's letter did not reach him, Captain Lawrence made no
+attempt to get to sea without engagement. The "Shannon's" running
+close to Boston Light, showing her colors, and heaving-to in defiance,
+served the purpose of a challenge. Cooper, who was in full touch with
+the naval tradition of the time, has transmitted that Lawrence went
+into the action with great reluctance. This could have proceeded only
+from consciousness of defective organization, for the heroic temper of
+the man was notorious, and there is no hint of that mysterious
+presentiment so frequent in the annals of military services. The wind
+being fair from the westward, the "Chesapeake," which had unmoored at
+8 A.M., lifted her last anchor at noon, June 1, and made sail. The
+"Shannon," seeing at hand the combat she had provoked, stood out to
+sea until on the line between Cape Ann and Cape Cod, where she hove-to
+on the starboard tack, heading to the southeast. The "Chesapeake"
+followed under all sail until 5 P.M., when she took in her light
+canvas, sending the loftier--royal--yards on deck; and at 5.30 hauled
+up her courses, thus reducing herself to the fighting trim already
+assumed by her adversary. The "Shannon," which had been lying stopped
+for a long time, at this same moment filled her sails, to regain
+headway with which to manoeuvre, in case her opponent's action should
+require it; but, after gathering speed sufficient for this purpose,
+the British captain again slowed his ship, by so bracing the
+maintopsail that it was kept shaking in the wind. Its effect being
+thus lost, though readily recoverable, her forward movement depended
+upon the sails of the fore and mizzen masts (1). In this attitude, and
+steering southeast by the wind, she awaited her antagonist, who was
+running for her weather--starboard--quarter, and whose approach, thus
+seconded, became now very rapid. Broke made no further change in the
+ship's direction, leaving the choice of windward or leeward side to
+Lawrence, who took the former, discarding all tactical advantages, and
+preferring a simple artillery duel between the vessels.
+
+Just before she closed, the "Chesapeake" rounded-to, taking a parallel
+course, and backing the maintopsail (1) to reduce her speed to that of
+the enemy. Captain Lawrence in his eagerness had made the serious
+error of coming up under too great headway. At 5.50, as her bows
+doubled on the quarter of the "Shannon" (1), at the distance of fifty
+yards, the British ship opened fire, beginning with the after gun, and
+continuing thence forward, as each in succession bore upon the
+advancing American frigate. The latter replied after the second
+British discharge, and the combat at once became furious. The previous
+history of the two vessels makes it probable that the British gunnery
+was the better; but it is impossible, seeing the course the action
+finally took, so far to disentangle the effects of the fire while they
+were on equal terms of position, from the totals afterwards
+ascertained, as to say where the advantage, if any, lay during those
+few minutes. The testimony of the "Chesapeake's" second lieutenant,
+that his division--the forward one on the gun deck--fired three rounds
+before their guns ceased to bear, agrees with Broke's report that two
+or three broadsides were exchanged; and the time needed by
+well-drilled men to do this is well within, yet accords fairly with,
+James' statement, that from the first gun to the second stage in the
+action six minutes elapsed. During the first of this period the
+"Chesapeake" kept moving parallel at fifty yards distance, but gaining
+continually, threatening thus to pass wholly ahead, so that her guns
+would bear no longer. To prevent this Lawrence luffed closer to the
+wind to shake her sails, but in vain; the movement increased her
+distance, but she still ranged ahead, so that she finally reached much
+further than abreast of the enemy. To use the nautical expression, she
+was on the "Shannon's" weather bow (2). While this was happening her
+sailing master was killed and Lawrence wounded; these being the two
+officers chiefly concerned in the handling of the ship.
+
+ [Illustration: Diagram of the Chesapeake vs. Shannon Battle]
+
+Upon this supervened a concurrence of accidents, affecting her
+manageability, which initiated the second scene in the drama, and
+called for instantaneous action by the officers injured. The
+foretopsail tie being cut by the enemy's fire, the yard dropped,
+leaving the sail empty of wind; and at the same time were shot away
+the jib-sheet and the brails of the spanker. Although the latter,
+flying loose, tends to spread itself against the mizzen rigging, it
+probably added little to the effect of the after sails; but, the
+foresail not being set, the first two mishaps practically took all the
+forward canvas off the "Chesapeake." Under the combined impulses she,
+at 5.56, came up into the wind (3), lost her way, and, although her
+mainyard had been braced up, finally gathered sternboard; the upshot
+being that she lay paralyzed some seventy yards from the "Shannon" (3,
+4, 5), obliquely to the latter's course and slightly ahead of her. The
+British ship going, or steering, a little off (3), her guns bore fair
+upon the "Chesapeake," which, by her involuntarily coming into the
+wind,--to such an extent that Broke thought she was attempting to haul
+off, and himself hauled closer to the wind in consequence (4),--lost
+in great measure the power of reply, except by musketry. The British
+shot, entering the stern and quarter of her opponent, swept diagonally
+along the after parts of the spar and main decks, a half-raking fire.
+
+Under these conditions Lawrence and the first lieutenant were mortally
+wounded, the former falling by a musket-ball through his body; but he
+had already given orders to have the boarders called, seeing that the
+ship must drift foul of the enemy (5). The chaplain, who in the
+boarding behaved courageously, meeting Broke in person with a
+pistol-shot, and receiving a cutlass wound in return, was standing
+close by the captain at this instant. He afterwards testified that as
+Lawrence cried "Boarders away", the crews of the carronades ran
+forward; which corresponds to Broke's report that, seeing the enemy
+flinching from their guns, he then gave the order for boarding. This
+may have been, indeed, merely the instinctive impulse which drives
+disorganized men to seek escape from a fire which they cannot return;
+but if Cooper is correct in saying that it was the practice of that
+day to keep the boarders' weapons, not by their side, but on the
+quarter-deck or at the masts, it may also have been that this
+division, which had so far stuck to its guns while being raked, now,
+at the captain's call, ran from them to get the side-arms. At the
+Court of Inquiry it was in evidence that these men were unarmed; and
+one of them, a petty officer, stated that he had defended himself with
+the monkey tail of his gun. Whatever the cause, although there was
+fighting to prevent the "Chesapeake" from being lashed to the
+"Shannon", no combined resistance was offered abaft the mainmast.
+There the marines made a stand, but were overpowered and driven
+forward. The negro bugler of the ship, who should have echoed
+Lawrence's summons, was too frightened to sound a note, and the voices
+of the aids, who shouted the message to the gun deck, were imperfectly
+heard; but, above all, leaders were wanting. There was not on the
+upper deck an officer above the grade of midshipman; captain, first
+lieutenant, master, marine officer, and even the boatswain, had been
+mortally wounded before the ships touched. The second lieutenant was
+in charge of the first gun division, at the far end of the deck below,
+as yet ignorant how the fight was going, and that the fate of his
+superiors had put him in command. Of the remaining lieutenants, also
+stationed on the gun deck, the fourth had been mortally wounded by the
+first broadside; while the third, who had heard the shout for
+boarders, committed the indiscretion, ruinous to his professional
+reputation, of accompanying those who, at the moment the ships came
+together, were carrying below the wounded captain.
+
+ [Illustration: THE CAPTURE OF THE _CHESAPEAKE_ BY THE
+ _SHANNON_.--THE STRUGGLE ON THE QUARTERDECK.
+ _Drawn by Henry Reuterdahl._]
+
+Before the new commanding officer could get to the spar deck, the
+ships were in contact. According to the report of Captain Broke, the
+most competent surviving eye-witness, the mizzen channels of the
+"Chesapeake" locked in the fore-rigging of the "Shannon." "I went
+forward," he continues, "to ascertain her position, and observing that
+the enemy were flinching from their guns, I gave orders to prepare for
+boarding." When the "Chesapeake's" second lieutenant reached the
+forecastle, the British were in possession of the after part of the
+ship, and of the principal hatchways by which the boarders of the
+after divisions could come up. He directed the foresail set, to shoot
+the ship clear, to prevent thus a re-enforcement to the enemy already
+on board; and he rallied a few men, but was himself soon wounded and
+thrown below. In brief, the fall of their officers and the position of
+the ship, in irons and being raked, had thrown the crew into the
+confusion attendant upon all sudden disaster. From this state only the
+rallying cry of a well-known voice and example can rescue men. "The
+enemy," reported Broke, "made a desperate but disorderly resistance."
+The desperation of brave men is the temper which at times may retrieve
+such conditions, but it must be guided and fashioned by a master
+spirit into something better than disorder, if it is to be effective.
+Disorder at any stage of a battle is incipient defeat; supervening
+upon the enemy's gaining a commanding position it commonly means
+defeat consummated.
+
+Fifteen minutes elapsed from the discharge of the first gun of the
+"Shannon" to the "Chesapeake's" colors being hauled down. This was
+done by the enemy, her own crew having been driven forward. In that
+brief interval twenty-six British were killed and fifty-six wounded;
+of the Americans forty-eight were killed and ninety-nine wounded. In
+proportion to the number on board each ship when the action began, the
+"Shannon" lost in men 24 per cent; the "Chesapeake" 46 per cent, or
+practically double.
+
+Although a certain amount of national exultation or mortification
+attends victory or defeat in an international contest, from a yacht
+race to a frigate action, there is no question of national credit in
+the result where initial inequality is great, as in such combats as
+that of the "Chesapeake" and "Shannon," or the "Constitution" and
+"Guerrière." It is possible for an officer to command a ship for seven
+years, as Broke had, and fail to make of her the admirable pattern of
+all that a ship of war should be, which he accomplished with the
+"Shannon"; but no captain can in four weeks make a thoroughly
+efficient crew out of a crowd of men newly assembled, and never out of
+harbor together. The question at issue is not national, but personal;
+it is the credit of Captain Lawrence. That it was inexpedient to take
+the "Chesapeake" into action at all at that moment does not admit of
+dispute; though much allowance must be made for a gallant spirit,
+still in the early prime of life, and chafing under the thought that,
+should he get to sea by successful evasion, he would be open to the
+taunt, freely used by Broke,[136] of dodging, "eluding," an enemy only
+his equal in material force.
+
+Having, however, undertaken a risk which cannot be justified, was
+Captain Lawrence also reckless, and vainly confident, in his conduct
+before and during the action? Was he foolhardy, or only rash? The
+reply, if favorable, is due to one of the most gallant and attractive
+personalities in the annals of the United States Navy.
+
+ [Illustration: CAPTAIN JAMES LAWRENCE.
+ _From the painting by Gilbert Stuart in the possession of the New
+ Jersey Historical Society, Newark, N.J._]
+
+From his action it is evident that Lawrence clearly recognized that a
+green crew can be more quickly formed to efficiency at the battery
+than to that familiarity with the rigging and the sails, and that
+habit of working together about decks, on which manoeuvring power
+depends. He therefore chose an artillery duel, surrendering even the
+opportunity of raking permitted him by Broke, who awaited his approach
+without an attempt at molestation. How far was his expectation as to
+the results overstrained? The American crew lost double in proportion
+to their enemy; but it did not fail to inflict a very severe
+punishment, and it must be added under a very considerable
+disadvantage, which there has been a tendency recently to
+underestimate. The loss of the head sails, and all that followed, is
+part of the fortune of war; of that unforeseeable, which great leaders
+admit may derange even the surest calculations. It is not, therefore,
+to be complained of, but it is nevertheless to receive due account in
+the scales of praise and blame; for the man who will run no risks of
+accidents accomplishes nothing.
+
+In the preceding narrative, and in the following analysis, the account
+of the British naval writer James is in essentials adopted; chiefly
+because, of all historians having contemporary sources of information,
+he has been at most pains to insure precision.[137] As told by him,
+the engagement divides into three stages. First, the combat side to
+side; second, the period during which the "Chesapeake" lay in the wind
+being raked; third, the boarding and taking possession. To these James
+assigns, as times: for the first, six minutes; for the second, four;
+for the third, five; this last being again subdivisible into a space
+of two minutes, during which the "Chesapeake" was being lashed to her
+opponent, and the actual fighting on her decks, which Broke states did
+not exceed three.
+
+The brief and disorderly, though desperate, resistance to boarding
+proves that the "Chesapeake" was already beaten by the cannonade,
+which lasted, as above, ten minutes. During only six of these,
+accepting James' times, was she on equal gunnery terms. During four
+tenths--nearly one half--of the gunnery contest she was at a great
+disadvantage. The necessity of manoeuvring, which Lawrence tried to
+avoid, was forced upon him; and the ship's company, or her
+circumstances, proved unequal to meeting it. Nevertheless, though
+little more than half the time on equal terms of position with her
+opponent, half her own loss was inflicted upon him. How great her
+subsequent disadvantage is best stated in the words of James, whom no
+one will accuse of making points in favor of Americans. "At 5.56,
+having had her jib-sheet and foretopsail tie shot away, and her helm,
+probably from the death of the men stationed at it, being at the
+moment unattended to, the 'Chesapeake' came so sharp to the wind as
+completely to deaden her way." How extreme this deviation from her
+course is shown by the impression made on Broke. "As the manoeuvres of
+the 'Chesapeake' indicated an intention to haul away, Captain Broke
+ordered the helm to be put a-lee, as the 'Shannon' had fallen off a
+little." The "Chesapeake's" way being deadened, "the ship lay with
+her stern and quarter exposed to her opponent's broadside. The shot
+from the 'Shannon's' aftermost guns now took a diagonal direction
+_along_[138] the decks of the 'Chesapeake,' beating in her stern
+ports, and sweeping the men from their quarters. The shot from the
+'Shannon's' foremost guns, at the same time, entering the
+'Chesapeake's' ports from the mainmast aft, did considerable
+execution." This describes a semi-raking fire, which lasted four
+minutes, from 5.56 to 6 P.M., when the ships came together.
+
+The manner of collision and the injuries received bear out the above
+account. The quarter of the "Chesapeake" came against the side of the
+"Shannon," the angle at the moment, as represented in James' diagram,
+being such as to make it impossible that any of the "Chesapeake's"
+guns, save one or two of the after ones, could then bear; and as she
+was already paying off, they had been in worse position before. "She
+was severely battered in the hull, on the larboard quarter
+particularly; and several shot entered the stern windows.... Her three
+lower masts were badly wounded, the main and mizzen especially. The
+bowsprit received no injury." All these details show that the sum
+total of the "Shannon's" fire was directed most effectively upon the
+after part of the ship, in the manner described by James; and coupled
+with the fact that the British first broadside, always reckoned the
+most deadly, would naturally take effect chiefly on the fore part of
+the "Chesapeake," as she advanced from the "Shannon's" stern to her
+bow,[139] we are justified in the inference that the worst of her
+loss was suffered after accident had taken her movements out of
+Lawrence's instant control. Under these circumstances it may be
+claimed for him that the artillery duel, to which he sought to confine
+the battle, was not so entirely a desperate chance as has been
+inferred.
+
+It may therefore be said that, having resolved upon a risk which
+cannot be justified at the bar of dispassionate professional judgment,
+Captain Lawrence did not commit the further unpardonable error of not
+maturely weighing and judiciously choosing his course. That the crew
+was not organized and exercised at the guns, as far as his time and
+opportunity permitted, is disproved by incidental mention in the
+courts martial that followed, as well as by the execution done. Within
+ten minutes at the utmost, within six of equal terms, the
+"Chesapeake," an 18-pounder frigate, killed and wounded of the
+"Shannon's" ship's company as many as the "Constitution" with her 24's
+did of the "Guerrière's" in over twenty;[140] and the "Constitution"
+not only was a much heavier ship than her opponent, but had been six
+weeks almost continuously at sea. When her crew had been together four
+months longer, the loss inflicted by her upon the "Java," in a contest
+spread over two hours, did not greatly exceed in proportion that
+suffered by the "Shannon"; and the circumstances of that engagement,
+being largely manoeuvring, justified Lawrence's decision, under his
+circumstances, to have none of it. His reliance upon the marksmanship
+of his men is further vindicated by Broke's report that neither vessel
+suffered much aloft. The American and best British tradition of firing
+low was sustained by both ships. Finally, although the organization of
+the "Chesapeake" was not matured sufficiently to hold the people
+together, without leaders, after a tremendous punishment by the
+enemy's battery, and in the face of well-trained and rapidly supported
+boarders, it had so far progressed in cohesion that they did not
+flinch from their guns through a severe raking fire. What further
+shows this is that the boatswain of the "Shannon," lashing the ships
+together in preparation for boarding, was mortally wounded, not by
+musketry only but by sabre. When thus attacked he doubtless was
+supported by a body of fighters as well as a gang of workers. In fact,
+Broke was himself close by.
+
+Under thus much of preparation, certainly not sufficient, Lawrence
+chose for action a smooth sea, a royal breeze, an artillery duel, and
+a close range. "No manoeuvring, but downright fighting," as Nelson
+said of his most critical battle; critical, just because his
+opponents, though raw tyros compared to his own crews, had nothing to
+do but to work their guns. The American captain took the most
+promising method open to him for achieving success, and carried into
+the fight a ship's company which was not so untrained but that, had
+some luck favored him, instead of going the other way, there was a
+fighting chance of victory. More cannot be claimed for him. He had no
+right, under the conditions, voluntarily to seek the odds against him,
+established by Broke's seven years of faithful and skilful command.
+Except in material force, the "Chesapeake" was a ship much inferior to
+the "Shannon," as a regiment newly enlisted is to one that has seen
+service; and the moment things went seriously wrong she could not
+retrieve herself. This her captain must have known; and to the
+accusation of his country and his service that he brought upon them a
+mortification which endures to this day, the only reply is that he
+died "sword in hand." This covers the error of the dead, but cannot
+justify the example to the living.
+
+As is customary in such cases, a Court of Inquiry was ordered to
+investigate the defeat of the "Chesapeake," and sat from February 2 to
+February 8, 1814. Little can be gleaned from the evidence concerning
+the manoeuvring of the ship; the only two commissioned officers
+surviving, having been stationed on the gun deck, could not see what
+passed above. Incidental statements by midshipmen examined confirm
+substantially the account above given. One mentions the particular
+that, when the head sheets were shot away, "the bow of the 'Shannon'
+was abreast of the 'Chesapeake's' midships, and she came into the
+wind;" he adds that the mizzen-topsail was a-back, as well as the
+main. This is the only important contribution to the determination of
+the relative positions and handling of the vessels. As far as it goes,
+it confirms a general impression that Lawrence's eagerness prevented
+his making due allowance for the way of the "Chesapeake," causing him
+to overshoot his aim; an error of judgment, which the accidents to the
+headsails converted into irretrievable disaster. The general testimony
+agrees that the crew, though dissatisfied at non-receipt of pay and
+prize money, behaved well until the moment of boarding. Four
+witnesses, all officers, stated as of their own observation that the
+"Shannon" received several shot between wind and water, and used her
+pumps continuously on the way to Halifax. Budd, the second lieutenant,
+"was informed by an officer of the 'Shannon' that she was in a sinking
+condition." "The 'Chesapeake' was not injured below her quarters,
+except by one or two shot." "The 'Chesapeake' made no water; but the
+'Shannon' had hands at the pumps continually." A good deal of pumping
+in a ship seven years in commission did not necessarily indicate
+injuries in action; Midshipman Curtis, however, who was transferred to
+the "Shannon," testified that "the British officers were encouraging
+the men by cheering to work at the pumps," which looks more serious.
+The purser of the "Chesapeake" swore that she had shot plugs at the
+water-line, and that "her sailing master said she had three shot holes
+below." The repetition of remarks made by the "Shannon's" officers is
+of course only hearsay testimony; but as regards the shots below the
+water-line,--as distinguished from the general body of the ship,--this
+on the one hand shows that the "Shannon" had her share of bad luck,
+for in the smoke of the battle this result is not attributable to nice
+precision of aiming. On the other hand it strongly re-enforces the
+proof of the excellent marksmanship of the American frigate, deducible
+from the killed and wounded of her opponent, and it confirms the
+inference that her own disproportionate loss was at least partly due
+to the raking fire and her simultaneous disability to reply. Upon the
+whole, the conclusion to the writer is clear that, while Lawrence
+should not have courted action, the condition of the "Chesapeake" as a
+fighting ship was far better than has commonly been supposed. It may
+be added that an irresponsible contemporary statement, that his
+"orders were peremptory," is disproved by the Department's letter,
+which forms part of the Court's record. He was to "proceed to sea as
+soon as weather, and the force and position of the enemy, will admit."
+Even a successful action must be expected to compel return to port,
+preventing his proceeding; and there is an obvious difference between
+fighting an enemy when met, and going out especially to fight him. The
+orders were discretional.
+
+Whether, by paying attention to favoring conditions, Captain Lawrence
+could have repeated the success of Commodore Rodgers in gaining the
+sea a month before, must remain uncertain. The "Constitution," under
+Captain Stewart, a seaman of very excellent reputation, was unable to
+do so, until the winter gales made it impossible for the blockaders to
+maintain an uninterrupted watch off Boston. The sailing of the
+"President" and "Congress" was the last successful effort for many
+months; and the capture of the "Chesapeake" was the first of several
+incidents illustrating how complete was the iron-barring of the coast,
+against all but small vessels.
+
+Commodore Decatur, having found it impossible to get out from New York
+by the Sandy Hook route, undertook that by Long Island Sound. Passing
+through Hell Gate, May 24, with his little squadron,--the "United
+States," the "Macedonian," her late prize, and the sloop of war
+"Hornet,"--he was on the 26th off Fisher's Island, abreast of New
+London. Here he remained until June 1, obtaining various information
+concerning the enemy, but only certain that there was at least a ship
+of the line and a frigate in the neighborhood. On the last named day,
+that of the fight between the "Chesapeake" and the "Shannon," the wind
+serving, and the two enemy's vessels being far to the southwest of
+Montauk Point, at the east end of Long Island, the squadron put to sea
+together; but on approaching Block Island, which was close to their
+course, two more enemy's cruisers loomed up to the eastward. The
+hostile groups manoeuvred severally to get between the Americans and
+their ports of refuge, New London in the one quarter, Newport in the
+other. In plain sight of this overwhelming force Decatur feared the
+results of trying to slip out to sea, and therefore beat back to New
+London.[141] The enemy followed, and, having now this division
+securely housed, instituted a close blockade. It was apprehended even
+that they might endeavor to take it by main force, the defences of the
+place being weak; but, as is commonly the case, the dangers of an
+attack upon land batteries were sufficient to deter the ships from an
+attempt, the object of which could be attained with equal certainty by
+means less hazardous, if less immediate.
+
+The upshot was that the two frigates remained there blockaded to the
+end of the war; dependent for their safety, in Decatur's opinion,
+rather upon the difficulty of the channel than upon the strength of
+the fortifications. "Fort Trumbull, the only work here mounted or
+garrisoned, was in the most unprepared state, and only one or two
+cannon were to be had in the neighborhood for any temporary work which
+should be erected. I immediately directed all my exertions to
+strengthening the defences. Groton Heights has been hastily prepared
+for the reception of a few large guns, and they will be mounted
+immediately.... I think the place might be made impregnable; but the
+hostile force on our coast is so great that, were the enemy to exert a
+large portion of his means in an attack here, I do not feel certain he
+could be resisted successfully with the present defences."[142] On
+December 6 he reported that the squadron was moored across the channel
+and under Groton Heights, which had been fortified; while in the mouth
+of the harbor, three gunshots distant, was anchored a British
+division, consisting of one ship of the line, a frigate, and two
+smaller vessels. Two other ships of the line and several frigates were
+cruising in the open, between the east end of Long Island and Gay
+Head. This state of affairs lasted throughout the winter, during which
+the ships were kept in a state of expectancy, awaiting a possible
+opportunity; but, when the return of spring found the hope
+unfulfilled, it was plainly idle to look to the summer to afford what
+winter had denied. The frigates were lightened over a three-fathom
+bar, and thence, in April, 1814, removed up the Thames fourteen miles,
+as far as the depth of water would permit. Being there wholly out of
+reach of the enemy's heavy vessels, they were dismantled, and left to
+the protection of the shore batteries and the "Hornet," retained for
+that purpose. Decatur was transferred to the "President," then at New
+York, taking with him his ship's company; while the crew of the
+"Macedonian" was sent to the lakes. The enemy's vessels then off New
+London were three seventy-fours, four frigates, and three sloops.
+
+This accumulation of force, to watch Decatur's two frigates and the
+"President," which during October and November was lying at Bristol,
+Rhode Island, testified to the anxiety of the British Government to
+restrain or capture the larger American cruisers. Their individual
+power was such that it was unwilling to expose to attack by them the
+vessels, nominally of the same class, but actually much inferior,
+which were ranging all seas to protect British commerce. That this
+should suffer, and in some considerable degree, from the operations of
+well-developed privateering enterprise, pursued by a maritime people
+debarred from every other form of maritime activity, was to be
+expected, and must be endured; but the frigates carried with them the
+further menace, not indeed of serious injury to the colossal naval
+power of Great Britain, but of mortification for defeats, which,
+however reasonably to be accounted for by preponderance of force, are
+not patiently accepted by a nation accustomed to regard itself as
+invincible. There are few things more wearing than explaining adverse
+results; and the moral effect of so satisfactory a reply as the
+victory of the "Shannon" might well have weighed with an American
+captain, not to risk prestige already gained, by seeking action when
+conscious of deficient preparation. The clamor aroused in Great
+Britain by the three rapidly succeeding captures of the "Guerrière,"
+"Macedonian," and "Java," was ample justification of the American
+policy of securing superior force in single cruisers, throughout their
+several classes; a policy entirely consistent with all sound military
+principle. It should be remembered, however, that a cruiser is
+intended generally to act singly, and depends upon herself alone for
+that preponderance of strength which military effort usually seeks by
+concentration of numbers. The advantage of great individual power,
+therefore, does not apply so unqualifiedly to the components of
+fleets, the superiority of which depends upon the mutual support of
+its members, by efficient combination of movement, as well as upon
+their separate power.
+
+Both the Government and people of Great Britain expected with some
+confidence, from the large fleet placed under Sir John Warren, the
+utter destruction of the frigates and of the American navy generally.
+"We were in hopes, ere this," said a naval periodical in June, 1813,
+"to have announced the capture of the American navy; and, as our
+commander-in-chief on that station has sufficient force to effect so
+desirable an object, we trust, before another month elapses, to lay
+before our readers what we conceive ought long since to have
+happened."[143] The words of the Admiralty were more measured, as
+responsible utterances are prone to be; but their tenor was the same.
+Expressing to Warren disappointment with the results so far obtained,
+they added: "It is of the highest importance to the _character_ and
+interests of the country that the naval force of the enemy should be
+quickly and completely disposed of. Their Lordships therefore have
+thought themselves justified at this moment in withdrawing ships from
+other important services, for the purpose of placing under your
+command a force with which you cannot fail to bring the naval war to a
+termination, either by the capture of the American national vessels,
+or by strictly blockading them in their own waters."[144] This
+expectancy doubtless weighed with Broke; and probably also prompted a
+challenge sent to Decatur's squadron to meet two British frigates,
+under pledge of fair play, and of safe return if victorious. In the
+latter case they at least would be badly injured; so in either event
+the blockaders would be relieved of much of their burden.
+
+The presence of several American frigates, blockaded close to the
+point where Narragansett Bay and Long Island Sound meet, constituted a
+great inconvenience to all that region, by attracting thither so many
+enemy's cruisers. To a coasting trade--then so singularly
+important--projecting headlands, or capes, are the places of greatest
+exposure; in this resembling the danger entailed by salients in all
+military lines, in fortification or in the field. Traffic between New
+England and New York, general and local, had derived a further impetus
+from the fact that Newport, not being included in the commercial
+blockade, could still receive external supplies by neutral vessels.
+Intercourse depended largely on these waters; and it was to them a
+grave misfortune that there were no United States frigates left in New
+York to divert the enemy's attention. The vexations entailed were
+forcibly presented by the Governor of Connecticut.[145] "The British
+force stationed in our waters having occasioned great inquietude along
+the whole of our maritime frontier, every precaution consistent with
+due regard to the general safety has been adopted for its
+protection.... In our present state of preparedness, it is believed a
+descent upon our coast will not be attempted; a well-grounded hope is
+entertained that it will be attended with little success.
+Unfortunately, we have not the means of rendering our navigation
+equally secure. Serious depredations have been committed even in our
+harbors, and to such an extent that the usual communication through
+the Sound is almost wholly interrupted. Thus, while anxiously engaged
+in protecting our public ships [Decatur's], we are doomed to witness
+the unrestrained capture of our private vessels, and the consequent
+suspension of commercial pursuits." As "the disapprobation of the war
+by the people of Connecticut had been publicly declared through the
+proper organs shortly after hostilities commenced,"[146] it may be
+supposed the conditions described, accompanied by continual alarms
+withdrawing the militiaman from his shop or his harvest, to repel
+petty invasion, did not tend to conciliate opinion. An officer of the
+Connecticut militia wrote in December, "Our engagements with the enemy
+have become so frequent that it would be in vain to attempt a
+particular statement of each."[147]
+
+Similar conditions prevailed along the entire seaboard, from Maine to
+Georgia; being of course greatest where inland navigation with wide
+entrances, like Long Island Sound, had given particular development to
+the coasting trade, and at the same time afforded to pursuers
+particular immunity from ordinary dangers of the sea. Incidental
+confirmation of the closeness of the hostile pressure is afforded by
+Bainbridge's report of the brig "Siren's" arrival at Boston, June 11,
+1813, from New Orleans. "Although at sea between thirty and forty
+days, and great time along our blockaded coast, she did not see one
+enemy's cruiser."[148] The cause is evident. The Chesapeake and
+Delaware were blockaded from within. Ships watching New York and Long
+Island Sound would be far inside the course of one destined to Boston
+from the southward. From Hatteras to the Florida line the enemy's
+vessels, mostly of small class, kept in summer well inside the line
+from cape to cape, harassing even the water traffic behind the
+sea-islands; while at Boston, her port of arrival, the "Siren" was
+favored by Broke's procedure. In his eagerness to secure action with
+the "Chesapeake," he had detached his consort, the "Tenedos," with
+orders not to rejoin until June 14. Under cover of her absence, and
+the "Shannon's" return to Halifax with her prize, the "Siren" slipped
+into a harbor wholly relieved of the enemy's presence. With such
+conditions, a voyage along the coast could well be outside the British
+line of cruising.
+
+Owing to the difficulty of the New York entrance, except with good
+pilotage, and to the absence thence of ships of war after Decatur's
+departure, that port ceased to present any features of naval activity;
+except as connected with the lake squadrons, which depended upon it
+for supplies of all kinds. The blockade of the Sound affected its
+domestic trade; and after May its external commerce shared the
+inconveniences of the commercial blockade, then applied to it, and
+made at least technically effective. What this pressure in the end
+became is shown by a casual mention a year later, under the heading
+"progress of luxury. A private stock of wine brought the average
+'extraordinary' price of twenty-five dollars the gallon; while at the
+same period one auction lot of prize goods, comprising three decanters
+and twelve tumblers, sold for one hundred and twelve dollars."[149]
+The arrival in August, 1813, of a vessel in distress, which, like the
+"Siren," had passed along the whole Southern coast without seeing a
+hostile cruiser, would seem to show some lapse of watchfulness; but,
+although there were the occasional evasions which attend all
+blockades, the general fact of neutrals turned away was established. A
+flotilla of a dozen gunboats was kept in commission in the bay, but
+under an officer not of the regular navy. As might readily have been
+foreseen from conditions, and from experience elsewhere, the national
+gunboat experiment had abundantly shown that vessels of that class
+were not only excessively costly in expenditure, and lamentably
+inefficient in results, as compared with seagoing cruisers, but were
+also deleterious to the professional character of officers and
+seamen. Two years before the war Captain Campbell, then in command
+both at Charleston and Savannah, had commented on the unofficer-like
+neglect noticeable in the gunboats, and Gordon now reported the same
+effect upon the crew of the "Constellation," while thus detached for
+harbor defence.[150] The Secretary of the Navy, affirming the general
+observation, remarked that officers having knowledge of their business
+were averse to gunboat duty, while those who had it yet to acquire
+were unwilling, because there it could not be learned. "It is a
+service in which those who are to form the officers for the ships of
+war ought not to be employed."[151] He therefore had recommended the
+commissioning of volunteer officers for this work. This local New York
+harbor guard at times convoyed coasters in the Sound, and at times
+interfered, both in that quarter and off Sandy Hook, to prevent small
+cruisers or boats of the enemy from effecting seizures of vessels,
+close in shore or run on the beach. Such military action possesses a
+certain minor value, diminishing in some measure the grand total of
+loss; but it is not capable of modifying seriously the broad results
+of a strong commercial blockade.
+
+The Delaware and the Chesapeake--the latter particularly--became the
+principal scenes of active operations by the British navy. Here in the
+early part of the summer there seems to have been a formed determination
+on the part of Sir John Warren to satisfy his Government and people by
+evidence of military exertion in various quarters. Rear Admiral George
+Cockburn, an officer of distinction and energy, had been ordered at the
+end of 1812 from the Cadiz station, with four ships of the line and
+several smaller cruisers, to re-enforce Warren. This strong detachment,
+a token at once of the relaxing demand upon the British navy in Europe,
+and of the increasing purpose of the British Government towards the
+United States, joined the commander-in-chief at Bermuda, and accompanied
+him to the Chesapeake in March. Cockburn became second in command. Early
+in April the fleet began moving up the bay; an opening incident, already
+mentioned,[152] being the successful attack by its boats upon several
+letters-of-marque and privateers in the Rappahannock upon the 3d of the
+month. Some of the schooners there captured were converted into tenders,
+useful for penetrating the numerous waterways which intersected the
+country in every direction.
+
+The fleet, comprising several ships of the line, besides numerous
+smaller vessels, continued slowly upwards, taking time to land parties
+in many quarters, keeping the country in perpetual alarm. The
+multiplicity and diverseness of its operations, the particular object
+of which could at no moment be foreseen, made it impossible to combine
+resistance. The harassment was necessarily extreme, and the sustained
+suspense wearing; for, with reports continually arriving, now from one
+shore and now from the other, each neighborhood thought itself the
+next to be attacked. Defence depended wholly upon militia, hastily
+assembled, with whom local considerations are necessarily predominant.
+But while thus spreading consternation on either side, diverting
+attention from his main objective, the purpose of the British admiral
+was clear to his own mind. It was "to cut off the enemy's supplies,
+and destroy their foundries, stores, and public works, by penetrating
+the rivers at the head of the Chesapeake."
+
+ [Illustration: OUTLINE MAP OF CHESAPEAKE BAY AND RIVERS]
+
+On April 16 an advanced division arrived off the mouth of the
+Patapsco, a dozen miles from Baltimore. There others successively
+joined, until the whole force was reported on the 22d to be three
+seventy-fours, with several frigates and smaller vessels, making a
+total of fifteen. The body of the fleet remained stationary, causing
+the city a strong anticipation of attack; an impression conducing to
+retain there troops which, under a reasonable reliance upon adequate
+fortifications, might have been transferred to the probable scene of
+operations, sufficiently indicated by its intrinsic importance. Warren
+now constituted a light squadron of two frigates, with a half-dozen
+smaller vessels, including some of those recently captured. These he
+placed in charge of Cockburn and despatched to the head of the bay. In
+addition to the usual crews there went about four hundred of the naval
+brigade, consisting of marines and seamen in nearly equal numbers.
+This, with a handful of army artillerists, was the entire force. With
+these Cockburn went first up the Elk River, where Washington thirty
+years before had taken shipping on his way to the siege of Yorktown.
+At Frenchtown, notwithstanding a six-gun battery lately erected, a
+landing was effected on April 29, and a quantity of flour and army
+equipments were destroyed, together with five bay schooners. Many
+cattle were likewise seized; Cockburn, in this and other instances,
+offering to pay in British government bills, provided no resistance
+was attempted in the neighborhood. From Frenchtown he went round to
+the Susquehanna, to obtain more cattle from an island, just below
+Havre de Grace; but being there confronted on May 2 by an American
+flag, hoisted over a battery at the town, he proceeded to attack the
+following day. A nominal resistance was made; but as the British loss,
+here and at Frenchtown, was one wounded on each occasion, no great
+cause for pride was left with the defenders. Holding the inhabitants
+responsible for the opposition in their neighborhood, he determined to
+punish the town. Some houses were burned. The guns of the battery were
+then embarked; and during this process Cockburn himself, with a small
+party, marched three or four miles north of the place to a cannon
+foundry, where he destroyed the guns and material found, together with
+the buildings and machinery.
+
+"Our small division," he reported to Warren, "has been during the
+whole of this day on shore, in the centre of the enemy's country, and
+on his high road between Baltimore and Philadelphia." The feat
+testified rather to the military imbecility of the United States
+Government during the last decade than to any signal valor or
+enterprise on the part of the invaders. Enough and to spare of both
+there doubtless was among them; for the expedition was of a kind
+continuously familiar to the British navy during the past twenty
+years, under far greater difficulty, in many parts of the world.
+Seeing the trifling force engaged, the mortification to Americans must
+be that no greater demand was made upon it for the display of its
+military virtues. Besides the destruction already mentioned, a
+division of boats went up the Susquehanna, destroyed five vessels and
+more flour; after which, "everything being completed to my utmost
+wishes, the division embarked and returned to the ships, after being
+twenty-two hours in constant exertion." From thence Cockburn went
+round to the Sassafras River, where a similar series of small injuries
+was inflicted, and two villages, Georgetown and Frederickstown, were
+destroyed, in consequence of local resistance offered, by which five
+British were wounded. Assurance coming from several quarters that no
+further armed opposition would be made, and as there was "now neither
+public property, vessels, nor warlike stores remaining in the
+neighborhood," the expedition returned down the bay, May 7, and
+regained the fleet.[153]
+
+The history of the Delaware and its waters during this period was
+very much the same as that of the Chesapeake; except that, the water
+system of the lower bay being less extensive and practicable, and the
+river above narrower, there was not the scope for general marauding,
+nor the facility for systematic destruction, which constituted the
+peculiar exposure of the Chesapeake and gave Cockburn his opportunity.
+Neither was there the same shelter from the sweep of the ocean, nor
+any naval establishment to draw attention. For these reasons, the
+Chesapeake naturally attracted much more active operations; and
+Virginia, which formed so large a part of its coast-line, was the home
+of the President. She was also the leading member of the group of
+states which, in the internal contests of American politics, was
+generally thought to represent hatred to Great Britain and attachment
+to France. In both bays the American Government maintained flotillas
+of gunboats and small schooners, together with--in the Delaware at
+least--a certain number of great rowing barges, or galleys; but,
+although creditable energy was displayed, it is impossible to detect
+that, even in waters which might be thought suited to their particular
+qualities, these small craft exerted any substantial influence upon
+the movements of the enemy. Their principal effect appears to have
+been to excite among the inhabitants a certain amount of unreasonable
+expectation, followed inevitably by similar unreasoning complaint.
+
+It is probable, however, that they to some extent restricted the
+movements of small foraging parties beyond the near range of their
+ships; and they served also the purpose of watching and reporting the
+dispositions of the British fleet. When it returned downwards from
+Cockburn's expedition, it was followed by a division of these schooners
+and gunboats, under Captain Charles Gordon of the navy, who remained
+cruising for nearly a month below the Potomac, constantly sighting the
+enemy, but without an opportunity offering for a blow to be struck
+under conditions favorable to either party. "The position taken by the
+enemy's ships," reported Gordon, "together with the constant protection
+given their small cruisers, particularly in the night, rendered any
+offensive operations on our part impracticable."[154] In the Delaware,
+a British corvette, running upon a shoal with a falling tide, was
+attacked in this situation by a division of ten gunboats which was at
+hand. Such conditions were unusually favorable to them, and, though a
+frigate was within plain sight, she could not get within range on
+account of the shoalness of water; yet the two hours' action which
+followed did no serious injury to the grounded ship. Meantime one of
+the gunboats drifted from its position, and was swept by the tide out
+of supporting distance from its fellows. The frigate and sloop then
+manned boats, seven in number, pulled towards her, and despite a plucky
+resistance carried her; their largely superior numbers easily climbing
+on board her low-lying deck. Although the record of gunboats in all
+parts of the world is mostly unfruitful, some surprise cannot but be
+felt at the immunity experienced by a vessel aground under such
+circumstances.[155]
+
+On May 13 Captain Stewart of the "Constellation" reported from Norfolk
+that the enemy's fleet had returned down the bay; fifteen sail being
+at anchor in a line stretching from Cape Henry to near Hampton Roads.
+Little had yet been done by the authorities to remedy the defenceless
+condition of the port, which he had deplored in his letter of March
+17; and he apprehended a speedy attack either upon Hampton, on the
+north shore of the James River, important as commanding communications
+between Norfolk and the country above, or upon Craney Island,
+covering the entrance to the Elizabeth River, through the narrow
+channel of which the navy yard must be approached. There was a party
+now at work throwing up a battery on the island, on which five hundred
+troops were stationed, but he feared these preparations were begun too
+late. He had assigned seven gunboats to assist the defence. It was
+clear to his mind that, if Norfolk was their object, active operations
+would begin at one of these approaches, and not immediately about the
+place itself. Meanwhile, he would await developments, and postpone his
+departure to Boston, whither he had been ordered to command the
+"Constitution."
+
+Much to Stewart's surprise, considering the force of the enemy, which
+he, as a seaman, could estimate accurately and compare with what he
+knew to be the conditions confronting them, most of the British fleet
+soon after put to sea with the commander-in-chief, leaving Cockburn
+with one seventy-four and four frigates to hold the bay. This apparent
+abandonment, or at best concession of further time to Craney Island,
+aroused in him contempt as well as wonder. He had commented a month
+before on their extremely circumspect management; "they act
+cautiously, and never separate so far from one another that they
+cannot in the course of a few hours give to each other support, by
+dropping down or running up, as the wind or tide serve."[156] Such
+precaution, however, was not out of place when confronted with the
+presence of gunboats capable of utilizing calms and local conditions.
+To avoid exposure to useless injury is not to pass the bounds of
+military prudence. It was another matter to have brought so large a
+force, and to depart with no greater results than those of Frenchtown
+and Havre de Grace. "They do not appear disposed to put anything to
+risk, or to make an attack where they are likely to meet with
+opposition. Their conduct while in these waters has been highly
+disgraceful to their arms, and evinces the respect and dread they have
+for their opponents."[157] He added a circumstance which throws
+further light upon the well-known discontent of the British crews and
+their deterioration in quality, under a prolonged war and the
+confinement attending the impressment system. "Their loss in prisoners
+and deserters has been very considerable; the latter are coming up to
+Norfolk almost daily, and their naked bodies are frequently fished up
+on the bay shore, where they must have been drowned in attempting to
+swim. They all give the same account of the dissatisfaction of their
+crews, and their detestation of the service they are engaged in."[158]
+Deserters, however, usually have tales acceptable to those to whom
+they come.
+
+Whether Warren was judicious in postponing attack may be doubted, but
+he had not lost sight of the Admiralty's hint about American frigates.
+There were just two in the waters of the Chesapeake; the
+"Constellation," 36, at Norfolk, and the "Adams," 24, Captain Charles
+Morris, in the Potomac. The British admiral had been notified that a
+division of troops would be sent to Bermuda, to be under his command
+for operations on shore, and he was now gone to fetch them. Early in
+June he returned, bringing these soldiers, two thousand six hundred
+and fifty in number.[159] From his Gazette letters he evidently had in
+view the capture of Norfolk with the "Constellation"; for when he
+designates Hampton and Craney Island as points of attack, it is
+because of their relations to Norfolk.[160] This justified the
+forecast of Stewart, who had now departed; the command of the
+"Constellation" devolving soon after upon Captain Gordon. In
+connection with the military detachment intrusted to Warren, the
+Admiralty, while declining to give particular directions as to its
+employment, wrote him: "Against a maritime country like America, the
+chief towns and establishments of which are situated upon navigable
+rivers, a force of the kind under your orders must necessarily be
+peculiarly formidable.... In the choice of objects of attack, it will
+naturally occur to you that on every account any attempt which should
+have the effect of crippling the enemy's naval force should have a
+preference."[161] Except for the accidental presence of Decatur's
+frigates in New London, as yet scarcely known to the British
+commander-in-chief, Norfolk, more than any other place, met this
+prescription of his Government. His next movements, therefore, may be
+considered as resulting directly from his instructions.
+
+The first occurrence was a somewhat prolonged engagement between a
+division of fifteen gunboats and the frigate "Junon," which, having
+been sent to destroy vessels at the mouth of the James River, was
+caught becalmed and alone in the upper part of Hampton Roads; no other
+British vessel being nearer than three miles. The cannonade continued
+for three quarters of an hour, when a breeze springing up brought two
+of her consorts to the "Junon's" aid. The gunboats, incapable of close
+action with a single frigate in a working breeze, necessarily now
+retreated. They had suffered but slightly, one killed and two wounded;
+but retired with the confidence, always found in the accounts of such
+affairs, that they had inflicted great damage upon the enemy. The
+commander of a United States revenue cutter, lately captured, who was
+on board the frigate at the time, brought back word subsequently that
+she had lost one man killed and two or three wounded.[162] The British
+official reports do not allude to the affair. As regards positive
+results, however, it may be affirmed with considerable assurance that
+the military value of gunboats in their day, as a measure of coast
+defence, was not what they effected, but the caution imposed upon the
+enemy by the apprehension of what they might effect, did this or that
+combination of circumstances occur. That the circumstances actually
+almost never arose detracted little from this moral influence. The
+making to one's self a picture of possible consequences is a powerful
+factor in most military operations; and the gunboat is not without its
+representative to-day in the sphere of imaginative warfare.
+
+The "Junon" business was a casual episode. Warren was already
+preparing for his attack on Craney Island. This little strip of
+ground, a half-mile long by two hundred yards across, lies within easy
+gunshot to the west of the Elizabeth River, a narrow channel-way,
+three hundred yards from edge to edge, which from Hampton Roads leads
+due south, through extensive flats, to Norfolk and Portsmouth. The
+navy yard is four miles above the island, on the west side of the
+river, the banks of which there have risen above the water. Up to and
+beyond Craney Island the river-bed proper, though fairly clear, is
+submerged and hidden amid the surrounding expanse of shoal water. Good
+pilotage, therefore, is necessary, and incidental thereto the
+reduction beforehand of an enemy's positions commanding the approach.
+Of these Craney Island was the first. From it the flats which
+constitute the under-water banks of the Elizabeth extend north towards
+Hampton Roads, for a distance of two miles, and are not traversable by
+vessels powerful enough to act against batteries. For nearly half a
+mile the depth is less than four feet, while the sand immediately
+round the island was bare when the tide was out.[163] Attack here was
+possible only by boats armed with light cannon and carrying troops. On
+the west the island was separated from the mainland by a narrow strip
+of water, fordable by infantry at low tide. It was therefore
+determined to make a double assault,--one on the north, by fifteen
+boats, carrying, besides their crews, five hundred soldiers; the other
+on the west, by a division eight hundred strong,[164] to be landed
+four miles away, at the mouth of the Nansemond River. The garrison of
+the island numbered five hundred and eighty, and one hundred and fifty
+seamen were landed from the "Constellation" to man one of the
+principal batteries.
+
+The British plan labored under the difficulty that opposite conditions
+of tide were desirable for the two parties which were to act in
+concert. The front attack demanded high water, in order that under the
+impulse of the oars the boats might get as near as possible before
+they took the ground, whence the advance to the assault must be by
+wading. The flanking movement required low water, to facilitate
+passing the ford. Between the two, the hour was fixed for an ebbing
+tide, probably to allow for delays, and to assure the arrival of the
+infantry so as to profit by the least depth. At 11 A.M. of June 22 the
+boat division arrived off the northwest point of the island, opposite
+the battery manned by the seamen, in that day notoriously among the
+best of artillerists. A difference of opinion as to the propriety of
+advancing at all here showed itself among the senior naval officers;
+for there will always be among seamen a dislike to operating over
+unknown ground with a falling tide. The captain in command, however,
+overruled hesitations; doubtless feeling that in a combined movement
+the particular interest of one division must yield to the
+requirements of mutual support. A spirited forward dash was therefore
+made; but the guiding boat, sixty yards ahead of the others, grounded
+a hundred yards from the battery. One or two others, disregarding her
+signal, shared her mishap; and two were sunk by the American fire.
+Under these circumstances a seaman, sounding with a boat hook,
+declared that he found along side three or four feet of slimy mud.
+This was considered decisive, and the attack was abandoned.
+
+The shore division had already retreated, having encountered
+obstacles, the precise character of which is not stated. Warren's
+report simply said, "In consequence of the representation of the
+officer commanding the troops, of the difficulty of their passing over
+from the land, I considered that the persevering in the attempt would
+cost more men than the number with us would permit, as the other forts
+must have been stormed before the frigate and dockyard could be
+destroyed." The enterprise was therefore abandoned at the threshold,
+because of probable ulterior difficulties, the degree of which it
+would require to-day unprofitable labor even to conjecture; but
+reduced as the affair in its upshot was to an abortive demonstration,
+followed by no serious effort, it probably was not reckoned at home to
+have fulfilled the Admiralty's injunctions, that the character as well
+as the interest of the country required certain results. The loss was
+trifling,--three killed, sixteen wounded, sixty-two missing.[165]
+
+Having relinquished his purpose against Craney Island, and with it,
+apparently, all serious thought of the navy yard and the
+"Constellation", Warren next turned his attention to Hampton. On the
+early morning of June 26 two thousand troops were landed to take
+possession of the place, which they did with slight resistance. Three
+stand of colors were captured and seven field guns, with their
+equipment and ammunition. The defences of the town were destroyed; but
+as no further use was made of the advantage gained, the affair
+amounted to nothing more than an illustration on a larger scale of the
+guerilla depredation carried on on all sides of the Chesapeake. With
+it ended Warren's attempts against Norfolk. His force may have been
+really inadequate to more; certainly it was far smaller than was
+despatched to the same quarter the following year; but the Admiralty
+probably was satisfied by this time that he had not the enterprise
+necessary for his position, and a successor was appointed during the
+following winter.
+
+For two months longer the British fleet as a whole remained in the
+bay, engaged in desultory operations, which had at least the effect of
+greatly increasing their local knowledge, and in so far facilitating
+the more serious undertakings of the next season. The Chesapeake was
+not so much blockaded as occupied. On June 29 Captain Cassin of the
+navy yard reported that six sail of the line, with four frigates, were
+at the mouth of the Elizabeth, and that the day before a squadron of
+thirteen--frigates, brigs, and schooners--had gone ten miles up the
+James, causing the inhabitants of Smithfield and the surroundings to
+fly from their homes, terrified by the transactions at Hampton. The
+lighter vessels continued some distance farther towards Richmond. A
+renewal of the attack was naturally expected; but on July 11 the fleet
+quitted Hampton Roads, and again ascended the Chesapeake, leaving a
+division of ten sail in Lynnhaven Bay, under Cape Henry. Two days
+later the main body entered the Potomac, in which, as has before been
+mentioned, was the frigate "Adams"; but she lay above the Narrows, out
+of reach of such efforts as Warren was willing to risk. He went as
+high as Blakiston Island, twenty-five to thirty miles from the river's
+mouth, and from there Cockburn, with a couple of frigates and two
+smaller vessels, tried to get beyond the Kettle Bottom Shoals, an
+intricate bit of navigation ten miles higher up, but still below the
+Narrows.[166] Two of his detachment, however, took the ground; and the
+enterprise of approaching Washington by this route was for that time
+abandoned. A year afterwards it was accomplished by Captain Gordon, of
+the British Navy, who carried two frigates and a division of bomb
+vessels as far as Alexandria.
+
+Two United States gunboats, "The Scorpion" and "Asp", lying in
+Yeocomico River, a shallow tributary of the Potomac ten miles from the
+Chesapeake, were surprised there July 14 by the entrance of the enemy.
+Getting under way hastily, the "Scorpion" succeeded in reaching the
+main stream and retreating up it; but the "Asp", being a bad sailer,
+and the wind contrary, had to go back. She was pursued by boats; and
+although an attack by three was beaten off, she was subsequently
+carried when they were re-enforced to five. Her commander, Midshipman
+Sigourney, was killed, and of the twenty-one in her crew nine were
+either killed or wounded. The assailants were considerably superior in
+numbers, as they need to be in such undertakings. They lost eight.
+This was the second United States vessel thus captured in the
+Chesapeake this year; the revenue cutter "Surveyor" having been taken
+in York River, by the boats of the frigate "Narcissus", on the night
+of June 12. In the latter instance, the sword of the commander, who
+survived, was returned to him the next day by the captor, with a
+letter testifying "an admiration on the part of your opponents, such
+as I have seldom witnessed, for your gallant and desperate attempt to
+defend your vessel against more than double your numbers."[167]
+Trivial in themselves as these affairs were, it is satisfactory to
+notice that in both the honor of the flag was upheld with a spirit
+which is worth even more than victory. Sigourney had before received
+the commendation of Captain Morris, no mean judge of an officer's
+merits.
+
+The British fleet left the Potomac July 21, and went on up the bay,
+spreading alarm on every side. Morris, with a body of seamen and
+marines, was ordered from the "Adams" to Annapolis, the capital of
+Maryland, on the River Severn, to command the defences. These he
+reported, on August 13, to be in the "miserable condition"
+characteristic of all the national preparations to meet hostilities.
+With a view to entering, the enemy was sounding the bar, an operation
+which frequently must be carried on beyond protection by ships' guns;
+"but we have no floating force to molest them." The bulk of the fleet
+was above the Severn, as were both admirals, and Morris found their
+movements "contradictory, as usual."[168] As many as twenty sail had
+at one time been visible from the state-house dome in the city. On
+August 8, fifteen, three of which were seventy-fours, were counted
+from North Point, at the mouth of the Patapsco, on which Baltimore
+lies. Kent Island, on the eastern shore of the bay abreast Annapolis,
+was taken possession of, and occupied for some days. At the same
+period attacks were reported in other quarters on that side of the
+Chesapeake, as elsewhere in the extensive basin penetrated by its
+tributaries. The prosecution of these various enterprises was attended
+with the usual amount of scuffling encounter, which associates itself
+naturally with coastwise warfare of a guerilla character. The fortune
+of war inclined now to one side, now to the other, in the particular
+cases; but in the general there could be no doubt as to which party
+was getting the worst, undergoing besides almost all the suffering and
+quite all the harassment. This is the necessary penalty of the
+defensive, when inadequate.
+
+Throughout most of this summer of conflict there went on, singularly
+enough, a certain amount of trade by licensed vessels, neutral and
+American, which passed down Chesapeake Bay and went to sea. Doubtless
+the aggregate amount of traffic thus maintained was inconsiderable, as
+compared with normal conditions, but its allowance by either party to
+the war is noticeable,--by the British, because of the blockade
+declared by them; by the Americans, because of the evident
+inexpediency of permitting to depart vessels having full knowledge of
+conditions, and almost certain to be boarded by the enemy. Sailing
+from blockaded ports is of course promoted in most instances by the
+nation blockaded, for it is in support of trade; and with the sea
+close at hand, although there is risk, there is also chance of safe
+passage through a belt of danger, relatively narrow and entered at
+will. The case is quite different where a hazardous navigation of
+sixty to a hundred miles, increasing in intricacy at its further end,
+and lined throughout with enemy's cruisers, interposes before the sea
+is reached. The difficulty here is demonstrated by the fact that the
+"Adams," a ship by no means large or exceptionally fettered by
+navigational difficulties, under a young captain burning to exercise
+his first command in war, waited four months, even after the bulk of
+the enemy's fleet had gone, before she was able to get through; and
+finally did so only under such conditions of weather as caused her to
+miss her way and strike bottom.
+
+The motive of the British for collusion is clear. The Chesapeake was
+the heart of the wheat and flour production of the United States, and
+while some provision had been made for meeting the wants of the West
+Indies, and of the armies in Canada and Spain, by refraining from
+commercial blockade of Boston and other eastern ports, these
+necessary food supplies reached those places only after an expensive
+transport which materially increased their price; the more as they
+were carried by land to the point of exportation, it not suiting the
+British policy to connive at coasting trade even for that purpose. A
+neutral or licensed vessel, sailing from the Chesapeake with flour for
+a port friendly to the United States, could be seized under cover of
+the commercial blockade, which she was violating, sent to Halifax, and
+condemned for her technical offence. The cargo then was available for
+transport whither required, the whole transaction being covered by a
+veil of legality; but it is plain that the risks to a merchant, in
+attempting _bonâ fide_ to run a blockade like that of Chesapeake Bay,
+exceeded too far any probable gain to have been undertaken without
+some assurance of compensation, which did not appear on the surface.
+
+Taken in connection with intelligence obtained by this means, the
+British motive is apparent; but why did the United States
+administration tolerate procedures which betrayed its counsels, and
+directly helped to sustain the enemy's war? Something perhaps is due
+to executive weakness in a government constituted by popular vote;
+more, probably, at least during the period when immediate military
+danger did not threaten, to a wish to frustrate the particular
+advantage reaped by New England, through its exemption from the
+restrictions of the commercial blockade. When breadstuffs were pouring
+out of the country through the coast-line of a section which gloried
+in its opposition to the war,[169] and lost no opportunity to renew
+the declaration of its disapproval and its criticism of the
+Government, it was at least natural, perhaps even expedient, to wink
+at proceedings which transferred elsewhere some of the profits, and
+did not materially increase the advantage of the enemy. But
+circumstances became very different when a fleet appeared in the bay,
+the numbers and action of which showed a determination to carry
+hostile operations wherever conditions permitted. Then, betrayal of
+such conditions by passing vessels became an unbearable evil; and at
+the same time the Administration had forced upon its attention the
+unpleasant but notorious fact that, by the active complicity of many
+of its own citizens, not only the flour trade continued, but the wants
+of the blockading squadrons along the coast were being supplied.
+Neutrals, real or pretended, and coasting vessels, assuming a lawful
+destination, took on board cattle, fresh vegetables, and other stores
+acceptable to ships confined to salt provisions, and either went
+direct to enemy's ports or were captured by collusion. News was
+received of contracts made by the British admiral at Bermuda for fresh
+beef to be supplied from American ports, by American dealers, in
+American vessels; while Halifax teemed with similar transactions,
+without serious attempt at concealment.
+
+Such aid and comfort to an enemy is by no means unexampled in the
+history of war, particularly where one of the belligerents is shrewdly
+commercial; but it is scarcely too much to say that it attained
+unusual proportions at this time in the United States, and was
+countenanced by a public opinion which was more than tolerant,
+particularly in New England, where the attitude of the majority
+towards the Government approached hostility. As a manifestation of
+contemporary national character, of unwillingness to subordinate
+personal gain to public welfare, to loyalty to country, it was
+pitiable and shameful, particularly as it affected large communities;
+but its instructive significance at this time is the evidence it
+gives that forty years of confederation, nearly twenty-five being of
+the closer union under the present Constitution, had not yet welded
+the people into a whole, or created a consciousness truly national.
+The capacity for patriotism was there, and readiness to suffer for
+patriotic cause had been demonstrated by the War of Independence; but
+the mass of Americans had not yet risen sufficiently above local
+traditions and interests to discern clearly the noble ideal of
+national unity, and vagueness of apprehension resulted inevitably in
+lukewarmness of sentiment. This condition goes far to palliate actions
+which it cannot excuse; the reproach of helping the enemies of one's
+country is somewhat less when the nation itself has scarcely emerged
+to recognition, as it afterwards did under the inspiring watchword,
+"The Union."
+
+The necessity to control these conditions of clandestine intercourse
+found official expression in a message of the President to Congress,
+July 20, 1813,[170] recommending "an immediate and effectual
+prohibition of all exports" for a limited time; subject to removal by
+executive order, in case the commercial blockade were raised. A
+summary of the conditions above related was given, as a cause for
+action. The President's further comment revealed the continuity of
+thought and policy which dictated his recommendation, and connected
+the proposed measure with the old series of commercial restrictions,
+associated with his occupancy of the State Department under
+Jefferson's administration. "The system of the enemy, combining with
+the blockade of our ports special licenses to neutral vessels, and
+insidious discrimination between different ports of the United States,
+if not counteracted, will have the effect of diminishing very
+materially the pressure of the war on the enemy, and encourage
+perseverance in it, and at the same time will leave the general
+commerce of the United States under all the pressure the enemy can
+impose, thus subjecting the whole to British regulation, in
+subserviency to British monopoly."
+
+The House passed a bill meeting the President's suggestions, but it
+was rejected by the Senate on July 28. The Executive then fell back on
+its own war powers; and on July 29 the Secretary of the Navy, by
+direction of the President, issued a general order to all naval
+officers in command, calling attention to "the palpable and criminal
+intercourse held with the enemy's forces blockading and invading the
+waters of the United States." "This intercourse," he explicitly added,
+"is not only carried on by foreigners, under the specious garb of
+friendly flags, who convey provisions, water, and succors of all kinds
+(ostensibly destined for friendly ports, in the face, too, of a
+declared and rigorous blockade),[171] direct to the fleets and
+stations of the enemy, with constant intelligence of our naval and
+military force and preparation, ... but the same traffic, intercourse,
+and intelligence is carried on with great subtlety and treachery by
+profligate citizens, who, in vessels ostensibly navigating our own
+waters, from port to port [coasters], find means to convey succors or
+intelligence to the enemy, and elude the penalty of law."[172]
+Officers were therefore instructed to arrest all vessels, the
+movements or situation of which indicated an intention to effect any
+of the purposes indicated.
+
+A similar order was issued, August 5, by the War Department to army
+officers.[173] In accordance with his instructions, Captain Morris of
+the "Adams," on July 29 or 30, stopped the ship "Monsoon," from
+Alexandria. Her agent wrote a correspondent in Boston that, when the
+bill failed in the Senate, he had had no doubt of her being allowed
+to proceed, "but the Secretary and Mr. Madison have made a sort of
+embargo, or directed the stoppage of vessels."[174] He added that
+another brig was lying in the river ready loaded, but held by the same
+order. Morris's indorsement on the ship's papers shows the
+barefacedness of the transaction. "Whereas the within-mentioned ship
+'Monsoon' is laden with flour, and _must_ pass within the control of
+the enemy's squadron now within, and blockading Chesapeake Bay, if she
+be allowed to proceed on her intended voyage, and as the enemy might
+derive from her such intelligence and succor as would be serviceable
+to themselves and injurious to the United States, I forbid her
+proceeding while the enemy shall be so disposed as to prevent a
+reasonable possibility of her getting to sea without falling into
+their possession."[175] At this writing the British had left the
+Potomac itself, and the most of them were above. A week later, at
+Charleston, a ship called the "Caroline" was visited by a United
+States naval officer, and found with a license from Cockburn to carry
+a cargo, free from molestation by British cruisers.[176] "With flour
+at Lisbon $13 per barrel, _no sale_, and at Halifax $20, _in demand_,"
+queries a Baltimore paper of the day, "where would all the vessels
+that would in a few days have been off from Alexandria have gone, if
+the 'Monsoon' had not been stopped? They would have been _captured_
+and sent to Halifax."[177]
+
+Morris's action was in accordance with the Secretary's order, and went
+no further than to stop a voyage which, in view of the existing
+proclaimed blockade, and of the great British force at hand, bore
+collusion on its face. The President's request for legislation, which
+Congress had denied, went much further. It was a recurrence, and the
+last, to the policy of commercial retaliation, fostered by himself and
+Jefferson in preference to armed resistance. By such measures in peace,
+and as far as commercial prosperity was concerned, they had opened the
+nation's veins without vindicating its self-respect. The military value
+of food supplies to the enemy in Canada and on the coast, however,
+could not be contested; and during the recess of Congress it received
+emphasis by a Canadian embargo upon the export of grain. Hence, at the
+next session the President's recommendation of July was given
+attention, and there was passed almost immediately--December 17,
+1813,--a sweeping embargo law, applicable not only to external commerce
+but to coasters. As this ended the long series of commercial
+restrictions, so was it also of limited duration as compared with them,
+being withdrawn the following April.
+
+By the Act of December 17, as interpreted by the Treasury, foreign
+merchant vessels might depart with cargoes already laden, except
+provisions and military stores, which must be relanded; but nothing
+could be shipped that was not already on board when the Act was
+received. Coasters, even for accustomed voyages, could obtain
+clearances only by permission from the President; and the rules for
+such permission, given through the collectors, were extremely
+stringent. In no case were the vessels permitted to leave interior
+waters, proceeding from one sound or bay to another, and be "at sea"
+for even a short distance; nor were they to be permitted to carry any
+provisions, or supplies useful to an enemy, if there was the slightest
+chance of their falling into his power. It would appear that the
+orders of July 29 had been allowed to lapse after the great body of
+the British left the Chesapeake; for Morris, still in the Potomac,
+acknowledging the receipt of this Act on December 20, writes: "There
+are several vessels below us in the river with flour. I have issued
+orders to the gunboats to detain them, and as soon as the wind will
+permit, shall proceed with this ship, to give all possible effect to
+the Act." Six days afterwards, having gone down as he intended, he
+found the British anchored off the mouth of the stream, at a point
+where the bay is little more than five miles wide. "Two American brigs
+passed down before us, and I have every reason to believe threw
+themselves into the enemy's hands last Wednesday."[178]
+
+On September 6 the principal part of the British fleet quitted
+Chesapeake Bay for the season; leaving behind a ship of the line with
+some smaller vessels, to enforce the blockade. Viewed as a military
+campaign, to sustain the character as well as the interests of the
+country, its operations cannot be regarded as successful. With
+overwhelming numbers, and signally favored by the quiet inland waters
+with extensive ramifications which characterized the scene of war, the
+results, though on a more extensive scale, differed nothing in kind
+from the harassment inflicted all along the coast from Maine to
+Georgia, by the squadrons cruising outside. Ample demonstration was
+indeed afforded, there as elsewhere, of the steady, remorseless,
+far-reaching effect of a predominant sea power; and is confirmed
+explicitly by an incidental remark of the Russian minister at
+Washington writing to Warren, April 4, 1813, concerning an armistice,
+in connection with the abortive Russian proffer of mediation.[179]
+Even at this early period, "It would be almost impossible to establish
+an armistice, without raising the blockade, since the latter does them
+more harm than all the hostilities."[180] But in direct military
+execution the expedition had undoubtedly fallen far short of its
+opportunity, afforded by the wretchedly unprepared state of the region
+against which it had been sent. Whether the fault lay with the
+commander-in-chief, or with the Admiralty for insufficient means given
+him, is needless here to inquire. The squadron remaining through the
+winter perpetuated the isolation of Norfolk from the upper bay, and
+barred the "Constellation" and "Adams" from the sea. Ammunition and
+stores had to be brought by slow and unwieldly transportation from the
+Potomac across country, and it was not till January 18, 1814, that the
+"Adams" got away. Two attempts of the "Constellation" a month later
+were frustrated.
+
+The principal two British divisions, the action of which has so far
+been considered, the one blockading the Chesapeake, the other watching
+Decatur's squadron in New London, marked the extremities of what may
+be considered the central section of the enemy's coastwise operations
+upon the Atlantic. Although the commercial shipping of the United
+States belonged largely to New England, much the greater part of the
+exports came from the district thus closed to the world; and within it
+also, after the sailing of the "President" and "Congress" from Boston,
+and the capture of the "Chesapeake", lay in 1813 all the bigger
+vessels of the navy, save the "Constitution".
+
+In the conditions presented to the enemy, the sections of the
+coast-line south of Virginia, and north of Cape Cod, differed in some
+important respects from the central division, and from each other.
+There was in them no extensive estuary wide open to the sea,
+resembling Chesapeake and Delaware bays, and Long Island Sound,
+accessible to vessels of all sizes; features which naturally
+determined upon these points the chief effort of a maritime enemy,
+enabling him readily to paralyze the whole system of intercourse
+depending upon them, domestic as well as foreign. The southern waters
+abounded indeed in internal coastwise communications; not consecutive
+throughout, but continuous for long reaches along the shores of North
+and South Carolina and Georgia. These, however, were narrow, and not
+easily approached. Behind the sea islands, which inclose this
+navigation, small craft can make their voyages sheltered from the
+perils of the sea, and protected in great measure from attack other
+than by boats or very light cruisers; to which, moreover, some local
+knowledge was necessary, for crossing the bars, or threading the
+channels connecting sound with sound. Into these inside basins empty
+numerous navigable rivers, which promoted intercourse, and also
+furnished lines of retreat from danger coming from the sea. Coupled
+with these conditions was the fact that the United States had in these
+quarters no naval establishment, and no naval vessels of force.
+Defence was intrusted wholly to gunboats, with three or four armed
+schooners of somewhat larger tonnage. American offensive operation,
+confined here as elsewhere to commerce destroying, depended entirely
+on privateers. Into these ports, where there were no public facilities
+for repair, not even a national sloop of war entered until 1814 was
+well advanced.
+
+Prior to the war, one third of the domestic export of the United
+States had issued from this southern section; and in the harassed year
+1813 this ratio increased. The aggregate for the whole country was
+reduced by one half from that of 1811, and amounted to little more
+than one fourth of the prosperous times preceding Jefferson's embargo
+of 1808, with its vexatious progeny of restrictive measures; but the
+proportion of the South increased. The same was observable in the
+Middle states, containing the great centres of New York, Philadelphia,
+and Baltimore. There a ratio to the total, of a little under fifty per
+cent, rose to something above that figure. The relative diminution,
+corresponding to the increases just noted, fell upon New England, and
+is interesting because of what it indicates. Before the war the export
+of domestic produce from the eastern ports was twenty per cent of the
+national total; in 1813 it fell to ten per cent. When the domestic
+export is taken in conjunction with the re-exportation of foreign
+products, the loss of New England is still more striking. From
+twenty-five per cent of the whole national export, domestic and
+foreign, she now fell to ten per cent of the diminished total. When it
+is remembered that throughout 1813 the Eastern ports alone were open
+to neutral ships, no commercial blockade of them having yet been
+instituted, these results are the more noticeable.
+
+The general explanation is that the industries of the United States at
+that time divided into two principal classes,--agricultural and
+maritime; the former of which supplied the material for commerce,
+while the latter furnished transportation for whatever surplus of
+production remained for export. Manufactures sufficed only for home
+demands, being yet in a state of infancy; forced, in fact, upon an
+unwilling New England by the policy of commercial restriction which
+drove her ships off the sea. Domestic products for export therefore
+meant almost wholly the yield of the fields, the forests, and the
+fisheries. The latter belonged to New England, but they fell with the
+war. Her soil did not supply grain enough to feed her people; and her
+domestic exports, therefore, were reduced to shipments of wheat and
+flour conveyed to her by inland transportation from the more fertile,
+but blockaded, regions to the southward. Despite the great demand for
+provisions in Halifax and the St. Lawrence region, and the facility
+for egress by sea, through the absence of blockade, the slowness and
+cost of land carriage brought forward an insufficient supply, and laid
+a heavy charge upon the transaction; while the license system of the
+British, modifying this condition of things to their own advantage, by
+facilitating exports from the Chesapeake, certainly did operate, as
+the President's message said, to regulate American commerce in
+conformity with British interests.
+
+The re-exportation of foreign produce had once played a very large
+part in the foreign trade of New England. This item consisted chiefly
+in West India commodities; and although, owing to several causes, it
+fell off very much in the years between 1805 and 1811, it had remained
+still considerable. It was, however, particularly obnoxious to British
+interests, as then understood by British statesmen and people; and
+since it depended entirely upon American ships,--for it was not to the
+interest of a neutral to bring sugar and coffee to an American port
+merely to carry it away again,--it disappeared entirely when the
+outbreak of war rendered all American merchant vessels liable to
+capture. In fact, as far as the United States was concerned, although
+this re-exportation appeared among commercial returns, it was not an
+interest of commerce, accurately so called, but of navigation, of
+carrying trade. It had to do with ships, not with cargoes; its gain
+was that of the wagoner. Still, the loss by the idleness of the ships,
+due to the war, may be measured in terms of the cargoes. In 1805 New
+England re-exported foreign products to the amount of $15,621,484; in
+1811, $5,944,121; in 1813, no more than $302,781. It remains to add
+that, as can be readily understood, all export, whether of foreign or
+domestic produce, was chiefly by neutrals, which were not liable to
+capture so long as there was no blockade proclaimed. From December 1
+to 24, 1813, forty-four vessels cleared from Boston for abroad, of
+which five only were Americans.[181]
+
+Under the very reduced amount of their commercial movement, the
+tonnage of the Middle and Southern states was more than adequate to
+their local necessities; and they now had no need of the aid which in
+conditions of normal prosperity they received from the Eastern
+shipping. The latter, therefore, having lost its usual local
+occupation, and also the office it had filled towards the other
+sections of the Union, was either left idle or turned perforce to
+privateering. September 7, 1813, there were in Boston harbor
+ninety-one ships, two barks, one hundred and nine brigs, and
+forty-three schooners; total, two hundred and forty-five, besides
+coasters. The accumulation shows the lack of employment. December 15,
+two hundred square-rigged vessels were laid up in Boston alone.[182]
+Insurance on American vessels was stated to be fifty per cent.[183]
+
+Whether tonnage to any large amount was transferred to a neutral flag,
+as afterwards so much American shipping was during the Civil War, I
+have not ascertained. It was roundly intimated that neutral flags were
+used to cover the illicit intercourse with the enemy before mentioned;
+but whether by regular transfer or by fraudulent papers does not
+appear. An officer of the frigate "Congress," in her unprofitable
+voyage just mentioned, says that after parting with the "President,"
+she fell in with a few licensed Americans and a great number of
+Spaniards and Portuguese.[184] The flags of these two nations, and of
+Sweden, certainly abounded to an abnormal extent, and did much of the
+traffic from America; but it seems unlikely that there was at that
+particular epoch any national commerce, other than British, at once
+large enough, and sufficiently deficient in shipping of its own, to
+absorb any great number of Americans. In truth, the commerce of the
+world had lost pretty much all its American component, because this,
+through a variety of causes, had come to consist chiefly of domestic
+agricultural products, which were thrown back upon the nation's hands,
+and required no carriers; the enemy having closed the gates against
+them, except so far as suited his own purposes. The disappearance of
+American merchant ships from the high seas corresponded to the void
+occasioned by the blockade of American staples of commerce. The only
+serious abatement from this generalization arises from the British
+system of licenses, permitting the egress of certain articles useful
+to themselves.
+
+The results from the conditions above analyzed are reflected in the
+returns of commerce, in the movements of American coasters, and in the
+consequent dispositions of the enemy. In the Treasury year ending
+September 30, 1813, the value of the total exports from the Eastern
+states was $3,049,022; from the Middle section, $17,513,930; from the
+South, $7,293,043. Virginia is here reckoned with the Middle, because
+her exports found their way out by the Chesapeake; and this
+appreciation is commercial and military in character, not political or
+social. While this was the state of foreign trade under war
+conditions, the effect of local circumstances upon coasting is also to
+be noticed. The Middle section, characterized by the great estuaries,
+and by the description of its products,--grain primarily, and secondly
+tobacco,--was relatively self-sufficing and compact. Its growth of
+food, as has been seen, was far in excess of its wants, and the
+distance by land between the extreme centres of distribution, from
+tide-water to tide-water, was comparatively short. From New York to
+Baltimore by road is but four fifths as far as from New York to
+Boston; and at New York and Baltimore, as at Boston, water
+communication was again reached for the great lines of distribution
+from either centre. In fact, traffic from New York southward needed to
+go no farther than Elk River, forty miles short of Baltimore, to be in
+touch with the whole Chesapeake system. Philadelphia lies half-way
+between New York and Baltimore, approximately a hundred miles from
+each.
+
+The extremes of the Middle section of the country were thus
+comparatively independent of coastwise traffic for mutual intercourse,
+and the character of their coasts co-operated to reduce the
+disposition to employ coasters in war. From the Chesapeake to Sandy
+Hook the shore-line sweeps out to sea, is safely approachable by
+hostile navigators, and has for refuge no harbors of consequence,
+except the Delaware. The local needs of the little communities along
+the beaches might foster a creeping stream of very small craft, for
+local supply; but as a highway, for intercourse on a large scale, the
+sea here was too exposed for use, when taken in connection with the
+facility for transport by land, which was not only short but with
+comparatively good roads.
+
+In war, as in other troublous times, prices are subject to complicated
+causes of fluctuation, not always separable. Two great staples, flour
+and sugar, however, may be taken to indicate with some certainty the
+effects of impeded water transport. From a table of prices current, of
+August, 1813, it appears that at Baltimore, in the centre of the wheat
+export, flour was $6.00 per barrel; in Philadelphia, $7.50; in New
+York, $8.50; in Boston, $11.87. At Richmond, equally well placed with
+Baltimore as regarded supplies, but with inferior communications for
+disposing of its surplus, the price was $4.00. Removing from the grain
+centre in the other direction, flour at Charleston is reported at
+$8.00--about the same as New York; at Wilmington, North Carolina,
+$10.25. Not impossibly, river transportation had in these last some
+cheapening effect, not readily ascertainable now. In sugar, the scale
+is seen to ascend in an inverse direction. At Boston, unblockaded, it
+is quoted at $18.75 the hundredweight, itself not a low rate; at New
+York, blockaded, $21.50; at Philadelphia, with a longer journey,
+$22.50; at Baltimore, $26.50; at Savannah, $20. In the last named
+place, nearness to the Florida line, with the inland navigation,
+favored smuggling and safe transportation. The price at New Orleans, a
+sugar-producing district, $9.00, affords a standard by which to
+measure the cost of carriage at that time. Flour in the same city, on
+February 1, 1813, was $25 the barrel.
+
+In both articles the jump between Boston and New York suggests
+forcibly the harassment of the coasting trade. It manifests either
+diminution of supply, or the effect of more expensive conveyance by
+land; possibly both. The case of the southern seaboard cities was
+similar to that of Boston; for it will not be overlooked that, as the
+more important food products came from the middle of the country, they
+would be equally available for each extreme. The South was the more
+remote, but this was compensated in some degree by better internal
+water communications; and its demand also was less, for the white
+population was smaller and less wealthy than that of New England. The
+local product, rice, also went far to supply deficiencies in other
+grains. In the matter of manufactured goods, however, the disadvantage
+of the South was greater. These had to find their way there from the
+farther extreme of the land; for the development of manufactures had
+been much the most marked in the east. It has before been quoted that
+some wagons loaded with dry goods were forty-six days in accomplishing
+the journey from Philadelphia to Georgetown, South Carolina, in May of
+this year. Some relief in these articles reached the South by
+smuggling across the Florida line, and the Spanish waters opposite St.
+Mary's were at this time thronged with merchant shipping to an
+unprecedented extent; for although smuggling was continual, in peace
+as in war, across a river frontier of a hundred miles, the stringent
+demand consequent upon the interruption of coastwise traffic provoked
+an increased supply. "The trade to Amelia,"--the northernmost of the
+Spanish sea-islands,--reported the United States naval officer at St.
+Mary's towards the end of the war, "is immense. Upwards of fifty
+square-rigged vessels are now in that port under Swedish, Russian,
+and Spanish colors, two thirds of which are considered British
+property."[185] It was the old story of the Continental and License
+systems of the Napoleonic struggle, re-enacted in America; and, as
+always, the inhabitants on both sides the line co-operated heartily in
+beating the law.
+
+The two great food staples chosen sufficiently indicate general
+conditions as regards communications from centre to centre. Upon this
+supervened the more extensive and intricate problem of distribution
+from the centres. This more especially imparted to the Eastern and
+Southern coasts the particular characteristics of coasting trade and
+coast warfare, in which they differ from the Middle states. These form
+the burden of the letters from the naval captains commanding the
+stations at Charleston, Savannah, and Portsmouth, New Hampshire; nor
+is it without significance that Bainbridge at Boston, not a way port,
+but a centre, displayed noticeably less anxiety than the others about
+this question, which less touched his own command. Captain Hull, now
+commanding the Portsmouth Yard, writes, June 14, 1813, that light
+cruisers like the "Siren," lately arrived at Boston, and the
+"Enterprise," then with him, can be very useful by driving away the
+enemy's small vessels and privateers which have been molesting the
+coasting trade. He purposes to order them eastward, along the Maine
+coast, to collect coasters in convoy and protect their long-shore
+voyages, after the British fashion on the high seas. "The coasting
+trade here," he adds, "is immense. Not less than fifty sail last night
+anchored in this harbor, bound to Boston and other points south. The
+'Nautilus' [a captured United States brig] has been seen from this
+harbor every week for some time past, and several other enemy's
+vessels are on the coast every few days." An American privateer has
+just come in, bringing with her as a prize one of her own class,
+called the "Liverpool Packet," which "within six months has taken from
+us property to an immense amount."[186]
+
+Ten days later Hull's prospects have darkened. There has appeared off
+Portsmouth a blockading division; a frigate, a sloop, and two brigs.
+"When our two vessels were first ordered to this station, I believed
+they would be very useful in protecting the coasting trade; but the
+enemy's cruisers are now so much stronger that we can hardly promise
+security to the trade, if we undertake to convoy it." On the contrary,
+the brigs themselves would be greatly hazarded, and resistance to
+attack, if supported by the neighborhood, may entail destruction upon
+ports where they have taken refuge; a thought possibly suggested by
+Cockburn's action at Havre de Grace and Frenchtown. He therefore now
+proposes that they should run the blockade and cruise at sea. This
+course was eventually adopted; but for the moment the Secretary wrote
+that, while he perceived the propriety of Hull's remarks, "the call
+for protection on that coast has been very loud, and having sent those
+vessels for that special purpose, I do not now incline immediately to
+remove them."[187] It was necessary to bend to a popular clamor, which
+in this case did not, as it very frequently does, make unreasonable
+demands and contravene all considerations of military wisdom. A month
+later Hull reports the blockade so strict that it is impossible to get
+out by day. The commander of the "Enterprise," Johnston Blakely,
+expresses astonishment that the enemy should employ so large a force
+to blockade so small a vessel.[188] It was, however, no matter for
+surprise, but purely a question of business. The possibilities of
+injury by the "Enterprise" must be blasted at any cost, and Blakely
+himself a year later, in the "Wasp," was to illustrate forcibly what
+one smart ship can effect in the destruction of hostile commerce and
+hostile cruisers.
+
+Blakely's letter was dated July 31. The "Enterprise" had not long to
+wait for her opportunity, but it did not fall to his lot to utilize
+it. Being promoted the following month, he was relieved in command by
+Lieutenant William Burrows. This officer had been absent in China, in
+mercantile employment, when the war broke out, and, returning, was
+captured at sea. Exchanged in June, 1813, he was ordered to the
+"Enterprise," in which he saw his only service in the war,--a brief
+month. She left Portsmouth September 1, on a coasting cruise, and on
+the morning of the 5th, being then off Monhegan Island, on the coast
+of Maine, sighted a vessel of war, which proved to be the British brig
+"Boxer," Commander Samuel Blyth.
+
+The antagonists in the approaching combat were nearly of equal force,
+the respective armaments being, "Enterprise," fourteen 18-pounder
+carronades, and two long 9-pounders, the "Boxer," twelve 18-pounder
+carronades and two long sixes. The action began side by side, at half
+pistol-shot, the "Enterprise" to the right and to windward (position
+1). After fifteen minutes the latter ranged ahead (2). As she did so,
+one of her 9-pounders, which by the forethought of Captain Burrows had
+been shifted from its place in the bow to the stern,[189] was used
+with effect to rake her opponent. She then rounded-to on the starboard
+tack, on the port-bow of the enemy,--ahead but well to the left
+(3),--in position to rake with her carronades; and, setting the
+foresail, sailed slowly across from left to right. In five minutes the
+"Boxer's" maintopmast and foretopsailyard fell. This left the
+"Enterprise" the mastery of the situation, which she continued to hold
+until ten minutes later, when the enemy's fire ceased. Her colors
+could not be hauled down, Blyth having nailed them to the mast. He
+himself had been killed at the first broadside, and almost at the same
+instant Burrows too fell, mortally wounded.
+
+ [Illustration: Diagram of the Enterprise vs. Boxer battle]
+
+The "Boxer" belonged to a class of vessel, the gun brigs, which
+Marryat through one of his characters styled "bathing machines," only
+not built, as the legitimate article, to go up, but to go down.
+Another,--the immortal Boatswain Chucks,--proclaimed that they would
+"certainly d--n their inventor to all eternity;" adding
+characteristically, that "their low common names, 'Pincher,'
+'Thrasher,' 'Boxer,' 'Badger,' and all that sort, are quite good
+enough for them." In the United States service the "Enterprise," which
+had been altered from a schooner to a brig, was considered a
+singularly dull sailer. As determined by American measurements, taken
+four days after the action, the size of the two was the same within
+twenty tons; the "Boxer" a little the larger. The superiority of the
+"Enterprise" in broadside force, was eight guns to seven; or, stated
+in weight of projectiles, one hundred and thirty-five pounds to one
+hundred and fourteen. This disparity, though real, was in no sense
+decisive, and the execution done by each bore no comparison to the
+respective armaments. The hull of the "Boxer" was pierced on the
+starboard side by twelve 18-pound shot, nearly two for each of the
+"Enterprise's" carronades. The 9-pounder had done even better, scoring
+five hits. On her port side had entered six of 18 pounds, and four of
+9 pounds. By the official report of an inspection, made upon her
+arrival in Portland, it appears that her upper works and sides forward
+were torn to pieces.[190] In her mainmast alone were three 18-pound
+shot.[191] As a set-off to this principal damage received, she had to
+show only one 18-pound shot in the hull of the "Enterprise," one in
+the foremast, and one in the mainmast.[192]
+
+From these returns, the American loss in killed and wounded, twelve,
+must have been largely by grapeshot or musketry. The British had
+twenty-one men hurt. It has been said that this difference in loss is
+nearly proportionate to the difference in force. This is obviously
+inexact; for the "Enterprise" was superior in gun power by twelve per
+cent, while the "Boxer's" loss was greater by seventy-five per cent.
+Moreover, if the statement of crews be accurate, that the "Enterprise"
+had one hundred and twenty and the "Boxer" only sixty-six,[193] it is
+clear that the latter had double the human target, and scored little
+more than half the hits. The contest, in brief, was first an artillery
+duel, side to side, followed by a raking position obtained by the
+American. It therefore reproduced in leading features, although on a
+minute scale, the affair between the "Chesapeake" and "Shannon"; and
+the exultation of the American populace at this rehabilitation of the
+credit of their navy, though exaggerated in impression, was in
+principle sound. The British Court Martial found that the defeat was
+"to be attributed to a superiority of the enemy's force, principally
+in the number of men, as well as to a greater degree of skill in the
+direction of her fire, and the destructive effects of her first
+broadside."[194] This admission as to the enemy's gunnery is
+substantially identical with the claim made for that of the
+"Shannon,"--notably as to the first broadside. As to the greater
+numbers, one hundred and twenty is certainly almost twice sixty-six,
+and the circumstance should be weighed; but in an engagement confined
+to the guns, and between 18-pounder carronade batteries, it is of less
+consequence than at first glance appears. A cruiser of those days
+expected to be ready to fight with many men away in prizes. Had it
+come to boarding, or had the "Boxer's" gunnery been good, disabling
+her opponent's men, the numbers would have become of consideration. As
+it was, they told for something, but not for very much.
+
+If national credit were at issue in every single-ship action, the
+balance of the "Chesapeake" and "Shannon," "Enterprise" and "Boxer,"
+would incline rather to the American side; for the "Boxer" was not
+just out of port with new commander, officers, and crew, but had been
+in commission six months, had in that time crossed the ocean, and been
+employed along the coast. The credit and discredit in both cases is
+personal, not national. It was the sadder in Blyth's case because he
+was an officer of distinguished courage and activity, who had begun
+his fighting career at the age of eleven, when he was on board a
+heavily battered ship in Lord Howe's battle of June 1, 1794. At
+thirty, with little influence, and at a period when promotion had
+become comparatively sluggish, he had fairly fought his way to the
+modest preferment in which he died. Under the restricted opportunities
+of the United States Navy, Burrows had seen service, and his qualities
+received recognition, in the hostilities with Tripoli. The unusual
+circumstance of both captains falling, and so young,--Burrows was but
+twenty-eight,--imparted to this tiny combat an unusual pathos, which
+was somewhat heightened by the fact that Blyth himself had acted as
+pall-bearer when Lawrence, three months before, was buried with
+military honors at Halifax. In Portland, Maine, the two young
+commanders were borne to their graves together, in a common funeral,
+with all the observance possible in a small coast town; business being
+everywhere suspended, and the customary tokens of mourning displayed
+upon buildings and shipping.
+
+After this engagement, as the season progressed, coastwise operations
+in this quarter became increasingly hazardous for both parties. On
+October 22, Hull wrote that neither the "Enterprise" nor the
+"Rattlesnake" could cruise much longer. The enemy still maintained his
+grip, in virtue of greater size and numbers. Ten days later comes the
+report of a convoy, with one of the brigs, driven into port by a
+frigate; that the enemy appear almost every day, and never without a
+force superior to that of both his brigs, which he fears to trust out
+overnight, lest they find themselves at morning under the guns of an
+opponent of weightier battery. The long nights and stormy seas of
+winter, however, soon afforded to coasters a more secure protection
+than friendly guns, and Hull's letters intermit until April 6, 1814,
+when he announces that the enemy has made his appearance in great
+force; he presumes for the summer. Besides the danger and interruption
+of the coasting trade, Hull was increasingly anxious as to the safety
+of Portsmouth itself. By a recent act of Congress four seventy-fours
+had been ordered to be built, and one of them was now in construction
+there under his supervision. Despite the navigational difficulties of
+entering the port, which none was more capable of appreciating than
+he, he regarded the defences as so inadequate that it would be
+perfectly possible to destroy her on the stocks. "There is nothing,"
+he said, "to prevent a very small force from entering the harbor." At
+the same moment Decatur was similarly concerned for the squadron at
+New London, and we have seen the fears of Stewart for Norfolk. So
+marked was Hull's apprehension in this respect, that he sent the
+frigate "Congress" four miles up the river, where she remained to the
+end of the war; her crew being transferred to Lake Ontario. New York,
+the greater wealth of which increased both her danger and her capacity
+for self-protection, was looking to her own fortifications, as well as
+manning, provisioning, and paying the crews of the gunboats that
+patrolled her waters, on the side of the sea and of the Sound.
+
+The exposure of the coasting trade from Boston Bay eastward was
+increased by the absence of interior coastwise channels, until the
+chain of islands about and beyond the Penobscot was reached. On the
+other hand, the character of the shore, bold, with off-lying rocks and
+many small harbors, conferred a distinct advantage upon those having
+local knowledge, as the coasting seamen had. On such a route the
+points of danger are capes and headlands, particularly if their
+projection is great, such as the promontory between Portsmouth and
+Boston, of which Cape Ann is a conspicuous landmark. There the coaster
+has to go farthest from his refuge, and the deep-sea cruiser can
+approach with least risk. In a proper scheme of coast defence
+batteries are mounted on such positions. This, it is needless to say,
+in view of the condition of the port fortifications, had not been done
+in the United States. Barring this, the whole situation of the coast,
+of trade, and of blockade, was one with which British naval officers
+had then been familiar for twenty years, through their employment upon
+the French and Spanish coasts, as well Mediterranean as Atlantic, and
+in many other parts of the world. To hover near the land, intercepting
+and fighting by day, manning boats and cutting out by night,
+harassing, driving on shore, destroying the sinews of war by breaking
+down communications, was to them simply an old experience to be
+applied under new and rather easier circumstances.
+
+Of these operations frequent instances are given in contemporary
+journals and letters; but less account has been taken of the effects,
+as running through household and social economics, touching purse and
+comfort. These are traceable in commercial statistics. At the time
+they must have been severely felt, bringing the sense of the war
+vividly home to the community. The stringency of the British action is
+betrayed, however, by casual notices. The captain of a schooner burned
+by the British frigate "Nymphe" is told by her commander that he had
+orders to destroy every vessel large enough to carry two men. "A brisk
+business is now carrying on all along our coast between British
+cruisers and our coasting vessels, in ready money. Friday last, three
+masters went into Gloucester to procure money to carry to a British
+frigate to ransom their vessels. Thursday, a Marblehead schooner was
+ransomed by the "Nymphe" for $400. Saturday, she took off Cape Ann
+three coasters and six fishing boats, and the masters were sent on
+shore for money to ransom them at $200 each." There was room for the
+wail of a federalist paper: "Our coasts unnavigable to ourselves,
+though free to the enemy and the money-making neutral; our harbors
+blockaded; our shipping destroyed or rotting at the docks; silence and
+stillness in our cities; the grass growing upon the public
+wharves."[195] In the district of Maine, "the long stagnation of
+foreign, and embarrassment of domestic trade, have extended the sad
+effects from the seaboard through the interior, where the scarcity of
+money is severely felt. There is not enough to pay the taxes."[196]
+
+South of Chesapeake Bay the coast is not bold and rocky, like that
+north of Cape Cod, but in its low elevation and gradual soundings
+resembles rather those of New Jersey and Delaware. It has certain more
+pronounced features in the extensive navigable sounds and channels,
+which lie behind the islands and sandbars skirting the shores. The
+North Carolina system of internal water communications, Pamlico Sound
+and its extensions, stood by itself. To reach that to the southward,
+it was necessary to make a considerable sea run, round the far
+projecting Cape Fear, exposed to capture outside; but from Charleston
+to the St. Mary's River, which then formed the Florida boundary for a
+hundred miles of its length, the inside passages of South Carolina and
+Georgia were continuous, though in many places difficult, and in
+others open to attack from the sea. Between St. Mary's and Savannah,
+for example, there were seven inlets, and Captain Campbell, the naval
+officer in charge of that district, reported that three of these were
+practicable for frigates;[197] but this statement, while literally
+accurate, conveys an exaggerated impression, for no sailing frigate
+would be likely to cross a difficult bar for a single offensive
+operation, merely to find herself confronted with conditions
+forbidding further movement.
+
+The great menace to the inside traffic consisted in the facility with
+which cruisers outside could pass from entrance to entrance,
+contrasted with the intricacies within impeding similar action by the
+defence. If a bevy of unprotected coasters were discerned by an
+enemy's lookouts, the ship could run down abreast, send in her boats,
+capture or destroy, before the gunboats, if equidistant at the
+beginning, could overcome the obstacles due to rise and fall of tide,
+or narrowness of passage, and arrive to the rescue.[198] A suggested
+remedy was to replace the gunboats by rowing barges, similar to, but
+more powerful than, those used by the enemy in his attacks. The
+insuperable trouble here proved to be that men fit for such work, fit
+to contend with the seamen of the enemy, were unwilling to abandon the
+sea, with its hopes of prize money, or to submit to the exposure and
+discomfort of the life. "The crews of the gunboats," wrote Captain
+Campbell, "consist of all nations except Turks, Greeks, and Jews." On
+one occasion the ship's company of an American privateer, which had
+been destroyed after a desperate and celebrated resistance to attack
+by British armed boats, arrived at St. Mary's. Of one hundred and
+nineteen American seamen, only four could be prevailed upon to enter
+the district naval force.[199] This was partly due to the
+embarrassment of the national finances. "The want of funds to pay off
+discharged men," wrote the naval captain at Charleston, "has given
+such a character to the navy as to stop recruiting."[200] "Men could
+be had," reported his colleague at St. Mary's, now transferred to
+Savannah, "were it not for the Treasury notes, which cannot be passed
+at less than five per cent discount. Men will not ship without cash.
+There are upwards of a hundred seamen in port, but they refuse to
+enter, even though we offer to ship for a month only."[201]
+
+During the American Civil War, fifty years after the time of which we
+are speaking, this internal communication was effectually intercepted
+by stationing inside steamers of adequate force; but that recourse,
+while not absolutely impracticable for small sailing cruisers,
+involved a risk disproportionate to the gain. Through traffic could
+have been broken up by keeping a frigate in any one of the three
+sounds, entrance to which was practicable for vessels of that class.
+In view of the amount of trade passing back and forth, which Campbell
+stated to be in one period of four months as much as eight million
+dollars, it is surprising that this obvious expedient was not adopted
+by the enemy. That they appreciated the situation is shown by the
+intention, announced in 1813, of seizing one of the islands; which was
+effected in January, 1815, by the occupation of Cumberland and St.
+Simons'. As it was, up to that late period the routine methods of
+their European experience prevailed, with the result that their
+coastwise operations in the south differed little from those in the
+extreme north. Smaller vessels occasionally, armed boats frequently,
+pushed inside the inlets, seizing coasters, and at times even
+attacking the gunboats. While the positive loss thus inflicted was
+considerable, it will readily be understood that it was much exceeded
+by the negative effect, in deterring from movement, and reducing
+navigation to the limits of barest necessity.
+
+In these operations the ships of war were seconded by privateers from
+the West Indies, which hovered round this coast, as the Halifax vessels
+did round that of New England, seeking such scraps of prize money as
+might be left over from the ruin of American commerce and the
+immunities of the licensed traders. The United States officers at
+Charleston and Savannah were at their wits' ends to provide security
+with their scanty means,--more scanty even in men than in vessels; and
+when there came upon them the additional duty of enforcing the embargo
+of December, 1813, in the many quarters, and against the various
+subterfuges, by which evasion would be attempted, the task was
+manifestly impossible. "This is the most convenient part of the world
+for illicit trade that I have ever seen," wrote Campbell. From a return
+made this summer by the Secretary of the Navy to Congress,[202] it is
+shown that one brig of eighteen guns, which was not a cruiser, but a
+station ship at Savannah, eleven gunboats, three other schooners, and
+four barges, were apportioned to the stretch of coast from Georgetown
+to St. Mary's,--over two hundred miles. With the fettered movement of
+the gunboats before mentioned, contrasted with the outside cruisers, it
+was impossible to meet conditions by distributing this force, "for the
+protection of the several inlets," as had at first been directed by the
+Navy Department. The only defensive recourse approximately satisfactory
+was that of the deep-sea merchant service of Great Britain, proposed
+also by Hull at the northward, to assemble vessels in convoys, and to
+accompany them throughout a voyage. "I have deemed it expedient," wrote
+Campbell from St. Mary's, "to order the gun vessels to sail in company,
+not less than four in number, and have ordered convoy to the inland
+trade at stated periods, by which means vessels may be protected, and
+am sorry to say this is all that can be effected in our present
+situation."[203] In this way a fair degree of immunity was attained.
+Rubs were met with occasionally, and heavy losses were reported from
+time to time. There was a certain amount of fighting and scuffling, in
+which advantage was now on one side, now on the other; but upon the
+whole it would appear that the novelty of the conditions and ignorance
+of the ground rather imposed upon the imagination of the enemy, and
+that their operations against this inside trade were at once less
+active and less successful than under the more familiar features
+presented by the coasts of Maine and Massachusetts.
+
+Whatever more or less of success or injury attended the coastwise
+trade in the several localities, the point to be observed is that the
+enemy's operations effectually separated the different sections of the
+country from one another, so far as this means of intercourse was
+concerned; thereby striking a deadly blow at the mutual support which
+might be given by communities differing so markedly in resources,
+aptitudes, and industries. The remark before made upon the effect of
+headlands, on the minor scale of a particular shore-line, applied with
+special force to one so extensive as that of the United States
+Atlantic coast in 1813. Cape Cod to the north and Cape Fear to the
+south were conspicuous examples of such projection. Combined with the
+relatively shelterless and harborless central stretch, intervening
+between them, from the Chesapeake to Sandy Hook, they constituted
+insuperable obstacles to sustained intercommunication by water. The
+presence of the enemy in great numbers before, around, and within the
+central section, emphasized the military weakness of position which
+nature herself had there imposed. To get by sea from one end of the
+country to the other it was necessary to break the blockade in
+starting, to take a wide sweep out to sea, and again to break it at
+the desired point of entrance. This, however, is not coasting.
+
+The effect which this coast pressure produced upon the welfare of the
+several sections is indicated here and there by official utterances.
+The war party naturally inclined to minimize unfavorable results, and
+their opponents in some measure to exaggerate them; but of the general
+tendency there can be no serious doubt. Mr. Pearson, an opposition
+member of the House from North Carolina, speaking February 16, 1814,
+when the record of 1813 was made up, and the short-lived embargo of
+December was yet in force, said: "Blocked up as we are by the enemy's
+squadron upon our coast, corked up by our still more unmerciful
+embargo and non-importation laws, calculated as it were to fill up the
+little chasm in the ills which the enemy alone could not inflict; the
+entire coasting trade destroyed, and even the little pittance of
+intercourse from one port to the other in the same state destroyed [by
+the embargo], the planters of the Southern and Middle states, finding
+no market at home for their products, are driven to the alternative of
+wagoning them hundreds of miles, in search of a precarious market in
+the Northern and Eastern states, or permitting them to rot on their
+hands. Many articles which are, or by habit have become, necessary for
+comfort, are obtained at extravagant prices from other parts of the
+Union. The balance of trade, if trade it may be called, from these and
+other causes being so entirely against the Southern and Middle states,
+the whole of our specie is rapidly travelling to the North and East.
+Our bank paper is thrown back upon the institutions from which it
+issued; and as the war expenditures in the Southern and Middle states,
+where the loans have been principally obtained, are proportionately
+inconsiderable, the bills of these banks are daily returning, and
+their vaults drained of specie, to be locked up in Eastern and Western
+states, never to return but with the return of peace and
+prosperity."[204]
+
+The isolation of North Carolina was extreme, with Cape Fear to the
+south and the occupied Chesapeake north of her. The Governor of the
+central state of Pennsylvania, evidently in entire political sympathy
+with the national Administration, in his message to the legislature at
+the same period,[205] is able to congratulate the people on the
+gratifying state of the commonwealth; a full treasury, abundant yield
+of agriculture, and the progress of manufacturing development, which,
+"however we may deprecate and deplore the calamities of protracted
+war, console us with the prospect of permanent and extensive
+establishments equal to our wants, and such as will insure the real
+and practical independence of our country." But he adds: "At no period
+of our history has the immense importance of internal navigation been
+so strikingly exemplified as since the commencement of hostilities.
+The transportation of produce, and the intercourse between citizens of
+the different states, which knit more strongly the bonds of social and
+political union, are greatly retarded, and, through many of their
+accustomed channels, entirely interrupted by the water craft of the
+enemy, sinking, burning, and otherwise destroying, the property which
+it cannot appropriate to its own use." He looks forward to a renewal
+of similar misfortune in the following year, an anticipation more than
+fulfilled. The officials of other states, according to their political
+complexion, either lamented the sufferings of the war and its supposed
+injustice, or comforted themselves and their hearers by reflecting
+upon the internal fruitfulness of the country, and its increasing
+self-sufficingness. The people were being equipped for independence of
+the foreigner by the progress of manufactures, and by habits of
+economy and self-denial, enforced by deprivation arising from the
+suppression of the coasting trade and the rigors of the commercial
+blockade.
+
+The effect of the latter, which by the spring of 1814 had been in
+force nearly a twelvemonth over the entire coast south of Narragansett
+Bay, can be more directly estimated and concisely stated, in terms of
+money, than can the interruption of the coasting trade; for the
+statistics of export and import, contrasted with those of years of
+peace, convey it directly. It has already been stated that the exports
+for the year ending September 30, 1814, during which the operation of
+the blockade was most universal and continuous, fell to $7,000,000, as
+compared with $25,000,000 in 1813, and $45,000,000 in 1811, a year of
+peace though of restricted intercourse. Such figures speak distinctly
+as well as forcibly; it being necessary, however, to full appreciation
+of the difference between 1813 and 1814, to remember that during the
+first half of the former official period--from October 1, 1812, to
+April 1, 1813,--there had been no commercial blockade beyond the
+Chesapeake and Delaware; and that, even after it had been instituted,
+the British license system operated to the end of September to qualify
+its effects.
+
+Here and there interesting particulars may be gleaned, which serve to
+illustrate these effects, and to give to the picture that precision of
+outline which heightens impression. "I believe," wrote a painstaking
+Baltimore editor in December, 1814, "that there has not been an
+arrival in Baltimore from a foreign port for a twelvemonth";[206] yet
+the city in 1811 had had a registered tonnage of 88,398, and now
+boasted that of the scanty national commerce still maintained, through
+less secluded ports, at least one half was carried on by its
+celebrated schooners,[207] the speed and handiness of which, combined
+with a size that intrusted not too many eggs to one basket, imparted
+special facilities for escaping pursuit and minimizing loss. A
+representative from Maryland at about this time presented in the House
+a memorial from Baltimore merchants, stating that "in consequence of
+the strict blockade of our bays and rivers the private-armed service
+is much discouraged," and submitting the expediency "of offering a
+bounty for the destruction of enemy's vessels;" a suggestion the very
+extravagance of which indicates more than words the extent of the
+depression felt. The price of salt in Baltimore, in November, 1814,
+was five dollars the bushel. In Charleston it was the same, while just
+across the Spanish border, at Amelia Island, thronged with foreign
+merchant ships, it was selling at seventy cents.[208]
+
+Such a contrast, which must necessarily be reproduced in other
+articles not indigenous, accounts at once for the smuggling deplored
+by Captain Campbell, and at the same time testifies both to the
+efficacy of the blockade and to the pressure exercised upon the
+inland navigation by the outside British national cruisers and
+privateers. This one instance, affecting one of the prime necessaries
+of life, certifies to the stringent exclusion from the sea of the
+coast on which Charleston was the chief seaport. Captain Dent,
+commanding this naval district, alludes to the constant presence of
+blockaders, and occasionally to vessels taken outside by them, chased
+ashore, or intercepted in various inlets; narrating particularly the
+singular incident that, despite his remonstrances, a flag of truce was
+sent on board the enemy by local authorities to negotiate a purchase
+of goods thus captured.[209] This unmilitary proceeding, which evinces
+the necessities of the neighborhood, was of course immediately stopped
+by the Government.
+
+A somewhat singular incidental circumstance, supporting the other
+inferences, is found in the spasmodic elevation of the North Carolina
+coast into momentary commercial consequence as a place of entry and
+deposit; not indeed to a very great extent, but ameliorating to a
+slight degree the deprivation of the regions lying north and
+south,--the neighborhood of Charleston on the one hand, of Richmond
+and Baltimore on the other. "The waters of North Carolina, from
+Wilmington to Ocracoke, though not favorable to commerce in time of
+peace, by reason of their shallowness and the danger of the coast,
+became important and useful in time of war, and a very considerable
+trade was prosecuted from and into those waters during the late war,
+and a coasting trade as far as Charleston, attended with less risk
+than many would imagine. A vessel may prosecute a voyage from
+Elizabeth City [near the Virginia line] to Charleston without being at
+sea more than a few hours at any one time."[210] Some tables of
+arrivals show a comparative immunity for vessels entering here from
+abroad; due doubtless to the unquestioned dangers of the coast, which
+conspired with the necessarily limited extent of the traffic to keep
+the enemy at a distance. It was not by them wholly overlooked. In
+July, 1813, Admiral Cockburn anchored with a division off Ocracoke
+bar, sent in his boats, and captured a privateer and letter-of-marque
+which had there sought a refuge denied to them by the blockade
+elsewhere. The towns of Beaufort and Portsmouth were occupied for some
+hours. The United States naval officer at Charleston found it
+necessary also to extend the alongshore cruises of his schooners as
+far as Cape Fear, for the protection of this trade on its way to his
+district.
+
+The attention aroused to the development of internal navigation also
+bears witness to the pressure of the blockade. "It is my opinion,"
+said the Governor of Pennsylvania, "that less than one half the
+treasure expended by the United States for the protection of foreign
+commerce, if combined with state and individual wealth, would have
+perfected an inland water communication from Maine to Georgia." It was
+argued by others that the extra money spent for land transportation of
+goods, while the coasting trade was suspended, would have effected a
+complete tide-water inland navigation such as here suggested; and
+there was cited a declaration of Robert Fulton, who died during the
+war, that within twenty-one months as great a sum had been laid out in
+wagon hire as would have effected this object. Whatever the accuracy
+of these estimates, their silent witness to the influence of the
+blockade upon commerce, external and coastwise, quite overbears
+President Madison's perfunctory denials of its effectiveness, based
+upon the successful evasions which more or less attend all such
+operations.
+
+Perhaps, however, the most signal proof of the pressure exerted is to
+be seen in the rebound, the instant it was removed; in the effect upon
+prices, and upon the movements of shipping. Taken in connection with the
+other evidence, direct and circumstantial, so far cited, what can
+testify more forcibly to the strangulation of the coasting trade than
+the fact that in the month of March, 1815,--news of the peace having
+been received February 11,--there sailed from Boston one hundred and
+forty-four vessels, more than half of them square-rigged; and that of
+the whole all but twenty-six were for United States ports. Within three
+weeks of April there arrived at Charleston, exclusive of coasters, one
+hundred and fifty-eight vessels; at Savannah, in the quarter ending June
+30, two hundred and three. Something of this outburst of activity, in
+which neutrals of many nations shared, was due, as Mr. Clay said, to the
+suddenness with which commerce revived after momentary suspension. "The
+bow had been unstrung that it might acquire fresh vigor and new
+elasticity"; and the stored-up products of the country, so long barred
+within, imparted a peculiar nervous haste to the renewal of intercourse.
+The absolute numbers quoted do not give as vivid impression of
+conditions at differing times as do some comparisons, easily made. In
+the year 1813, as shown by the returns of the United States Treasury,
+out of 674,853 tons of registered--sea-going--shipping, only
+233,439--one third--paid the duties exacted upon each several voyage,
+and of these many doubtless sailed under British license.[211] In 1814
+the total tonnage, 674,632, shows that ship-building had practically
+ceased; and of this amount one twelfth only, 58,756 tons, paid dues for
+going out.[212] In 1816, when peace conditions were fully established,
+though less than two years had passed, the total tonnage had increased
+to 800,760; duties, being paid each voyage, were collected on
+865,219.[213] Thus the foreign voyages that year exceeded the total
+shipping of the country, and by an amount greater than all the American
+tonnage that put to sea in 1814.
+
+The movement of coasting vessels, technically called "enrolled," is
+not so clearly indicated by the returns, because all the trips of each
+were covered by one license annually renewed. A licensed coaster might
+make several voyages, or she might make none. In 1813 the figures show
+that, of 471,109 enrolled tonnage, 252,440 obtained licenses. In 1814
+there is, as in the registered shipping, a diminution of the total to
+466,159, of which a still smaller proportion, 189,662, took out the
+annual license. In 1816 the enrolment was 522,165, the licensing
+414,594. In the fishing craft, a class by themselves, the employment
+rose from 16,453 in 1814 to 48,147 in 1816;[214] the difference
+doubtless being attributable chiefly to the reopening of the cod
+fishing on the banks of Newfoundland, necessarily closed to the
+American flag by the maritime hostilities.
+
+The influence of the peace upon prices is likewise a matter too
+interesting to a correct appreciation of effects to be wholly passed
+over. In considering it, the quotations before the receipt of the news
+doubtless represent conditions more correctly than do the immediate
+changes. The official tidings of peace reached New York, February 11,
+1815. The Evening Post, in its number of February 14, says, "We give
+to-day one of the effects of the prospect of peace, even before
+ratification. Our markets of every kind experienced a sudden, and to
+many a shocking, change. Sugar, for instance, fell from $26 per
+hundredweight to $12.50. Tea, which sold on Saturday at $2.25, on
+Monday was purchased at a $1.00. Specie, which had got up to the
+enormous rate of 22 per cent premium, dropped down to 2. The article
+of tin, in particular, fell from the height of $80 the box to $25. Six
+per cents rose from 76 to 88; ten per cents and Treasury notes from 92
+to 98. Bank stock generally rose from five to ten per cent." In
+Philadelphia, flour which sold at $7.50 the barrel on Saturday had
+risen to $10 on Monday; a testimony that not only foreign export but
+home supply to the eastward was to be renewed. The fall in foreign
+products, due to freedom of import, was naturally accompanied by a
+rise in domestic produce, to which an open outlet with proportionate
+increase of demand was now afforded. In Philadelphia the exchange on
+Boston reflected these conditions; falling from twenty-five per cent
+to thirteen.
+
+It may then be concluded that there is little exaggeration in the
+words used by "a distinguished naval officer" of the day, in a letter
+contributed to Niles' Register, in its issue of June 17, 1815. "No
+sooner had the enemy blockaded our harbors, and extended his line of
+cruisers from Maine to Georgia, than both foreign and domestic
+commerce came at once to be reduced to a deplorable state of
+stagnation; producing in its consequences the utter ruin of many
+respectable merchants, as well as of a great multitude besides,
+connected with them in their mercantile pursuits. But these were not
+the only consequences. The regular supply of foreign commodities being
+thereby cut off, many articles, now become necessaries of life, were
+raised to an exorbitant price, and bore much upon the finances of the
+citizen, whose family could not comfortably exist without them. Add to
+this, as most of the money loaned to the Government for the purposes
+of the war came from the pockets of merchants, they were rendered
+incapable of continuing these disbursements in consequence of this
+interruption to their trade; whence the cause of that impending
+bankruptcy with which the Government was at one time threatened.... At
+a critical period of the war [April, 1814] Congress found it
+necessary to remove all restrictions upon commerce, both foreign and
+domestic. It is a lamentable fact, however, that the adventurous
+merchant found no alleviation from these indulgences, his vessels
+being uniformly prevented by a strong blockading force, not only from
+going out, but from coming into port, at the most imminent risk of
+capture. The risk did not stop here; for the islands and ports most
+frequented by American vessels being known to the enemy, he was
+enabled from his abundance of means to intercept them there also. The
+coasting trade, that most valuable appendage to an extensive
+mercantile establishment in the United States, was entirely
+annihilated. The southern and northern sections of the Union were
+unable to exchange their commodities, except upon a contracted scale
+through the medium of land carriage, and then only at a great loss; so
+that, upon the whole, nothing in a national point of view appeared to
+be more loudly called for by men of all parties than a naval force
+adequate to the protection of our commerce, and the raising of the
+blockade of our coast."
+
+Such was the experience which sums up the forgotten bitter truth,
+concerning a war which has left in the United States a prevalent
+impression of distinguished success, because of a few brilliant naval
+actions and the closing battle of New Orleans. The lesson to be
+deduced is not that the country at that time should have sought to
+maintain a navy approaching equality to the British. In the state of
+national population and revenue, it was no more possible to attempt
+this than that it would be expedient to do it now, under the present
+immense development of resources and available wealth. What had been
+possible during the decade preceding the war,--had the nation so
+willed,--was to place the navy on such a footing, in numbers and
+constitution, as would have made persistence in the course Great
+Britain was following impolitic to the verge of madness, because it
+would add to her war embarrassments the activity of an imposing
+maritime enemy, at the threshold of her most valuable markets,--the
+West Indies,--three thousand miles away from her own shores and from
+the seat of her principal and necessary warfare. The United States
+could not have encountered Great Britain single-handed--true; but
+there was not then the slightest prospect of her having to do so. The
+injuries of which she complained were incidental to a state of
+European war; inconceivable and impossible apart from it. She was
+therefore assured of the support of most powerful allies, occupying
+the attention of the British navy and draining the resources of the
+British empire. This condition of things was notorious, as was the
+fact that, despite the disappointment of Trafalgar, Napoleon was
+sedulously restoring the numbers of a navy, to the restraining of
+which his enemy was barely competent.
+
+The anxiety caused to the British Admiralty by the operations of the
+small American squadrons in the autumn of 1812 has already been
+depicted in quotations from its despatches to Warren.[215] Three or
+four divisions, each containing one to two ships of the line, were
+kept on the go, following a general round in successive relief, but
+together amounting to five or six battle ships--to use the modern
+term--with proportionate cruisers. It was not possible to diminish
+this total by concentrating them, for the essence of the scheme, and
+the necessity which dictated it, was to cover a wide sweep of ocean,
+and to protect several maritime strategic points through which the
+streams of commerce, controlled by well-known conditions, passed,
+intersected, or converged. So also the Admiralty signified its wish
+that one ship of the line should form the backbone of the blockade
+before each of the American harbors. For this purpose Warren's fleet
+was raised to a number stated by the Admiralty's letter to him of
+January 9, 1813, to be "upwards of ten of the line, exclusive of the
+six sail of the line appropriated to the protection of the West India
+convoys." These numbers were additional to detachments which, outside
+of his command, were patrolling the eastern Atlantic, about the
+equator, and from the Cape Verde Islands to the Azores, as mentioned
+in another letter of February 10. "In all, therefore, about twenty
+sail of the line were employed on account of American hostilities; and
+this, it will be noticed, was after Napoleon's Russian disaster was
+fully known in England. It has not been without interfering for the
+moment with other very important services that my Lords have been able
+to send you this re-enforcement, and they most anxiously hope that the
+vigorous and successful use you will make of it will enable you
+shortly to return some of the line of battle ships to England, which,
+if the heavy American frigates should be taken or destroyed, you will
+immediately do, retaining four line of battle ships." Attention should
+fasten upon the importance here attached by the British Admiralty to
+the bigger ships; for it is well to learn of the enemy, and to
+appreciate that it was not solely light cruisers and privateers, but
+chiefly the heavy vessels, that counted in the estimate of experienced
+British naval officers. The facts are little understood in the United
+States, and consequently are almost always misrepresented.
+
+The reasons for this abundance of force are evident. As regards
+commerce Great Britain was on the defensive; and the defensive cannot
+tell upon which of many exposed points a blow may fall. Dissemination
+of effort, however modified by strategic ingenuity, is thus to a
+certain extent imposed. If an American division might strike British
+trade on the equator between 20° and 30° west longitude, and also in
+the neighborhood of the Cape Verdes and of the Azores, preparation in
+some form to protect all those points was necessary, and they are too
+wide apart for this to be effected by mere concentration. So the
+blockade of the United States harbors. There might be in New York no
+American frigates, but if a division escaped from Boston it was
+possible it might come upon the New York blockade in superior force,
+if adequate numbers were not constantly kept there. The British
+commercial blockade, though offensive in essence, had also its
+defensive side, which compelled a certain dispersion of force, in
+order to be in local sufficiency in several quarters.
+
+These several dispersed assemblages of British ships of war
+constituted the totality of naval effort imposed upon Great Britain by
+"the fourteen sail of vessels of all descriptions"[216] which composed
+the United States navy. It would not in the least have been necessary
+had these been sloops of war--were they fourteen or forty. The weight
+of the burden was the heavy frigates, two of which together were more
+than a match for three of the same nominal class--the 38-gun
+frigate--which was the most numerous and efficient element in the
+British cruising force. The American forty-four was unknown to British
+experience, and could be met only by ships of the line. Add to this
+consideration the remoteness of the American shore, and its dangerous
+proximity to very vital British interests, and there are found the
+elements of the difficult problem presented to the Admiralty by the
+combination of American force--such as it was--with American advantage
+of position for dealing a severe blow to British welfare at the
+period, 1805-1812, when the empire was in the height of its
+unsupported and almost desperate struggle with Napoleon; when Prussia
+was chained, Austria paralyzed, and Russia in strict bonds of
+alliance--personal and political--with France.
+
+If conditions were thus menacing, as we know them to to have been in
+1812, when war was declared, and the invasion of Russia just
+beginning, when the United States navy was "fourteen pendants," what
+would they not have been in 1807, had the nation possessed even one
+half of the twenty ships of the line which Gouverneur Morris, a shrewd
+financier, estimated fifteen years before were within her competency?
+While entirely convinced of the illegality of the British measures,
+and feeling keenly--as what American even now cannot but feel?--the
+humiliation and outrage to which his country was at that period
+subjected, the writer has always recognized the stringent compulsion
+under which Great Britain lay, and the military wisdom, in his
+opinion, of the belligerent measures adopted by her to sustain her
+strength through that unparalleled struggle; while in the matter of
+impressment, it is impossible to deny--as was urged by Representative
+Gaston of North Carolina and Gouverneur Morris--that her claim to the
+service of her native seamen was consonant to the ideas of the time,
+as well as of utmost importance to her in that hour of dire need.
+Nevertheless, submission by America should have been impossible; and
+would have been avoidable if for the fourteen pendants there had been
+a dozen sail of the line, and frigates to match. To an adequate
+weighing of conditions there will be indeed resentment for impressment
+and the other mortifications; but it is drowned in wrath over the
+humiliating impotence of an administration which, owing to
+preconceived notions as to peace, made such endurance necessary. It is
+not always ignominious to suffer ignominy; but it always is so to
+deserve it.
+
+President Washington, in his last annual message, December 7, 1796,
+defined the situation then confronting the United States, and
+indicated its appropriate remedy, in the calm and forcible terms which
+characterized all his perceptions. "It is in our own experience, that
+the most sincere neutrality is not a sufficient guard against the
+depredations of nations at war. To secure respect for a neutral flag
+requires a naval force, organized and ready, to vindicate it from
+insult or aggression. This may even prevent the necessity of going to
+war, by discouraging belligerent powers from committing such
+violations of the rights of the neutral party as may, first or last,
+leave no other option" [than war]. The last sentence is that of the
+statesman and soldier, who accurately appreciates the true office and
+sphere of arms in international relations. His successor, John Adams,
+yearly renewed his recommendation for the development of the navy;
+although, not being a military man, he seems to have looked rather
+exclusively on the defensive aspect, and not to have realized that
+possible enemies are more deterred by the fear of offensive action
+against themselves than by recognition of a defensive force which
+awaits attack at an enemy's pleasure. Moreover, in his administration,
+it was not Great Britain, but France, that was most actively engaged
+in violating the neutral rights of American shipping, and French
+commercial interests then presented nothing upon which retaliation
+could take effect. The American problem then was purely defensive,--to
+destroy the armed ships engaged in molesting the national commerce.
+
+President Jefferson, whose influence was paramount with the dominant
+party which remained in power from his inauguration in 1801 to the
+war, based his policy upon the conviction, expressed in his inaugural,
+that this "was the only government where every man would meet
+invasions of the public order as his own personal concern;" and that
+"a well-disciplined militia is our best reliance for the first moments
+of war, till regulars may relieve them." In pursuance of these
+fundamental principles, it was doubtless logical to recommend in his
+first annual message that, "beyond the small force which will probably
+be wanted for actual service in the Mediterranean [against the
+Barbary pirates], whatever annual sum you may think proper to
+appropriate to naval preparations would perhaps be better employed in
+providing those articles which may be kept without waste or
+consumption, and be in readiness when any exigence calls them into
+use. Progress has been made in providing materials for seventy-four
+gun ships;" but this commended readiness issued in not laying their
+keels till after the war began.
+
+Upon this first recommendation followed the discontinuance of building
+ships for ocean service, and the initiation of the gunboat policy;
+culminating, when war began, in the decision of the administration to
+lay up the ships built for war, to keep them out of British hands. The
+urgent remonstrances of two or three naval captains obtained the
+reversal of this resolve, and thereby procured for the country those
+few successes which, by a common trick of memory, have remained the
+characteristic feature of the War of 1812.
+
+ NOTE.--After writing the engagement between the "Boxer" and the
+ "Enterprise," the author found among his memoranda, overlooked,
+ the following statement from the report of her surviving
+ lieutenant, David McCreery: "I feel it my duty to mention that
+ the bulwarks of the 'Enterprise' were proof against our grape,
+ when her musket balls penetrated through our bulwarks."
+ (Canadian Archives, M. 389, 3. p. 87.) It will be noted that
+ this does not apply to the cannon balls, and does not qualify
+ the contrast in gunnery.
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[128] Broke's Letter to Lawrence, June, 1813. Naval Chronicle, vol. xxx.
+p. 413.
+
+[129] Rodgers' Report of this cruise is in Captains' Letters, Sept. 27,
+1813.
+
+[130] Captains' Letters, Dec. 14, 1813.
+
+[131] Captains' Letters, June 3, 1812.
+
+[132] The Department's orders to Evans and the letter transferring them
+to Lawrence, captured in the ship, can be found published in the Report
+on Canadian Archives, 1896, p. 74. A copy is attached to the Record of
+the subsequent Court of Inquiry, Navy Department MSS.
+
+[133] James' Naval History, vol. vi., edition of 1837. The account of
+the action between the "Chesapeake" and "Shannon" will be found on pp.
+196-206.
+
+[134] Secretary to the Admiralty, In-Letters, May, 1814, vol. 505, p.
+777.
+
+[135] Naval Chronicle, vol. xxx, p. 413.
+
+[136] Broke, in his letter of challenge, "was disappointed that, after
+various verbal messages sent into Boston, Commodore Rodgers, with the
+'President' and 'Congress,' had _eluded_ the 'Shannon' and 'Tenedos,' by
+sailing the first chance, after the prevailing easterly winds had
+obliged us to keep an offing from the coast."
+
+[137] For the reason here assigned, and others mentioned in the
+narrative, the author has preferred to follow in the main James'
+account, analyzed, and compared with Broke's report (Naval Chronicle,
+vol. xxx. p. 83), and with the testimony in the Court of Inquiry held in
+Boston on the surrender of the "Chesapeake," and in the resultant courts
+martial upon Lieutenant Cox and other persons connected with the ship,
+which are in the Navy Department MSS. The official report of Lieutenant
+Budd, the senior surviving officer of the "Chesapeake", is published in
+Niles' Register (vol. iv, p. 290), which gives also several unofficial
+statements of onlookers, and others.
+
+[138] Not "across"; the distinction is important, being decisive of
+general raking direction.
+
+[139] Actually, a contemporary account, borrowed by the British "Naval
+Chronicle" (vol. xxx. p. 161) from a Halifax paper, but avouched as
+trustworthy, says the "Chesapeake" was terribly battered on the larboard
+bow as well as quarter. The details in the text indicate merely the
+local preponderance of injury, and the time and manner of its
+occurrence.
+
+[140] A slight qualification is here needed, in that of the injured of
+the "Shannon" some were hurt in the boarding, not by the cannonade; but
+the general statement is substantially accurate.
+
+[141] Decatur to Navy Department. Captains' Letters, June, 1813.
+
+[142] Decatur to Navy Department. Captains' Letters, June, 1813.
+
+[143] Naval Chronicle, vol. xxix. p. 497.
+
+[144] Croker to Warren, Jan. 9, 1813. Admiralty Out-Letters, British
+Records Office. My italics.
+
+[145] Message of the Governor of Connecticut, October, 1813. Niles'
+Register, vol. v. p. 121.
+
+[146] Message of the Governor of Connecticut, October, 1813. Niles'
+Register, vol. v. p. 121.
+
+[147] Niles' Register, vol. v. p. 302.
+
+[148] Captains' Letters.
+
+[149] Niles' Register, vol. vi. p. 136.
+
+[150] Captains' Letters, Nov. 3 and Dec. 31, 1809; March 26, 1810; and
+Oct. 12, 1813.
+
+[151] American State Papers, Naval Affairs, vol. i. p. 307.
+
+[152] Ante, page 16.
+
+[153] The official reports of Warren and Cockburn concerning these
+operations are published in the Naval Chronicle, vol. xxx. pp. 162-168.
+
+[154] Captains' Letters, June 21, 1813.
+
+[155] The American official account of this affair is given in Niles'
+Register, vol. iv. pp. 375, 422. James' Naval History, vol. vi. pp.
+236-238, gives the British story.
+
+[156] Captains' Letters, April, 1813.
+
+[157] Captains' Letters, May 21, 1813.
+
+[158] Ibid.
+
+[159] James, Naval History (edition 1837), vol. vi. p. 231.
+
+[160] Warren's Gazette Letters, here referred to, can be found in Naval
+Chronicle, vol. xxx. pp. 243, 245.
+
+[161] Croker to Warren, March 20, 1813. Admiralty Out-Letters, Records
+Office.
+
+[162] Niles' Register, vol. iv. p. 404.
+
+[163] The rise of the tide is about two and a half feet.
+
+[164] This is the number stated by James, the British naval historian,
+and is somewhat difficult to reconcile with Warren's expression, "the
+troops and a re-enforcement of seamen and marines from the ships." To be
+effective, the attack should have been in greater numbers.
+
+[165] The British story of this failure, outside the official
+despatches, is given in James' Naval History, vol. vi. pp. 232-234.
+
+[166] Report of the commander of the "Scorpion" to Captain Morris, July
+21, 1813. Captains' Letters.
+
+[167] This letter, from the commanding officer of the "Narcissus", is in
+Niles' Register, vol. iv. p. 279.
+
+[168] Morris to Navy Department, August 13, 23, and 27. Captains'
+Letters.
+
+[169] Captain Hayes, of the "Majestic," in charge of the blockade of
+Boston, wrote to Warren, October 25, 1813: "Almost every vessel I meet
+has a license, or is under a neutral flag. Spanish, Portuguese, and
+Swedes are passing in and out by hundreds, and licensed vessels out of
+number from the West Indies. I find the licenses are sent blank to be
+filled up in Boston. This is of course very convenient, and the
+Portuguese consul is said to be making quite a trade of that flag,
+covering the property and furnishing the necessary papers for any person
+at a thousand dollars a ship." Canadian Archives, M. 389. 3. p. 189.
+
+[170] Annals of Congress, 1813-1814, vol. i. p. 500.
+
+[171] This parenthesis shows that the censures were not directed against
+New England only, for the blockade so far declared did not extend
+thither.
+
+[172] Niles' Register, vol. iv. pp. 370, 386.
+
+[173] Ibid., p. 387.
+
+[174] Niles' Register, vol. iv. p. 387.
+
+[175] Ibid., p. 402.
+
+[176] Ibid.
+
+[177] Ibid. Author's italics.
+
+[178] Morris to Navy Department, Dec. 20 and 26, 1813. Captains'
+Letters.
+
+[179] Post, chapter xviii.
+
+[180] British Records Office, Secret Papers MSS.
+
+[181] Niles' Register, vol. v. p. 311.
+
+[182] The Columbian Centinel, Boston, Sept. 7 and Dec. 15, 1813.
+
+[183] Ibid., Dec. 18.
+
+[184] Ibid.
+
+[185] Campbell to the Navy Department, Nov. 11, 1814. Captains' Letters.
+
+[186] Captains' Letters.
+
+[187] Ibid., June 24, 1813.
+
+[188] Hull to Navy Department, July 31, 1813. Ibid.
+
+[189] Cooper tells the story that when this gun was transported, and
+preparations being made to use it as a stern instead of a bow chaser,
+the crew--to whom Burrows was as yet a stranger, known chiefly by his
+reputation for great eccentricity--came to the mast to express a hope
+that the brig was not going to retreat.
+
+[190] Report of Lieutenant Tillinghast to Captain Hull. Captains'
+Letters, Sept. 9, 1813.
+
+[191] Hull to Bainbridge, Sept. 10. Niles' Register, vol. v. p. 58.
+
+[192] Report of the carpenter of the "Enterprise." Captains' Letters.
+
+[193] There is a discrepancy in the statements concerning the "Boxer's"
+crew. Hull reported officially, "We have sixty-seven, exclusive of those
+killed and thrown overboard." (Sept. 25. Captains' Letters.) Lieutenant
+McCall, who succeeded to the command after Burrows fell, reported that
+"from information received from officers of the 'Boxer' it appears that
+there were between twenty and thirty-five killed, and fourteen wounded."
+(U.S. State Papers, Naval Affairs, vol. i. p. 297.) The number killed is
+evidently an exaggerated impression received, resembling some statements
+made concerning the "Chesapeake;" but it is quite likely that the
+"Boxer's" loss should be increased by several bodies thrown overboard.
+
+[194] Naval Chronicle, vol. xxxii. p. 473.
+
+[195] Columbian Centinel, July 28, Sept. 1, and Nov. 13, 1813.
+
+[196] Ibid., Sept. 25.
+
+[197] Campbell to Navy Department, Jan. 4, 1814. Captains' Letters.
+
+[198] For full particulars see Captains' Letters (Campbell), June 12,
+1813; Jan. 2 and 4, Aug. 20, Sept. 3, Oct. 8, Oct. 15, Dec. 4, 1814.
+
+[199] Campbell, Dec. 2, 1814. Captains' Letters.
+
+[200] Dent to Navy Department, Jan. 28, 1815. Ibid.
+
+[201] Campbell, Feb. 3, 1815. Ibid.
+
+[202] June 7, 1813. Navy Department MSS.
+
+[203] Captains' Letters, Sept. 3, 1814.
+
+[204] Benton's Abridgment of the Debates of Congress, vol. v. p. 202.
+
+[205] Dec. 10, 1813. Niles' Register, vol. v. pp. 257-260.
+
+[206] Niles' Register, vol. vii. p. 194.
+
+[207] Ibid., vol. viii. p. 234.
+
+[208] Ibid., vol. vii. p. 168. Quoted from a Charleston, S.C., paper.
+
+[209] Captains' Letters, May 3, 23, 24; June 27, 29; August 7, 17; Nov.
+9, 13, 23, 1813.
+
+[210] Niles' Register, vol. viii. p. 311. Quoted from a Norfolk paper.
+
+[211] American State Papers, Commerce and Navigation, vol. i. p. 1017.
+
+[212] Ibid., vol. ii. p. 12.
+
+[213] American State Papers, Commerce and Navigation, vol. ii. p. 87.
+
+[214] Ibid., vol. i. p. 1017; vol. ii. pp. 12, 87.
+
+[215] Ante, vol. i. pp. 402-404.
+
+[216] Admiralty's Letter to Warren. Feb. 10, 1813.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIV
+
+MARITIME OPERATIONS EXTERNAL TO THE WATERS OF THE UNITED
+STATES, 1813-1814
+
+
+In broad generalization, based upon analysis of conditions, it has
+been said that the seacoast of the United States was in 1812 a
+defensive frontier, from which, as from all defensive lines, there
+should be, and was, opportunity for offensive returns; for action
+planned to relieve the shore-line, and the general military situation,
+by inflicting elsewhere upon the opponent injury, harassment, and
+perplexity. The last chapter dealt with the warfare depending upon the
+seaboard chiefly from the defensive point of view; to illustrate the
+difficulties, the blows, and the sufferings, to which the country was
+exposed, owing to inability to force the enemy away from any large
+portion of the coast. The pressure was as universal as it was
+inexorable and irresistible.
+
+It remains still to consider the employment and effects of the one
+offensive maritime measure left open by the exigencies of the war; the
+cruises directed against the enemy's commerce, and the characteristic
+incidents to which they gave rise. In this pursuit were engaged both
+the national ships of war and those equipped by the enterprise of the
+mercantile community; but, as the operations were in their nature more
+consonant to the proper purpose of privateers, so the far greater
+number of these caused them to play a part much more considerable in
+effect, though proportionately less fruitful in conspicuous action.
+Fighting, when avoidable, is to the privateer a misdirection of
+energy. Profit is his object, by depredation upon the enemy's
+commerce; not the preservation of that of his own people. To the ship
+of war, on the other hand, protection of the national shipping is the
+primary concern; and for that reason it becomes her to shun no
+encounter by which she may hope to remove from the seas a hostile
+cruiser.
+
+The limited success of the frigates in their attempts against British
+trade has been noted, and attributed to the general fact that their
+cruises were confined to the more open sea, upon the highways of
+commerce. These were now travelled by British ships under strict laws
+of convoy, the effect of which was not merely to protect the several
+flocks concentrated under their particular watchdogs, but to strip the
+sea of those isolated vessels, that in time of peace rise in irregular
+but frequent succession above the horizon, covering the face of the
+deep with a network of tracks. These solitary wayfarers were now to be
+found only as rare exceptions to the general rule, until the port of
+destination was approached. There the homing impulse overbore the
+bonds of regulation; and the convoys tended to the conduct noted by
+Nelson as a captain, "behaving as all convoys that ever I saw did,
+shamefully ill, parting company every day." Commodore John Rodgers has
+before been quoted, as observing that the British practice was to rely
+upon pressure on the enemy over sea, for security near home; and that
+the waters surrounding the British Islands themselves were the field
+where commerce destruction could be most decisively effected.
+
+The first United States vessel to emphasize this fact was the brig
+"Argus," Captain William H. Allen, which sailed from New York June 18,
+1813, having on board a newly appointed minister to France, Mr.
+William H. Crawford, recently a senator from Georgia. On July 11 she
+reached L'Orient, having in the twenty-three days of passage made but
+one prize.[217] Three days later she proceeded to cruise in the chops
+of the English Channel, and against the local trade between Ireland
+and England; continuing thus until August 14, thirty-one days, during
+which she captured nineteen sail, extending her depredations well up
+into St. George's Channel. The contrast of results mentioned, between
+her voyage across and her occupancy of British waters, illustrates the
+comparative advantages of the two scenes of operations, regarded in
+their relation to British commerce.
+
+On August 12 the British brig of war "Pelican," Captain Maples,
+anchored at Cork from the West Indies. Before her sails were furled
+she received orders to go out in search of the American ship of war
+whose depredations had been reported. Two hours later she was again at
+sea. The following evening, at half-past seven, a burning vessel to
+the eastward gave direction to her course, and at daybreak, August 14,
+she sighted a brig of war in the northeast, just quitting another
+prize, which had also been fired. The wind, being south, gave the
+windward position to the "Pelican," which stood in pursuit; the
+"Argus" steering east, near the wind, but under moderate sail to
+enable her opponent to close (positions 1). The advantage in size and
+armament was on this occasion on the British side; the "Pelican" being
+twenty per cent larger, and her broadside seventeen per cent heavier.
+
+At 5.55 A.M., St. David's Head on the coast of Wales bearing east,
+distant about fifteen miles, the "Argus" wore, standing now to the
+westward, with the wind on the port side (2). The "Pelican" did the
+same, and the battle opened at six; the vessels running side by side,
+within the range of grapeshot and musketry,--probably under two
+hundred yards apart (2). Within five minutes Captain Allen received a
+wound which cost him his leg, and in the end his life. He at first
+refused to be taken below, but loss of blood soon so reduced him that
+he could no longer exercise command. Ten minutes later the first
+lieutenant was stunned by the graze of a grapeshot along his head, and
+the charge of the ship devolved on the second. By this time the
+rigging of the "Argus" had been a good deal cut, and the "Pelican"
+bore up (3) to pass under her stern; but the American brig, luffing
+close to the wind and backing her maintopsail (3), balked the attempt,
+throwing herself across the enemy's path, and giving a raking
+broadside, the poor aim of which seems to have lost her the effect
+that should have resulted from this ready and neat manoeuvre. The main
+braces of the "Argus" had already been shot away, as well as much of
+the other gear upon which the after sails depended; and at 6.18 the
+preventer (duplicate) braces, which formed part of the preparation for
+battle, were also severed. The vessel thus became unmanageable,
+falling off before the wind (4), and the "Pelican" was enabled to work
+round her at will. This she did, placing herself first under the stern
+(4), and then on the bow (5) of her antagonist, where the only reply
+to her broadside was with musketry.
+
+In this helpless situation the "Argus" surrendered, after an
+engagement of a little over three quarters of an hour. The British
+loss was two killed and five wounded; the American, six killed and
+seventeen wounded, of whom five afterwards died. Among these was
+Captain Allen, who survived only four days, and was buried with
+military honors at Plymouth, whither Captain Maples sent his
+prize.[218] After every allowance for disparity of force, the injury
+done by the American fire cannot be deemed satisfactory, and suggests
+the consideration whether the voyage to France under pressure of a
+diplomatic mission, and the busy preoccupation of making, manning, and
+firing prizes, during the brief month of Channel cruising, may not
+have interfered unduly with the more important requirements of
+fighting efficiency. The surviving officer in command mentions in
+explanation, "the superior size and metal of our opponent, and the
+fatigue which the crew of the 'Argus' underwent from a very rapid
+succession of prizes."
+
+ [Illustration: Diagram of the Argus vs. Pelican battle]
+
+From the broad outlook of the universal maritime situation, this rapid
+succession of captures is a matter of more significance than the loss
+of a single brig of war. It showed the vulnerable point of British
+trade and local intercommunication; and the career of the "Argus,"
+prematurely cut short though it was, tended to fix attention upon
+facts sufficiently well known, but perhaps not fully appreciated. From
+this time the opportunities offered by the English Channel and
+adjacent waters, long familiar to French corsairs, were better
+understood by Americans; as was also the difficulty of adequately
+policing them against a number of swift and handy cruisers, preying
+upon merchant vessels comparatively slow, lumbering, and undermanned.
+The subsequent career of the United States ship "Wasp," and the
+audacious exploits of several privateers, recall the impunity of Paul
+Jones a generation before, and form a sequel to the brief prelude, in
+which the leading part, though ultimately disastrous, was played by
+the "Argus."
+
+While the cruise of the "Argus" stood by no means alone at this time,
+the attending incidents made it conspicuous among several others of a
+like nature, on the same scene or close by; and it therefore may be
+taken as indicative of the changing character of the war, which soon
+began to be manifest, owing to the change of conditions in Europe. In
+general summary, the result was to transfer an additional weight of
+British naval operations to the American side of the Atlantic, which
+in turn compelled American cruisers, national and private, in pursuit
+of commerce destruction, to get away from their own shores, and to
+seek comparative security as well as richer prey in distant waters. To
+this contributed also the increasing stringency of British convoy
+regulation, enforced with special rigor in the Caribbean Sea and over
+the Western Atlantic. It was impossible to impose the same strict
+prescription upon the coastwise trade, by which chiefly the
+indispensable continuous intercourse between the several parts of the
+United Kingdom was maintained. Before the introduction of steam this
+had a consequence quite disproportionate to the interior traffic by
+land; and its development, combined with the feeling of greater
+security as the British Islands were approached, occasioned in the
+narrow seas, and on the coasts of Europe, a dispersion of vessels not
+to be seen elsewhere. This favored the depredations of the light,
+swift, and handy cruisers that alone are capable of profiting by such
+an opportunity, through their power to evade the numerous, but
+necessarily scattered, ships of war, which under these circumstances
+must patrol the sea, like a watchman on beat, as the best substitute
+for the more formal and regularized convoy protection, when that
+ceases to apply.
+
+From the end of the summer of 1813, when this tendency to distant
+enterprise became predominant, to the corresponding season a year
+later, there were captured by American cruisers some six hundred and
+fifty British vessels, chiefly merchantmen; a number which had
+increased to between four and five hundred more, when the war ended in
+the following winter.[219] An intelligible account of such
+multitudinous activities can be framed only by selecting amid the mass
+some illustrative particulars, accompanied by a general estimate of
+the conditions they indicate and the results they exemplify. Thus it
+may be stated, with fair approach to precision, that from September
+30, 1813, to September 30, 1814, there were taken six hundred and
+thirty-nine British vessels, of which four hundred and twenty-four
+were in seas that may be called remote from the United States. From
+that time to the end of the war, about six months, the total captures
+were four hundred and fourteen, of which those distant were two
+hundred and ninety-three. These figures, larger actually and in
+impression than they are relatively to the total of British shipping,
+represent the offensive maritime action of the United States during
+the period in question; but, in considering them, it must be
+remembered that such results were possible only because the sea was
+kept open to British commerce by the paramount power of the British
+navy. This could not prevent all mishaps; but it reduced them, by the
+annihilation of hostile navies, to such a small percentage of the
+whole shipping movement, that the British mercantile community found
+steady profit both in foreign and coasting trade, of which the United
+States at the same time was almost totally deprived.
+
+The numerous but beggarly array of American bay-craft and oyster
+boats, which were paraded to swell British prize lists, till there
+seemed to be a numerical set-off to their own losses, show indeed that
+in point of size and value of vessels taken there was no real
+comparison; but this was due to the fact, not at once suggested by the
+figures themselves, that there were but few American merchant vessels
+to be taken, because they did not dare to go to sea, with the
+exception of the few to whom exceptional speed gave a chance of
+immunity, not always realized. In the period under consideration,
+September, 1813, to September, 1814, despite the great falling off of
+trade noted in the returns, over thirty American merchant ships and
+letters of marque were captured at sea;[220] at the head of the list
+being the "Ned," whose hair-breadth escapes in seeking to reach a
+United States port have been mentioned already.[221] She met her fate
+near the French coast, September 6, 1813, on the outward voyage from
+New York to Bordeaux. Privateering, risky though it was, offered a
+more profitable employment, with less chance of capture; because,
+besides being better armed and manned, the ship was not impeded in her
+sailing by the carriage of a heavy cargo. While the enemy was losing a
+certain small proportion of vessels, the United States suffered
+practically an entire deprivation of external commerce; and her
+coasting trade was almost wholly suppressed, at the time that her
+cruisers, national and private, were causing exaggerated anxiety
+concerning the intercourse between Great Britain and Ireland, which,
+though certainly molested, was not seriously interrupted.
+
+Further evidence of the control exerted by the British Navy, and of
+the consequent difficulty under which offensive action was maintained
+by the United States, is to be found in the practice, from this time
+largely followed, of destroying prizes, after removing from them
+packages of little weight compared to their price. The prospect of a
+captured vessel reaching an American port was very doubtful, for the
+same reason that prevented the movement of American commerce; and
+while the risk was sometimes run, it usually was with cargoes which
+were at once costly and bulky, such as West India goods, sugars and
+coffees. Even then specie, and light costly articles, were first
+removed to the cruiser, where the chances for escape were decidedly
+better. Recourse to burning to prevent recapture was permissible only
+with enemy's vessels. If a neutral were found carrying enemy's goods,
+a frequent incident of maritime war, she must be sent in for
+adjudication; which, if adverse, affected the cargo only. Summary
+processes, therefore, could not be applied in such cases, and the
+close blockade of the United States coast seriously restricted the
+operations of her cruisers in this particular field.
+
+ [Illustration: THE BURNING OF A PRIVATEER PRIZE.
+ _Drawn by Henry Reuterdahl._]
+
+Examination of the records goes to show that, although individual
+American vessels sometimes made numerous seizures in rapid succession,
+they seldom, if ever, effected the capture or destruction of a large
+convoy at a single blow. This was the object with which Rodgers
+started on his first cruise, but failed to accomplish. A stroke of
+this kind is always possible, and he had combined conditions unusually
+favorable to his hopes; but, while history certainly presents a few
+instances of such achievement on the large scale, they are
+comparatively rare, and opportunity, when it offers, can be utilized
+only by a more numerous force than at any subsequent time gathered
+under the American flag. In 1813 two privateers, the "Scourge" of New
+York and "Rattlesnake" of Philadelphia, passed the summer in the North
+Sea, and there made a number of prizes,--twenty-two,--which being
+reported together gave the impression of a single lucky encounter;
+were supposed in fact to be the convoy for which Rodgers in the
+"President" had looked unsuccessfully the same season.[222] The logs,
+however, showed that these captures were spread over a period of two
+months, and almost all made severally. Norway being then politically
+attached to Denmark, and hostile to Great Britain, such prizes as were
+not burned were sent into her ports. The "Scourge" appears to have
+been singularly fortunate, for on her homeward trip she took, sent in,
+or destroyed, ten more enemy's vessels; and in an absence extending a
+little over a year had taken four hundred and twenty prisoners,--more
+than the crew of a 38-gun frigate.[223]
+
+At the same time the privateer schooner "Leo," of Baltimore, was
+similarly successful on the coast of Spain and Portugal. By an odd
+coincidence, another of the same class, bearing the nearly identical
+name, "Lion," was operating at the same time in the same waters, and
+with like results; which may possibly account for a contemporary
+report in a London paper, that an American off the Tagus had taken
+thirty-two British vessels. The "Leo" destroyed thirteen, and took
+four others; while the "Lion" destroyed fifteen, having first removed
+from them cargo to the amount of $400,000, which she carried safely
+into France. A curious circumstance, incidental to the presence of the
+privateers off Cape Finisterre, is that Wellington's troops, which had
+now passed the Pyrenees and were operating in southern France, had for
+a long time to wait for their great-coats, which had been stored in
+Lisbon for the summer, and now could not be returned by sea to Bayonne
+and Bordeaux before convoy was furnished to protect the transports
+against capture. Money to pay the troops, and for the commissariat,
+was similarly detained. Niles' Register, which followed carefully the
+news of maritime capture, announced in November, 1813, that eighty
+British vessels had been taken within a few months in European seas by
+the "President," "Argus," and five privateers. Compared with the
+continuous harassment and loss to which the enemy had become hardened
+during twenty years of war with France, allied often with other
+maritime states, this result, viewed singly, was not remarkable; but
+coming in addition to the other sufferings of British trade, and
+associated with similar injuries in the West Indies, and disquiet
+about the British seas themselves, the cumulative effect was
+undeniable, and found voice in public meetings, resolutions, and
+addresses to the Government.
+
+Although the United States was not in formal alliance with France, the
+common hostility made the ports of either nation a base of operations
+to the other, and much facilitated the activities of American cruisers
+in British seas. One of the most successful of the privateers, the
+"True Blooded Yankee," was originally equipped at Brest, under
+American ownership, though it does not appear whether she was American
+built. On her first cruise her prizes are reported at twenty-seven.
+She remained out thirty-seven days, chiefly off the coast of Ireland,
+where she is said to have held an island for six days. Afterwards she
+burned several vessels in a Scotch harbor. Her procedure illustrates
+the methods of privateering in more respects than one. Thus, two large
+ships, one from Smyrna and one from Buenos Ayres, were thought
+sufficiently valuable to attempt sending into a French port, although
+the enemy watched the French coast as rigorously as the American. The
+recapture of a third, ordered to Morlaix, received specific mention,
+because one of the prize crew, being found to be an Englishman, was
+sentenced to death by an English court.[224] Eight others were
+destroyed; and, when the privateer returned to port, she carried in
+her own hold a miscellaneous cargo of light goods, too costly to risk
+in a less nimble bottom. Among these are named eighteen bales of
+Turkey carpets, forty-three bales of raw silk, seventy packs of skins,
+etc.[225] The "True Blooded Yankee" apparently continued to prefer
+European waters; for towards the end of 1814 she was taken there and
+sent into Gibraltar.
+
+While there were certain well-known districts, such as these just
+mentioned, and others before specified, in which from causes constant
+in operation there was always to be found abundant material for the
+hazardous occupation of the commerce-destroyer, it was not to them
+alone that American cruisers went. There were other smaller but
+lucrative fields, into which an occasional irruption proved
+profitable. Such were the gold-coast on the west shore of Africa, and
+the island groups of Madeira, the Canaries, and Cape Verde, which
+geographically appertain to that continent. Thither Captain Morris
+directed the frigate "Adams," in January, 1814, after first escaping
+from his long blockade in the Potomac. This voyage, whence he returned
+to Savannah in April, was not remunerative; his most valuable prize,
+an East India ship, being snatched out of his hands, when in the act
+of taking possession, by an enemy's division in charge of a convoy of
+twenty-five sail, to which probably she had belonged, and had been
+separated by the thick weather that permitted her capture.[226] A year
+before this the privateer "Yankee," of Bristol, Rhode Island, had had
+better success. When she returned to Narragansett Bay in the spring of
+1813, after a five months' absence, she reported having scoured the
+whole west coast of Africa, taking eight vessels, which carried in the
+aggregate sixty-two guns, one hundred and ninety-six men, and property
+to the amount of $296,000. In accordance with the practice already
+noticed, of distributing the spoil in order better to insure its
+arrival, she brought back in her own hold the light but costly items
+of six tons of ivory, thirty-two bales of fine goods, and $40,000 in
+gold-dust.[227] This vessel was out again several times; and when the
+war closed was said to have been the most successful of all American
+cruisers. Her prizes numbered forty, of which thirty-four were ships
+or brigs; that is, of the larger classes of merchantmen then used. The
+estimated value of themselves and cargoes, $3,000,000, is to be
+received with reserve.[228]
+
+It was in this neighborhood that the privateer schooner "Globe,"
+Captain Moon, of Baltimore, mounting eight 9-pounder carronades and
+one long gun, met with an adventure illustrative of the fighting
+incidental to the business. To this the privateersmen as a class were
+in no wise loath, where there was a fair prospect of the gain for
+which they were sent to look. Being off Funchal, in the island of
+Madeira, November 1, 1813, two brigs, which proved to be English
+packets, the "Montague" and "Pelham," were seen "backing and filling;"
+that is, keeping position in the open roadstead which constitutes the
+harbor, under sail, but not anchored. Packets, being in government
+service, were well armed for their size, and as mail carriers were
+necessarily chosen for speed; they therefore frequently carried
+specie. In one taken by the "Essex," Captain Porter found $55,000,
+which as ready cash helped him much to pay his frigate's way in a long
+and adventurous career. It does not appear that the "Globe" at first
+recognized the character of these particular vessels; but she lay-by
+during the night, watching for their quitting the shelter of neutral
+waters. This they did at 9 P.M., when the privateer pursued, but lost
+sight of them in a squall. The next morning they were seen in the
+southwest, and again chased. At 10.15 A.M. the "Montague" began firing
+her stern guns. The schooner replied, but kept on to board, knowing
+her superiority in men, and at 12.30 ran alongside (1). The attack
+being smartly met, and the vessels separating almost immediately, the
+attempt failed disastrously; there being left on board the packet the
+two lieutenants of the "Globe" and three or four seamen. Immediately
+upon this repulse, the "Pelham" crossed the privateer's bow and raked
+her (P 2), dealing such destruction to sails and rigging as to leave
+her unmanageable. The "Montague" and "Globe" now lay broadside to
+broadside (2), engaging; and ten minutes later the "Montague" by her
+own report was completely disabled (M 3). Captain Moon claimed that
+she struck; and this was probably the case, if his further incidental
+mention, that the mailbags were seen to be thrown overboard, is not a
+mistake. The action then continued with the "Pelham," within
+pistol-shot (3), for an hour or so, when the schooner, being found in
+a sinking condition, was compelled to haul off; "having seven shot
+between wind and water, the greater part of our standing and running
+rigging shot away, and not a sail but was perfectly riddled and almost
+useless." After separating, the several combatants all steered with
+the tradewinds for the Canaries; the British going to Teneriffe, and
+the American to the Grand Canary.[229]
+
+From the injuries received, it is apparent that, for the armaments of
+the vessels, this was a very severe as well as determined engagement.
+The British had six killed and twelve wounded; the American five
+killed and thirteen wounded, besides the prisoners lost in boarding.
+All three captains were severely hurt, that of the "Montague" being
+killed. The figures given are those reported by each side; how
+exaggerated the rumors current about such encounters, and the
+consequent difficulty to the historian, is shown by what each heard
+about the other's casualties. A Spanish brig from Teneriffe told Moon
+that the enemy had twenty-seven men killed; while the British were
+equally credibly informed that the "Globe" lost thirty-three killed
+and nineteen wounded.
+
+Near about this time, in the same neighborhood of Madeira, the
+privateer schooner "Governor Tompkins," of New York, captured in rapid
+succession three British merchant vessels which had belonged to a
+convoy from England to Buenos Ayres, but after its dispersal in a gale
+were pursuing their route singly. Two of these reached an American
+port, their bulky and heavy ladings of dry goods and hardware not
+permitting transfer or distribution. The sale of one cargo realized
+$270,000.[230] At about the same moment came in a brig of like
+value, not improbably another wanderer from the same group, captured
+near Madeira by the ship "America," of Salem. This vicinity, from the
+islands to the equator, between 20° and 30° west longitude, belongs
+essentially to the thronged highway and cross-roads of commerce, which
+has been noted as a favorite cruising ground of American ships of war.
+Hereabouts passed vessels both to and from the East Indies and South
+America. The bad luck of several frigates, and the rough handling of
+the "Globe" by the packets, illustrate one side of the fortune of war,
+as the good hap of the "America" and "Governor Tompkins" shows the
+other.
+
+ [Illustration: Diagram of the Montague, Pelham, Globe battle]
+
+It is, however, the beginnings and endings of commercial routes,
+rather than the intermediate stretch, which most favor enterprises
+against an enemy's trade. In the thronging of vessels, the Caribbean
+Sea, with its teeming archipelago, was second only, if second, to the
+waters surrounding the United Kingdom. England was one extremity, and
+the several West India Islands the other, of a traffic then one of the
+richest in the world; while the tropical articles of this exchange, if
+not absolute necessaries of life, had become by long indulgence
+indispensable to the great part of civilized mankind. Here, therefore,
+the numbers, the efforts, and the successes of American privateers
+most nearly rivalled the daring achievements of their fellows in the
+Narrow Seas and the approaches to Great Britain and Ireland. The two
+regions resembled each other in another respect. Not only was there
+for both an external trade, mainly with one another, but in each there
+was also a local traffic of distribution and collection of goods, from
+and to central ports, in which was concentrated the movement of import
+and export. As has been remarked concerning the coastwise carriage of
+the United Kingdom, this local intercourse, to be efficient, could not
+be regulated and hampered to the same extent as the long voyage,
+over-sea, transportation. A certain amount of freedom and
+independence was essential, and the risk attendant upon such separate
+action must be compensated, as far as might be, by diminishing the
+size of the vessels engaged; a resource particularly applicable to the
+moderate weather and quiet seas prevalent in the tropics.
+
+Both the exposure of trade under such relaxed conditions, and the
+relative security obtained by the convoy system, rigidly applied, are
+shown by a few facts. From September 1, 1813, to March 1, 1814, six
+months, the number of prizes taken by Americans, exclusive of those on
+the Lakes, was reported as two hundred and seventy. Of these, nearly
+one third--eighty-six--were to, from, or within the West Indies. Since
+in many reports the place of capture is not given, nor any data
+sufficient to fix it, it is probable that quite one third belonged to
+this trade. This evidences the scale, both of the commerce itself and
+of its pursuers, justifying a contemporary statement that "the West
+Indies swarm with American privateers;" and it suggests also that many
+of the seizures were local traders between the islands, or at least
+vessels taking their chance on short runs. On the other hand, the
+stringency with which the local officials enforced the Convoy Act was
+shown, generally, by the experience at this time of the United States
+naval vessels, the records of which, unlike those of most privateers,
+have been preserved by filing or publication; and, specifically, by a
+number of papers found in a prize by the United States frigate
+"Constitution," Captain Charles Stewart, while making a round of these
+waters in the first three months of 1814. Among other documents was a
+petition, signed by many merchants of Demerara, praying convoy for
+fifty-one vessels which were collected and waiting for many weary
+weeks, as often had to be done. In one letter occurs the following:
+"With respect to procuring a license for the "Fanny" to run it, in
+case any other ships should be about to do so, we do not believe that,
+out of forty vessels ready to sail, any application has been made for
+such license, though out of the number are several out-port vessels
+well armed and manned. Indeed, we are aware application would be
+perfectly useless, as the present Governor, when at Berbice, would not
+permit a vessel from that colony to this [adjoining] without convoy.
+If we could obtain a license, we could not justify ourselves to
+shippers, who have ordered insurance with convoy."[231]
+
+The expense and embarrassment incident to such detentions are
+far-reaching, and the effects are as properly chargeable as are
+captures themselves to the credit of the cruisers, by the activity of
+which they are occasioned. The "Constitution" could report only four
+prizes as the result of a three months' cruise, necessarily shortened
+by the approach of spring. This made it imperative for a vessel,
+denied admission to most home ports by her draught of water, to
+recover the shelter of one of them before the blockade again began,
+and the exhaustion of her provisions should compel her to attempt
+entrance under risk of an engagement with superior force. As it was,
+she was chased into Salem, and had to lighten ship to escape. But
+Stewart had driven an enemy's brig of war into Surinam, chased a
+packet off Barbados, and a frigate in the Mona Passage; and the report
+of these occurrences, wherever received, imposed additional
+precaution, delay, and expense.
+
+At the same time that the "Constitution" was passing through the
+southern Caribbean, the naval brigs "Rattlesnake" and "Enterprise"
+were searching its northern limits. These had put out from Portsmouth,
+New Hampshire, when the winter weather drove the blockaders from
+there, as from Boston, whence the "Constitution" had sailed. Starting
+early in January, 1814, these two light cruisers kept company, passing
+east of Bermuda to the island of St. Thomas, at the northeast corner
+of the Caribbean. Thence they turned west, skirting the north shores
+of Porto Rico and Santo Domingo as far as the Windward Passage.
+Through this they entered the Caribbean, followed the south coast of
+Cuba, between it and Jamaica, rounded Cape San Antonio, at its western
+extremity, and thence, traversing the Straits of Florida, returned
+along the coast of the United States. Having already been chased twice
+in this cruise, they were compelled by a third pursuer to separate,
+February 25. The stranger chose to keep after the "Enterprise," which
+being a very dull sailer was obliged in a flight of seventy hours to
+throw overboard most of her battery to escape. The two put into
+Wilmington, North Carolina, a port impracticable to a frigate.[232]
+
+In this long round the brigs overhauled eleven vessels, two only of
+which were under the British flag. Two were Americans; the rest
+neutrals, either Swedes or Spaniards. Of the two enemies, only one was
+a merchant ship. The other was a privateer, the chase of which gave
+rise to a curious and significant incident. Being near the Florida
+coast, and thinking the brigs to be British, twenty or thirty of the
+crew took to the boats and fled ashore to escape anticipated
+impressment. As Marryat remarks, a British private vessel of that day
+feared a British ship of war more than it did an enemy of equal force.
+Of the neutrals stopped, one was in possession of a British prize
+crew, and another had on board enemy's goods. For these reasons they
+were sent in for adjudication, and arrived safely. Judged by these
+small results from the several cruises of the "Enterprise,"
+"Rattlesnake," and "Constitution," the large aggregate of captures
+before quoted, two hundred and seventy, would indicate that to effect
+them required a great number of cruisers, national and private. That
+this inference is correct will be shown later, by some interesting and
+instructive figures.
+
+While the making of prizes was the primary concern of the American
+privateers, their cruises in the West Indies, as elsewhere, gave rise
+to a certain amount of hard fighting. One of the most noted of these
+encounters, that of the schooner "Decatur," of Charleston, with the
+man-of-war schooner "Dominica," can hardly be claimed for the United
+States; for, though fought under the flag, her captain, Diron, was
+French, as were most of the crew. The "Dominica" was in company with a
+King's packet, which she was to convoy part of the way to England from
+St. Thomas. On August 5, 1813, the "Decatur" met the two about three
+hundred miles north of the island. The British vessel was superior in
+armament, having fifteen guns; all carronades, except two long sixes.
+The "Decatur's" battery was six carronades, and one long 18-pounder.
+For long distances the latter was superior in carrying power and
+penetration to anything on board the "Dominica;" but the American
+captain, knowing himself to have most men, sought to board, and the
+artillery combat was therefore mainly at close quarters, within
+carronade range. It began at 2 P.M. At 2.30 the schooners were within
+half-gunshot of one another; the "Dominica" in the position of being
+chased, because of the necessity of avoiding the evident intention of
+the "Decatur" to come hand to hand. Twice the latter tried to run
+alongside, and twice was foiled by watchful steering, accompanied in
+each case by a broadside which damaged her rigging and sails, besides
+killing two of her crew. The third attempt was successful, the
+"Decatur's" bow coming against the quarter of the "Dominica," the
+jib-boom passing through her mainsail. The crew of the privateer
+clambered on board, and there followed a hand-to-hand fight equally
+honorable to both parties. The British captain, Lieutenant Barretté, a
+young man of twenty-five, who had already proved his coolness and
+skill in the management of the action, fell at the head of his men, of
+whom sixty out of a total of eighty-eight were killed or wounded
+before their colors were struck. The assailants, who numbered one
+hundred and three, lost nineteen. The packet, though armed, took no
+part in the fight, and when it was over effected her escape.[233] The
+"Decatur" with her prize reached Charleston safely, August 20;
+bringing also a captured merchantman. The moment of arrival was most
+opportune; two enemy's brigs, which for some time had been blockading
+the harbor, having left only the day before.
+
+In March, 1814, the privateer schooner "Comet," of Baltimore, not
+being able to make her home port, put into Wilmington, North Carolina.
+She had been cruising in the West Indies, and had there taken twenty
+vessels, most of which were destroyed after removing valuables. In the
+course of her operations she encountered near St. Thomas the British
+ship "Hibernia;" the size of which, and her height above the water, by
+preventing boarding, enabled her successfully to repel attack, and the
+privateer was obliged to haul off, having lost three men killed and
+thirteen wounded. The American account of this affair ascribes
+twenty-two guns to the "Hibernia." The British story says that she had
+but six, with a crew of twenty-two men; of whom one was killed and
+eleven wounded. The importance of the matter in itself scarcely
+demands a serious attempt to reconcile this discrepancy; and it is
+safer to accept each party's statement of his own force. The two agree
+that the action lasted eight or nine hours, and that both were much
+cut up. It is evident also from each narrative that they lay alongside
+most of the time, which makes it probable that the ship's height
+saved her from being overborne by superior numbers.
+
+The "Saucy Jack," of Charleston, passed through several severe
+combats, in one of which she was even worse mauled than the "Comet" in
+the instance just cited. On April 30, 1814, off St. Nicolas Mole, in
+the Windward Passage between Cuba and Santo Domingo, she met the
+British ship "Pelham," a vessel of five hundred and forty tons, and
+mounting ten guns, bound from London to Port au Prince. The "Pelham"
+fought well, and the action lasted two hours, at the end of which she
+was carried by boarding. Her forty men were overpowered by numbers,
+but nevertheless still resisted with a resolution which commanded the
+admiration of the victors. She lost four killed and eleven wounded;
+among the latter her captain, dangerously. The privateer had two
+killed and nine wounded. Both vessels reached Charleston safely, and
+the "Saucy Jack" at once fitted out again. It is told that, between
+daylight and dark of the day she began to enlist, one hundred and
+thirty able-bodied seamen had shipped; and this at a time when the
+navy with difficulty found crews.[234]
+
+The "Saucy Jack" returned to the West Indies for another cruise, in
+which she encountered one of those rude deceptions which privateers
+often experienced. She had made already eight prizes, for one of
+which, the ship "Amelia," she had had to fight vigorously, killing
+four and wounding five of the enemy, while herself sustaining a loss
+of one killed and one wounded, when on October 31, 1814, about 1 A.M.,
+being then off Cape Tiburon at the west end of Haïti, she sighted two
+vessels standing to the westward. Chase was made, and an hour later
+the privateer opened fire. The strangers replied, at the same time
+shortening sail, which looked ominous; but the "Saucy Jack," willing
+to justify her name, kept on to close. At 6 A.M., having arrived
+within a few hundred yards, the enemy were seen to be well armed, but
+appeared not to be well manned. At seven, by which time it was
+daylight, the "Saucy Jack" began an engagement with the nearer, and
+ten minutes later ran her alongside, when she was found to be full of
+soldiers. The privateer sheered off at once, and took to her heels,
+followed by an incessant fire of grape and musketry from those whom
+she had recently pursued. This awkward position, which carried the
+chance of a disabling shot and consequent capture, lasted till eight,
+when the speed of the schooner took her out of range, having had in
+all eight men killed and fifteen wounded; two round shot in the hull,
+and spars and rigging much cut up. It was afterwards ascertained that
+her opponent was the "Volcano" bombship, convoying the transport
+"Golden Fleece," on board which were two hundred and fifty troops from
+Chesapeake Bay for Jamaica. The "Volcano" lost an officer and two men
+killed, and two wounded; proving that under somewhat awkward
+circumstances the "Saucy Jack" could give as well as take.[235]
+
+A little later in this season a group of nine sail, from the West
+Indies for Europe, was encountered by the privateer "Kemp," of
+Baltimore, broad off the coast of North Carolina. Excluded, like the
+"Comet" and others, from return to the port where she belonged, the
+"Kemp" had been in Wilmington, which she left November 29, 1814; the
+strangers being sighted at 8 A.M. December 1. One was a convoying
+frigate, which, when the "Kemp" pursued, gave chase and drove her off
+that afternoon. The privateer outran her pursuer, and during the night
+by devious courses gave her the slip; thereupon steering for the
+position where she judged she would again fall in with the merchant
+vessels. In this she was successful, at daylight discovering
+them,--three ships, three brigs, and two schooners. At 11 A.M. one
+ship was overtaken, but proving to be Spanish, from Havana to Hamburg,
+was allowed to proceed, while the "Kemp" again followed the others. At
+noon they were five miles to windward, drawn up in a line to fight;
+for in those days of war and piracy most merchant ships carried at
+least a few guns for defence, and in this case their numbers, combined
+in mutual support, might effect a successful resistance. At two they
+took the initiative, bearing down together and attacking. The "Kemp"
+engaged them all, and in half an hour the untrained squadron was
+naturally in confusion. One after the other, six of the seven were
+boarded, or without waiting to be attacked struck their colors as the
+schooner drew up; but while four were being taken into possession, the
+two others seized the opportunity and made off. Two ships and two
+brigs remained in the hands of the captor. All were laden with sugar
+and coffee, valuable at any time, but especially so in the then
+destitute condition of the United States. After this unusual, if not
+wholly unique, experience, the "Kemp" returned to port, having been
+absent only six days. Her prisoners amounted to seventy-one, her own
+crew being fifty-three. The separation of the escort from the convoy,
+the subsequent judicious search for the latter, and the completeness
+of the result, constitute this a very remarkable instance of good
+management accompanied by good fortune; success deserved and
+achieved.[236]
+
+The privateer brig "Chasseur," of Baltimore, Captain Thomas Boyle, was
+one of the typically successful and renowned cruisers of the time. She
+carried a battery of sixteen 12-pounder carronades, and in the course
+of the war thirty prizes are credited to her. In the late summer of
+1814 she cruised off the coast of Great Britain and Ireland,
+returning at the end of October; having made eighteen captures during
+an absence of three months. From these she paroled and sent in by
+cartels one hundred and fifty prisoners, bringing back with her
+forty-three, of whom she had not been able thus to rid herself.[237]
+After refitting she went to the West Indies for a winter cruise, which
+extended from the Windward Islands to the neighborhood of Havana. Here
+she signalized the approaching end of her career by an action, fought
+after peace not only had been concluded at Ghent, but already was
+known in the United States. On February 26, 1815, at 11 A.M., being
+then twenty miles east of Havana, and six miles from the Cuban coast,
+a schooner was seen in the northeast (1), running down before the
+northeast trade-wind. Sail was made to intercept her (2), there being
+at the time visible from the "Chasseur's" masthead a convoy lying-to
+off Havana, information concerning which probably accounts for her
+presence at this spot. The chase steered more to the northward (2),
+bringing the wind on her starboard side, apparently wishing to avoid a
+meeting. The "Chasseur" followed her motions, and when within about
+three miles the stranger's foretopmast went over the side, showing the
+press of sail she was carrying. After clearing the wreck she hauled
+close on the wind, heading northerly. At 1 P.M., she began to fire her
+stern gun and showed British colors; but only three port-holes were
+visible on her port side,--towards the "Chasseur."
+
+Believing from appearances that he had before him a weakly armed
+vessel making a passage, and seeing but few men on her deck, Captain
+Boyle pressed forward without much preparation and under all sail. At
+1.26 P.M. the "Chasseur" had come within pistol-shot (3), on the port
+side, when the enemy disclosed a tier of ten ports and opened his
+broadside, with round shot, grape, and musket balls. The American
+schooner, having much way on, shot ahead, and as she was to leeward in
+doing so, the British vessel kept off quickly (4) to run under her
+stern and rake. This was successfully avoided by imitating the
+movement (4), and the two were again side by side, but with the
+"Chasseur" now to the right (5). The action continued thus for about
+ten minutes, when Boyle found his opponent's battery too heavy for
+him. He therefore ran alongside (6), and in the act of boarding the
+enemy struck. She proved to be the British schooner "St. Lawrence,"
+belonging to the royal navy; formerly a renowned Philadelphia
+privateer, the "Atlas." Her battery, one long 9-pounder and fourteen
+12-pounder carronades, would have been no very unequal match for the
+sixteen of her antagonist; but the "Chasseur" had been obliged
+recently to throw overboard ten of these, while hard chased by the
+Barrosa frigate, and had replaced them with some 9-pounders from a
+prize, for which she had no proper projectiles. The complement allowed
+the "St. Lawrence" was seventy-five, though it does not seem certain
+that all were on board; and she was carrying also some soldiers,
+marines, and naval officers, bound to New Orleans, in ignorance
+probably of the disastrous end of that expedition. The "Chasseur" had
+eighty-nine men, besides several boys. The British loss reported by
+her captain was six killed and seventeen wounded; the American, five
+killed and eight wounded.[238]
+
+ [Illustration: Diagram of the Chasseur vs. St. Lawrence battle]
+
+This action was very creditably fought on both sides, but to the
+American captain belongs the meed of having not only won success, but
+deserved it. His sole mistake was the over-confidence in what he could
+see, which made him a victim to the very proper ruse practised by his
+antagonist in concealing his force. His manoeuvring was prompt, ready,
+and accurate; that of the British vessel was likewise good, but a
+greater disproportion of injury should have resulted from her superior
+battery. In reporting the affair to his owners, Captain Boyle said,
+apologetically: "I should not willingly, perhaps, have sought a
+contest with a King's vessel, knowing that is not our object; but my
+expectations at first were a valuable vessel, and a valuable cargo
+also. When I found myself deceived, the honor of the flag intrusted to
+my care was not to be disgraced by flight." The feeling expressed was
+modest as well as spirited, and Captain Boyle's handsome conduct
+merits the mention that the day after the action, when the captured
+schooner was released as a cartel to Havana, in compassion to her
+wounded, the commander of the "St. Lawrence" gave him a letter, in the
+event of his being taken by a British cruiser, testifying to his
+"obliging attention and watchful solicitude to preserve our effects,
+and render us comfortable during the short time we were in his
+possession;" in which, he added, the captain "was carefully seconded
+by all his officers."[239]
+
+These instances, occurring either in the West Indies, or, in the case
+of the "Kemp," affecting vessels which had just loaded there, are
+sufficient, when taken in connection with those before cited from
+other quarters of the globe, to illustrate the varied activities and
+fortunes of privateering. The general subject, therefore, need not
+further be pursued. It will be observed that in each case the cruiser
+acts on the offensive; being careful, however, in choosing the object
+of attack, to avoid armed ships, the capture of which seems unlikely
+to yield pecuniary profit adequate to the risk. The gallantry and
+skill of Captain Boyle of the "Chasseur" made particularly permissible
+to him the avowal, that only mistake of judgment excused his
+committing himself to an encounter which held out no such promise; and
+it may be believed that the equally capable Captain Diron, if free to
+do as he pleased, would have chosen the packet, and not her escort the
+"Dominica," as the object of his pursuit. This the naval schooner of
+course could not permit. It was necessary, therefore, first to fight
+her; and, although she was beaten, the result of the action was to
+insure the escape of the ship under her charge. These examples define
+exactly the spirit and aim of privateering, and distinguish them from
+the motives inspiring the ship of war. The object of the privateer is
+profit by capture; to which fighting is only incidental, and where
+avoidable is blamable. The mission of a navy on the other hand is
+primarily military; and while custom permitted the immediate captor a
+share in the proceeds of his prizes, the taking of them was in
+conception not for direct gain, personal or national, but for injury
+to the enemy.
+
+It may seem that, even though the ostensible motive was not the same,
+the two courses of operation followed identical methods, and in
+outcome were indistinguishable. This is not so. However subtle the
+working of the desire for gain upon the individual naval officer,
+leading at times to acts of doubtful propriety, the tone and spirit of
+a profession, even when not clearly formulated in phrase and
+definition, will assert itself in the determination of personal
+conduct. The dominating sense of advantage to the state, which is the
+military motive, and the dominating desire for gain in a mercantile
+enterprise, are very different incentives; and the result showed
+itself in a fact which has never been appreciated, and perhaps never
+noted, that the national ships of war were far more effective as
+prize takers than were the privateers. A contrary impression has
+certainly obtained, and was shared by the present writer until he
+resorted to the commonplace test of adding up figures.
+
+Amid much brilliant achievement, privateering, like all other business
+pursuits, had also a large and preponderant record of unsuccess. The
+very small number of naval cruisers necessarily yielded a much smaller
+aggregate of prizes; but when the respective totals are considered
+with reference to the numbers of vessels engaged in making them, the
+returns from the individual vessels of the United States navy far
+exceed those from the privateers. Among conspicuously successful
+cruisers, also, the United States ships "Argus," "Essex," "Peacock,"
+and "Wasp" compare favorably in general results with the most
+celebrated privateers, even without allowing for the evident fact that
+a few instances of very extraordinary qualities and record are more
+likely to be found among five hundred vessels than among twenty-two;
+this being the entire number of naval pendants actually engaged in
+open-sea cruising, from first to last. These twenty-two captured one
+hundred and sixty-five prizes, an average of 7.5 each, in which are
+included the enemy's ships of war taken. Of privateers of all classes
+there were five hundred and twenty-six; or, excluding a few small
+nondescripts, four hundred and ninety-two. By these were captured
+thirteen hundred and forty-four vessels, an average of less than
+three; to be exact, 2.7. The proportion, therefore, of prizes taken by
+ships of war to those by private armed vessels was nearly three to
+one.
+
+Comparison may be instituted in other ways. Of the twenty-two national
+cruisers, four only, or one in five, took no prize; leaving to the
+remaining eighteen an average of nine. Out of the grand total of five
+hundred and twenty-six privateers only two hundred and seven caught
+anything; three hundred and nineteen, three out of five, returned to
+port empty-handed, or were themselves taken. Dividing the thirteen
+hundred and forty-four prizes among the two hundred and seven more or
+less successful privateers, there results an average of 6.5; so that,
+regard being had only to successful cruisers, the achievement of the
+naval vessels was to that of the private armed nearly as three to two.
+These results may be accepted as disposing entirely of the extravagant
+claims made for privateering as a system, when compared with a regular
+naval service, especially when it is remembered with what difficulty
+the American frigates could get to sea at all, on account of their
+heavy draft and the close blockade; whereas the smaller vessels,
+national or private, had not only many harbors open, but also
+comparatively numerous opportunities to escape. The frigate "United
+States" never got out after her capture of the "Macedonian," in 1812;
+the "Congress" was shut up after her return in December, 1813; and the
+"Chesapeake" had been captured in the previous June. All these
+nevertheless count in the twenty-two pendants reckoned above.
+
+The figures here cited are from a compilation by Lieutenant George F.
+Emmons,[240] of the United States Navy, published in 1853 under the
+title, "The United States Navy from 1775 to 1853." Mr. Emmons made no
+analyses, confining himself to giving lists and particulars; his work
+is purely statistical. Counting captures upon the lakes, and a few
+along the coast difficult of classification, his grand total of
+floating craft taken from the enemy reaches fifteen hundred and
+ninety-nine; which agrees nearly with the sixteen hundred and
+thirty-four of Niles, whom he names among his sources of information.
+From an examination of the tables some other details of interest may
+be drawn. Of the five hundred and twenty-six privateers and
+letters-of-marque given by name, twenty-six were ships, sixty-seven
+brigs, three hundred and sixty-four schooners, thirty-five sloops,
+thirty-four miscellaneous; down to, and including, a few boats putting
+out from the beach. The number captured by the enemy was one hundred
+and forty-eight, or twenty-eight per cent. The navy suffered more
+severely. Of the twenty-two vessels reckoned above, twelve were taken,
+or destroyed to keep them out of an enemy's hands; over fifty per
+cent. Of the twelve, six were small brigs, corresponding in size and
+nautical powers to the privateer. Three were frigates--the
+"President," "Essex," and "Chesapeake." One, the "Adams," was not at
+sea when destroyed by her own captain to escape capture. Only two
+sloops of war, the first "Wasp" and the "Frolic,"[241] were taken; and
+of these the former, as already known, was caught when partially
+dismasted, at the end of a successful engagement.
+
+Contemporary with the career of the "Argus," the advantage of a sudden
+and unexpected inroad, like hers, upon a region deemed safe by the
+enemy, was receiving confirmation in the remote Pacific by the cruise
+of the frigate "Essex." This vessel, which had formed part of
+Commodore Bainbridge's squadron at the close of 1812, was last
+mentioned as keeping her Christmas off Cape Frio,[242] on the coast of
+Brazil, awaiting there the coming of the consorts whom she never
+succeeded in joining. Captain Porter maintained this station, hearing
+frequently about Bainbridge by vessels from Bahia, until January 12,
+1813. Then a threatened shortness of provisions, and rumors of enemy's
+ships in the neighborhood, especially of the seventy-four "Montagu"
+combined to send him to St. Catherine's Island, another appointed
+rendezvous, and the last upon the coast of Brazil. In this remote
+and sequestered anchorage hostile cruisers would scarcely look for
+him, at least until more likely positions had been carefully examined.
+
+ [Illustration: CAPTAIN DAVID PORTER.
+ _From the painting by Charles Wilson Peale, in Independence Hall,
+ Philadelphia._]
+
+At St. Catherine's Porter heard of the action between the
+"Constitution" and "Java" off Bahia, a thousand miles distant, and
+received also a rumor, which seemed probable enough, that the third
+ship of the division, the "Hornet," had been captured by the
+"Montagu." He consequently left port January 26, for the southward,
+still with the expectation of ultimately joining the Commodore off St.
+Helena, the last indicated point of assembly; but having been unable
+to renew his stores in St. Catherine's, and ascertaining that there
+was no hope of better success at Buenos Ayres, or the other Spanish
+settlements within the River La Plata, he after reflection decided to
+cut loose from the squadron and go alone to the Pacific. There he
+could reasonably hope to support himself by the whalers of the enemy;
+that class of vessel being always well provided for long absences.
+This alternative course he knew would be acceptable to the Government,
+as well as to his immediate commander.[243] The next six weeks were
+spent in the tempestuous passage round Cape Horn, the ship's company
+living on half-allowance of provisions; but on March 14, 1813, the
+"Essex" anchored in Valparaiso, being the first United States ship of
+war to show the national flag in the Pacific. By a noteworthy
+coincidence she had already been the first to carry it beyond the Cape
+of Good Hope.
+
+Chile received the frigate hospitably, being at the time in revolt
+against Spain; but the authority of the mother country was still
+maintained in Peru, where a Spanish viceroy resided, and it was
+learned that in the capacity of ally of Great Britain he intended to
+fit out privateers against American whalers, of which there were many
+in these seas. As several of the British whalers carried
+letters-of-marque, empowering them to make prizes, the arrival of the
+"Essex" not only menaced the hostile interests, but promised to
+protect her own countrymen from a double danger. Her departure
+therefore was hastened; and having secured abundant provision, such as
+the port supplied, she sailed for the northward a week after
+anchoring. A privateer from Peru was met, which had seized two
+Americans. Porter threw overboard her guns and ammunition, and then
+released her with a note for the viceroy, which served both as a
+respectful explanation and a warning. One of the prizes taken by this
+marauder was recaptured March 27, when entering Callao, the port of
+Lima.
+
+The "Essex" then went to the Galapagos Islands, a group just south of
+the equator, five hundred miles from the South American mainland.
+These belong now to Ecuador, and at that day were a noted rendezvous
+for whalers. In this neighborhood the frigate remained from April 17
+to October 3, during which period she captured twelve British whalers
+out of some twenty-odd reported in the Pacific; with the necessary
+consequence of driving all others to cover for the time being. The
+prizes were valuable, some more, some less; not only from the
+character of their cargoes, but because they themselves were larger
+than the average merchant ship, and exceptionally well found. Three
+were sent to Valparaiso in convoy of a fourth, which had been
+converted into a consort of the "Essex," under the name of the "Essex
+Junior," mounting twenty very light guns. September 30 she returned,
+bringing word that a British squadron, consisting of the 36-gun
+frigate "Phoebe," Captain James Hillyar, and the sloops of war
+"Cherub" and "Raccoon," had sailed for the Pacific. The rumor was
+correct, though long antedating the arrival of the vessels. In
+consequence of it, Porter, considering that his work at the Galapagos
+was now complete, and that the "Essex" would need overhauling before a
+possible encounter with a division, the largest unit of which was
+superior to her in class and force, decided to move to a position then
+even more remote from disturbance than St. Catherine's had been. On
+October 25 the "Essex" and "Essex Junior" anchored at the island of
+Nukahiva, of the Marquesas group, having with them three of the
+prizes. Of the others, besides those now at Valparaiso, two had been
+given up to prisoners to convey them to England, and three had been
+sent to the United States. That all the last were captured on the way
+detracts nothing from Porter's merit, but testifies vividly to the
+British command of the sea.
+
+At the Marquesas, by aid of the resources of the prizes, the frigate
+was thoroughly overhauled, refitted, and provisioned for six months.
+Porter had not only maintained his ship, but in part paid his officers
+and crew from the proceeds of his captures. On December 12 he sailed
+for Chile, satisfied with the material outcome of his venturous
+cruise, but wishing to add to it something of further distinction by
+an encounter with Hillyar, if obtainable on terms approaching
+equality. With this object the ship's company were diligently
+exercised at the guns and small arms during the passage, which lasted
+nearly eight weeks; the Chilean coast being sighted on January 12, far
+to the southward, and the "Essex" running slowly along it until
+February 3, when she reached Valparaiso. On the 8th the "Phoebe" and
+"Cherub" came in and anchored; the "Raccoon" having gone on to the
+North Pacific.
+
+The antagonists now lay near one another, under the restraint of a
+neutral port, for several days, during which some social intercourse
+took place between the officers; the two captains renewing an
+acquaintance made years before in the Mediterranean. After a period of
+refit, and of repose for the crews, the British left the bay, and
+cruised off the port. The "Essex" and "Essex Junior" remained at
+anchor, imprisoned by a force too superior to be encountered without
+some modifying circumstances of advantage. Porter found opportunities
+for contrasting the speed of the two frigates, and convinced himself
+that the "Essex" was on that score superior; but the respective
+armaments introduced very important tactical considerations, which
+might, and in the result did, prove decisive. The "Essex" originally
+had been a 12-pounder frigate, classed as of thirty-two guns; but her
+battery now was forty 32-pounder carronades and six long twelves.
+Captain Porter in his report of the battle stated the armament of the
+"Phoebe" to be thirty long 18-pounders and sixteen 32-pounder
+carronades. The British naval historian James gives her twenty-six
+long eighteens, fourteen 32-pounder carronades, and four long nines;
+while to the "Cherub" he attributes a carronade battery of eighteen
+thirty-twos and six eighteens, with two long sixes. Whichever
+enumeration be accepted, the broadside of the "Essex" within carronade
+range considerably outweighed that of the "Phoebe" alone, but was much
+less than that of the two British ships combined; the light built and
+light-armed "Essex Junior" not being of account to either side. There
+remained always the serious chance that, even if the "Phoebe" accepted
+single combat, some accident of wind might prevent the "Essex"
+reaching her before being disabled by her long guns. Hillyar,
+moreover, was an old disciple of Nelson, fully imbued with the
+teaching that achievement of success, not personal glory, must dictate
+action; and, having a well established reputation for courage and
+conduct, he did not intend to leave anything to the chances of fortune
+incident to engagement between equals. He would accept no provocation
+to fight apart from the "Cherub."
+
+Forced to accept this condition, Porter now turned his attention to
+escape. Valparaiso Bay is an open roadstead, facing north. The high
+ground above the anchorage provides shelter from the south-southwest
+wind, which prevails along this coast throughout the year with very
+rare intermissions. At times, as is common under high land, it blows
+furiously in gusts. The British vessels underway kept their station
+close to the extreme western point of the bay, to prevent the "Essex"
+from passing to southward of them, and so gaining the advantage of the
+wind, which might entail a prolonged chase and enable her, if not to
+distance pursuit, at least to draw the "Phoebe" out of support of the
+"Cherub." Porter's aim of course was to seize an opportunity when by
+neglect, or unavoidably, they had left a practicable opening between
+them and the point. In the end, his hand was forced by an accident.
+
+On March 28 the south wind blew with unusual violence, and the "Essex"
+parted one of her cables. The other anchor failed to hold when the
+strain came upon it, and the ship began to drift to sea. The cable was
+cut and sail made at once; for though the enemy were too nearly in
+their station to have warranted the attempt to leave under ordinary
+conditions, Porter, in the emergency thus suddenly thrust upon him,
+thought he saw a prospect of passing to windward. The "Essex"
+therefore was hauled close to the wind under single-reefed topsails,
+heading to the westward; but just as she came under the point of the
+bay a heavy squall carried away the maintopmast. The loss of this spar
+hopelessly crippled her, and made it impossible even to regain the
+anchorage left. She therefore put about, and ran eastward until within
+pistol-shot of the coast, about three miles north of the city. Here
+she anchored, well within neutral waters; Hillyar's report stating
+that she was "so near shore as to preclude the possibility of passing
+ahead of her without risk to his Majesty's ships." Three miles, then
+the range of a cannon-shot, estimated liberally, was commonly accepted
+as the width of water adjacent to neutral territory, which was under
+the neutral protection. The British captain decided nevertheless to
+attack.
+
+The wind remaining southerly, the "Essex" rode head to it; the two
+hostile vessels approaching with the intention of running north of
+her, close under her stern. The wind, however, forced them off as they
+drew near; and their first attack, beginning about 4 P.M. and lasting
+ten minutes, produced no visible effect, according to Hillyar's
+report. Porter states, on the contrary, that considerable injury was
+done to the "Essex"; and in particular the spring which he was trying
+to get on the cable was thrice shot away, thus preventing the bringing
+of her broadside to bear as required. The "Phoebe" and her consort
+then wore, which increased their distance, and stood out again to sea.
+While doing this they threw a few "random shots;" fired, that is, at
+an elevation so great as to be incompatible with certainty of aim.
+During this cannonade the "Essex," with three 12-pounders run out of
+her stern ports, had deprived the "Phoebe" of "the use of her
+mainsail, jib and mainstay." On standing in again Hillyar prepared to
+anchor, but ordered the "Cherub" to keep underway, choosing a position
+whence she could most annoy their opponent.
+
+At 5.35 P.M., by Hillyar's report,--Porter is silent as to the
+hour,--the attack was renewed; the British ships both placing
+themselves on the starboard--seaward--quarter of the "Essex." Before
+the "Phoebe" reached the position in which she intended to anchor, the
+"Essex" was seen to be underway. Hillyar could only suppose that her
+cable had been severed by a shot; but Porter states that under the
+galling fire to which she was subjected, without power to reply, he
+cut the cable, hoping, as the enemy were to leeward, he might bring
+the ship into close action, and perhaps even board the "Phoebe." The
+decision was right, but under the conditions a counsel of desperation;
+for sheets, tacks, and halliards being shot away, movement depended
+upon sails hanging loose,--spread, but not set. Nevertheless, he was
+able for a short time to near the enemy, and both accounts agree that
+hereupon ensued the heat of the combat; "a serious conflict," to use
+Hillyar's words, to which corresponds Porter's statement that "the
+firing on both sides was now tremendous." The "Phoebe," however, was
+handled, very properly, to utilize to the full the tactical advantages
+she possessed in the greater range of her guns, and in power of
+manoeuvring. In the circumstances under which she was acting, the sail
+power left her was amply sufficient; having simply to keep drawing to
+leeward, maintaining from her opponent a distance at which his guns
+were useless and her own effective.
+
+Under these conditions, seeing success to be out of the question, and
+suffering great loss of men, Porter turned to the last resort of the
+vanquished, to destroy the vessel and to save the crew from captivity.
+The "Essex" was pointed for the shore; but when within a couple of
+hundred yards the wind, which had so far favored her approach, shifted
+ahead. Still clinging to every chance, a kedge with a hawser was let
+go, to hold her where she was; perhaps the enemy might drift
+unwittingly out of range. But the hawser parted, and with it the
+frigate's last hold upon the country which she had honored by an
+heroic defence. Porter then authorized any who might wish to swim
+ashore to do so; the flag being kept flying to warrant a proceeding
+which after formal surrender would be a breach of faith. At 6.20 the
+"Essex" at last lowered her colors.[244] Out of a ship's company of
+two hundred and fifty-five, with which she sailed in the morning,
+fifty-eight were killed, or died of their wounds, and sixty-five were
+wounded. The missing were reported at thirty-one. By agreement between
+Hillyar and Porter, the "Essex Junior" was disarmed, and neutralized,
+to convey to the United States, as paroled prisoners of war, the
+survivors who remained on board at the moment of surrender. These
+numbered one hundred and thirty-two. It is an interesting particular,
+linking those early days of the United States navy to a long
+subsequent period of renown, and worthy therefore to be recalled, that
+among the combatants of the "Essex" was Midshipman David G. Farragut,
+then thirteen years old. His name figures among the wounded, as well
+as in the list of passengers on board the "Essex Junior."
+
+The disaster to the "Essex" is connected by a singular and tragical
+link with the fate of an American cruiser of like adventurous
+enterprise in seas far distant from the Pacific. After the defeat at
+Valparaiso, Lieutenant Stephen Decatur McKnight and Midshipman James
+Lyman of the United States frigate were exchanged as prisoners of war
+against a certain number of officers and seamen belonging to one of
+the "Essex's" prizes; which, having continued under protection of the
+neutral port, had undergone no change of belligerent relation by the
+capture of her captor. When the "Essex Junior" sailed, these two
+officers remained behind, by amicable arrangement, to go in the
+"Phoebe" to Rio Janeiro, there to give certain evidence needed in
+connection with the prize claims of the British frigate; which done,
+it was understood they would be at liberty to return to their own
+country by such conveyance as suited them. After arrival in Rio, the
+first convenient opportunity offering was by a Swedish brig sailing
+for Falmouth, England. In her they took passage, leaving Rio August
+23, 1814. On October 9 the brig fell in with the United States sloop
+of war "Wasp," in mid-ocean, about three hundred miles west of the
+Cape Verde Islands, homeward bound. The two passengers transferred
+themselves to her. Since this occurrence nothing further has ever been
+heard of the American ship; nor would the incident itself have escaped
+oblivion but for the anxiety of friends, which after the lapse, of
+time prompted systematic inquiry to ascertain what had become of the
+missing officers.
+
+The captain of the "Wasp" was Master-Commandant, or, as he would now
+be styled, Commander Johnstone Blakely; the same who had commanded the
+"Enterprise" up to a month before her engagement with the "Boxer,"
+when was demonstrated the efficiency to which he had brought her
+ship's company. He sailed from Portsmouth, New Hampshire, May 1, 1814.
+Of his instructions,[245] the most decisive was to remain for thirty
+days in a position on the approaches to the English Channel, about one
+hundred and fifty miles south of Ireland, in which neighborhood
+occurred the most striking incidents of the cruise. On the outward
+passage was taken only one prize, June 2. She was from Cork to
+Halifax, twelve days out; therefore probably from six to eight hundred
+miles west of Ireland. The second, from Limerick for Bordeaux, June
+13, would show the "Wasp" on her station; on which, Blakely reported,
+it was impossible to keep her, even approximately, being continually
+drawn away in pursuit, and often much further up the English Channel
+than desired, on account of the numerous sails passing.[246] When
+overhauled, most of these were found to be neutrals. Nevertheless,
+seven British merchant vessels were taken; all of which were
+destroyed, except one given up to carry prisoners to England.
+
+While thus engaged, the "Wasp" on June 28 sighted a sail, which proved
+to be the British brig of war "Reindeer," Captain Manners, that had
+left Plymouth six days before. The place of this meeting was latitude
+48-½° North, longitude 11° East; therefore nearly in the cruising
+ground assigned to Blakely by his instructions. The antagonists were
+unequally matched; the American carrying twenty 32-pounder carronades
+and two long guns, the British sixteen 24-pounders and two long; a
+difference against her of over fifty per cent. The "Reindeer" was to
+windward, and some manoeuvring took place in the respective efforts to
+keep or to gain this advantage. In the end the "Reindeer" retained it,
+and the action began with both on the starboard tack, closehauled, the
+British sloop on the weather quarter of the "Wasp,"--behind, but on
+the weather side, which in this case was to the right (1). Approaching
+slowly, the "Reindeer" with great deliberation fired five times, at
+two-minute intervals, a light gun mounted on her forecastle, loaded
+with round and grape shot. Finding her to maintain this position, upon
+which his guns would not train, Blakely put the helm down, and the
+"Wasp" turned swiftly to the right (2), bringing her starboard battery
+to bear. This was at 3.26 P.M. The action immediately became very hot,
+at very close range (3), and the "Reindeer" was speedily disabled. The
+vessels then came together (4), and Captain Manners, who by this time
+had received two severe wounds, with great gallantry endeavored to
+board with his crew, reduced by the severe punishment already
+inflicted to half its originally inferior numbers. As he climbed into
+the rigging, two balls from the "Wasp's" tops passed through his head,
+and he fell back dead on his own deck. No further resistance was
+offered, and the "Wasp" took possession. She had lost five killed and
+twenty-one wounded, of whom six afterwards died. The British
+casualties were twenty-three killed and forty-two wounded. The brig
+herself, being fairly torn to pieces, was burned the next day.[247]
+
+ [Illustration: Diagram of the Wasp vs. Reindeer battle]
+
+The results of this engagement testify to the efficiency and
+resolution of both combatants; but a special meed of praise is
+assuredly due to Captain Manners, whose tenacity was as marked as his
+daring, and who, by the injury done to his stronger antagonist,
+demonstrated both the thoroughness of his previous general preparation
+and the skill of his management in the particular instance. Under his
+command the "Reindeer" had become a notable vessel in the fleet to
+which she belonged; but as equality in force is at a disadvantage
+where there is serious inferiority in training and discipline, so the
+best of drilling must yield before decisive superiority of armament,
+when there has been equal care on both sides to insure efficiency in
+the use of the battery. To Blakely's diligence in this respect his
+whole career bears witness.
+
+After the action Blakely wished to remain cruising, which neither the
+condition of his ship nor her losses in men forbade; but the number of
+prisoners and wounded compelled him to make a harbor. He accordingly
+went into L'Orient, France, on July 8. Despite the change of
+government, and the peace with Great Britain which attended the
+restoration of the Bourbons, the "Wasp" was here hospitably received
+and remained for seven weeks refitting, sailing again August 27. By
+September 1 she had taken and destroyed three more enemy's vessels;
+one of which was cut out from a convoy, and burnt under the eyes of
+the convoying 74-gun ship. At 6.30 P.M. of September 1 four sails
+were sighted, from which Blakely selected to pursue the one most to
+windward; for, should this prove a ship of war, the others, if
+consorts, would be to leeward of the fight, less able to assist. The
+chase lasted till 9.26, when the "Wasp" was near enough to see that
+the stranger was a brig of war, and to open with a light carronade on
+the forecastle, as the "Reindeer" had done upon her in the same
+situation. Confident in his vessel, however, Blakely abandoned this
+advantage of position, ran under his antagonist's lee to prevent her
+standing down to join the vessels to leeward, and at 9.29 began the
+engagement, being then on her lee bow. At ten the "Wasp" ceased firing
+and hailed, believing the enemy to be silenced; but receiving no
+reply, and the British guns opening again, the combat was renewed. At
+10.12, seeing the opponent to be suffering greatly, Blakely hailed
+again and was answered that the brig had surrendered. The "Wasp's"
+battery was secured, and a boat was in the act of being lowered to
+take possession, when a second brig was discovered close astern.
+Preparation was made to receive her and her coming up awaited; but at
+10.36 the two others were also visible, astern and approaching. The
+"Wasp" then made sail, hoping to decoy the second vessel from her
+supports; but the sinking condition of the one first engaged detained
+the new-comer, who, having come within pistol-shot, fired a broadside
+which took effect only aloft, and then gave all her attention to
+saving the crew of her comrade. As the "Wasp" drew away she heard the
+repeated signal guns of distress discharged by her late adversary, the
+name of which never became known to the captain and crew of the
+victorious ship.[248]
+
+The vessel thus engaged was the British brig "Avon," of sixteen
+32-pounder carronades, and two long 9-pounders; her force being to
+that of the "Wasp" as four to five. Her loss in men was ten killed
+and thirty-two wounded; that of the "Wasp" two killed and one wounded.
+The "Avon" being much superior to the "Reindeer," this comparatively
+slight injury inflicted by her testifies to inferior efficiency. The
+broadside of her rescuer, the "Castilian," of the same weight as her
+own, wholly missed the "Wasp's" hull, though delivered from so near; a
+circumstance which drew from the British historian, James, the caustic
+remark that she probably would have done no better than the "Avon,"
+had the action continued. The "Wasp" was much damaged in sails and
+rigging; the "Avon" sank two hours and a half after the "Wasp" left
+her and one hour after being rejoined by the "Castilian."
+
+The course of the "Wasp" after this event is traced by her captures.
+The meeting with the "Avon" was within a hundred miles of that with
+the "Reindeer." On September 12 and 14, having run south three hundred
+and sixty miles, she took two vessels; being then about two hundred
+and fifty miles west from Lisbon. On the 21st, having made four
+degrees more southing, she seized the British brig "Atalanta," a
+hundred miles east of Madeira. This prize being of exceptional value,
+Blakely decided to send her in, and she arrived safely at Savannah on
+November 4, in charge of Midshipman David Geisinger, who lived to
+become a captain in the navy.[249] She brought with her Blakely's
+official despatches, including the report of the affair with the
+"Avon." This was the last tidings received from the "Wasp" until the
+inquiries of friends elicited the fact that the two officers of the
+"Essex" had joined her three weeks after the capture of the
+"Atalanta," nine hundred miles farther south. Besides these, there
+were among the lost two lieutenants who had been in the "Constitution"
+when she took the "Guerrière" and the "Java," and one who had been in
+the "Enterprise" in her action with the "Boxer."
+
+Coincident in time with the cruise of the "Wasp" was that of her
+sister ship, the "Peacock"; like her also newly built, and named after
+the British brig sunk by Captain Lawrence in the "Hornet." The finest
+achievement of the "Wasp," however, was near the end of her career,
+while it fell to the "Peacock" to begin with a successful action.
+Having left New York early in March, she went first to St. Mary's,
+Georgia, carrying a quantity of warlike stores. In making this passage
+she was repeatedly chased by enemies. Having landed her cargo, she
+sailed immediately and ran south as far as one of the Bahama Islands,
+called the Great Isaac, near to which vessels from Jamaica and Cuba
+bound to Europe must pass, because of the narrowness of the channel
+separating the islands from the Florida coast. In this neighborhood
+she remained from April 18 to 24, seeing only one neutral and two
+privateers, which were pursued unsuccessfully. This absence of
+unguarded merchant ships, coupled with the frequency of hostile
+cruisers met before, illustrates exactly the conditions to which
+attention has been repeatedly drawn, as characterizing the British
+plan of action in the Western Atlantic. Learning that the expected
+Jamaica convoy would be under charge of a seventy-four, two frigates,
+and two sloops, and that the merchant ships in Havana, fearing to sail
+alone, would await its passing to join, Captain Warrington next stood
+slowly to the northward, and on April 29, off Cape Canaveral, sighted
+four sail, which proved to be the British brig "Epervier" of eighteen
+32-pounder carronades,[250] also northward bound, with three merchant
+vessels under her convoy; one of these being Russian, and one Spanish,
+belonging therefore to nations still at war with France, though
+neutral towards the United States. The third, a merchant brig, was the
+first British commercial vessel seen since leaving Savannah.
+
+As usual and proper, the "Epervier," seeing that the "Peacock" would
+overtake her and her convoy, directed the latter to separate while she
+stood down to engage the hostile cruiser. The two vessels soon came to
+blows. The accounts of the action on both sides are extremely meagre,
+and preclude any certain statement as to manoeuvres; which indeed
+cannot have been material to the issue reached. The "Epervier," for
+reasons that will appear later, fought first one broadside and then
+the other; but substantially the contest appears to have been
+maintained side to side. From the first discharge of the "Epervier"
+two round shot struck the "Peacock's" foreyard nearly in the same
+place, which so weakened the spar as to deprive the ship of the use of
+her foresail and foretopsail; that is, practically, of all sail on the
+foremast. Having thenceforth only the jibs for headsail, she had to be
+kept a little off the wind. The action lasted forty-five minutes, when
+the "Epervier" struck. Her loss in men was eight killed, and fifteen
+wounded; the "Peacock" had two wounded.
+
+In extenuation of this disproportion in result, James states that in
+the first broadside three of the "Epervier's" carronades were
+unshipped; and that, when those on the other side were brought into
+action by tacking, similar mishaps occurred. Further, the moment the
+guns got warm they drew out the breeching bolts. Allowing full force
+to these facts, they certainly have some bearing on the general
+outcome; but viewed with regard to the particular question of
+efficiency, which is the issue of credit in every fight,[251] there
+remains the first broadside, and such other discharges as the
+carronades could endure before getting warm. The light metal of those
+guns indisputably caused them to heat rapidly, and to kick nastily;
+but it can scarcely be considered probable that the "Epervier" was not
+able to get in half a dozen broadsides. The result, two wounded,
+establishes inefficiency, and a practical certainty of defeat had all
+her ironwork held; for the "Peacock," though only three months
+commissioned, was a good ship under a thoroughly capable and attentive
+captain. A comical remark of James in connection with this engagement
+illustrates the weakness of prepossession, in all matters relating to
+Americans, which in him was joined to a painstaking accuracy in
+ascertaining and stating external facts. "Two well-directed shot," he
+says, disabled the "Peacock's" foreyard. It was certainly a capital
+piece of luck for the "Epervier" that her opponent at the outset lost
+the use of one of her most important spars; but the implication that
+the shot were directed for the point hit is not only preposterous but,
+in a combat between vessels nearly equal, depreciatory. The shot of a
+first broadside had no business to be so high in the air.
+
+James alleges also poor quality and a mutinous spirit in the crew, and
+that at the end, when their captain called upon them to board, they
+refused, saying, "She is too heavy for us." To this the adequate reply
+is that the brig had been in commission since the end of
+1812,--sixteen months; time sufficient to bring even an indifferent
+crew to a very reasonable degree of efficiency, yet not enough to
+cause serious deterioration of material. That after the punishment
+received the men refused to board, if discreditable to them under the
+conditions, is discreditable also to the captain; not to his courage,
+but to his hold upon the men whom he had commanded so long. The
+establishment of the "Epervier's" inefficiency certainly detracts from
+the distinction of the "Peacock's" victory; but it was scarcely her
+fault that her adversary was not worthier, and it does not detract
+from her credit for management and gunnery, considering that the
+combat began with the loss of her own foresails, and ended with
+forty-five shot in the hull, and five feet of water in the hold, of
+her antagonist.
+
+By dark of the day of action the prize was in condition to make sail,
+and the "Peacock's" yard had been fished and again sent aloft. The two
+vessels then steered north for Savannah. The next evening two British
+frigates appeared. Captain Warrington directed the "Epervier" to keep
+on close along shore, while he stood southward to draw away the enemy.
+This proved effective; the "Epervier" arriving safely May 2 at the
+anchorage at the mouth of the Savannah River, where the "Peacock"
+rejoined her on the 4th. The "Adams," Captain Morris, was also there;
+having arrived from the coast of Africa on the day of the fight, and
+sailing again a week after it, May 5, for another cruise.
+
+On June 4 the "Peacock" also started upon a protracted cruise, from
+which she returned to New York October 30, after an absence of one
+hundred and forty-seven days.[252] She followed the Gulf Stream,
+outside the line of British blockaders, to the Banks of Newfoundland,
+thence to the Azores, and so on to Ireland; off the south of which,
+between Waterford and Cape Clear, she remained for four days. After
+this she passed round the west coast, and to the northward as far as
+Shetland and the Faroe Islands. She then retraced her course, crossed
+the Bay of Biscay, and ran along the Portuguese coast; pursuing in
+general outline the same path as that in which the "Wasp" very soon
+afterwards followed. Fourteen prizes were taken; of which twelve were
+destroyed, and two utilized as cartels to carry prisoners to England.
+Of the whole number, one only was seized from September 2, when the
+ship was off the Canaries, to October 12, off Barbuda in the West
+Indies; and none from there to the United States. "Not a single vessel
+was seen from the Cape Verde to Surinam," reported Warrington; while
+in seven days spent between the Rock of Lisbon and Cape Ortegal, at
+the northwest extremity of the Spanish peninsula, of twelve sail seen,
+nine of which were spoken, only two were British.
+
+In these conditions were seen, exemplified and emphasized, the alarm
+felt and precautions taken, by both the mercantile classes and the
+Admiralty, in consequence of the invasion of European waters by
+American armed vessels, of a class and an energy unusually fitted to
+harass commerce. The lists of American prizes teem with evidence of
+extraordinary activity, by cruisers singularly adapted for their work,
+and audacious in proportion to their confidence of immunity, based
+upon knowledge of their particular nautical qualities. The impression
+produced by their operations is reflected in the representations of
+the mercantile community, in the rise of insurance, and in the
+stricter measures instituted by the Admiralty. The Naval Chronicle, a
+service journal which since 1798 had been recording the successes and
+supremacy of the British Navy, confessed now that "the depredations
+committed on our commerce by American ships of war and privateers have
+attained an extent beyond all former precedent.... We refer our
+readers to the letters in our correspondence. The insurance between
+Bristol and Waterford or Cork is now three times higher than it was
+when we were at war with all Europe. The Admiralty have been
+overwhelmed with letters of complaint or remonstrance."[253] In the
+exertions of the cruisers the pace seems to grow more and more
+furious, as the year 1814 draws to its close amid a scene of
+exasperated coast warfare, desolation, and humiliation, in America; as
+though they were determined, amid all their pursuit of gain, to make
+the enemy also feel the excess of mortification which he was
+inflicting upon their own country. The discouragement testified by
+British shippers and underwriters was doubtless enhanced and
+embittered by disappointment, in finding the movement of trade thus
+embarrassed and intercepted at the very moment when the restoration of
+peace in Europe had given high hopes of healing the wounds, and
+repairing the breaches, made by over twenty years of maritime warfare,
+almost unbroken.
+
+In London, on August 17, 1814, directors of two insurance companies
+presented to the Admiralty remonstrances on the want of protection in
+the Channel; to which the usual official reply was made that an
+adequate force was stationed both in St. George's Channel and in the
+North Sea. The London paper from which this intelligence was taken
+stated that premiums on vessels trading between England and Ireland
+had risen from an ordinary rate of less than one pound sterling to
+five guineas per cent. The Admiralty, taxed with neglect, attributed
+blame to the merchant captains, and announced additional severity to
+those who should part convoy. Proceedings were instituted against two
+masters guilty of this offence.[254] September 9, the merchants and
+shipowners of Liverpool remonstrated direct to the Prince Regent,
+going over the heads of the Admiralty, whom they censured. Again the
+Admiralty alleged sufficient precautions, specifying three frigates
+and fourteen sloops actually at sea for the immediate protection of
+St. George's Channel and the western Irish coast against depredations,
+which they nevertheless did not succeed in suppressing.[255]
+
+At the same time the same classes in Glasgow were taking action, and
+passing resolutions, the biting phrases of which were probably
+prompted as much by a desire to sting the Admiralty as by a personal
+sense of national abasement. "At a time when we are at peace with all
+the rest of the world, when the maintenance of our marine costs so
+large a sum to the country, when the mercantile and shipping interests
+pay a tax for protection under the form of convoy duty, and when, in
+the plenitude of our power, we have declared the whole American coast
+under blockade, it is equally distressing and mortifying that our
+ships cannot with safety traverse our own channels, that insurance
+cannot be effected but at an excessive premium, and that a horde of
+American cruisers should be allowed, unheeded, unmolested, unresisted,
+to take, burn, or sink our own vessels in our own inlets, and almost
+in sight of our own harbours."[256] In the same month the merchants of
+Bristol, the position of which was comparatively favorable to
+intercourse with Ireland, also presented a memorial, stating that the
+rate of insurance had risen to more than twofold the amount at which
+it was usually effected during the continental war, when the British
+Navy could not, as it now might, direct its operations solely against
+American cruisers. Shipments consequently had been in a considerable
+degree suspended. The Admiralty replied that the only certain
+protection was by convoy. This they were ready to supply but could not
+compel, for the Convoy Act did not apply to trade between ports of
+the United Kingdom.
+
+This was the offensive return made by America's right arm of national
+safety; the retort to the harrying of the Chesapeake, and of Long
+Island Sound, and to the capture and destruction of Washington. But,
+despite the demonstrated superiority of a national navy, on the whole,
+for the infliction of such retaliation, even in the mere matter of
+commerce destroying,--not to speak of confidence in national prowess,
+sustained chiefly by the fighting successes at sea,--this weighty blow
+to the pride and commerce of Great Britain was not dealt by the
+national Government; for the national Government had gone to war
+culpably unprepared. It was the work of the people almost wholly,
+guided and governed by their own shrewdness and capacity; seeking,
+indeed, less a military than a pecuniary result, an indemnity at the
+expense of the enemy for the loss to which they had been subjected by
+protracted inefficiency in administration and in statesmanship on the
+part of their rulers. The Government sat wringing its hands, amid the
+ruins of its capital and the crash of its resources; reaping the
+reward of those wasted years during which, amid abounding warning, it
+had neglected preparation to meet the wrath to come. Monroe, the
+Secretary of State, writing from Washington to a private friend, July
+3, 1814, said, "Even in this state, the Government shakes to the
+foundation. Let a strong force land anywhere, and what will be the
+effect?" A few months later, December 21, he tells Jefferson, "Our
+finances are in a deplorable state. The means of the country have
+scarcely yet been touched, yet we have neither money in the Treasury
+nor credit."[257] This statement was abundantly confirmed by a
+contemporary official report of the Secretary of the Treasury. At the
+end of the year, Bainbridge, commanding the Boston navy yard, wrote
+the Department, "The officers and men of this station are really
+_suffering_ for want of pay due them, and articles now purchased for
+the use of the navy are, in consequence of payment in treasury notes,
+enhanced about thirty per cent. Yesterday we had to discharge one
+hundred seamen, and could not pay them a cent of their wages. The
+officers and men have neither money, clothes, nor credit, and are
+embarrassed with debts."[258] No wonder the privateers got the seamen.
+
+The decision to abandon the leading contention of the war had been
+reached long before.[259] In an official letter, dated June 27, 1814,
+to the commissioners appointed to treat for peace, after enumerating
+the threatening conditions confronting the country, now that the
+European conflict was at an end, Monroe wrote, "On mature
+consideration it has been decided that, under all the circumstances
+above alluded to, incident to a prosecution of the war, _you may omit
+any stipulation on the subject of impressment_, if found indispensably
+necessary to terminate it. You will of course not recur to this
+expedient until all your efforts to adjust the controversy in a more
+satisfactory manner have failed."[260] The phraseology of this
+instruction disposes completely of the specious plea, advanced by
+partisans of the Administration, that the subject was dropped because
+impressment was no longer a live issue; the maritime war of Europe
+being over. It was dropped because it had to be dropped; because the
+favorable opportunities presented in 1812 and 1813 had been lost by
+the incompetency of the national Government, distributed over a period
+of nearly a dozen years of idle verbal argumentation; because in 1814
+there stood between it and disastrous reverse, and loss of territory
+in the north, only the resolution and professional skill of a yet
+unrecognized seaman on the neglected waters of Lake Champlain.
+
+Before concluding finally the subject of the offensive maritime
+operations against the enemy's commerce, it may be mentioned that in
+the last six months of the war, that is within one fifth of its
+duration, were made one third of the total captures. Duly to weigh
+this result, regard must be had to the fact that, when the navy is
+adequate, the most numerous seizures of commercial shipping are
+usually effected at the beginning, because the scattered merchantmen
+are taken unawares. The success of the last few months of this war
+indicates the stimulus given to privateering, partly by the conditions
+of the country, imperiously demanding some relief from the necessity,
+and stagnancy of occupation, caused by the blockade; partly by the
+growing appreciation of the fact that a richer harvest was to be
+reaped by seeking the most suitable fields with the most suitable
+vessels. In an energetic and businesslike people it will be expected
+that the experience of the two preceding twelvemonths would have
+produced decided opinions and practical results in the construction of
+privateers, as well as in the direction given them. It is one thing to
+take what is at hand and make the most of it in an emergency; it is
+another to design thoughtfully a new instrument, best qualified for
+the end in view. The cruiser needed speed and handiness,--that is the
+first and obvious requirement; but, to escape the numerous enemies
+gradually let loose to shorten her career, it became increasingly
+requisite that she should have also weight of armament, to fight, and
+weight of hull--tonnage--to hold her way in rough and head seas. These
+qualities were not irreconcilable; but, to effect the necessary
+combination, additional size was inevitable.
+
+Accordingly, recognition of these facts is found in the laying down of
+privateers for the particular business. Niles' Register, a Baltimore
+weekly, notes with local pride that, although the port itself is
+bolted and barred by the blockade of the Chesapeake, the Baltimore
+model for schooners is in demand from Maine to Georgia; that they are
+being built, often with Baltimore capital, in many places from which
+escape is always possible. In Boston, there are in construction three
+stout hulls, pierced for twenty-two guns; clearly much heavier in
+tonnage, as in armament, than the schooner rate, and bearing the
+linked names of "Blakely," "Reindeer," and "Avon." Mention is made of
+one vessel of twenty-two long, heavy guns, which has already sailed,
+and of two others, to carry as many as thirty to thirty-six, nearly
+ready.[261]
+
+Between the divergent requirements of size and numbers, there is
+always a middle term; a mean, not capable of exact definition, but
+still existent within certain not very widely separated extremes. For
+commerce destroying by individual cruisers, acting separately, which
+was the measure that commended itself to the men of 1812, vessels
+approaching the tonnage of the national sloops of war seemed, by their
+successes and their immunity from capture, to realize very nearly the
+best conditions of advantage. The national brigs which put to sea were
+all captured, save one; and she was so notoriously dull of sailing
+that her escape was attributed to mere good luck, experienced on
+several critical occasions. Nearly all the sloops escaped; while the
+three frigates lost, the "Chesapeake," "Essex," and "President," were
+taken under circumstances that offered no parallel to the exigencies
+to which the privateer was liable. They were not run down, uninjured,
+in a fair race. The only sloop so lost was the "Frolic," of the class
+of the "Wasp" and "Peacock;" and the circumstances under which she was
+caught by a frigate are not sufficiently known to pronounce whether
+she might have been saved, as her sister ship, the "Hornet," was, from
+the hot pursuit of a seventy-four. Under some conditions of wind and
+sea, inferiority of bulk inflicts irredeemable disadvantage of speed;
+but, taking one thing with another, in a system of commerce destroying
+which rejected squadron action, and was based avowedly upon
+dissemination of vessels, the gain of the frigate over the sloop due
+to size did not counterbalance the loss in distribution of effort
+which results from having only one ship, instead of two, for a first
+outlay.
+
+That some such convictions, the fruit of rude experience in actual
+cruising, were gradually forming in men's understanding, is probable
+from the particulars cited; and they would receive additional force
+from the consideration that, to make a profit out of privateering
+under existing conditions, it would be necessary, not only to capture
+vessels of weak force, but to return safely to port with at least some
+notable salvage from their cargoes. In other words, there must be
+power to fight small cruisers, and to escape large ones under all
+probable disadvantage of weather. Whatever the conclusions of
+practical seamen and shipowners in this respect, they found no
+reflection in the dominant power in the Administration and Congress.
+The exploits of the "Comet," the "Chasseur," and a few other fortunate
+privateer schooners or brigs of small size, among them being cited
+specifically the "Mammoth," which in the autumn of 1814 made
+twenty-one prizes in three months, produced a strong popular
+impression; and this was diligently but somewhat thoughtlessly
+deepened by the press, as such popular movements are apt to be,
+without thorough mastery of all facts, _contra_ as well as _pro_. It
+was undeniable, also, that in the threatening aspect of affairs, when
+Great Britain's whole strength was freed to be exerted against the
+country, want of time to prepare new means was a weighty element in
+decision, and recourse must be had to resources immediately at hand
+for the retaliatory depredation upon the enemy's commerce, from the
+effect of which so much was expected then, as it is now. For this
+reason the scheme had naval backing, prominent in which was Captain
+Porter, who had reached home in the July after the capture of the
+"Essex."
+
+Under these circumstances, the Secretary of the Navy addressed a
+letter, October 22, 1814,[262] to the naval committees of both houses
+of Congress, enlarging on the greater attention of the enemy drawn to
+the heavy frigates, and the increased difficulty of their getting to
+sea. He recommended an appropriation of $600,000 for the purchase of
+fast-sailing schooners for preying on the hostile commerce. In
+consequence, a bill was introduced to build or purchase for the navy
+twenty vessels, to carry not less than eight nor more than fourteen
+guns; in short, of privateer class, but to be under naval control, not
+only as regarded discipline and organization but direction of effort.
+It was intended that a squadron of them should be intrusted to Captain
+Porter, another to Captain Perry;[263] and Porter drew up a plan of
+operations, which he submitted to the Department, providing for the
+departure of the vessels, their keeping together for support in one
+quarter, scattering in another, and again reuniting at a fixed
+rendezvous.[264] Both officers reported great difficulty in procuring
+suitable vessels, owing to the extent of privateering, the lack of
+necessary funds, and the depreciation of Government credit, which
+caused its drafts to be refused.
+
+When introducing the bill into the lower House, the Chairman of the
+Naval Committee, after paying some compliments to the military
+achievements of the naval vessels, said that in regard to depredation
+on the commerce of the enemy, he believed their efficiency could not
+be compared to that of vessels of a smaller class. This note dominated
+the brief discussion; the speakers in favor being significantly enough
+from Maryland, prepossessed doubtless by local pride in their justly
+celebrated schooners. Mr. Ingersoll, of Pennsylvania, moved an
+amendment to allow vessels of twenty-two guns; an increase of fifty
+per cent. The limitation to fourteen guns, he remarked, was inserted
+in the Senate by a gentleman from Maryland; but it was not the fact
+that the best privateers were limited to fourteen guns. One or two
+which had arrived lately, after reaping a rich harvest, carried
+sixteen. Mr. Lowndes, of South Carolina, seconded this amendment,
+hoping that the Senate limitation would be rejected. He quoted Captain
+Perry, who had "never known an instance in which a brig of the United
+States had failed to overtake a schooner." One member only, Mr. Reed,
+of Massachusetts, spoke against the whole scheme. Though opposed to
+the war, he said, he wished it conducted on correct principles. He
+"was warranted by facts in saying that no force would be half as
+efficient, in proportion to its expense; none would be of so much
+service to the country; none certainly would touch the enemy half so
+much as a naval force of a proper character;" which, he affirmed, this
+was not. Ingersoll's amendment was rejected, obtaining only
+twenty-five votes. The bill went again to conference, and on November
+11, 1814, was reported and passed, fixing the limits of armament at
+from eight to sixteen guns; a paltry addition of two. Forty years
+later the editor of the "Debates of Congress," Senator Benton, wrote,
+"This was a movement in the right direction. Private armed vessels,
+and the success of small ships of war cruising as privateers, had
+taught Congress that small vessels, not large ships, were the
+effective means of attacking and annoying the enemy's commerce."[265]
+
+The final test was not permitted, to determine what success would have
+attended the operations of several Baltimore schooners, united under
+the single control of a man like Porter or Perry, and limited strictly
+to the injury of the enemy's commerce by the destruction of prizes,
+without thought of profit by sending them in. The advent of peace put
+a stop to an experiment which would have been most instructive as well
+as novel. Looking to other experiences of the past, it may be said
+with confidence little short of certainty that, despite the
+disadvantage of size, several schooners thus working in concert, and
+with pure military purpose, would effect vastly more than the same
+number acting separately, with a double eye to gain and glory. The
+French privateer squadrons of Jean Bart and Duguay Trouin, in the
+early eighteenth century, the example of the celebrated "Western"
+squadrons of British frigates in the war of the French Revolution, as
+protectors and destroyers of commerce, demonstrated beyond
+peradventure the advantage of combined action in this, as in all
+military enterprise; while the greater success of the individual
+United States cruiser over the average privateer, so singularly
+overlooked by the national legislators, gives assurance that Porter's
+and Perry's schooners would collectively have done incomparable work.
+This, however, is far from indicating that divisions of larger
+vessels,--sloops or frigates,--under officers of their known energy,
+could not have pushed home into the English Channel, or elsewhere
+where British commerce congregated, an enterprise the results of which
+would have caused the ears of those that heard them to tingle.
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[217] Captain Allen to Navy Department. Niles' Register, vol. v. p. 46.
+
+[218] The American official report of this action can be found in Niles'
+Register, vol. viii. p. 43. The British is in the Naval Chronicle, vol.
+xxx. p. 247. Niles also gives it, vol. v. p. 118.
+
+[219] The prize data have been taken from the successive volumes of
+Niles' Register.
+
+[220] Data concerning American vessels captured by British ships have
+been drawn chiefly from prize lists, or official reports, in the Naval
+Chronicle.
+
+[221] Ante, p. 19.
+
+[222] Niles' Register, vol. v. p. 175.
+
+[223] Niles gives an abstract of the log of the "Scourge," vol. vi. p.
+269.
+
+[224] Niles' Register, vol. v. p. 90.
+
+[225] Ibid., vol. vi. p. 69.
+
+[226] For Morris' letter see Niles' Register, vol. vi. p. 180.
+
+[227] Ibid., vol. iv. p. 86.
+
+[228] Ibid., vol. vii. p. 366.
+
+[229] Niles' Register, vol. v. p. 413. Naval Chronicle, vol. xxxi. p.
+25.
+
+[230] Niles' Register, vol. v. p. 414; vol. vi. p. 151.
+
+[231] Stewart's Letter is dated April 4, 1814, and, with the enclosures
+mentioned, will be found among the Captains' Letters, Navy Department
+MSS.
+
+[232] For the official reports of this cruise, and list of prizes, see
+Niles, vol. vi. pp. 69-71.
+
+[233] Niles' Register, vol. v. pp. 14, 15. Naval Chronicle, vol. xxx. p.
+348.
+
+[234] Niles' Register, vol. vi. pp. 225, 371.
+
+[235] Niles' Register, vol. vii. p. 293, gives both the American and
+British accounts.
+
+[236] Niles' Register, vol. vii. p. 293.
+
+[237] Niles' Register, vol. vii. pp. 128, 290.
+
+[238] Niles' Register, vol. viii. p. 61.
+
+[239] It may not be amiss here to quote an incident similarly creditable
+to privateersmen, a class usually much abused, and too often with good
+cause. It was told by a British colonel to Colonel Winfield Scott, while
+a prisoner in Canada. This gentleman with his wife had been passengers
+from England in a transport captured near Halifax by an American
+privateer. Although there was no fighting, the wife, who was in a
+critical state of health, was dangerously affected by the attendant
+alarm. As soon as the circumstances were mentioned to the captain of the
+cruiser, he placed at the husband's disposition all that part of the
+vessel where their quarters were, posting a sentry to prevent intrusion
+and to secure all their personal effects from molestation. Scott's
+Autobiography, vol. i. p. 70.
+
+[240] Afterwards Rear-Admiral Emmons.
+
+[241] The new United States sloop of war "Frolic," named after the
+vessel taken by the "Wasp," was captured by the frigate "Orpheus," April
+20, 1814.
+
+[242] Ante, p. 3.
+
+[243] Porter to the Secretary of the Navy, July 3, 1814. Niles'
+Register, vol. vi. p. 338.
+
+[244] Porter's Report of this action is to be found in Niles' Register,
+vol. vi. pp. 338-341. Hillyar's in Naval Chronicle, vol. xxxii. pp.
+168-170.
+
+[245] The Secretary of the Navy to Blakely, March 3, 1814. Navy
+Department MSS.
+
+[246] Blakely to the Navy Department, Niles' Register, vol. vii. p. 115.
+
+[247] The particulars of this action are taken from the minutes of the
+"Wasp," enclosed in Blakely's Report, Niles' Register, vol. vii. p. 115.
+
+[248] Blakely's Report, Niles' Register, vol. vii. p. 192.
+
+[249] Niles' Register, vol. vii. p. 173.
+
+[250] James says that two of these guns were 18-pounders; but the first
+lieutenant of the "Peacock," who brought the prize into port, and from
+there wrote independently of Warrington, agrees with him in saying
+eighteen thirty-twos. Niles' Register, vol. vi. pp. 180, 196.
+
+[251] In a "Synopsis of Naval Actions," between British and American
+vessels, contributed to the Naval Chronicle by a "British naval officer
+on the American station," occurs the remark relative to the defeat of
+the "Avon": "Miserable gunnery on our side, attributable ... above all
+to not drilling the men at firing at the guns; a practice the Americans
+never neglect." Naval Chronicle, vol. xxxiv. p. 469.
+
+[252] For Captain Warrington's report of this cruise, see Niles'
+Register, vol. vii. p. 155.
+
+[253] Naval Chronicle, vol. xxxii. p. 244. See also, Ibid., pp. 211,
+218.
+
+[254] London paper, quoted in Niles' Register, vol. vii. p. 175.
+
+[255] Niles' Register, vol. vii. p. 190. Naval Chronicle, vol. xxxii. p.
+244.
+
+[256] Niles' Register, vol. vii. p. 190.
+
+[257] Writings of James Monroe.
+
+[258] Captains' Letters, Dec. 11, 1814. Bainbridge's italics.
+
+[259] It will be remembered that after the repeal of the Orders in
+Council, June 23, 1812, impressment remained the only _sine quâ non_ of
+the United States.
+
+[260] American State Papers, Foreign Relations, vol. iii. p. 704.
+Author's italics. This was the result of a Cabinet meeting held the same
+day. "June 27, 1814. In consequence of letters from Bayard and Gallatin
+of May 6-7, and other accounts from Europe of the ascendancy and views
+of Great Britain, and the dispositions of the great Continental Powers,
+the question was put to the Cabinet: 'Shall a treaty of peace, silent on
+the subject of impressment, be authorized?' Agreed to by Monroe,
+Campbell, Armstrong, and Jones. Rush absent. Our minister to be
+instructed, besides trying other conditions, to make a previous trial to
+insert or annex some declaration, or protest, against any inference,
+from the silence of the Treaty on the subject of impressment, that the
+British claim was admitted or that of the United States abandoned."
+(Works of Madison, vol. iii. p. 408.)
+
+[261] Niles' Register, vol. vii. p. 190.
+
+[262] Navy Department MSS.
+
+[263] For Porter's and Perry's correspondence on this subject see
+Captains' Letters, Navy Department MSS., Oct. 14 and 25, Nov. 29, Dec.
+2, 9, and 25, 1814; Jan. 9, 1815.
+
+[264] Porter to Secretary, Feb. 8, 1815. Captains' Letters.
+
+[265] Benton's Abridgment of Debates in Congress, vol. v. p. 359, note.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XV
+
+THE NIAGARA CAMPAIGN, AND EVENTS ON THE GREAT LAKES, IN
+1814
+
+
+Active operations in the field for the winter of 1813-14 came to an
+end with the successful incursion of the British army upon the
+territory of the State of New York, before narrated.[266] This had
+resulted in the capture of Fort Niagara and in the wasting of the
+frontier, with the destruction of the villages of Lewiston,
+Manchester, Buffalo, and others, in retaliation for the American
+burning of Newark. Holding now the forts on both banks of the Niagara,
+at its entrance into Lake Ontario, the British controlled the harbor
+of refuge which its mouth afforded; and to this important accession of
+strength for naval operations was added an increased security for
+passing troops, at will and secretly, from side to side of the river.
+From a military standpoint each work was a bridge-head, assuring
+freedom of movement across in either direction; that such transit was
+by boats, instead of by a permanent structure, was merely an
+inconvenient detail, not a disability. The command of the two forts,
+and of a third called Mississaga, on the Canadian side, immediately
+overlooking the lake, appears to have been vested in a single officer,
+to whom, as to a common superior, were issued orders involving the
+action of the three.
+
+This disposition recognized implicitly the fact that the forts, taken
+together, constituted a distinct element in the general British scheme
+of operations. Fort Niagara by position threatened the line of
+communications of any American army seeking to act on the Canadian
+side. An effective garrison there, unless checked by an adequate force
+stationed for the particular purpose, could move at any unexpected
+moment against the magazines or trains on the American side; and it
+was impossible to anticipate what number might be thus employed at a
+given time, because intercourse between Niagara and George was open.
+If by original or acquired superiority of numbers, as had been the
+case in 1813, the American general should push his opponent back
+towards the head of the lake, Fort George would in turn become an
+additional menace to his communications. Therefore, properly to
+initiate a campaign for the command of the Niagara peninsula, in 1814,
+it would be necessary either to reduce both these works, which, if
+they were properly garrisoned, meant an expenditure of time; or else
+to blockade them by a large detachment of troops, which meant a
+constant expenditure of force, diminishing that available for
+operations in the field. The British military situation thus comprised
+two factors, distinct but complementary; the active army in the field,
+and the stationary fortifications which contributed to its support by
+sheltering its supplies and menacing those of the enemy. The British
+commander of the district, Lieutenant-General Drummond, estimated that
+the blockaders before either fort, being ever on the defensive against
+a sortie which they could not foresee, must in numbers considerably
+exceed the besieged, covered as these were by their works, and able to
+receive re-enforcement from the opposite shore. Consequently, when the
+officer in immediate local control, Major-General Riall, embarrassed
+by the smallness of his field force, suggested the destruction of Fort
+Niagara, except a citadel of restricted extent, needing a less
+numerous garrison, his superior replied that not only would such
+smaller work be much more easily taken, but that in every event the
+loss through holding the place was more than compensated by the
+danger and the precautions entailed upon the enemy.[267]
+
+The inactivity, substantially unbroken, which prevailed throughout the
+winter of 1813-14, was due principally to the unusual mildness of the
+weather. This impeded movement in all quarters, by preventing the
+formation of ice and of the usual hard snow surface, which made winter
+the most favorable season for land transportation. Chauncey at
+Sackett's Harbor chafed and fretted over the detention of the stores
+and guns for his new ships then building, upon which he was reckoning
+for control of the lake. "The roads are dreadful," he wrote on
+February 24, "and if the present mild weather continues we shall
+experience difficulty." A week later, "I have the mortification to
+inform you that all our heavy guns are stopped at and below
+Poughkeepsie in consequence of the badness of the roads, and that the
+teamsters have abandoned them there." He has given up hopes of a
+frost, and counts now only upon water communication; but the delay and
+change of route were the cause of two smart affairs with which the
+lake operations opened, for on March 29 he announces that the guns are
+still below Albany, and now must come by way of Oswego and the
+lake,[268] instead of securely inland by sleds. Yeo reported a like
+delay on his side in the equipment of his new ships, owing to the
+unusual scarcity of snow.
+
+The same conditions imposed similar, if less decisive, limitations
+upon the movements of bodies of men. The most important instance of
+purpose frustrated was in an enterprise projected by Drummond against
+Put-in Bay, where were still lying the "Detroit" and "Queen
+Charlotte", the most powerful of the prizes taken by Perry the
+previous September, the injuries to which had prevented their removal
+to the safer position of Erie. On January 21 he communicated to
+Governor-General Prevost the details of an expedition of seventeen
+hundred and sixty men,[269] two hundred of them seamen, who were to
+start from the Niagara frontier by land against Detroit, and from
+there to cross on the ice to the Bass Islands, where it was hoped they
+could seize and burn the vessels. The occupation of Fort Niagara, and
+other dispositions made of his division on the peninsula, had so
+narrowed his front of defence, and thereby strengthened it, as to
+warrant this large detachment.
+
+This project was one of several looking to regaining control of Lake
+Erie, which during the remainder of the war occupied unceasingly the
+attention of British officers. Although the particular destination was
+successfully concealed, the general fact of preparations for some
+offensive undertaking did not escape the observation of the Americans,
+who noted that in the recent raid and destruction care had been taken
+to spare a great number of sleighs, and to collect them within the
+British lines. From this it was inferred that, when Lake Erie froze
+over, a dash would be made against the naval station and ships at
+Erie.[270] This would be undoubtedly a more valuable achievement, but
+the enemy knew that the place was in some measure defended, with ample
+re-enforcements at call; whereas a descent upon Put-in Bay could
+encounter no other resistance than that of the small permanent
+garrison of seamen. The mildness of the weather, leaving the lake open
+on January 17, relieved the apprehension of the United States
+authorities, and on February 3 Drummond had to report that his scheme
+must be abandoned, as after that late period of the winter better
+conditions could not be expected.[271]
+
+In default of the control of Lake Erie, measures were taken by the
+British to supply the remote and isolated posts of Mackinac and St.
+Joseph's by land carriage from Toronto to Lake Simcoe, a distance of
+only forty miles, and thence across the ice to Matchedash Bay, on Lake
+Huron; where also were being built batteaux and gunboats, to transport
+the stores to their destination when navigation opened. As far as
+Huron this land route was out of reach of probable molestation, but
+from there it was necessary to proceed at the earliest moment; for,
+although there was no American naval force then on that lake, one
+might be expected to arrive from Erie early in the season. To this
+cross-country line there was an alternative one still more remote,
+from Montreal up the Ottawa River, and thence by other water
+communication, striking Lake Huron much higher up. It was practicable
+only for canoes with light lading, and in other respects not
+satisfactory. The maintenance of Mackinac therefore must depend upon
+armed control of the upper lakes; and to this the destruction of the
+prizes at the islands would doubtless have contributed, morally and
+materially.
+
+On the American side as little was accomplished during the winter.
+Wilkinson's army, which at the end of 1813 was cantoned at French
+Mills, on the Salmon River, just within the New York boundary, was
+withdrawn from that position February 13. The greater part marched to
+Lake Champlain, where they again took winter quarters in two
+divisions; one at Burlington, Vermont, the other at Plattsburg. The
+third contingent, under the command of General Brown, was sent to
+Sackett's Harbor, where it arrived February 24.
+
+The Secretary of War, General Armstrong, despite his vacillating
+course the previous year, had never lost sight of his perfectly
+accurate conviction that Kingston, if not Montreal, was the true
+objective for the northern army. Convinced that he had been misled in
+the spring of 1813 by the opinions of the commanders on the spot,
+Chauncey and Dearborn, he was again anxious, as he had been in the
+intervening autumn, to retrieve the error. On February 28 he issued to
+Brown two sets of instructions;[272] the one designed to transpire, in
+order to mislead the enemy, the other, most secret, conveying the real
+intention of the Department. In the former, stress was laid upon the
+exposure of western New York, and the public humiliation at seeing
+Fort Niagara in the hands of the British. Brigadier-General Scott
+accordingly had been sent there to organize a force for the capture of
+the fort and the protection of the frontier; but, as his numbers were
+probably insufficient, Brown was directed to march to Batavia, and
+thence to Buffalo, with the two thousand troops he had just brought
+from French Mills. This letter was meant to reach the enemy's ears.
+The other, embodying the true object aimed at, read thus: "It is
+obviously Prevost's policy, and probably his intention, to
+re-establish himself on Lake Erie during the ensuing month. But to
+effect this other points of his line must be weakened, and these will
+be either Kingston or Montreal. If the detachment from the former be
+great, a moment may occur in which you may do, with the aid of
+Commodore Chauncey, what I last year intended Pike should have done
+without aid, and what we now all know was very practicable, viz.: to
+cross the river, or head of the lake, on the ice, and carry Kingston
+by a _coup de main_." The letter ended by making the enterprise depend
+upon a concurrence of favorable conditions; in brief, upon the
+discretion of the general, with whom remained all the responsibility
+of final decision and action.
+
+These instructions were elicited, immediately, by recent information
+that the effective garrison in Kingston was reduced to twelve
+hundred, with no prospect of increase before June, when
+re-enforcements from Europe were expected. Certainly, Drummond at this
+time thought the force there no stronger than it should be, and early
+in April was apprehensive on that account for the safety of the
+place.[273] Brown and Chauncey, however, agreed that less than four
+thousand men was insufficient for the undertaking. Singularly enough,
+this number was precisely that fixed upon by Yeo and Drummond, in
+consultation, as necessary for the reduction of Sackett's Harbor;
+which they concurred with Prevost in considering the quickest and
+surest solution of the difficulty attending their situation about
+Niagara, owing to the exhaustion of local resources upon the
+peninsula.[274] The scarcity thus experienced was aggravated by the
+number of dependent Indian warriors, who with their families had
+followed the British retreat from Malden and Detroit, and now hung
+like lead upon the movements and supplies of the army. "Nearly twelve
+hundred barrels of flour monthly to Indians alone," complained the
+commanding officer, who had long since learned that for this
+expenditure there was no return in military usefulness. In the felt
+necessity to retain the good-will of the savages, no escape from the
+dilemma was open, except in the maintenance of a stream of supplies
+from Lower Canada by keeping command of the Lake;[275] to secure which
+nothing was so certain as to capture Sackett's and destroy the
+shipping and plant.
+
+Having decided that the enterprise against Kingston was not feasible,
+Brown fell into the not unnatural mistake of construing the
+Secretary's other letter to present not merely a ruse, but an
+alternative line of action, more consonant to his active martial
+temper than remaining idle in garrison. Accordingly, he left
+Sackett's with his two thousand, an event duly chronicled in a letter
+of Drummond's, that on Sunday, March 13, three thousand five hundred
+left Sackett's for Niagara; a statement sufficiently characteristic of
+the common tendency of an enemy's force to swell, as it passes from
+mouth to mouth. The division had progressed as far as the present city
+of Syracuse, sixty miles from Sackett's, and Brown himself was some
+forty miles in advance of it, at Geneva, when one of his principal
+subordinates persuaded him that he had misconstrued the Department's
+purpose. In considerable distress he turned about, passing through
+Auburn on the 23d at the rate of thirty miles a day, so said a
+contemporary newspaper,[276] and hurried back to Sackett's. There
+further consultation with Chauncey convinced him again that he was
+intended to go to Niagara, and he resumed his march. Before April 1 he
+reached Batavia, where his instructions read he would receive further
+orders. General Scott was already at Buffalo, and there the troops
+were placed under his immediate charge for organization and drill;
+Brigadier-General Gaines being sent back to command at Sackett's,
+where he arrived April 10.
+
+At this moment Chauncey was undergoing his turn of qualms. "The
+enemy," he wrote the following day, "have prepared a force of three
+thousand troops, with gunboats and a number of small craft, to attack
+the harbor the moment the fleet leaves it. They may, however, be
+determined to make the attack at all hazards, and I am sorry to say
+our force is but little adapted to the defence of the place. There are
+not a thousand effective men besides the sailors and marines."[277]
+His information was substantially correct. Drummond had arranged to
+concentrate three thousand men from the north shore of the lake; but
+he wanted besides eight hundred from the peninsula, and for lack of
+these the project was abandoned.
+
+The movement of Brown's small contingent to Buffalo, though contrary
+to the intention of the Government, may be considered to have opened
+the campaign of 1814; destined to prove as abortive in substantial
+results as that of the year before, but not so futile and inglorious
+to the American arms. The troops engaged had been formed under the
+skilful organization and training of Scott. Led by Brown, who, though
+not an educated soldier nor a master of the technicalities of the
+profession, was essentially an aggressive fighting man of masculine
+qualities, they failed indeed to achieve success, for which their
+numbers were inadequate; but there was no further disgrace.
+
+Wilkinson, indeed, in his district, contrived to give to the beginning
+of operations the air of absurdity that ever hung round his path.
+Although he was the senior officer on the whole frontier, the Department
+had not notified him of Brown's orders. This vicious practice of
+managing the campaign from a point as distant as Washington then was,
+ignoring any local centre of control, drew subsequently the
+animadversion of the President, who in a minute to the Secretary
+remarked that "it does not appear that Izard,"--Wilkinson's
+successor,--"though the senior officer of the district, has been made
+acquainted with the plan of operations under Brown."[278] On the present
+occasion Wilkinson explained that, hearing of Brown's march by common
+report, and having ascertained that the enemy was sending
+re-enforcements up the St. Lawrence, he undertook an incursion into
+Lower Canada as a diversion against such increase of the force with
+which Brown must contend.[279] His enterprise was directed against La
+Colle, a few miles from Plattsburg, within the Canada boundary; but
+upon arriving before the position it was found that the garrison were
+established in a stone mill, upon which the guns brought along could
+make no impression. After this somewhat ludicrous experience, the
+division, more than three thousand strong, retreated, having lost over
+seventy men. The result was scarcely likely to afford Brown much relief
+by its deterrent influence upon the enemy.
+
+This affair happened March 30, and in the course of the following
+month Wilkinson was finally superseded. He was succeeded by General
+Izard, who assumed command May 4, and remained in the neighborhood of
+Champlain, while Brown continued immediately responsible for Sackett's
+Harbor and for the force at Buffalo. On April 14 Yeo launched two new
+ships, the "Prince Regent" of fifty-eight guns and the "Princess
+Charlotte" of forty; and he at the same time had under construction
+one destined to carry one hundred and two heavy guns, superior
+therefore in size and armament to most of the British ocean navy, and
+far more formidable than any in which Nelson ever served. Fortunately
+for the Americans, this vessel, which Yeo undertook without authority
+from home, was not ready until October; but the former two, added to
+his last year's fleet, gave him for the moment a decided preponderance
+over Chauncey, who also was building but had not yet completed.
+
+Under these circumstances the project of attacking Sackett's in force
+was again most seriously agitated among the British officials,
+military and naval, upon whom the destitution of the Niagara peninsula
+pressed with increasing urgency. Such an intention rarely fails to
+transpire, especially across a border line where the inhabitants on
+either side speak the same tongue and are often intimately acquainted.
+Desertion, moreover, was frequent from both parties. The rumor brought
+Brown back hastily to the place, where he arrived April 24. The
+enemy, however, again abandoned their purpose, and after embarking a
+considerable body of troops turned their arms instead against Oswego.
+
+It will be remembered that the mildness of the winter had prevented
+the transport of guns and stores by land, and made necessary to
+accumulate them by water carriage at Oswego, whence there remained the
+lake voyage to Sackett's Harbor. This, though a coasting operation,
+involved much danger while the enemy possessed naval control.
+Meanwhile Oswego became a somewhat congested and much exposed
+intermediate station, inviting attack. Chauncey therefore had taken
+the precaution of retaining the most important articles, guns and
+their equipment, at the falls of the Oswego River, some twelve miles
+inland. The enemy's change of plan becoming suspected, Brown detached
+a small party--two hundred and ninety effectives--to defend the place,
+in conjunction with the few seamen already there. The British fleet
+appeared on May 5, but the attack was not made until the following
+day, weather conditions being unfavorable. Despite the unprepared
+state of the defences characteristic of the universal American
+situation, on both lakes and seaboard, in this singular war, the
+officer in command offered a spirited resistance, inflicting
+considerable loss; but the urgency to preserve his force, for the
+superior necessity of protecting under more favorable circumstances
+the valuable property in the rear, compelled him to retreat, to escape
+the risk of being surrounded and captured. He accordingly drew off in
+good order, having lost six killed and thirty-eight wounded; besides
+twenty-five missing, probably prisoners. The casualties of the
+British, by their official reports, were eighteen killed and
+seventy-three wounded. They kept possession of the town during the
+night, retiring next day with two small schooners, over two thousand
+barrels of provisions, and a quantity of cordage.[280] The most
+serious loss to the Americans was that of nine heavy cannon; but the
+bulk of the armament for the fleet remained safe at the falls.
+
+After this Yeo took position with his squadron off Sackett's Harbor,
+where the Americans on May 1 had launched a new big ship, the
+"Superior", to carry sixty-two guns, thirty-two long 32-pounders, and
+thirty carronades of the same calibre. Besides her there was building
+still another, of somewhat smaller force, without which Chauncey would
+not consider himself able to contend with the enemy.[281] On the 20th
+of the month he reported that "five sail were now anchored between
+Point Peninsula and Stoney Island, about ten miles from the harbor,
+and two brigs between Stoney Island and Stoney Point, completely
+blocking both passes." He added, "This is the first time that I have
+experienced the mortification of being blockaded on the lakes."[282]
+The line thus occupied by the enemy covered the entire entrance to
+Black River Bay, within which Sackett's Harbor lies. This situation
+was the more intolerable under the existing necessity of bringing the
+guns by water. Drummond, whose information was probably good, wrote at
+this period that not more than fifteen of the heavy cannon needed for
+the new ships had arrived, and that they could come from Oswego only
+by the lake, as the roads were impassable except for horsemen.
+Carronades, cordage, and other stores were going on by wagon from
+Utica, but the long guns which were imperatively required could not do
+so.[283]
+
+American contrivance proved equal to the dilemma, and led to a marked
+British misadventure. A few miles south of Black River Bay, and
+therefore outside the line of the British blockade, there was an inlet
+called Stoney Creek, from the head of which a short land carriage of
+three miles would strike Henderson's Bay. This, like Sackett's, is an
+indentation of Black River Bay, and was well within the hostile ships.
+The transit from Oswego to Stoney Creek, however, remained open to an
+enemy's attack, and to be effected without loss required address,
+enterprise, and rapidity of movement. The danger was lessened by the
+number of streams which enter Mexico Bay, the deep bight formed by the
+southern and eastern shores of Lake Ontario, between Oswego and
+Sackett's. These, being navigable for batteaux, constituted a series
+of harbors of refuge.
+
+Chauncey directed all the lighter equipment to be turned back from
+Oswego River to North Bay, on Lake Oneida, and the long guns to be
+placed in batteaux, ready to move instantly, either up or down, as the
+movements of the enemy or a favorable opportunity might determine.
+Discretionary power to act according to circumstances was then given
+to Captain Woolsey, in local command on the Oswego. Woolsey made great
+parade of his preparations to send everything, guns included, back
+across the portage from the river, to North Bay. The reports reached
+Yeo, as intended, but did not throw him wholly off his guard. On May
+27 Woolsey despatched an officer in a fast pulling boat to reconnoitre
+the coast, while he himself went with the requisite force to the
+falls. On the 28th the batteaux, nineteen in number, carrying
+twenty-one long 32-pounders, and thirteen lighter pieces, besides ten
+heavy cables, were run over the rapids, reaching Oswego at sunset. The
+lookout boat had returned, reporting all clear, and after dark the
+convoy started. Besides the regular crews, there were embarked one
+hundred and fifty riflemen from the army. The next morning at sunrise
+one batteau was missing, but the other eighteen entered the Salmon
+River, over twenty miles from Oswego. The nights were short at that
+season, and the boats heavy; moreover there had been drenching rain.
+
+At Salmon River, a party of one hundred and twenty Oneida Indians
+joined, who were to move along the coast on the flank of the convoy
+through the next stage of the journey, by day, to support the defence
+should the approach of an enemy compel refuge to be sought in one of
+the creeks. As soon as they had taken up their march the batteaux also
+started, and at noon, May 29, reached Big Sandy Creek, ten miles
+further on, but eight miles short of the final destination at Stoney
+Creek. Here greater care became necessary, on account of the nearness
+of the enemy's fleet; and while awaiting information the division
+moved two miles up the Big Sandy, where it anchored.
+
+The missing batteau, carrying two long 24's and a cable, had been
+captured; having wandered away from the rest of the detachment,
+despite the watchful care exerted to keep them together. Her crew
+betrayed the extent of the operation of which they formed part, and a
+division of boats was sent in quest, in charge of two captains of the
+blockading vessels; the senior officer of the whole being Commander
+Popham. On his way Popham fell in with another group of armed boats,
+which he took under his command, raising his total to three
+gun-vessels and four smaller boats, with near two hundred seamen and
+marines. Certain intelligence being received that the convoy had
+entered the Big Sandy, he steered thither, arriving off its mouth soon
+after daylight of May 30. A reconnaissance on shore discovering the
+masts of the batteaux plainly visible over a marsh, with apparently no
+intervening forest, an immediate attack was decided. Having landed a
+party of flankers on either bank, the expedition proceeded up stream
+with due caution, firing an occasional round into the brush to
+dislodge any possible ambush. It was not known that an escort, beyond
+the usual crews, had accompanied the movement. Such a precaution might
+indeed have been inferred from the importance of the object; but the
+same reason naturally, and not improperly, decided Popham that
+considerable risk was justifiable in order to frustrate his enemy's
+purpose.
+
+Woolsey was already forewarned of his coming. At 2 A.M. of the same
+day, May 30, he had received from Chauncey an express, in accordance
+with which an officer was sent out upon the lake, to reconnoitre
+towards the entrance of Black River Bay. At six o'clock he returned,
+having been seen and pursued by some of Popham's division. The
+riflemen and Indians were now advanced half a mile below the batteaux,
+where they found cover and concealment in the woods. At eight the
+British guns were heard. At nine a re-enforcement of cavalry and light
+artillery arrived from Sackett's Harbor, but it was decided that they
+should remain by the batteaux, the force already below being best
+adapted for bush fighting. Towards ten o'clock the riflemen and
+Indians attacked; a circumstance attributed by Captain Popham to an
+accident befalling the 68-pounder carronade in the bow of the leading
+gunboat, which compelled her to turn round, to bring into action her
+stern gun, a 24-pounder. "The enemy thought we were commencing a
+retreat, when they advanced their whole force, one hundred and fifty
+riflemen, near two hundred Indians, and a numerous body of militia and
+cavalry, who soon overpowered the few men I had.... The winding of the
+creek, which gave the enemy a great advantage in advancing to
+intercept our retreat, rendered further resistance unavailing." The
+entire detachment surrendered, having had fourteen killed and
+twenty-eight wounded; besides whom two captains, six lieutenants, and
+one hundred and thirty-three seamen and marines remained prisoners.
+The American loss was but two wounded; a result showing clearly
+enough the disadvantage under which the British labored.
+
+This affair has been related in detail,[284] because, although on a
+small scale, it was actually one of great consequence; but yet more
+because it illustrates aptly one kind of those minor operations of
+war, upon the success of which so much greater matters turn. The
+American management throughout was admirable in its detailed foresight
+and circumspection. To this was due the trivial loss attending its
+final success; a loss therefore attesting far greater credit than
+would the attaining of the same result by lavish expenditure of blood.
+To Captain Popham must be attributed both enterprise and due
+carefulness in undertaking an advance he knew to be hazardous, but
+from which, if successful, he was entitled to expect nothing less than
+the capture of almost the entire armament of a very large ship. In
+such circumstances censure because of failure is unjust, unless the
+risk is shown to be taken reckless of due precautions, which was not
+the case in this instance. Yeo, whose deficiency in seamen was
+reported at two hundred and seventy-nine,[285] three days after this
+affair, appears to have been more exasperated by the loss of the men
+than sensible of the merit of his subordinate. He had charged him not
+to enter any creek in the endeavor to capture the stores, and
+apparently laid the disaster to disregard of this order. The
+subsequent customary court martial decided that Popham, having greatly
+re-enforced himself by junction with a division of vessels, in a
+manner which Yeo could not have contemplated, was fully justified by
+the importance of preventing the convoy from reaching Sackett's
+Harbor. The court regretted that Sir James Yeo should have used such
+reproachful expressions in his letter to the Admiralty communicating
+Captain Popham's capture. Popham, and his second, Spilsbury, were
+included in the promotions of a year later.
+
+Soon after this mishap Yeo abandoned the immediate blockade of
+Sackett's Harbor, returning to Kingston June 6. The recent experience
+demonstrated that it would be impossible to prevent the forwarding of
+supplies by the mere presence of the fleet at the mouth of the port.
+The armament of the "Superior" had arrived despite his efforts, and
+her speedy readiness to take the lake was assured. An exchange of
+letters between himself and Drummond as to his proper course[286] led
+to the conclusion that the blockade had not had all the effect
+expected; and that, in view of the large re-enforcements of men coming
+forward from England, the true policy was to avoid battle until the
+third new ship, the "St. Lawrence" of one hundred and two guns, should
+be ready. "The enemy," wrote Yeo, "are not in sufficient force to
+undertake any expedition in the face of our present squadron, but any
+disaster on our side might give them a serious ascendancy." Drummond,
+who had rejoiced that the blockade "assures us a free intercourse
+throughout the lake," concurred in this view. "I have no hesitation in
+saying that there exists at present no motive or object, connected
+with the security of Upper Canada, which can make it necessary for you
+to act otherwise than cautiously on the defensive," until the large
+ship is ready or other circumstances arise.
+
+On June 7 the Cabinet of the United States held a meeting, in which
+was settled the plan of campaign on the northern frontier;[287] where
+alone, and for a brief period only, an expected superiority of numbers
+would permit offensive operations. As in the year before, the
+decision, in general terms, was to direct the main effort against the
+enemy's right and centre, Mackinac and the Niagara peninsula, instead
+of against his left, at Montreal or Kingston. The principal movement
+was to be by a concentration near Buffalo of forces from New York and
+the western territory, which the Secretary of War estimated might
+place under Brown's command five thousand regular troops and three
+thousand volunteers. He had proposed that these, with the assistance
+of the Erie navy, should be landed on the coast between Fort Erie, at
+the entrance of the Niagara River, and Point Abino, ten miles to the
+westward. Thence they were to act against Burlington Heights, at the
+head of Lake Ontario, the tenure of which by Vincent in 1813, had
+baffled, on two occasions, the advance of the Americans, and
+maintained the land communications of the British with York (Toronto)
+despite their enemy's control of the water. The Secretary's
+anticipation was that, after gaining this position, the force could
+proceed along the north shore of the lake towards York, receiving its
+supplies by the fleet, which was expected to be ready by June 15.
+Chauncey himself stated June 8 that he would be ready by July 1, if
+men were sent him.[288] On the 11th was launched a second new ship,
+the "Mohawk," to carry forty-two guns. The crew of the "Congress" was
+ordered up from Portsmouth, and part of them, with other
+re-enforcements, were reported to have arrived before June 20. June 24
+Chauncey wrote, "I shall sail the first week in July to offer the
+enemy battle."[289] He did not, however, take the Lake until August 1.
+
+The Cabinet had approved the Secretary's suggestion, but extended the
+place of debarkation to be between Fort Erie and Long Point, eighty
+miles from the Niagara River, and well west of Burlington Heights.
+Subsidiary to this main attack, General Izard at Plattsburg was to
+make a diversion towards Montreal. Coincidently with these movements
+an expedition of four or five of the Erie fleet, with eight hundred to
+one thousand troops, should go against Mackinac; their first object,
+however, being Matchedash Bay, on Lake Huron, which was the seat of an
+incipient naval establishment, and the point of deposit for supplies
+proceeding to Mackinac from York by way of Lake Simcoe. This attempt
+to choke the communications of Mackinac, by holding a vital point upon
+their line, was to have its counterpart in the east by the provision
+of fifteen armed boats on the St. Lawrence, supported by posts on the
+river garrisoned by detachments from Izard's army, so as to intercept
+the water transport between Montreal and Kingston. It may be mentioned
+that this particular method had specially commended itself to both Yeo
+and Chauncey, as most suited to embarrass the British situation
+throughout the upper province. In a subsequent report to the
+Admiralty, Yeo characterized the failure of the Americans to do this
+as an extreme stupidity, which had lost them the war, but upon a
+repetition of which in future hostilities Great Britain should not
+rely.[290] The importance of this intercourse is indicated by a
+mention of Chauncey's, that in the week before June 15 more than two
+hundred boats passed Ogdensburg for Kingston.[291]
+
+All this, however, simply emphasizes the fact that the decisive point
+of attack was Montreal or Kingston; not the line between them, which
+would become useless if either fell. Still less could the Niagara
+peninsula, though a valuable link in a chain of communication from the
+lower to the upper lakes, compare in importance with either of the
+places named. It matters not that a chain is complete in itself, if it
+is severed from one of the extremities which it is designed to
+connect. As regards any attempt on the part of the Americans to
+interrupt the traffic, Drummond appears to have been satisfied with
+Yeo's promise that "every brigade of batteaux should have a suitable
+convoy of gunboats."
+
+The Secretary of War, in his communication to the President before the
+Cabinet met, had indicated plainly his preference for leaving Mackinac
+alone and concentrating upon the central point of effort, Niagara or
+Burlington. "Burlington and York carried, a barrier is interposed
+which completely protects Detroit and Malden, makes doubtful and
+hazardous the enemy's intercourse with the western Indians, reduces
+Mackinac to a possession perfectly useless, renders probable the
+evacuation of Fort Niagara, and takes from the enemy half his motive
+for continuing the naval conflict on Lake Ontario. On the other hand,
+take Mackinac, and what is gained but Mackinac itself?"[292] The
+reasoning was indisputable, although Armstrong acquiesced in the
+decision of the Cabinet. The main feature of the plan adopted, the
+reduction of Burlington Heights and a successful advance on York, was
+of doubtful issue; but, if successful, the vital end of the chain upon
+which Mackinac depended for existence dropped useless to the ground.
+All side enterprise that did not directly contribute to this decisive
+movement should have been discarded in favor of concentration upon
+Brown's army, to which its execution was committed, and the actual
+strength of which was insufficient for the task. At the opening of the
+campaign its total strength was four thousand seven hundred and
+eighty, of whom eight hundred and thirty were militia.[293] On July 1
+there were present for duty three thousand five hundred. There were
+also six hundred Indians of the Six Nations. In this impotent
+conclusion resulted the Secretary's estimate of five thousand regulars
+and three thousand volunteers.
+
+On July 2 Brown announced to his troops that he was authorized by the
+Government to put them in motion against the enemy.[294] He had
+decided to leave Fort Niagara, with its menace to his communications,
+in his rear, unguarded, and to throw his command directly upon the
+enemy on the west bank of the river. The crossing was made that night
+in two divisions; one landing opposite Black Rock, below Fort Erie,
+the other above that post, which surrendered July 3, at 5 P.M. The
+garrison numbered one hundred and thirty-seven. From there Brown
+proposed to turn north and advance towards Ontario, where he hoped to
+join hands with the navy, which was expected by him, and by the
+Government, to be on hand to co-operate. This expectation was based on
+Chauncey's own assurance that he would take the lake on July 1, if
+supplied with men, who were known since to have arrived. It does not
+appear, however, that he had received specific instructions as to the
+course he was intended to follow; and, in assuming that he would go to
+the head of the lake, for direct co-operation, the Government and the
+general were reckoning without their host, and in ignorance of his
+views. He was as loath to leave Kingston and Sackett's in his rear,
+unwatched, as Brown was willing to take the same risk with regard to
+Niagara. It was a profound difference of temperament in two capable
+men, to whom the Government failed to impart the unifying element of
+orders.
+
+On July 4 Scott's brigade, which had crossed below the fort, advanced
+from Fort Erie fifteen miles, to Street's Creek, a small stream,
+bridged near its mouth, entering the Niagara two miles south of the
+Chippewa River, the defensive line selected by the British, who now
+fell back upon it. The Chippewa is of respectable size, one hundred
+and fifty yards wide, and from twelve to twenty feet deep, running
+from west to east. In general direction it is parallel to Street's
+Creek; both entering the Niagara at right angles to its course. In the
+belt separating the two the ground is flat, and was in great part
+open; but midway between them there was a strip of thick wood
+extending down to within a few hundred feet of the Niagara. This
+formed a dense curtain, hiding movements on either side from the
+other. The British forces under Riall were now north of the Chippewa,
+Scott's brigade south of Street's; each having a bridge by which to
+advance into the space between. The other American brigade, Ripley's,
+was in rear of Scott--to the south.
+
+In this relative situation, Scott's pickets on the left being
+disquieted by the British and Indians in the intervening woods, Brown
+ordered up the militia and American Indians under General Porter to
+expel them. This was done; but upon reaching the clearing on the
+further side, the Indians, who were in the lead, encountered a heavy
+fire, which drove them back upon the militia, and the whole body
+retreated in a confusion which ended in a rout.[295] Riall had crossed
+the Chippewa, and was advancing in force, although he believed Brown's
+army much to outnumber his own now on the field, which in fact it did.
+Gordon Drummond, in his instructions to him some months before, (March
+23), had remarked that with the Americans liberties might be taken
+which would seem hazardous "to a military man unacquainted with the
+character of the enemy he had to contend with, or with the events of
+the last two campaigns on that frontier."[296] This unflattering, but
+not unreasonable, deduction from the performances of Dearborn and
+others in 1813, as of Smyth and Van Rensselaer in 1812, was misplaced
+in the present instance; but it doubtless governed Riall's action, and
+justified it to himself and his superiors. He had not been engaged
+since he drove the militia of New York before him like sheep, in the
+preceding December; and he would have attacked on the very night after
+the crossing, but that a regiment from York, which he had reason to
+expect twenty-four hours before, did not arrive until the morning of
+the 5th. The instant it came he made his dispositions to move at 4
+P.M. of the same day.
+
+It was this advance which met Porter and threw his division back,
+uncovering the wood on the west. Scott at the same moment was marching
+his brigade into the open space between Street's Creek and the
+Chippewa; not to meet the enemy, whom he did not expect, but for some
+drill in the cool of a hot summer's afternoon. As he went forward, the
+Commander-in-Chief, who had been reconnoitring in front, rode by,
+galloping to the rear to bring up his remaining force; for, while the
+army in the aggregate was superior to Riall, the one brigade was
+inferior. In passing, he called to Scott, "You will have a battle";
+and the head of the latter's column, as it crossed the bridge, came at
+once under the enemy's guns.
+
+Although inferior, exposed, and in a sense surprised, both commander
+and men were equal to the occasion. The division deployed steadily
+under fire, and its leader, sending hastily one battalion to check the
+enemy in the wood, formed front with the remainder of his force to
+meet those in the plain. These, being yet unopposed, advanced beyond
+the line of the wood, passing their own detachment within it, which
+was held in check by the Americans charged with that duty. Losing thus
+their support on that side, the British presented a new right flank,
+to use Scott's expression. Thereupon he extended his two wings as far
+as he dared, leaving between them a considerable interval, so as to
+overlap his opponent at either extremity; which done, he threw his
+left forward. His brigade thus formed an obtuse angle, the apex to the
+rear, the bullets therefore converging and crossing upon the space in
+front, into which it and the enemy were moving. In the approach both
+parties halted several times to fire, and Scott says that the
+superiority of aim in his own men was evident. When within sixty paces
+a mutual rush, or charge, ensued; but the overlapping of the Americans
+crowded the flanks of the enemy in upon his centre and produced
+confusion, to which the preceding fire doubtless had contributed.
+Scott's own description is that "the wings of the enemy being
+outflanked, and in some measure doubled upon, were mouldered away like
+a rope of sand."[297] In this brief and brilliant struggle only the
+one brigade was engaged.
+
+Riall's account agrees substantially with that of Scott, mentioning
+particularly "the greatest regularity" with which his opponents
+"deployed and opened fire."[298] He directed a charge by the three
+regiments in line, "but I am sorry to say that they suffered so
+severely that I was obliged to withdraw them, finding their further
+efforts against the superior numbers of the enemy would be
+unavailing." He was right in believing that the aggregate of Brown's
+army, although much short of the six thousand he estimated, was
+superior to that which he could bring together without abandoning
+posts he had to hold; but he was mistaken in thinking that in the
+actual collision his opponents were more numerous than the fifteen
+hundred regulars at which he states his own force, besides three
+hundred militia. Scott's brigade, with its supporting artillery, when
+it crossed four days before, was less than fifteen hundred; and the
+militia and Indians were routed before he began to fight. His
+artillery also was of lighter weight. The superiority of the American
+fire was shown by the respective losses. They were: British, one
+hundred and forty-eight killed, two hundred and twenty-one wounded,
+forty-six missing; American, fifty-six killed, two hundred and
+thirty-nine wounded, thirty-six missing. Of this total, there fell to
+Scott's command forty-four killed, and two hundred and twenty-four
+wounded; demonstrating conclusively that it alone was seriously
+engaged. Not a man was reported missing. The other brigade lost only
+three killed and three wounded. At the end of the action it was coming
+up on Scott's left, where he was most exposed, but it did not arrive
+until he had wrought his own deliverance. The remaining casualties
+were among the militia and Indians.
+
+After the battle of Chippewa, Riall fell back towards Fort George, and
+subsequently to the creek called Twenty Mile, west of Niagara, on Lake
+Ontario. Brown followed as far as Queenston, where he arrived July 10.
+On the 13th he wrote to Chauncey, begging for the fleet to meet him on
+the lake shore, west of Fort George, to arrange a plan of operations;
+in which case he had no doubt of breaking the power of the enemy in
+Upper Canada in a short time. "All accounts," he said, "represent the
+force of the enemy at Kingston as very light. Sir James Yeo will not
+fight,"--which was certain. "For God's sake, let me see you. I have
+looked for your fleet with the greatest anxiety since the 10th."[299]
+
+Chauncey had not left Sackett's Harbor, nor did he do so; to the utter
+consternation, not of Brown only, but of the Government. On July 7 he
+chronicled the burning of an enemy's schooner on the north shore of
+the lake,[300] an exploit creditable enough in itself, but utterly
+trivial in relation to pending issues; and on the 8th he wrote that
+some changes of officers and crews, incidental to the absence of a
+particular captain, would detain him a few days longer.[301] These
+were flimsy reasons for inactivity at a moment of great national
+interest, and when the operations in progress had been begun
+absolutely upon the presupposition of naval control and co-operation,
+for which he had undertaken to provide the means, even if not pledged
+as to the manner. Then followed a silence of over two weeks; after
+which, on July 25, he wrote again by his second to say that "the
+squadron had been prevented being earlier fitted for sea, in
+consequence of the delay in obtaining blocks and ironwork."[302] He
+himself was too unwell to write, and had been so for some days. It is
+probable that lapse of energy consequent upon illness had something to
+do with this remarkable paralysis of action, in a man usually bustling
+and efficient; and there may naturally have been unwillingness to
+relinquish command,--which would have been his proper course,--after
+the mortifications of the previous year, when he was just flattering
+himself with the prospect of a new opportunity.
+
+This inaction, at the critical moment of Brown's advance, caused the
+Government extreme perplexity and distress. In Chauncey was reposed a
+confidence expressed by the Secretary of the Navy to Congress the year
+before, when the resolution of thanks to Perry was pending. He then
+"intimated the propriety of noticing in an appropriate manner the
+commander-in-chief of the naval force upon the lakes, under whose
+immediate command Captain Perry acted;" and spoke of the "zeal,
+talent, constancy, courage, and prudence of the highest order, which
+appears to me to merit particular distinction."[303] Such preconceived
+opinion was hard to shake; but as day succeeded day of expectation
+and suspense, the patience of the Administration gave way. Letters
+bearing those elaborated phrases of assurance which most clearly
+testify uneasiness were sent him, but did not arrive till after Brown
+had retreated and he himself taken the lake. On July 24 the Secretary
+writes, "I have expressed the solicitude which has produced this
+letter, but my confidence in your patriotism, skill, judgment, and
+energy is entire." On August 3, however, he says the explanation about
+blocks and ironwork--apparently just received--is so extraordinary at
+such a moment that "I cannot withhold from you the extreme anxiety and
+astonishment which the protracted and fatal delay of the squadron has
+excited in the mind of the President;" and on the 5th, "the known
+detention of the squadron at Sackett's Harbor until the 27th ultimo,
+the very feeble and precarious state of your health, the evils which
+have already resulted from delay," etc., "have induced the President,
+though with extreme reluctance, and undiminished confidence in your
+zeal and capacity, to order Commodore Decatur to proceed to Sackett's
+Harbor and take upon himself the naval command on Lake Ontario."
+
+The proposed change did not take place, the squadron having already
+resumed active cruising. The Secretary repeated his expressions of
+confidence, but does not appear to have renewed his recommendations to
+Congress. Chauncey, stung by the reflections, open and implied, upon
+his conduct, retorted with a defence and definition of his course, as
+proposed and realized, which raises the whole question of the method
+of naval co-operation under the circumstances, and of its probable
+effectiveness. Replying to Brown's letter of July 13, quoted above, he
+said positively that he had never given the general ground to expect
+him at the head of the lake.[304] This assertion he repeated to the
+Secretary, whose letters to him demonstrate that the Government had
+left him entire discretion as to his particular method of procedure.
+Acting therefore upon his own judgment, he justified his course by
+alleging that direct co-operation at the Niagara end of the lake was
+impossible, because the heavy ships could not get within two miles of
+the forts, and Brown's army had never advanced to the lake shore;
+consequently, the fleet could neither have acted directly by itself,
+nor yet in support of a land force, with which it could not
+communicate. So much for the negative side of the argument.
+Positively, he said, the mission of the navy was to seek and fight the
+enemy's squadron; and this duty was emphasized by the fact that to go
+westward to Niagara, while the enemy was at Kingston, would expose to
+capture Sackett's Harbor, the safety of which had remained a dominant
+anxiety with Chauncey since its narrow escape the previous year.
+
+The protection of his own base, and the controlling or beating the
+organized force of the enemy, are unquestionably two leading
+considerations which should govern the general conduct of a general
+officer, land or sea. In these particulars Chauncey's statement was
+unassailable; but, whether well or ill, he seems to have been
+incapable of rising to the larger estimate of naval control, to which
+the rules enunciated, conduce simply as a formulation of principles,
+giving to action preciseness and steadiness of direction. The
+destruction of the enemy's fleet is the means to obtain naval control;
+but naval control in itself is only a means, not an object. The object
+of the campaign, set by the Government, was the acquirement of mastery
+upon the Niagara peninsula, to the accomplishment of which Brown's
+army was destined. Naval control would minister thereto, partly by
+facilitating the re-enforcement and supply of the American army, and,
+conversely, by impeding that of the British. Of these two means, the
+latter was the more efficacious, because, owing to the thoroughly
+denuded condition of the Canadian territory, from the Niagara to
+Detroit, local resources were exhausted, and dependence was wholly
+upon the water; whereas the United States forces, near a fruitful
+friendly region, and in possession of Lake Erie, had other independent
+and sufficient streams of maintenance.
+
+To weaken the British was by so much to strengthen Brown, even though
+direct communication with him were impossible. It was of this that the
+British stood in continual anxious terror, as shown by their letters;
+and this it was that Chauncey gives no sign of recognizing. Of support
+to his own colleague he spoke with ill-timed scorn: "That you might
+find the fleet somewhat of a convenience in the transportation of
+provisions and stores for the use of the army, and an agreeable
+appendage to attend its marches and countermarches, I am ready to
+believe; but, Sir, the Secretary of the Navy has honored us with a
+higher destiny--we are intended to seek and to fight the enemy's
+fleet. This is the great purpose of the Government in creating this
+fleet; and I shall not be diverted in my efforts to effectuate it by
+any sinister attempt to render us subordinate to, or an appendage of,
+the army." It would be difficult to cite an apter instance of wresting
+sound principles to one's own destruction. Whatever the antecedent
+provocation, this is no temper in which to effect military objects. It
+is indeed hard to believe that an army so little numerous as that of
+Brown could have accomplished the ambitious designs confided to it;
+but that does not affect the clear duty of affording it the utmost
+assistance that ingenuity could devise and energy effect. The words
+quoted were written August 10, but ignore entirely an alternative
+suggested in a letter received that day from the Secretary, dated July
+24, itself the repetition of one made July 20: "To destroy the enemy's
+fleet, or to blockade his force _and cut off his entire communication
+with the head of the lake_." The civilian here indicated clearly what
+the naval officer should have known from the very first moment.
+
+As before said, the contemporary correspondence of British officers
+abundantly shows their anxiety lest Chauncey, in these important
+weeks, should do what he did not do. Sir James Yeo had deliberately
+formulated the policy of remaining inactive in Kingston until the
+completion of the 102-gun ship, which would give him command of the
+lake beyond chance of dispute. To occupy the American fleet meanwhile
+with a local blockade, which he intended not to contest, was precisely
+what he wanted. To distress the army at Niagara to the point of
+evacuating the peninsula was the one only thing that might impel--or
+compel--him to come out and fight, despite his deliberate intention.
+"Several small vessels," wrote the Commissary-General a month
+later[305] to Sir George Prevost, "were despatched while the enemy's
+squadron were unable to leave Sackett's Harbor; but since the enemy
+commands the lake, that resource for the moment is cut off, and only
+batteaux can be employed. These are [not][306] a very useful
+conveyance, not only from the danger of the enemy's small vessels,
+which can approach the shore without difficulty, but also from want of
+proper steersmen, pilots, and middlemen.... This feeble means of
+transport will never effect the forming of a sufficient depot at York,
+Burlington Heights, and Niagara; and, unless the commissariat can be
+aided to a great extent by the Royal Navy, the most disastrous
+consequences must ensue."
+
+At the date this was written, August 27, Chauncey's force was that
+which he had promised should be ready July 1, but with which he did
+not sail until August 1,--too late. The very efficiency of his action
+in August condemns therefore his inaction in July. Besides his two new
+big ships, which matched Yeo's two, he had added to the fleet of the
+previous year, then superior to the British, two brigs of the armament
+and tonnage of the ocean sloops of war,--the "Peacock" and class.
+Against these Yeo had nothing to show. It was therefore open to
+Chauncey to blockade Kingston with an equal force, thus covering
+Sackett's, and to despatch to the head of the lake vessels adequate to
+embarrass Riall and Drummond most seriously. From York to Niagara by
+land was eighty miles of road impassable to laden wagons; by lake
+thirty miles of water facility. From Kingston to York, an additional
+distance of a hundred and fifty miles, the same relative difficulty of
+transportation obtained. Yet as late as July 13, Drummond could write
+from Kingston, "As troops cannot be forwarded without provisions, I
+have requested Sir James Yeo to send his two brigs immediately, with
+as much flour and pork as they can carry to York and Burlington." On
+the 16th, "The 'Charwell' sailed yesterday for the head of the lake
+with provisions and ammunition. I have strong hopes she will arrive
+safe, as the enemy's whole squadron are lying in Sackett's with their
+sails bent, and apparently ready for sea, though no guns forward of
+the foremast could be perceived on board the 'Mohawk.'"[307]
+
+Yeo, holding both York and the mouth of the Niagara, ventured thither
+two brigs and two schooners, under Captain Dobbs, one of his officers.
+"Without their valuable aid in the transport of troops and stores,"
+wrote Drummond, August 12, "I certainly should not have been able to
+attempt offensive operations so soon after my arrival." By that time,
+when Brown had of necessity abandoned the offensive, "Commodore
+Chauncey has left three of his brigs to watch our vessels in the
+Niagara. They continue cruising off that place."[308] Chauncey, in
+his letter of vindication to the Secretary, had maintained that "if
+our whole fleet were at the head of the lake, it would not detain a
+regiment from [York to] Fort George more than twenty-four hours....
+Any one who knows anything of the navigation of this lake knows that
+boats may cross the head of the lake, from York to the opposite shore,
+unobserved by any fleet during the night."[309] Admitting that there
+is no literal exaggeration in this statement, it takes no account of
+the enemy's apprehensions, nor of the decisive difficulty of running
+vessels of a size to transport the heavy stores, without which the
+army could not remain. No one familiar with maritime affairs will deny
+the impossibility of wholly suppressing all furtive movement of small
+coasters, but it is equally certain much can be done to impede that
+full course of supplies which constitutes security of communication.
+To Chauncey's affirmation, Drummond gives an incidental reply,
+September 2: "The enemy's blockading squadron not having been seen for
+some days, I sent the 'Vincent' across to York, where she has arrived
+in safety, and Captain Dobbs has directed the 'Charwell' to push
+across the first morning the wind is fair. By their aid I got rid of
+many encumbrances (prisoners and sick), and shall receive the supplies
+that are waiting at York for this division."[310]
+
+It is needless to multiply quotations from the utterances, and
+frequent outcries, that run throughout this correspondence. Chauncey,
+from early July, had it in his hand seriously to molest the British
+communications, and at the same time to contain the British squadron
+in Kingston. Such action would subject Yeo to the just and humiliating
+imputation of suffering the harassment of the army without an attempt
+at relief, or else would compel him to come out and fight under
+conditions which, "whatever the result," to use Nelson's words, "would
+leave his squadron in a state to do no further harm," till the big
+ship was ready. Thus also Chauncey would cover his base; for, as
+Prevost wrote, "while Kingston is blockaded, no movement against
+Sackett's Harbor can take place." It was Chauncey's misfortune himself
+to demonstrate his own shortcoming by the profound distress he
+inflicted, when sounder measures were instituted after the censure of
+the Government,--too late.
+
+One of the most conspicuous instances of the effect of this neglect
+was realized in the desperate and sanguinary engagement of Lundy's
+Lane, the occurrence of which, at the time and in the manner it did,
+as stated by one of the chief actors, Winfield Scott, was due directly
+to the freedom of the lake to the British. Brown had remained at
+Queenston for some days after July 10, in painful suspense. A
+reconnaissance in force was made on the 15th by the militia brigade
+under General Porter, accompanied by two pieces of artillery, which
+moved round Fort George as far as Lake Ontario, whence the general
+reported "we had an opportunity to examine the _northern_ face of
+Forts Riall and Niagara, about two miles distant."[311] Beyond a few
+random shots, no opposition was experienced. On the 20th the army as a
+whole advanced to the neighborhood of Fort George, and made a
+demonstration of throwing up siege works; not without serious
+intention, for Brown had not yet abandoned hope of receiving the
+cannon of necessary weight, 24-pounders, from Sackett's Harbor. He had
+with him only eighteens. Riall was greatly alarmed, exaggerating the
+force before him, and receiving reports of re-enforcements expected by
+the lake. On July 22 he sent hasty and pressing word of the impending
+emergency to Drummond, who arrived the same evening at York from
+Kingston; but in the afternoon of the day he was able to give better
+tidings. The Americans were falling back again upon Queenston,
+abandoning the positions recently assumed.[312]
+
+Brown had hoped that by his advance, blowing up the works at
+Queenston, and leaving his rear evidently much exposed, Riall might be
+induced to attack. The British general was much disposed to do so; but
+refrained, fearing for his own communications. On the morning of the
+23d an express from General Gaines, commanding at Sackett's Harbor,
+reached Brown at Queenston, informing him that Chauncey was sick, that
+no one knew when the fleet would sail, and that an endeavor had been
+made to send forward by batteaux, coasting the south shore, the
+24-pounder guns needed for besieging Fort George; but the officer in
+command had stopped at the mouth of Black River Bay, thinking himself
+in danger from the British squadron.[313] A contemporary account
+reads: "July 20, Morgan with the riflemen and cannon prevented from
+sailing by Yeo's blockade of the harbor."[314] Apparently, Yeo had
+even come out of port, in order by menace of attack to arrest the
+forwarding of this essential succor. Chauncey's incidental mention is
+positive that he approached no nearer than the Ducks, some large
+islands thirty miles south of Kingston, and forty west of
+Sackett's;[315] but it is obvious that in the quiescence of the
+American squadron such a position was prohibitive of movement by
+batteaux. It may readily be conceived that had Brown's demonstration
+against the fort been coupled with an attempt to land the guns from a
+naval division, Riall might have felt compelled to come out of his
+lines.
+
+Neither guns nor naval division appeared, and Drummond, able to move
+troops freely across the lake, concerted now a plan for striking a
+dangerous blow from Fort Niagara, against Brown's communications on
+the New York side; the exposed condition of which was known to him.
+This was the immediate offensive of which he had spoken; his ability
+to undertake which he attributed to naval aid. He had as
+adjutant-general Lieutenant-Colonel Harvey, the same who suggested and
+executed the brilliant stroke that disconcerted Dearborn's campaign in
+1813; and who on the present occasion drew up the instructions to
+Riall, and to Lieutenant-Colonel Tucker, the officer in charge of the
+forts, with a delightful lucidity which characterizes all papers
+signed by him.[316] The brigs "Star" and "Charwell" left York July 23,
+with a re-enforcement of four hundred men for Fort Niagara, in which
+post the officer commanding was directed to concentrate so many more
+as would enable him to carry a full regiment of regulars against
+batteries that were being put up at Youngstown. This movement was to
+be made at daylight of Monday, July 25, and General Riall was
+instructed to support it by a threatening demonstration on his side of
+the river. On the evening of the 24th, Drummond himself sailed from
+York in one of Yeo's schooners, and by daybreak reached Niagara.
+
+Upon his arrival,--or possibly before,--he learned that the Americans
+had retired further, to the Chippewa. The motive for this backward
+step was to draw necessary supplies across the river, from the
+magazines at Fort Schlosser, and to leave there all superfluous
+baggage, prior to a rush upon Burlington Heights, which Brown had now
+substituted as the point of attack, in consequence of his
+disappointment about the siege guns.[317] It had been his intention
+to rest over the 25th, in order to start forward fresh on the 26th.
+This retrograde movement, inducing Riall to advance, changed the
+situation found by Drummond. He decided therefore to apply his
+re-enforcements to the support of Riall directly, and to have the
+enterprise from Niagara proceed with somewhat smaller numbers towards
+Lewiston,--opposite Queenston,--where a body of Americans were posted.
+This advance appears to have been detected very soon, for Drummond
+writes, "Some unavoidable delay having occurred in the march of the
+troops up the right bank, the enemy had moved off previous to Colonel
+Tucker's arrival." Brown, in his report of this circumstance, wrote,
+"As it appeared that the enemy with his increased force was about to
+avail himself of the hazard under which our baggage and stores were on
+our [American] side of Niagara, I conceived the most effectual method
+of recalling him from the object was to put myself in motion towards
+Queenston. General Scott with his brigade were accordingly put in
+march on the road leading thither." The result was the battle of
+Lundy's Lane.
+
+Scott in his autobiography attributes the report of an advance towards
+Schlosser to a mistake on the part of the officer making it. It was
+not so. There was an actual movement, modified in detail from the
+original elaborate plan, the execution of which was based by the
+British general upon the local control of the lake, enabling him to
+send re-enforcements. The employment of Dobbs' four vessels, permitted
+by Chauncey's inaction, thus had direct effect upon the occurrence and
+the result of the desperately contested engagement which ensued, upon
+the heights overlooking the lower torrent of the Niagara. From the
+Chippewa to the Falls is about two miles, through which the main road
+from Lake Erie to Ontario follows the curving west bank of the stream.
+A half mile further on it was joined at right angles by the
+crossroad, known as Lundy's Lane. As Scott's column turned the bend
+above the Falls there were evidences of the enemy's presence, which at
+first were thought to indicate only a detachment for observation; but
+a few more paces disclosed the Lane held by a line of troops, superior
+in number to those encountered with equal unexpectedness on the
+Chippewa, three weeks before.
+
+Scott hesitated whether to fall back; but apprehensive of the effect
+of such a step upon the other divisions, he sent word to Brown that he
+would hold his ground, and prepared for battle, making dispositions to
+turn the enemy's left,--towards the Niagara. It was then near sundown.
+A hot engagement followed, in the course of which the pressure on the
+British left caused it to give ground. In consequence, the American
+right advancing and the British left receding, the two lines swung
+round perpendicular to the Lane, the Americans standing with their
+backs to the precipices, beneath which roar the lower rapids of
+Niagara. At this period General Riall, who had received a severe
+wound, was captured while being carried to the rear.
+
+As this change of front was taking place Brown arrived, with Ripley's
+brigade and Porter's militia, which were brought into line with Scott;
+the latter occupying the extreme right, Ripley the centre, and Porter
+the left. When this arrangement had been completed the attack was
+resumed, and a hill top, which was the key of the British position,
+was carried; the artillery there falling into the hands of the
+Americans. "In so determined a manner were these attacks directed
+against our guns," reported Drummond, "that our artillery men were
+bayoneted by the enemy in the act of loading, and the muzzles of the
+enemy's guns were advanced within a few yards of ours.... Our troops
+having for a moment been pushed back, some of our guns remained for a
+few minutes in the enemy's hands."[318] Upon this central fact both
+accounts agree, but on the upshot of the matter they differ. "Not only
+were the guns quickly recovered," continued Drummond, "but the two
+pieces which the enemy had brought up were captured by us." He admits,
+however, the loss as well as gain of one 6-pounder. Brown, on the
+contrary, claimed that the ground was held and that the enemy retired,
+leaving his guns. "He attempted to drive us from our position and to
+regain his artillery; our line was unshaken and the enemy repulsed.
+Two other attempts having the same object had the same issue."[319] By
+this time both Brown and Scott had been severely wounded and carried
+off the field. In this situation the Commander-in-Chief directed the
+officer now in command to withdraw the troops to the camp, three miles
+behind, for refreshment, and then to re-occupy the field of battle.
+Whether this was feasible or not would require an inquiry more
+elaborate than the matter at stake demands. It is certain that the
+next day the British resumed the position without resistance, and
+continued to hold it.
+
+To Americans the real interest and value of this action, combined with
+its predecessor at Chippewa, and with the subsequent equally desperate
+fighting about Fort Erie, were that the contest did not close without
+this conspicuous demonstration that in capable hands the raw material
+of the American armies could be worked up into fighting quality equal
+to the best. Regarded as an international conflict, the war was now
+staggering to its end, which was but a few months distant; and in
+every direction little but shame and mortification had befallen the
+American arms on land. It would have been a calamity, indeed, had the
+record closed for that generation with the showing of 1812 and 1813.
+Nothing is gained by explaining or excusing such results; the only
+expiation for them is by the demonstration of repentance, in works
+worthy of men and soldiers. This was abundantly afforded by Brown's
+brief campaign of 1814, otherwise fruitless. Not only the regular
+troops, fashioned by Scott in a few brief months from raw recruits to
+disciplined fighters, proved their mettle; the irregulars associated
+with them, though without the same advantage of training and concert
+of movement, caught their enthusiasm, gained confidence from their
+example, and emulated their deeds. The rabble which scarcely waited
+for a shot before scattering at the approach of Riall's columns in
+December, 1813, abandoning their homes to destruction, had earned the
+discriminating eulogium of General Brown before the year 1814 closed.
+In August, after Lundy's Lane, he, a New Yorker himself, wrote to the
+Governor of New York:[320] "This state has suffered in reputation in
+this war; its militia have done nothing, or but little, and that, too,
+after the state had been for a long time invaded." On September 20,
+after the sanguinary and successful sortie from Fort Erie, he wrote
+again: "The militia of New York have redeemed their character--they
+behaved gallantly. Of those called out by the last requisition,
+fifteen hundred have crossed the state border to our support. This
+re-enforcement has been of immense importance to us; it doubled our
+effective strength, and their good conduct cannot but have the
+happiest effect upon the nation."[321]
+
+The American losses at Lundy's Lane were, killed one hundred and
+seventy-one, wounded five hundred and seventy-two, missing one hundred
+and seventeen; total, eight hundred and sixty. Those of the British
+were, killed eighty-four, wounded five hundred and fifty-nine,
+missing one hundred and ninety-three, prisoners forty-two; total,
+eight hundred and seventy-eight. Of the British missing and prisoners,
+one hundred and sixty-nine were reported by the Americans as in their
+hands; among them nineteen officers. This substantial equality in
+casualties corresponds to a similar equality in the numbers engaged.
+The Americans had present for duty two thousand six hundred and
+forty-four, including over four hundred militia; Drummond in his
+report states that first and last he had upon the field not more than
+two thousand eight hundred. That he estimates the force opposed to him
+to have been at least five thousand, may be coupled with his mention
+of "the reiterated and determined attacks which the enemy made upon
+our centre," as showing the impression produced upon his mind during
+the progress of the struggle. The comparison of numbers engaged with
+injuries sustained justifies the inference that, in result, the actual
+contest upon the ground was at least a drawn battle, if not the
+positive success claimed by Brown and Scott. Colonel Hercules Scott,
+of the British 103d Regiment, who to be sure shows somewhat of the
+malcontent ever present in camps, but who afterwards fell well at the
+front in the assault upon Fort Erie, was in this action; and in a
+private letter uses an expression which practically corroborates the
+American assertion that they held the ground at the end, and withdrew
+afterwards. "In the last attack they gained possession of five out of
+seven of our guns, but the fire kept upon them was so severe that it
+afterwards appeared they had not been able to carry them off; _for we
+found them next morning_ on the spot they had been taken. No [We?]
+boast of a 'Great Victory,' but in my opinion it was nearly equal on
+both sides."[322]
+
+Equality of loss, or even a technical victory, does not imply equality
+of subsequent conditions. Brown had at the front all his available
+force; he had no reserves or depots upon which to draw. He had
+expended the last shot in the locker. Drummond not only had been
+receiving re-enforcements, absolutely small, yet considerable in
+proportion to the contending numbers, but he was continuing to receive
+them. Lundy's Lane was July 25; Chauncey did not take the lake until
+August 1, and it was the 5th when he came off Niagara, where he at
+once intercepted and drove ashore one of the British brigs, which was
+fired by her captain. He thus had immediate ocular demonstration of
+what had been going on in his absence; but it was already too late for
+the American squadron to turn the scales of war. If this could have
+been accomplished at all, it would have been by such intervention as
+in this instance; by injuring the enemy rather than by helping the
+friend. But this would have been possible only in the beginning. Brown
+felt himself unable longer to keep the field; and the army, now under
+General Ripley, withdrew the following day, July 26, to Fort Erie,
+where it proceeded to strengthen the work itself, and to develop a
+fortified line depending upon it, covering the angle of ground made by
+the shores of the Niagara River and Lake Erie. Brown was carried to
+Buffalo to recover of his wounds, which were not dangerous, though
+severe. He subsequently resumed chief command, but Scott was unable to
+serve again during the campaign. General Gaines was summoned from
+Sackett's Harbor, and on August 5 took charge at Fort Erie.
+
+From this time the operations on either side were limited to the
+effort to take or to hold this position. Drummond's experience at
+Lundy's Lane, and the extent of his loss, made him cautious in
+pursuit; and time was yielded to the enemy to make good their
+entrenchment. On the early morning of August 15 the British assaulted,
+and were repelled with fifty-seven killed, three hundred and nine
+wounded, and five hundred and thirty-nine missing.[323] The Americans,
+covered by their works, reported a loss of less than one hundred. "I
+am now reduced to a most unpleasant predicament with regard to force,"
+wrote Drummond to Prevost.[324] "I have ordered the 6th and 82d from
+York to this frontier. I had intended to order another regiment from
+Kingston, but from the badness of the roads since the recent rains I
+could not calculate upon their arrival here before our squadron will
+be able to take the lake, and as even at present the diminution of
+stores and provisions is beginning to be felt, I intreat your
+excellency will impress upon the Commodore the necessity of conveying
+to this division, the very moment the squadron can leave harbor, a
+full supply of each, as well as a re-enforcement of troops."
+
+After this sharp reverse Drummond settled down to a siege, in the
+course of which he complained frequently and grievously of the
+annoyance caused him by Chauncey's blockade, established August 6,
+with three vessels competent seriously to interrupt transportation of
+supplies, or of men in large detachments. The season was still
+propitious for marching; but as early as August 21 Drummond was afraid
+"that relief by control of the lake may not reach us in time."
+September 11, "Our batteries have almost been silent for several days
+from the reduced state of the ammunition." September 14, "The sudden
+and most unlooked for return to the head of Lake Ontario of the two
+brigs, by which the Niagara has been so long blockaded, _and my
+communication with York cut off_, has had the effect of preventing the
+junction of the 97th regiment, which arrived at York the 10th, and
+probably would have been here the following day but for this unlucky
+circumstance."[325] September 24, "The deficiency of provisions and
+transport is the difficulty attending every operation in this country,
+as it prevents the collection at any one point of an adequate force
+for any object. These difficulties we must continue to experience,
+until our squadron appears superior on the lake." It would be
+impossible to depict more strongly the course incumbent upon Chauncey
+in July, or to condemn more severely, by implication, his failure then
+to do what he could, taking the chance of that chapter of accidents,
+"to be in the way of good luck," which it is the duty of every
+military leader to consider as among the clear possibilities of war.
+"The blockade of Kingston," wrote Prevost on October 11 to Lord
+Bathurst,[326] "has been vigorously maintained for the last six weeks
+by the enemy's squadron. The vigilance of the American cruisers on
+Lake Ontario was felt even by our batteaux creeping along the shore
+with provisions for Drummond's division. In consequence, I found that
+the wants of that army had grown to an alarming extent."[327]
+
+In pushing his siege works, Drummond by September 15 had erected three
+batteries, the last of which, then just completed, "would rake
+obliquely the whole American encampment."[328] Brown determined then
+upon a sortie in force, which was made on the afternoon of September
+17, with entire success. It was in this attack that the New York
+militia, of whom fifteen hundred had crossed to the fort, bore an
+honorable and distinguished part. Brown states the actual force
+engaged in the fighting at one thousand regulars and one thousand
+militia, to whose energy and stubbornness Drummond again pays the
+compliment of estimating them at five thousand. The weight of the
+onslaught was thrown on the British right flank, and there doubtless
+the assailants were, and should have been, greatly superior. Two of
+the three batteries were carried, one of them being that which had
+directly incited the attack. "The enemy," reported Drummond, "was
+everywhere driven back; not however before he had disabled the guns in
+No. 3 battery, and exploded its magazine;"[329] that is, not before he
+had accomplished his purpose.
+
+Nor was this all. The stroke ended the campaign. Drummond had nearly
+lost hope of a successful issue, and this blow destroyed what little
+remained. The American navy still held the lake; the big ship in
+Kingston still tarried; rains torrential and almost incessant were
+undermining the ramparts of Forts George and Niagara, causing serious
+alarm for the defence, and spreading sickness among his troops,
+re-enforcements to which could with difficulty be sent. The British
+returns of loss in repelling the sortie gave one hundred and fifteen
+killed, one hundred and forty-eight wounded, three hundred and sixteen
+missing; total, five hundred and seventy-nine. The Americans, whose
+casualties were five hundred and eleven, reported that they brought
+back three hundred and eighty-five prisoners; among whom the roll of
+officers tallies with the British list. Four days afterwards,
+September 21, Drummond abandoned his works, leaving his fires burning
+and huts standing, and fell back secretly by night to the Chippewa.
+
+Brown was in no condition to follow. In a brief ten weeks, over which
+his adventurous enterprise spread, he had fought four engagements,
+which might properly be called general actions, if regard were had to
+the total force at his disposal, and not merely to the tiny scale of
+the campaign. Barring the single episode of the battle of New
+Orleans, his career on the Niagara peninsula is the one operation of
+the land war of 1812 upon which thoughtful and understanding Americans
+of the following generation could look back with satisfaction. Of how
+great consequence this evidence of national military character was, to
+the men who had no other experience, is difficult to be appreciated by
+us, in whose memories are the successes of the Mexican contest and the
+fierce titanic strife of the Civil War. In truth, Chippewa, Lundy's
+Lane, and New Orleans, are the only names of 1812 preserved to popular
+memory,[330] ever impatient of disagreeable reminiscence. Hull's
+surrender was indeed an exception; the iron there burned too deep to
+leave no lasting scar. To Brown and his distinguished subordinates we
+owe the demonstration of what the War of 1812 might have accomplished,
+had the Government of the United States since the beginning of the
+century possessed even a rudimentary conception of what military
+preparation means to practical statesmanship.
+
+Shortly after the sortie which decided Drummond to retire, the
+defenders of Fort Erie were brought into immediate relation with the
+major part of the forces upon Lake Champlain, under General Izard.
+Both belonged to the same district, the ninth, which in Dearborn's
+time had formed one general command; but which it now pleased the
+Secretary of War, General Armstrong, to manage as two distinct
+divisions, under his own controlling directions from Washington. The
+Secretary undoubtedly had a creditable amount of acquired military
+knowledge, but by this time he had manifested that he did not possess
+the steadying military qualities necessary to play the role of a
+distant commander-in-chief. Izard, at the time of his appointment,
+reported everything connected with his command, the numbers and
+discipline of the troops, their clothing and equipment, in a
+deplorable state of inefficiency.[331] The summer months were spent in
+building up anew the army on Champlain, and in erecting
+fortifications; at Plattsburg, where the main station was fixed, and
+at Cumberland Head, the promontory which defines the eastern side of
+Plattsburg Bay. Upon the maintenance of these positions depended the
+tenure of the place itself, as the most suitable advanced base for the
+army and for the fleet, mutually indispensable for the protection of
+that great line of operations.
+
+On July 27, before the Secretary could know of Lundy's Lane, but when
+he did anticipate that Brown must fall back on Fort Erie, he wrote to
+Izard that it would be expedient for him to advance against Montreal,
+or against Prescott,--on the St. Lawrence opposite Ogdensburg,--in
+case large re-enforcements had been sent from Montreal to check
+Brown's advance, as was reported. His own inclination pointed to
+Prescott, with a view to the contingent chance of an attack upon
+Kingston, in co-operation with Chauncey and the garrison at
+Sackett's.[332] This letter did not reach Izard till August 10. He
+construed its somewhat tentative and vacillating terms as an order. "I
+will make the movement you direct, if possible; but I shall do it
+with the apprehension of risking the force under my command, and with
+the certainty that everything in this vicinity, save the lately
+erected works at Plattsburg and Cumberland Head, will, in less than
+three days after my departure, be in possession of the enemy."[333]
+Izard, himself, on July 19, had favored a step like this proposed;
+but, as he correctly observed, the time for it was when Brown was
+advancing and might be helped. Now, when Brown had been brought to a
+stand, and was retiring, the movement would not aid him, but would
+weaken the Champlain frontier; and that at the very moment when the
+divisions from Wellington's army, which had embarked at Bordeaux, were
+arriving at Quebec and Montreal.
+
+On August 12, Armstrong wrote again, saying that his first order had
+been based upon the supposition that Chauncey would meet and beat Yeo,
+or at least confine him in port. This last had in fact been done; but,
+if the enemy should have carried his force from Montreal to Kingston,
+and be prepared there, "a safer movement was to march two thousand men
+to Sackett's, embark there, and go to Brown's assistance."[334] Izard
+obediently undertook this new disposition, which he received August
+20; but upon consultation with his officers concluded that to march by
+the northern route, near the Canada border, would expose his
+necessarily long column to dangerous flank attack. He therefore
+determined to go by way of Utica.[335] On August 29 the division,
+about four thousand effectives, set out from the camp at Chazy, eight
+miles north of Plattsburg, and on September 16 reached Sackett's. Bad
+weather prevented immediate embarkation, but on the 21st about two
+thousand five hundred infantry sailed, and having a fair wind reached
+next day the Genesee, where they were instantly put ashore. A
+regiment of light artillery and a number of dragoons, beyond the
+capacity of the fleet to carry, went by land and arrived a week later.
+
+In this manner the defence of Lake Champlain was deprived of four
+thousand fairly trained troops at the moment that the British attack
+in vast superiority of force was maturing. Their advance brigade, in
+fact, crossed the frontier two days after Izard's departure. At the
+critical moment, and during the last weeks of weather favorable for
+operations, the men thus taken were employed in making an unprofitable
+march of great length, to a quarter where there was now little
+prospect of successful action, and where they could not arrive before
+the season should be practically closed. Brown, of course, hailed an
+accession of strength which he sorely needed, and did not narrowly
+scrutinize a measure for which he was not responsible. On September
+27, ten days after the successful sortie from Fort Erie, he was at
+Batavia, in New York, where he had an interview with Izard, who was
+the senior. In consequence of their consultation Izard determined that
+his first movement should be the siege of Fort Niagara.[336] In
+pursuance of this resolve his army marched to Lewiston, where it
+arrived October 5. There he had a second meeting with Brown,
+accompanied on this occasion by Porter, and under their
+representations decided that it would be more proper to concentrate
+all the forces at hand on the Canadian bank of the Niagara, south of
+the Chippewa, and not to undertake a siege while Drummond kept the
+field.[337]
+
+Despite many embarrassments, and anxieties on the score of supplies
+and provisions while deprived of the free use of the lake, the British
+general was now master of the situation. His position rested upon the
+Chippewa on one flank, and upon Fort Niagara on the other. From end
+to end he had secure communication, for he possessed the river and the
+boats, below the falls. By these interior lines, despite his momentary
+inferiority in total numbers, he was able to concentrate his forces
+upon a threatened extremity with a rapidity which the assailants could
+not hope to rival. Fort Niagara was not in a satisfactory condition to
+resist battery by heavy cannon; but Izard had none immediately at
+hand. Drummond was therefore justified in his hope that "the enemy
+will find the recapture of the place not to be easily effected."[338]
+His line of the Chippewa rested on the left upon the Niagara. On its
+right flank the ground was impassable to everything save infantry, and
+any effort to turn his position there would have to be made in the
+face of artillery, to oppose which no guns could be brought forward.
+Accordingly when Izard, after crossing in accordance with his last
+decision, advanced on October 15 against the British works upon the
+Chippewa, he found they were too strong for a frontal attack, the
+opinion which Drummond himself entertained,[339] while the
+topographical difficulties of the country baffled every attempt to
+turn them. Drummond's one serious fear was that the Americans, finding
+him impregnable here, might carry a force by Lake Erie, and try to
+gain his rear from Long Point, or by the Grand River.[340] Though they
+would meet many obstacles in such a circuit, yet the extent to which
+he would have to detach in order to meet them, and the smallness of
+his numbers, might prove very embarrassing.
+
+Izard entertained no such project. After his demonstration of October
+15, which amounted to little more than a reconnaisance in force, he
+lapsed into hopelessness. The following day he learned by express that
+the American squadron had retired to Sackett's Harbor and was
+throwing up defensive works. With his own eyes he saw, too, that the
+British water service was not impeded. "Notwithstanding our supremacy
+on Lake Ontario, at the time I was in Lewiston [October 5-8] the
+communication between York and the mouth of the Niagara was
+uninterrupted. I saw a large square-rigged vessel arriving, and
+another, a brig, lying close to the Canada shore. Not a vessel of ours
+was in sight."[341] The British big ship, launched September 10, was
+on October 14 reported by Yeo completely equipped. The next day he
+would proceed up the lake to Drummond's relief. Chauncey had not
+waited for the enemy to come out. Convinced that the first use of
+naval superiority would be to reduce his naval base, he took his ships
+into port October 8; writing to Washington that the "St. Lawrence" had
+her sails bent, apparently all ready for sea, and that he expected an
+attack in ten days.[342] "I confess I am greatly embarrassed," wrote
+Izard to Monroe, who had now superseded Armstrong as Secretary of War.
+"At the head of the most efficient army the United States have
+possessed during this war, much must be expected from me; and yet I
+can discern no object which can be achieved at this point worthy of
+the risk which will attend its attempt." The enemy perfectly
+understood his perplexity, and despite his provocations refused to
+play into his hands by leaving the shelter of their works to fight. On
+October 21, he broke up his camp, and began to prepare winter quarters
+for his own command opposite Black Rock, sending Brown with his
+division to Sackett's Harbor. Two weeks later, on November 5, having
+already transported all but a small garrison to the American shore, he
+blew up Fort Erie and abandoned his last foothold on the peninsula.
+
+During the operations along the Niagara which ended thus fruitlessly,
+the United States Navy upon Lake Erie met with some severe mishaps.
+The Cabinet purpose, of carrying an expedition into the upper lakes
+against Michilimackinac, was persisted in despite the reluctance of
+Armstrong. Commander Arthur Sinclair, who after an interval had
+succeeded Perry, was instructed to undertake this enterprise with such
+force as might be necessary; but to leave within Lake Erie all that he
+could spare, to co-operate with Brown. Accordingly he sailed from Erie
+early in June, arriving on the 21st off Detroit, where he was to
+embark the troops under Colonel Croghan for the land operations. After
+various delays St. Joseph's was reached July 20, and found abandoned.
+Its defences were destroyed. On the 26th the vessels were before
+Mackinac, but after a reconnaisance Croghan decided that the position
+was too strong for the force he had. Sinclair therefore started to
+return, having so far accomplished little except the destruction of
+two schooners, one on Lake Huron, and one on Lake Superior, both
+essential to the garrison at Mackinac; there being at the time but one
+other vessel on the lakes competent to the maintenance of their
+communications.
+
+This remaining schooner, called the "Nancy," was known to be in
+Nottawasaga Bay, at the south end of Georgian Bay, near the position
+selected by the British as a depot for stores coming from York by way
+of Lake Simcoe. After much dangerous search in uncharted waters,
+Sinclair found her lying two miles up a river of the same name as the
+bay, where she was watching a chance to slip through to Mackinac. Her
+lading had been completed July 31, and the next day she had already
+started, when a messenger brought word that approach to the island was
+blocked by the American expedition. The winding of the river placed
+her present anchorage within gunshot of the lake; but as she could
+not be seen through the brush, Sinclair borrowed from the army a
+howitzer, with which, mounted in the open beyond, he succeeded in
+firing both the "Nancy" and the blockhouse defending the position. The
+British were thus deprived of their last resource for transportation
+in bulk upon the lake. What this meant to Mackinac may be inferred
+from the fact that flour there was sixty dollars the barrel, even
+before Sinclair's coming.
+
+Having inflicted this small, yet decisive, embarrassment on the enemy,
+Sinclair on August 16 started back with the "Niagara" and "Hunter" for
+Erie, whither he had already despatched the "Lawrence"--Perry's old
+flagship--and the "Caledonia." He left in Nottawasaga Bay the
+schooners "Scorpion" and "Tigress," "to maintain a rigid blockade
+until driven from the lake by the inclemency of the weather," in order
+"to cut the line of communications from Michilimackinac to York."
+Lieutenant Daniel Turner of the "Scorpion," who had commanded the
+"Caledonia" in Perry's action, was the senior officer of this
+detachment.
+
+After Sinclair's departure the gales became frequent and violent.
+Finding no good anchorage in Nottawasaga Bay, Turner thought he could
+better fulfil the purpose of his instructions by taking the schooners
+to St. Joseph's, and cruising thence to French River, which enters
+Georgian Bay at its northern end. On the night of September 3, the
+"Scorpion" being then absent at the river, the late commander of the
+"Nancy," Lieutenant Miller Worsley, got together a boat's crew of
+eighteen seamen, and obtained the co-operation of a detachment of
+seventy soldiers. With these, followed by a number of Indians in
+canoes, he attacked the "Tigress" at her anchors and carried her by
+boarding. The night being very dark, the British were close alongside
+when first seen; and the vessel was not provided with boarding
+nettings, which her commander at his trial proved he had not the
+cordage to make. Deprived of this essential defence, which in such an
+exposed situation corresponds to a line of intrenched works on shore,
+her crew of thirty men were readily overpowered by the superior
+numbers, who could come upon them from four quarters at once, and had
+but an easy step to her low-lying rail. The officer commanding the
+British troops made a separate report of the affair, in which he said
+that her resistance did credit to her officers, who were all severely
+wounded.[343] Transferring his men to the prize, Worsley waited for
+the return of the "Scorpion," which on the 5th anchored about five
+miles off, ignorant of what had happened. The now British schooner
+weighed and ran down to her, showing American colors; and, getting
+thus alongside without being suspected, mastered her also. Besides the
+officers hurt, there were of the "Tigress'" crew three killed and
+three wounded; the British having two killed and eight wounded. No
+loss seems to have been incurred on either side in the capture of the
+"Scorpion." In reporting this affair Sir James Yeo wrote: "The
+importance of this service is very great. Had not the naval force of
+the enemy been taken, the commanding officer at Mackinac must have
+surrendered."[344] He valued it further for its influence upon the
+Indians, and upon the future of the naval establishment which he had
+in contemplation for the upper lakes.
+
+When Sinclair reached Detroit from Nottawasaga he received news of
+other disasters. According to his instructions, before starting for
+the upper lakes he had left a division of his smaller vessels, under
+Lieutenant Kennedy, to support the army at Niagara. When Brown fell
+back upon Fort Erie, after Lundy's Lane, three of these, the "Ohio,"
+"Somers," and "Porcupine," anchored close by the shore, in such a
+position as to flank the approaches to the fort, and to molest the
+breaching battery which the British were erecting. As this interfered
+with the besiegers' plans for an assault, Captain Dobbs, commanding
+the naval detachment on Ontario which Yeo had assigned to co-operate
+with Drummond, transported over land from below the falls six boats or
+batteaux, and on the night of August 12 attacked the American
+schooners, as Worsley afterwards did the "Tigress" and "Scorpion." The
+"Ohio" and "Somers," each with a crew of thirty-five men, were carried
+and brought successfully down the river within the British lines.
+Dobbs attributed the escape of the "Porcupine" to the cables of the
+two others being cut, in consequence of which they with the victorious
+assailants on board drifted beyond possibility of return.[345] To
+these four captures by the enemy must be added the loss by accident of
+the "Caledonia"[346] and "Ariel," reported by Sinclair about this
+time. Perry's fleet was thus disappearing by driblets; but the command
+of the lake was not yet endangered, for there still remained, besides
+several of the prizes, the two principal vessels, "Lawrence" and
+"Niagara."[347]
+
+With these Sinclair returned to the east of the lake, and endeavored
+to give support to the army at Fort Erie; but the violence of the
+weather and the insecurity of the anchorage on both shores, as the
+autumn drew on, not only prevented effectual co-operation, but
+seriously threatened the very existence of the fleet, upon which
+control of the water depended. In an attempt to go to Detroit for
+re-enforcements for Brown, a gale of wind was encountered which
+drifted the vessels back to Buffalo, where they had to anchor and lie
+close to a lee shore for two days, September 18 to 20, with topmasts
+and lower yards down, the sea breaking over them, and their cables
+chafing asunder on a rocky bottom. After this, Drummond having raised
+the siege of Fort Erie, the fleet retired to Erie and was laid up for
+the winter.
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[266] Ante, pp. 118-121.
+
+[267] Documentary History of the Campaign on the Niagara Frontier in
+1814, by Ernest Cruikshank, Part I. p. 5.
+
+[268] Captains' Letters, Feb. 24, March 4 and 29, 1814.
+
+[269] Canadian Archives, C. 682, p. 32.
+
+[270] Niles' Register, Feb. 5, 1814, vol. v. pp. 381, 383.
+
+[271] Canadian Archives. C. 682, p. 90.
+
+[272] Armstrong, Notices of the War of 1812, vol. ii. p. 213.
+
+[273] Canadian Archives, C. 683, p. 10.
+
+[274] Ibid., pp. 53, 61-64.
+
+[275] Ibid., C. 682, p. 194.
+
+[276] Niles' Register, April 9, 1814, vol. vi. p. 102.
+
+[277] Captains' Letters, April 11, 1814.
+
+[278] Writings of Madison, Edition of 1865, vol. ii. p. 413.
+
+[279] Wilkinson's letter to a friend, April 9, 1814. Niles' Register,
+vol. vi. p. 166. His official report of the affair is given, p. 131.
+
+[280] Yeo's Report, Canadian Archives, M. 389.6, p. 116.
+
+[281] The armaments of the corresponding two British vessels were:
+"Prince Regent", thirty long 24-pounders, eight 68-pounder carronades,
+twenty 32-pounder carronades; "Princess Charlotte", twenty-four long
+24-pounders, sixteen 32-pounder carronades. Canadian Archives, M. 389.6,
+p. 109.
+
+[282] Captains' Letters.
+
+[283] Canadian Archives, C. 683, p. 157.
+
+[284] Woolsey's Report, forwarded by Chauncey June 2, is in Captains'
+Letters. It is given, together with several other papers bearing on the
+affair, in Niles' Register, vol. vi. pp. 242, 265-267. For Popham's
+Report, see Naval Chronicle, vol. xxxii. p. 167.
+
+[285] Canadian Archives, C. 683, p. 225.
+
+[286] Cruikshank's Documentary History, 1814, pp. 18-20.
+
+[287] Writings of Madison (Edition of 1865), vol. iii. p. 403.
+
+[288] Captains' Letters.
+
+[289] Ibid.
+
+[290] Yeo to Admiralty, May 30, 1815. Canadian Archives, M. 389.6, p.
+310. For Chauncey's opinion to the same effect, see Captains' Letters,
+Nov. 5, 1814.
+
+[291] Captains' Letters, June 15, 1814.
+
+[292] Armstrong to Madison, April 31 (_sic_), 1814. Armstrong's Notices
+of War of 1812, vol. ii. p. 413.
+
+[293] These official returns are taken by the present writer from Mr.
+Henry Adams' History of the United States.
+
+[294] Cruikshank's Documentary History of the Niagara Campaign of 1814,
+p. 37.
+
+[295] Cruikshank, Documentary History.
+
+[296] Ibid., p. 4.
+
+[297] Scott's Autobiography, vol. i. pp. 130-132.
+
+[298] Cruikshank's Documentary History, p. 31.
+
+[299] Niles' Register, vol. vii. p. 38.
+
+[300] Captains' Letters.
+
+[301] Secretary of the Navy to Chauncey, July 24, 1814, Secretary's
+Letters.
+
+[302] Secretary to Chauncey, Aug. 3, 1814. Ibid.
+
+[303] Ibid., Dec. 29, 1813.
+
+[304] Chauncey to Brown, Aug. 10, 1814. Niles' Register, vol. vii. p.
+38.
+
+[305] August 27. Cruikshank's Documentary History, pp. 180-182. The
+whole letter has interest as conveying an adequate idea of the
+communications difficulty.
+
+[306] This word is wanting; but the context evidently requires it.
+
+[307] Cruikshank's Documentary History, 1814, pp. 58, 60.
+
+[308] Cruikshank's Documentary History, 1814, p. 134.
+
+[309] Captains' Letters. Aug. 19, 1814.
+
+[310] Cruikshank's Documentary History, 1814, p. 191.
+
+[311] Cruikshank's Documentary History, 1814, p. 68.
+
+[312] Cruikshank's Documentary History, 1814. Riall to Drummond, July
+20, 21, 22, pp. 75-81.
+
+[313] Ibid., p. 87.
+
+[314] Ibid., p. 78.
+
+[315] "Sir James Yeo has not been nearer Sackett's Harbor than the Ducks
+since June 5." Captains' Letters, Aug. 19, 1814.
+
+[316] Cruikshank's Documentary History, 1814, pp. 82, 84.
+
+[317] Brown's Report of Lundy's Lane to Secretary of War, Aug. 7, 1814.
+Ibid., p. 97.
+
+[318] Drummond's Report of the Engagement, July 27. Cruikshank, pp.
+87-92.
+
+[319] Brown's Report. Ibid., p. 99.
+
+[320] Brown to Governor Tompkins, Aug. 1, 1814. Cruikshank, p. 103.
+
+[321] Ibid., p. 207.
+
+[322] Cruikshank's Documentary History, 1814, p. 131. Author's italics.
+
+[323] The American account of this total is: killed, left on the field,
+222; wounded, left on the field, 174; prisoners, 186. Total, 582.
+
+Two hundred supposed to be killed on the left flank (in the water) and
+permitted to float down the Niagara.
+
+[324] Aug. 16. Cruikshank, pp. 146-147.
+
+[325] Cruikshank's Documentary History, 1814, pp. 199, 200. Author's
+italics.
+
+[326] Bathurst was Secretary of State for War and the Colonies.
+
+[327] Cruikshank's Documentary History, 1814, pp. 229, 245.
+
+[328] Ibid., p. 207. Brown to Tompkins, Sept. 20, 1814.
+
+[329] Cruikshank's Documentary History, p. 205.
+
+[330] An interesting indication of popular appreciation is found in the
+fact that two ships of the line laid down by Chauncey in or near
+Sackett's Harbor, in the winter of 1814-15, were named the "New Orleans"
+and the "Chippewa." Yeo after the peace returned to England by way of
+Sackett's and New York, and was then greatly surprised at the rapidity
+with which these two vessels, which he took to be of one hundred and
+twenty guns each, (Canadian Archives, M. 389.6, p. 310), had been run
+up, to meet his "St. Lawrence" in the spring, had the war continued. The
+"New Orleans" remained on the Navy List, as a seventy-four, "on the
+stocks," until 1882, when she was sold. For years she was the exception
+to a rule that ships of her class should bear the name of a state of the
+Union. The other square-rigged vessels on Ontario were sold, in May,
+1825. (Records of the Bureau of Construction and Repair, Navy
+Department.)
+
+[331] Izard to Secretary of War, May 7, 1814. Official Correspondence of
+the Department of War with Major-General Izard, 1814 and 1815.
+
+[332] Izard Correspondence, p. 64.
+
+[333] Izard Correspondence, p. 65.
+
+[334] Ibid., p. 69.
+
+[335] Ibid., p. 63.
+
+[336] Izard Correspondence, p. 93.
+
+[337] Ibid., p. 98.
+
+[338] Oct. 6, 1814. Cruikshank's Documentary History, 1814, p. 240.
+
+[339] Izard Correspondence, p. 102; Cruikshank, p. 242.
+
+[340] Cruikshank, p. 240.
+
+[341] Izard Correspondence, p. 103.
+
+[342] Captains' Letters.
+
+[343] Canadian Archives, C. 685, pp. 172-174.
+
+[344] Ibid., M. 389.6, p. 222.
+
+[345] The Reports of Captain Dobbs and the American lieutenant,
+Conkling, are in Cruikshank's Documentary History, p. 135.
+
+[346] Captains' Letters, Sept. 12, 1814.
+
+[347] This account of naval events on the upper lakes in 1814 has been
+summarized from Sinclair's despatches, Captains' Letters, May 2 to Nov.
+11, 1814, and from certain captured British letters, which, with several
+of Sinclair's, were published in Niles' Register, vol. vii. and
+Supplement.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVI
+
+SEABOARD OPERATIONS IN 1814. WASHINGTON, BALTIMORE, AND
+MAINE
+
+
+The British command of the water on Lake Ontario was obtained too late
+in the year 1814 to have any decisive effect upon their operations.
+Combined with their continued powerlessness on Lake Erie, this caused
+their campaign upon the northern frontier to be throughout defensive
+in character, as that of the Americans had been offensive. Drummond
+made no attempt in the winter to repeat the foray into New York of the
+previous December, although he and Prevost both considered that they
+had received provocation to retaliate, similar to that given at Newark
+the year before. The infliction of such vindictive punishment was by
+them thrown upon Warren's successor in the North Atlantic command, who
+responded in word and will even more heartily than in deed. The
+Champlain expedition, in September of this year, had indeed offensive
+purpose, but even there the object specified was the protection of
+Canada, by the destruction of the American naval establishments on the
+lake, as well as at Sackett's Harbor;[348] while the rapidity with
+which Prevost retreated, as soon as the British squadron was
+destroyed, demonstrated how profoundly otherwise the spirit of a
+simple defensive had possession of him, as it had also of the more
+positive and aggressive temperaments of Drummond and Yeo, and how
+essential naval control was in his eyes. In this general view he had
+the endorsement of the Duke of Wellington, when his attention was
+called to the subject, after the event.
+
+Upon the seaboard it was otherwise. There the British campaign of 1814
+much exceeded that of 1813 in offensive purpose and vigor, and in
+effect. This was due in part to the change in the naval
+commander-in-chief; in part also to the re-enforcements of troops
+which the end of the European war enabled the British Government to
+send to America. Early in the year 1813, Warren had represented to the
+Admiralty the impossibility of his giving personal supervision to the
+management of the West India stations, and had suggested devolving the
+responsibility upon the local admirals, leaving him simply the power
+to interfere when circumstances demanded.[349] The Admiralty then
+declined, alleging that the character of the war required unity of
+direction over the whole.[350] Later they changed their views. The
+North Atlantic, Jamaica, and Leeward Islands stations were made again
+severally independent, and Warren was notified that as the American
+command, thus reduced, was beneath the claims of an officer of his
+rank,--a full admiral,--a successor would be appointed.[351]
+Vice-Admiral Sir Alexander Cochrane accordingly relieved him, April 1,
+1814; his charge embracing both the Atlantic and Gulf coasts. At the
+same period the Lakes Station, from Champlain to Superior inclusive,
+was constituted a separate command; Yeo's orders to this effect being
+dated the same day as Cochrane's, January 25, 1814.
+
+Cochrane brought to his duties a certain acrimony of feeling,
+amounting almost to virulence. "I have it much at heart," he wrote
+Bathurst, "to give them a complete drubbing before peace is made,
+when I trust their northern limits will be circumscribed and the
+command of the Mississippi wrested from them." He expects thousands of
+slaves to join with their masters' horses, and looks forward to
+enlisting them. They are good horsemen; and, while agreeing with his
+lordship in deprecating a negro insurrection, he thinks such bodies
+will "be as good Cossacks as any in the Russian army, and more
+terrific to the Americans than any troops that can be brought
+forward." Washington and Baltimore are equally accessible, and may be
+either destroyed or laid under contribution.[352] These remarks,
+addressed to a prominent member of the Cabinet, are somewhat
+illuminative as to the formal purposes, as well as to the subsequent
+action, of British officials. The sea coast from Maine to Georgia,
+according to the season of the year, was made to feel the increasing
+activity and closeness of the British attacks; and these, though
+discursive and without apparent correlation of action, were evidently
+animated throughout by a common intention of bringing the war home to
+the experience of the people.
+
+As a whole, the principal movements were meant to serve as a
+diversion, detaining on the Chesapeake and seaboard troops which might
+otherwise be sent to oppose the advance Prevost was ordered to make
+against Sackett's Harbor and Lake Champlain; for which purpose much
+the larger part of the re-enforcements from Europe had been sent to
+Canada. The instructions to the general detailed to command on the
+Atlantic specified as his object "a diversion on the coast of the
+United States in favor of the army employed in the defence of Upper
+and Lower Canada."[353] During the operations, "if in any descent you
+shall be enabled to take such a position as to threaten the
+inhabitants with the destruction of their property, you are hereby
+authorized to levy upon them contributions in return for your
+forbearance." Negroes might be enlisted, or carried away, though in no
+case as slaves. Taken in connection with the course subsequently
+pursued at Washington, such directions show an aim to inflict in many
+quarters suffering and deprivation, in order to impress popular
+consciousness with the sense of an irresistible and ubiquitous power
+incessantly at hand. Such moral impression, inclining those subject to
+it to desire peace, conduced also to the retention of local forces in
+the neighborhood where they belonged, and so furthered the intended
+diversion.
+
+The general purpose of the British Government is further shown by some
+incidental mention. Gallatin, who at the time of Napoleon's abdication
+was in London, in connection with his duties on the Peace Commission,
+wrote two months afterwards: "To use their own language, they mean to
+inflict on America a chastisement which will teach her that war is not
+to be declared against Great Britain with impunity. This is a very
+general sentiment of the nation; and that such are the opinions of the
+ministry was strongly impressed on the mind of ---- by a late
+conversation he had with Lord Castlereagh. Admiral Warren also told
+Levett Harris, with whom he was intimate at St. Petersburg, that he
+was sorry to say the instructions given to his successor on the
+American station were very different from those under which he acted,
+and that he feared very serious injury would be done to America."[354]
+
+Thus inspired, the coast warfare, although more active and efficient
+than the year before, and on a larger scale, continued in spirit and
+in execution essentially desultory and wasting. As it progressed, a
+peculiar bitterness was imparted by the liberal construction given by
+British officers to the word "retaliation." By strict derivation, and
+in wise application, the term summarizes the ancient retribution of
+like for like,--an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth; and to destroy
+three villages for one, as was done in retort for the burning of
+Newark, the inhabitants in each case being innocent of offence, was an
+excessive recourse to a punitive measure admittedly lawful. Two
+further instances of improper destruction by Americans had occurred
+during the campaign of 1814. Just before Sinclair sailed for Mackinac,
+he suggested to a Colonel Campbell, commanding the troops at Erie,
+that it would be a useful step to visit Long Point, on the opposite
+Canada shore, and destroy there a quantity of flour, and some mills
+which contributed materially to the support of the British forces on
+the Niagara peninsula.[355] This was effectively done, and did add
+seriously to Drummond's embarrassment; but Campbell went further and
+fired some private houses also, on the ground that the owners were
+British partisans and had had a share in the burning of Buffalo. A
+Court of Inquiry, of which General Scott was president, justified the
+destruction of the mills, but condemned unreservedly that of the
+private houses.[356] Again, in Brown's advance upon Chippewa, some
+American "volunteers," despatched to the village of St. David's,
+burned there a number of dwellings. The commanding officer, Colonel
+Stone, was ordered summarily and immediately by Brown to retire from
+the expedition, as responsible for an act "contrary to the orders of
+the Government, and to those of the commanding general published to
+the army."[357]
+
+In both these cases disavowal had been immediate; and it had been
+decisive also in that of Newark. The intent of the American Government
+was clear, and reasonable ultimate compensation might have been
+awaited; at least for a time. Prevost, however, being confined to the
+defensive all along his lines, communicated the fact of the
+destruction to Cochrane, calling upon him for the punishment which it
+was not in his own power then to inflict. Cochrane accordingly issued
+an order[358] to the ships under his command, to use measures of
+retaliation "against the cities of the United States, from the Saint
+Croix River to the southern boundary, near the St. Mary's River;" "to
+destroy and lay waste," so he notified the United States Government,
+"such towns and districts upon the coast as may be found
+assailable."[359] In the first heat of his wrath, he used in his order
+an expression, "and you will spare merely the lives of the unarmed
+inhabitants of the United States," which he afterwards asked Prevost
+to expunge, as it might be construed in a sense he never meant;[360]
+and he reported to his Government that he had sent private
+instructions to exercise forbearance toward the inhabitants.[361] It
+can easily be believed that, like many words spoken in passion, the
+phrase far outran his purposes; but it has significance and value as
+indicating the manner in which Americans had come to be regarded in
+Great Britain, through the experience of the period of peace and the
+recent years of war.
+
+However the British Government might justify in terms the impressment
+of seamen from American ships, or the delay of atonement for such an
+insult as that of the Chesapeake, the nation which endured the same,
+content with reams of argument instead of blow for blow, had sunk
+beneath contempt as an inferior race, to be cowed and handled without
+gloves by those who felt themselves the masters. Nor was the matter
+bettered by the notorious fact that the interference with the freedom
+of American trade, which Great Britain herself admitted to be outside
+the law, had been borne unresisted because of the pecuniary stake
+involved. The impression thus produced was deepened by the confident
+boasts of immediate successes in Canada, made by leading members of
+the party which brought on the war; followed as these were by a
+display of inefficiency so ludicrous that opponents, as well native as
+foreign, did not hesitate to apply to it the word "imbecility." The
+American for a dozen years had been clubbed without giving evidence of
+rebellion, beyond words; now that he showed signs of restiveness,
+without corresponding evidence of power, he should feel the lash, and
+there need be no nicety in measuring punishment. Codrington, an
+officer of mark and character, who joined Cochrane at this time as
+chief of staff, used expressions which doubtless convey the average
+point of view of the British officer of that day: President Madison,
+"by letting his generals burn villages in Canada again, has been
+trying to excite terror; but as you may shortly see by the public
+exposition of the Admiral's orders, the terror and the suffering will
+probably be brought home to the doors of his own fellow citizens. I am
+fully convinced that this is the true way to end this Yankee war,
+whatever may be said in Parliament against it."[362]
+
+It is the grievous fault of all retaliation, especially in the heat of
+war, that it rarely stays its hand at an equal measure, but almost
+invariably proceeds to an excess which provokes the other party to
+seek in turn to even the scale. The process tends to be unending; and
+it is to the honor of the United States Government that, though
+technically responsible for the acts of agents which it was too
+inefficient to control, it did not seriously entertain the purpose of
+resorting to this means, to vindicate the wrongs of its citizens at
+the expense of the subjects of its opponent. Happily, the external
+brutality of attitude which Cochrane's expression so aptly conveyed
+yielded for the most part to nobler instincts in the British officers.
+There was indeed much to condemn, much done that ought not to have
+been done; but even in the contemporary accounts it is quite possible
+to trace a certain rough humanity, a wish to deal equitably with
+individuals, for whom, regarded nationally, they professed no respect.
+Even in the marauding of the Chesapeake, the idea of compensation for
+value taken was not lost to view; and in general the usages of war, as
+to property exempt from destruction or appropriation, were respected,
+although not without the rude incidents certain to occur where
+atonement for acts of resistance, or the price paid for property
+taken, is fixed by the victor.
+
+If retaliation upon any but the immediate culprit is ever permissible,
+which in national matters will scarcely be contested, it is logically
+just that it should fall first of all upon the capital, where the
+interests and honor of the nation are centred. There, if anywhere, the
+responsibility for the war and all its incidents is concrete in the
+representatives of the nation, executive and legislative, and in the
+public offices from which all overt acts are presumed to emanate. So
+it befell the United States. In the first six months of 1814, the
+warfare in the Chesapeake continued on the same general lines as in
+1813; there having been the usual remission of activity during the
+winter, to resume again as milder weather drew on. The blockade of the
+bay was sustained, with force adequate to make it technically
+effective, although Baltimore boasted that several of her clipper
+schooners got to sea. On the part of the United States, Captain Gordon
+of the navy had been relieved in charge of the bay flotilla by
+Commodore Barney, of revolutionary and privateering renown. This local
+command, in conformity with the precedent at New York, and as was due
+to so distinguished an officer, was made independent of other branches
+of the naval service; the commodore being in immediate communication
+with the Navy Department. On April 17, he left Baltimore and proceeded
+down the bay with thirteen vessels; ten of them being large barges or
+galleys, propelled chiefly by oars, the others gunboats of the
+ordinary type. The headquarters of this little force became the
+Patuxent River, to which in the sequel it was in great measure
+confined; the superiority of the enemy precluding any enlarged sphere
+of activity. Its presence, however, was a provocation to the British,
+as being the only floating force in the bay capable of annoying them;
+the very existence of which was a challenge to their supremacy. To
+destroy it became therefore a dominant motive, which was utilized also
+to conceal to the last their purpose, tentative indeed throughout, to
+make a dash at Washington.
+
+The Patuxent enters Chesapeake Bay from the north and west, sixty
+miles below Baltimore, and twenty above the mouth of the Potomac, to
+the general direction of which its own course in its lower part is
+parallel. For boats drawing no more than did Barney's it is navigable
+for forty miles from its mouth, to Pig Point; whence to Washington by
+land is but fifteen miles. A pursuit of the flotilla so far therefore
+brought pursuers within easy striking distance of the capital,
+provided that between them and it stood no obstacle adequate to impose
+delay until resistance could gather. It was impossible for such a
+pursuit to be made by the navy alone; for, inadequate as the militia
+was to the protection of the bay shore from raiding, it was quite
+competent to act in conjunction with Barney, when battling only
+against boats, which alone could follow him into lairs accessible to
+him, but not to even the smaller vessels of the enemy. Ships of the
+largest size could enter the river, but could ascend it only a little
+way. Up the Patuxent itself, or in its tributaries, the Americans
+therefore had always against the British Navy a refuge, in which they
+might be blockaded indeed, but could not be reached. For all these
+reasons, in order to destroy the flotilla, a body of troops must be
+used; a necessity which served to mask any ulterior design.
+
+In the course of these operations, and in support of them, the British
+Navy had created a post at Tangier Island, ten miles across the bay,
+opposite the mouth of the Potomac.[363] Here they threw up
+fortifications, and established an advanced rendezvous. Between the
+island and the eastern shore, Tangier Sound gave sheltered anchorage.
+The position was in every way convenient, and strategically central.
+Being the junction of the water routes to Baltimore and Washington, it
+threatened both; while the narrowness of the Chesapeake at this point
+constituted the force there assembled an inner blockading line, well
+situated to move rapidly at short notice in any direction, up or down,
+to one side or the other. At such short distance from the Patuxent,
+Barney's movements were of course well under observation, as he at
+once experienced. On June 1, he left the river, apparently with a view
+to reaching the Potomac. Two schooners becalmed were then visible, and
+pursuit was made with the oars; but soon a large ship was seen under
+sail, despatching a number of barges to their assistance. A breeze
+springing up from southwest put the ship to windward, between the
+Potomac and the flotilla, which was obliged to return to the Patuxent,
+closely followed by the enemy. Some distant shots were exchanged, but
+Barney escaped, and for the time was suffered to remain undisturbed
+three miles from the bay; a 74-gun ship lying at the river's mouth,
+with barges plying continually about her. The departure of the
+British schooners, however, was construed to indicate a return with
+re-enforcements for an attack; an anticipation not disappointed. Two
+more vessels soon joined the seventy-four; one of them a brig. On
+their appearance Barney shifted his berth two miles further up,
+abreast St. Leonard's Creek. At daylight of June 9, one of the ships,
+the brig, two schooners, and fifteen rowing barges, were seen coming
+up with a fair wind. The flotilla then retreated two miles up the
+creek, formed there across it in line abreast, and awaited attack. The
+enemy's vessels could not follow; but their boats did, and a skirmish
+ensued which ended in the British retiring. Later in the day the
+attempt was renewed with no better success; and Barney claimed that,
+having followed the boats in their retreat, he had seriously disabled
+one of the large schooners anchored off the mouth of the creek to
+support the movement.
+
+There is no doubt that the American gunboats were manfully and
+skilfully handled, and that the crews in this and subsequent
+encounters gained confidence and skill, the evidences of which were
+shown afterwards at Bladensburg, remaining the only alleviating
+remembrance from that day of disgrace. From Barney would be expected
+no less than the most that man can do, or example effect; but his
+pursuit was stopped by the ship and the brig, which stayed within the
+Patuxent. The flotilla continued inside the creek, two frigates lying
+off its mouth, until June 26, when an attack by the boats, in concert
+with a body of militia,--infantry and light artillery,--decided the
+enemy to move down the Patuxent. Barney took advantage of this to
+leave the creek and go up the river. We are informed by a journal of
+the day that the Government was by these affairs well satisfied with
+the ability of the flotilla to restrain the operations of the enemy
+within the waters of the Chesapeake, and had determined on a
+considerable increase to it. Nothing seems improbable of that
+Government; but, if this be true, it must have been easily satisfied.
+Barney had secured a longer line of retreat, up the river; but the
+situation was not materially changed. In either case, creek or river,
+there was but one way out, and that was closed. He could only abide
+the time when the enemy should see fit to come against him by land and
+by water, which would seal his fate.[364]
+
+On June 2 there had sailed from Bordeaux for America a detachment from
+Wellington's army, twenty-five hundred strong, under Major-General
+Ross. It reached Bermuda July 25, and there was re-enforced by another
+battalion, increasing its strength to thirty-four hundred. On August 3
+it left Bermuda, accompanied by several ships of war, and on the 15th
+passed in by the capes of the Chesapeake. Admiral Cochrane had
+preceded it by a few days, and was already lying there with his own
+ship and the division under Rear-Admiral Cockburn, who hitherto had
+been in immediate charge of operations in the bay. There were now
+assembled over twenty vessels of war, four of them of the line, with a
+large train of transports and store-ships. A battalion of seven
+hundred marines were next detailed for duty with the troops, the
+landing force being thus raised to over four thousand. The rendezvous
+at Tangier Island gave the Americans no certain clue to the ultimate
+object, for the reason already cited; and Cochrane designedly
+contributed to their distraction, by sending one squadron of frigates
+up the Potomac, and another up the Chesapeake above Baltimore.[365] On
+August 18 the main body of the expedition moved abreast the mouth of
+the Patuxent, and at noon of that day entered the river with a fair
+wind.
+
+The purposes at this moment of the commanders of the army and navy,
+acting jointly, are succinctly stated by Cochrane in his report to the
+Admiralty: "Information from Rear-Admiral Cockburn that Commodore
+Barney, with the Potomac flotilla, had taken shelter at the head of
+the Patuxent, afforded a pretext for ascending that river to attack
+him near its source, above Pig Point, while the ultimate destination
+of the combined force was Washington, should it be found that the
+attempt might be made with any prospect of success."[366] August 19,
+the troops were landed at Benedict, twenty-five miles from the mouth
+of the river, and the following day began their upward march, flanked
+by a naval division of light vessels; the immediate objective being
+Barney's flotilla.
+
+For the defence of the capital of the United States, throughout the
+region by which it might be approached, the Government had selected
+Brigadier-General Winder; the same who the year before had been
+captured at Stoney Creek, on the Niagara frontier, in Vincent's bold
+night attack. He was appointed July 2 to the command of a new military
+district, the tenth, which comprised "the state of Maryland, the
+District of Columbia, and that part of Virginia lying between the
+Potomac and the Rappahannock;"[367] in brief, Washington and
+Baltimore, with the ways converging upon them from the sea. This was
+just seven weeks before the enemy landed in the Patuxent; time enough,
+with reasonable antecedent preparation, or trained troops, to concert
+adequate resistance, as was shown by the British subsequent failure
+before Baltimore.
+
+The conditions with which Winder had to contend are best stated in the
+terms of the Court of Inquiry[368] called to investigate his conduct,
+at the head of which sat General Winfield Scott. After fixing the
+date of his appointment, and ascertaining that he at once took every
+means in his power to put his district in a proper state of defence,
+the court found that on August 24, the day of the battle of
+Bladensburg, he "was enabled by great and unremitting exertions to
+bring into the field about five or six thousand men, all of whom
+except four hundred were militia; that he could not collect more than
+half his men until a day or two previously to the engagement, and six
+or seven hundred of them did not arrive until fifteen minutes before
+its commencement; ... that the officers commanding the troops were
+generally unknown to him, and but a very small number of them had
+enjoyed the benefit of military instruction or experience." So far
+from attributing censure, the Court found that, "taking into
+consideration the complicated difficulties and embarrassments under
+which he labored, he is entitled to no little commendation,
+notwithstanding the result; before the action he exhibited industry,
+zeal, and talent, and during its continuance a coolness, a
+promptitude, and a personal valor, highly honorable to himself."
+
+The finding of a court composed of competent experts, convened shortly
+after the events, must be received with respect. It is clear, however,
+that they here do not specify the particular professional merits of
+Winder's conduct of operations, but only the general hopelessness of
+success, owing to the antecedent conditions, not of his making, under
+which he was called to act, and which he strenuously exerted himself
+to meet. The blame for a mishap evidently and easily preventible still
+remains, and, though of course not expressed by the Court, is
+necessarily thrown back upon the Administration, and upon the party
+represented by it, which had held power for over twelve years past. A
+hostile corps of less than five thousand men had penetrated to the
+capital, through a well populated country, which was, to quote the
+Secretary of War, "covered with wood, and offering at every step
+strong positions for defence;"[369] but there were neither defences
+nor defenders.
+
+The sequence of events which terminated in this humiliating manner is
+instructive. The Cabinet, which on June 7 had planned offensive
+operations in Canada, met on July 1 in another frame of mind, alarmed
+by the news from Europe, to plan for the defence of Washington and
+Baltimore. It will be remembered that it was now two years since war
+had been declared. In counting the force on which reliance might be
+placed for meeting a possible enemy, the Secretary of War thought he
+could assemble one thousand regulars, independent of artillerists in
+the forts.[2] The Secretary of the Navy could furnish one hundred and
+twenty marines, and the crews of Barney's flotilla, estimated at five
+hundred.[2] For the rest, dependence must be upon militia, a call for
+which was issued to the number of ninety-three thousand, five
+hundred.[370] Of these, fifteen thousand were assigned to Winder, as
+follows: From Virginia, two thousand; from Maryland, six thousand;
+from Pennsylvania, five thousand; from the District of Columbia, two
+thousand.[371] So ineffective were the administrative measures for
+bringing out this paper force of citizen soldiery, the efficiency of
+which the leaders of the party in power had been accustomed to vaunt,
+that Winder, after falling back from point to point before the enemy's
+advance, because only so might time be gained to get together the
+lagging contingents, could muster in the open ground at Bladensburg,
+five miles from the capital, where at last he made his stand, only the
+paltry five or six thousand stated by the court. On the morning of the
+battle the Secretary of War rode out to the field, with his colleagues
+in the Administration, and in reply to a question from the President
+said he had no suggestions to offer; "as it was between regulars and
+militia, the latter would be beaten."[372] The phrase was Winder's
+absolution; pronounced for the future, as for the past. The
+responsibility for there being no regulars did not rest with him, nor
+yet with the Secretary, but with the men who for a dozen years had
+sapped the military preparation of the nation.
+
+Under the relative conditions of the opposing forces which have been
+stated, the progress of events was rapid. Probably few now realize
+that only a little over four days elapsed from the landing of the
+British to the burning of the Capitol. Their army advanced along the
+west bank of the Patuxent to Upper Marlborough, forty miles from the
+river's mouth. To this place, which was reached August 22, Ross
+continued in direct touch with the navy; and here at Pig Point, nearly
+abreast on the river, the American flotilla was cornered at last.
+Seeing the inevitable event, and to preserve his small but invaluable
+force of men, Barney had abandoned the boats on the 21st, leaving with
+each a half-dozen of her crew to destroy her at the last moment. This
+was done when the British next day approached; one only escaping the
+flames.
+
+The city of Washington, now the goal of the enemy's effort, lies on
+the Potomac, between it and a tributary called the Eastern Branch.
+Upon the east bank of the latter, five or six miles from the junction
+of the two streams, is the village of Bladensburg. From Upper
+Marlborough, where the British had arrived, two roads led to
+Washington. One of these, the left going from Marlborough, crossed the
+Eastern Branch near its mouth; the other, less direct, passed through
+Bladensburg. Winder expected the British to advance by the former; and
+upon it Barney with the four hundred seamen remaining to him joined
+the army, at a place called Oldfields, seven miles from the capital.
+This route was militarily the more important, because from it branches
+were thrown off to the Potomac, up which the frigate squadron under
+Captain Gordon was proceeding, and had already passed the
+Kettle-bottoms, the most difficult bit of navigation in its path. The
+side roads would enable the invaders to reach and co-operate with this
+naval division; unless indeed Winder could make head against them.
+This he was not able to do; but he remained almost to the last moment
+in perplexing uncertainty whether they would strike for the capital,
+or for its principal defence on the Potomac, Fort Washington, ten
+miles lower down.[373]
+
+ [Illustration: SKETCH _of the_ MARCH OF THE BRITISH ARMY Under
+ Gen. Ross _From the 19th. to the 29th. August 1814_]
+
+For the obvious reasons named, because the doubts of their opponent
+facilitated their own movements by harassing his mind, as well as for
+the strategic advantage of a central line permitting movement in two
+directions at choice, the British advanced, as anticipated, by the
+left-hand road, and at nightfall of August 23 were encamped about
+three miles from the Americans. Here Winder covered a junction; for at
+Oldfields the road by which the British were advancing forked. One
+division led to Washington direct, crossing the Eastern Branch of the
+Potomac where it is broadest and deepest, near its mouth; the other
+passed it at Bladensburg. Winder feared to await the enemy, because of
+the disorder to which his inexperienced troops would be exposed by a
+night attack, causing possibly the loss of his artillery; the one arm
+in which he felt himself superior. He retired therefore during the
+night by the direct road, burning its bridge. This left open the way
+to Bladensburg, which the British next day followed, arriving at the
+village towards noon of the 24th. Contrary to Winder's instruction,
+the officer stationed there had withdrawn his troops across the
+stream, abandoning the place, and forming his line on the crest of
+some hills on the west bank. The impression which this position made
+upon the enemy was described by General Ross, as follows: "They were
+strongly posted on very commanding heights, formed in two lines, the
+advance occupying a fortified house, which with artillery covered the
+bridge over the Eastern Branch, across which the British troops had to
+pass. A broad and straight road, leading from the bridge to
+Washington, ran through the enemy's position, which was carefully
+defended by artillerymen and riflemen."[374] Allowing for the tendency
+to magnify difficulties overcome, the British would have had before
+them a difficult task, if opposed by men accustomed to mutual support
+and mutual reliance, with the thousand-fold increase of strength which
+comes with such habit and with the moral confidence it gives.
+
+The American line had been formed before Winder came on the ground. It
+extended across the Washington road as described by Ross. A battery on
+the hill-top commanded the bridge, and was supported by a line of
+infantry on either side, with a second line in the rear. Fearing,
+however, that the enemy might cross the stream higher up, where it was
+fordable in many places, a regiment from the second line was
+reluctantly ordered forward to extend the left; and Winder, when he
+arrived, while approving this disposition, carried thither also some
+of the artillery which he had brought with him.[375] The anxiety of
+the Americans was therefore for their left. The British commander was
+eager to be done with his job, and to get back to his ships from a
+position militarily insecure. He had long been fighting Napoleon's
+troops in the Spanish peninsula, and was not yet fully imbued with
+Drummond's conviction that with American militia liberties might be
+taken beyond the limit of ordinary military precaution. No time was
+spent looking for a ford, but the troops dashed straight for the
+bridge. The fire of the American artillery was excellent, and mowed
+down the head of the column; but the seasoned men persisted and forced
+their way across. At this moment Barney was coming up with his seamen,
+and at Winder's request brought his guns into line across the
+Washington road, facing the bridge. Soon after this, a few rockets
+passing close over the heads of the battalions supporting the
+batteries on the left started them running, much as a mule train may
+be stampeded by a night alarm. It was impossible to rally them. A part
+held for a short time; but when Winder attempted to retire them a
+little way, from a fire which had begun to annoy them, they also broke
+and fled.[376]
+
+The American left was thus routed, but Barney's battery and its
+supporting infantry still held their ground. "During this period,"
+reported the Commodore,--that is, while his guns were being brought
+into battery, and the remainder of his seamen and marines posted to
+support them,--"the engagement continued, the enemy advancing, and our
+own army retreating before them, apparently in much disorder. At
+length the enemy made his appearance on the main road, in force, in
+front of my battery, and on seeing us made a halt. I reserved our
+fire. In a few minutes the enemy again advanced, when I ordered an
+18-pounder to be fired, which completely cleared the road; shortly
+after, a second and a third attempt was made by the enemy to come
+forward, but all were destroyed. They then crossed into an open field
+and attempted to flank our right; he was met there by three
+12-pounders, the marines under Captain Miller, and my men, acting as
+infantry, and again was totally cut up. By this time not a vestige of
+the American army remained, except a body of five or six hundred,
+posted on a height on my right, from whom I expected much support from
+their fine situation."[377]
+
+In this expectation Barney was disappointed. The enemy desisted from
+direct attack and worked gradually round towards his right flank and
+rear. As they thus moved, the guns of course were turned towards them;
+but a charge being made up the hill by a force not exceeding half that
+of its defenders, they also "to my great mortification made no
+resistance, giving a fire or two, and retired. Our ammunition was
+expended, and unfortunately the drivers of my ammunition wagons had
+gone off in the general panic." Barney himself, being wounded and
+unable to escape from loss of blood, was left a prisoner. Two of his
+officers were killed, and two wounded. The survivors stuck to him till
+he ordered them off the ground. Ross and Cockburn were brought to him,
+and greeted him with a marked respect and politeness; and he reported
+that, during the stay of the British in Bladensburg, he was treated by
+all "like a brother," to use his own words.[378]
+
+The character of this affair is sufficiently shown by the above
+outline narrative, re-enforced by the account of the losses sustained.
+Of the victors sixty-four were killed, one hundred and eighty-five
+wounded. The defeated, by the estimate of their superintending
+surgeon, had ten or twelve killed and forty wounded.[379] Such a
+disparity of injury is usual when the defendants are behind
+fortifications; but in this case of an open field, and a river to be
+crossed by the assailants, the evident significance is that the party
+attacked did not wait to contest the ground, once the enemy had gained
+the bridge. After that, not only was the rout complete, but, save for
+Barney's tenacity, there was almost no attempt at resistance. Ten
+pieces of cannon remained in the hands of the British. "The rapid
+flight of the enemy," reported General Ross, "and his knowledge of the
+country, precluded the possibility of many prisoners being
+taken."[380]
+
+That night the British entered Washington. The Capitol, White House,
+and several public buildings were burned by them; the navy yard and
+vessels by the American authorities. Ross, accustomed to European
+warfare, did not feel Drummond's easiness concerning his position,
+which technically was most insecure as regarded his communications. On
+the evening of June 25 he withdrew rapidly, and on that of the 26th
+regained touch with the fleet in the Patuxent, after a separation of
+only four days. Cockburn remarked in his official report that there
+was no molestation of their retreat; "not a single musket having been
+fired."[381] It was the completion of the Administration's disgrace,
+unrelieved by any feature of credit save the gallant stand of Barney's
+four hundred.
+
+The burning of Washington was the impressive culmination of the
+devastation to which the coast districts were everywhere exposed by
+the weakness of the country, while the battle of Bladensburg crowned
+the humiliation entailed upon the nation by the demagogic prejudices
+in favor of untrained patriotism, as supplying all defects for
+ordinary service in the field. In the defenders of Bladensburg was
+realized Jefferson's ideal of a citizen soldiery,[382] unskilled, but
+strong in their love of home, flying to arms to oppose an invader; and
+they had every inspiring incentive to tenacity, for they, and they
+only, stood between the enemy and the centre and heart of national
+life. The position they occupied, though unfortified, had many natural
+advantages; while the enemy had to cross a river which, while in part
+fordable, was nevertheless an obstacle to rapid action, especially
+when confronted by the superior artillery the Americans had. The
+result has been told; but only when contrasted with the contemporary
+fight at Lundy's Lane is Bladensburg rightly appreciated. Occurring
+precisely a month apart, and with men of the same race, they
+illustrate exactly the difference in military value between crude
+material and finished product.
+
+Coincident with the capture of Washington, a little British
+squadron--two frigates and five smaller vessels--ascended the Potomac.
+Fort Washington, a dozen miles below the capital, was abandoned August
+27 by the officer in charge, removing the only obstacle due to the
+foresight of the Government. He was afterwards cashiered by sentence
+of court martial. On the 29th, Captain Gordon, the senior officer,
+anchored his force before Alexandria, of which he kept possession for
+three days. Upon withdrawing, he carried away all the merchantmen that
+were seaworthy, having loaded them with merchandise awaiting
+exportation. Energetic efforts were made by Captains Rodgers, Perry,
+and Porter, of the American Navy, to molest the enemy's retirement by
+such means as could be extemporized; but both ships and prizes
+escaped, the only loss being in life: seven killed and forty-five
+wounded.
+
+After the burning of Washington, the British main fleet and army moved
+up the Chesapeake against Baltimore, which would undoubtedly have
+undergone the lot of Alexandria, in a contribution laid upon shipping
+and merchandise. The attack, however, was successfully met. The
+respite afforded by the expedition against Washington had been
+improved by the citizens to interpose earthworks on the hills before
+the city. This local precaution saved the place. In the field the
+militia behaved better than at Bladensburg, but showed, nevertheless,
+the unsteadiness of raw men. To harass the British advance a body of
+riflemen had been posted well forward, and a shot from these mortally
+wounded General Ross; but, "imagine my chagrin, when I perceived the
+whole corps falling back upon my main position, having too credulously
+listened to groundless information that the enemy was landing on Back
+River to cut them off."[383]
+
+The British approached along the narrow strip of land between the
+Patapsco and Back rivers. The American general, Stricker, had
+judiciously selected for his line of defence a neck, where inlets from
+both streams narrowed the ground to half a mile. His flanks were thus
+protected, but the water on the left giving better indication of being
+fordable, the British directed there the weight of the assault. To
+meet this, Stricker drew up a regiment to the rear of his main line,
+and at right angles, the volleys from which should sweep the inlet.
+When the enemy's attack developed, this regiment "delivered one random
+fire," and then broke and fled; "totally forgetful of the honor of the
+brigade, and of its own reputation," to use Stricker's words.[384]
+This flight carried along part of the left flank proper. The remainder
+of the line held for a time, and then retired without awaiting the
+hostile bayonet. The American report gives the impression of an
+orderly retreat; a British participant, who admits that the ground was
+well chosen, and that the line held until within twenty yards, wrote
+that after that he never witnessed a more complete rout. The invaders
+then approached the city, but upon viewing the works of defence, and
+learning that the fleet would not be able to co-operate, owing to
+vessels sunk across the channel, the commanding officer decided that
+success would not repay the loss necessary to achieve it. Fleet and
+army then withdrew.
+
+The attacks on Washington and Baltimore, the seizure of Alexandria,
+and the general conduct of operations in the Chesapeake, belong
+strictly to the punitive purpose which dictated British measures upon
+the seaboard. Similar action extended through Long Island Sound, and
+to the eastward, where alarm in all quarters was maintained by the
+general enterprise of the enemy, and by specific injury in various
+places. "The Government has declared war against the most powerful
+maritime nation," wrote the Governor of Massachusetts to the
+legislature, "and we are disappointed in our expectations of national
+defence. But though we may be convinced that the war was unnecessary
+and unjust, and has been prosecuted without any useful or practicable
+object with the inhabitants of Canada, while our seacoast has been
+left almost defenceless, yet I presume there will be no doubt of our
+right to defend our possessions against any hostile attack by which
+their destruction is menaced." "The eastern coast," reports a journal
+of the time, "is much vexed by the enemy. Having destroyed a great
+portion of the coasting craft, they seem determined to enter the
+little outports and villages, and burn everything that floats."[385]
+On April 7, six British barges ascended the Connecticut River eight
+miles, to Pettipaug, where they burned twenty-odd sea-going
+vessels.[386] On June 13, at Wareham, Massachusetts, a similar
+expedition entered and destroyed sixteen.[387] These were somewhat
+large instances of an action everywhere going on, inflicting
+indirectly incalculably more injury than even the direct loss
+suffered; the whole being with a view to bring the meaning of war
+close home to the consciousness of the American people. They were to
+be made to realize the power of the enemy and their own helplessness.
+
+An attempt looking to more permanent results was made during the
+summer upon the coast of Maine. The northward projection of that
+state, then known as the District of Maine,[388] intervened between
+the British provinces of Lower Canada and New Brunswick, and imposed a
+long détour upon the line of communications between Quebec and
+Halifax, the two most important military posts in British North
+America. This inconvenience could not be remedied unless the land in
+question were brought into British possession; and when the end of the
+war in Europe gave prospect of a vigorous offensive from the side of
+Canada, the British ministry formulated the purpose of demanding there
+a rectification of frontier. The object in this case being
+acquisition, not punishment, conciliation of the inhabitants was to be
+practised; in place of the retaliatory action prescribed for the
+sea-coast elsewhere.
+
+Moose Island, in Passamaquoddy Bay, though held by the United States,
+was claimed by Great Britain to have been always within the boundary
+line of New Brunswick. It was seized July 11, 1814; protection being
+promised to persons and property. In August, General Sherbrooke, the
+Governor of Nova Scotia, received orders "to occupy so much of the
+District of Maine as shall insure an uninterrupted communication
+between Halifax and Quebec."[389] His orders being discretional as to
+method, he decided that with the force available he would best comply
+by taking possession of Machias and the Penobscot River.[390] On
+September 1, a combined naval and army expedition appeared at the
+mouth of the Penobscot, before Castine, which was quickly abandoned. A
+few days before, the United States frigate "Adams," Captain Charles
+Morris, returning from a cruise, had run ashore upon Isle au Haut, and
+in consequence of the injuries received had been compelled to make a
+harbor in the river. She was then at Hampden, thirty miles up. A
+detachment of seamen and soldiers was sent against her. Her guns had
+been landed, and placed in battery for her defence, and militia had
+gathered for the support necessary to artillery so situated; but they
+proved unreliable, and upon their retreat nothing was left but to fire
+the ship.[391] This was done, the crew escaping. The British
+penetrated as far as Bangor, seized a number of merchant vessels, and
+subsequently went to Machias, where they captured the fort with
+twenty-five cannon. Sherbrooke then returned with the most of his
+force to Halifax, whence he issued a voluminous proclamation[392] to
+the effect that he had taken possession of all the country between the
+Penobscot and New Brunswick; and promised protection to the
+inhabitants, if they behaved themselves accordingly. Two regiments
+were left at Castine, with transports to remove them in case of attack
+by superior numbers. This burlesque of occupation, "one foot on shore,
+and one on sea," was advanced by the British ministry as a reason
+justifying the demand for cession of the desired territory to the
+northward. Wellington, when called into counsel concerning American
+affairs, said derisively that an officer might as well claim
+sovereignty over the ground on which he had posted his pickets. The
+British force remained undisturbed, however, to the end of the war.
+Amicable relations were established with the inhabitants, and a brisk
+contraband trade throve with Nova Scotia. It is even said that the
+news of peace was unwelcome in the place. It was not evacuated until
+April 27, 1815.[393]
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[348] "Some Account of the Life of Sir George Prevost." London, 1823,
+pp. 136, 137. The author has not been able to find the despatch of June
+3, 1814, there quoted.
+
+[349] Warren to Croker, Feb. 26, 1813. Admiralty In-Letters MSS.
+
+[350] Croker to Warren, March 20, 1813. Admiralty Out-Letters.
+
+[351] Warren to Croker, Jan. 28, 1814. Canadian Archives MSS.
+
+[352] Cochrane to Bathurst, July 14, 1814. War Office In-Letters MSS.
+
+[353] Bathurst's Instructions to the officer in command of the troops
+detached from the Gironde. May 20, 1814. From copy sent to Cochrane.
+Admiralty In-Letters, from Secretary of State.
+
+[354] Gallatin to Monroe, London, June 13, 1814. Adams' Writings of
+Gallatin, vol. i. p. 627.
+
+[355] Sinclair, Erie, May 13, 1814. Captains' Letters.
+
+[356] Cruikshank's Documentary History of the Campaign of 1814, p. 18.
+
+[357] Ibid., p. 74.
+
+[358] Cruikshank's Documentary History, pp. 414, 415.
+
+[359] American State Papers, Foreign Relations, vol. iii. pp. 693, 694.
+
+[360] Cochrane to Prevost, July 26, 1814. Canadian Archives MSS., C.
+684, p. 231.
+
+[361] Report on Canadian Archives, 1896, p. 54.
+
+[362] Life of Sir Edward Codrington, vol. i. p. 313.
+
+[363] See Map of Chesapeake Bay, ante, p. 156.
+
+[364] This account of Barney's movements is summarized from his letters,
+and others, published in Niles' Register, vol. vi. pp. 244, 268, 300.
+
+[365] Report of Admiral Cochrane, Naval Chronicle, vol. xxxii. p. 342.
+
+[366] Report of Admiral Cochrane, Naval Chronicle, vol. xxxii. p. 342.
+
+[367] American State Papers, Military Affairs, vol. i. p. 524.
+
+[368] The finding of the Court of Inquiry was published in Niles'
+Register for Feb. 25, 1815, from the official paper, the National
+Intelligencer. Niles, vol. vii. p. 410.
+
+[369] Report of Secretary Armstrong to a Committee of the House of
+Representatives. American State Papers, Military Affairs, vol. i. p.
+526.
+
+[370] Ibid., pp. 538, 540, 524.
+
+[371] Ibid., p. 524.
+
+[372] Works of Madison (Ed. 1865), vol. iii. p. 422.
+
+[373] Winder's Narrative. American State Papers, Military Affairs, vol.
+i pp. 552-560.
+
+[374] Ross's Despatch, Aug. 30, 1814. Naval Chronicle, vol. xxxii. p.
+338.
+
+[375] Narrative of Monroe, the Secretary of State. American State
+Papers, Military Affairs, vol. i. p. 536.
+
+[376] Winder's Narrative.
+
+[377] Barney's Report, Aug. 29, 1814. State Papers, Military Affairs,
+vol. i. p. 579.
+
+[378] Barney's Report.
+
+[379] American State Papers, Military Affairs, vol. i. p. 530.
+
+[380] Ross's Despatch.
+
+[381] Report of Rear-Admiral Cockburn, Naval Chronicle, vol. xxxii. p.
+345.
+
+[382] Ante, p. 213.
+
+[383] Report of Brigadier-General Stricker of the Maryland militia.
+Niles' Register, vol. vii. pp. 27, 28.
+
+[384] Ibid.
+
+[385] Niles' Register, vol. vi. p. 317.
+
+[386] Ibid., pp. 118, 133, 222.
+
+[387] Ibid., p. 317.
+
+[388] Maine was then attached politically to Massachusetts.
+
+[389] Sherbrooke to Prevost, Aug. 2, 1814. Canadian Archives MSS., C.
+685, p. 28.
+
+[390] Sherbrooke to Prevost, Aug. 24, 1814. Ibid., p. 147.
+
+[391] Morris' reports (Captains' Letters, Navy Dept.) are published in
+Niles' Register, vol. vii. pp. 62, 63; and Supplement, p. 136.
+
+[392] Sept. 21, 1814. Niles' Register, vol. vii. p. 117.
+
+[393] Ibid., p. 347, and vol. viii. pp. 13, 214.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVII
+
+LAKE CHAMPLAIN AND NEW ORLEANS
+
+
+General Brown's retirement within the lines of Fort Erie, July 26,
+1814, may be taken as marking the definitive abandonment by the United
+States of the offensive on the Canada frontier. The opportunities of
+two years had been wasted by inefficiency of force and misdirection of
+effort. It was generally recognized by thoughtful men that the war had
+now become one of defence against a greatly superior enemy,
+disembarrassed of the other foe which had hitherto engaged his
+attention, and imbued with ideas of conquest, or at least of extorting
+territorial cession for specific purposes. While Brown was
+campaigning, the re-enforcements were rapidly arriving which were to
+enable the British to assume the aggressive; although, in the absence
+of naval preponderance on the lakes, their numbers were not sufficient
+to compel the rectification of frontier by surrender of territory
+which the British Government now desired. Lord Castlereagh, Secretary
+for Foreign Affairs, and the leading representative of the aims of the
+Cabinet, wrote in his instructions to the Peace Commissioners, August
+14, 1814: "The views of the Government are strictly defensive.
+Territory as such is by no means their object; but, as the weaker
+Power in North America, Great Britain considers itself entitled to
+claim the use of the lakes as a military barrier."[394] The
+declaration of war by the United States was regarded by most
+Englishmen as a wanton endeavor to overthrow their immemorial right to
+the services of their seamen, wherever found; and consequently the
+invasion of Canada had been an iniquitous attempt to effect annexation
+under cover of an indefensible pretext. To guard against the renewal
+of such, the lakes must be made British waters, to which the American
+flag should have only commercial access. Dominion south of the lakes
+would not be exacted, "provided the American Government will stipulate
+not to preserve or construct any fortifications upon or within a
+limited distance of their shores." "On the side of Lower Canada there
+should be such a line of demarcation as may establish a direct
+communication between Quebec and Halifax."[395]
+
+Such were the political and military projects with which the British
+ministry entered upon the summer campaign of 1814 in Canada. Luckily,
+although Napoleon had fallen, conditions in Europe were still too
+unsettled and volcanic to permit Great Britain seriously to weaken her
+material force there. Two weeks later Castlereagh wrote to the Prime
+Minister: "Are we prepared to continue the war for territorial
+arrangements?" "Is it desirable to take the chances of the campaign, and
+then be governed by circumstances?"[396] The last sentence defines the
+policy actually followed; and the chances went definitely against it
+when Macdonough destroyed the British fleet on Lake Champlain. Except at
+Baltimore and New Orleans,--mere defensive successes,--nothing but
+calamity befell the American arms. To the battle of Lake Champlain it
+was owing that the British occupancy of United States soil at the end of
+the year was such that the Duke of Wellington advised that no claim for
+territorial cession could be considered to exist, and that the basis of
+_uti possidetis_, upon which it was proposed to treat, was
+untenable.[397] The earnestness of the Government, however, in seeking
+the changes specified, is indicated by the proposition seriously made to
+the Duke to take the command in America.
+
+Owing to the military conditions hitherto existing on the American
+continent, the power to take the offensive throughout the lake
+frontier had rested with the United States Government; and the
+direction given by this to its efforts had left Lake Champlain
+practically out of consideration. Sir George Prevost, being thrown on
+the defensive, could only conform to the initiative of his adversary.
+For these reasons, whatever transactions took place in this quarter up
+to the summer of 1814 were in characteristic simply episodes; an
+epithet which applies accurately to the more formidable, but brief,
+operations here in 1814, as also to those in Louisiana. Whatever
+intention underlay either attempt, they were in matter of fact almost
+without any relations of antecedent or consequent. They stood by
+themselves, and not only may, but should, be so considered. Prior to
+them, contemporary reference to Lake Champlain, or to Louisiana, is
+both rare and casual. For this reason, mention of earlier occurrences
+in either of these quarters has heretofore been deferred, as
+irrelevant and intrusive if introduced among other events, with which
+they coincided in time, but had no further connection. A brief
+narrative of them will now be presented, as a necessary introduction
+to the much more important incidents of 1814.
+
+At the beginning of hostilities the balance of naval power on Lake
+Champlain rested with the United States, and so continued until June,
+1813. The force on each side was small to triviality, nor did either
+make any serious attempt to obtain a marked preponderance. The
+Americans had, however, three armed sloops, the "President,"
+"Growler," and "Eagle," to which the British could oppose only one.
+Both parties had also a few small gunboats and rowing galleys, in the
+number of which the superiority lay with the British. Under these
+relative conditions the Americans ranged the lake proper at will; the
+enemy maintaining his force in the lower narrows, at Isle aux Noix,
+which was made a fortified station.
+
+On June 1, 1813, a detachment of British boats, coming up the lake,
+passed the boundary line and fired upon some small American craft. The
+"Eagle" and "Growler," being then at Plattsburg, started in pursuit on
+the 2d, and by dark had entered some distance within the narrows,
+where they anchored. The following morning they sighted three of the
+enemy's gunboats and chased them with a fair south wind; but, being by
+this means led too far, they became entangled in a place where
+manoeuvring was difficult. The officers of the royal navy designated
+for service on Lake Champlain had not yet arrived, and the flotilla
+was at the disposition of the commanding army officer at Isle aux
+Noix. Only one sloop being visible at first to the garrison, he sent
+out against her the three gunboats; but when the second appeared he
+landed a number of men on each bank, who took up a position to rake
+the vessels. The action which followed lasted three hours. The
+circumstances were disadvantageous to the Americans; but the fair wind
+with which they had entered was ahead for return, and to beat back was
+impossible in so narrow a channel. The "Eagle" received a raking shot,
+and had to be run ashore to avoid sinking. Both then surrendered, and
+the "Eagle" was afterwards raised. The two prizes were taken into the
+British service; and as this occurrence followed immediately after the
+capture of the "Chesapeake" by the "Shannon," they were called "Broke"
+and "Shannon." These names afterwards were changed, apparently by
+Admiralty order, to "Chub" and "Finch," under which they took part in
+the battle of Lake Champlain, where they were recaptured.
+
+Although not built for war, but simply purchased vessels of not over
+one hundred tons, this loss was serious; for by it superiority on the
+lake passed to the British, and with some fluctuation so remained for
+a twelvemonth,--till May, 1814. They were still too deficient in men
+to profit at once by their success; the difficulty of recruiting in
+Canada being as great as in the United States, and for very similar
+reasons. "It is impossible to enlist seamen in Quebec for the lakes,
+as merchants are giving twenty-five to thirty guineas for the run to
+England. Recruits desert as soon as they receive the bounty."[398]
+After some correspondence, Captain Everard, of the sloop of war
+"Wasp," then lying at Quebec, consented to leave his ship, go with a
+large part of her crew to Champlain, man the captured sloops, and raid
+the American stations on the lake. A body of troops being embarked,
+the flotilla left Isle aux Noix July 29. On the 30th they came to
+Plattsburg, destroyed there the public buildings, with the barracks at
+Saranac, and brought off a quantity of stores. A detachment was sent
+to Champlain Town, and a landing made also at Swanton in Vermont,
+where similar devastation was inflicted on public property. Thence
+they went up the lake to Burlington, where Macdonough, who was
+alarmingly short of seamen since the capture of the "Eagle" and
+"Growler," had to submit to seeing himself defied by vessels lately
+his own. After seizing a few more small lake craft, Everard on August
+3 hastened back, anxious to regain his own ship and resume the regular
+duties, for abandoning which he had no authority save his own. The
+step he had taken was hardly to be anticipated from a junior officer,
+commanding a ship on sea service so remote from the scene of the
+proposed operation; and the rapidity of his action took the Americans
+quite by surprise, for there had been no previous indication of
+activity. As soon as Macdonough heard of his arrival at Isle aux Noix,
+he wrote for re-enforcements, but it was too late. His letter did not
+reach New York till the British had come and gone.[399]
+
+Upon Everard's return both he and Captain Pring, of the royal navy,
+who had been with him during the foray and thenceforth remained
+attached to the fortunes of the Champlain flotilla, recommended the
+building of a large brig of war and two gunboats, in order to preserve
+upon the lake the supremacy they had just asserted in act. With the
+material at hand, they said, these vessels could all be afloat within
+eight weeks after their keels were laid.[400] This suggestion appears
+to have been acted upon; for in the following March it was reported
+that there were building at St. John's a brig to carry twenty guns, a
+schooner of eighteen, and twelve 2-gun galleys. However, the Americans
+also were by this time building, and at the crucial moment came out a
+very little ahead in point of readiness.
+
+Nothing further of consequence occurred during 1813. After the British
+departed, Macdonough received a re-enforcement of men. He then went in
+person with such vessels as he had to the foot of the lake, taking
+station at Plattsburg, and advancing at times to the boundary line,
+twenty-five miles below. The enemy occasionally showed themselves, but
+were apparently indisposed to action in their then state of
+forwardness. Later the American flotilla retired up the lake to Otter
+Creek in Vermont, where, on April 11, 1814, was launched the ship
+"Saratoga," which carried Macdonough's pendant in the battle five
+months afterwards. On May 10, Pring, hoping to destroy the American
+vessels before ready for service, made another inroad with his
+squadron, consisting now of the new brig, called the "Linnet," five
+armed sloops, and thirteen galleys. On the 14th he was off Otter Creek
+and attacked; but batteries established on shore compelled him to
+retire. Macdonough in his report of this transaction mentions only
+eight galleys, with a bomb vessel, as the number of the enemy engaged.
+The new brig was probably considered too essential to naval control to
+be risked against shore guns; a decision scarcely to be contested,
+although Prevost seems to have been dissatisfied as usual with the
+exertions of the navy. The American force at this time completed, or
+approaching completion, was, besides the "Saratoga," one schooner,
+three sloops,[401] and ten gunboats or galleys. Of the sloops one
+only, the "Preble," appears to have been serviceable. The "President"
+and another called the "Montgomery" were not in the fight at
+Plattsburg; where Macdonough certainly needed every gun he could
+command. A brig of twenty guns, called the "Eagle," was subsequently
+laid down and launched in time for the action. Prevost reported at
+this period that a new ship was building at Isle aux Noix, which would
+make the British force equal to the American.
+
+ [Illustration: CAPTAIN THOMAS MACDONOUGH.
+ _From the painting by Gilbert Stuart in the Century Club, New
+ York, by permission of Rodney Macdonough, Esq._]
+
+Before the end of May, 1814, Macdonough's fleet was ready, except the
+"Eagle"; and on the 29th he was off Plattsburg, with the "Saratoga,"
+the schooner "Ticonderoga," the sloop "Preble," and ten galleys. The
+command of the lake thus established permitted the transfer of troops
+and stores, before locked up in Burlington. The "Saratoga" carried
+twenty-six guns; of which eight were long 24-pounders, the others
+carronades, six 42-pounders, and twelve 32's. She was so much superior
+to the "Linnet," which had only sixteen guns, long 12-pounders, that
+the incontestable supremacy remained with the Americans, and it was
+impossible for the British squadron to show itself at all until their
+new ship was completed. She was launched August 25,[402] and called
+the "Confiance."[403] The name excited some derision after her defeat
+and capture, but seems to have had no more arrogant origin than the
+affectionate recollection of the Commander-in-Chief on the lakes, Sir
+James Yeo, for the vessel which he had first and long commanded, to
+which he had been promoted for distinguished gallantry in winning her,
+and in which he finally reached post-rank. The new "Confiance," from
+which doubtless much was hoped, was her namesake. She was to carry
+twenty-seven 24-pounders. One of these, being on a pivot, fought on
+either side of the ship; thus giving her fourteen of these guns for
+each broadside. In addition, she had ten carronades, four of them
+32-pounders, and six 24's.
+
+On July 12, 1814, Prevost had reported the arrival at Montreal of the
+first of four brigades from Wellington's Peninsular Army. These had
+sailed from Bordeaux at the same period as the one destined for the
+Atlantic coast operations, under General Ross, already related. He
+acknowledged also the receipt of instructions, prescribing the
+character of his operations, which he had anxiously requested the year
+before. Among these instructions were "to give immediate protection to
+his Majesty's possessions in America," by "the entire destruction of
+Sackett's Harbor, and of the naval establishments on Lake Erie and
+Lake Champlain."[404] They will be obeyed, he wrote, as soon as the
+whole force shall have arrived; but defensive measures only will be
+practicable, until the complete command of Lakes Ontario and
+Champlain shall be obtained, which cannot be expected before
+September.[405] The statement was perfectly correct. The command of
+these lakes was absolutely essential to both parties to the war, if
+intending to maintain operations in their neighborhood.
+
+On August 14, Prevost reported home that the troops from Bordeaux had
+all arrived, and, with the exception of a brigade destined for
+Kingston, would be at their points of formation by the 25th; at which
+date his returns show that he had under his general command, in Upper
+and Lower Canada, exclusive of officers, twenty-nine thousand four
+hundred and thirty-seven men. All these were British regulars, with
+the exception of four thousand seven hundred and six; of which last,
+two thousand two hundred belonged to "foreign" regiments, and the
+remainder to provincial corps. Of this total, from eleven thousand to
+fourteen thousand accompanied him in his march to Plattsburg. Under
+the same date he reported that the "Confiance" could not be ready
+before September 15; for which time had he patiently waited, he would
+at least have better deserved success. His decision as to his line of
+advance was determined by a singular consideration, deeply mortifying
+to American recollection, but which must be mentioned because of its
+historical interest, as an incidental indication of the slow progress
+of the people of the United States towards national sentiment.
+"Vermont has shown a disinclination to the war, and, as it is sending
+in specie and provisions, I will confine offensive operations to the
+west side of Lake Champlain."[406] Three weeks later he writes again,
+"Two thirds of the army are supplied with beef by American
+contractors, principally of Vermont and New York."[407]
+
+That this was no slander was indignantly confirmed by a citizen of
+Vermont, who wrote to General Izard, June 27, "Droves of cattle are
+continually passing from the northern parts of this state into Canada
+for the British." Izard, in forwarding the letter, said: "This
+confirms a fact not only disgraceful to our countrymen but seriously
+detrimental to the public interest. From the St. Lawrence to the ocean
+an open disregard prevails for the laws prohibiting intercourse with
+the enemy. The road to St. Regis [New York] is covered with droves of
+cattle, and the river with rafts destined for the enemy. On the
+eastern side of Lake Champlain the high roads are insufficient for the
+cattle pouring into Canada. Like herds of buffaloes they press through
+the forests, making paths for themselves. Were it not for these
+supplies, the British forces in Canada would soon be suffering from
+famine."[408] The British commissary at Prescott wrote, June 19, 1814,
+"I have contracted with a Yankee magistrate to furnish this post with
+fresh beef. A major came with him to make the agreement; but, as he
+was foreman of the grand jury of the court in which the Government
+prosecutes the magistrates for high treason and smuggling, he turned
+his back and would not see the paper signed."[409] More vital still in
+its treason to the interests of the country, Commodore Macdonough
+reported officially, June 29, that one of his officers had seized two
+spars, supposed from their size to be for the fore and mizzen masts of
+the "Confiance," on the way to Canada, near the lines, under the
+management of citizens of the United States; and eight days later
+there were intercepted four others, which from their dimensions were
+fitted for her mainmast and three topmasts.[410] By this means the
+British ship was to be enabled to sail for the attack on the American
+fleet, and by this only; for to drag spars of that weight up the
+rapids of the Richelieu, or over the rough intervening country, meant
+at least unendurable delay. "The turpitude of many of our citizens in
+this part of the country," wrote Macdonough, "furnishes the enemy with
+every information he wants."[411]
+
+On August 29, four days after Prevost's divisions were expected to be
+assembled at their designated rendezvous, Izard, in the face of the
+storm gathering before him, started with his four thousand men from
+Plattsburg for Sackett's Harbor, in obedience to the intimation of the
+War Department, which he accepted as orders. Brigadier-General Macomb
+was left to hold the works about Plattsburg with a force which he
+stated did not exceed fifteen hundred effectives.[412] His own brigade
+having been broken up to strengthen Izard's division, none of this
+force was organized, except four companies of one regiment. The
+remainder were convalescents, or recruits of new regiments; soldiers
+as yet only in name, and without the constituted regimental framework,
+incorporation into which so much facilitates the transition from the
+recruit to the veteran. On September 4 seven hundred militia from the
+neighborhood joined, in response to a call from Macomb; and before the
+final action of the 11th other militia from New York, and volunteers
+from Vermont, across the lake, kept pouring in from all quarters, in
+encouraging contrast to their fellow citizens who were making money by
+abetting the enemy.
+
+Prevost's army, which had been assembled along the frontier of Lower
+Canada, from the Richelieu River to the St. Lawrence, began its
+forward march August 31; the leading brigade entering the State of
+New York, and encamping that night at Champlain Town, a short distance
+south of the boundary. By September 4 the whole body had reached to
+the village of Chazy, twenty-five miles from Plattsburg. Thus far, to
+the mouth of the Little Chazy River, where the supplies of the army
+were to be landed, no opposition was experienced. The American
+squadron waiting on the defensive at Plattsburg, the left flank of the
+British received constant support from their flotilla of gunboats and
+galleys under the command of Captain Pring, who seized also the
+American Island La Motte, in the narrows of the lake, abreast the
+Little Chazy. The following day, September 5, delays began to be met
+through the trees felled and bridges broken by Macomb's orders. On the
+6th there was some skirmishing between the advanced guards; but the
+American militia "could not be prevailed on to stand, notwithstanding
+the exertions of their officers, although the fields were divided by
+strong stone walls, and they were told that the enemy could not
+possibly cut them off."[413] Deprived of this support, the small body
+of regulars could do little, and the British Peninsulars pushed on
+contemptuously, and almost silently. "They never deployed in their
+whole march," reported Macomb, "always pressing on in column." That
+evening they entered Plattsburg. Macomb retreated across the Saranac,
+which divided the town. He removed from the bridges their planking,
+which was used to form breastworks to dispute any attempt to force a
+passage, and then retired to the works previously prepared by Izard.
+These were on the bluffs on the south side of the Saranac, overlooking
+the bay, and covering the peninsula embraced between the lake and the
+river.
+
+From the 7th to the 11th, the day of the battle, the British were
+employed in preparations for battering the forts, preliminary to an
+assault, and there was constant skirmishing at the bridges and fords.
+Macomb utilized the same time to strengthen his works, aided by the
+numbers of militia continually arriving, who labored night and day
+with great spirit. Prevost's purposes and actions were dominated by
+the urgency of haste, owing to the lateness of the season; and this
+motive co-operated with a certain captiousness of temper to
+precipitate him now into a grave error of judgment and of conduct. At
+Plattsburg he found the small American army intrenched behind a
+fordable river, the bridges of which had been made useless; and in the
+bay lay the American squadron, anchored with a view to defence. The
+two were not strictly in co-operation, in their present position.
+Tactically, they for the moment contributed little to each other's
+support; for the reason that the position chosen judiciously by
+Macdonough for the defence of the bay was too far from the works of
+the army to receive--or to give--assistance with the guns of that day.
+The squadron was a little over a mile from the army. It could not
+remain there, if the British got possession of the works, for it would
+be within range of injury at long shot; but in an engagement between
+the hostile fleets the bluffs could have no share, no matter which
+party held them, for the fire would be as dangerous to friend as to
+foe.
+
+The question of probability, that the American squadron was within
+long gunshot of the shore batteries, is crucial, for upon it would
+depend the ultimate military judgment upon the management of Sir
+George Prevost. That he felt this is evident by letters addressed on
+his behalf to Macdonough; by A.W. Cochran, a lawyer of Quebec, to whom
+Prevost, after his recall to England for trial, left the charge of
+collecting testimony, and by Cadwalader Colden of New York.[414] Both
+inquire specifically as to this distance, Colden particularizing that
+"it would be all important to learn that the American squadron were
+during the engagement beyond the effectual range of the batteries." To
+Colden, Macdonough replied guardedly, "It is my opinion that our
+squadron was anchored one mile and a half from the batteries." The
+answer to Cochran has not been found; but on the back of the letter
+from him the Commodore sketched his recollection of the situation,
+which is here reproduced. Without insisting unduly on the precision of
+such a piece, it seems clear that he thought his squadron but little
+more than half way towards the other side of the bay. Cumberland Head
+being by survey two miles from the batteries, it would follow that the
+vessels were a little over a mile from them. This inference is adopted
+as more dependable than the estimate, "a mile and a half." Such eye
+reckoning is notoriously uncertain; and this seemingly was made by
+recollection, not contemporaneously.[415]
+
+The 24- and 32-pounder long gun of that day ranged a sea mile and a
+half, with an elevation of less than fifteen degrees.[416] They could
+therefore annoy a squadron at or within that distance. The question
+is not of best fighting range. It is whether a number of light built
+and light draught vessels could hold their ground under such a
+cannonade, knowing that a hostile squadron awaited them without. Even
+at such random range, a disabling shot in hull or spars must be
+expected. At whatever risk, departure is enforced.
+
+ [Illustration: Tracing from pencil sketch of Battle of L.
+ Champlain, made by Com. Macdonough on back of a letter of
+ inquiry, addressed to him within a year of the action.
+ The names are not in the sketch; but with the letters, express
+ the author's understanding of the Commodore's meaning.]
+
+To a similar letter from Colden, General Macomb replied that he did
+not think the squadron within range. There is also a statement in
+Niles' Register[417] that several British officers visited Macomb at
+Plattsburg, and at their request experiments were made, presumably
+trial shots, to ascertain whether the guns of the forts could have
+annoyed the American squadron. It was found they could not. Macomb's
+opinion may have rested upon this, and the conclusion may be just; but
+it is open to remark that, as the squadron was not then there, its
+assumed position depended upon memory,--like Macdonough's sketch.
+Macomb said further, that "a fruitless attempt was made during the
+action to elevate the guns so as to bear on the enemy; but none were
+fired, all being convinced that the vessels were beyond their reach."
+The worth of this conviction is shown by the next remark, which he
+repeated under date of August 1, 1815.[418] "This opinion was
+strengthened by observations on the actual range of the guns of the
+'Confiance'--her heaviest metal [24-pounders] falling upwards of five
+hundred yards short of the shore." The "Confiance" was five hundred
+yards further off than the American squadron, and to reach it her guns
+would be elevated for that distance only. Because under such condition
+they dropped their shot five hundred yards short of three thousand
+five hundred yards, it is scarcely legitimate to infer that guns
+elevated for three thousand could not carry so far.
+
+The arguments having been stated, it is to be remarked that, whatever
+the truth, it is knowledge after the fact as far as Prevost was
+concerned. In his report dated September 11, 1814, the day of the
+action, he speaks of the difficulties which had been before him; among
+them "blockhouses armed with _heavy_ ordnance." This he then believed;
+and whether this ordnance could reach the squadron he could only know
+by trying. It was urgently proper, in view of his large land force,
+and of the expectations of his Government, which had made such great
+exertions for an attainable and important object, that he should storm
+the works and try. After a careful estimate of the strength of the two
+squadrons, I think that a seaman would certainly say that in the open
+the British was superior; but decidedly inferior for an attack upon
+the American at anchor. This was the opinion of the surviving British
+officers, under oath, and of Downie. General Izard, who had been in
+command at Plattsburg up to a fortnight before the attack, wrote
+afterwards to the Secretary of War, "I may venture to assert that
+without the works, Fort Moreau and its dependencies, Captain
+Macdonough would not have ventured to await the enemy's attack in
+Plattsburg Bay, but would have retired to the upper part of Lake
+Champlain."[419] The whole campaign turning upon naval control, the
+situation was eminently one that called upon the army to drive the
+enemy from his anchorage. The judgment of the author endorses the
+words of Sir James Yeo: "There was not the least necessity for our
+squadron giving the enemy such decided advantages by going into their
+bay to engage them. Even had they been successful, it could not in the
+least have assisted the troops in storming the batteries; whereas,
+had our troops taken their batteries first, it would have obliged the
+enemy's squadron to quit the bay and given ours a fair chance."[420]
+At the Court Martial two witnesses, Lieutenant Drew of the "Linnet,"
+and Brydone, master of the "Confiance," swore that after the action
+Macdonough removed his squadron to Crab Island, out of range of the
+batteries. Macdonough in his report does not mention this; nor was it
+necessary that he should.
+
+In short, though apparently so near, the two fractions of the American
+force, the army and the navy, were actually in the dangerous military
+condition of being exposed to be beaten in detail; and the destruction
+of either would probably be fatal to the other. The largest two
+British vessels, "Confiance" and "Linnet," were slightly inferior to
+the American "Saratoga" and "Eagle" in aggregate weight of broadside;
+but, like the "General Pike" on Ontario in 1813, the superiority of
+the "Confiance" in long guns, and under one captain, would on the open
+lake have made her practically equal to cope with the whole American
+squadron, and still more with the "Saratoga" alone, assuming that the
+"Linnet" gave the "Eagle" some occupation.
+
+It would seem clear, therefore, that the true combination for the
+British general would have been to use his military superiority, vast
+in quality as in numbers, to reduce the works and garrison at
+Plattsburg. That accomplished, the squadron would be driven to the
+open lake, where the "Confiance" could bring into play her real
+superiority, instead of being compelled to sacrifice it by attacking
+vessels in a carefully chosen position, ranged with a seaman's eye for
+defence, and prepared with a seaman's foresight for every contingency.
+Prevost, however, became possessed with the idea that a joint attack
+was indispensable,[421] and in communicating his purpose to the
+commander of the squadron, Captain Downie, he used language
+indefensible in itself, tending to goad a sensitive man into action
+contrary to his better judgment; and he clenched this injudicious
+proceeding with words which certainly implied an assurance of assault
+by the army on the works, simultaneous with that of the navy on the
+squadron.
+
+Captain Downie had taken command of the Champlain fleet only on
+September 2. He was next in rank to Yeo on the lakes, a circumstance
+that warranted his orders; the immediate reason for which, however, as
+explained by Yeo to the Admiralty, was that his predecessor's temper
+had shown him unfit for chief command. He had quarrelled with Pring,
+and Yeo felt the change essential. Downie, upon arrival, found the
+"Confiance" in a very incomplete state, for which he at least was in
+no wise responsible. He had brought with him a first lieutenant in
+whom he had merited confidence, and the two worked diligently to get
+her into shape. The crew had been assembled hurriedly by draughts from
+several ships at Quebec, from the 39th regiment, and from the marine
+artillery. The last detachment came on board the night but one before
+the battle. They thus were unknown by face to their officers, and
+largely to one another. Launched August 25, the ship hauled from the
+wharf into the stream September 7, and the same day started for the
+front, being towed by boats against a head wind and downward current.
+Behind her dragged a batteau carrying her powder, while her magazine
+was being finished.
+
+The next day a similar painful advance was made, and the crew then
+were stationed at the guns, while the mechanics labored at their
+fittings. That night she anchored off Chazy, where the whole squadron
+was now gathered. The 9th was spent at anchor, exercising the guns;
+the mechanics still at work. In fact, the hammering and driving
+continued until two hours before the ship came under fire, when the
+last gang shoved off, leaving her still unfinished. "This day"--the
+9th--wrote the first lieutenant, Robertson, "employed setting-up
+rigging, scraping decks, manning and arranging the gunboats. Exercised
+at great guns. Artificers employed fitting beds, coins, belaying pins,
+etc;"[422]--essentials for fighting the guns and working the sails. It
+scarcely needs the habit of a naval seaman to recognize that even
+three or four days' grace for preparation would immensely increase
+efficiency. Nevertheless, such was the pressure from without that the
+order was given for the squadron to go into action next day; and this
+was prevented only by a strong head wind, against which there was not
+channel space to beat.
+
+As long as Prevost was contending with the difficulties of his own
+advance he seems not to have worried Downie; but as soon as fairly
+before the works of Plattsburg he initiated a correspondence, which on
+his part became increasingly peremptory. It will be remembered that he
+not only was much the senior in rank,--as in years,--but also
+Governor-General of Canada. Nor should it be forgotten that he had
+known and written a month before that the "Confiance" could not be
+ready before September 15. He knew, as his subsequent action showed,
+that if the British fleet were disabled his own progress was hopeless;
+and, if he could not understand that to a ship so lately afloat a day
+was worth a week of ordinary conditions, he should at least have
+realized that the naval captain could judge better than he when she
+was ready for battle. On September 7 he wrote to urge Downie, who
+replied the same day with assurances of every exertion to hasten
+matters. The 8th he sent information of Macdonough's arrangements by
+an aid, who carried also a letter saying that "it is of the highest
+importance that the ships, vessels, and gunboats, under your command,
+should combine a co-operation with the division of the army under my
+command. I only wait for your arrival to proceed against General
+Macomb's last position on the south bank of the Saranac." On the 9th
+he wrote, "In consequence of your communication of yesterday I have
+postponed action until your squadron is prepared to co-operate. I need
+not dwell with you on the evils resulting to both services from
+delay." He inclosed reports received from deserters that the American
+fleet was insufficiently manned; and that when the "Eagle" arrived, a
+few days before, they had swept the guard houses of prisoners to
+complete her crew. A postscript conveyed a scarcely veiled intimation
+that an eye was kept on his proceedings. "Captain Watson of the
+provincial cavalry is directed to remain at Little Chazy until you are
+preparing to get underway, when he is instructed to return to this
+place with the intelligence."[423]
+
+Thus pressed, Downie, as has been said, gave orders to sail at
+midnight, with the expectation of rounding into Plattsburg Bay about
+dawn, and proceeding to an immediate attack. This purpose was
+communicated formally to Prevost. The preventing cause, the head wind,
+was obvious enough, and spoke for itself; but the check drew from
+Prevost words which stung Downie to the quick. "In consequence of your
+letter the troops have been held in readiness, since six o'clock this
+morning, to storm the enemy's works at nearly the same moment as the
+naval action begins in the bay. I ascribe the disappointment I have
+experienced to the unfortunate change of wind, and shall rejoice to
+learn that my reasonable expectations have been frustrated by no other
+cause." The letter was sent by the aid, Major Coore, who had carried
+the others; and both he and Pring, who were present, testified to the
+effect upon Downie. Coore, in a vindication of Prevost, wrote, "After
+perusing it, Captain Downie said with some warmth, 'I am surprised Sir
+George Prevost should think necessary to urge me upon this subject. He
+must feel I am as desirous of proceeding to active operations as he
+can be; but I am responsible for the squadron, and no man shall make
+me lead it into action before I consider it in fit condition.'"[424]
+Nevertheless, the effect was produced; for he remarked afterward to
+Pring, "This letter does not deserve an answer, but I will convince
+him that the naval force will not be backward in their share of the
+attack."[425]
+
+It was arranged that the approach of the squadron should be signalled
+by scaling the guns,--firing cartridges without shot; and Downie
+certainty understood, and informed his officers generally, that the
+army would assault in co-operation with the attack of the fleet. The
+precise nature of his expectation was clearly conveyed to Pring, who
+had represented the gravity of this undertaking. "When the batteries
+are stormed and taken possession of by the British land forces, which
+the commander of the land forces has promised to do at the moment the
+naval action commences, the enemy will be obliged to quit their
+position, whereby we shall obtain decided advantage over them during
+their confusion. I would otherwise prefer fighting them on the lake,
+and would wait until our force is in an efficient state; but I fear
+they would take shelter up the lake and would not meet me on equal
+terms."[426] The following morning, September 11, the wind being fair
+from northeast, the British fleet weighed before daylight and stood up
+the narrows for the open lake and Plattsburg Bay. About five o'clock
+the agreed signal was given by scaling the guns, the reports of which
+it was presumed must certainly be heard by the army at the then
+distance of six or seven miles, with the favorable air blowing. At
+7.30, near Cumberland Head, the squadron hove-to, and Captain Downie
+went ahead in a boat to reconnoitre the American position.
+
+For defence against the hostile squadron, Macdonough had had to rely
+solely on his own force, and its wise disposition by him. On shore, a
+defensive position is determined by the circumstances of the ground
+selected, improved by fortification; all which gives strength
+additional to the number of men. A sailing squadron anchored for
+defence similarly gained force by adapting its formation to the
+circumstances of the anchorage, and to known wind conditions, with
+careful preparations to turn the guns in any direction; deliberate
+precautions, not possible to the same extent to the assailant
+anchoring under fire. To this is to be added the release of the crew
+from working sails to manning the guns.
+
+Plattsburg Bay, in which the United States squadron was anchored, is
+two miles wide, and two long. It lies north and south, open to the
+southward. Its eastern boundary is called Cumberland Head. The British
+vessels, starting from below, in a channel too narrow to beat, must
+come up with a north wind. To insure that this should be ahead, or
+bring them close on the wind, after rounding the Head,--a condition
+unfavorable for attack,--Macdonough fixed the head of his line as far
+north as was safe; having in mind that the enemy might bring guns to
+the shore north of the Saranac. His order thence extended southward,
+abreast of the American works, and somewhat nearer the Cumberland than
+the Plattsburg side. The wind conditions further made it expedient to
+put the strongest vessels to the northward,--to windward,--whence they
+would best be able to manoeuvre as circumstances might require. The
+order from north to south therefore was: the brig "Eagle," twenty
+guns; the ship "Saratoga," twenty-six; the "Ticonderoga" schooner,
+seven, and the sloop "Preble," seven.
+
+Macdonough's dispositions being perfectly under observation, Captain
+Downie framed his plan accordingly.[427] The "Confiance" should engage
+the "Saratoga;" but, before doing so, would pass along the "Eagle,"
+from north to south, give her a broadside, and then anchor head and
+stern across the bows of the "Saratoga." After this, the "Linnet,"
+supported by the "Chub," would become the opponent of the "Eagle,"
+reduced more nearly to equality by the punishment already received.
+Three British vessels would thus grapple the two strongest enemies.
+The "Finch" was to attack the American rear, supported by all the
+British gunboats--eleven in number. There were American gunboats, or
+galleys, as well, which Macdonough distributed in groups, inshore of
+his order; but, as was almost invariably the case, these light vessels
+exerted no influence on the result.
+
+This being the plan, when the wind came northeast on the morning of
+September 11, the British stood up the lake in column, as follows:
+"Finch," "Confiance," "Linnet," "Chub." Thus, when they rounded
+Cumberland Head, and simultaneously changed course towards the
+American line, they would be properly disposed to reach the several
+places assigned. As the vessels came round the Head, to Downie's
+dismay no co-operation by the army was visible. He was fairly
+committed to his movement, however, and could only persist. As the
+initial act was to be the attack upon the "Eagle" by the "Confiance,"
+she led in advance of her consorts, which caused a concentration of
+the hostile guns upon her; the result being that she was unable to
+carry out her part. The wind also failed, and she eventually anchored
+five hundred yards from the American line. Her first broadside is said
+to have struck down forty, or one fifth of the "Saratoga's" crew. As
+in the case of the "Chesapeake," this shows men of naval training,
+accustomed to guns; but, as with the "Chesapeake," lack of
+organization, of the habit of working together, officers and men, was
+to tell ere the end. Fifteen minutes after the action began Captain
+Downie was killed, leaving in command Lieutenant Robertson.
+
+ [Illustration: BATTLE OF LAKE CHAMPLAIN]
+
+The "Linnet" reached her berth and engaged the "Eagle" closely; but
+the "Chub," which was to support her, received much damage to her
+sails and rigging, and the lieutenant in charge was nervously
+prostrated by a not very severe wound. Instead of anchoring, she was
+permitted to drift helplessly, and so passed through the American
+order, where she hauled down her colors. Though thus disappointed of
+the assistance intended for her, the "Linnet" continued to fight
+manfully and successfully, her opponent finally quitting the line; a
+result to which the forward battery of the "Confiance" in large
+measure contributed.[428] The "Finch," by an error of judgment on the
+part of her commander, did not keep near enough to the wind. She
+therefore failed to reach her position, near the "Ticonderoga;" and
+the breeze afterwards falling, she could not retrieve her error.
+Ultimately, she went ashore on Crab Island, a mile to the southward.
+This remoteness enabled her to keep her flag flying till her consorts
+had surrendered; but the credit of being last to strike belongs really
+to the "Linnet," Captain Pring. By the failure of the "Finch," the
+"Ticonderoga" underwent no attack except by the British gunboats.
+Whatever might possibly have come of this was frustrated by the
+misbehavior of most of them. Four fought with great gallantry and
+persistence, eliciting much admiration from their opponents; but the
+remainder kept at distance, the commander of the whole actually
+running away, and absconding afterwards to avoid trial. The
+"Ticonderoga" maintained her position to the end; but the weak
+"Preble" was forced from her anchors, and ran ashore under the
+Plattsburg batteries.
+
+The fight thus resolved itself into a contest between the "Saratoga"
+and "Eagle," on one side, the "Confiance" and "Linnet" on the other.
+The wind being north-northeast, the ships at their anchors headed so
+that the forward third of the "Confiance's" battery bore upon the
+"Eagle," and only the remaining two thirds upon the "Saratoga." This
+much equalized conditions all round. It was nine o'clock when she
+anchored. At 10.30 the "Eagle," having many of her guns on the engaged
+side disabled, cut her cable, ran down the line, and placed herself
+south of the "Saratoga," anchoring by the stern. This had the effect
+of turning towards the enemy her other side, the guns of which were
+still uninjured. "In this new position," wrote Lieutenant Robertson,
+"she kept up a destructive fire on the "Confiance," without being
+exposed to a shot from that ship or the "Linnet." On the other hand,
+Macdonough found the "Saratoga" suffer from the "Linnet," now relieved
+of her immediate opponent."[429]
+
+By this time the fire of both the "Saratoga" and "Confiance" had
+materially slackened, owing to the havoc among guns and men. Nearly
+the whole battery on the starboard side of the United States ship was
+dismounted, or otherwise unserviceable. The only resource was to
+bring the uninjured side towards the enemy, as the "Eagle" had just
+done; but to use the same method, getting under way, would be to
+abandon the fight, for there was not astern another position of
+usefulness for the "Saratoga." There was nothing for it but to
+"wind"[430] the ship--turn her round where she was. Then appeared the
+advantage attendant upon the defensive, if deliberately utilized. The
+"Confiance" standing in had had shot away, one after another, the
+anchors and ropes upon which she depended for such a manoeuvre.[431]
+The "Saratoga's" resources were unimpaired. A stern anchor was let go,
+the bow cable cut, and the ship winded, either by force of the wind,
+or by the use of "springs"[432] before prepared, presenting to the
+"Confiance" her uninjured broadside--for fighting purposes a new
+vessel. The British ship, having now but four guns that could be used
+on the side engaged,[433] must do the like, or be hopelessly
+overmatched. The stern anchor prepared having been shot away, an
+effort was made to swing her by a new spring on the bow cable; but
+while this slow process was carrying on, and the ship so far turned as
+to be at right angles with the American line, a raking shot entered,
+killing and wounding several of the crew. Then, reported Lieutenant
+Robertson, the surviving officer in command, "the ship's company
+declared they would stand no longer to their quarters, nor could the
+officers with their utmost exertions rally them." The vessel was in a
+sinking condition, kept afloat by giving her a marked heel to
+starboard, by running in the guns on the port side, so as to bring the
+shot holes out of water.[434] The wounded on the deck below had to be
+continually moved, lest they should be drowned where they lay. She
+drew but eight and a half feet of water. Her colors were struck at
+about 11 A.M.; the "Linnet's" fifteen minutes later. By Macdonough's
+report, the action had lasted two hours and twenty minutes, without
+intermission.
+
+ [Illustration: THE BATTLE OF LAKE CHAMPLAIN.
+ _Drawn by Henry Reuterdahl._]
+
+Few combats have been more resolutely contested. The "Saratoga" had
+fifty-five round shot in her hull; the "Confiance," one hundred and
+five.[435] Of the American crew of two hundred and ten men,
+twenty-eight were killed and twenty-nine wounded. The British loss is
+not known exactly. Robertson reported that there were thirty-eight
+bodies sent ashore for interment, besides those thrown overboard in
+action. This points to a loss of about fifty killed, and James states
+the wounded at about sixty; the total was certainly more than one
+hundred in a ship's company of two hundred and seventy.
+
+There was reason for obstinacy, additional to the natural resolution
+of the parties engaged. The battle of Lake Champlain, more nearly than
+any other incident of the War of 1812, merits the epithet "decisive."
+The moment the issue was known, Prevost retreated into Canada;
+entirely properly, as indicated by the Duke of Wellington's words
+before and after. His previous conduct was open to censure, for he had
+used towards Captain Downie urgency of pressure which induced that
+officer to engage prematurely; "goaded" into action, as Yeo wrote.
+Before the usual naval Court Martial, the officers sworn testified
+that Downie had been led to expect co-operation, which in their
+judgment would have reversed the issue; but that no proper assault was
+made. Charges were preferred, and Prevost was summoned home; but he
+died before trial. There remains therefore no sworn testimony on his
+side, nor was there any adequate cross-examination of the naval
+witnesses. In the judgment of the writer, it was incumbent upon
+Prevost to assault the works when Downie was known to be approaching,
+with a fair wind, in the hope of driving the American squadron from
+its anchors to the open lake, where the real superiority of the
+British could assert itself.[436]
+
+Castlereagh's "chances of the campaign" had gone so decidedly against
+the British that no ground was left to claim territorial adjustments.
+To effect these the war must be continued; and for this Great Britain
+was not prepared, nor could she afford the necessary detachment of
+force. In the completeness of Napoleon's downfall, we now are prone to
+forget that remaining political conditions in Europe still required
+all the Great Powers to keep their arms at hand.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+The war was practically ended by Prevost's retreat. What remained was
+purely episodical in character, and should be so regarded.
+Nevertheless, although without effect upon the issue, and indeed in
+great part transacted after peace had been actually signed, it is so
+directly consecutive with the war as to require united treatment.
+
+Very soon after reaching Bermuda, Vice-Admiral Cochrane, in pursuance
+of the "confidential communications with which he was charged," the
+character of which, he intimated to Warren,[437] was a reason for
+expediting the transfer of the command, despatched the frigate
+"Orpheus" to the Appalachicola River to negotiate with the Creek and
+other Indians. The object was to rouse and arm "our Indian allies in
+the Southern States," and to arrange with them a system of training by
+British officers, and a general plan of action; by which, "supporting
+the Indian tribes situated on the confines of Florida, and in the back
+parts of Georgia, it would be easy to reduce New Orleans, and to
+distress the enemy very seriously in the neighboring provinces."[438]
+
+The "Orpheus" arrived at the mouth of the Appalachicola May 10, 1814,
+and on the 20th her captain, Pigot, had an interview with the
+principal Creek chiefs. He found[439] that the feeling of their people
+was very strong against the Americans; and from the best attainable
+information he estimated that twenty-eight hundred warriors were ready
+to take up arms with the British. There were said to be as many more
+Choctaws thus disposed; and perhaps a thousand other Indians, then
+dispersed and unarmed, could be collected. The negroes of Georgia
+would probably also come over in crowds, once the movement started.
+With a suitable number of British subalterns and drill sergeants, the
+savages could be fitted to act in concert with British troops in eight
+or ten weeks; for they were already familiar with the use of
+fire-arms, and were moreover good horsemen. The season of the year
+being still so early, there was ample time for the necessary training.
+With these preparations, and adequate supplies of arms and military
+stores, Pigot thought that a handful of British troops, co-operating
+with the Creeks and Choctaws, could get possession of Baton Rouge,
+from which New Orleans and the lower Mississippi would be an easy
+conquest. Between Pensacola, still in the possession of Spain, and New
+Orleans, Mobile was the only post held by the United States. In its
+fort were two hundred troops, and in those up country not more than
+seven hundred.
+
+When transmitting this letter, which, with his own of June 20, was
+received at the Admiralty August 8, Cochrane endorsed most of Pigot's
+recommendations. He gave as his own estimate, that to drive the
+Americans entirely out of Louisiana and the Floridas would require not
+more than three thousand British troops; to be landed at Mobile, where
+they would be joined by all the Indians and the disaffected French and
+Spaniards.[440] In this calculation reappears the perennial error of
+relying upon disaffected inhabitants, as well as savages. Disaffection
+must be supported by intolerable conditions, before inhabitants will
+stake all; not merely the chance of life, but the certainty of losing
+property, if unsuccessful. Cochrane took the further practical step of
+sending at once such arms and ammunition as the fleet could spare,
+together with four officers and one hundred and eight non-commissioned
+officers and privates of the marine corps, to train the Indians. These
+were all under the command of Major Nicholls, who for this service was
+given the local rank of Colonel. The whole were despatched July 23, in
+the naval vessels "Hermes" and "Carron," for the Appalachicola. The
+Admiral, while contemplating evidently a progress towards Baton Rouge,
+looked also to coastwise operations; for he asked the Government to
+furnish him vessels of light draught, to carry heavy guns into Lake
+Ponchartrain, and to navigate the shoal water between it and Mobile,
+now called Mississippi Sound.
+
+The Admiralty in reply[441] reminded Cochrane of the former purpose
+of the Government to direct operations against New Orleans, with a
+very large force under Lord Hill, Wellington's second in the
+Peninsular War. Circumstances had made it inexpedient to send so many
+troops from Europe at this moment; but, in view of the Admiral's
+recommendation, General Ross would be directed to co-operate in the
+intended movement at the proper season, and his corps would be raised
+to six thousand men, independent of such help in seamen and marines as
+the fleet might afford. The re-enforcements would be sent to Negril
+Bay, at the west end of Jamaica, which was made the general
+rendezvous; and there Cochrane and Ross were directed to join not
+later than November 20. The purpose of the Government in attempting
+the enterprise was stated to be twofold. "First, to obtain command of
+the embouchure of the Mississippi, so as to deprive the back
+settlements of America of their communication with the sea; and,
+secondly, to occupy some important and valuable possession, by the
+restoration of which the conditions of peace might be improved, or
+which we might be entitled to exact the cession of, as the price of
+peace." Entire discretion was left with the two commanders as to the
+method of proceeding, whether directly against New Orleans, by water,
+or to its rear, by land, through the country of the Creeks; and they
+were at liberty to abandon the undertaking in favor of some other,
+should that course seem more suitable. When news of the capture of
+Washington was received, two thousand additional troops were sent to
+Bermuda, under the impression that the General might desire to push
+his success on the Atlantic coast. These ultimately joined the
+expedition two days before the attack on Jackson's lines. Upon the
+death of General Ross, Sir Edward Pakenham was ordered to replace him;
+but he did not arrive until after the landing, and had therefore no
+voice in determining the general line of operations adopted.
+
+These were the military instructions. To them were added certain
+others, political in character, dictated mainly by the disturbed state
+of Europe, and with an eye to appease the jealousies existing among
+the Powers, which extended to American conditions, colonial and
+commercial. While united against Napoleon, they viewed with distrust
+the aggrandizement of Great Britain. Ross was ordered, therefore, to
+discountenance any overture of the inhabitants to place themselves
+under British dominion; but should he find a general and decided
+disposition to withdraw from their recent connection with the United
+States, with the view of establishing themselves as an independent
+people, or of returning under the dominion of Spain, from which they
+then had been separated less than twenty years, he was to give them
+every support in his power. He must make them clearly understand,
+however, that in the peace with the United States neither independence
+nor restoration to Spain could be made a _sine quâ non_;[442] there
+being about that a finality, of which the Government had already been
+warned in the then current negotiations with the American
+commissioners. These instructions to Ross were communicated to Lord
+Castlereagh at Vienna, to use as might be expedient in the discussions
+of the Conference.
+
+No serious attempt was made in the direction of Baton Rouge, through
+the back countries of Georgia and Florida; nor does there appear any
+result of consequence from the mission of Colonel Nicholls. On
+September 17 the "Hermes" and "Carron," supported by two brigs of war,
+made an attack upon Fort Bowyer, a work of logs and sand commanding
+the entrance to Mobile Bay. After a severe cannonade, lasting between
+two and three hours, they were repulsed; and the "Hermes," running
+aground, was set on fire by her captain to prevent her falling into
+the hands of the enemy. Mobile was thus preserved from becoming the
+starting point of the expedition, as suggested by Cochrane; and that
+this object underlay the attempt may be inferred from the finding of
+the Court Martial upon Captain Percy of the "Hermes," which decided
+that the attack was perfectly justified by the circumstances stated at
+the trial.[443]
+
+In October, 1810, by executive proclamation of President Madison, the
+United States had taken possession of the region between Louisiana and
+the River Perdido,[444] being the greater part of what was then known
+as West Florida. The Spanish troops occupying Mobile, however, were
+not then disturbed;[445] nor was there a military occupation, except
+of one almost uninhabited spot near Bay St. Louis.[446] This
+intervention was justified on the ground of a claim to the territory,
+asserted to be valid; and occasion for it was found in the danger of a
+foreign interference, resulting from the subversion of Spanish
+authority by a revolutionary movement. By Great Britain it was
+regarded as a usurpation, to effect which advantage had been taken of
+the embarrassment of the Spaniards when struggling against Napoleon
+for national existence. On May 14, 1812, being then on the verge of
+war with Great Britain, the ally of Spain, an Act of Congress declared
+the whole country annexed, and extended over it the jurisdiction of
+the United States. Mobile was occupied April 15, 1813. Pensacola, east
+of the Perdido, but close to it, remained in the hands of Spain, and
+was used as a base of operations by the British fleet, both before and
+after the attack of the "Hermes" and her consorts upon Fort Bowyer.
+From there Nicholls announced that he had arrived in the Floridas for
+the purpose of annoying "the only enemy Great Britain has in the
+world"[447]; and Captain Percy thence invited the pirates of Barataria
+to join the British cause. Cochrane also informed the Admiralty that
+for quicker communication, while operating in the Gulf, he intended to
+establish a system of couriers through Florida, between Amelia Island
+and Pensacola, both under Spanish jurisdiction.[448] On the score of
+neutrality, therefore, fault can scarcely be found with General
+Jackson for assaulting the latter, which surrendered to him November
+7. The British vessels departed, and the works were blown up; after
+which the place was restored to the Spaniards.
+
+In acknowledging the Admiralty's letter of August 10, Cochrane said
+that the diminution of numbers from those intended for Lord Hill would
+not affect his plans; that, unless the United States had sent very
+great re-enforcements to Louisiana, the troops now to be employed were
+perfectly adequate, even without the marines. These he intended to
+send under Rear-Admiral Cockburn, to effect a diversion by occupying
+Cumberland Island, off the south coast of Georgia, about November 10,
+whence the operations would be extended to the mainland. It was hoped
+this would draw to the coast the American force employed against the
+Indians, and so favor the movements in Louisiana.[449] While not
+expressly stated, the inference seems probable that Cochrane
+still--October 3--expected to land at Mobile. For some reason
+Cockburn's attack on Cumberland Island did not occur until January 12,
+when the New Orleans business was already concluded; so that, although
+successful, and prosecuted further to the seacoast, it had no
+influence upon the general issues.
+
+Cochrane, with the division from the Atlantic coast, joined the
+re-enforcements from England in Negril Bay, and thence proceeded to
+Mississippi Sound; anchoring off Ship Island, December 8. On the 2d
+General Jackson had arrived in New Orleans, whither had been ordered a
+large part of the troops heretofore acting against the Creeks. The
+British commanders had now determined definitely to attack the city
+from the side of the sea. As there could be little hope for vessels
+dependent upon sails to pass the forts on the lower Mississippi,
+against the strong current, as was done by Farragut's steamers fifty
+years later, it was decided to reach the river far above those works,
+passing the army through some of the numerous bayous which intersect
+the swampy delta to the eastward. From Ship Island this desired
+approach could be made through Lake Borgne.
+
+For the defence of these waters there were stationed five American
+gunboats and two or three smaller craft, the whole under command of
+Lieutenant Thomas ap Catesby Jones. As even the lighter British ships
+of war could not here navigate, on account of the shoalness, and the
+troops, to reach the place of debarkation, the Bayou des Pêcheurs, at
+the head of Lake Borgne, must go sixty miles in open boats, the
+hostile gun vessels had first to be disposed of. Jones, who from an
+advanced position had been watching the enemy's proceedings in
+Mississippi Sound, decided December 12 that their numbers had so
+increased as to make remaining hazardous. He therefore retired, both
+to secure his retreat and to cause the boats of the fleet a longer and
+more harassing pull to overtake him. The movement was none too soon,
+for that night the British barges and armed boats left the fleet in
+pursuit. Jones was not able to get as far as he wished, on account of
+failure of wind; but nevertheless on the 13th the enemy did not come
+up with him. During the night he made an attempt at further
+withdrawal; but calm continuing, and a strong ebb-tide running, he was
+compelled again to anchor at 1 A.M. of the 14th, and prepared for
+battle. His five gunboats, with one light schooner, were ranged in
+line across the channel way, taking the usual precautions of springs
+on their cables and boarding nettings triced up. Unluckily for the
+solidity of his order, the current set two of the gunboats, one being
+his own, some distance to the eastward,--in advance of the others.
+
+At daylight the British flotilla was seen nine miles distant, at
+anchor. By Jones' count it comprised forty-two launches and three
+light gigs.[450] They soon after weighed and pulled towards the
+gunboats. At ten, being within long gunshot, they again anchored for
+breakfast; after which they once more took to the oars. An hour later
+they closed with their opponents. The British commander, Captain
+Lockyer, threw his own boat, together with a half-dozen others, upon
+Jones' vessel, "Number 156,"[451] and carried her after a sharp
+struggle of about twenty minutes, during which both Lockyer and Jones
+were severely wounded. Her guns were then turned against her late
+comrades, in support of the British boarders, and at the end of
+another half-hour, at 12.40 P.M., the last of them surrendered.
+
+That this affair was very gallantly contested on both sides is
+sufficiently shown by the extent of the British loss--seventeen killed
+and seventy-seven wounded.[452] They were of course in much larger
+numbers than the Americans. No such attempt should be made except with
+this advantage, and the superiority should be as great as is permitted
+by the force at the disposal of the assailant.
+
+This obstacle to the movement of the troops being removed, debarkation
+began at the mouth of the Bayou des Pêcheurs;[453] whence the
+British, undiscovered during their progress, succeeded in penetrating
+by the Bayou Bienvenu and its tributaries to a point on the
+Mississippi eight miles below New Orleans. The advance corps, sixteen
+hundred strong, arrived there at noon, December 23, accompanied by
+Major-General Keane, as yet in command of the whole army. The news
+reached Jackson two hours later.
+
+Fresh from the experiences of Washington and Baltimore, the British
+troops flattered themselves with the certainty of a quiet night. The
+Americans, they said to each other, have never dared to attack. At
+7.30, however, a vessel dropped her anchor abreast them, and a voice
+was heard, "Give them this for the honor of America!" The words were
+followed by the discharge of her battery, which swept through the
+camp. Without artillery to reply, having but two light field guns,
+while the assailant--the naval schooner "Caroline," Lieut. J.D.
+Henley--had anchored out of musket range, the invaders, suffering
+heavily, were driven to seek shelter behind the levee, where they lay
+for nearly an hour.[454] At the end of this, a dropping fire was heard
+from above and inland. Jackson, with sound judgment and characteristic
+energy, had decided to attack at once, although, by his own report, he
+could as yet muster only fifteen hundred men, of whom but six hundred
+were regulars. A confused and desperate night action followed, the men
+on both sides fighting singly or in groups, ignorant often whether
+those before them were friends or foes. The Americans eventually
+withdrew, carrying with them sixty-six prisoners. Their loss in killed
+and wounded was one hundred and thirty-nine; that of the British, two
+hundred and thirteen.
+
+The noise of this rencounter hastened the remainder of the British
+army, and by the night of December 24 the whole were on the ground.
+Meantime, the "Caroline" had been joined by the ship "Louisiana,"
+which anchored nearly a mile above her. In her came Commodore
+Patterson, in chief naval command. The presence of the two impelled
+the enemy to a slight retrograde movement, out of range of their
+artillery. The next morning, Christmas, Sir Edward Pakenham arrived
+from England. A personal examination satisfied him that only by a
+reconnaissance in force could he ascertain the American strength and
+preparations, and that, as a preliminary to such attempt, the vessels
+whose guns swept the line of advance must be driven off. On the 26th
+the "Caroline" tried to get up stream to Jackson's camp, but could not
+against a strong head wind; and on the 27th the British were able to
+burn her with hot shot. The "Louisiana" succeeded in shifting her
+place, and thenceforth lay on the west bank of the stream, abreast of
+and flanking the entrenchments behind which Jackson was established.
+
+These obstacles gone, Pakenham made his reconnaissance. As described
+by a participant,[455] the British advanced four or five miles on
+December 28, quite unaware what awaited them, till a turn in the road
+brought them face to face with Jackson's entrenchments. These covered
+a front of three fourths of a mile, and neither flank could be turned,
+because resting either on the river or the swamp. They were not yet
+complete, but afforded good shelter for riflemen, and had already
+several cannon in position, while the "Louisiana's" broadside also
+swept the ground in front. A hot artillery fire opened at once from
+both ship and works, and when the British infantry advanced they
+were met equally with musketry. The day's results convinced Pakenham
+that he must resort to the erection of batteries before attempting an
+assault; an unfortunate necessity, as the delay not only encouraged
+the defenders, but allowed time for re-enforcement, and for further
+development of their preparations. While the British siege pieces were
+being brought forward, largely from the fleet, a distance of seventy
+miles, the American Navy was transferring guns from the "Louisiana" to
+a work on the opposite side of the river, which would flank the
+enemies' batteries, as well as their columns in case of an attempt to
+storm.
+
+ [Illustration: MAP
+ SHOWING THE LANDING OF THE
+ BRITISH ARMY
+ its several Encampments and Fortifications on the Mississippi and
+ the Works they erected on their Retreat; also the different
+ Posts, Encampments and Fortifications made by the several Corps
+ of the American Army during the whole Campaign
+ by Major A. LACARRIERE LATOUR Late Principal Engineer 7th
+ Military District U.S. Army 1815]
+
+When the guns had arrived, the British on the night of December 31
+threw up entrenchments, finding convenient material in the sugar
+hogsheads of the plantations. On the morning of January 1 they opened
+with thirty pieces at a distance of five hundred yards; but it was
+soon found that in such a duel they were hopelessly overmatched, a
+result to which contributed the enfilading position of the naval
+battery. "To the well-directed exertions from the other side of the
+river," wrote Jackson to Patterson, after the close of the operations,
+"must be ascribed in great measure that harassment of the enemy which
+led to his ignominious flight." The British guns were silenced, and
+for the moment abandoned; but during the night they were either
+withdrawn or destroyed. It was thus demonstrated that no adequate
+antecedent impression could be made on the American lines by
+cannonade; and, as neither flank could be turned, no resource
+remained, on the east shore at least, but direct frontal assault.
+
+But while Jackson's main position was thus secure, he ran great risk
+that the enemy, by crossing the river, and successful advance there,
+might establish themselves in rear of his works; which, if effected,
+would put him at the same disadvantage that the naval battery now
+imposed upon his opponents. His lines would be untenable if his
+antagonist commanded the water, or gained the naval battery on his
+flank, to which the crew of the "Louisiana" and her long guns had now
+been transferred. This the British also perceived, and began to
+improve a narrow canal which then led from the head of the bayou to
+the levee, but was passable by canoes only. They expected ultimately
+to pierce the levee, and launch barges upon the river; but the work
+was impeded by the nature of the soil, the river fell, and some of the
+heavier boats grounding delayed the others, so that, at the moment of
+final assault, only five hundred men had been transported instead of
+thrice that number, as intended.[456] What these few effected showed
+how real and great was the danger.
+
+The canal was completed on the evening of January 6, on which day the
+last re-enforcements from England, sixteen hundred men under
+Major-General Lambert, reached the front. Daylight of January 8 was
+appointed for the general assault; the intervening day and night being
+allowed for preparations, and for dragging forward the boats into the
+river. It was expected that the whole crossing party of fifteen
+hundred, under Colonel Thornton, would be on the west bank, ready to
+move forward at the same moment as the principal assault, which was
+also to be supported by all the available artillery, playing upon the
+naval battery to keep down its fire. There was therefore no lack of
+ordinary military prevision; but after waiting until approaching
+daylight began to throw more light than was wished upon the advance of
+the columns, Pakenham gave the concerted signal. Owing to the causes
+mentioned, Thornton had but just landed with his first detachment of
+five hundred. Eager to seize the battery, from which was to be feared
+so much destructive effect on the storming columns on the east bank,
+he pushed forward at once with the men he had, his flank towards the
+river covered by a division of naval armed boats; "but the ensemble of
+the general movement," wrote the British general, Lambert, who
+succeeded Pakenham in command, "was thus lost, and in a point which
+was of the last importance to the [main] attack on the left bank of
+the river."
+
+Not only was Thornton too weak, but he was eight hours[457] late,
+though not by his own fault. Commodore Patterson, whose duties kept
+him on the west bank, reported that the naval battery was actively and
+effectively employed upon the flank of the storming columns, and it
+was not until some time after the engagement opened that he was
+informed of the near approach of the British detachment on that side.
+In prevision of such an attempt, a line of works had been thrown up at
+the lower end of the naval battery, at right angles to it, to cover
+its flank. This was weak, however, at the extremity farthest from the
+river, and thither the British directed their attack. The defenders
+there, some very newly joined Kentucky militia, broke and fled, and
+their flight carried with them all the other infantry. The seamen of
+the battery, deprived of their supports, retreated after spiking their
+guns, which fell into the enemy's hands; and Thornton, who was
+severely wounded, was able to date his report of success from the
+"Redoubt on the right bank of the Mississippi."[458] He advanced
+actually, and without serious opposition, a mile above--that is, in
+rear of--Jackson's lines and the "Louisiana's" anchorage. "This
+important rout," wrote Jackson, "had totally changed the aspect of
+affairs. The enemy now occupied a position from which they might annoy
+us without hazard, and by means of which they might have been enabled
+to defeat, in a great measure, the effects of our success on this side
+of the river. It became, therefore, an object of the first consequence
+to dislodge him as soon as possible."
+
+Jackson himself attributed his success in this desirable object as
+much to negotiation as to the force he would be able to apply. The
+story of the main assault and its disastrous repulse is familiar. In
+itself, it was but an instance of a truth conspicuously illustrated,
+before and after, on many fields, of the desperate character of a
+frontal attack upon protected men accustomed to the use of
+fire-arms--even though they be irregulars. Could Thornton's movement
+have been made in full force assigned, and at the moment intended,--so
+that most of the advance on both sides the river could have been
+consummated before dawn,--a successful flanking operation would have
+been effected; and it is far from improbable that Jackson, finding the
+naval guns turned against him, would have been driven out of his
+lines. With raw troops under his command, and six thousand veterans
+upon his heels, no stand could have been made short of the town, nor
+in it.
+
+As it was, the failure of the two parts of the British to act
+coincidently caused them to be beaten in detail: for the disastrous
+and bloody repulse of the columns on the east bank led to the
+withdrawal of the tiny body on the west.[459] No further attempt was
+made. On the 18th of January the British withdrew. In pursuance of the
+full discretionary power given by their orders as to any further
+employment upon the American coast of the forces under their command,
+General Lambert and the Admiral then concerted an attack upon Fort
+Bowyer, at the entrance to Mobile Bay. This surrendered February 11,
+the day that the news of the Peace reached New York.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+The ocean as well as the land had its episodes of fighting after peace
+had been signed. The United States frigate "President," which during
+the first two years of the war had been commanded continuously by
+Commodore John Rodgers, was in May, 1814, transferred to Decatur, who
+took to her with him the crew of his old ship, the "United States,"
+irretrievably shut up in New London. The "President" remained in New
+York throughout the year, narrowly watched by the enemy. In a letter
+of August 10, Decatur speaks of the unfavorable conditions of the
+season for sailing; that four British ships kept close to Sandy Hook,
+at times even anchored. He then mentions also "the great apprehension
+and danger" which New York was undergoing, in common with the entire
+seaboard, and the wish of the city government that the crew of the
+ship should remain for defence of the port.[460] It will be remembered
+that this was in the anxious period preceding the development of the
+British menace to the coast, which issued in the capture of Washington
+and Alexandria, and the attack on Baltimore. Philadelphia also
+trembled; and Decatur received an order to carry the "President's"
+crew to her protection, if threatened.[461]
+
+On New Year Day, 1815, the "President" was still in the bay, awaiting
+a chance to sail. She was deeply laden for a long absence, and was to
+be accompanied by a merchant brig, the "Macedonian," carrying further
+stores. The sloops "Hornet" and "Peacock," and brig "Tom Bowline,"
+were likewise watching to slip out. On the night of January 14, 1815,
+in a heavy northwester, the "President's" attempt was made; the
+pilots for the occasion having undertaken to mark the channel by boats
+suitably stationed. Despite these precautions the ship grounded, and
+beat heavily on the bottom for an hour and a half. By this she was
+seriously injured, and would have gone back had the wind permitted. As
+it was, she had to be forced over, and at 10 P.M. went clear; but with
+loss of a large part of that speed for which she was known, and which
+had been among Decatur's chief reasons for preferring her to the new
+"Guerrière."[462] The "Macedonian" was in company.
+
+The British blockading division was under the command of Captain John
+Hayes, of the razee[463] "Majestic," and consisted, besides that ship,
+of the forty-gun 24-pounder frigate "Endymion," and the
+thirty-eight-gun 18-pounder frigates "Pomone" and "Tenedos"; the
+latter of which had joined on the 13th. The vessels were driven off
+shore by the violence of the gale; but Hayes, reasoning as a seaman,
+anticipated both Decatur's sailing that night and his probable course.
+After clearing the bar, the "President" steered nearly due east, along
+the south shore of Long Island, for fifty miles, when she headed off,
+southeast by east, for the open sea. At 5 A.M. three of the British
+squadron were seen ahead on the new course; the fourth, the "Tenedos,"
+being then out of sight to the southward, either detached for a wider
+sweep of watchfulness, or separated by the gale.
+
+The "President," on seeing the enemy, hauled up again along shore, and
+a stern chase began, which lasted till near nightfall of the 15th;
+the "Endymion" leading the British squadron. The "Tenedos" being
+sighted soon after daybreak, Hayes detached the "Pomone" to ascertain
+what ship it was; a step which for the time threw the "Pomone," as
+well as the "Tenedos," out of the running. At 5 P.M. the "Endymion"
+had got well within point-blank shot of the "President." It must be
+appreciated that, with the whole hostile squadron at her heels, the
+American frigate could not delay, or turn her side with its battery
+towards an assailant behind; for to do so enabled the others to gain
+on her. On the other hand, the pursuer could so deflect--yaw--at
+frequent intervals, and having the greater speed could continually
+recover the ground thus lost. This was what Captain Hope of the
+"Endymion" did, with sound judgment. He took a position on the
+off-shore quarter of the "President," where neither her broadside nor
+stern guns could bear upon him, so long as she held her course.
+Thence, yawing continually, the "Endymion" poured in her successive
+broadsides, practically unopposed, mistress of the situation.
+
+Decatur endured this for a time; but it was the military merit of his
+antagonist's conduct that it must eventually force him to turn aside,
+and so convert the stern chase of the British squadron to the more
+hopeful attempt to cut him off on a new course. After half an hour the
+"President's" helm was put to port, and the ship headed abruptly
+south, threatening to cross the "Endymion's" bow, and rake. The
+British frigate had to follow this movement of her opponent, and the
+two ran off on parallel lines, exchanging broadsides. The object of
+Decatur was to dismantle this enemy, strip him of his motive power,
+and so increase his own chance of escape. In this he was successful.
+After two hours and a half, between 8 and 8.30 P.M., the "Endymion's"
+sails were stripped from the yards. She dropped astern, and the
+"President" again steered east, bringing the other enemy's ships once
+more in her wake,--a stern chase.
+
+At 11 P.M. the "Pomone" and "Tenedos" overtook her. These were of the
+class of the "Guerrière," "Macedonian," and "Shannon," very much
+lighter, singly, than the "President," which had a heavier battery than
+the "Constitution." Had the American ship retained her normal speed, she
+probably would have escaped; but the "Pomone," the first to arrive,
+outsailed her without using studdingsails, which the "President" was
+still able to carry alow and aloft, despite her engagement with the
+"Endymion." This fresh British ship luffed to port, and fired her
+starboard broadside. The "President" imitated the manoeuvre, heading up
+to north; but she did not fire. At this point the historian is met by a
+direct contradiction of evidence. Decatur says that the "Pomone" was now
+on the port bow, within musket-shot,[464] the "Tenedos" five hundred
+yards astern, "taking up a raking position on our quarter, and the rest
+(with the exception of the 'Endymion') within gunshot."[465] These
+statements are confirmed by the sworn testimony before the American
+Court of Inquiry. The log of the "Pomone," published with intention,
+reads that the "Tenedos" was not more than three miles off,--a distance
+to which no gun on shipboard of that day could carry,--and the
+"Endymion" and "Majestic" so far away that they did not come on the
+scene until 12.45 and 3 A.M., respectively, of the 16th. The "Pomone"
+fired a second broadside, and hauling still further to port was about to
+discharge a third, from a raking position ahead, when the "President"
+struck. She had not fired a gun at either the "Pomone" or the "Tenedos."
+The log of the "Pomone" is clear on this point, and Decatur's elaborate
+report makes no mention of having done so. The witnesses before the
+Court of Inquiry are equally silent.
+
+Between the "Endymion" and the "President," in point of battery, the
+proportion of force was as four to three, in favor of the American
+ship. Against that must fairly be weighed the power of the "Endymion"
+to maintain for half an hour a quartering and raking position, owing
+to the necessity to escape laid on the "President." A quantitative
+estimate of this advantage would be largely guess; but it may safely
+be said that the disproportion of killed and wounded[466] can probably
+be laid to this, coupled with the very proper endeavor of Decatur to
+throw off his immediate enemy by aiming at her spars. After two and a
+half hours' fighting, the sails of the "Endymion" were "stripped from
+the yards," Captain Hayes reported; while the "President," by the
+"Pomone's" log, "continued to stand east under a press of sail," all
+studdingsails set, from lower to royal. This result accounts for where
+the "President's" shot went, and under the circumstances should have
+gone, and for why the "Endymion" lost fewer men; and it was not the
+sole reason for the last. There is, in the writer's judgment, no
+ground whatever for the assumption that the "Endymion" did, or singly
+would, have beaten the "President." The disparity of material force
+was counterbalanced by the circumstance that the "President" had the
+other vessels to take into account. From the legal point of view ships
+merely in sight contribute, and are therefore entitled to prize money.
+In the present instance they necessarily affected the manoeuvring and
+gunnery of the "President."
+
+There is a good deal of human nature, and some food for quiet
+entertainment, in the British accounts. There were several to share,
+and apparently the glory was not quite enough to go round. With
+Admiral Hotham, not present in the action, but in immediate command of
+the station during Cochrane's absence at New Orleans and Cockburn's in
+Georgia, it was "the force which I had collected off the bar of New
+York." Captain Hayes had much to say on his calculations of the
+enemy's movements: "What is a little singular, at the very instant of
+arriving at the point of the supposed track of the enemy, Sandy Hook
+west-northwest fifteen leagues, we were made happy by the sight of a
+ship and a brig, not more than two miles on the weather bow." The
+published report of Captain Hope, of the "Endymion," is simple and
+modest; but some of his followers apparently would have all the glory.
+The "Endymion" had done the whole business. This drew forth the
+publication of the "Pomone's" log, concerning which the Naval
+Chronicle remarks, "It appears that some differences have taken place
+between the British frigates engaged, as to the honor of having
+captured the 'President.'"[467]
+
+Had Decatur appreciated at the moment that his speedy surrender to the
+"Pomone" would be attributed to the subjection to which the "Endymion"
+was supposed to have reduced his ship, he very probably would have
+made a second fight of it. But he was convinced that ultimate escape
+was impossible. "Two fresh," though much weaker, ships of the enemy at
+hand, his own having fought for two hours and a half; "about one fifth
+of my crew killed and wounded, my ship crippled, and a more than
+fourfold force opposed to me, without a chance of escape left, I
+deemed it my duty to surrender." Physical and mental fatigue, the
+moral discomfiture of a hopeless situation, are all fairly to be taken
+into account; nor should resistance be protracted where it means
+merely loss of life. Yet it may be questioned whether the moral tone
+of a military service, which is its breath of life, does not suffer
+when the attempt is made to invest with a halo of extraordinary
+heroism such a resistance as Decatur made, by his own showing. Unless
+the "President" was really thrashed out by the "Endymion," which was
+the British assertion,[468] she might have put one of his Majesty's
+thirty-eight-gun frigates, the "Pomone," out of commission for a long
+time; and that, in addition to the "Endymion,"--the two fastest
+British vessels,--would have been no light matter in the then state of
+the New York blockade. If the finding of the American Court of
+Inquiry,[469] that "the 'Endymion' was conquered, while the
+'President' in the contest with her had sustained but little injury,"
+be admitted, there seems no reply to the comment that the "President"
+surrendered within musket-shot of a thirty-eight-gun frigate which
+with three or four broadsides she should have nearly annihilated. She
+was out to destroy commerce and enemy's cruisers, and she struck
+before her powers in that respect--by the Court's finding--were
+exhausted. Escape was impossible; one object of her cruise--the
+enemy's commerce--had become impracticable; was it justifiable to
+neglect the last opportunity for the other? Decatur's personal
+gallantry is beyond question; but, if the defence of the "President"
+is to be considered "glorious," and "heroic," it is difficult to know
+what term can be applied to that of the "Essex." War is violence,
+wounds, and death. Needless bloodshed is to be avoided; but even more,
+at the present day, is to be deprecated the view that the objects of a
+war are to be sacrificed to the preservation of life.
+
+After a long detention, through the closeness of the Boston blockade,
+the "Constitution," still commanded by Captain Charles Stewart,
+effected her escape to sea towards the end of December. On February
+20, 1815, two hundred miles east-northeast from Madeira, she fell in
+with two British ships of war, the "Cyane," and the "Levant," then on
+their way from Gibraltar to the Azores, and thence to the American
+coast. The "Cyane," a frigate-built ship, carried a battery of
+carronades: thirty 32-pounders, two 18-pounders. She had also two long
+9-pounders; making a total of thirty-four guns, throwing a broadside
+weight of five hundred and seven pounds.[470] The "Levant" was a sloop
+of war, of the American "Hornet" class, carrying eighteen 32-pounder
+carronades and two long 9-pounders; giving two hundred and
+ninety-seven as her broadside weight. Between the two they therefore
+threw eight hundred and four pounds of metal. The "Constitution's"
+broadside was seven hundred and four pounds; but of this three hundred
+and eighty-four were in long 24-pounders. Supposing both parties
+willing to fight under such circumstances, the game would be all in
+the "Constitution's" hands. Her problem rather was so to conduct the
+contest that neither enemy should escape. Captain Stewart, in
+reporting his success, dwelt upon the advantages derived by the enemy
+"from a divided and more active force, as also their superiority in
+the weight and numbers of guns." One cannot but feel the utmost
+diffidence in differing from a seaman of the time, and one so skilful
+as Stewart; but the advantage of a divided force is as difficult to
+see as the superiority in battery power.
+
+Though consorts, the enemy when first seen were separated by a
+distance of ten miles; and were sighted successively between 1 and 2
+P.M. The wind was easterly and light. The "Constitution" was unable to
+prevent their junction, which was effected at 5.45. They then formed
+in line on the starboard tack, the "Levant" leading; with an interval
+between them of three hundred feet. At six the "Constitution" drew up
+on the weather side of the "Cyane," and five minutes later the action
+began at a distance of three hundred yards. After a quarter of an
+hour, noting the enemy's fire to slacken, Stewart stopped his own, to
+allow the smoke to lift. When he could see, he found the
+"Constitution" abreast the "Levant," with the "Cyane" astern, luffing
+up for his port quarter. He gave his port broadside to the "Levant,"
+then braced aback his after-sails, and so went astern towards the
+"Cyane," bringing her abeam under cover of the renewed cannonade. At
+6.35--about ten minutes later--the enemy's fire again weakened, and
+the "Levant" was seen to be bearing up before the wind. Stewart made
+sail ahead, raked her twice from astern with the port guns, and then
+saw the "Cyane" also wearing. The "Constitution" immediately wore
+short round, and caught this opponent before she had completed her
+manoeuvre, so that she raked her also from astern with the starboard
+battery. The "Cyane" then came to the wind on the port tack, and fired
+that broadside, to which the "Constitution," having reloaded after
+raking, was about to reply, when, at 6.50 this enemy struck, and fired
+a lee gun,--the signal of submission. A prize crew, with a party of
+marines to guard prisoners, was hastily thrown on board, and at eight
+the "Constitution" made sail again after the "Levant." At 8.30 this
+plucky little ship was met returning to the conflict. At 8.50 the two
+passed on opposite tacks, and exchanged broadsides, after which the
+"Constitution" kept away under the enemy's stern and raked again. The
+"Levant" could now run with a clear conscience. Whatever argument can
+be based on the united batteries of the two British ships, and the
+advantage of divided force, eighteen 32-pounder carronades were no
+match for the "Constitution." The "Levant" took to her heels, but at
+10 P.M. was overtaken and surrendered.[471]
+
+The losses as reported by Stewart were: "Constitution," killed three;
+wounded twelve; "Cyane," killed twelve; wounded twenty-six; "Levant,"
+killed twenty-three; wounded sixteen. Captain Stewart's management of
+his vessel was strikingly clever and prompt. The advantages which he
+attributed to the enemy, an aggregate of guns, slightly superior in
+total weight, divided between two smaller ships, the author has never
+been able to recognize.[472]
+
+The sloops of war "Hornet," Commander James Biddle, and "Peacock,"
+Commander Lewis Warrington, and the brig "Tom Bowline," which were
+waiting their opportunity in the lower bay of New York when the
+"President" sailed, got to sea five days after her, January 20. When
+two days out, the "Hornet" separated in chase. The vessels had a
+rendezvous at the lonely island of Tristan d'Acunha, in the South
+Atlantic, some fifteen hundred miles west of the Cape of Good Hope.
+The "Hornet" arrived first, and was about to anchor, at 10.30 in the
+morning of March 23, when a sail was seen to the southeast, steering
+west. As it soon passed behind the island, the "Hornet" made sail to
+the westward, and the two shortly came within sight. The stranger was
+the British sloop of war "Penguin," Captain Dickinson. By the report
+of Captain Biddle, based on examination after the action, she carried
+sixteen 32-pounder carronades, two long 12-pounders in broadside, and
+one long twelve on a pivot, fighting either side. The "Hornet" had
+eighteen 32-pounder carronades, and two long twelves.
+
+The wind being south-southwest, the "Penguin" was to windward, and
+bore up to close. At 1.40 P.M., being nearly within musket-shot, she
+hauled to the wind on the starboard tack, a movement which the
+"Hornet" at once imitated, and the battle began; the "Hornet" to
+leeward, the two running on parallel courses,--an artillery duel. The
+"Penguin" drew gradually nearer, and at 1.55 put her helm hard up, to
+run her antagonist on board. The American crew were called to repel
+boarders, and so were on hand when the enemy's bowsprit came in
+between the main and mizzen rigging; but, while ready to resist an
+attempt to board, the course of the action had so satisfied Biddle of
+the superiority of his ship's gunnery that he would not throw his men
+away in a hand-to-hand contest upon the enemy's decks. The small arms
+men and marines, however, distributed along the "Hornet's" side kept
+up a lively musketry fire, which the British endured at great
+disadvantage, crowded upon the narrow front presented by a ship's
+forecastle. The "Penguin" finally wrenched clear with the loss of her
+foremast and bowsprit, and in this crippled state surrendered
+immediately. From the first gun to hauling down the flag was
+twenty-two minutes. The British ship had lost fourteen killed and
+twenty-eight wounded, her captain being among the slain. The "Hornet"
+had one killed and ten wounded. The comparative efficiency of the two
+vessels is best indicated by the fact that the "Hornet" had not a
+single cannon-ball in her hull, nor any serious injury even to her
+lower masts; yet that her rigging and sails were very much cut proves
+that her opponent's guns were active. By the ready skill of the seamen
+of that day she was completely ready for any service forty-eight hours
+later. The "Penguin" was scuttled.
+
+The action between the "Hornet" and "Penguin" was the last naval
+combat of the War of 1812. The day after it, March 24, the "Peacock"
+and "Tom Bowline" arrived, in time to see the "Penguin" before her
+captor sunk her. The brig "Macedonian," which had sailed in company
+with the "President," but escaped her fate, also came to Tristan
+d'Acunha, which would seem to have been intended as a fresh starting
+point for some enterprise in common.
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[394] Memoirs and Correspondence of Lord Castlereagh. Series iii. vol.
+ii. pp. 86-91.
+
+[395] Castlereagh Memoirs, series iii. vol. ii. pp. 86-91.
+
+[396] Castlereagh to Liverpool (Prime Minister), Aug. 28, 1814. Ibid.,
+pp. 100-102.
+
+[397] Wellington to Liverpool, Nov. 9, 1814. Castlereagh Memoirs, series
+iii. vol. ii. pp. 186-189.
+
+[398] Canadian Archives, C. 680, p. 46. The date is Sept. 10, 1813.
+
+[399] Letter of Captain Evans, commanding N.Y. Navy Yard, Aug. 6, 1813.
+
+[400] Canadian Archives, C. 679, pp. 348, 362.
+
+[401] Izard says two. Official Correspondence of the Department of War
+with Major-General Izard, 1814 and 1815, p. 7.
+
+[402] British Court Martial Record.
+
+[403] Confidence.
+
+[404] Account of the Public Life of Sir George Prevost, p. 136.
+
+[405] Prevost to Bathurst, July 12, 1814. Report on Canadian Archives,
+1896. Lower Canada, p. 31.
+
+[406] Prevost to Bathurst, Aug. 5, 1814. Ibid., p. 35.
+
+[407] Prevost to Bathurst, Aug. 27.
+
+[408] Official Correspondence of General Izard with the Department of
+War, pp. 56, 57. Philadelphia, 1816.
+
+[409] Ridout, Ten Years in Upper Canada, p. 282.
+
+[410] Niles' Register, vol. vi. p. 357.
+
+[411] June 8, 1814. Navy Department MSS.
+
+[412] Macomb's Report, Brannan's Military and Naval Letters, p. 415.
+Izard (Correspondence, p. 98) says, "There were at or about the works at
+Plattsburg not less than three thousand regulars, of whom fifteen
+hundred were fit for duty in the field. In the number were three
+companies of artillery."
+
+[413] General Benjamin Mooers, who was in command of the New York State
+militia during these operations, in a letter to Governor Tompkins, dated
+Sept. 16, 1814 (Gov. Tompkins MSS. vol. ix. pp. 212-217, State Library,
+Albany, N.Y.), claims that Macomb was here less than just to the
+militia, "many of whom stood their ground as long as it was tenable"
+during the first day. In a general order issued by him Sept. 8 (Niles'
+Register, vol. vii. p. 70), he spoke of some "who fled at the first
+approach of the enemy, and afterwards basely disbanded themselves, and
+returned home." Macomb himself wrote that after the first day, when the
+army had retired to the works, "the militia behaved with great spirit."
+
+[414] For copies of these letters, and of Macdonough's reply and
+endorsement, I am indebted to Mr. Rodney Macdonough, the Commodore's
+grandson. Cochran's is dated March 22, and Colden's June 26, 1815;
+Macdonough's reply July 3. It is well to note that all these preceded
+the British naval court martial, held in Portsmouth, Aug. 18-21, 1815,
+where the testimony that the squadron was within range was unanimous and
+accepted by the Court.
+
+[415] The first lieutenant of the "Confiance" in his evidence said that
+it was not more than ten minutes after the ship rounded Cumberland Head
+that the enemy began firing at her, and that the shot at first fell
+short. As far as it goes, this would show that the American squadron was
+over a mile from the Head; and, if so, scarcely more than a mile from
+the batteries.
+
+[416] For information as to ranges, the author applied to Professor
+Philip R. Alger, U.S. Navy, whose intimate acquaintance with questions
+of ordnance and gunnery is known throughout his service.
+
+[417] Vol. viii. p. 70, April 1, 1815.
+
+[418] These two letters of Macomb are given in the "Account of the
+Public Life of Sir George Prevost," p. 165.
+
+[419] Izard's Correspondence, p. 98.
+
+[420] Yeo to the Admiralty, Sept. 24, 1814. From a copy in the Court
+Martial Record.
+
+[421] In his Narrative, submitted to the Court Martial, Captain Pring
+stated that Prevost wished a joint attack, because, in the advance along
+the head of Cumberland Bay, the left flank of the army, when crossing
+Dead Creek, had been much annoyed by the American gunboats. He feared
+the same in crossing the Saranac to the assault of the works, and wanted
+the navy to draw off the gunboats.
+
+[422] Robertson's Narrative before the Court Martial.
+
+[423] The correspondence between Prevost and Downie, Sept. 7-10, is in
+the Canadian Archives, M. 389.6. pp. 176-183.
+
+[424] This letter of Major Coore, published in a Canadian paper, Feb.
+26, 1815, is to be found in the Canadian Archives MSS., M. 389.6. p.
+287.
+
+[425] Court Martial Evidence.
+
+[426] Evidence of Pring, and of Brydone, master of the "Confiance,"
+before the Court Martial. Robertson in his narrative is equally positive
+and explicit on this point.
+
+[427] Robertson's Narrative.
+
+[428] Robertson's Narrative.
+
+[429] Macdonough's Report.
+
+[430] Pronounced "wynd."
+
+[431] Robertson's Narrative.
+
+[432] A spring is a rope taken from the stern of a ship to the anchor,
+by hauling on which the ship is turned in the direction desired.
+
+[433] Brydone's Evidence.
+
+[434] Evidence of Sailing Master Brydone.
+
+[435] Macdonough's Report.
+
+[436] For the battle of Lake Champlain much the most complete and
+satisfactory evidence is the Record of the British Court Martial. There
+having been no dispute on the American side, as between Perry and
+Elliott at Lake Erie, there has not been the same output of conflicting
+statements, tending to elucidate as well as to confuse. Commander Henley
+of the "Eagle" was apparently dissatisfied with Macdonough's report, as
+the Commodore (apparently) was with his action. This drew from him a
+special report. Navy Department MSS. Niles' Register, vol. vii.
+Supplement, p. 135, contains this letter with many verbal changes, which
+do not materially affect its purport.
+
+[437] Cochrane arrived at Bermuda March 6; but, despite his urgency and
+evident annoyance, Warren, who was senior, and had had ample notice of
+his supersession, took his own leisurely time about giving over the
+command, which he did not do till April 1, sailing for England April 8.
+
+[438] Bathurst to Ross, Sept. 6, 1814. War Office, Entry Book.
+
+[439] Pigot's Report to Cochrane, June 8, 1814. Admiralty In-Letters
+MSS.
+
+[440] Cochrane to the Admiralty, June 20, 1814. Admiralty In-Letters
+MSS.
+
+[441] Admiralty to Cochrane, Aug. 10, 1814. The reference in the text
+depends upon a long paper near the end of vol. 39, British War Office
+Records, which appears to the writer to have been drawn up for the use
+of the ministry in parliamentary debate. It gives step by step the
+procedure of the Government in entering on the New Orleans undertaking.
+
+[442] Bathurst to Ross, Sept. 6, 1814. British War Office Records.
+
+[443] Naval Chronicle, vol. xxxiii. p. 429.
+
+[444] American State Papers, Foreign Relations, vol. iii. p. 397.
+
+[445] Ibid., p. 572.
+
+[446] Niles' Register, vol. iii. p. 182.
+
+[447] Ibid., vol. vii. pp. 133-135.
+
+[448] Cochrane to the Admiralty, Oct. 3, 1814. Admiralty In-Letters.
+
+[449] Ibid.
+
+[450] Neither Cochrane nor Lockyer gives the number of the British
+boats; but as there were three divisions, drawn from five ships of the
+line and three or four frigates, besides smaller vessels, Jones' count
+was probably accurate. He had ample time to observe.
+
+[451] The gunboats of Jefferson's building had no names, and were
+distinguished by number only.
+
+[452] Jones' Report of this affair is found in Niles' Register, vol.
+viii. p. 126; those of Cochrane and Lockyer in the Naval Chronicle, vol.
+xxxiii. pp. 337-341.
+
+[453] So styled in Cochrane's Report, which also speaks of it as Bayou
+Catalan. The name does not appear on the map of Major Latour, chief of
+engineers to Jackson, who in his report calls the whole bayou Bienvenu.
+
+[454] Gleig, Narrative of the Campaign of Washington, Baltimore, and New
+Orleans, pp. 282-288.
+
+[455] Gleig, pp. 308-309.
+
+[456] Gleig's Narrative, p. 321. Cochrane's Report, Naval Chronicle,
+vol. xxxiii. p. 341. Report of Major C.R. Forrest, British Assistant
+Quarter-master-General, War Office Records.
+
+[457] Thornton's Report. James' Military Occurrences of the War of 1812,
+vol. ii., p. 547.
+
+[458] James' Military Occurrences, vol. ii. p. 547.
+
+[459] Niles' Register, vols. vii. and viii., gives a large number of the
+official reports, as well British as American, concerning the New
+Orleans Expedition. So also does James in his "Military Occurrences" and
+"Naval Occurrences" of the War of 1812. Regarded in outline, as is
+attempted in the text, the operations are of a simple character,
+presenting no difficulties.
+
+[460] Captains' Letters. Navy Department MSS.
+
+[461] Ibid., Sept. 26, 1814.
+
+[462] Decatur to Navy Department, April 9, 1814. Captains' Letters.
+
+[463] A razee is a ship cut down, and reduced from her original rate.
+The "Majestic" had been a seventy-four, and probably was the same vessel
+which under that name and rate took part in the battle of the Nile. The
+expedient of razeeing had been adopted by the British Government, in
+order rapidly to prepare vessels superior to the American forty-fours,
+yet less costly in crews than ships of the line. These razees were rated
+as carrying fifty-six guns.
+
+[464] Deposition of Commodore Decatur at Bermuda. Naval Chronicle, vol.
+xxxiii. p. 371.
+
+[465] Decatur's Report. Niles' Register, vol. viii. p. 8. In his
+deposition Decatur says "the 'Tenedos' did not fire at the time of such
+surrender."
+
+[466] The loss of the "President" was twenty-four killed, fifty-five
+wounded. (Decatur's Report.) That of the "Endymion," eleven killed and
+fourteen wounded. (Naval Chronicle, vol. xxxiii. p. 262.)
+
+[467] Naval Chronicle, vol. xxxiii. p. 370.
+
+[468] Captain Hayes' Report. Niles' Register, vol. viii. p. 175. Naval
+Chronicle, vol. xxxiii. p. 261.
+
+[469] Niles' Register, vol. viii. p. 147.
+
+[470] The armament of the "Cyane" is that reported by Lieut. Hoffman,
+U.S. Navy, who brought her to the United States. Niles' Register, vol.
+viii. p. 134.
+
+[471] The "Cyane" reached a United States port, but the "Levant" was
+recaptured by a British squadron. Both names remained in the United
+States Navy till the Civil War. A "Levant," built in succession to the
+one captured, was lost at sea in 1860--never heard from.
+
+[472] The account given in the text depends upon Stewart's "minutes of
+the action" (Niles' Register, vol. viii. p. 219), compared with the
+"Constitution's" log (Navy Department MSS.), of which the minutes are a
+development.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVIII
+
+THE PEACE NEGOTIATIONS
+
+
+The Government of the United States had been honestly loath to declare
+war in 1812, and had signalized its reluctance by immediate advances
+looking to a restoration of peace. These were made through Jonathan
+Russell, the _chargé d'affaires_ in London when hostilities began. To
+use the expression of Monroe, then Secretary of State, "At the moment
+of the declaration of war, the President, regretting the necessity
+which produced it, looked to its termination, and provided for
+it."[473] The two concessions required as indispensable, in the
+overture thus referred to, dated June 26, 1812, were the revocation of
+the Orders in Council, and the abandonment of the practice of
+impressing from American merchant ships. Should these preliminary
+conditions be obtained, Russell was authorized to stipulate an
+armistice, during which the two countries should enter upon
+negotiations, to be conducted either at Washington or in London, for
+the settlement of all points of difference.
+
+Russell made this communication to Castlereagh August 24, 1812. Before
+this date Admiral Warren had sailed from England for the American
+command, carrying with him the propositions of the British Government
+for a suspension of hostilities, consequent upon the repeal of the
+Orders in Council.[474] In view of Warren's mission, and of the fact
+that Russell had no powers to negotiate, but merely to conclude an
+arrangement upon terms which he could not alter, and which his
+Government had laid down in ignorance of the revocation of the Orders,
+Castlereagh declined to discuss with him the American requirements. "I
+cannot, however," he wrote, "refrain on one single point from
+expressing my surprise, namely, that as a condition preliminary even
+to a suspension of hostilities, the Government of the United States
+should have thought fit to demand that the British Government should
+desist from its ancient and accustomed practice of impressing British
+seamen from the merchant ships of a foreign state, simply on the
+assurance that a law shall hereafter be passed to prohibit the
+employment of British seamen in the public or commercial service of
+that state."[475] "The Government could not consent to suspend the
+exercise of a right upon which the naval strength of the empire mainly
+depends," until fully convinced that the object would be assured by
+other means. To a subsequent modification of the American
+propositions, in form, though not in tenor, the British minister
+replied in the same spirit, throwing the weight of his objections upon
+the question of impressment, which indeed remained alone of the two
+causes of rupture.[476]
+
+Commendable as was its desire for peace, the American Government had
+made the mistake of being unwilling to insure it by due and timely
+preparation for war. In these advances, therefore, its adversary
+naturally saw not magnanimity, but apprehension. Russell, in reporting
+his final interview, wrote, "Lord Castlereagh once observed somewhat
+loftily, that if the American Government was so anxious _to get rid of
+the war_,[477] it would have an opportunity of doing so on learning
+the revocation of the Orders in Council." The American representative
+rejoined with proper spirit; but the remark betrayed the impression
+produced by this speedy offer, joined to the notorious military
+unreadiness of the United States. Such things do not make for peace.
+The British ministry, like a large part of the American people, saw in
+the declaration of war a mere variation upon the intermittent policy
+of commercial restrictions of the past five years; an attempt to
+frighten by bluster. In such spirit Monroe, in this very letter of
+June 26 to Russell, had dwelt upon the many advantages to be derived
+from peace with the United States; adding, "not to mention the
+injuries which cannot fail to result from a prosecution of the war."
+In transcribing his instructions, Russell discreetly omitted the
+latter phrase; but the omission, like the words themselves, betrays
+consciousness that the Administration was faithful to the tradition of
+its party, dealing in threats rather than in deeds. Through great part
+of the final negotiations the impression thus made remained with the
+British ministers.
+
+On September 20, 1812, the Chancellor of the Russian Empire requested
+a visit from the American minister resident at St. Petersburg, Mr.
+John Quincy Adams. In the consequent interview, the next evening, the
+Chancellor said that the Czar, having recently made peace and
+re-established commercial intercourse with Great Britain, was much
+concerned that war should have arisen almost immediately between her
+and the United States. Hostilities between the two nations, which
+together nearly monopolized the carrying trade of the world, would
+prevent the economical benefits to Russia expected from the recent
+change in her political relations. The question was then asked,
+whether a proffer of Russian mediation would be regarded favorably by
+the United States. Adams had not yet received official intelligence
+even of the declaration of war, and was without information as to the
+views of his Government on the point suggested; but he expressed
+certainty that such an advance would be cordially met, and he could
+foresee no obstacle to its entertainment. The proposal was accordingly
+made to the President, through the customary channels, and on March
+11, 1813, was formally accepted by him. James A. Bayard and Albert
+Gallatin were nominated commissioners, conjointly with Mr. Adams, to
+act for the United States in forming a treaty of peace under the
+mediation of the Czar. They sailed soon afterwards.
+
+The American acceptance reached St. Petersburg about June 15; but on
+that day Adams was informed by the Chancellor that his despatches from
+London signified the rejection of the Russian proposition by the
+British Government, on the ground that the differences with the United
+States involved principles of the internal government of Great
+Britain, which could not be submitted to the discussion of any
+mediation.[478] As the Russian Court was then in campaign, at the
+headquarters of the allied armies, in the tremendous operations of the
+summer of 1813 against Napoleon, much delay necessarily ensued. On
+September 1, however, the British ambassador, who was accompanying the
+Court in the field, presented a formal letter reaffirming the
+unwillingness of his Government to treat under mediation, but offering
+through the Czar, whose mediatorial advance was so far recognized, to
+nominate plenipotentiaries to meet those of the United States in
+direct consultation. In the backward and forward going of despatches
+in that preoccupied and unsettled moment, it was not till near
+November 1 that the British Foreign Office heard from the ambassador
+that the American commissioners were willing so to treat, and desirous
+to keep their business separate from that of the continent of Europe;
+but that their powers were limited to action through the mediation of
+Russia. Castlereagh then, on November 4, addressed a note to the
+United States Government, offering a direct negotiation. This was
+accepted formally, January 5, 1814;[479] and Henry Clay with Jonathan
+Russell were added to the commission already constituted, raising the
+number of members to five. The representatives of Great Britain were
+three: Admiral Lord Gambier, Henry Goulburn, and William Adams. Ghent
+was fixed upon for the place of meeting.
+
+The instructions issued to the American commissioners were voluminous.
+They contained not only the requirements of the Government, but
+arguments from every point of view, and alternatives of several
+descriptions, to meet anticipated objections. Such elaboration was
+perhaps necessary when negotiation was to take place so remote from
+communication with home. On one point, however, as originally issued
+in contemplation of Russian mediation, demand was peremptory.
+Impressment must cease, by stipulation. "If this encroachment of Great
+Britain is not provided against, the United States have appealed to
+arms in vain." At that moment, April 15, 1813,[480] the flush of
+expectation was still strong. "Should improper impressions have been
+taken of the probable consequences of the war, you will have ample
+means to remove them. It is certain that from its prosecution Great
+Britain can promise to herself no advantage, while she exposes herself
+to great expenses and to the danger of still greater losses." Nine
+months later, looking to direct negotiation, the same confident tone
+is maintained. "On impressment, the sentiments of the President have
+undergone no change. This degrading practice must cease.... No
+concession is contemplated on any point in controversy;"[481] and
+three weeks afterwards, February 14, 1814, "Should peace be made in
+Europe, it is presumed that the British Government would have less
+objection to forbear impressment for a specified term, than it would
+have should the war continue. In concluding a peace, even in case of a
+previous general peace in Europe, it is important to obtain such a
+stipulation."[482] On June 27, the note was lowered. "If found
+indispensably necessary to terminate the war, you may omit any
+stipulation on the subject of impressment." This was in pursuance of
+the Cabinet determination of June 27, already quoted.[483] It
+abandoned the only ground for war that had existed since August, 1812,
+when the Orders in Council were known to have been repealed. The
+commissioners were indeed to do their best to obtain from the British
+Government the demanded concessions, not in the matter of impressment
+only, but on the whole subject of irregular blockades, which underlay
+the Orders in Council, as well as on other maritime questions in
+dispute; but in pressing such demands they were under orders to fall
+back before resistance. From the opening of the colloquy they were on
+the defensive.
+
+Quite different was the position assumed at first by the British
+Government and people. The events of the critical year 1813, both in
+Europe and America, had changed the entire outlook. Alexander Baring,
+whose general attitude towards the United States was friendly, wrote
+to Gallatin, October 12, 1813, "We wish for peace, but the pressure of
+the war upon our commerce and manufactures is over. They have ample
+relief in other quarters; indeed, the dependence of the two countries
+on each other was overrated." He was positive that there would be no
+concession on impressment. Again, on December 14, "The pressure of
+the war is diminished. Commerce is now abundantly prosperous."[484]
+Gallatin himself had occasion to spend some time in London during the
+succeeding spring,--1814. Quotation from his observations has been
+made already.[485] In a letter of April 21,--after Napoleon's
+abdication,--"The prosecution of war with the United States would
+afford a convenient pretext for preserving a more considerable
+standing force."[486] This would be a useful element in the
+troublesome diplomacy to be foreseen, in settling the disturbed
+affairs of Europe; and the Government stood in need of reasons for
+maintaining the pressure of taxation, which was already eliciting, and
+later in the year still more elicited, symptoms of great discontent
+and dangerous Parliamentary opposition. Yet in its conduct towards
+America the Cabinet had the people behind it. Two months later,
+Gallatin wrote to the Secretary of State, "You may rest assured of the
+general hostile spirit of this nation, and of its wish to inflict
+serious injury on the United States; that no assistance can be
+expected from Europe; and that no better terms will be obtained than
+the _status ante bellum_."[487]
+
+At the time of this writing, June 13, the British Foreign Secretary,
+Lord Castlereagh, returned from Paris, where he had been spending the
+two months succeeding the first abdication of Napoleon. During this
+period formal peace with France had been established, and the Bourbons
+reseated on her throne. His instructions to the British commissioners
+at Ghent, issued July 28, were framed on lines which showed
+consciousness of mastery.[488] The question of abandoning the
+practice of impressment would not be so much as entertained. The Rule
+of 1756 should "rest on its own clear and well established
+authority."[489] The commissioners were not even to discuss it.
+Equally decisive was the position taken with regard to questions of
+irregular blockades, and of compensation for seizures under the Orders
+in Council. When these were presented by the American commissioners,
+the first was waived aside, as one on which there was no difference of
+abstract principle; while as to the second, "you cannot be too
+peremptory in discouraging, at the outset, the smallest expectation of
+any restitution of captures made under the Orders in Council."[490]
+
+Military and naval weakness, combined with the changed conditions in
+Europe, made the United States powerless when thus confronted with
+refusal. The British Secretary stood on far less sure ground, as to
+success, when he began to formulate his own demands. These were
+essentially two: suitable arrangements for the Indians, and a
+rectification of the frontiers. There was a third question, concerning
+the fisheries on the Great Banks of Newfoundland. As to these, the
+general right of all nations to frequent the Banks, being open sea,
+was explicitly admitted; but the subjects of a foreign state had no
+right to fish within the maritime jurisdiction of Great Britain, much
+less to land with their catch on coasts belonging to her. The
+provisions of the Treaty of 1783 therefore would not be renewed,
+unless for an equivalent.
+
+As regarded the Indians, an adequate arrangement of their interests
+was a _sine quâ non_ of peace; nor would a full and express
+recognition of present limits by itself alone fulfil this demand.
+There must be security for its future observance. The particular
+method by which this observance should be maintained was not made
+indispensable; but it was plainly stated in the instructions that the
+best means was "a mutual guarantee of the Indian possessions, as they
+shall be established upon the peace, against encroachment on the part
+of either State." The suggestion, in its logical consequence and in
+its intent, went to establishing the communities of Indians as a
+sovereign state, with boundaries guaranteed by Great Britain and the
+United States,--a most entangling alliance. In support of this,
+Castlereagh alleged that such a barrier of separation possessed a
+distinct advantage over a line of contact between the two guaranteeing
+states, such as now existed in their common boundary. The collisions
+incident to intercourse between red and white men were easily
+transferred from side to side of such a conventional line, causing
+continual disputes. The advantages of a buffer state, to use the
+modern term, would be secured by the proposed arrangement. Writing to
+the prime minister, the Earl of Liverpool, he said, "The question is
+one of expediency; and not of principle, as the American commissioners
+have endeavored to make it. It does not follow, because, in the year
+1783, the two States, not perhaps very justly, took a common boundary,
+thereby assuming a sort of sovereignty over the Indians, that they may
+not mutually recede from that boundary, if a frontier conterminous
+with that of the Indians is preferable to one with each other."[491]
+
+However plausible reasoning based upon such premises might seem to the
+party advancing it, it could not qualify the fact that it required
+from the United States a large cession of territory, to be
+surrendered to the Indians under British guarantee. Such a demand was
+a dangerous diplomatic weapon to put within reach of a commission, of
+which Adams and Gallatin were members. In presenting it, also, the
+British representatives went beyond the letter of their instructions,
+issued by Castlereagh on July 28, and enlarged August 14. Not only was
+the inclusion of the Indians in the peace to be a _sine quâ non_, but
+they wrote, "_It is equally necessary_" that a definite boundary be
+assigned, and the integrity of their possessions mutually
+guaranteed.[492] This paper was submitted to Castlereagh as he passed
+through Ghent to Paris, on his way to the Vienna Conference. "Had I
+been to prepare the note given in on our part, I should have been less
+peremptory;" but, like many superiors, he hesitated to fetter the men
+in immediate charge, and "acquiesced in the expression, 'It is equally
+necessary, etc.,' which is very strong."[493] The prime minister was
+still more deprecatory. He wrote Castlereagh, "Our commissioners had
+certainly taken a very erroneous view of our policy. If the
+negotiations had been allowed to break off upon the two notes already
+presented, ... I am satisfied the war would have become popular in
+America."[494]
+
+The American commissioners could see this also, and were quick to use
+the advantage given by the wording of the paper before them, to
+improve the status of the United States in the negotiation; for one of
+the great weaknesses, on which Great Britain reckoned, was the
+disunion of American sentiment on the subject of the war. Of their
+reply, dated August 24, Castlereagh wrote, "It is extremely material
+to answer the American note, as it is evidently intended to rouse the
+people upon the question of their independence."[495] Besides the
+Indian proposition, the British note of August 19 had conveyed also
+the explicit views of the ministry as to rectification of frontier.
+Stated briefly, the chain of the Great Lakes was asserted to be a
+military barrier essential to the security of Canada, as the weaker
+community in North America. To assure it, no territorial cession was
+required; but the lakes should be in the sole military tenure of Great
+Britain. The United States might use them freely for commercial
+purposes, but should maintain on them no ship of war, nor build any
+fortification on their shores, or within a certain distance, to be
+fixed by agreement. In addition to this, on the side of the lower St.
+Lawrence, there was to be such a cession of the northern part of Maine
+as would establish a direct communication between Quebec and Halifax.
+The American reply of August 24[496] discussed these questions,
+patiently but instructively. The matters involved were made plain for
+the American reader, and the paper closed with the clear intimation
+that before such terms were accepted there must be a great deal more
+fighting. "It is not necessary to refer such demands to the American
+Government for instructions. They will only be a fit subject of
+deliberation when it becomes necessary to decide upon the expediency
+of an absolute surrender of national independence." So far as the
+British proposals went, the question was military, not diplomatic; for
+soldiers and seamen to decide, not for negotiators.
+
+So it stood, and so in the solution it proved. The American
+commissioners held firm to this ground; while on the part of the British
+there was thenceforth a continual effort to escape from a false
+position, or to temporize, until some favorable change of circumstances
+might enable them to insist. "The substance of the question," wrote
+Castlereagh to the prime minister, "is, are we prepared to continue the
+war for territorial arrangements. If not, is this the best time to make
+peace, or is it desirable to take the chances of the campaign and then
+to be governed by circumstances?"[497] "If our campaign in Canada should
+be as successful as our military preparations would lead us to expect,"
+... replied Liverpool, "if our commander does his duty, I am persuaded
+we shall have acquired by our arms every point on the Canadian frontier,
+which we ought to insist on keeping."[498]
+
+By these considerations the next British note was dictated, and
+presented September 4.[499] It simply argued the question, with
+dilatory design, in a somewhat minatory tone. "I think it not
+unlikely," Liverpool had written with reference to it, "that the
+American commissioners will propose to refer the subject to their
+Government. In that case, the negotiation may be adjourned till the
+answer is received, and we shall know the result of the campaign
+before it can be resumed." But the Americans did not refer. They too
+needed time for their people to learn what now was the purpose of
+hostilities, which the British envoys had precipitately stated as an
+indispensable concession, and to manifest the national temper under
+the changed circumstances; but they did not choose that the matter
+should be stated as one open to discussion. They knew well enough the
+harassment of maintaining a land warfare three thousand miles from
+Great Britain, as well as the dangers threatening the European
+situation and embarrassing the British ministry. They in turn
+discussed at length, scrutinizing historically the several arguments
+of their opponents; but their conclusion was foregone. The two
+propositions--first, of assigning "a definite boundary to the Indians
+living within the limit of the United States, beyond which boundary
+they [the United States] should stipulate not to acquire any
+territory; secondly, of securing the exclusive military possession of
+the lakes to Great Britain--are both inadmissible. We cannot subscribe
+to, and would deem useless to refer to our Government, any arrangement
+containing either of these propositions." The British Government was
+not permitted any subterfuge to escape from the premature insistence
+upon cession of territory made by their envoys, which would tend to
+unite the people in America; nor was it to be anticipated that
+prolonged hostilities for such an object would be acceptable in Great
+Britain.
+
+The pre-eminence given to the Indian question by Great Britain in
+these negotiations was due to the importance attached by British local
+officials to the aid of the savages in war, and to a sensitive
+conviction that, when thus utilized, they should not be abandoned in
+peace. Their military value was probably over-estimated. It consisted
+chiefly in numbers, in which the British were inferior, and in the
+terror produced by their cruelties; doubtless, also, in some degree to
+their skill in woodcraft; but they were not dependable. Such as it
+was, their support went usually to the weaker party; not because the
+Indian naturally sided with the weaker, but because he instinctively
+recognized that from the stronger he had most to fear. Therefore in
+colonial days France, in later days Great Britain, in both cases
+Canada, derived more apparent profit from their employment than did
+their opponent, whose more numerous white men enabled him to dispense
+with the fickle and feebler aid of the aborigines.
+
+Before the firm attitude of the note of September 9, the British
+Government again procrastinated, and receded from demands which sound
+policy should from the first have recognized as untenable, unless
+reposing upon decisive military success and occupation. On September
+19, their commissioners replied[500] that while the exclusive military
+possession of the lakes would be conducive to a good understanding,
+without endangering the security of the United States, it had not been
+advanced as a _sine quâ non_. A final proposition on the subject of
+the Canadian boundaries would be made, when the Indian question was
+settled. Concerning this, they were "authorized distinctly to declare
+that they are instructed not to sign a treaty of peace, unless the
+Indian nations are included in it, and restored to all the rights,
+privileges, and territories, which they enjoyed in the year 1811," by
+treaties then existing. "From this point the British plenipotentiaries
+cannot depart." They were instructed further to _offer for discussion_
+an article establishing Indian boundaries, within which the two
+countries should bind themselves not to make acquisitions by purchase
+during a term of years. To the absence of Lord Castlereagh, and
+consequent private correspondence between him and his colleagues in
+London, we owe the knowledge that the question of purchasing Indian
+lands, and the guarantee, would no longer be insisted on; and that the
+military control of the lakes was now reduced in purpose to the
+retention of Forts Michilimackinac and Niagara.[501] The intention
+remained, however, to insist upon the Indian provisions as just
+stated.
+
+On September 26, the American commission replied that, as thus
+presented, there was no apparent difference in the purposes of the two
+nations as regarded the substantial welfare of the Indians themselves.
+The United States meant towards them peace, and the placing them in
+the position in which they stood before the war. "The real difference
+was" in the methods proposed. Great Britain "insisted on including the
+Indians, as allies, in the treaty of peace between her and the United
+States." But the Indians concerned dwelt within the acknowledged
+bounds of the United States, and their political relations towards her
+were no concern of Great Britain; nor could any arrangement be
+admitted which would constitute them independent communities, in whose
+behalf Great Britain might hereafter claim a right to interfere. The
+error underlying the British demand was the assumption that the Indian
+tribes were independent; whereas, in their relation to foreign
+countries, they were merely dwellers in the United States, who had
+made war upon her in co-operation with Great Britain. The upshot was a
+mutual agreement, drawn up by the British plenipotentiaries, that upon
+the conclusion of peace each state would put an end to hostilities in
+which it might be engaged with the Indians, and would restore them to
+the rights enjoyed before 1811. The Americans accepted this, subject
+to ratification at home, on the ground that, while it included the
+Indians in the peace, it did not do so as parties to the treaty, and
+left the manner of settlement in the hands of each Government
+interested. The agreement thus framed formed one of the articles of
+the treaty.
+
+On September 27 the Gazette account of the capture of Washington was
+published in London. Lord Bathurst, who in the absence of Castlereagh
+was acting as Foreign Secretary, despatched the news the same day to
+the commissioners at Ghent, instructing them to assure the Americans
+that it made no difference in the British desire for peace, nor would
+modify unfavorably the requirements as to frontier, as yet
+unstated.[502] Liverpool wrote coincidently to Castlereagh, suggesting
+that he should communicate to the sovereigns and ministers at Vienna
+the moderation with which the Government was acting, as well as the
+tone assumed by the American commissioners, "so very different from
+what their situation appears to warrant." "I fear the Emperor of
+Russia is half an American, and it would be very desirable to do away
+any prejudices which may exist in his mind, or in that of Count
+Nesselrode, on this subject."[503] The remark is illuminating as to
+the reciprocal influence of the American contest and the European
+negotiations, and also as to the reasons for declining the proposed
+Russian mediation of 1813. The continent generally, and Russia
+conspicuously, held opinions on neutral maritime rights similar to
+those of the United States. Liverpool had already[504] expressed his
+wish to be well out of the war, although expecting decided military
+successes, and convinced that the terms as now reduced would be very
+unpopular in England; "but I feel too strongly the inconvenience of a
+continuance not to make me desirous of concluding it at the expense of
+some popularity."
+
+It was in this spirit, doubtless, that Bathurst instructed the envoys
+that, if the Americans wished to refer the very modified proposals, or
+to sign them conditional upon ratification at home, either proposition
+would be accepted; an assurance repeated on October 5.[505] Were
+neither alternative embraced as to the Indian settlement, the
+negotiation should be closed and the commission return to England.
+British military anticipation then stood high. Not only was the
+capture of Washington over-estimated, but Ross and Cochrane had
+impressed their Government with brilliant expectations. "They are very
+sanguine about the future operations. They intend, on account of the
+season, to proceed in the first instance to the northward, and to
+occupy Rhode Island, where they propose remaining and living upon the
+country until about the first of November. They will then proceed
+southward, destroy Baltimore, if they should find it practicable
+without too much risk, occupy several important points on the coast
+of Georgia and the Carolinas, take possession of Mobile in the
+Floridas, and close the campaign with an attack on New Orleans."[506]
+This was a large programme for a corps of the size of Ross', after all
+allowance made for the ease with which Washington had fallen. It is
+probably to be read in connection with the project of sending to
+America very large re-enforcements; so numerous, indeed, that Lord
+Hill, Wellington's second in the Peninsula, had been designated for
+the command. This purpose had been communicated to Ross and Cochrane;
+and at the time of the capture of Washington they had not received the
+letters notifying them that "circumstances had induced his Majesty's
+Government to defer their intention of employing so considerable a
+force in that quarter."[507] For this change of mind America doubtless
+was indebted to European considerations. Besides the expectations
+mentioned, the British Government had well-founded reasons to hope for
+control of Lake Ontario, and for substantial results from the handsome
+force placed at the disposal of Sir George Prevost, to which the
+triumphant expedition of Cochrane and Ross had been intended only as a
+diversion.
+
+Under these flattering anticipations were formulated the bases upon
+which to treat, now that the Indian question was out of the way. On
+October 18 and 20 Bathurst instructed the commissioners to propose, as
+a starting point, the principle that each party should hold what it
+had, subject to modifications for mutual accommodation. "Considering
+the relative situation of the two countries, the moderation evinced by
+his Majesty's Government in admitting this principle, (thereby
+surrendering claim to the future conquests), in the present state of
+the contest, must be manifest." When this was accepted, but not
+before, the mutual accommodations were to be suggested. The present
+captured possessions were stated to be: British, Fort Michilimackinac,
+Fort Niagara, and all the country east of the Penobscot; the American,
+Fort Erie and Fort Malden. Upon the surrender of the two latter, Great
+Britain would restore the forts at Castine and Machias. She would
+retain Mackinac and Fort Niagara, the latter with a surrounding strip
+of five miles of territory; and in exchange (apparently) for "all the
+country east of the Penobscot," would accept that part of Maine which
+lies north of the Aroostook River, thus insuring between Quebec and
+Halifax a direct communication, wholly under British jurisdiction.
+
+There were some further minor matters of detail, unnecessary to mention;
+the more so that they did not come formally before the American
+commissioners, who immediately rejected the proposed principle of _uti
+possidetis_, and replied, October 24, that they were not empowered to
+yield any territory, and could treat only on the basis of entire mutual
+restitution. This Liverpool testily likened to the claim of the French
+revolutionary Government[508] that territory could not be ceded because
+contrary to the fundamental law of the Republic. In the American case,
+however, it was substantially an affirmation that the military
+conditions did not warrant surrender. Meanwhile, on October 21, the news
+of Macdonough's victory reached London from American sources. Although
+the British official accounts did not arrive until some time later,
+Liverpool, writing to Castlereagh on that day, admitted that there could
+be no doubt of the defeat of the flotilla.[509] Despite this check, the
+Cabinet still cherished hopes of further successes, and were unwilling
+yet to abandon entirely the last inches of the ground heretofore
+assumed. "Had it not been for this unfortunate adventure on Lake
+Champlain," wrote Bathurst to Castlereagh, "I really believe we should
+have signed a peace by the end of this month. This will put the enemy in
+spirits. The campaign will end in our doing much where we thought we
+should have done little, and doing nothing where we expected
+everything."[510] He announced the intention to send Pakenham in Ross'
+place for the New Orleans expedition, and to increase his force in the
+spring, should the war last till then. Meanwhile, it might be well to
+let the Powers assembled at Vienna understand that, whatever the success
+in Louisiana, the inhabitants would be distinctly told that in no case
+would the country be taken under British protection. They might be
+granted independence, but preferably would be urged to place themselves
+again under the Spanish Crown; but they must know that, in treating with
+the United States, neither of these solutions would be made by Great
+Britain a _sine quâ non_. The Government had probably taken a distaste
+to that peremptory formula by the unsatisfactory result of the
+proposition about the Indians.
+
+This care concerning the effect produced upon the course of events at
+Vienna appears forcibly in the letters of Liverpool. After the receipt
+of the American commission's refusal to accept the basis of the _uti
+possidetis_, he wrote to Castlereagh, October 28, that he feared it
+put an end to any hopes of bringing the American war to a conclusion.
+The expectation of some favorable change in the aspect of affairs,
+however, decided the ministry to gain a little more time before
+bringing the negotiation to a close; and the envoys at Ghent were
+therefore to be instructed to demand a full _projet_ of all the
+American conditions before entering on further discussion. The same
+day Liverpool sent a second letter,[511] in which he said distinctly
+that, in viewing the European settlement, it was material to consider
+that the war with America would probably be of some duration; that
+enemies should not be made in other quarters by holding out too long
+on the questions of Poland, Naples, and Saxony, for he was
+apprehensive that "some of our European allies will not be indisposed
+to favor the Americans; and, if the Emperor of Russia should be
+desirous of taking up their cause, we are well aware from some of Lord
+Walpole's late communications that there is a most powerful party in
+Russia to support him. Looking to a continuance of the American war,
+our financial state is far from satisfactory. We shall want a loan for
+the ensuing year of £27,000,000 or £28,000,000. The American war will
+not cost us less than £10,000,000, in addition to our peace
+establishment and other expenses. We must expect, therefore, to have
+it said that the property tax is continued for the purpose of securing
+a better frontier for Canada." Castlereagh himself had already spoken
+of the financial conditions as "perfectly without precedent in our
+financial history."[512]
+
+The renewal of the European war, avowedly dreaded by Liverpool,[513]
+was thought not impossible by Castlereagh and Wellington; while
+conditions in France already threatened an explosion, such as
+Bonaparte occasioned in the succeeding March. "It is impossible,"
+wrote Wellington, "to conceive the distress in which individuals of
+all descriptions are. The only remedy is the revival of Bonaparte's
+system of war and plunder; and it is evident that cannot be adopted
+during the reign of the Bourbons."[514] Neither he nor Castlereagh
+doubted the imminence of the danger. "It sounds incredible," wrote the
+latter, "that Talleyrand should treat the notion of any agitation at
+Paris as wholly unfounded."[515] A plot was believed to exist, which
+embraced as one of its features the seizing of the Duke, and holding
+him as a hostage. He himself thought it possible, and saw no means in
+the French Government's hands adequate to resist. "You already know my
+opinion of the danger at Paris.... The event may occur any night, and
+if it should occur, I don't think I should be allowed to depart. My
+safety depends upon the King's;"[516] but he was characteristically
+averse to any step which bore the appearance of precipitate
+withdrawal.
+
+While the American negotiators were drawing up the _projet_ which they
+had decided to present in response to the British demand, the
+combination of circumstances just stated led the British ministry to
+resolve on removing Wellington from Paris on some pretext, lest his
+services should be lost to them in the emergency now momentarily
+dreaded. The urgency for peace with America co-operated to determine
+the ostensible reason, which was almost a true one. The American
+command was offered to him. "The Duke of Wellington would restore
+confidence to the army, place the military operations on a proper
+footing, and give us the best chance of peace. I know he is very
+anxious for the restoration of peace with America, if it can be made
+upon terms at all honorable. It is a material consideration, likewise,
+that if we shall be disposed for the sake of peace to give up
+something of our just pretensions, we can do this more creditably
+through him than through any other person."[517] Liverpool voiced the
+conclusions of the Cabinet, and it would be difficult for words to
+manifest more forcibly anxiety to escape from a situation. Wellington
+himself drew attention to this. "Does it not occur to your lordship
+that, by appointing me to go to America at this moment, you give
+ground for belief, all over Europe, that your affairs there are in a
+much worse situation than they really are? and will not my nomination
+at this moment be a triumph to the Americans, and their friends here
+and elsewhere?"[518] Conditions were alarming, but the action
+resembled panic.
+
+The offer, which was really a request, brought Wellington by a side
+wind into the American negotiations, and enabled him to give the
+Government the weight of his name and authority in concluding a peace
+otherwise than on their "just pretensions." The war, he said, has been
+honorable to Great Britain; meaning doubtless that, considering the
+huge physical mass and the proximity of the United States, it was well
+done to have escaped injury, as it was militarily disgraceful to the
+American Government, with such superiority, to have been so impotent.
+But, he continued, neither I nor any one else can achieve success, in
+the way of conquests, unless you have naval superiority on the lakes.
+That was what was needed; "not a general, nor general officers and
+troops. Till that superiority is acquired, it is impossible, according
+to my notion, to maintain an army in such a situation as to keep the
+enemy out of the whole frontier, much less to make any conquest from
+the enemy, which, with those superior means, might, with reasonable
+hopes of success, be undertaken.... The question is, whether we can
+obtain this naval superiority on the lakes. If we cannot, I shall do
+you but little good in America; and I shall go there only to prove the
+truth of Prevost's defence, and to sign a peace which might as well be
+signed now." This endorsed not only Prevost's retreat, but also the
+importance of Macdonough's victory. The Duke then added frankly that,
+in the state of the war, they had no right to demand any concession of
+territory. He brushed contemptuously aside the claim of occupying the
+country east of the Penobscot, on the ground of Sherbrooke's few
+companies at Castine, ready to retreat at a moment's notice. "If this
+reasoning be true, why stipulate for the _uti possidetis_?"[519]
+
+Penned November 9, the day before the American negotiators at Ghent
+handed in their requested _projet_, this letter may be regarded as
+decisive. November 13, Liverpool replied that the ministry was waiting
+anxiously for the American _projet_, ... and, "without entering into
+particulars, I can assure you that we shall be disposed to meet your
+views upon the points on which the negotiation appears to turn at
+present;" the points being the _uti possidetis_, with the several
+details of possession put forward by Bathurst. The American paper was in
+London before the 18th, when Liverpool wrote to Castlereagh, "I think we
+have determined, if all other points can be satisfactorily settled, not
+to continue the war for the purpose of obtaining, or securing, any
+acquisition of territory. We have been led to this determination by the
+consideration of the unsatisfactory state of the negotiations at Vienna,
+and by that of the alarming situation of the interior of France." "Under
+such circumstances, it has appeared to us desirable to bring the
+American war, if possible, to a conclusion."[520] The basis of the
+_status quo ante bellum_, sustained all along by the American
+commission, was thus definitely accepted, and so stated formally by
+Bathurst.[521]
+
+This fundamental agreement having been reached, the negotiations ran
+rapidly to a settlement without further serious hitch; a conclusion to
+which contributed powerfully the increasing anxiety of the British
+ministry over the menacing aspect of the Continent. The American
+_projet_,[522] besides the customary formal stipulations as to
+procedure for bringing hostilities to a close, consisted of articles
+embodying the American positions on the subjects of impressment and
+blockade, with claims for indemnity for losses sustained by irregular
+captures and seizures during the late hostilities between France and
+Great Britain; a provision aimed at the Orders in Council. These
+demands, which covered the motives of the war, and may be regarded as
+the offensive side of the American negotiation, were pronounced
+inadmissible at once by the British, and were immediately abandoned.
+Their presentation had been merely formal; the United States
+Government, within its own council chamber, had already recognized
+that they could not be enforced. The _projet_ included the agreement
+previously framed concerning the Indians; who were thus provided for
+in the treaty, though excluded from any recognition as parties to it,
+or as independent political communities. This was the only demand
+which Great Britain can be said fairly to have carried, and it was so
+far a reduction from her original requirement as to be unrecognizable.
+An American proposition, pledging each of the contracting parties not
+again to employ Indians in war, was rejected.
+
+The remaining articles of the _projet_, although entirely suitable to
+a treaty of peace, were not essentially connected with the war. The
+treaty merely gave a suitable occasion for presenting them. They
+provided for fixing, by mixed commissions, the boundary lines between
+the British possessions and the United States. These the Treaty of
+1783 had stated in terms which had as yet received no proper
+topographical determination. From the mouth of the St. Croix River,
+and the islands within it and in the adjacent sea, around, north and
+west, as far as the head of Lake Superior, the precise course of the
+bounding line needed definition by surveyors. These propositions were
+agreed to; but when it came to similar provision for settling the
+boundary of the new territories acquired by the Louisiana purchase, as
+far as the Rocky Mountains, difficulties arose. In the result it was
+agreed that the determination of the boundary should be carried as far
+as the most northwestern point of the Lake of the Woods, "in
+conformity with the true intent of the said Treaty of Peace of one
+thousand seven hundred and eighty-three." The treaty was silent on the
+subject of boundary westward of the Lake of the Woods, and this
+article of the _projet_ was dropped. It differed indeed from its
+associates, in providing the settlement for a new question, and not
+the definition of an old settlement. In conclusion, the British
+commissioners obtained the adoption of an agreement that both parties
+"would use their best endeavors to promote the entire abolition of the
+slave trade." In Great Britain the agitation for this measure had
+reached proportions which were not the least among the embarrassments
+of the ministry; and at this critical juncture the practical
+politicians conducting affairs found themselves constrained by a
+popular demand to press the subject upon the less sympathetic
+statesmen of the Cabinet.
+
+The American commissioners had made a good fight, and shown complete
+appreciation of the factors working continuously in their behalf. To
+the end, and even more evidently at the end, was apparent the
+increasing anxiety of the British Government, the reasonable cause for
+it in European conditions, and the immense difficulty under such
+circumstances of accomplishing any substantial military successes in
+America. The Duke of Wellington wrote that "all the American armies
+of which I ever read would not beat out of a field of battle the
+troops that went from Bordeaux last summer;"[523] but still, "his
+opinion is that no military advantage can be expected if the war goes
+on, and he would have great reluctance in undertaking the command
+unless we made a serious effort first to obtain peace, without
+insisting upon keeping any part of our conquests."[524] On December
+23, Liverpool sent a long and anxious letter to Castlereagh, in reply
+to his late despatches. The fear of a renewal of war on the Continent
+is prominent in his consideration, and it was recognized that the size
+of the European armaments, combined with the pecuniary burden of
+maintaining them, tended of itself to precipitate an outbreak. Should
+that occur, France could scarcely fail to be drawn in; and France, if
+involved, might direct her efforts towards the Low Countries, "the
+only object on the continent which would be regarded as a distinct
+British interest of sufficient magnitude to reconcile the country to
+war," with its renewed burden of taxation. "We are decidedly and
+unanimously of opinion that all your efforts should be directed to the
+continuance of peace. There is no mode in which the arrangements in
+Poland, Germany, and Italy, can be settled, consistently with the
+stipulations of the Treaty of Paris, which is not to be preferred,
+under present circumstances, to a renewal of hostilities between the
+Continental Powers." Coincidently with this, in another letter of the
+same day, he mentions the meetings which have taken place on account
+of the property tax, and the spirit which had arisen on the subject.
+"This, as well as other considerations, make us most anxious to get
+rid of the American war."[525]
+
+The Treaty of Ghent was signed December 24, 1814, by the eight
+commissioners. The last article provided for its ratification, without
+alteration, at Washington, within four months from the signature. A
+_chargé d'affaires_ to the United States was appointed, and directed
+to proceed at once in a British ship of war to America, with the
+Prince Regent's ratification, to be exchanged against that of the
+President; but he was especially instructed that the exchange should
+not be made unless the ratification by the United States was without
+alteration, addition, or exclusion, in any form whatsoever.
+Hostilities were not to cease until such action had taken place. The
+British Government were apparently determined that concessions wrung
+from them, by considerations foreign to the immediate struggle, should
+not be subjected to further modification in the Senate.
+
+Mr. Baker, the British _chargé_, sailed in the British sloop of war
+"Favorite," accompanied by Mr. Carroll bearing the despatches of the
+American commissioners. The "Favorite" arrived in New York on
+Saturday, February 11. The treaty was ratified by the President, as it
+stood, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, on the 17th
+of February, 1815.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+A year after the conclusion of peace, a weighty opinion as to the
+effect of the War of 1812 upon the national history was expressed by
+one of the commissioners, Mr. Albert Gallatin. For fifteen years past,
+no man had been in closer touch with the springs of national life,
+national policy, and national action; as representative in Congress,
+and as intimate adviser of two consecutive Presidents, in his position
+as Secretary of the Treasury. His experience, the perspicuity of his
+intellect, and his lucidity of thought and expression, give particular
+value to his conclusions; the more so that to some extent they are the
+condemnation, regretfully uttered, of a scheme of political conduct
+with the main ideas of which he had been closely identified. He wrote:
+"The war has been productive of evil and of good, but I think the good
+preponderates. Independent of the loss of lives, and of the property
+of individuals, the war has laid the foundations of permanent taxes
+and military establishments, which the Republicans[526] had deemed
+unfavorable to the happiness and free institutions of the country. But
+under our former system we were becoming too selfish, too much
+attached exclusively to the acquisition of wealth, above all, too much
+confined in our political feelings to local and state objects. The war
+has renewed and reinstated the national feelings and character which
+the Revolution had given, and which were daily lessening. The people
+have now more general objects of attachment, with which their pride
+and political opinions are connected. They are more Americans; they
+feel and act more as a nation; and I hope that the permanency of the
+Union is thereby better secured."[527]
+
+Such, even at so early a date, could be seen to be the meaning of the
+War of 1812 in the progress of the national history. The people, born
+by war to independence, had by war again been transformed from
+childhood, absorbed in the visible objects immediately surrounding it,
+to youth with its dawning vision and opening enthusiasms. They issued
+from the contest, battered by adversity, but through it at last fairly
+possessed by the conception of a national unity, which during days of
+material prosperity had struggled in vain against the predominance of
+immediate interests and local prepossessions. The conflict, indeed,
+was not yet over. Two generations of civic strife were still to
+signalize the slow and painful growth of the love for "The Union";
+that personification of national being, upon which can safely fasten
+the instinct of human nature to centre devotion upon a person and a
+name. But, through these years of fluctuating affections, the work of
+the War of 1812 was continuously felt. Men had been forced out of
+themselves. More and more of the people became more Americans; they
+felt and acted more as a nation; and when the moment came that the
+unity of the state was threatened from within, the passion for the
+Union, conceived in 1812, and nurtured silently for years in homes and
+hearts, asserted itself. The price to be paid was heavy. Again war
+desolated the land; but through war the permanency of the Union was
+secured. Since then, relieved from internal weakness, strong now in
+the maturity of manhood, and in a common motive, the nation has taken
+its place among the Powers of the earth.
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[473] Monroe to Russell, Aug. 21, 1812. American State Papers, Foreign
+Relations, vol. iii. p. 587.
+
+[474] Ante, vol. i. p. 390.
+
+[475] American State Papers, Foreign Relations, vol. iii. p. 590.
+
+[476] Correspondence between Russell and Castlereagh, Sept. 12-18, 1812;
+and Russell to Monroe, Sept. 17. American State Papers, Foreign
+Relations, vol. iii. pp. 591-595.
+
+[477] Russell's italics.
+
+[478] The correspondence relating to the Russian proffer of mediation is
+to be found in American State Papers, vol. iii. pp. 623-627.
+
+[479] American State Papers, vol. iii. pp. 621-622.
+
+[480] Ibid., pp. 695-700.
+
+[481] American State Papers, Foreign Relations, vol. iii. p. 701.
+
+[482] Ibid., p. 703.
+
+[483] Ante, p. 266, and note.
+
+[484] Writings of Albert Gallatin, edited by Henry Adams, vol. i. pp.
+586, 592.
+
+[485] Ante, p. 332.
+
+[486] Writings of Albert Gallatin, vol. i. p. 603.
+
+[487] Ibid., vol. i. p. 629.
+
+[488] A similar consciousness appears to the writer discernible in a
+letter of Wellington to Castlereagh, of May 25, 1814. To procure "the
+cession of Olivenza by Spain to Portugal, we could promise to _bind_
+North America, by a secret article in our treaty of peace, to give no
+encouragement, or _countenance_, or assistance, to the Spanish colonies"
+(then in revolt). Memoirs and Correspondence of Lord Castlereagh, series
+iii. vol. ii. p. 44. The italics are mine.
+
+[489] Castlereagh to the British commissioners, July 28, 1814.
+Castlereagh's Memoirs and Correspondence, series iii. vol. ii. p. 69.
+
+[490] Ibid., Aug. 14, 1814, pp. 88, 89.
+
+[491] Castlereagh to Liverpool, Paris, Aug. 28, 1814. Castlereagh
+Memoirs, p. 101.
+
+[492] Note of the British commissioners, Aug. 19, 1814. American State
+Papers, Foreign Relations, vol. iii. p. 710. My italics.
+
+[493] Castlereagh to Liverpool, Aug. 28, 1814. Castlereagh Memoirs,
+series iii. vol. ii. p. 100.
+
+[494] Liverpool to Castlereagh, Sept. 2, 1814. Castlereagh Papers MSS.
+
+[495] Castlereagh Memoirs, etc., series iii. vol. ii. p. 101.
+
+[496] American State Papers, Foreign Relations, vol. iii. pp. 711-713.
+
+[497] Castlereagh to Liverpool, August 28. Memoirs, etc., series iii.
+vol. ii. p. 102.
+
+[498] Liverpool to Castlereagh, September 2, Castlereagh Papers MSS.
+
+[499] American State Papers, Foreign Relations, vol. iii. p. 713.
+
+[500] American State Papers, Foreign Relations, vol. iii. p. 717.
+
+[501] Bathurst to Castlereagh, Sept. 16, 1814. Castlereagh Papers MSS.
+
+[502] Castlereagh Memoirs, series iii. vol. ii. p. 138.
+
+[503] Liverpool to Castlereagh, September 27. Castlereagh Papers MSS.
+
+[504] September 23. Ibid.
+
+[505] Castlereagh Memoirs, series iii. vol. ii. p. 148.
+
+[506] Liverpool to Castlereagh, Sept. 27, 1814. Castlereagh Papers MSS.
+
+[507] Ante, p. 385; and 384, note.
+
+[508] Liverpool to Castlereagh, Oct. 28. Castlereagh Papers MSS.
+
+[509] Liverpool to Castlereagh, Oct. 21, 1814. Ibid.
+
+[510] Bathurst to Castlereagh, Oct. 21, 1814. Castlereagh Papers MSS.
+
+[511] Castlereagh Papers MSS.
+
+[512] Castlereagh to Sir H. Wellesley, Sept. 9, 1814. Memoirs, series
+iii. vol. ii. p. 112.
+
+[513] Liverpool to Castlereagh, Nov. 2, 1814. Castlereagh Papers MSS.
+
+[514] Wellington to Liverpool, Nov. 9, 1814. Castlereagh Memoirs, series
+iii. vol. ii. p. 187.
+
+[515] Castlereagh to Wellington, Nov. 21, 1814. Castlereagh Memoirs,
+series iii. vol. ii. p. 205.
+
+[516] Wellington to Liverpool, Nov. 7 and 9, 1814. Ibid., pp. 186, 190.
+
+[517] Liverpool to Castlereagh, Nov. 4, 1814. Castlereagh MSS.
+
+[518] Wellington to Liverpool, Nov. 18, 1814. Castlereagh Letters,
+series iii. vol. ii. p. 203.
+
+[519] Wellington to Liverpool, Nov. 9, 1814. Castlereagh Memoirs, series
+iii. vol. ii. p. 189.
+
+[520] Liverpool to Castlereagh, Nov. 18, 1814. Castlereagh MSS.
+
+[521] Bathurst to the commissioners, Dec. 6, 1814. Castlereagh Memoirs,
+series iii. vol. ii. p. 214.
+
+[522] American State Papers, Foreign Relations, vol. iii. p. 735.
+
+[523] Castlereagh Memoirs, series iii. vol. ii. p. 188.
+
+[524] Liverpool to Castlereagh, Nov. 18, 1814. Castlereagh MSS.
+
+[525] Ibid., Dec. 23, 1814. Castlereagh MSS.
+
+[526] The contemporary name of the political party to which Jefferson,
+Madison, and Gallatin belonged.
+
+[527] Writings of Gallatin, May 7, 1816, vol. i. p. 700.
+
+
+
+
+INDEX
+
+
+_Actions, Land._
+ i.:
+ Detroit, 346;
+ Queenston, 357;
+ Niagara, 358;
+ Frenchtown, 370.
+ ii.:
+ York [Toronto], 36, 55;
+ Fort George, 38;
+ Sackett's Harbor, 42;
+ Stony Creek, 46;
+ Beaver Dam, 47;
+ Fort Meigs, 68;
+ Fort Stephenson, 73;
+ The Thames, 103;
+ Chrystler's Farm, 115;
+ Chippewa, 295;
+ Lundy's Lane, 306;
+ Fort Erie, 314, 316;
+ Bladensburg, 346;
+ Plattsburg, 366;
+ New Orleans, 394.
+
+_Actions, Naval._
+ i.:
+ Elliott's capture of "Caledonia" and "Detroit," 354;
+ "Constitution" and "Guerrière," 330;
+ "Frolic" and "Wasp," 412;
+ "Macedonian" and "United States," 416.
+ ii.:
+ "Constitution" and "Java," 3;
+ "Hornet" and "Peacock," 7;
+ squadron engagements on Lake Ontario, 1813, August 10, 56;
+ September 11, 60;
+ September 28, 107;
+ battle of Lake Erie, 76;
+ "Chesapeake" and "Shannon," 135;
+ "Boxer" and "Enterprise," 188;
+ "Argus" and "Pelican," 217;
+ "Essex" with "Phoebe" and "Cherub," 249;
+ "Wasp" and "Reindeer," 254;
+ "Wasp" and "Avon," 256;
+ "Epervier" and "Peacock," 259;
+ battle of Lake Champlain, 377;
+ gunboat squadron on Lake Borgne, 389;
+ "President" with British squadron, 398;
+ "Constitution" with "Cyane" and "Levant," 405;
+ "Hornet" and "Penguin," 407.
+
+_Actions, Privateer._
+ ii.:
+ "Globe" with British packets, 226;
+ "Decatur" and "Dominica," 233;
+ "Comet" and "Hibernia," 234;
+ "Saucy Jack" and "Pelham," 235;
+ "Saucy Jack" with "Volcano" and "Golden Fleece," 235;
+ "Kemp" with seven British merchantmen, 237;
+ "Chasseur" and "St. Lawrence," 238.
+
+_Acts of Congress._
+ To protect American shipping, i. 76, 80;
+ Non-Importation Act, against Great Britain, April, 1806, 113, 131, 183;
+ Embargo Act, December 22, 1807, 182;
+ Act for the better Enforcement of the Embargo, January 9, 1809, 208;
+ partial repeal of Embargo Act--"Non-Intercourse" Act against Great
+ Britain and France, March 1, 1809, 210, 211, 213, 214;
+
+ Act repealing Non-Intercourse Act, with a substitute, May 1, 1810,
+ 234, 235;
+ supplementary Act, reviving Non-Intercourse against Great Britain
+ alone, March 2, 1811, 248, 249;
+ Embargo Act for ninety days, war measure, April 4, 1812, 263;
+ Declaration of War, June 18, 1812, 279.
+
+_Adams, John._ Minister to Great Britain.
+ French colonial principles, i. 28;
+ British interest in navigation, 11, 30 (and note);
+ public opinion in England, as observed by him, 47, 63, 64, 69, 79;
+ remonstrates against impressment of American seamen, 119;
+ President of United States, instructs against impressment, 121;
+ care for the navy, ii. 213.
+
+_Adams, John Quincy._ Senator from Massachusetts.
+ Opinions as to Orders in Council, i. 178-181;
+ opinions on a navy, 186;
+ Minister to Russia, ii. 411;
+ commissioner to treat for peace, 412.
+
+"_Adams._" American frigate.
+ Blockaded in Potomac, ii. 162, 169-170, 174;
+ escapes, 178;
+ cruise of, 226, 261;
+ runs ashore on Isle au Haut, 353;
+ takes refuge in Penobscot, and destroyed to escape capture, 354.
+
+_Allen, William H._ Commander, U.S.N.
+ Commands "Argus," ii. 216;
+ killed in action, 218.
+
+"_America._"
+ Private armed ship, i. 398; ii. 229.
+
+"_Argus._"
+ American brig of war, i. 314-415;
+ captured by "Pelican," ii. 217.
+
+_Armstrong, John._
+ U.S. Minister to France at the time of the Berlin Decree, i. 172-174,
+ 181, 182, 236-238, 240, 244.
+ Advice to Eustis, Secretary of War, before the outbreak of
+ hostilities, 309, 339.
+ Secretary of War, 31, 33, 39, 45, 104-106, 110-112, 117, 120, 122,
+ 266 (note), 278, 291-293, 319, 343, 344.
+
+"_Avon._" British brig of war.
+ Sunk by U.S.S. "Reindeer," ii. 256.
+
+
+_Bainbridge, William._ Captain, U.S.N.
+ Applies for furlough, because of the condition of the navy, i. 257;
+ opinion as to employment of navy in war, 318;
+ mentions public opinion in Boston, 393;
+ commands squadron, 407;
+ his plans for the cruise, ii. 2;
+ captures Java, 4;
+ instructions to Lawrence for cruise of "Hornet," 7;
+ returns to the United States, 7;
+ commands Boston navy yard, 135, 153, 186.
+
+_Barclay, Robert H._ Commander, R.N.
+ Sent to lakes by Warren, ii. 28;
+ ordered by Yeo to command on Lake Erie, 29;
+ difficulty in reaching his command, 39;
+ operations prior to battle of Lake Erie, 41, 69-74;
+ battle of Lake Erie, 76;
+ merits of his conduct, 94.
+
+_Barclay, Thomas._ British Consul-General at New York.
+ On impressment question, i. 118, 122;
+ on effects of embargo on seamen, 192.
+
+_Barlow, Joel._
+ U.S. Minister to France, in succession to Armstrong, i. 176, 193,
+ 264, 271-273.
+
+_Barney, Joshua._ Commodore by courtesy.
+ Commands privateer "Rossie," i. 395-398;
+ commands Chesapeake flotilla, ii. 336-344;
+ gallant conduct of himself and men at Bladensburg, 347, 348.
+
+_Bassano, Duke of._ French Minister of Foreign Affairs.
+ Presents to the American minister the spurious Decree of April 28,
+ 1811, i. 272.
+
+_Bathurst, Earl._ British Secretary for War and Colonies.
+ Quoted, ii. 100, 331 (note), 383, 422, 423, 424, 425, 426, 427, 431.
+
+_Berkeley, George C._ Vice-Admiral, R.N., commanding North American
+ station.
+ Issues the order to search the U.S.S. "Chesapeake," i. 156;
+ recalled from his command in consequence, 167,
+ but given within a year the important command at Lisbon, 168;
+ British Government refuses further punishment for his action, 168.
+
+_Biddle, James._ Commander, U.S.N.
+ Commands "Hornet" when she captures "Penguin," ii. 407.
+
+_Black Rock._
+ Selected by Elliott as American naval station on Lake Erie, i. 355, 374;
+ changed by Chauncey, 375;
+ mentioned in operations, 355, 358, 374, 377; ii. 34, 40, 41, 62, 71, 121.
+
+_Blakely, Johnstone._ Commander, U.S.N.
+ Commands "Enterprise," ii. 187;
+ commands "Wasp," 253;
+ captures "Reindeer," 254;
+ sinks "Avon," 256;
+ lost at sea, 257.
+
+_Blockades._
+ General principle determining legality of, i. 99, 110, 145;
+ position of United States concerning, defined, 110;
+ that of May 16, 1806, illustrates difference between United States
+ and Great Britain, 111;
+ Napoleon's definition of the right of blockade, 142-144;
+ Marshall, in 1800, and Pinkney, 1811, incidentally support Napoleon's
+ view, 146, 147;
+ effect of this view upon sea power, and upon Great Britain, 147;
+ effect upon the Civil War of the United States, had it been
+ conceded, 148;
+ the Orders in Council of 1807 are admitted by Great Britain to usurp
+ the privileges of, without complying with the obligations, 177;
+ though modelled on the general plan of, 179;
+ distinction between military and commercial, 286;
+ in essence and effect, a form of commerce destruction, 287;
+ as such, the weapon of the stronger, 288;
+ of Chesapeake and Delaware,--commercial,--by British, notified,
+ December 26, 1812, ii. 9;
+ extended to coast south of Narragansett Bay, March 30 and November
+ 16, 1813, 10;
+ to whole United States coast, April and May, 1814, 11;
+ the last a defiance in form of the United States claim concerning, 11;
+ effects of the British commercial, upon United States, 177-187, 193-208;
+ American definition of, rejected as inadmissible at the treaty of
+ peace, 432.
+
+"_Boxer._" British brig of war.
+ Captured by "Enterprise," ii. 188.
+ See also note to chap. xiii.
+
+_Brock, Isaac._ British general.
+ Lieutenant Governor, and military commander in Upper Canada, i. 337;
+ his professional opinions, 304, 308;
+ his successful action against Hull for the preservation of the
+ northwest, 341-348;
+ returns to the Niagara frontier, 351;
+ killed in action at Queenston, 357.
+
+_Broke, Philip B.V._ Captain, R.N.
+ Commands frigate "Shannon";
+ senior officer of vessels of New York, i. 325;
+ accompanies West India convoy, 326;
+ chase of "Constitution," 327;
+ blockading Boston, ii. 133;
+ singular merit of, 133;
+ sends challenge to Lawrence, 134;
+ action with, and capture of, U.S.S. "Chesapeake," 135.
+
+_Brown, Jacob._ American general.
+ First in the militia, successfully defends Sackett's Harbor, ii. 42;
+ appointed brigadier general in the army, 45;
+ stationed at Sackett's Harbor, 1814, 278;
+ campaign on Niagara peninsula, 280-318;
+ wounded at Lundy's Lane, 311;
+ defence of Fort Erie, 314-318;
+ returns to Sackett's at end of the campaign, 323.
+
+_Burrows, William._ Lieutenant, U.S.N.
+ Commands "Enterprise" when she captures "Boxer," ii. 188;
+ killed in the action, 189.
+
+
+"_Caledonia._" British armed brig on lakes.
+ Aids at capture of Mackinac, i. 341;
+ captured by Lieutenant Elliott, 355;
+ takes part as American in battle of Lake Erie, ii. 81;
+ lost, 327.
+
+_Calhoun, John C._ Member of American Congress.
+ Confidence concerning the conquest of Canada, i. 303.
+
+_Campbell, Hugh G._ Captain, U.S.N., commanding Georgia coast district.
+ Reports on coast conditions, ii. 185, 186, 195, 196, 197, 198.
+
+_Canada._
+ Expected by British writers to take the place of the United States in
+ supplying West Indies, i. 45, 48;
+ unable to do so, 64, 86;
+ benefited, however, by enforcement of navigation laws against the
+ United States, 78, 79;
+ propriety of invasion of by the United States, in 1812, considered,
+ 292-294;
+ object of invasion of, defined by Monroe, 293;
+ how regarded in England, ii. 356.
+
+_Canning, George._ British Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs.
+ Takes office, i. 134;
+ statement as to the British right of impressment from foreign merchant
+ vessels, 115;
+ refusal to re-open treaty negotiations with Monroe and Pinkney, 135;
+ characteristics of his letters, 154;
+ negotiations with Monroe, concerning the "Chesapeake" affair, 156-168;
+ instructions to Erskine, for proposals to United States, 215-219;
+ Erskine's action disavowed by, and Jackson sent in place, 221;
+ misquotation of, by Robert Smith, American Secretary of State, 226, 227;
+ duel with Castlereagh, 229;
+ succeeded in office by Lord Wellesley, 229.
+
+_Carden, John S._ Captain, R.N.
+ Commands "Macedonian" captured by "United States," i. 416.
+
+_Castlereagh, Lord._ British Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs.
+ Duel with Canning, i. 229;
+ remains in office after Perceval's assassination, 273;
+ opinion on political movements in United States immediately before
+ war, 274;
+ concerning Napoleon's alleged decree of April 28, 1811, 276;
+ instructions to the peace commission at Ghent, 415-418;
+ quoted in connection with the peace negotiations, 410, 417, 418, 420,
+ 428, 429.
+
+_Chalmers, George._ British writer on political and economical subjects.
+ Quoted, i. 21, 26, 32, 36, 50, 68, 77 (note).
+
+_Champagny, Duc de Cadore._ French Minister of Foreign Affairs.
+ Quoted in connection with Napoleon's Decrees, i. 174. 175, 181;
+ celebrated letter of, August 5, 1810, 237;
+ accepted by American Government as a valid revocation of the
+ Decrees, 238;
+ discussion of, 239-242;
+ rejected as a revocation by Great Britain, 242.
+
+_Champlain, Lake._
+ Natural highway to Canada, i. 309;
+ neglected by American Government in 1812, i. 351, 359; ii. 30, 357;
+ not under Chauncey's command, i. 361;
+ events on, 1812 and 1813, ii. 357-360;
+ Sir George Prevost's expedition, 362-381;
+ battle of Lake Champlain, 377-381;
+ effects of battle on conditions of peace, 382 (see also 99-101).
+
+_Chauncey, Isaac._ Captain, U.S.N.
+ Ordered to command on Lakes Erie and Ontario, i. 354, 361;
+ early measures of preparation, 362-364;
+ cruises in 1812, 364, 365;
+ lays up for the winter, 366;
+ preparations on Lake Erie, 374-376;
+ Commander Perry ordered as second to, 376;
+ effects of energy of, ii. 28;
+ first plan of campaign, 1813, 30;
+ second plan, 33;
+ comment upon, 34;
+ expedition against York, 36;
+ operations about Niagara peninsula, 37-41;
+ impression produced on, by attack on Sackett's Harbor, 45;
+ naval campaign of, 1813, July 21-September 28, 51-60, 106-109;
+ engagements with British squadron, August 10, 56-59;
+ September 11, 60;
+ September 28, 106;
+ professional characteristics shown, 28, 35, 40, 45, 52, 56, 60, 61,
+ 63, 65, 95, 108, 109, 110, 117, 294, 298-302, 305-306, 316, 323;
+ recommendations for campaign of 1814, 122;
+ singular inaction of, in June and July, 1814, 298-300;
+ controversy with General Brown, 300-302;
+ correspondence of Department with, 300;
+ Decatur ordered to relieve, 300;
+ subsequent movements of, 314-316, 323.
+
+"_Cherub._" British sloop of war.
+ Takes part in attack on "Essex," ii. 247-252.
+
+_Chesapeake Bay._ Blockade of, ii. 9;
+ operations in, 1813, 16, 156-158, 160-169;
+ singular contraband trade in, 1813, 170-175;
+ military exposure of, 159, 178, 202;
+ operations in, 1814, 336-351.
+
+"_Chesapeake._" American frigate.
+ Attack upon by British ship of war "Leopard," i. 3, 134, 155;
+ negotiations concerning the affair, 156-170, 222, 228, 251;
+ settlement of, 255;
+ cruise of, in 1813, ii. 13;
+ action with, and capture by, the "Shannon," 132-147.
+
+_Cheves, Langdon._ Member of American Congress.
+ Report recommending increase of navy, i. 260-263.
+
+_Clay, Henry._ Member of American Congress.
+ Favors increase of navy, i. 260;
+ expects rapid conquest of Canada, 304;
+ calculations on Bonaparte's success in Russia, 390;
+ appointed peace commissioner at Ghent, ii. 413.
+
+_Cochrane, Sir Alexander._ Vice-Admiral, R.N.
+ Appointed commander-in-chief on the American station, in succession
+ to Warren, ii. 330, 382 (note);
+ his retaliatory order for the burning of Newark, 334-335;
+ operations in the Chesapeake, 1814, 340-351;
+ plans for action against New Orleans, 383-388;
+ operations against New Orleans and Mobile, 388-396;
+ capture of Fort Bowyer, Mobile, 397.
+
+_Cockburn, George._ Rear Admiral, R.N.
+ Second in command to Warren, ii. 155;
+ expedition to the upper Chesapeake, 1813, 157, 158;
+ in the Potomac, 168;
+ American vessel licensed by, 175;
+ attack at Ocracoke inlet, N.C., 204;
+ at capture of Washington, 348, 349;
+ expedition against Cumberland Island, Georgia, 388.
+
+_Colonies._
+ Relations of colonies to mother countries in respect to trade, during
+ the period of American dependence, i. 24-28;
+ Montesquieu's phrase, 27;
+ Bryan Edwards' statement, 28;
+ John Adams' observation, 28;
+ supposed effect of, upon the carrying trade, 25, 26, 49, 50, 65;
+ and naval power, 51, 52;
+ the _entrepôt_ monopoly, derived from colonial system, 12, 16, 24;
+ renewed by the Orders in Council of 1807, 27;
+ characteristics of the West India group of colonies, 32, 33,
+ and of those now the United States, 34, 35;
+ their mutual relations, as colonies, 31, 35, 36;
+ the imperial inter-action of the mother country, and the two groups
+ of colonies, 52, 55, 63;
+ British hopes of reinstating this condition, after the Revolution, by
+ substituting Canada and Nova Scotia for the lost continental
+ colonies, 48, 64;
+ effect of colonial traditions upon events subsequent to American
+ independence, 65-70, 75-79;
+ tendency to reimpose colonial restriction upon the new states, a
+ cause of War of 1812, 40, 87, 88, 90-92, 177, 178.
+
+_Committee_, of the Privy Council of Great Britain, 1791.
+ Report on the conditions of British commerce since the independence
+ of the United States, and the probable effect of American
+ legislation for the protection of American carrying trade, i. 77-85.
+
+"_Constellation._" American frigate.
+ Hopelessly blockaded in Norfolk throughout the war, ii. 11, 162, 178.
+
+"_Constitution._" American frigate.
+ Chased by British squadron, i. 328;
+ captures the "Guerrière," i. 330-335;
+ the "Java," ii. 3-7;
+ the "Cyane" and "Levant," 404-406.
+
+_Continental._
+ Distinctive significance of the term, applied to the colonial system
+ of Great Britain in North America, i. 32;
+ Bermuda and the Bahamas reckoned officially among the continental
+ colonies, 31 (note).
+
+_Continental System_ of Napoleon.
+ Extraordinary political character of, defined, i. 152, 153, 174;
+ co-operation of the United States desired in, 173;
+ and practically given by the United States, 176.
+
+_Cooper, James Fenimore._ American naval historian.
+ Quoted, ii. 83-87, 101 (note), 108, 110, 135, 138, 188 (note).
+
+_Craney Island_, near Norfolk.
+ Attack on by the British, in 1813, ii. 164-166.
+
+_Croghan, George._ Major, U.S. Army.
+ Gallant defence of Fort Stephenson, 1813, ii. 73;
+ commands troops in the abortive military and naval expedition against
+ Michilimackinac, 1814, 324.
+
+"_Cyane._" British ship of war.
+ Captured by the "Constitution," ii. 404-406.
+
+
+_Dacres, James R._ Captain, R.N., commanding "Guerrière."
+ His defence before the Court Martial, i. 334.
+
+_Dearborn, Henry._ American general.
+ Appointed, i. 337;
+ age, 337;
+ characterized by a British officer, 351;
+ negotiates a suspension of hostilities, which is disapproved, 352;
+ inactivity, 359; ii. 39, 47, 48;
+ apprehensions, ii. 32, 47;
+ relieved from command, 48.
+
+_Decatur, Stephen._ Captain, U.S.N.
+ Commands a squadron, i. 314;
+ plan for employment of the navy in war, 317, 415;
+ accompanies John Rodgers on the first cruise of the war, 322-324;
+ sails on an independent cruise, 407, 408, 415;
+ action between the "United States" and "Macedonian," 416;
+ in 1813 unable to get to sea with a squadron, ii. 25, 148,
+ which is blocked in New London for the rest of the war, 149;
+ ordered to relieve Chauncey on the lakes, 300;
+ appointed to command frigate "President," 397;
+ action with "Endymion," 399;
+ surrenders to British squadron, 400-403.
+
+_Decrees, Napoleon's._
+ Berlin, November 21, 1806, i. 141-148;
+ its design, and counter design of Great Britain, 149;
+ rigid enforcement of, 172;
+ Milan, December 17, 1807, 180, 189, (note), 205;
+ Bayonne, April 17, 1808, 189, 203;
+ Rambouillet, March 23, 1810, 235, 236;
+ alleged revocation of, by Champagny's letter of August 5, 1810,
+ 237-242;
+ spurious Decree of April 28, 1811, 282.
+
+_Delaware Bay._
+ Blockade of, and operations in, ii. 9, 16, 158-160.
+
+_Dent, John H._ Captain, U.S.N., commanding South Carolina coast district.
+ Reports on coast conditions, ii. 15, 196, 203 (and note), 204.
+
+"_Detroit._" British armed brig (late American "Adams").
+ Captured by Elliott on Lake Erie, i. 354-356.
+
+"_Detroit._"
+ British flagship at battle of Lake Erie, ii. 73, 77;
+ condition when surrendered, 94.
+
+_Direct Trade._
+ To foreign countries, forbidden to colonies, i. 24-26;
+ common practice of all maritime states, 27, 28;
+ stress laid upon this idea in Great Britain, 75, 76, 83, 84, 96;
+ question of what constitutes, 100;
+ decision adverse to American navigation, by Sir William Scott, 101;
+ practical effect of the decision, 102.
+
+_Downie, George._ Commander, R.N.
+ Commands the British squadron on Lake Champlain, ii. 372-375;
+ his plan of action, 377;
+ killed in the battle, 378.
+
+_Drummond, Sir Gordon._
+ Civil and military Governor of Upper Canada, ii. 120;
+ his plans for the winter of 1813-1814, 276-278;
+ his appreciations of the strength of Kingston and of Sackett's
+ Harbor, 280;
+ dependence upon the control of the water, i. 301, 302; ii. 290,
+ 302-306, 308-309, 314-317;
+ comments on American troops, 295;
+ campaign of 1814--arrival at York, 307;
+ plan of action, 308-309;
+ battle of Lundy's Lane, 310-312;
+ assault on Fort Erie, 314;
+ American sortie against, 316;
+ line of the "Chippewa," 317, 321-322.
+
+
+_Elliott, Jesse D._ Commander U.S.N.
+ Serves under Chauncey on the lake, i. 354, 363;
+ captures British brigs "Caledonia" and "Detroit," 355;
+ selects Black Rock for naval station on Lake Erie, 374;
+ ordered as second to Perry, on Lake Erie, ii. 74;
+ conduct in the battle, 78-80, 83-88, 96;
+ in command on Lake Erie, after Perry's detachment, 104.
+
+_Embargo_, of 1808.
+ Approved by President Jefferson, December 22, 1807, i. 182;
+ its aims, 183-186;
+ its effects in the United States, 186-207;
+ upon West Indies, 196-198;
+ upon Canada and Nova Scotia, 198;
+ upon Great Britain, 200, 201;
+ Act for better Enforcement, January 9, 1809, 208;
+ repeal of, 214;
+ Embargo of 1812, for ninety days, 263.
+
+"_Endymion._" British frigate.
+ Her action with the "President," ii. 398-407.
+
+"_Enterprise._"
+ American brig of war, ii. 186, 187, 231-233;
+ capture of British brig "Boxer," 188.
+
+_Entrepôt._
+ Significance of the term, and advantage to commerce, i. 12;
+ conspicuous part in colonial regulation, 16, 24-26;
+ underlying relation to Orders in Council of 1807, 27.
+
+"_Enumerated_" articles.
+ Definition of, i. 24.
+
+"_Epervier._" British sloop of war.
+ Captured by the "Peacock," ii. 258-261.
+
+_Erie, Town of._
+ Selected by Chauncey for naval station on Lake Erie, i. 375;
+ advantages and drawbacks, 375;
+ British designs against, ii. 69.
+
+_Erskine, David M._ British Minister to Washington.
+ Exceeds his instructions in negotiating, i. 216-218;
+ disavowed and recalled, 219;
+ succeeded by Francis J. Jackson, 221.
+
+"_Essex._" American frigate.
+ Captain Porter's dissatisfaction with, ii. 1, 2;
+ sails, but fails to join Bainbridge's squadron, 3;
+ goes to the Pacific, 244;
+ cruise in the Pacific, 246;
+ action with, and capture by, British ships "Phoebe" and "Cherub,"
+ 249-252.
+
+_Europe._
+ Conditions in, as affecting war in America, i. 378-385, 389-390, 401,
+ 410; ii. 9-11, 126, 210-212, 266 (and note), 330, 340, 355-356,
+ 362-363, 385-387;
+ effect upon the peace negotiations, ii. 411, 414, 415, 420, 423-424,
+ 427-431, 434.
+
+
+_Fox, Charles James._ British Secretary for Foreign Affairs.
+ Takes office, i. 104;
+ negotiations with Monroe concerning "direct" trade, 105;
+ connection with blockade of May 16, 1806, 108;
+ illness and death, 128-131.
+
+"_Frolic._" British brig of war.
+ Captured by "Wasp," 412-415;
+ recaptured, 415.
+
+"_Frolic._" American sloop of war, named after above.
+ Captured by "Orpheus," ii. 269 (note), 244 (note).
+
+
+_Gallattin, Albert._ American Secretary of the Treasury.
+ Concerning the Embargo of 1808, i. 194, 196, 202, 208;
+ concerning Non-Intercourse Act, 217;
+ conversation with Turreau, concerning Erskine's proposition, 230;
+ report on the finances, immediately before the war, 281;
+ opinion as to privateering, 396;
+ observations as to feeling in England, 1814, ii. 332, 415;
+ appointed peace commissioner, 412;
+ opinion as to the effect of the war upon the nation, 435-436.
+
+_Gambier, Lord._ British admiral.
+ Peace commissioner at Ghent, 413.
+
+_Gaston, William._ Representative from North Carolina.
+ Speech on allegiance and impressment, i. 6-8, 123, 137.
+
+_Ghent._
+ Negotiations at, and Treaty of, ii. 413-435;
+ names of commissioners, 412, 413;
+ terms of, 431-433;
+ signature and ratification of, 434-435.
+
+_Goulburn, Henry._
+ British peace commissioner at Ghent, ii. 413.
+
+_Grenville, Lord._ British Secretary for Foreign Affairs.
+ Correspondence with Rufus King concerning impressment, i. 117-118,
+ 120-121.
+
+"_Guerrière._" British frigate.
+ Captured by the "Constitution," i. 330-335.
+
+"_Guerrière._" American, named after above.
+ Command declined by Decatur for reasons, i. 422; ii. 398.
+
+_Gunboats._
+ Jefferson's sole naval dependence on, i. 187; ii. 213-214;
+ nautical disqualifications of, 196, 291, 296;
+ extravagant expense of, 260, 262; ii. 154;
+ proclaim a merely defensive policy, 296;
+ demoralizing effect upon officers and crews, ii. 154, 155;
+ committed in war to officers not of regular navy, 154, 336-337;
+ general uselessness in war, 154, 159, 160, 161, 163, 164, 179, 195, 198;
+ gallant defence of the "Asp," 168, and of the Lake Borgne flotilla,
+ 389-390.
+
+
+_Halifax._
+ Benefited by American embargo and War of 1812, i. 198; ii. 21, 23;
+ importance relative to trade routes, and cruising, i. 392, 394.
+
+_Hampton._ Town in Virginia.
+ Local military importance of, ii. 160, 162;
+ attack on, 167.
+
+_Hampton, Wade._ American general.
+ Commands Lake Champlain district, 1813, ii. 111;
+ to co-operate with Wilkinson, 111;
+ fails to join, and retires on Plattsburg, 115, 116.
+
+_Harrison, William H._ American general.
+ Succeeds to Hull's command, i. 367;
+ plans of campaign, 368, 369,
+ overthrown by Winchester's disaster at Frenchtown, 370;
+ remains on defensive awaiting naval control of lakes, 371;
+ resumes operations after Perry's victory, ii. 102;
+ wins battle of the Thames, 103;
+ transferred to Niagara, 104,
+ and thence to Sackett's Harbor, 117.
+
+_Harvey, J._ Lieutenant-colonel, British army.
+ Suggests and conducts decisive attack at Stony Creek, ii. 46-48.
+ Quoted, 102, 308.
+
+_Hillyar, James._ Captain, R.N.
+ Commands frigate "Phoebe," ii. 246;
+ in company with "Cherub" captures U.S.S. "Essex," 247-252.
+
+"_Hornet._" American sloop of war.
+ Captures the "Peacock," ii. 8;
+ sails with Decatur's squadron, 1813, and driven into New London,
+ 148, 149;
+ escapes thence to New York, sails again, 397,
+ and captures, "Penguin," 406-408.
+
+_Hull, Isaac._ Captain, U.S.N.
+ Commands "Constitution," i. 328;
+ chased by British squadron, 329;
+ sails from Boston on a cruise, 329;
+ captures "Guerrière," 330-335;
+ commanding Portsmouth yard, reports on coastwise conditions, ii. 186,
+ 187, 192, 198.
+
+_Hull, William._ American general.
+ Appointed brigadier general, i. 337;
+ his letter setting forth military conditions prior to war, 339;
+ his campaign, 340-346, and surrender, 347.
+
+
+_Impressment._
+ A principal cause of War of 1812, i. 2;
+ statement of the British claim, 3;
+ counter-claim of American Government, 4, 120;
+ American people not unanimous in support, 5, 116;
+ opinions of Morris, Gaston, and Strong, 6-8;
+ not mentioned in Jay's instructions, 1794, 88;
+ made pre-eminent in those to Monroe and Pinkney, 1806, 114;
+ historical summary of the controversy, to 1806, 114-133;
+ treaty of December 31, 1806, does not provide for, satisfactorily, 133;
+ rejected therefore by Jefferson, 133;
+ a real cause of the war, though so denied by some, 136-138;
+ American demand revived in connection with the "Chesapeake" affair, 161;
+ Great Britain refuses to mingle the two questions, 165;
+ numbers of American seamen alleged to have been impressed, 128, 300
+ (and note);
+ demand renewed, coincident with a proposal looking to peace after the
+ declaration of war, ii. 409;
+ Great Britain again refuses, 410;
+ stated as a _sine quâ non_ in reply to British propositions made
+ through Admiral Warren, i. 391;
+ embodied in instructions to peace commissioners, ii. 413-414;
+ again refused by Great Britain, 416;
+ abandoned by the American Government, in consequence of the pressure
+ of the war, ii. 266 (and note), 414, 432.
+
+_Indians_, American.
+ Estimated importance of, in consideration of war, i. 305-307, 338,
+ 339; ii. 67, 293, 421;
+ effect upon Hull, in surrendering, 349;
+ instability of, 345, 346; ii. 73, 75, 99, 103, 280, 421;
+ desire of British officials to secure them in their possessions at
+ the peace, ii. 99, 100 (note), 421;
+ the consequent effect upon the peace negotiations, 416-423;
+ not included, as parties to the treaty, 432.
+
+_Izard, George._ American general.
+ Relieves Wilkinson in command of Champlain district, ii. 283;
+ action first intended for, 292;
+ his reports of conditions, 318-319, 364;
+ his preparations about Plattsburg, 319, 370;
+ ordered to proceed to Brown's assistance on Niagara frontier, 319-320;
+ his march thither, 320-321, 365;
+ proceedings about Niagara, 321-323;
+ blows up Fort Erie and retreats to New York side, 323.
+
+
+_Jackson, Andrew._ American general.
+ Takes Pensacola, ii. 388;
+ goes to New Orleans, 388;
+ operations about New Orleans, 391-396.
+
+_Jackson, Francis J._ British Minister to the United States.
+ Appointed, with special powers, i. 221;
+ negotiations at Washington, 221-225;
+ American Government declines further intercourse with, 225;
+ discussion of the correspondence, 226-228;
+ British Government declines to censure, 228, 231.
+
+_James, William._ British naval historian.
+ Quoted, i. 325, 327, 414, 415; ii. 6, 8, 54, 58, 80 (note), 132, 141
+ (and note), 142, 143, 160 (note), 162, 165 (note), 257, 258 (note),
+ 260, 381, 395 (note), 396 (note).
+
+"_Java._" British frigate.
+ Captured by "Constitution," ii. 3-7.
+
+_Jay, John._ Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court.
+ Epochal significance of treaty with Great Britain negotiated by, i. 43;
+ appointed special envoy, 88;
+ occasion for the mission, 89, 90;
+ character of the negotiation, 93-95;
+ the treaty a temporary arrangement, 95;
+ ratified, with an omission, 96.
+
+_Jefferson, Thomas._
+ American Secretary of State.
+ Opinion as to the importance of navigation to national defence, i. 52;
+ unflattering opinion of British policy, 70;
+ favors coercive retaliation in matters of commerce and navigation, 71;
+ principle as to impressment enunciated by, 120.
+ President of the United States.
+ Broad principle as to impressment asserted by, i. 4;
+ expectations of commercial concessions from Great Britain, 1804, 100;
+ aversion to military and naval preparations, 106, 138, 187, 280, 291,
+ 297, 300, 336; ii. 213-214;
+ reliance upon commercial coercion, 107;
+ refuses approval of treaty of December 31, 1806, because without
+ stipulation against impressment, 133;
+ consistency of position in regard to impressment, 136-138;
+ action in the "Chesapeake" affair, 160-162;
+ endeavors to utilize it to obtain relinquishment of impressment, 164;
+ recommends a general embargo, 181;
+ expectations of, from the embargo, 183 (and note);
+ dislike to the carrying trade, 187,
+ and to Great Britain, 188-190;
+ gunboat policy of, 187, 260, 262; ii. 213-214;
+ embarrassment in executing embargo, i. 194;
+ tenacious adherence to the embargo policy, 202;
+ views as to American neutral waters, 291.
+ After leaving office.
+ Opinion as to cause of Erskine's arrangement, 1809, i. 231;
+ on Bonaparte's policy, 239;
+ favors keeping navy under cover during war, 280;
+ expectations as to easy conquest of Canada, 291.
+
+_Jones, Jacob._ Commander, U.S.N., commanding "Wasp."
+ Captures "Frolic," i. 411-415;
+ taken by British seventy-four, 415;
+ commands frigate "Macedonian" (as captain), ii. 25;
+ expectations of escape, deceived, 25;
+ sails with Decatur, 148, and blockaded in New London, 150.
+
+_Jones, Thomas ap Catesby._ Lieutenant, U.S.N.
+ Commands gunboat flotilla in Lake Borgne and Mississippi Sound, ii. 389;
+ overpowered, wounded, and captured by superior enemy's force, 390.
+
+_Jones, William._ Secretary of the Navy.
+ Commercial estimate of privateering by, i. 396;
+ judicious reply to Perry's request for detachment, ii. 67;
+ comments on the effects of gunboat service on naval officers, 154, 155;
+ stigmatizes American intercourse with enemy, and issues order to
+ prevent, 174;
+ recommends to Congress procurement of naval schooners for commerce
+ destroying, 270;
+ recommendation of Chauncey to Congress, 1813, 299;
+ anxious correspondence with Chauncey, 1814, 300;
+ naval force available for defence of Washington, stated by, 343.
+
+
+_Keane, John._ British general.
+ In temporary command of the expedition against New Orleans, 391.
+
+_King, Rufus._ American Minister to Great Britain.
+ Appointed, i. 120;
+ negotiations concerning impressment, 120-122, 124-127.
+
+_Kingston_, Canada.
+ Strategic importance of, i. 305-308; ii. 30, 42, 59;
+ operations contemplated against, ii. 30-33, 104-106, 278-280, 319.
+
+
+_Lakes, the Great._
+ Strategic importance of, in War of 1812, i. 300-303, 353, 356;
+ ii. 29, 46-48, 99-101, 102-104, 276-278, 285, 290-291, 298-300;
+ decisive positions upon, i. 304-308;
+ Hull's exposition of effect of naval predominance on, 339;
+ Madison's admission concerning, 350;
+ improved conditions on, through Chauncey's energy, 361-366;
+ control of, dependent on naval force, 371, 373; ii. 68-70, 73-75,
+ 99-101, 300-308, 314-315;
+ minor naval events on, i. 354-356; ii. 324-328;
+ British demands concerning, in the negotiations for peace,
+ ii. 355-356, 419, 421, 422.
+
+_Lambert, Henry._ Captain, R.N.
+ Commands "Java" when taken by the "Constitution," ii. 3;
+ mortally wounded in the action, 5.
+
+_Lambert, Sir John._ British general.
+ Joins New Orleans expedition two days before the assault, ii. 385;
+ succeeds to command upon Pakenham's death, 394-397;
+ proceeds against and captures Fort Bowyer, in Mobile Bay, 397.
+
+_Lawrence, James._ Captain, U.S.N.
+ Commands "Hornet" in Bainbridge's squadron, i. 407;
+ sails in company with "Constitution," ii. 2;
+ challenges "Bonne Citoyenne," 3;
+ sinks the "Peacock," 8;
+ returns to United States, 9;
+ ordered to command "Chesapeake," 131;
+ nature of his orders, 131-132;
+ action with, and captured by, "Shannon," 135-140;
+ mortally wounded, 137;
+ examination of his conduct, 140-145.
+
+"_Levant._" British sloop of war.
+ Captured by "Constitution," ii. 404-406;
+ recaptured by British squadron, 406 (note).
+
+_Lewis, Morgan._
+ American general, ii. 47;
+ temporarily succeeds Dearborn in command at Niagara, 50.
+
+_Licenses._
+ British to American merchant vessels, i. 203-206;
+ for the supply of armies in Spanish Peninsula, i. 265, 409-412;
+ ii. 9, 15, 21, 170-175.
+
+_Liverpool, Earl of._ Prime Minister of Great Britain.
+ Quotations from correspondence of, relative to the peace negotiations,
+ chap. xviii., ii. 409-434.
+
+
+_Macdonough, Thomas._ Captain, U.S.N.
+ Commands flotilla on Lake Champlain, ii. 356;
+ operations prior to Prevost's invasion, 356-363;
+ preparations for battle, 367-371, 376-377, 380;
+ wins battle of Lake Champlain, 377-381;
+ effects of the victory, 381-382, 427, 430-431;
+ news of the victory received in London, 426.
+
+"_Macedonian._" British frigate.
+ Captured by the United States, i. 416-422.
+
+"_Macedonian._" American frigate (captured as above).
+ Unable to get to sea, ii. 25,
+ and blockaded in New London during the war, 148-150.
+
+_Macomb, Alexander._ American general.
+ Left by Izard in command at Plattsburg, ii. 365;
+ operations before, and at, Plattsburg, 366-367;
+ opinions of, as to distance of Macdonough's squadron from the shore
+ batteries, 369.
+
+_M'Clure, George._ American, general of N.Y. militia.
+ Left in command of Niagara frontier, ii. 118;
+ difficulties of situation of, 119;
+ retreats to American side of river, 120;
+ burns Canadian village of Newark, 120;
+ this action of, disavowed by the Government, 120.
+
+_Madison, James._ Secretary of State, and President of the United States.
+ Close association of, with events leading to War of 1812, and summary
+ of its cause, i. 41;
+ characterization of, 106;
+ discussion of questions of blockade, 110, 111;
+ pronouncement on impressment, 114, 131, 132;
+ instructions to Monroe and Pinkney to reopen negotiations, 1807, 133;
+ narrow outlook of, 139;
+ opinion of the Berlin Decree, 142, 182;
+ upon the Rule of 1756, 152;
+ instructions to Monroe by, in the "Chesapeake" affair, 161, 241;
+ object of Jefferson's course in that affair, stated by, 164;
+ use of the affair, made by, 170;
+ explanation of the motive of the Embargo of 1808 by, 183;
+ relation of, to Non-Intercourse Act, 215;
+ misled (as President) in negotiations with Erskine, 216-218;
+ proclamation, renewing intercourse with Great Britain, 219;
+ annulled, 219;
+ negotiations with Jackson, Erskine's successor, 221-225;
+ declines further communication with Jackson, 225;
+ special supervision of this correspondence by, 226;
+ interpretation of British motive for Erskine's supposed concession, 230;
+ accepts Champagny's letter as an actual revocation of Napoleon's
+ Decrees, and so proclaims, 238, 254;
+ afterwards recognizes delicacy of situation thus created, 266;
+ non-intercourse with Great Britain revives, 248;
+ message of, to Congress in special session, November 4, 1811, 259;
+ recommends embargo, preparatory to war, 263;
+ identified with policy of peaceful coercion, 278, 378; ii. 26, 175-176;
+ sends war message to Congress, and approves declaration of war, i. 279;
+ assumes only his share of responsibility for the war, 393;
+ indignation of, at British sectional blockade of coast, 296; ii. 173;
+ selects Dearborn and Hull for general officers, i. 337;
+ failure of expectations as to Hull's expedition, admitted by, 339;
+ ingenuous surprise at capitulation of Michilimackinac, 341;
+ admits mistake of not securing naval command of lakes, 350;
+ military inefficiency of Government under, 360; ii. 26-27, 265;
+ insists on relinquishment of impressment as a preliminary to treating
+ for peace, i. 391,
+ but obtains also from Congress law excluding British-born seamen
+ from American ships, 392;
+ to prevent clandestine supply of enemy, recommends prohibition of all
+ export, ii. 173;
+ issues executive order to same end, 174;
+ denials of effectiveness of British blockade, 204;
+ decides to abandon demand for cessation of impressment as a condition
+ for peace, 266 (note);
+ comment on Armstrong's management of military operations, 282.
+
+_Manners, William._
+ Commander, R.N., commanding "Reindeer," ii. 254;
+ skill and gallantry of, in action with "Wasp," 254-255;
+ killed in the action, 255.
+
+_Maples, J.F._ Commander, R.N., commanding "Pelican."
+ Captures "Argus," ii. 217-219.
+
+_Marshall, John._ American Secretary of State under President John Adams.
+ Summary of commercial injuries received from Great Britain, i. 97;
+ propositions to Great Britain concerning impressment, 121;
+ opinion concerning blockades, 146;
+ tendency of this opinion, if accepted, 148.
+ (Afterwards Chief Justice of Supreme Court.)
+
+_Militia._
+ Jefferson's dependence upon, i. 52; ii. 213;
+ conduct of, American and Canadian, i. 344, 345, 346, 351, 357, 360;
+ ii. 26, 27, 42, 44, 70, 119-121, 157-158, 295, 312, 316, 337, 339,
+ 343, 347-351, 354, 365, 366, (and note), 367, 391-396.
+
+_Monroe, James._
+ American Minister to Great Britain, i. 104, 126;
+ reports conditions of American commerce in 1804 prosperous, 99, 100, 104,
+ but changed in 1805, 104;
+ consequent negotiations with Fox, 104-113;
+ Pinkney appointed as colleague to, for special negotiation, 113;
+ negotiations with British ministry on impressment, 128-132;
+ with Pinkney signs treaty of December 31, 1806, 133;
+ treaty rejected by Jefferson, and new negotiations ordered, 133;
+ "Chesapeake" affair intervenes, but British Government eventually
+ refuses to reopen, 135;
+ unlucky comment of, upon Rule of 1756, 151;
+ negotiations of, with Canning, concerning "Chesapeake" affair, 156-165;
+ returns to the United States, leaving Pinkney as minister, 135;
+ after return vindicates the rejected treaty, 169, 213;
+ proposes to Jefferson, in 1809, a special mission to France and Great
+ Britain, for which he offers himself, 212;
+ becomes Secretary of State, under President Madison, 254;
+ correspondence, while Secretary, quoted, 255, 293, 391; ii. 265, 266,
+ 411, 413, 414;
+ advanced views, for one of his party, concerning utility of a navy,
+ i. 280;
+ on project of keeping navy in port, in war, 106, 281;
+ statement regarding readiness for war, 393.
+ Secretary of War, ii. 323.
+
+_Montreal._
+ Strategic importance of, i. 303-309.
+
+_Mooers, Benjamin._ General, New York militia.
+ Vindicates the conduct of most part of the militia under his command,
+ ii. 366 (note).
+
+_Morris, Charles_. Captain, U.S.N. (first lieutenant of the
+ "Constitution" in action with "Guerrière").
+ Commands frigate "Adams," in Potomac, ii. 162, 167;
+ services in Potomac, and at Annapolis, 169, 174-177;
+ difficulty in escaping British blockade, 170, 178;
+ first cruise of "Adams," 226, 261;
+ second cruise, strikes on Isle au Haut, takes refuge in Penobscot,
+ and burned to escape capture, 353-354.
+
+_Morris, Gouverneur._ American statesman.
+ Opinion favorable to British right of impressment of British-born
+ seamen on high seas, i. 5-7;
+ opinion of the United States' ability to maintain a strong navy, 71;
+ in London, contends against impressment of Americans, 119.
+
+
+_Napoleon, The Emperor._
+ Issues Berlin Decree, i. 112;
+ purpose, as defined by himself, 144;
+ objects of, as towards the United States, 149, 169, 173, 182, 235,
+ 249, 268, 278;
+ scope of Berlin Decree, 152, 173, 176, 182, 253-254;
+ sole control of Continent by, 153, 174, 220, 221, 269;
+ vigorous application of Decree to American shipping, 172;
+ effects of his reverses in Spain, 191, 209;
+ Bayonne Decree of, 203;
+ tenor of Milan Decree of, 205;
+ Decree of Rambouillet, 235-236;
+ alleged revocation of decrees by, 237, 271, 272;
+ instances of arguments of, 240, 267;
+ effect of reverses in Russia upon the War of 1812, 389;
+ of downfall of, ii. 10, 123, 330.
+
+_Navigation._
+ Connection between naval power and, 11, 49-52, 81;
+ distinction between commerce and, 11, 81.
+
+_Navigation, Acts of._
+ The formulated expression of a national need, i. 9;
+ opinion of Adam Smith concerning, 9-10;
+ historical summary of, 13-19;
+ apparent effects of, 19;
+ British national conviction concerning, 21-24, 60-61;
+ relation of colonies to system of, 24-27;
+ endeavor to maintain system of, towards United States after
+ independence, 27, 29, 40, 41, 45-48, 103;
+ copied by French Convention, 28;
+ attitude of foreigners towards, 30;
+ progress of British colonies under, 31-39;
+ attitude of American colonists towards, 39;
+ Lord Sheffield's pamphlet upon, 46, 47, 49, 50, 57, 64, 65, 73 (and
+ note), 75;
+ inter-relations of British Empire protected by, 53-55, 63-64, 67;
+ working of, threatened by American independence, 56-58, 65;
+ modifications of, proposed by Pitt, but rejected by country, 58;
+ dependence of, upon West Indies, 65;
+ system of, continued by proclamation towards United States,
+ 1783-1794, 67-70;
+ British commerce and shipping grow under this enforcement of, 76-84;
+ purpose of, offensive, in military sense, 79;
+ effect of French Revolution on, 87-88;
+ dependence of Rule of 1756 upon the system of, 90;
+ principle of Rule of 1756 leads up to molestation of American
+ navigation, and Orders in Council of 1807, 93, 98-104,
+ and so to war with United States, 136.
+
+_Navy, American._
+ Gouverneur Morris' opinion of power of United States to maintain, i. 71;
+ opinion of John Quincy Adams, 186;
+ recommendation of Presidents Washington and John Adams, ii. 212, 213;
+ policy of President Jefferson, 213; i. 187, 280;
+ neglect of, during administrations of Jefferson and Madison, shown by
+ condition of, at outbreak of war, 257, 297, 300,
+ and stated by a committee of Congress, 1812, 260-262;
+ Madison's lukewarm mention, 259, 260;
+ Congress on approach of war refuses to increase, 263;
+ high professional merit of officers of, 279-280;
+ numbers of, as estimated by British admiralty, ii. 211;
+ total numbers of vessels in active employment, all told, from beginning
+ of war to its conclusion, twenty-two, 242.
+
+_New Orleans._
+ For battle of, see _Actions, Land_.
+
+"_New Orleans._"
+ Ship of the line, on the lakes, ii. 318 (note).
+
+_Niagara, Peninsula of._
+ Strategic importance of, i. 338, 345-346, 352, 353; ii. 39-40, 51,
+ 291, 293;
+ effect of climatic conditions of, i. 359.
+
+
+_Orders in Council._
+ General definition of, i. 2 (note);
+ of 1807, cause of war with United States, 2;
+ _entrepôt_ motive for, 16, 27;
+ of June and November, 1793, 89, 92;
+ of January, 1794, 93;
+ relations of, to Rule of 1756, 93;
+ of January, 1798, motive of, 98,
+ and renewal in 1803, 99;
+ effect of these last upon "direct trade," 101;
+ of May, 1806, 108,
+ effect and purpose of, 109;
+ legitimacy of, denied by the United States, 110-112,
+ and by Napoleon, who upon it bases Berlin Decree, 112;
+ of January, 1807, and its effects, 150-152;
+ Of November, 1807, purport of, 177, 187;
+ resented by United States, 178;
+ delay in communicating to American Government, 179;
+ general plan of, that of blockades, 180;
+ illustrative instances of execution of, 180 (note), 204, 205 (notes);
+ known in United States before the passage of Embargo Act, 181;
+ conditional offer of British Government to withdraw, 215-218;
+ revocation of, by substitution of Order of April, 1809, 220;
+ American expectation of revocation, in consequence of Champagny's
+ letter, 238;
+ British Government declines to revoke, 243-245;
+ Pinkney's analysis, and condemnation, of, to Wellesley, 245-246;
+ Wellesley's reply, 246;
+ Wellesley's exposition of policy of, 253-254;
+ discontent in Great Britain with, 269;
+ order of April 12, 1812, promises revocation, conditional, 270;
+ British determination to maintain, otherwise, 273-276;
+ revocation of, June, 1812, 276,
+ to date from August 1, 1812, 277;
+ too late to secure peace with America, 278,
+ or to restore it, 391-392; ii. 9;
+ compensation for seizures under, refused in peace negotiations,
+ ii. 416, 432.
+
+
+_Pakenham, Sir Edward._ British general.
+ Named to command New Orleans expedition after death of Ross, ii. 385;
+ instructions to, concerning conduct in Louisiana, 427;
+ arrival and operations, 392-396.
+
+_Patterson, Daniel T._ Captain, U.S.N.
+ Commands in chief in waters of New Orleans, ii. 392-395.
+
+"_Peacock._" British sloop of war.
+ Captured by "Hornet," ii. 7-9.
+
+"_Peacock._" American sloop of war.
+ Captures "Epervier," ii. 258-261;
+ subsequent cruise of, 261-262;
+ sails again, January 20, 1815, 406.
+
+_Pearson, Joseph._ Representative in Congress from North Carolina.
+ Speech on conditions of country, owing to the war, ii. 199.
+
+"_Pelican._" British brig of war.
+ Captures American brig "Argus," ii. 217.
+
+"_Penguin._" British sloop of war.
+ Captured by "Hornet," ii. 407.
+
+_Perceval, Spencer._ Prime Minister of Great Britain.
+ Murder of, and consequent confusion in the Government, i. 273;
+ firm determination of, to maintain Orders in Council, and opinion
+ of American resistance, 274.
+
+_Perry, Oliver H._ Captain, U.S.N.
+ Applies for, and ordered to, the lakes service, i. 376;
+ assigned by Chauncey to Lake Erie, and practical independence of
+ action there, 377;
+ conditions of force found, 377,
+ and merits of general action of, 378;
+ engaged at capture of Fort George, and transfers Black Rock flotilla
+ to Erie, ii. 41;
+ thenceforth remains on Lake Erie, 62,
+ but always under Chauncey, 63;
+ collision of interests between the two officers, 64;
+ altercation with Chauncey, 65;
+ applies to be detached, 66;
+ Navy Department refuses, 67;
+ exposed situation of Erie, and preparations for defence, during
+ equipment of squadron, 68-70;
+ blockaded by British squadron, 70;
+ seizes opportunity of its absence, to cross bar, 71;
+ proceedings prior to battle of Lake Erie, 74-75;
+ battle of Lake Erie, 76-94;
+ discussion of claim to credit of, 95-99;
+ consequences of success of, 99-101;
+ prompt subsequent action of, 102;
+ detached from lakes service, 104;
+ engaged in harassing retreat of British squadron down the Potomac, 350;
+ opinion as to qualities of smaller and larger vessels, 271;
+ detailed to command a squadron of schooners, against enemy's
+ commerce, 270-273.
+
+"_Phoebe._" British frigate.
+ Sent to Pacific with two sloops of war to capture "Essex," 246;
+ with "Cherub" captures "Essex," 248-252.
+
+_Pinkney, William._
+ Appointed colleague to Monroe, in London, for special negotiations,
+ i. 113;
+ course of negotiations, 127-133;
+ signs treaty of December 31, 1806, 133;
+ remains as minister, after Monroe's return, 135;
+ quoted in connection with mission, 146, 177, 215, 216, 218, 219, 230,
+ 238, 241, 251;
+ party relations, 169;
+ early forwards a copy of Orders in Council of November 11, 1807,
+ 179 (note);
+ letter of Secretary of State to, communicating dismissal of Jackson
+ by U.S. Government, 226-228;
+ communicates the same to the British Government, 230;
+ construes Champagny's letter to revoke French Decrees, and demands
+ recall of British Orders in Council, 238;
+ letter to British Secretary for Foreign Affairs, analyzing and
+ condemning system of Orders in Council, 245;
+ conditional instructions to, to present recall, 250;
+ dilatory course of Wellesley towards, 251;
+ presents recall, 252;
+ returns to the United States, 252;
+ no successor to, till after the war, 252.
+
+_Pitt, William._ Prime Minister of Great Britain.
+ Popularity of, i. 1;
+ as Chancellor of Exchequer, 1783, introduces bill favorable to United
+ States, for regulating commerce, 58;
+ controversy over bill, 60;
+ measure then dropped, 67, 68;
+ concession becomes possible to, 87, 97;
+ return to power, in 1804, 100;
+ new measures of, due to popular discontents, 101-104;
+ remark to Gouverneur Morris, concerning impressment difficulties, 120;
+ death of, 104.
+
+_Porter, David._ Captain, U.S.N.
+ Commands frigate "Essex," i. 407; ii. 1-3, 13;
+ cruise of "Essex," in Pacific, ii. 244-247;
+ action with, and capture by, "Phoebe" and "Cherub," 249-252;
+ approves of commerce destroying by naval armed schooners, appointed
+ to command a squadron of them, and draws up plan of operations, 270;
+ engaged in harassing retreat of British frigates in Potomac, 350.
+
+_Porter, Peter B._ Representative in Congress from New York, and general
+ of New York militia.
+ Testimony at trial of General Hull, i. 340;
+ duel with General Smyth, 358;
+ tribute to gallantry of naval detachment at Niagara, 315;
+ engaged at Chippewa, ii. 295,
+ on Niagara peninsula, 306,
+ and Lundy's Lane, 310.
+
+"_President._" American frigate.
+ Rencounter with British sloop of war "Little Belt," i. 256-259;
+ cruises under command of Commodore Rodgers, i. 322-324, 407-409;
+ ii. 128-129;
+ sails under Decatur, 397;
+ capture of, by British squadron, 398-401.
+
+_Prevost, Sir George._ British general.
+ Governor of Nova Scotia, reports failure of American embargo, i. 199.
+ Governor-General of Canada, and commander-in-chief, reports British
+ naval superiority on lakes, 1812, i. 295;
+ statements of effect of naval control on operations, 302; ii. 40,
+ 306, 316, 362-363, 374-375;
+ negotiates suspension of hostilities with Dearborn, i. 351-352;
+ instructs Brock to forbear offensive, 356, 367;
+ visit of, to Kingston, February, 1813, effect of, on American
+ plans, ii. 32;
+ attack on Sackett's Harbor by, in conjunction with Yeo, 42-45;
+ instructions to Procter, at Malden, 67,
+ and to De Rottenburg, at Niagara, 69;
+ submits plan for securing territories in United States to Indian
+ allies of Great Britain, 99 (note);
+ calls upon Admiral Cochrane to inflict retaliation for unauthorized
+ burning by Americans in Canada, 329, 334;
+ receives large re-enforcements from Wellington's Peninsular army,
+ 362-363,
+ with instructions for operations, 362;
+ reasons for advancing by New York side of Lake Champlain, instead
+ of through Vermont, 363;
+ advance upon Plattsburg, 365-367;
+ awaits the arrival of British squadron before attacking, 372-375;
+ reason for desiring a joint attack by army and navy, 372 (note);
+ correspondence with Captain Downie, commanding the squadron, 373-375;
+ charges against, by naval officers of the squadron, 375, 381;
+ retreats after squadron's defeat, 381;
+ summoned home under charges, but dies before trial, 381.
+ Retreat of, after the naval defeat, endorsed by Wellington, 430.
+
+_Pring, Daniel._ Commander, R.N.
+ Attached to lake service, Lake Champlain, 360;
+ operations on, 360-361, 366;
+ second in command at battle of Lake Champlain, 372-381.
+
+_Privateering._
+ Employment of a sea-militia force, requiring little antecedent
+ training, i. 286;
+ recourse of the weaker belligerent, 288;
+ aptitude of Americans for, 384;
+ extemporized character of early, in War of 1812, 394;
+ opinions concerning nature of, of Secretaries Gallatin and Jones, 396;
+ susceptible of business regulation and direction, 397, 399; ii. 220,
+ 225, 229;
+ energy of American, noted by Warren, i. 401-402;
+ effect of, upon regular navy, ii. 12;
+ a secondary operation of war, not in itself decisive, 126;
+ primary object of, 215-216, 241;
+ details of methods pursued, in 1812, 222, 225, 226, 240;
+ comparison of, with a regular naval service, in motive, and
+ inefficiency for the particular object of commerce destroying,
+ 241-244;
+ a popular effort in War of 1812, independent of Government
+ initiative, 265;
+ development and systematization of, towards end of war, 267-268, 269.
+
+_Privateers_ mentioned by name:
+ "America," i. 398; ii. 229;
+ "Chasseur," ii. 237-240;
+ "Comet," ii. 234;
+ "Decatur," ii. 233;
+ "Globe," ii. 226-228;
+ "Governor Tompkins," ii. 228;
+ "Kemp," ii. 236;
+ "Leo," ii. 224;
+ "Lion," ii. 224;
+ "Mammoth," ii. 269;
+ "Rapid," i. 398;
+ "Rattlesnake," ii. 223;
+ "Rossie," i. 295-297;
+ "Saucy Jack," ii. 235-236;
+ "Scourge," ii. 223;
+ "True-blooded Yankee," ii. 225;
+ "Yankee," ii. 226.
+ Number and classes of, ii. 243-244.
+ Combats, of. See _Actions, Privateer_.
+
+_Prizes_ taken by Americans in first three months of war, and in what
+ localities taken, i. 394-395;
+ taken by British in same period, 399-400;
+ at later period of war, 406;
+ transition period of prize-taking, January-June, 1813, ii. 20;
+ estimate of relative losses by the two belligerents, 21-22;
+ compilation of lists, by Niles' Register, 22;
+ overlooked significance of the greater British losses, 23, 221;
+ limited success of American frigates in taking, to what attributable,
+ 216;
+ taken by American cruisers, in latter part of war, 220-221;
+ in West Indies, 230;
+ total number taken throughout the war, by American naval vessels, and
+ by privateers, 241-243.
+
+_Proclamation._
+ Commerce between Great Britain and America, regulated by, 1783-1794,
+ i. 67-70;
+ issued by Jefferson excluding British armed vessels from American
+ waters, after "Chesapeake" affair, 160-161;
+ Royal, directing commanders of British naval vessels to impress
+ British-born seamen found in foreign merchant ships, and denying
+ efficacy of naturalization papers to discharge from allegiance, 166;
+ by Jefferson, against combinations to defy Embargo laws, 207;
+ by Madison, permitting renewal of trade with Great Britain, 219,
+ and withdrawn, 219;
+ by Madison, announcing revocation of Napoleon's Decrees, 238.
+
+_Procter, Henry._ British general.
+ As colonel, in command of Fort Malden, i. 345;
+ acts against Hull's communications, 345;
+ instructions from Brock, after fall of Detroit, 367;
+ compels surrender of Winchester's detachment at Frenchtown, 370;
+ subsequent action, 373; ii. 67, 68;
+ attack on Fort Meigs, 68;
+ project against Erie, 69;
+ baffled at Fort Stephenson, 73;
+ upon Harrison's approach, after battle of Lake Erie, evacuates
+ Detroit and Malden, retreating up valley of the Thames, and defeated
+ at Moravian Town, 103;
+ reaches British lines at Burlington, with remnant of his force, 103.
+
+
+_Quincy, Josiah._ Representative in Congress from Massachusetts.
+ Defines position of New England concerning Orders in Council and
+ impressment questions, i. 211-212;
+ disproves the accuracy of the charge brought by the Administration
+ against the British minister, Jackson, 232;
+ supports the report for increase of navy, 260;
+ predicts that a suitable naval establishment would be a unifying force
+ in national politics, 261;
+ sends word to seaports of intended embargo of April, 1812, 263.
+
+
+"_Rattlesnake._" American brig of war.
+ Particulars of cruise of, ii. 231-233.
+
+_Reeves._
+ British writer on the Navigation Laws, quoted, i. 14, 15, 17, 19, 23,
+ 25, 39 (note).
+
+"_Reindeer._" British sloop of war.
+ Captured by "Wasp," ii. 254.
+
+_Riall, Phineas._ British general, commanding on Niagara frontier,
+ December, 1813.
+ Captures Fort Niagara, and raids successfully western New York,
+ burning towns in retaliation for the burning of Newark, ii. 120-122;
+ in 1814, suggests destruction of Fort Niagara, 275;
+ at Chippewa and Lundy's Lane, with intervening operations, 295-298,
+ 306-310;
+ wounded and captured at Lundy's Lane, 310.
+
+_Rodgers, John._ Captain, U.S.N.
+ Encounter with British sloop "Little Belt," i. 256-259;
+ commands a squadron at declaration of war, 314;
+ opinion as to proper mode of using navy against enemy's commerce,
+ 317-320; ii. 130-131, 216;
+ orders of Navy Department to, 320;
+ sails with squadron on the first cruise of the war, 322;
+ incidents, 323-324,
+ and effects, direct and indirect, of first cruise of, 324-327;
+ effects of second cruise, 402-404;
+ incidents of second cruise, with "President" and "Congress," 407-409;
+ incidents of third cruise, in "President" alone, ii. 128-129;
+ after fourth cruise, enters New York, and turns over command of
+ "President" to Decatur, i. 405.
+ Employed in Potomac River, harassing retreat of British squadron from
+ Alexandria, 350.
+
+_Rose, George H._
+ British special envoy to Washington for settlement of "Chesapeake"
+ affair, i. 165-167;
+ failure of mission, 167.
+
+_Ross, Robert._ British general employed in Chesapeake expedition.
+ Instructions issued to, ii. 331;
+ capture of Washington, 340-351;
+ killed in advance against Baltimore, 357;
+ instructions to, for New Orleans expedition, 385-386;
+ sanguine expectations of, after capture of Washington, 424-425;
+ succeeded by Sir Edward Pakenham for New Orleans expedition, 392, 427.
+
+_Rottenburg, De._
+ British general in command on Niagara frontier June, 1813, ii. 69;
+ declines to detach to aid of Procter and Barclay on Lake Erie, 69;
+ proceeds to Kingston, with re-enforcements, in anticipation of
+ American attack, 110-111;
+ despatches detachment in pursuit of Wilkinson's movement down the St.
+ Lawrence, 114.
+
+_Russell, Jonathan._
+ American _chargé d'affaires_ in France, after Armstrong's departure,
+ i. 247;
+ correspondence with American and French Governments relative to the
+ alleged repeal of the French Decrees, quoted, 247, 267, 268;
+ transferred as _chargé_ to London, 264;
+ correspondence as such with American and British Governments, quoted,
+ 264, 266, 272-278;
+ opinion of the alleged French Decree of April 28, 1811, 272, 276;
+ negotiation with Castlereagh, after declaration of war, looking to
+ suspension of hostilities, ii. 409-411;
+ appointed additional peace commissioner at Ghent, 413.
+
+_Russia._
+ Offers in 1812 mediation between Great Britain and United States,
+ ii. 411;
+ accepted by United States, but rejected by Great Britain, 412;
+ attitude of Czar towards America, 423-124, 428.
+
+
+_Sackett's Harbor._ American naval station on Lake Ontario.
+ Conditions at, i. 302, 309, 363, 374, 376; ii. 37, 38, 50, 104-106,
+ 110-113, 119, 276, 278, 280, 281, 291, 304;
+ ships constructed at, 364, 366, 377; ii. 49, 276, 283, 291, 318 (note);
+ attack upon, by Prevost and Yeo, ii. 42-45;
+ Brown's march from, to Niagara frontier, 281;
+ Yeo's blockade of, 285,
+ abandoned, 290;
+ Izard's march to, on way to support Brown at Niagara, 319-320;
+ Chauncey retires finally to, after launch of the British "St.
+ Lawrence," 323;
+ destruction of, prescribed to Prevost by instructions, in 1814, 329, 362;
+ Yeo's observations at, 318 (note).
+
+_Seaboard, United States._
+ Conditions on, i. 296-298, 300, 310-313, 360, 393, 404-406;
+ ii. 15-19, 24-27, 127-128, 148-150, 152-155, 202;
+ Chesapeake and Delaware Bays, 1813, ii. 155-178;
+ three divisions of the seaboard, Northern, Middle, and Southern, 178;
+ distinctive topographical features of each, 178, 179, 183, 184, 193, 195;
+ proportionate effect of the war upon each, with reasons therefor,
+ 179-183;
+ commercial and military characteristics of Middle section, 183-184;
+ necessity of coasting trade to Middle, 184,
+ less than to Northern and Southern, 185-187;
+ effect of hostile pressure upon coasting in Northern section, 192-194;
+ in Southern section, 195-198, 203;
+ effectual separation between the sections by the British blockades,
+ 198-201;
+ statistics of export, 201;
+ momentary importance of North Carolina coast, 203;
+ effects of pressure upon seaboard shown by rebound upon peace, in
+ prices, and in shipping statistics, 204-207;
+ statement by a naval officer of the time, 207-208;
+ operations in Chesapeake Bay, 1814, 336-341, 350-351;
+ capture of Washington, 341-350;
+ occurrences on New England coast, 352;
+ invasion of Maine, and occupation of Castine, 353-354;
+ Gulf coast and New Orleans, 382-397.
+
+_Scott, Winfield._ American general.
+ Quoted, i. 336; ii. 48, 104 (note), 118, 240 (note), 297;
+ joins Wilkinson's expedition down the St. Lawrence, ii. 113;
+ on Niagara frontier, in 1814, 279, 281, 282;
+ battle of Chippewa, 294-298;
+ Lundy's Lane, 306-311;
+ severely wounded, 311,
+ and unable to serve again during the campaign, 314;
+ president of the Court of Inquiry concerning the capture of
+ Washington, 341-342.
+
+"_Shannon._" British frigate, blockading off New York.
+ Pursuit of "Constitution," and protection of convoy, i. 325-329;
+ admirable efficiency of, under Captain Broke, 133-134;
+ capture of "Chesapeake" by, 135-145;
+ reported injuries to, 146-147.
+
+_Sheffield, Lord._ British writer on economical questions.
+ Conspicuous opponent of Pitt's policy in opening West India trade to
+ American navigation, i. 50;
+ leading constructive ideas of, in scheme of policy towards the United
+ States, 63-64, 65-66;
+ success of, in preventing Pitt's measure, 67, 68;
+ Gibbon's estimate of, 73 (note);
+ apparent temporary success of policy of, 75-79;
+ Canada and the other North-American colonies fail to fulfil the part
+ expected from them, 86;
+ pamphlet of, "Observations on the Commerce of the American States," 65;
+ quotations from, i. 28 (note), 31 (note), 37 (and note), 46, 47, 49,
+ 50, 57, 65, 72.
+
+_Sherbrooke, Sir John._ British general, Governor of Nova Scotia.
+ Ordered to occupy so much of Maine as shall insure direct
+ communication between Halifax and Quebec, ii. 353;
+ expedition to the Penobscot, and seizure of Castine and Machias, 354;
+ Wellington's opinion of the result, 354, 431.
+
+_Sinclair, Arthur._ Commander, U.S.N., commanding on Upper Lakes, in
+ 1814, ii. 324;
+ operations of, 324-328;
+ mentioned, 333.
+
+_Smith, Adam._
+ Quoted in connection with the Navigation Act, i. 9-10, 49.
+
+_Smith, Robert._
+ American Secretary of State during early part of Madison's first term,
+ i. 222;
+ correspondence with, and in the case of, Jackson, the British minister
+ to Washington, 222-228;
+ attributes to Madison's intervention an offensive expression in letter
+ to Erskine, 228-229.
+
+_Smith, Samuel._ Senator from Maryland.
+ Quoted in connection with Embargo legislation, i. 184.
+
+_Stewart, Charles._ Captain, U.S.N.
+ Commands "Constellation," ii. 11,
+ when driven into Norfolk, and there blockaded for the rest of the
+ war, 12;
+ his reports while in Norfolk waters, 10, 17, 160-162;
+ transferred to the "Constitution," at Boston, 161, 162;
+ difficulty in escaping from Boston, 147 (see also i. 405 and ii. 12);
+ first cruise in "Constitution," 230-231;
+ second escape, 404;
+ captures "Cyane" and "Levant," 405-406;
+ quoted, ii. 12, 20.
+
+_Strong, Caleb._ Governor of Massachusetts.
+ Quoted, in support of British claim to impress, i. 7;
+ in condemnation of the war, and of the invasion of Canada, ii. 352.
+
+_St. Vincent, Earl of._ British admiral and First Lord of the Admiralty.
+ Statements and opinions concerning impressment, during Rufus King's
+ negotiations, i. 124-126.
+
+
+_Turreau, General._ French Minister to the United States.
+ Opinion that Erskine's concessions showed the break-down of Great
+ Britain, i. 230.
+
+
+_Vincent, John._
+ British general, commanding on Niagara line, at the time of Dearborn's
+ attack, ii. 38;
+ retreat to Burlington, 39;
+ attack by, at Stony Creek, 46;
+ on American retreat reoccupies peninsula, except Fort George, 47-48;
+ superseded by De Rottenburg, Lieutenant Governor of Upper Canada, 69;
+ left again in command by De Rottenburg's departure to Kingston, 110;
+ retreats again to Burlington on the news of battle of the Thames,
+ 103, 118;
+ ordered to retire further, to York, and reasons for not doing so, 118.
+
+
+_Warren, Sir John._
+ British admiral, and commander-in-chief on North American station,
+ i. 387;
+ Halifax and West Indian stations consolidated under, 387;
+ charged with diplomatic overture to American Government, 390;
+ reply received by, 391;
+ first impressions on arrival, 392;
+ representations to, 401,
+ and correspondence with, Admiralty, 402-404;
+ proclamations of blockades, ii. 9, 10;
+ the lakes service under supervision of, 28;
+ expectations of British Government and people from, 151;
+ operations in the Chesapeake, 155-169;
+ quits Chesapeake for the season, 177;
+ urgency of the Admiralty upon, 209-211;
+ relieved by Cochrane, 330.
+ Remark quoted, 332.
+
+_Warrington, Lewis._ Commander, U.S.N., commanding "Peacock."
+ Captures "Epervier," ii. 258-261;
+ subsequent cruise, 261-262;
+ later cruise, 406-408.
+
+_Washington, City of._
+ Capture by the British, ii. 337-350.
+
+_Washington, George._
+ Statements concerning conditions in the United States before the
+ adoption of the Constitution, i. 47;
+ as President of the United States, recommendations concerning the navy,
+ ii. 212-213.
+
+"_Wasp._" American sloop of war.
+ Action with, and capture of, "Frolic," i. 411-415;
+ is captured with her prize by the "Poictiers," seventy-four, 415.
+
+"_Wasp._" American sloop of war, built and named for the last, which
+ was captured only by overwhelming force.
+ Cruise of, ii. 253-258;
+ action with, and capture of, "Reindeer," 254;
+ action with, and sinking of, "Avon," 256;
+ disappears at sea, 257.
+
+_Wellesley, Marquis of._ British Secretary for Foreign Affairs.
+ Succeeds Canning, i. 229;
+ treatment of the Jackson case, 230-231, 250-252;
+ action in view of Champagny's letter, 238, 241-247;
+ construction placed by him upon the American demands consequent on
+ that letter, 246;
+ dilatory actions of, 252;
+ suggests to Pinkney to reconsider his intended departure, in view of
+ the nomination of Foster, 252;
+ summary statement of the British policy in the Orders in Council,
+ 253-254.
+
+_Wellington, Duke of._
+ Represents to British Government conditions in France, 1814, ii. 428,
+ and imminence of trouble in Paris, 429;
+ anxiety of British Government, to remove him from Paris, 429;
+ pressed to accept the command in America, 429;
+ reluctance of, 430;
+ influence of, upon the negotiations at Ghent, 430-431;
+ approves Prevost's retreat in default of naval command of the lakes,
+ 430-431;
+ opinion of Sherbrooke's occupation of Maine, 431 (see also 354).
+
+_West Indies._
+ Relations of, to the mother country and to the colonies of the American
+ continent, i. 32-40, 53-55, 56-58, 65-67;
+ British expectation that in these relations the lost colonies might
+ be replaced by Canada, Nova Scotia, etc., 44-48, 50-51, 64;
+ sufferings of, after 1776 and 1783, 54, 62-63, 67;
+ Pitt's measure, 1783, for benefit of, 58-60;
+ measure fails, and Navigation Acts applied to intercourse between
+ United States and, 68-70;
+ effect upon, 75, 78, 79;
+ recommendations of Committee of Privy Council, 1791, 82-84;
+ increased importance of, after outbreak of French Revolution, 86-88;
+ result, in fettering American intercourse with, 89, 95;
+ concession to United States of trade to, obtained in Jay's treaty, 96;
+ continued by British executive order, although article not confirmed
+ by Senate, 97;
+ course of British policy relating to, until 1805, 97-100;
+ question of American trade from, "direct" or "indirect," raised in
+ 1805, 100;
+ decision adverse to American interests, 101-103;
+ object of new departure of British Government, 103;
+ principle asserted identical with colonial practice, and with Orders
+ in Council of 1807, which led to War of 1812, 104.
+ As a field for operations against commerce, ii. 229-240.
+
+_Wilkinson, James._ American general.
+ Replaces Dearborn in command of New York frontier, ii. 104;
+ Armstrong's instructions to, 105;
+ movements of, 106;
+ concentrates at Sackett's Harbor, 109-111;
+ expedition down St. Lawrence against Montreal, 112-115;
+ failure of, and winter quarters at French Mills, 116;
+ removes thence to Plattsburg, 278;
+ abortive attempt against La Colle, 282-283;
+ superseded by Izard, 283.
+
+_Winder, William H._ American general.
+ Captured in the British attack at Stony Creek, ii. 47, 341;
+ appointed to command the tenth military district, including Baltimore
+ and Washington, 341;
+ conditions found by, as shown by Court of Inquiry, 342;
+ operations of, 343-350.
+
+_Woolsey, Melancthon T._ Lieutenant (afterwards captain), U.S.N.
+ Commands brig "Oneida" on Lake Ontario when war begins, i. 354;
+ employed organizing lake force, 364;
+ affairs at Oswego, 1813, ii. 50-51;
+ successful expedition by, in 1814, 285-289.
+
+
+_Yeo, Sir James Lucas._ British commodore.
+ Appointed to charge of lakes service, under Sir J. Warren, ii. 29;
+ attack on Sackett's Harbor, in combination with army, 42-45;
+ in temporary control of Lake Ontario, 46-51;
+ contest with Chauncey in 1813, 51-61;
+ action of August 10, 56-59,
+ and September 11, 60;
+ action of September 28, 106-109;
+ subsequent movements in 1813, 111, 114;
+ proposed renewed attack on Sackett's Harbor, 280, 283;
+ made on Oswego instead, 284;
+ blockades Sackett's Harbor for a time, 285-289;
+ abandons blockade, returns to Kingston, and there remains, 290;
+ opinion of the importance of the St. Lawrence River, 292;
+ inactive policy during summer of 1814, 303, 307;
+ launches, and takes the lake with, a ship of 102 guns, giving him
+ entire control, 323;
+ observations at Sackett's Harbor, on his return to England after
+ peace, 318 (note);
+ given independent command on lakes after Warren's detachment, 330.
+
+
+ * * * * *
+
+ +-----------------------------------------------------------+
+ | Typographical errors corrected in text: |
+ | |
+ | Page 13: vesesls replaced with vessels |
+ | Page 131: frustated replaced with frustrated |
+ | Page 184: Philadephia replaced with Philadelphia |
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+
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+
+*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 25912 ***
generated by cgit v1.2.3 (git 2.25.1) at 2026-07-01 14:40:24 +0000